I was back in District 7, sitting on my bed, bored out of my skull. I was counting the cracks in my bedroom's floorboards. Just then, my mother came in asking for me. She said it was important, but I really didn't care, I was just thankful for something to do. She handed me a sealed Capitol envelope, no doubt written by a peacekeeper. "Radios are down again, hun" was all she needed to say before I put on my shoes and took off into the woods. Since the workers were usually a few miles out, and I was feeling pretty good, I decided to pick up my pace. The woods were my sanctuary, even though 7's job was to cut them all down. This really didn't bother me too much, since they had to leave some around the perimeter of the district. Today, the workers didn't seem to be that far out from the rest of the town. Of course, on normal circumstances, I would be unable to, and probably get shot for, taking runs off the district, but radios were down and the Capitol was sick and tired of having to constantly rebuild towers that fell over, with the Games coming up and all. Luckily my sister was married to the brother of a peacekeeper. With some negotiating, I was assigned the title of "Head Terrestrial Messenger", or, rather, "This Girl Has Permission To Go Running About Outside The District With Confidential Information Because We Think It's A Good Idea", although the letters were usually simple things like schedule adjustments or bits of news from the Capitol. I arrived at the measly camp that the peacekeepers had set up to watch the men work. "Thanks kid" one said through his mask as I handed over the letter.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

I woke up to Jake absentmindedly poking at the small fire. I wasn't dead, which was good, I guess. I sat up and unzipped my backpack, deciding I should fully explore its contents. It's probably a bit more difficult to break down when there's someone else watching. I dug my hand around, and my hand wrapped around something plastic, round. I quickly produced a canteen, about halfway full. I'd better save it, I thought. Next was a knife and sheath, which I strapped on my left. I decided it was probably best if we set out.

"Hey Jake, you ready to get going?" I asked as I shouldered my backpack.

"Yea sure. Let me out this thing out and we can get going" he replied before stamping out the small fire.

I stepped to the entrance of the cave and shoved the stone off the doorway. A gust of sand immediately blew in. Everything I could see was desert. No cacti, no water, just dunes and dunes of sand. I'd care to wager the entire arena had transformed over the night. We looked at each other, before rolling the stone back over the entrance and sitting down to our course of action. Our hideout was significantly more visible, without the trees and hill that inconveniently vanished, as well as there being no other rocks in sight. Anyone trying to attack us would have an obvious surprise advantage, as well as positioning, so we had no chose to set out into the dusty plain. With luck, we would be fighting through a different environment tomorrow.

It had probably been hours, neither of us were sure. A cannon had gone off in the distance at some point, we guessed that it was dehydration's hold that time. The sun was roughly halfway up the sky, and the area we'd walked into seemed to be rather hilly. Of course, we stuck to one ridge, following it for the added cover. The entire arena seemed almost… abandoned. We had not encountered or even seen another tribute. That could be a good thing, but it made me feel like we were getting closer and closer to something. Something good? Maybe. Something bad? Probably.

-0-0-0-0-Jake's POV-0-0-0-0-

We'd been going for quite a while, that much was obvious. I'm still not sure if I should trust this girl, but she seems harmless enough. Plus, I've got the gun here, so who cares? The scenery was pretty cool, I'll give the Gamemakers that much, they sure know how to spruce up hell. We were following a tall ridge, which did give us a bit of shade as the day went on, but there was sand in my shoes and I'm pretty sure that I was rubbing some blisters pretty darn good. Not to mention I'd only had a small bit to drink yesterday, and my throat was feeling it. I'd gotten used to the hunger by now, but hopefully we would have to time to find something to eat tonight.

Mostly, we'd been walking in silence, since neither of us really had anything to say about our imminent deaths. Maybe, just maybe, one of us would make it. Odds are slim, with that big gun on the loose, as well as the guy from 7. What if we got that gun?

BANG

-0-0-0-0-May's POV-0-0-0-0-

Jake practically slammed into me. I flopped down with him, and made the split second decision to play dead. It had to be the IAW, and whoever had it would come to loot our bodies soon enough. I slid my hand into Jake's holster and wrapped my hand around the handle of his pistol. Somehow, the shot didn't make it to me, so it either embedded itself in the stone wall or somewhere in Jake. The cannon shot off, and I could only assume that it marked the end of the kid's life.

Soon enough, footsteps approached, and I could barely see the tip of the rifle. The gunman, or so I could assume, stopped a few feet away from me and crouched down. I was afraid to move, to be honest. My other hand was laying on my spear, and I rushed to come up with a plan to survive this. The gunman stood back up, distracted by some sound from behind them, and I took the opportunity to swing the butt of my spear straight into the back of his head and fired a shot straight through his chest. The cannon boomed in the distance.

I was surprised by the sound the handgun made. It was a small, high sound, like a dart or a puff of air. The sand around me was now slowly turning red with the blood of the tributes. To my consolation, the gunner did indeed have the rifle, which I picked up and shouldered. I looked in the direction the gunman was staring off in before his demise, and at first there appeared to be nothing there; just a few rocks and a dune. A rock shifted, although ever so slightly. I squinted, attempting to discern if it was just a mirage or something I should be worried about. I swung the sniper rifle off my shoulder and used to scope for a better view. After adjusting the zoom a bit, I managed to make out a few boulders, and an oddly shaped pile of smaller rocks. I zoomed a bit more, just to be sure, and I could clearly see the small pile moving. It appeared to be breathing, like an animal, a gentle rise and fall. I lowered my rifle, and moved down a bit away from the bodies, after taking what I needed. I sat down and removed the silencer from Jake's old handgun, and managed to work it on to the rifle. I laid down, zoomed in, and located the pile again. My finger laid itself softly on the trigger, and I took a shot at it.

The pile shot up. It appeared to be in the shape of a tiger or wolf, as it swept the area with its head, trying to find whoever planted a round in its back. Its glowing yellow eyes soon fixated on me, and it leapt off the boulder at a breakneck pace. I panicked and fired off another silent shot, which missed it completely. I jolted up, folded down the bipod and shouldered the massive gun, and realized I had nowhere to run from the mutt. I turned around, scanning the rocky wall for a way up, and began climbing as a last chance. It was still at least five hundred yards out, but I knew it would be on top of me in less than a minute if I didn't hurry it up. The wall was about thirty feet high, and I'd made fifteen when the beast arrived. It tried to jump up after me, and fell just short of removing my foot. It tried a few more times as I clung desperately to the cliff face. I tried to make a bit more height on the monster, managing a few more feet before I almost slipped and fell off, prompting me to stay put and wait the mutt out.

It didn't seem fazed, sitting there, waiting for me to fall into its grasp. My heart was quickening, and I knew that if I didn't top the wall I was going to run out of strength and fall. I began climbing again, making the rest of the cliff and pulling myself onto the sand. I leaned over the cliff and stuck my tongue out at the mutt. Childish, but it sure felt good. The sun was beginning to set, and the mutt walked away, defeated.

I decided to find some shelter for the coming night, with the point in mind that the arena might shift again. I ended up finding an overhand in a cliff that would do fine for the night. I didn't risk lighting a fire, since I was still rather exposed, but my dark jacket would likely be enough camouflage for one night. I decided now was as justifiable time to down a bit of my water, so I halved the water left, hoping I would be able to find some tomorrow.

The anthem blared in the sky, and I watched with a bit more interest. The boy from 1, who I identified as the gunner from earlier, the girl from 2, and Jake, the boy from eleven, which I took a moment to mourn. The anthem finished and I flipped my hood up and laid down. How had I made it this far, I'd never quite understand, but everyone's time comes at some point, and I was praying for mine would decide to wait.

A/N: Hey, I didn't abandon this! I had multiple big school assignments that, unfortunately, got priority, but I made it up and wrote a chapter double length! Anyway, next chapter will be up decently soon most likely, so until then, I've been Pix, and I'll see you there!