I am so nervous/excited about this chapter and the next few chapters coming soon. I hope you all enjoy reading them as much as I've enjoyed writing them! So let me know what you think! Happy Reading!

Runaway: Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Thomas and I worked out a deal. When it came to the end…we would fight equally, and whoever died…no matter who it was, would come out the victor. We'd put everything aside. Finnick. Me. Him. None of that would matter in the end.

In Thomas' promise to protect me, he ushered us to hunt. "Has Finnick given you any supplies?" He asked as we trekked across the forest. Everything had been so quiet. There was a false sense of security lingering in the air.

I shook my head, gathering edible plants. "No, I haven't given him any reason to." I answered honestly, recalling my little movement in the past few days.

"For now we can make do with what we have." And we did. We camped out in the cave, building a fire small enough to where it would go undetected by any unwanted predators. We kept quiet for the most part, listening for anyone or anything. But there was nothing.

The arena was quiet. There had been only two deaths today. The boy from Five and the girl from Three. My mind was the only active noise for me. "You were fine with him at the ceremonies…what happened?" I finally asked after hours of pondering over the events.

Thomas didn't answer right away. He chewed more on his dinner and then leaned back on a smoother rock. "I saw him kiss you. And I knew we weren't playing fair anymore." He said, folding his arms behind his head. He seemed so relaxed. "I've heard the rumors about Finn…" That made me uneasy. But I knew I had a better chance of getting information from Thomas than Finnick.

"What rumors?" I asked quietly.

But I was wrong. "Look…that doesn't matter right now. All that matters is getting out of this arena," Thomas answered hastily. I frowned, falling back into my thoughts. Thomas could see my worry and doubt. I had never been good at hiding my emotions. "Annie, Finnick loves you...I personally don't think you'll ever have a chance at a happy life with him, but I hope that I can help make that somewhat of a possibility for you two. Because you both deserve that..." He said, mulling over his own thoughts and fears. There was something else behind Thomas' initial mumbling but I didn't ask.

I did worry for him though. "And what about you?" I asked him after a few moments passed. "You have something to live for."

Thomas chuckled and shook his head, "No, my parents are gone. I would have no lover…she'd be gone too." That made me curious but I didn't question him. "But you and Finn…he's loved you since Four, Ann."

I don't know what made it so difficult to accept Thomas' sacrifice, but I still detested the idea. "No Thomas. I really can't…" I stuttered. I should have just not fought him. I didn't know anything about Thomas really. Finnick only told me stories of his mischief. I knew he was an orphan. His parents died at sea. I knew he was brilliant but that again was mostly because of his marks in school and his wit when it came to getting himself and Finn out of trouble. I didn't know what Thomas did for fun, who he loved, what his favorite meal was, or even his strength when it came to surviving…other than hunting. But Thomas knew more about me than I could have imagined. He knew Finn's place in my life. He knew the books I read, the things I laughed at, the things I fought for…

We didn't speak for a long time. I knew I must've looked frustrated because he offered a small, even apologetic smile, "We don't have to worry about either of us dying tonight."

He was wrong. At some point in the night, we were alerted by the ground that started to move violently. "Annie!" He shouted, pulling me out of the cave. He looked for some place safe, but there was nowhere to stand, there were only objects to dodge. The earth quaked and we weaved through falling branches and rocks. It wasn't until we reached the Cornucopia that it stopped. "The Gamemakers are pushing us back together," He whispered. The Careers were close now. We stayed very quiet, listening for them. "Annie…go hide," He breathed, holding his ground.

"I'm fighting with you."

His face became very pale. "No Annie, go hide." Thomas pushed me back into the mouth of the forest. I searched for a tree to climb, but I had never been good at scaling bark. So instead, I found a hollow that I hid in. There were distant sounds of fighting and struggle, and then silence. I hadn't heard anything for a while. Panic began to set in. Thomas came searching for me. I slinked out of the tree and he caught me by the arm. The cannon had gone off in the earthquake. The only ones left alive were the Careers and the boy from Eight. "They're hunting us," Thomas whispered. So we hid from them. We survived, with a lot of help from Finnick's parachutes, and we stayed out of sight. Tying knots kept me sane while we waited the Careers out. It wasn't long until they found the boy from Eight and killed him. Thomas and I were the last ones on their radar before they turned on each other. "We can't keep hiding…" He told me one night. "They're going to find us eventually. And if they don't, the Gamemakers will be sure to push us towards them."

"You're right," I agreed. So, we agreed to find them the next day, but our plans were interrupted.

I knew when the branch broke we were in trouble. I looked up and the girl from One was standing over us both, bow and arrow ready. She smirked expecting us to plead for our lives, but Thomas was quick. He took his blade and cut through her in one clean move. "Run Annie!" I broke for it, sprinting out deeper into the forest with Thomas on my heels, but the Careers were fast. One was throwing knives, the other axes. We ran to an edge where rocks were stacked, Thomas climbed first and pulled me up. "Snare them!" He commanded. Instantly I grabbed the unfinished net from my bag, tying off the snare, as quick as my fingers would move. In minutes, I had a net ready and tossed it over the boy from Two. He was trapped, slashed apart by an axe thrown by his counterpart. The girl from Two was the most lethal. She was out to kill and thirsty for blood. They waited for us, not able to reach us.

Days went by and they waited at the bottom of the rock pile for us. I thought we were safe until the Gamemakers became bored again. Another earthquake struck, but this one was bigger than the last two. Thomas and I came crashing down to the ground as the rocks shifted under our feet. And that's when it happened. As soon as we touched the ground, she threw her last axe. The blade was aimed at me, slicing through the air and I couldn't move. My feet were rooted to the ground, until a heavy force slammed into my body, moving me out of the way. Thomas was dead. Severed at the neck. I wanted to cry and scream, but adrenaline rushed through me. The earth was still shaking violently. My movements were clumsy and now the last of the Careers were on my pursuit. I kept running until I heard a large crack in the air. It sounded like a heavy roll of thunder.

The dam had broken. Water rushed into the arena. We retreated. The girl from Two trying to climb up trees and the boy from One trying to outrun the waves. I scuttled halfway up one tree and tried to withstand the waves. But one by one, we were peeled off and tossed into angry floodwaters. The arena was filling fast, so fast that we were carried up past the treetops.

A cannon sounded, signaling one death by drowning. I waded in the water, avoiding debris. My clothes gathered and bunched around me, making it hard to move. I fought the angry waves just like I would have in Four. I swam recklessly trying to find some resting place, forgetting that I had one last competitor. The girl from Two. She grabbed my ankle and pulled me down, forcing my shoulders down. I tried to fight her but she was stronger. I pushed her off of me, almost ready to accept that she would kill me, until I remembered Thomas. Thomas and Finnick. Finnick and my father. My father and my mother. I would get out. Rage rushed through me and I swam harder than I ever had. I grabbed her by the hair and dragged her down to the depths of the water. She fought, but she couldn't swim. I let go of her and the waves kept us far enough apart. She thrashed trying to force herself back up but clothes snagged on a branch and instead of helping her, I swam away. I panicked. I watched her lifeless body and then took off further in the water, worried that she would come back and kill me. She didn't move, only floated against the branches. I swam back up to the surface, almost to air, but the water became rough and I became weak.

I couldn't breathe. My body was pushed under by the rapid floodwaters as they began to reach the top of the arena. I felt my lungs succumb to breathlessness. I felt my body sinking and my strength leaving. Energy left me. That hope…gone. I swore I would die here in this arena, but again, fate had another plan.