Author's Note: Surprise! Early-ish update! I hope you all enjoy this chapter; I will try to update again soon. We are so close to the end!

. . .

From Thresh' declaration on, I feel almost sick to my stomach. The idea that Cato is hunting us without any distractions or other interests is unnerving, especially considering how ruthless the Career is. And Thresh killed Clove, so Cato will undoubtedly make any death from District 11 a hard one.

As the sun nears the horizon and the rain begins to pour, Thresh and I try to make alterations to our position that would benefit us in the event of defense. The obvious problem is, of course, the precipitation. The field doesn't really have high ground, and already the water level has made the whole place a two inch puddle. It will only get deeper, and we are faced with the decision of staying and risking the flood or leaving and losing the advantage we had. I wait for Thresh to tell me what to do because I am utterly unqualified to make this choice.

Finally, we begin moving. Thresh leads us in the opposite direction of the Cornucopia, and even though we haven't been going all that long, the water is already past our ankles. The unyielding, almost suffocating wetness all around makes me want to scream, but I pull myself together and keep going, knowing that Cato might be anywhere.

Thresh continues to take me forward, and after a long while, we come to the end of the field. Then we veer left and enter the woods, moving at the same fast walk that we have kept up the whole time. My legs are tired, and I desperately want to be somewhere dry, but we have to keep going.

Finally, when night falls and we can no longer see anything, we stop. I know the rain must have greatly hindered our progress, but it still feels like we must be miles and miles away from the field. I wonder what our strategy will be and what the Gamemakers will do now that we're out of tall grass, but fortunately I don't have to wait for an explanation.

"We'll stay out of the field for a day," Thresh says, his voice barely heard above the downpour. "Then the next day we go back to the field, and hopefully Cato will have already searched it and begun looking someplace else. He's not a very patient hunter."

"What if the field is flooded?" I ask.

Thresh shrugs. "Then I guess we'll come back into the forest."

The plan seems decent enough to me, and I'm exhausted, so I decide it's time for us to rest. I naturally climb a tree to sleep, but Thresh absolutely refuses to even try, so he sits at the base of the trunk. I take the first watch, but the only thing that happens is the playing of the anthem and the appearance of Clove's face in the sky.

I think about Clove as I work to keep my eyes open and alert. Clove was a Career and a killer, but she was also a child, a daughter, and perhaps a sister or girlfriend. People are mourning for her right now, crying that their courageous young Clove will be courageous no more. Her death was entertainment for the Capitol, and next year, no one will know her name.

I hate these Games.

When it is Thresh's turn to keep watch, I fall asleep almost instantly. Like I would have expected, he allows me to sleep longer than I should have, but I was so tired that I am hardly sorry he let me. The night passes very slowly when I am on watch, but finally the dawn arrives. Or at least, we assume that the eastern light is the dawn, because the rain is still coming down very heavily, and it's not easy to see into the distance.

I come down from the tree and we eat a modest breakfast. If we're not going to the field until tomorrow, I wonder what we will be doing all throughout today. I don't want to bother Thresh with questions that he may take as an undermining of his plan, but I think he understands my curiosity, even though I don't ask anything.

"Why don't you get some more sleep?" he suggests. "As long as we remain quiet and hidden, we can spend the day as we chose."

This is encouraging, and after nearly two weeks in the Arena, my sleep deficit is quite large. I could probably sleep for days if I had the mind to. With a grin of thanks to Thresh, I climb back up the tree and fall asleep again.

I awake after noon has passed, and I slip down the trunk and join Thresh again. We eat more wheat and a handful of nuts, and I forage a few berries and leaves from the area around our tree. I would go farther away to gather more, but Thresh insists that we stay together, and I'm not about to break his rules again.

I tell Thresh to get some extra sleep, and I stay up in the tree branches while he naps. I let him sleep a while, and when the empty hours between lunch and dinner have finally ticked away, I wake him and we eat again. This day seems eternal with the constant dripping being the only thing to hear and see. Thresh and I talk a bit after our meal, but there's little to say. When it gets dark again, we repeat the same procedure of watching and sleeping as last night.

By the time light appears on the edge of the horizon, I am ready to leave if only it will give us something to do. There hasn't been the slightest sign of any tributes, and no deaths were reported last night. That can only mean that the audience is getting bored, and I fear that District 11 will be involved in whatever is designed to spice up the Games next.

Thresh and I slosh through the mud back towards the field, going along very cautiously. If Cato has already left the field, he could be in the forest at this moment. If he is still among the tall grasses, we may run straight into him when we enter the field. Thresh pauses every few minutes to listen and look for any signs of the predator, but we never find any, so we continue on.

At last, the yellow grass of the field is visible about ten yards ahead of us. I am surprised to see that the area has not been flooded after all, though it still has several inches of rain accumulated on the ground. Perhaps the Gamemakers think that a kill would look better out there than in the woods. The thought makes me shiver.

Thresh then turns to me and surprises me further. He hands me both Cato's bag and our backpack containing the now laughably useless water filter. I now have three packs, and I am totally oblivious as to why.

"Keep these," he says. "I am going to take a look. You stay here."

"What?" I ask incredulously. "What happened to sticking together?"

"Just do it," he answers. "I'll be back in a minute."

And so Thresh walks into the grass alone, and I am left helpless in the tree line. To ready myself in case I have to run either forward or in retreat, I open the bag I snagged at the Cornucopia on the first day and stuff the District 11 pack inside it. It's a close fit, but at least now I only have to carry two things.

I hear rustling and automatically tense up, but it is Thresh who emerges from the grass. He looks up at me and shakes his head, and I sigh with relief.

"No Cato so far," he says, "but we still need to be very careful. He could be anywhere."

As if on cue, a figure suddenly appears on the tree line about a hundred yards left of where we're standing. It is only because the person is right between the tall grass and the forest that I can see him at all, but that glimpse is more than enough. It's Cato, and he is just exiting the field and heading into the trees. Or at least he was just exiting; now he casually turns his head in our direction and spots us.

"Thresh, it's Cato!" I cry, pointing to the Career in fear.

"Run, Amaranth," Thresh commands, pushing me into the field and following after me. "Run!"

. . .

Sorry for the cliffhanger, but…okay, I'm not all that sorry. ;) Reviews will spur me on towards faster posting! Please give me some feedback!