A/N: O.M.G. I cannot believe that this fic already has over 400 reviews! And this chapter marks the halfway point in the story! Only 13 more chapters to go, and they are action-packed, let me tell you! :D

Anywho, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story! It's my most popular story yet, and that's all thanks to you! All. Of. You. Are. Epically. Awesome.

And I'm totally keeping this A/N short because I know that all of you are just dying (hehe, pun) to know what happens in this chapter! Lots of questions will be answered, I think. :D

So let's get to it, shall we?

Random Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. Peeta and Katniss are just my puppet pals for a while; Smurfs make the best spies; I keep Jack Sparrow in my basement; Dumbledore or Gandalf?. . .biggest question in my life; I think seagulls are strange creatures; Spock rocks; I am terrified of hand puppets; Elves are real...Legolas and I talk...Be jealous; I saw Bob Barker drop kick a small goat once; Timon and Pumbaa are the ULTIMATE dynamic duo; the Fonz is the man; Peeta Mellark is a sexy beast; Vampires should NOT sparkle; Merpeople are real, they're just shy . . . still think I own HG?

Chapter 13

I wake up hearing Peeta curse.

"Move!" he whispers urgently. "They're close!"

It doesn't take me long to guess who 'they' are. I hear them stomping through the forest, not caring who hears. They're on our tail, and they're almost upon us. The Career Pack.

Instinct and the will to survive give me the speed and energy needed to bolt to my feet, oblivious to the pain in my calf. I grab my bow and sling the quiver of arrows over my shoulder. Peeta already has the backpack, and I notice as we begin to run that the knife I got from Clove at the Cornucopia is stuck in his belt.

I know that we only have a minute head start, maybe less, and my first instinct is to climb a tree. But I know that with my leg and the burns on Peeta's hands, we won't be able to climb high enough. That leaves us with only one other option. If we can't flee, we have to fight.

Fear floods me at the thought, but I lock it up tight. I can't let it get the better of me. I have to be rational. Every move I make from here on out will determine if I live or die in the next few minutes. I can't allow fear to blind me. Pure determination sets my jaw, and my eyes harden. Let them come. I'm ready.

And I get my wish.

Suddenly, Marvel, Glimmer, and the girl from 4 appear from behind a large tree in front of us, and Peeta and I skid to a halt. I realize what they've done. It was a trap. They chased us here, lured us . . . and we fell for it. However, I can't focus on that right now. My ire at being snared will have to wait . . . if I live through this.

"We got'em Cato!" Glimmer calls and I hear Cato's footfalls speed up. I can only guess that Clove is with him.

I immediately size up their weapons. Glimmer and the girl from 4 each have a small sword and Marvel has a spear. I think about shooting Glimmer. Out of the three of them, she's the weakest. But I as soon as I get a shot off, I have no doubt that Marvel's spear will be embedded in my chest.

We are at a stalemate.

Cato and Clove burst into view, both of them grinning in delight. They've caught us. As if by some unspoken signal, they close in on us. Peeta and I move so that we're facing all of them, but there's only so far we can step back before they attack us. We manage to put about fifteen feet between us and them.

"Well, well, well," Clove says lazily. "If it isn't the star-crossed lovers from District 12 . . ."

"Glad you're happy to see us," Peeta replies and I can practically hear the gears in his mind turning. I wonder if Peeta can actually talk us out of this. Though I've seen Peeta talk himself or someone else out of a sticky situation, I don't think that even his magic words can save us from the Careers. "How have you guys been?"

The Careers seem just as surprised by Peeta's casual attempt at conversation as I am. "Fine," Cato replies, though I notice that his voice is a bit raspy. The Careers must have gotten caught by the fire, too. "And yourselves?"

"It's been a little too warm for my taste," I say, not really liking the fact that Peeta is doing all the talking. I don't need them to think that I rely on him. They need to know that I can take care of myself.

They need to know that I'm a threat.

The Careers don't seem to know what to do. We aren't what they expected. We're not showing fear, we're not cowering, pleading for them to spare us. I feel smug, and courage fills me, increasing my determination. I'm going to fight, and I'm going to win.

I can't afford to lose. I promised Prim.

I see that Peeta has drawn the knife from his belt, and my fingers are itching it string an arrow, but I'm afraid any quick move will cause the Careers to attack.

I notice that this whole time, Glimmer has been eyeing Peeta in a way that I really don't like. It doesn't sit right with me and causes an oddly-tinged anger to flood me. It's almost like I'm jealous, but I inwardly scoff at the thought. What do I have to be jealous of? No, no I'm not feeling jealous. I'm feeling possessive.

Peeta is mine.

"What's caught your eye, Glimmer?" I say, causing her attention and the rest of the Career's to snap to me.

Glimmer scowls before adopting a falsely sweet expression. "I'm just wondering how the nights have been for you. It's been awful cold."

I smile. "Oh, we've got a sleeping bag. It's a tight fit, but, hey, we make it work. Why? Jealous?"

Glimmer's emerald green eyes harden, and I can't deny that she looks dangerous in this moment. She sniffs disdainfully, but I know that I've hit the nail on the head. "No, of course not," she denies.

I merely smile, silently showing my disbelief.

"So . . ." Peeta draws out the word, though he glances at me out of the corner of his eye. No doubt he's wondering about my exchange with Glimmer. "Is this the part when you guys try and kill us? Cause I'm just wondering which of you it's going to be. I mean, there are five of you and two of us. Who gets the honors?"

I'm wondering what Peeta's up to. It occurs to me that my exchange with Glimmer probably allowed him more time to think of a plan, and I realize that Peeta is trying to get the Careers to argue. With the right words as ammunition, it wouldn't be too hard. Their alliance is fragile, a hierarchy of power that only holds true until one of them turns on the other. That's what Peeta is trying to do.

"From what I see, Cato's running the show," Peeta continues. "And you guys are just following his orders. Doing what he tells you."

"No one tells me what to do," Marvel snaps and I force myself not to smile. Peeta's plan is working.

"Really?" I ask. "Then why didn't you kill us when you first found us? I bet you waited for Cato to show up because he told you to."

"Shut up!" he growls at me, and Peeta tenses beside me. "I'll kill you myself!"

He raises his spear and I quickly draw and string an arrow, aiming right between Marvel's eyes.

"Put that down, idiot!" Cato grabs Marvel's spear, rips it from his hands, and tosses it away. "I told you she's mine!"

"I wouldn't bet on that," Peeta interrupts, his voice sounding colder than I've ever heard.

Cato's attention is immediately focused on Peeta, and I see their mutual hatred of each other raging just beneath the surface. Peeta's normally kind, blue eyes are now as cold as ice. Cato's eyes are wild with a fiery fury. As they stare each other down, my mind flashes back to the glaring contest after the parade, and then the first day of training when Peeta lifted the weights, making Cato look like a fool . . . all that contained hate is about to overflow.

Cato chuckles menacingly and I see him tighten his grip on his sword. He holds it up, twirling it slightly and swiping at the air lazily. "I'll cut you down right now, Lover Boy."

My aim immediately switches from Marvel to Cato. "And you'd die before you got the chance," I say lowly.

My fingers are practically twitching with the urge to let go of the bowstring and let my arrow fly, hitting Cato right between the eyes.

Cato's eyes move to me. "Do you even know how to use that?" he asks mockingly.

"Do you want to find out?"

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" Clove shouts in outrage and I barely have time to duck before I see her flick her wrist, sending one of her knives flying toward me.

The knife embeds itself solidly in the tree trunk behind me, but I hardly have time to notice before the Careers are on us, Clove's swift action prompting them to take action of their own. Fear shoots through me when I hear the sound of flesh hitting flesh and I know that it's Cato and Peeta.

But I don't have time to worry about that. Glimmer is closest to me, too close to get a shot off. I quickly unstring my arrow and thrust it forward into her heart before quickly ripping it back out. I don't wait for my actions to register in my brain as she falls to the ground, dead. I don't think about the resistance her body put up when I drew out the arrow from her chest. Within a second, my arrow is knocked in my bow, and I fire at Clove. I hit her in the shoulder and she screams in fury.

I don't know how, but something in the trees catches my eye. A flash of brown hair and dark skin. My eyes flit up and I see someone I never expected to see. Rue. She's pointing frantically at something above my head, and I follow her pointing hand.

Tracker jackers.

Tracker jackers are a muttation engineered by the Capitol. They look a lot like wasps except they are golden in color and carry poisonous venom. A sting from a single tracker jacker is said to be incredibly painful and if you ingest enough of their venom, you hallucinate. But these hallucinations are specific. The venom is designed to bring out your worst fears. It prays on adrenaline and makes your every fear morph into something so terrifying that I've heard of people dying from it. Being so afraid that their heart stops.

All of this runs through my mind in a split second.

The thing about tracker jackers is that they are honing insects. Once one stings you, the others of the hive will find you and attack you as well. And if I shoot down the hive . . . it'll fall right onto the Careers.

I'm torn from my thoughts when I see a blur of blonde hair out of the corner of my eye. It's not Peeta, I know that much. I turn just in time for the shaft of Marvel's spear to slam into my head. I fall to the ground, my head throbbing and my vision blurring. I sweep Marvels legs out from under him, and then kick his spear away.

I only have time for one shot.

I raise myself up on one knee, aim high, and then let my arrow fly. It cuts clean through the narrow, sinewy rope that holds the tracker jacker nest to its branch, and I have just enough time to feel satisfaction as the nest drops before I hear a cry of pain that causes my stomach to drop.

But in the next second, the nest crashes to the ground, causing the tracker jackers to spew out in a vicious swarm.

Immediately they are on us, and I'm thinking that my brilliant plan will be my death sentence. I feel the first sting in my knee, and it's enough to cause me to spring forward, away from the nest. The nest itself dropped right in the middle of the Careers, so the majority of the tracker jackers went after them, but a few of them found me. I hear the Careers shouting about running to the lake, and I wonder if we're really that close. But I know that running to the lake isn't an option for me. As I run deeper into the woods, another stings my neck and my cheek. I rip the stingers out as I run, but I'm already feeling woozy.

My legs begin to feel funny and I stumble. My vision is shifting and blurring. Colors are swirling together to form odd images. I'm unable to tell up from down. I sense vaguely that I'm still stumbling forward, my survival instinct keeping me from collapsing.

But even my will to keep moving is soon overtaken by the venom. It's starting to turn to fire in my veins and I feel hot all over. It's like my blood is boiling and I hear a long, high-pitched scream that seems to go on forever. I think it's me.

My mind pulls up the memory of a pained cry. I'd heard it just before the tracker jacker nest hit the ground. Peeta. It was Peeta. I know it was Peeta. Cato got him. I'm overwhelmed with a pain in my heart that has nothing to do with the venom. It's more crippling than anything, but it melts into the pain from the venom and soon I'm curled on the ground in the fetal position. I can't move. Everything is pain. All that I'm filled with now is pain of the purest form.

I feel a warm wetness dripping from my eyes and I shakily raise a hand to wipe it away. My fingers come away covered in blood. It drips from my fingers before it coats my entire hand, and then my forearm. Blood. Blood everywhere. I'm drowning in it. I'm struggling to breathe. Gasping. Blood. Blood. I'm drowning.

I can't breathe.

Hands are grabbing at me, pulling me further under. I can't escape. I can't escape.

They won't let me go.

I can't escape.

Hope leaves me and the darkness sweeps me away.

Oh, hallucinations. You gotta love 'em.

So, let's do a recap, shall we? Peeta and Katniss fought the Careers. Katniss killed Glimmer and shot Clove. Peeta and Cato fought a brutal battle, and Peeta gets cut. Katniss shoots down the tracker jackers. Rue made an appearance! And now, to top it all off, Katniss thinks Peeta is dead.

Oh, yes. I'm cruel. *evil laughter*

So . . . next chapter is filled with intense emotional anguish and new allies. Hope to see you Saturday!

Lots of love,

AC