Author's Note: Hi Everyone from Dallas, America! In Australia I would be asleep in bed at this time which is 9:30 in the morning - at home it's just after midnight - but whatever, though I am definately feeling the time differences as I would really like to be sleeping right now, but can't because I have to get to the airport in another 30 minutes so I thought I might as well post up Chapter Twenty. I haven't done much writing while I've been here in America, too busy running around Orlando's theme parks... Harry Potter Land is FANTASTIC! I could happily live there. 'cough' Anyway, however I did do some writing on the plane last night, flying from Orlando to here in Dallas and I've basically finished Part Two! There are just a few things to tidy up in the last couple of chapters, but overall, Part Two is done! YAY! I'm so happy... until I start thinking about Part Three and then I feel like crying again lol.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this chapter. This chapter really starts to show the tension between the Careers and also how much they really do need Annie, though they still don't listen to her even when they really should.

Chapter Twenty

Dawn comes and brings forth a new day and I feel that today is going to be an even longer day than yesterday. Though I didn't have same 'this will be a bad day' feeling that I had yesterday, so maybe today won't be so bad.

I sat by the fire staring out into the trees, fingering my seashell necklace and my swimming medal, my other hand resting on my belly. I don't feel as nauseous as I once did, but then I haven't been allowing myself to. Though, typically enough, now that the nausea is gone I'm now starting to crave the weirdest foods, like… seaweed.

I pull a face at the very thought and yet at the same time I want to eat the foul stuff desperately. Only problem is there is no seaweed in the arena – I checked for it the first time I went to the lake – and I have no way of preparing it or any of the ingredients needed to make a seaweed meal.

And I can't get my hands on any oysters either.

Win the games, a voice in my head says, and you can have all the oysters and seaweed that you want.

Again I pull a face and try to ignore the rumbling of my stomach, which has started to ache in a different way to how it usually does with my pregnancy.

I'm hungry, really and truly hungry. We haven't eaten more than a few roots and berries last night and before that much of the same.

I shifted uncomfortable by the fire.

I was thirty too. Even though I've tried to be as conservative with my drinking, still inevitable happens, and I'm starting to run low on my water supply.

I dread to think how much, or rather how little, the others have. I know they're already in bad enough moods due to their hunger; I don't even want to think how they'll be when they're thirsty as well. Maybe I can convince them then that we should head back for the lake.

With our snares gone and will likely continue to do so whenever we set them up, the lake is really our only source of food left.

That is, if the Kraken hasn't eaten all of the fish… But I was hoping desperately that it hadn't. I was hoping it had eaten its fill and was now swimming somewhere near the bottom of the lake, slowly digesting and not needing to eat for a couple more days. But this is a Capital made creature so who knows what its eating habits are. I'm just hoping that humans aren't part of its menu.

"Damn."

I twist my head around to look behind me, to where Merle is slowly sitting up, running a hand though his messy hair.

"What?" I ask curiously, taking in his pained expression and wondering if he had somehow been hurt previously and hadn't told anyone that he had been.

"I was dreaming of the big end of year feast. You know, being down on the beach and everyone is there and we're eating and…"

"Ok, please stop," I groan holding up a hand to shut him up. The very thought of food and home was making me feel a different kinds of ill, home-sick, while also intensifying my hunger.

"Sorry," Merle said sounding sheepish, "it was just such a good dream, real-like too, and then I wake up and I find myself in this place again." He sighs heavily, "What I wouldn't give to get my hands on some lobster."

"Hmmm, seaweed." I reply without thinking and he gives me a weird look.

"I thought you didn't like seaweed."

"I don't, usually."

"But you want the stuff now, right?" He laughs when he sees my vigorous nodding; "Well one thing you can say about these games, they definitely make you appreciated the little things."

"Here here." I say before sighing. "We're going to have to head back to the lake."

Merle pulls a face before nodding. "Yeah, I know. It's just convincing these guys to go back there."

"Well," I say thinking, "we could always go, just the two of us and they can wait here while we go fishing and fill up the water bottles."

"Like they'd ever let us." He snorts when he sees my puzzled face. "They'll think that we're running off with their water bottles. That we'll never come back once we leave."

I hesitate and he shakes his head.

"You really want to leave, don't you?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't run off with their water bottles, I mean that would mean…"

"Certain death? Cresta you are definitely the wrong type of person to be in these games. I mean, how many times has something happen that you've jumped forward to try and save the person it's happening to?"

Again I hesitate and he shakes his head, looking torn between exasperation and… admiring?

"You know what, never mind. Look, we'll try to convince the others to come back to the lake; hopefully their hunger will speak louder than their fear of the Kraken."

"Hopefully." I say and I go back to staring into the fire.

"Hey," Merle says unexpectedly.

"Hmmm?"

"When you decided to do your disappearing act,"

"Hmmm."

"Can I come?" I blink at him a couple of times in surprise and he looks uncomfortable before shrugging.

"I just got this feeling that my numbers coming up," I open my mouth to argue, to sooth, to do something, but he shakes his head, "and I'd rather not have it come up while I'm around Jade." He thinks for a minute, "or around Cannibal kid."

I wince at that and mumble "Titus."

"Huh?"

"He's name's Titus," I sigh sadly, feeling my heartache for the poor boy, despite what he has done.

"How do you…" I give him a look and he shakes his head and mutters "damn babysitter," under his breath.

I don't even bother replying.

"Hey," He says again.

"Hmmm?"

"If we have another run in with that Titus kid and he manages to take me down," I cringe away from him not liking where this is going at all, "do me the favour and spear me or something? Cause I ain't going like that girl went," he shudders before looking me straight in the eye, "Please Annie?"

Why do people keep putting me into this position? Why?

I look away from him, feeling pained and annoyed and sick and all sorts of other jumbled up emotions before I groan out a soft "ok,"

"Thanks. And um, same goes for Jade too. I don't want to go like that either." I nod and hug my legs to my chest.

"Do the same." I whisper and he looks at me, "please, I don't want to go by their hands either."

"Deal," He spits on his palm and holds it out to me. After a moment I do the same and we shake, sealing our deal.

"What are you two up to?" I hear Sera asking sleepily from where she was curled up nearby.

"Talking about seaweed and how wacky a plant it is." Merle says and I fight back a smile when Sera looks at us in confusion.

"Sea-weed? What's that?"

"A weed that grows in the sea." Merle replies brightly and I fight harder not to laugh.

"Oh…" Sera didn't look like she believed us but still she got up and joined us by the fire. As she sits down her stomach rumbles. She looks momentarily embarrassed but since both mine and Merle's are making similar sounds, she quickly gets over her embarrassment.

"I don't suppose we have any food left?" She asks me hopefully.

Merle and I both shake our heads in unison.

"Only roots and berries and there isn't much left of either."

Sera started grimacing.

"We're going to have to go back to the lake aren't we?"

"Yup."

Sera groaned and buried her face into her hands.

"It'll be ok. You can stay by the tree line if it makes you feel safer." I tell her.

She hesitates before nodding.

"I don't know if Jade..." She started.

"If she wants to go hungry then she can stay here, but we're going to the lake." I said with such firmness that even I was surprised. The other two sort of blinked at me causing my face to feel warm but I was determined to stand my ground.

Of course that being said, standing my ground when up against Jade isn't always the wisest of things.

"Aren't you hungry?" I asked her feeling annoyed when she and everyone else is awake and Merle and I have suggested heading back to the lake for food and water, to which Jade has immediately shot down this suggestion.

She scowls furiously at me which of course means that she is but just that she doesn't want to admit it.

"I want to find those brats who messed up our TRAPS!"

"We can hunt for them while we're heading back for the lake." I say trying to remain calm and patient.

"Just because you weaklings are hungry doesn't mean..."

"We're going to run out of water soon." I say loudly over her, "and running out of water is bad for everyone, even you."

Jade opens her mouth in fury.

"She's right Jade." Cole says softly. I know that he doesn't like the idea of returning to lake anymore that than Jade does, but he's siding with me nonetheless.

"We're not going back!" She snarled at him furiously and that was when I saw it. Saw what I never, ever expected to see, not from Jade.

She was scared. Of the Kraken. She was actually afraid of something. I found this to be extremely amusing and had a hard time not laughing.

"What are you grinning about?" Jade snapped when she saw that I was smiling.

"Um, nothing." I reply quickly, making a note to keep a tighter grip on my amusement.

After that we all agreed to head back to the lake, only problem was Jade wanted to lead us back and since she, one didn't want to go back and two didn't know the way back I found this to be a rather stupid idea.

I fingered the compass in my pocket, knowing the moment I took it out and the others saw it I would lose it to Jade faster than I could blink. I bounced slightly on the balls of my feet in irritation.

We were going the wrong way and no matter how many times I tried to point this fact out, none of the others listened to me. I was almost starting to think that they wanted to starve to death.

I huffed and crossed my arms.

Going the wrong way! We're going the wrong way!

The others started to believe me when we entered the creepy silent forest and proceed to become completely lost in its darkness.

"Don't," Cole murmured to me as we started to set up camp and I was basically ready to explode, "say a thing."

"But…"

"Annie…" He warned and nodded towards Jade who was looking all the more murderous. No one slept much that night. Bad enough being in a dark, silent forest without being with someone who spent the whole night cleaning her weapons.

No one was in a good mood the following day, Jade least of all. She became even more murderous when the others told me to just lead the way to lake, even though now I was actually quite lost. But after a quick and subtle check of my compass, I determined where north was and just started walking in that direction. Also I noticed there were other clues for me to use to help me find our way back.

"How do you even know where you're going?" Jade snarled furiously at my back, she was walking basically on my heels. I looked back at her, trying not to wrinkle my nose at her foul smelling breath and opened my mouth to reply only.

"Oh and like you had any idea where you were going yesterday Jade!" Merle growled. I don't think I've ever seen him look so ill-tempered before. And that's actually saying something since I've seen him quite a few times looking angry during our time in these games.

"It's fine!" I yelled before Jade could respond, with words or her fists. "I have a pretty good idea where to go; we just have a long walk ahead of us, that's all."

"But how do you know?" Jade growled, eying me suspiciously.

I sigh. Why couldn't she just trust me? Everyone else did, or maybe that was why.

"You want to know how I know where to go?"

"Yes."

"I'm basically walking in the direction we came from."

"And how do you know that?"

I don't even bother answering her instead I simply pointed to the upgrowth where you can clearly see a path has been made from heavy footfalls and the scuffing of feet.

Jane looked like she'd happily punch me when the others start to laugh but I move quickly out of her range.

I tried to set a steady and reasonable pace, but due to both hunger and thirst now and being even further way from the lake than ever because of all of our hiking in the wrong direction yesterday I was starting to worry if we'd even make it back to lake before some disaster happened to us.

After a couple of hours of walking through the forest, my mouth was dry and my lips even more cracked than ever before and I was starting to feel dizzy.

The others weren't looking much better, even Jade now appears to have lost her fire. That is until you looked at her face and you saw just how furious she was.

I just didn't realise until too late just how furious she really was…

Author's Note: Yes, I know, a half-hearted cliffhanger at the end of a rather short chapter. I know, I'm sorry. I forgot just how short this chapter was. But it's more a build up chapter than anything else, next chapter... there's a bit more to it, though I was depressed when I wrote it.
I'll try and post the next ASAP. I'm kind of hoping to reach 100 reviews by the time I finish this fanfic, so you know, reveiws are loved and appreciated.
Bye for now. Next time I update I'll be back in the Land Down Under!