"It's been two days," the Head Gamemaker says. "Anise hasn't done anything notable. Some viewers enjoyed Kayla's poem last night, but that's not enough. We need action."

"Go ahead," the psychologist nonchalantly replies. "Everyone's in the right place now, and Kayla's in the perfect state of mind."

The Head Gamemaker shakes his head. "I don't know what you're hoping for, but…"

He turns to Varinius. "Bring down the house."

Varinius nods and presses a dark blue button, which opens a panel on the wall next to him, revealing a bright red button, which he then presses as well.

All eyes turn to the large television screen.

XXX

BROADCASTING LIVE FROM THE CAPITOL

[Arial view of the mountain at mid-morning.]

CT: Well, good morning, Panem, and welcome to day six of the Forty-Seventh Hunger Games! This is Claudius Templesmith, here with my trusty guest commentators to report on the events of today. Now, I have just received word from the Gamemakers that things in the arena are about to get a little…shaky!"

[Right on cue, a low rumble is heard, which quickly increases in volume and intensity as the mountain begins to shake. The camera cuts between the Career pack (18, 1; 18, 2; 17, 2) and the Sevens (17, 7; 16, 7), who are holding tightly to trees and rocks, and Briar (12, 11), who is attempting to tie himself to the trunk of the tree he'd been sleeping in with his rope.]

[The rocky, eastern side of the mountain begins to fall apart. Kayla (15, 9) stands at the edge of her ledge, one hand holding the strap of her backpack, staring up in horror at the massive boulders tumbling down towards her.]

[She has nowhere to run. Her tunnel is already crushed.]

[Suddenly, another figure comes bounding down the near-vertical slope, leaping from rock to rock, moving almost too quickly for the cameras to catch her. It's Anise (15, 11). The lithe, dark-skinned girl lands on the ledge, grabs Kayla, who drops her backpack as she's lifted off her feet. Anise clambers over the tumbling rocks, getting battered by stones as she pushes her way upward, somehow gaining height instead of being brought down…]

[Finally, she sets Kayla down on solid ground, and they stand among the trees, staring at each other.]

CP: Did you see that? She saved her!

YE: Anise Leenan just saved Kayla Rakkor!

CT: Well, this is…a most unexpected turn of events!

SM: Speaking of unexpected, look at Kayla! Look!

XXX

The door to Vivienne's bedroom slams shut behind her as she quickly strides down the hall, towards the elevator. It opens before she reaches it.

"You saw?" Aspen asks as she steps in beside him.

The District Nine mentor nods. "Let's go."

XXX

Kayla Rakkor, 15, District 9

All I can do is stare. My brain isn't working properly, too busy trying to wrap itself around what just happened.

There was an avalanche. I had been about to be crushed by falling rocks. I should be dead now…but I'm not.

Anise Leenan saved my life.

I stare at her, the dark-skinned, dark-haired, and even darker-eyed girl who stands at least a head taller than me because of her long legs, staring silently back at me. But she isn't looking at my face. She's looking at…

Oh, no…

My legs. She's looking at my legs. When she set me down on my feet again, I forgot to favor my right leg!

"Oh…" I mutter. "I…um…"

So what if she knows? a voice in my head says. She just saved your life. Why would she do that if she was just going to sell you out to Shimmer's pack?

"…well, it looks like the jig is up," I say, attempting a smile.

Anise nods, but says nothing. I notice that her arms and face are very bruised, probably from the falling rocks.

"You're hurt," I say.

"I'm fine."

"I don't believe you."

Again she does not respond, and again we stare at each other.

The silver parachute lands right in-between us. Neither of us goes to pick it up.

"It's yours," I say. "It must be."

Anise shakes her head. "You take it."

"You just saved my life. You must have sponsors lining up at the door right now. It's yours."

"I won't take it."

I sigh.

"You stay right there," I say, bending over to pick up the parachute. I half expect to see her gone when I straighten, running like she did back in the Training Center, gone as swiftly as she had come.

She's still here as I straighten again and unwrap the package, her calm eyes watching my hands. It's a pretty big package. The first thing to come out is a small clay pot. I place the rest of the package back on the ground and open the pot. Inside is a white, creamy substance.

Food? Or some kind of lotion?

I touch the cream with a finger. It cools my skin.

"This might be for bruises," I say. "Sid down, and I'll try it on you."

Anise hesitates.

"Please," I say. "I have to do something… You've got to let me help you."

Slowly, warily, Anise sits down on the grass, her legs crossed. I kneel down in front of her, scooping some of the cream into my hand. She flinches as my hand nears her arm.

"Don't worry," I say. "I' not going to hurt you. You saved my life."

Her eyes meet mine and stay there. In them I see a roiling mix of emotions, but the most prominent ones are fear and sadness. Lots of sadness, even more than I've seen in her before, on the roof of the Training Center, or while she told Caesar Flickerman about killing her mother. She said that, but I don't think that Anise is a killer…and yet, some great sorrow constantly haunts her stance…

My fingers rub cream onto the bruises on her arm, and I can see the relief that it brings her. The purple-brown marks fade away. This is powerful Capitol medicine. How did District Eleven get so much money, so quickly?

I heal the bruises on her other arm, and by the time I reach her face, the eyes staring back at me have a hint of trust in them.

"Is that better?" I ask.

Anise nods. "Thank you…"

"Thank your sponsors." I pick up the rest of the package and hold it out to her. "Whatever else is in there must be yours, too."

"You don't want it?" she asks, sounding surprised.

"Why would I take from you, Anise? If anything, I owe you now."

Anise shakes her head. "You owe me nothing. I'm not worth that."

"Do you really think that?"

She doesn't answer. I unwrap the rest of the package. It's a large, gray container, maybe made out of plastic, sealed tight. I pry open the lid, and the wonderful smell hits me hard. Inside there's chicken—well-cooked, much better than the near-raw meat I've been cautiously making—and bread, and a bowl of mixed fruits and vegetables. Besides the food, which makes both of our stomachs growl and reminds me of the fact that I lost all of my supplies today, there are two plates and two spoons.

"This was meant for both of us," I realize. "I wonder…maybe our mentors pooled resources."

I glance around, suddenly remembering that I'm not hidden from the rest of the mountain anymore.

"Who's still out here?" I whisper. "There's Shimmer, and both from District Two…"

"Jude and Robin from Seven, and Briar," Anise finishes. "They're nowhere near here. Shimmer's got her pack on the western side of the mountain, and the others are near the peak."

"You've been keeping an eye on them?"

"I run," says Anise. "There's nothing else to do out here. Sometimes I pass the others."

"I've been hiding in a tunnel this whole time," I say. "So I really don't know what's been going on. Have you seen any mutts?"

"Spiders," says Anise. "Giant spiders. I think the Careers killed them all, though."

I nod slowly.

"Let's find some shelter," I say. "It's too open here… Then we'll eat."

I stand up, and Anise follows my lead. I remember what she said about not wanting allies, back in the Training Center—Was it really only a week ago?—but that doesn't seem to matter anymore, at least not around this sudden rescue and feast.

We don't have to walk very far. The falling rocks created a wall of outcrops and alcoves, with a space or two large enough to provide a cave for both of us to sit in comfortably. Water streams down the rocks, pooling near the bottom.

"The avalanche must have changed the flow of the waterfall," Anise says, dipping a finger into the growing pond.

"The waterfall?"

"At the top," she explains. "It's the only source of water. It drops all the way down the mountain."

I nod. "Let's eat."

We tear into the food, but silently, slowly. Neither of us eats very much. Soon, we're just sitting and staring at each other again.

"Why did you save me?"

I want to slap myself the instant the words are out of my mouth, the expression in her eyes is so painful. It's like everything a face could do to show discomfort—a frown, a sigh, a shrug, tears—are in Anise's eyes.

"…because I had to," Anise says, her voice so low that I'm sure I misheard.

"What?"

"I had to," she repeats, speaking more forcefully. "I had to. I can't bear to kill again."

"Who else here have you killed?" I ask.

"No one here…"

The white cream on her face seems to accentuate the strain in her expression.

Her mother. She means her mother.

"I don't think that you're a killer, Anise," I say.

The stare that she fixes me in is unsettling.

"Am I?" she says. "A killer is someone who causes death. If it weren't for me, my mother would still be alive."

"How did she die, Anise?"

Why am I asking her such painful questions?

…because she needs to talk about it. I just know she does.

"I was born," Anise says. "I was born, and she died. The birth was too much for her to handle. I should have died, then, too. It would have been the only just thing. But I didn't. The killer lives on, and the death goes without being avenged.

"This was hers," she continues, raising her arm to show me the green bracelet around her wrist. "I wear is, so that I'll always remember what I am, what I've done. I'm the reason my mother is dead. I'm the reason that my father hasn't smiled in fifteen years, three months, and ten days. People tell me that my mother was beautiful, that she was full of laughter and song. I destroyed that, Kayla! I killed that! She's dead, and it's my fault, and everyone knows that it's my fault! I killed…"

Her voice trails off, and the first tear leaves a dark line in the whiteness on her cheek. I slide over to her and place my arms around her, and she leans into my torso. The clear glass wall is crying, and I try to comfort her. This must be the first time that she's ever ranted to anyone about how she felt. So much emotion, and no way to vent… This poor, brave, hurting, good girl…

My voice comes out soft, but strong.

"Many nights you've cried,

So silently that none could hear,

Hoping that someone would know

To come and hold you near.

Now, in this land of pain,

Which only one will leave alive,

Know that I will hold you close

And help you to survive…

"Let loose the troubled heart

You hold within.

We're of a kind,

You are my kin.

There is no suffering now,

While you're with me.

There's only hope,

I hope you see,

While you are here with me…

"Forget about the past,

Where hunters prowl after prey.

For this moment, all your fears

Will cease and go away.

You must believe my words:

There is a better way to live.

See the beauty in the world

And all it has to give…

"The flower that you are

Should never wilt.

Don't let your head

Hang low with guilt.

It is misplaced, my friend;

You're not at fault.

Keep running on,

And never halt.

You'll always be with me…"

I don't know where my words come from, what piece of my mind translates emotion and thought into voice, but whatever it is that drives me to speak, to nearly sing, I love it, because it makes Anise relax in my arms, eyes closed and the faintest of smiles upon her face.

XXX

Briar Tussen, 12, District 11

I finally leave the trees behind me and come out onto open rock. In front of me is a stream, which begins somewhere in the rocks to my left and flows over the edge of this flattened peak as a waterfall. I approach the edge and glance over cautiously. The water falls down, all the way down the mountain to the ground. I'm higher up than I've ever been before, even in the trees of District Eleven's orchards.

Now that I've found the top, I don't know what to do with it. I've had a goal these past three days, a driving purpose. Now, I don't.

It's getting dark… I'll decide what to do tomorrow morning.

I pull the sleeping bag out of my backpack and lay it out next to the stream. The anthem begins to play as I get in it, but there were no deaths today, so the sky quickly goes dark again.

I wonder what's going on at home, I think. Mom's probably putting Anthea to bed, and then she'll be listening to the commentators with Dad… She would be tucking me into bed right now…

Thinking about home makes me sad. I miss District Eleven so much…

This won't do! Come on, Briar, think of something happy. Make up a song!

"Sparkly, sparkly, shining star," I sing, looking up at the sky. "Up inside the sky, so far. With your friends, you're not alone. Won't you show me the way home…?"

I want to go home…

I curl up in my sleeping bag and cry myself to sleep.

XXX

Remaining Tributes:

Tribute-Name-Age

1G Shimmer Argent 18

2B Carn Hurdy 18

2G Thera Adrastea 17

7B Jude Paraux 17

7G Robin Sarabia 16

9G Kayla Rakkor 15

11B Briar Tussen 12

11G Anise Leenan 15

A.N.: No Career sections this chapter… Kayla's just kept getting longer and longer, and then… Well, Shimmer's probably planning my doom right now, so I shall be duly punished, I'm sure!

The next chapter should be very exciting…

Aside from that, if any of you know the song "When You Believe" from the movie Prince of Egypt, you might notice that Kayla's poem can be sung to that tune. I had it in my head while writing. :)