Skye, Marshall, and Craig stood on the shore of the eastern lake. There was a narrow pass of land between it and the northern lake, a couple hundred meters wide at best. A while ago, Craig had noticed an island in the middle of the lake. If they could get there, they'd be safe from the other tributes.

They could win.

"Any ideas?" Craig asked again. Skye and Marshall both shrugged, sighing a little bit.

Marshall spoke up. "Maybe there's a bridge or something." Craig shot him a look. "I mean, not like a proper bridge. But maybe a fallen tree or something. We could walk around the whole thing and see."

Craig wrinkled his nose. "I feel like that would be a waste. What if there's no bridge? Then we've spent who knows how long freezing to death while we walk in a circle. Also, we're not that far from the cornucopia. Walking through unfamiliar territory is a disaster waiting to happen." Marshall shrugged.

"We could build a raft?" Skye suggested. Immediately, she saw the flaws in that idea. "Wait no. No we couldn't." She blushed, looking down. Marshall smiled at her.

"Yeah, we lack the supplies for that," Craig said. A silence fell over the three of them. Craig wandered a little ways along the shore, staring intensely out at the island. Skye looked over at Marshall and shrugged. She sidestepped so that they stood next to each other. He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side.

The only thing they had managed to grab from the cornucopia was a small knife. They were all cold all the time without any extra layers, and the snow continued to rise. They were trudging through about a foot and a half at this point, less than four days in. The pace was beginning to pick up, and white flakes were becoming more and more frequent as time went on. Skye leaned into Marshall, trying to pick up his smell, but all her nose sensed was freezing air. She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him.

"I want to go home," she said softly.

Marshall kissed her forehead. His lips were dry and chapped, but Skye didn't mind. The gesture was what mattered. Without meaning to, she began to cry. "It's okay, Skye," her ally murmured into her skin. But she kept crying, the hot tears leaving warm trails on her frozen skin. Because it wasn't okay. They didn't have extra clothes or food or a proper shelter or a good weapon or anything they needed to survive. If they even lasted another day it would be a miracle.

"I just wish none of this had happened," Skye said, her voice shuddering through a small sob. "And I keep closing my eyes and thinking that I'll wake up and I'll be at home and I never got reaped and this is all just a stupid nightmare and everything's okay and I'll see my parents again and get to live my life, and I'll be able to get married and have a family and I won't get slaughtered by a Career…" she trailed off.

In a swift motion, Marshall swept Skye off her feet so that he was holding her bridal style. He lifted her up close and pressed his lips gently to hers. When they pulled apart, Skye looked up to see him staring down at her with his earnest green eyes. "There is only no hope if you refuse to have hope," he told her softly. The corners of Skye's mouth turned up so slightly that the motion was almost undetectable. She leaned her head into Marshall's chest. Through his insulated clothes, she could still faintly hear his heartbeat. Calm and constant.

A scream.

Marshall set Skye down hastily, and she barely kept herself from losing her balance. Another scream pierced the air. Skye turned to see Craig running towards them. But that wasn't what caught Skye's attention. What caught her attention was the massive shark that was slithering after him like a snake. It looked to be about three and a half feet tall and maybe seven feet long. A bright yellow band separated its grey upper half from the bottom white half. Without knowing what she was doing, Skye let out a high pitched shriek. Marshall grabbed her hand and took off, leading her away from the muttation.

"We need to gain higher ground!" Skye shouted breathlessly.

"And then what happens? We sit there until it goes away?" Marshall yelled back.

"What are our other options?"

"Run!"

A bloodcurdling howl split the air. Skye glanced over her shoulder and promptly tripped out of pure shock. She tumbled a few feet and ended up facing backwards. She stared with wide eyes as she watched the shark devour Craig. It had gouged out his throat, and his head flopped forward, splattering itself in blood. It then went for his stomach, tearing a hole straight through it. His ripped intestines spilled out onto the snow, staining the snow red. A cannon fired.

Skye felt a pair of hands lift her up by the armpits. Marshall threw her over his shoulder and continued to run. She could still see Craig, who was slowly becoming more a pile of flesh than a human. She wanted to close her eyes but she couldn't look away. After a few more moments, the shark fixed a beady yellow eye on her and Marshall. Skye screeched again and felt Marshall put on an extra burst of speed. The animal raced towards them, not at all deterred by the snow. Whenever a pile built up in front of its face, it simply made a tight half circle around it and kept going, growing closer and closer as Marshall desperately tried to keep ahead of it.

Just as the shark was close enough that Skye could see its multiple rows of teeth, it stopped. Its tail continued to lash back and forth as though it were trying to go forward but something was keeping it back. "Marshall," Skye said. "Stop." Marshall continued to run. "Marshall!" Skye repeated, louder this time.

"What?" he wheezed out, still running.

"It stopped."

He slowed and looked over his shoulder. Warily, he put Skye down and turned to face the shark. Skye's heart was pounding as she stood beside the boy from District 10. The shark was a few meters away, still trying desperately to reach its intended victims. Skye grabbed Marshall's hand and squeezed hard. She gripped his arm with her other hand, releasing her tension into him. The two watched as the shark struggled.

"What do you think happened?" Marshall finally asked. Skye shrugged, studying the wriggling animal.

"Maybe it has to do with the yellow band?" she guessed. "There could be some kind of invisible fence that's activated by that thing."

Marshall nodded. "Sounds right."

They watched the shark for a little longer. Its lunges toward them became less powerful, and eventually it turned and slunk back towards Craig to feast on his cold flesh. Skye looked away as the beast tore into what had been her ally. She released her hold on Marshall's arm, but she didn't let go of his hand. She turned and tugged lightly. He followed her. Together, they trudged through the ever accumulating snow.

"Where to?" Skye asked after a while. They had cleared the patch of land between the two lakes and continued to follow the river that fed the eastern lake towards the mountains. Twilight had fallen, and the snow took on an orange-pink hue as it reflected the fading light.

Marshall shrugged, shivering. "We can find a cave or something, and then just huddle up and attempt to stay warm."

"Yeah. Yeah, okay," Skye agreed.

The two approached the mountains in silence. They followed the curves of the river as they ascended into the foothills. Skye's legs were numb with cold, and walking had a surreal feeling about it. She felt like she was floating, detached from the rest of her body. The light continued to fade and the snow continued to fall. It was up to Skye's knees, and she had trouble keeping up with her tall ally.

Skye didn't want to keep walking. She wanted to curl up in the snow and sleep. Her shivers were so violent that she was constantly trembling. Her hands were balled up in her sleeves. She could hardly move her fingers. When she reached up to brush a strand of hair out of her face she flinched. Her fingers looked heavily bruised, taking on a deep blue color. She quickly covered them back up, holding back tears.

She knew that she was going to die.

But she kept walking. She kept walking because Marshall kept walking. If she stopped he might not even notice, and then she would be alone. She would die alone, buried in the falling snow, so frozen that her brain could no longer form a coherent thought.

"Does here look good?"

Skye looked up. Marshall was gesturing towards a cave to their left. Skye shrugged and then nodded. He led the way inside. "It's not much," he said, "but at least there's no snow in here."

The red-headed girl managed a chuckle. She collapsed at the entrance and crawled to the back of the cave. Her legs were impossibly numb. She had never been much for exercise, and the arena had been too much on her screaming muscles. She curled up into a ball in the corner of the shallow cave and continued to shiver. Marshall sat down beside her and lifted her slightly so that her head was in his lap. He was shivering, too, but he didn't seem quite as cold or out of breath.

They sat in silence, focusing on conserving heat. Every few minutes Marshall would say, "Are you okay?" and Skye would nod, making a small noise. She would have cried at his concern, but her even her eyes felt dry and numb with the cold. She kept them closed. That was easy. She felt like slipping into a nice, long sleep. Marshall would protect her.

Faintly, she heard Marshall ask if she was okay, but she was too far gone.

"Skye? Skye!" Marshall yelled, beginning to panic. He shook her shoulders lightly. "Skye. Skye, wake up. Skye." He pressed two fingers to her neck. There it was. Her pulse. It was incredibly slow. She had stopped shivering. Her skin was impossibly cold. Colder than his. "Skye. Skye, please." Tears began to spill from his eyes. "Skye, wake up. Skye I can't watch you die. Skye, I can't. Please. Don't die. Please. I can't do this."

He shook her more vigorously. "Skye! Be alive. Please. Live. I can't do this." When she failed to respond, he pressed his fingers to her throat again. He felt around frantically, trying to feel her heartbeat again. "Don't be dead. Skye, I swear I will kill myself if you die. I don't want to be a victor without you. Skye, I don't want to face the arena without you. Skye, wake up." One beat.

A long pause.

Another beat.

A longer pause.

A minute.

Two minutes.

A cannon fire.

Marshall let out a guttural moan. He wrapped his arms around her freezing cold body and pulled her close to him. His tears fell more violently now. He sobbed openly, not worrying about being heard. He didn't care anymore. He was ready to die.

Setting down Skye's body, Marshall reached for the knife that he had grabbed during the bloodbath. With trembling fingers he unzipped his vest, providing a clearer target. He looked at the dagger, tears blinding him. He drew in a slow, shuddering breath. He shut his eyes tight and counted to ten. He thought of his mother. Of his father. Of his sister. Of his brother. He knew he'd never see them again. He'd rather take his own life than die like Skye did.

"I love you," he murmured before driving the weapon through his heart.