Thane sat in the cave rubbing his legs vigorously. They were completely numb with cold. He was afraid to peel back his pant legs and take a look at them. He knew what he'd find. They'd be dark purple with serious frost bite. If I make it out a Victor I'll probably have to get most of my body amputated, he thought bitterly. His legs screamed with pain whenever he stood up, but he had to appear strong for Tessa.

"Is there any food left?" he asked. She was sorting through their supplies, taking note of what they still had left. Tessa shook her head regretfully, biting her lip.

With considerable effort, Thane got to his feet. He steadied himself against the cave wall for a moment before straightening up. "I'll go hunting, then."

Tessa shook her head. "No way. I'll go. You're way worse for wear than I am."

"No," he argued, taking a step towards her. "I'm not letting you go out there alone."

"I'm not letting you go out there alone!" She picked up the spear and stood in front of the entrance, holding it defensively. "I care about you, okay? I'll worry too much."

"And you think I won't worry if you go out there alone? There's no way I'm letting you go."

"Then we go together."

Thane shook his head again. "You're going to stay here and sit by the ashes and try to stay warm, okay? And I'm going to come back in one piece, and we'll eat together, and everything will be fine. Let me do this for you. I like protecting people. And I'd rather worry about you being here in the cave than worry about you getting attacked by an animal or something."

Tears welled up in Tessa's eyes and she lowered the spear slightly. "Is it…is it dumb that I'm afraid you'll leave me? Like, not even die, but just never come back and try to win the Games without me because I'm holding you back. I'm scared you'll make a better alliance or something."

Taking a few steps forward, Thane wrapped his arms around Tessa. She dropped the spear, which clattered for a few moments on the exposed rock before settling. "I would never do that," he whispered into her ear, holding her tightly. "I care about you. A lot. And I will do anything and everything to make it back to you. We're in this together, okay? And I'll be back tonight. I promise." He pulled away slightly and placed his hands on her slim shoulders. He kissed her lightly on the lips and then detached himself fully from the embrace. He bent down and picked up the spear. "I promise," he repeated before leaving the cave.

"I love you," Tessa said quietly. Thane hardly heard it over the roar of the waterfall. He smiled to himself as he picked his way down the slope. He wanted desperately to keep his promise. Not just for Tessa, and not even for his parents, but simply for the selfish reason of not wanting to die. Death scared him. He didn't subscribe to any particular belief in an afterlife, but he figured there had to be something. The idea of a black oblivion scared him. Floating through an empty space, not living, not thinking, not existing.

He didn't like to think about it.

Walking through the snow was slow, but fishing had proved too difficult for him to do when his muscles were so numb. He figured hunting animals had to be easier since they were visible for more than a second. He couldn't imagine what kind of animal would be out in this weather, but they had to be somewhere. All the birds and small woodland animals he'd seen when he'd first entered the arena couldn't have just disappeared into thin air. He'd find something.

He plowed his way towards the trees, keeping his eyes peeled for tracks: animal or human. The last thing he needed was to be attacked by another tribute. He had to get back to Tessa. The snow continued to fall, as always. As far as he could see, the landscape was undisturbed. It was perfectly white and smooth, the snow hiding all the land's imperfections. All the dips in the land, all the leaf litter, all the weeds, all the fallen trees were covered in an unbroken coat.

They never got much snow in District 2. And when they did, it never hid the land so completely. It would just accent everything with thin white lines. It was never as beautiful as the Arena looked.

It was strange to him, that the place where he was doomed to die in was so striking and radiant. Death had never struck him as a beautiful thing. He saw it as messy and painful and heartbreaking. It was a bitter end. It was the sad conclusion to all life. It was never beautiful until now.

Now death was a way out. It was liberation from the Arena. It was freedom from all the pain he had endured. It was still terrifying. It still meant be separated from Tessa and from his parents. And yet it was sickeningly beautiful.

He'd walked farther than he'd realized. The snow was no longer perfect but crossed with paths. They looked too wide to be human. He approached one of them warily, slowing down. Massive paw prints were pressed into the snow. Thane swallowed hard. Whatever it was, he didn't want to get in its way. However, the beaten paths were his best chance of finding an animal. Nothing small could walk through the snow otherwise.

Thane crept slowing along the path, keeping his spear poised at all times. It twisted and turned all through the forest, weaving around trees and doubling back on itself all the time. His legs burned with each step even though walking was much easier since the snow had already been cleared for him. He fought the urge to collapse. He had to catch something and get back to Tessa. He'd promised. His legs felt like lead, but it didn't matter. He had to keep his word. He couldn't die on her. He couldn't.

A flicker of movement up ahead caught his attention. His eyes fell on a rabbit. It hopped aimlessly along the path, turning around at random and heading back. The head of Thane's spear was hideously big to use against such a small animal, but he had no choice. If they rationed it right, the rabbit could hold Thane and Tessa for another two days, maybe more. He had to kill it.

With careful steps, he crept towards the unsuspecting animal. The snow crunched softly underneath his feet, and he kept expecting the animal to look up in shock before running off, but it didn't. Once he was close enough to ensure his spear would hit its mark, he raised it behind his head. He drew in a deep breath and hurled it forward.

It all happened so quickly.

Suddenly the rabbit was gone. In its place was a crater of exposed earth. In the middle stood a beast that had to be at least four feet tall. It looked vaguely like a rabbit, but it had obvious modifications. Wild crimson spikes had sprouted from its spine. Its claws had swelled to ten times their original size, no longer little slivers but fat, lethal talons. Fangs protruded from its mouth. But most disturbing of all was its eyes. Oh, its eyes. They were brilliant vermillion orbs with thick black pupils. The beast had a slightly different face shape from the rabbit, and its eyes were located on the front of its head rather than the sides. The eyes of a predator.

Thane wanted to run but it was as though he had forgotten how to move his legs. His spear was ten feet away, lodged in the ground at the beast's feet. The beast took a step towards him, baring its new fangs. Thane knew that he couldn't run. I have to fight. This thing could feed me and Tessa for weeks. He focused his eyes on his spear and tried with all his might to move his legs. The adrenaline bubbling up inside of him restored feeling to the muscles and he sprinted forward just as the beast lunged at him. He dropped to his stomach and slid underneath it.

Scrabbling to his feet, Thane tore his spear from the ground and fixed it on the beast. It turned around angrily and pawed at the ground before running at him again. He tried to jump out of the way, but it was fast. It was incredibly fast. Its front paws caught him in the chest. Its claws, thicker than his thumbs, tore through his jacket, exposing his flesh. He screamed louder than he had ever screamed in his life. Louder than he had ever heard another person scream. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt. His legs were nothing compared to this.

He could feel warm blood pooling on his chest as the monster pulled away and prepared to lunge again. Thane gripped his spear and stabbed wildly. The animal was too fast. It dodged nearly every blow, escaping with only a scratch on one of its legs. The fire burned brighter in its eyes and it lunged again, this time biting down hard on his leg.

Another scream. His vision tunneled for a moment. The pain. Oh god, the pain. Tears blinded him. He bit his tongue so hard that he tasted blood. He was dying. He was going to die.

His thoughts immediately turned to Tessa. She was alone in the cave, no doubt worried about him. He had promised. He had promised. "Tessa," he breathed, gasping from the pain. "Tessa, I'm so sorry. Tessa, I want you to win." He knew that she couldn't hear him. He didn't care. "Tessa, please win. Tessa, become a Victor. Tessa, I love you. Tessa. Tessa, I'm sorry. I tried so hard, Tessa."

Blood was pouring from several puncture wounds. His mind felt foggy. He knew he was nearly at the end. "Mom, Dad," he continued. "I love you. And I'm going to be with Lance now. Okay? Please remember that I love you."

The beast raked its claws along his leg. He shrieked so loud he thought the snow would drop from the trees at the noise. The pain was unbearable. He didn't think it was possible to feel so much pain. He felt like his nerve endings would explode.

"End it. End it, please," he gasped, his face streaked with tears. "I am ready to die."

Teeth sank into his neck. The beast pulled hard, tearing the front of his throat clean off. He tried to scream again but it came out as a strangled gurgling noise. His vision was fading quickly. This was it.

It was over.

With a grunt, the beast lumbered off.

The Arena was silent again.

A cannon fired.