I am so sorry about the delay. Thank you to my very few reviewers. I apologize for not replying. I was much better about it with my last story:-/...which i still haven't updated...don't shoot! I have, however, gone through and fixed a lot of mistakes in the 115 page story that there is so far. I will posting the updated chapters soon and then i will be adding to it :)

FPOV-

She made it. She survived the first day. With her wits, the supplies she has gathered, and the impressive number of fallen tributes from day one, Annie really has a chance. I didn't sleep at all last night. I was watching her sleep. If didn't take my eyes off her then no one could hurt her while she slept. This was my rationalization. It's completely ridiculous, but no matter. It's okay. I'm used to sleep deprivation.

Several of the other mentors came and went throughout the night. The only one that stayed was Haymitch. I know he did it for me. Hell, he certainly didn't do it for his tributes, they were dead within the first ten minutes.

I know it was hard for Annie to watch that girl die and do nothing about it, but she made the right choice in snatching up that blade and running for it. When it happened Haymitch just grumbled and poured another drink. I'm beginning to think I might need one too. I'm wound tighter than a badly tuned guitar.

At around three in the morning Haymitch made me go change. Okay, he couldn't really make me do anything; he was drunk of his ass. But his suggestion was logical. No one will question him in second day clothes. I on the other hand would draw some stares. Looking good is practically my job in the capitol. I went ahead and showered as well, but I made it all quick and wasn't away for more than thirty minutes. I just about plowed into Johanna as I re-entered the mentors room.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" She exclaimed. "Oh, it's you…"

"Yeah it's me. Sorry about that." She shrugged it off and I held open the door for her. I tried to keep my desperation to a minimum as I searched the screens for Annie.

"She's over there," Haymitch slurred. I was amazed that he could even lift his head up at that point.

I flicked my eyes over to where he pointed. There she was, safe and sound. Her head rested on her folded hands and her face was almost relaxed, peaceful. I breathed a small sigh of relief and joined Haymitch on one of the many couches. Johanna, completely ignoring the other myriad furniture in the room, plopped herself in between us and lay down. Her head rested against my leg and her legs were thrown over Haymitch. For most people this would be too much familiarity between non related men and women, but what the hell. When you're a victor you just don't see other victors as anything but family, maybe some enemies too, but never lovers. For the majority, the non-career victors make up one huge ass dysfunctional family. Even a few victors from one and two aren't bad. Brutus, for example, is that crazy old uncle who isn't mentally stable or all that nice, but hey, he's family. He isn't really a monster any more than the rest of us are.

"How's the male tribute from your district doing?" Johanna asked.

"Huh?"

"Jeez! Have you even checked on him?"

"Screen five," Haymitch chimed in. I guiltily turned to look at Caleb. He wasn't doing too bad, had climbed a tree for the night. As long as he didn't fall, he would be good.

"What are you doing up anyway?" I asked Johanna.

"Couldn't sleep. I figured I might as well be doing something useful." She replied with a yawn.

"How oddly considerate of you."

"Yeah, yeah."

"So how are your tributes fairing?" I asked.

"The boy was always going to die. He was an idiot." She said.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Sure, it sucks when anyone dies, but at least the girl had the sense not to get involved at the cornucopia. The boy, Markus, he charged in totally unprepared."

"Maybe he just wanted a quick death."

"Yeah. Maybe…

She left shortly thereafter, with an affectionate ruffle of my hair and a disgusted look at Haymitch who was finally asleep.

The room started to really fill up around seven. Now at nine all the mentors are accounted for, even the ones who no longer have tributes in the running. I take a bagel from a passing tray and bite a fifth of it off at once. I haven't been able to eat much, but my stomach is begging me for mercy.

Things have been pretty quiet so far. One tribute who was unfortunate enough to try lighting a fire was killed during the night. The male tribute from district five. Nine more to go.

Annie is currently hacking her way through the forest and looking desperately for water. It has been twenty-four hours and she has to be getting the first symptoms of dehydration. I study the map of the arena before I make any hasty decisions. She is a mile off from water, but heading steadily in the correct direction so I hold off. Right now I have enough sponsors to send Annie an entire tank of water, but I need to save as much as I can. If she gets injured…I don't want to even think about it.

Caleb isn't doing so badly himself. He managed to snag a sleeping bag from the outskirts of the cornucopia and was pleasantly surprised to find a package of dried turkey and a small tin of matches. He is camped out at the small body of water where Annie is heading. Staying near water is never the smartest move, but so far none of the other tributes have discovered the pond.

The careers are by the cornucopia as usual, but the boy from two isn't with them. Odd, I didn't hear a canon for him, but there are a number of possibilities for his whereabouts.

I'm contemplating the odds and stuffing the last bits of my bagel into my mouth when there is a tap at my shoulder. It's an avox carrying a stack of five files. A full schedule today it looks like. I swallow thickly and take the folders. It isn't going to be easy, leaving her. Mags gives my hand a squeeze.

"I'll look after her. You go get some more sponsor," She whispers. I nod, thank her, and leave the room with my head held high. Chin up and smile on, as Ceely would say.

I don't make it back to the viewing room until seven at night, but on the positive side of things I did get three more sponsors for Annie. There's that silver lining…

As soon as I enter Mags fills me on what's happened. "The boy from eleven and the girl from five. Annie and Caleb found each other. They met up at a little pond about three hours ago, but she moved them to a secluded area nearby to be safe. It rained for a few hours. Annie wove some baskets and caught quite a bit. They're holding too, maybe even better than mine."

"Told you she's smart," I say. "But I thought she didn't want any allies."

"I'm pretty sure that she didn't…but she couldn't say no. He was completely defenseless."

"So what are they doing now?" I ask. She points and my gaze follows to the third screen. Annie and Caleb are sitting next to each other eating. They aren't consuming much, but their supply will only last one more day tops. At least they have water, for now.

It's been pretty quiet all night. The boy from one ate some funny roots and dies within the hour, but other than that there have been no deaths. Now with day breaking on the third day, things are sure to heat up. This is proving to be a much faster game than normal. At this rate it shouldn't last more than a week and that's being generous. Annie and Caleb have just woken. They finished the last of their food and water for a meager breakfast and now they are gathering their supplies and preparing to head out.

Annie mentions that they should fish. With that wire and a few sharp thorns I'm sure that she can fashion a feasible hook and something to reel the catch in on. The arena has no water that would be drinkable without boiling so I jot a quick note and send it off with a gallon of water that should arrive by the time Annie has caught some lunch. Hopefully they can make it last for a day or two. At this point water is relatively inexpensive so I feel safe doing it. I still have the funds if anything becomes a dire necessity. Annie has just cast her line when the parachute comes floating down to her, chiming quietly. Please notice the bottom, please notice the bottom….she does. She tugs the note that I taped to the bottom of the water jug off and slips into a pocket in her jacket. Caleb doesn't notice; I doubt that many people did.

The pair digs into the raw fish with relish. Here they have an advantage over the other tributes. Their bodies are accustomed to eating raw fish. It's still a bit of a gamble though. The fish appeared to be tropical, but I didn't recognize the distinctive stripe patterns. I just have to hope that Annie knows what she's doing. I have to trust her.

Annie-

It takes ten minutes for the illness to hit. Starting out as just a sweat, it progressively intensifies as the minutes tick by. It has been five minutes since I began to feel off. Now sweat is dripping down neck and soaking my shirt. My eyes are closed against the pain of my stomach convulsing and I know that my body wants to cleanse itself. I try to give in to it, but nothing will come up. I open my eyes and the world has been tipped on its side. I didn't notice lying down, or perhaps falling over, but somehow I am looking at a level angle of Caleb's shoes. A hand brushes against my face and I grab it as tightly as I can manage, keeping the cool flesh pressed against my burning cheek.

"Annie," Caleb says, "Annie what's wrong?" Good. He's not ill. Well maybe he can make it home now. Maybe the look on his mother's face really would be worth giving my life for.

"Don't leave me," I plead, "I don't want to die alone…please." I hate the weakness overflowing my voice, but I don't want my last minutes to be lonely.

"Of course not Annie," Caleb responds soothingly. "I would never leave you. You found me. You took care of me. Now it's my turn…you know if I had a big sister I would want her to be just like you."

"Thank you," I whisper.

"And you are not going to die. I know you're not. Finnick and Mags have all sorts of sponsors for you, I'm sure of it."

Finnick, gods how I want to see him one last time. I reach into my pocket and squeeze his not tightly. I still haven't read it, but whatever it says; it's a piece of him.

"Hey Annie," Caleb says, pulling my attention off of self-pity.

"Hey what?"

"Do you remember the time when someone dared Finnick to eat a worm?" He asks.

"Of course I do. He was going to do it too…until I made a big enough fuss. H-he-" I can't get the words past my tongue.

"That's okay Annie. You don't have to talk. Just wait. The parachute will be hear any-" He is cut off by the light chiming sound of a parachute as it drifts downward. I hear the light thud and Caleb scrambling to retrieve it. I turn onto my back and he is standing above me holding a syringe.

"It's a needle so this is going to hurt a bit," he warns as he kneels down next to me and rolls up my sleeve. He was right. It does hurt when he jabs it into my arm and pushes the fluid into the muscle tissue, but it is nothing compared to the pain in my stomach. "Take deep breaths," Caleb reminds me. Oh yes, breathing, breathing is good.

As always thank you so much for reading. Thank you for bearing with me and my funky indent problem. Last, but certainly not least, thank you for loving these characters as much as i do!

XOXO,

Batty