I barely sleep that night. Cutter and Priscilla don't, either, I can tell.

Even so, we all lay around, eyes closed, pretending to be sleeping, but in reality wide awake. Finally, I can't take the three of us awkwardly waiting for someone to wake up, so I sit up and stretch, yawning. It might be before dawn, but I can just barely see a hint of the sun, and maybe an early start wouldn't actually be so bad. I symbolize my intention by yawning and saying, "Good morning."

Priscilla, who was on watch, flashes me a small smile, but I feel like today is going to be a lot less fooling around and a lot more serious business.

Cutter sits up and yawns, but he looks kind of really awful, I can see it in the darkness, even. His face is pale, there are dark circles under his eyes, that look slightly red and puffy, like he's been crying, which I assume he has.

Alright, I've been thinking this but I finally need to say it, just to someone, but Cutter is a real baby sometimes. I'm pretty sure not a day has passed since we were put in here that he hasn't cried. It's weird, because, of all the people in our alliance, I picked him to be the strongest. To be honest, part of me thought all the being nice and charming was nothing but an act.

I dunno, I just had this mental image of Cutter completely taking charge of the alliance, shoving me to the back and yelling orders, shooting everyone he sees with an arrow, including Azure, and including Priscilla and I. But I guess the thought really never crossed my mind that Cutter didn't get any extra training, and he was just as clueless Day One with those weapons as someone like Flounder, or even Bean.

Not that I mind being the leader: I'll take on the job any day. I think that we get a lot more done with me in charge than we ever would've with anyone else, after all. We gather up our sleeping bags and I look the canteens so I can go to get water. Priscilla puts them in my hands and says, "Nate, let me go with you." I think we're all unsettled after what happened last night.

"I'll be fine, Priscilla. Help Cutter. We're on the other side of the stream anyways, remember? Besides, Cutter went on his own the other night and he was fine."

She bites her lip, "Alright. Just… Be careful."

I smile and give her a nod, "I'll be right back." Then I walk off to the stream.

I kneel by the water and get the canteens full. I see a little figure by the water, off in the distance on the other side. By the bushy ponytail, I can recognize that it's Juniper.

I keep my eyes on Juniper, looking through the slight fog of dusk turning to dawn.

It happens in the blink of an eye.

The full weight of a strong body blinds me and sends me backward, with a hand clamped tightly over my mouth. It happens so suddenly that my body suddenly quivers uncontrollably and I try to scream. The sound goes nowhere, considering the hand that's not moving from my mouth. I make a fist and punch, but she holds on well. I kick but, since I was originally kneeling, it doesn't do much. She ties her jacket around my mouth first, so tight it chokes me.

I scream and strain, trying to be able to run away, but she's a lot older and stronger than I am. She easily ties my ankles together so tightly I'm losing circulation. Then she forcefully grabs my wrists and, after a while of my fighting, she manages to pin them behind my back and tie them. Then, away goes my sword, right on the bank by the river, and Boeh takes my feet and starts dragging me across the mud by the stream. I have to hold my breath as my head goes in the water, then only watch where she's taking me.

She barely strains to drag me through the mud, and she walks until the pink orb of the sun comes into my sight. It feels like an eternity, only getting worse as the land gets dryer and dryer. I get the worst brush-burn on my back from her dragging me through the powdery dirt, but I have a feeling that a brush-burn is soon going to be the least of my worries.

When I look around, I notice that this isn't the same camp she took Birch to. Soon, I hear the sound of a crackling fire, and notice she's cutting the cement between some stones with her knife.

Memories of Birch's fate flash back before my eyes, and my heart begins to speed up again as she finally takes me by the rope tied around my ankles, and lifts a stone over it. When she looks to be done, I try to move my feet, hoping maybe her system is defective and I can make a run for it. Maybe if I did that she'd kill me fast.

But nobody ever said that lunatics can't be smart.

I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing to feel embers on my feet, but when I look up, my feet aren't over the fire. So far, I'm not burnt at all. Boeh's huge green eyes dart around, alarmed, before they look to me with a huge grin.

"Don't think you get it so easy, McIalwain!" she says, taking the rope that's tying my hands together.

Flounder's screams play back in my head as Boeh runs her knife down the fabric of my shirt and rips it off. I shiver in the cold dusk, well-aware that the Gamemakers are delaying the sunset to give Boeh the advantage of the darkness when she burns me to death.

She finally unties the jacket from my mouth and I shiver out, from fear and from cold, "Wh-wh-what're y-you g-g-gonna d-do? R-rape me t-to death?"

I would start shouting right at that moment, but Boeh is still close with the jacket, and I don't want it to be put back over me. I have to wait until just the right moment, when she finally lets go of it and feels too lazy to get it again. This isn't testing my fighting skills. Now, it's a test to see if I can survive.

She just giggles and says, "Aw, is somebody cold!? Let me help you with that!" She throws the jacket aside, and as soon as she does, I shout, "HELP ME! PRISCILLA! CUTTER! SOMEBODY!" I know that the chance of anyone helping me is next to nothing. In fact, I'm sure all of them will be relieved that I'm dead. Boeh will be the happiest of them all.

"Good luck with that," Boeh says calmly, tugging me by the wrists, "I just finished off Four nice and close to you all so you could have the pleasure of hearing."

I don't stop screaming. Boeh pulls my body by the wrist across the fire pit and arranges my wrists so they're between two rocks across from my ankles. The fire immediately burns my whole back, and I bite my lip hard to keep from screaming.

"Here's a math lesson, Capitol children! The diameter of this fire pit is one LOSER FROM DISTRICT 2!" She bursts out into a mad fit of giggles as I yell out in pain.

The pain is unlike anything I've ever felt before in my entire life. Unlike anything I ever could've even imagined! My eyes immediately fill with tears as my back burns: and it doesn't get better at all. In fact, as it all burns away, it just gets worse and worse. I can't stop screaming now, and I can't even form words. Sweat drips down my forehead, and tears pour out of my eyes as I continue to scream out repeatedly and try to arch my back away from the flames to give it some, any relief!

Boeh just keeps giggling, louder and louder at each scream. "I got you, McIalwain! I GOT YOU!" I struggle but feel feint. "CRY, McIalwain, CRY!" she giggles loudly and looks down on me with much satisfaction. "I always wondered what it'd be like to see Vander cry. But I think it'd look a lot like this. And I think he'll just have to suffer the same fate as you, because this is the BEST!" she laughs so hard she cries and I see her pull out her knife.

"Oh, but I can't just let you burn! Oh, no! I think it's time to get a little creative, don't you?"

I scream and thrash, but nothing's working!

Boeh starts to draw on my stomach with her knife, bringing more tears to my eyes, when I hear a noise suddenly.

"LET HIM GO!"

Oh my God… It's CUTTER!

IT'S CUTTER! HE'S HERE! I feel so relieved, and shocked, and happy all at once. I feel a knife awkwardly and clumsily working at the rope tied around my ankles. I hear Priscilla and Boeh both screaming as they fight. Cutter finally gets the rope off and helps me sit up. Then he cuts the rope off my hands easily and says, "Priscilla! Come on!"

She slips into step beside me, and she and Cutter help me as the three of us run toward the stream and the Cornucopia.

"She's… Going to catch us…" I gasp out weakly.

"Don't worry about it," Priscilla says, "She won't be chasing us!"

I start to see little black spots, and do everything to keep running and stay conscious. After another eternity, or so it seems, we arrive back at the stream. "lay him in the water," Priscilla says, and the two of them help me down into the cool stream. The water against me is the opposite of nice at first, and I cry out again and scream, but the other two keep me down there until the burning sensation wears off and I at least feel at a fairly normal temperature. Then I lose the fight to consciousness and zone out.

Elijah is sobbing when I see him. "Nate Alexander Fucking McIalwain, what did you do!?" he sobs.

"I'm fine-"

"YOU'RE NOT FINE!"

I jump at his outburst.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU LET PRISCILLA GO WITH YOU!"

"Elijah, I didn't know what would happen!"

"YOU SHOULD'VE!"

"I'm fine!"

"YOU'RE NOT FINE!" he yells again, wiping his eyes.

"Fine, maybe I'm not pristine, but-"

"YOU SCARED EVERYONE!"

"It's not my fault! Stop blaming it on me!"

"It could be your fault, though!"

"But it's not," I growl.

"That's not what you'll be saying when you win."

My whole demeanor softens. "When I win?"

"Just because I'm trying to get you to think doesn't mean I don't have faith in you."

"What happens if I don't win?"

"Then I will laugh at you forever in the afterlife."

I blow the bangs out of my eyes, "Wonderful. Just the personal hell I need."

He tries a smile and a small laugh. I give him a small smile back.

"Don't let it get to your head, though," he says, "Even though you're hot when you're arrogant."

I blink at him, "What?"

He grins, "Nothing." Then he disappears and I lie in the darkness.

When I wake up, my whole body aches, not just the places Boeh affected. My back screams out in pain when I sit up, so bad that the groan is uncontrollable.

"He's awake!" Priscilla says, running over and kneeling next to me. Cutter is soon next to her, and both of them look relieved.

"We used the rest of that cut stuff on you. Platinum sent us burn stuff, too."

I blink, "Guess the Capitol people really liked you guys coming to save me."

They both shrug, and then I hit them with the magic question.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why the hell did you come for me?"

"Because we thought you were in danger," Priscilla says.

"I know, but why didn't you just let me die!? This is a fight to the-"

"The d-e-a-t-h, yeah, we get it," Priscilla says flatly.

"Your skills are still valuable to us," Cutter says. "Besides, the three of us are still an alliance. It means we got each other's backs."

I hate to say, but I don't think I would've gone after either of them if they disappeared, unless I heard the screams, maybe. Well, I'm a terrible ally, but I guess I already knew that considering I already tricked another of my allies to her death.

"Just because we're supposed to kill each other doesn't mean I don't care about you," Priscilla says quietly, looping her arms around my waist in a hug.

It stings, and I cringe. She winces, "Sorry."

"S'okay," I manage to get out, making my aching body stand up.

As soon as I'm on my feet Cutter wraps his arms around my neck in a tight hug. I hug back for just a second, but only as a thank-you to him for saving my life.

He lets go and Priscilla says, "Someone else died while you were asleep. We have no idea who it was, though."

"Guess we'll find out tonight, won't we?"

I stretch and walk around, noticing for the first time that I'm wearing a shirt.

"Whose shirt is this?" I ask.

"There was an extra in one of the backpacks," Priscilla says, "And it's a little baggy on you but it'll fit."

I smile at that convenience.

"We're not traveling at all today, volunteer," Priscilla says with a smile.

"What if I say we're traveling?" I challenge.

Cutter sprawls out across the grass and puts his hands behind his head. "Then we'd tell you to run a marathon, and get back to us."

I huff, but eventually sit back down because my injuries are killing me. The day includes all of us getting some much-needed sleep, and reorganizing the supplies (something that Priscilla and Cutter wouldn't let me help with, either).

Soon, it's dinnertime. Priscilla and Cutter go together to get the water and they're back pretty quick.

Somehow, even after everything I've been through today and all the help I haven't been allowed to do, I'm still on skinning duty.

But they give me a large hunk of meat, so I say that it was worth it.

After eating so much meat and finally feeling somewhat full for once, I feel almost good.

The Capitol anthem plays, and the face we see in the sky surprises me.

Juniper Berlin: District 7.

I think the others are surprised, too. When the little 12-year-old's face fades, the three of us exchange a sad nod.

I make them let me go on watch first, so Cutter and Priscilla curl up in their sleeping bags and are soon asleep.

I look across the plain and, when I'm sure that both of them are asleep, I whisper, "Thank you, Cupcake."