Can we take a break
sometimes
and pretend that we aren't us
for
a little while

It had only been minutes since I stole from the careers and started running when I heard the cannon. Another one, far off into the distance. The kill, couldn't have been done by the careers, for I saw them all sleeping just moments ago. Perhaps it was one of the tributes from five who had killed, they had both received high training scores. I didn't stay to ponder long, for the cannon might have woken up the careers, and they weren't far behind me.

I kept running through the woods until I came to one of the back roads in the arena. Houses were lined up and down, all with their own lawn ornaments, mailboxes, and driveways. The only things missing were cars. I tried my hand at opening some of the doors. Even my spear couldn't break through the windows or the wood paneling. It was no use, there was no way to get inside any building in this arena.

The road waned on for what seemed like hours until I got exactly what I was looking for: a stream. Quickly, I ran over and splashed the water on my face. The temperature in the arena was slowly rising, and I didn't want to waste the water in my canteen to cool me down. I replaced the few sips I had already taken of my canteen with stream water I had cleaned with the iodine. Leaning against the tree, I took a bite of my bread and tried to focus on the word around me.

Everything around here seemed so calm, as if there was nothing wrong, and it really was just a nice day in a random suburb in a random place. The birds chirped and sang much like they did at home. I closed my eyes and imagined that I was home at the beach, with the seagulls squawking above me and the tide coming in to tickle my toes. I imagined the feeling of the brushing my dress against my calf and the heat of the sun on my face. I was there. In my mind, I was home.

Even though I knew this wasn't true, and somewhere in this arena, maybe not very far from here, there were children killing children, I tried not to think about that. There aren't many things you get to enjoy in life, especially when you're me. Especially when you're here.

Suddenly, I was startled by the sound of footsteps in the distance. In less than I minute packed up all my things and ran the few meters back into the woods. Unfortunately, that is where the footsteps were headed also, and they grew progressively louder. I found a patch of trees closely growing together and climbed up one. I held my breath and hoped that the approaching people hadn't seen me, and wouldn't see me. I was lucky, I was perfectly concealed beyond some branches so that if they came into my view, I would be able to see them, but they wouldn't be able to see me.

"How long have we been walking?" came the first voice, the voice of a girl. I knew who it was immediately. She walked into my vantage point, her brown hair flowing behind her. The girl from district twelve, the girl who had something with the boy from nine. He was probably with her, close behind. I was right, and he soon came into my view, following soon after the girl. "About five hours," he answered.

She groaned. "How large is this arena?" She was small, very small, and obviously very weak. Her leg had been injured somehow, for there was a bandage with some blood spots wrapped around her calf. I could see her green eyes from here, sparkling and striking. However, there were large black circles unde them, and her cheeks were sunken in and sickly. This girl was sick.

He shrugged his shoulders. "It may be large, but for some reason we all run into each other. Only today we've seen two groups of people. It's weird, it's like there's something out there that is subconsciously bringing us together..."

"Or maybe it's just a coincidence," said the girl, laying down her backpack.

"I don't believe in coincidences, Carla," said the boy. He looked around. "How much bread from the bloodbath do we have left?"

"Not much," she answered, "I'll go get some water from the stream we just saw, we're running out of that too. Maybe we can stay here for a while, it doesn't seem like anyone is around. And besides," she said, zipping down her jacket, "It's getting really freaking hot. I need a break, Micah." she said, panting, "Just for a little while."

Micah did not object, but said he should get the water from the stream while she rested. I moved my face out of my looking place in the leaves and turned around. I could kill them so easily. Throw the spear at Micah, take on the already weak Carla with a knife easily. But I didn't. I couldn't.

Behind me, the trees were so close together you could easily jump from one to another. The branches spread out and made a wall of leaves covering the inner layer of the tree. There were a few small holes here and there, one being the opening I used to spy on Micah and Carla, but for the most part I was concealed in a world of leaves. This would be a nice place to stay, if only for a little while...

"Micah, we have to start talking," came the voice of Carla below. "About...what's going to happen..."

"What do you mean what's going to happen?" He answered.

"It's the Hunger Games. But there's two of us."

"So?"

"So! Eventually something is going to happen! We can't both win."

"I don't want to talk about this. Besides, two have won before."

"Once! Micah listen-"

"No."

"Micah-"

"No! And that is final. Go to sleep."

"It's the middle of the day-"

"We can cover more ground at night. Go to sleep."

I heard a suppressed sigh from Carla. The ground below me went quiet. I closed my eyes and breathed strongly through my nose. As the sun sank in the sky, the temperature went down again. The sky was starting to darken when I heard the cries from below. The cries belonged to a boy, the boy named Micah. What it must be like, meeting someone you learn to love so much, knowing that you can't both make it out alive. I've never felt anything like that for another person-only the love for my parents. I can't even begin to imagine what it must feel like. Micah cried on, and he tried to stifle his sobs, but to no avail. Eventually, he started talking.

"I have never met someone who I could immediately love. I didn't think it was possible. So if this does happen, doesn't it mean something? She's got these eyes that twinkle when she laughs, and hair that flows side to side when she walks, and a smile that could light up the darkest room. She can do so much for this world, and can be loved by so many people. If anything, she would be able to leave here and make the world a better place. Please, please, don't to this to us, don't to this to her. I'm begging you, if anything, let her live."

Praying. That's what he was doing, he was praying. I've never been religious, I never saw the point. The shadows grew darker, and the light grew dimmer. Micah's pleas stopped, and my eyelids got heavier. I couldn't go to sleep, it wasn't safe up here in the tree...

The sound of the Capital anthem startled me awake. Rone's face flashed in the sky, followed by the boy from eleven. How had I not fallen off this tree? I wasn't secure, I could have easily fallen off while sleeping. I guess I could thank my lucky stars for that one. I crawled over to my vantage point to see if Micah and Carla were still there but...It was gone. In fact, this wasn't the same tree! I had fallen asleep on one branch, and had woken up on another. At first I thought it was one of my memory blips, where I could forget days at a time...But that was impossible, I had just seen Rone's face in the sky, meaning that he still had died today. I've never sleepwalked in my life, and I'm such a light sleeper that nobody could have moved me...

Then it came. The memory. The pain. I reached my hand up to my head, to the place where the rock had hit me. I barely remembered it-the person coming up behind me, the arrows...But somehow I made it out alive...How could that be? I don't remember faces, just that there was more than one person there...

Could they still be here?

I looked up, down, and all around me. It seemed as if I was alone. If this was true, it didn't help the fact that I had no idea where I was. Grabbing my backpack and spear, I climb down the tree and on to the ground. The moon is in the sky, and in the distance I can see a few houses. I head over there, found a comfortable place to sleep between a fence and a shed, and dozed off.

The heat of the sun burns on my face and wakes me up in the morning. I should probably get up, eat a little, and find somewhere to hide. However, I don't budge, and decide to stay still for a little. There is only one way to win this game, and that is to kill. I only remember one tribute in the history of the games that won without killing anyone. Her name escapes me, I think she was from my district. The girl from training comes to mind, a miracle she hasn't been killed yet. I have to kill if I want to make it out of here alive. There is no other choice, there is no other way out.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice something int he distance. I sit up to notice a trail of smoke in the sky, most likely from a campfire. I've seen this in other games; tributes are lead to one another from the smoke from fires. If I follow the smoke, I find the tribute. I clench my spear.

Time to give in.

The smoke came from the northeast. It wasn't too far away, and it wasn't long before I got to the fire itself. About a hundred yards away in a pile of leaves and twigs it burned gently, licking up into the sky. There was a fire, but there was nobody around. Who had made this fire and left it unattended? It must be...

A trap.

Before I can ride, hide, do something, the arrow comes whizzing at me. I dodge at the last second, and the arrow grazes my ear. I look up to see Ellia, standing high on the branch of a tree.