Chapter 11: Fair-weather Friends

The night and the following morning pass as they have every other day in the arena, with one notable change. My sleep over the course of my days here has been surprisingly and blissfully blank. But I know that this will no longer be the case, especially after the restless sleep I endured last night. It was plagued with nightmares, some of Amelia, some of Barden, and some of myself. They take place in either the desert arena of the sixty-ninth Games or this one, but all of them end the same⎯-with a knife to the throat.

I'm exhausted when I wake up, feeling embittered and morose, but I know that I have other things to worry about, like my arm. I'm glad to see that I seem to have chosen the right ointment to apply. Some of the skin has returned to the wounded area, and there is no longer pus oozing from it. The best part is that it doesn't smell any more either. The skin is a little swollen, and the slashes are still clear on my arm, but at least I know that the infection won't kill me now. Still, I apply another layer of the gel over the wounds just to be safe.

We don't waste any time trying to set up snares, especially now that we're back in the valley of Careers. The packaged food saves us from having to light a fire and attracting any attention. I have to scold the reckless part of me that wishes we would so I could get this all over with. But I'm no Katniss. I don't have the skills or the resources to shoot down a flock of bloodthirsty teens. I'm fully aware of how stupid it would be to draw them here, and so I force myself to think rationally. The packaged fruit from my bag actually looks pretty good, but that might be because I've been spending the last few days eating rodent meat.

I don't know what makes me think of it, but I suddenly become very aware of the fact that I haven't bathed in seven days. I'm positive that I both look and smell disgusting. I purse my lips as I look to the lake. Bathing is definitely not an option unless I plan on doing an impression of the Cornucopia. There doesn't seem to be any viable solutions to my problem, so I resign myself to the fact that my looks aren't going to win me any more sponsors. Sighing, I pull the band from my hair and run my fingers through it before pulling it into a simple ponytail. It'll have to do for now.

"We need a plan," Zeppina pipes up from her spot on the ground.

We do. We hadn't bothered to think of one last night, or at least, I hadn't. I went to sleep almost immediately after I had finished the soup. But everything I know about Zeppina indicates that she always has a plan, even if she doesn't say so.

I look up at the sky and then across the lake. Everything looks the same in this arena. We've covered a lot of ground, and I have no particular interest in exploring the mountaintops we haven't been on yet. Who knows what other mutts they've got up there.

"There isn't really anywhere to go," I say to the small girl with a shrug of my shoulders. "I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly eager to cross the valley again."

"There are twenty-nine of us now," Zeppina says. "We're here, obviously, and there are ten Careers at the Cornucopia, so that leaves seventeen people unaccounted for."

I grunt before speaking, "Most of them have probably taken to the mountains or the forest. They're certainly not near the center of the valley." Lucky them. I wish we had managed to stay hidden for so long.

She looks thoughtful for a moment before adding, "Well, they'll probably start trying to force more of us together now that there's so few left." So few that need to die.

"We could try the other side of the lake," I suggest.

I don't really see the point in moving, but it will at least keep me occupied. If another tribute doesn't find and kill us, staying here and doing nothing might make us targets all the same. I decide I'm definitely losing it. Most people would kill-⎯I snort, do kill⎯-to be left alone in the arena, and here I am, complaining about it.

Zeppina nods at my suggestion, so I take that as acceptance. We pack everything relatively quickly, both eager to get a move on. I stop over at the edge of the water before we go to fill the two water bottles that I took from the Cornucopia. I hand one to Zeppina and we set out.

The sky is cloudy but blue. There will be no storm today, which makes our journey considerably easier. I have to squint as we walk, the rays of light glaring off yesterday's snow. Our pace is slow, but there is no one in sight, and so we don't bother changing our speed. We walk in heavy silence, which is nothing new between us. This alliance is going downhill fast. I repeat Haymitch's words in my head over and over, reminding myself to be careful around her.

My heart rate accelerates when a loud crack resounds through the arena. Both Zeppina and I look around, trying to find the source of the noise, but there are no indicators. There is nothing but snow and sunlight. It's a sound I've never heard before, but the volume of the boom tells me that it's dangerous. We remain still for a moment, confusion and fear gnawing at my insides. A rumble rolls through the air like thunder, but the sky remains free of storm clouds.

"There," Zeppina says, pointing to the mountain at the far end of the arena.

My brows furrow as I stare intently at the landmass opposite of us. The low rumbling continues as a cloud of white appears near the peak. It's an avalanche, I realize after a moment. We don't have them back in Twelve and so I find myself watching in both mild fascination and horror as the snow does its damage. The mass of white expands rapidly, overtaking the majority of the mountain, the noise getting louder and louder as it covers more land. There is another boom, but I recognize this one. The low roaring fades out. The disaster has claimed its victim. Twenty dead.

Zeppina tears her eyes away from the snow cloud. "We should keep going."

We settle down in our new spot at the other side of the lake. It looks unremarkably similar to the area we had left this morning. I roll the sleeping bag Zeppina had taken from the Cornucopia out on the rugged surface, collapsing onto it. Zeppina does the same somewhere to my right. Darkness hasn't completely descended upon the arena yet, but I feel exhausted. Whether it's from the tension between Zeppina and me, or the time in the arena catching up to me, I don't know. I temporarily distract myself with going through my pack. I really should have done it last night, but I wasn't exactly thinking right. I mentally chastise myself for my reckless thinking yesterday. I promised Mabel and Mr. Fairbain that I would try, and getting myself killed because I'm too angry to control my actions is obviously not the way to do that. My anger towards the Careers hasn't dimmed at all, but I can at least acknowledge that I need to be a bit smarter about things if I plan on surviving.

I dump everything from my pack out onto my sleeping bag. There's a water bottle, the medicine and bandages, three packages of dried fruit, and a knife. With the one in my boot, that makes two weapons. I've also got the wire while Zeppina has the flint. It's enough to get by for a few days, but I wish that I had managed to grab more from the Cornucopia. Even with only four more deaths to go, there's no telling how much longer we're going to be here.

"I'm going to go look around the area," Zeppina says, breaking our silence. "I'll set the snares too. We can start a fire at sundown."

I give her a quick nod and hand her the wire. She's gone in a flash. Half of me doesn't expect her to come back, but she's left her sleeping bag behind, so I know that she'll return sooner or later.

I put everything away and lay back, looking up at the darkening sky. That satisfies me for about ten seconds. The solitude forces me to listen to nothing but my own thoughts. I hate them because I can't think of anything other than Barden and Amelia and how much I want to go home. Going crazy is still a worry at this point, and so I force myself to find something else to occupy my time. I settle on re-bandaging my injury. It's healing steadily, so the task doesn't take me very long to finish, and I am left to my thoughts once more.

"Can you light the fire?" I ask as I finish pulling the skin away from the body of the rodent.

Zeppina makes a noise in the back of her throat as she eyes the freshly removed coat, but she nods and begins making it. I'm beginning to wonder if my first impression of her was wrong. I have no doubt that she is cunning and intelligent, but she seems much more squeamish than I had originally thought. She hasn't killed anyone in the arena, she's barely been involved in a fight for that matter, and she can hardly watch when I skin a dead animal. Maybe she doesn't have the stomach for killing. She could be like the girl from Five last year. She managed to make it that far without killing anyone. So did Amelia. Zeppina definitely could too. I hope she's not the killing type. That would make winning a little easier.

"I think we should try to cross to the forest tomorrow," Zeppina says as she walks back towards me.

I pause my cutting, turning to give the girl an incredulous look. "Why?"

"Because we can't stay here. Most of the others have probably fled the area because of the avalanche. It's safer than being here. We're too far away from everything," she says.

Her eyes dart to the mountain so quickly that I almost miss it. There isn't any safe place in the arena, and walking past the Careers again sounds stupid. I want to argue with her, but I understand what her real fear is. I'd be willing to bet that the avalanche wasn't just a naturally occurring disaster. Whoever the tribute that died was, the Gamemakers probably thought they were putting too much distance between themselves and the other tributes. If we stay here, the Gamemakers will no doubt orchestrate some other event to force us together.

"Fine," I grumble, moving to the fire to cook the rodent. "But we can't climb all the way up the mountain. I don't know about you, but I don't plan on running into another mutt anytime soon."

"Going halfway up should be fine."

I doubt that, and I'm almost positive that she doesn't believe it either. But at this point, everything is dangerous so I guess it doesn't really matter.

I don't respond, letting her take my silence as agreement. Instead, I pass her some of the meat and stamp out the fire. We eat quietly in the dark area. The silence isn't as bad when there is someone near and I can distract myself with eating.

The crest appears in the sky once more. The anthem blares in the cold air as the face of one of Eleven's female tributes appears. She was the one killed in the avalanche. She is the only death for today.

Despite how exhausted I am, I don't want to sleep. I want to keep the nightmares away for just a little longer.

I look over to my ally, who looks just as weary as I feel. "I can take first watch," I say to her. "I'm not tired."

If she can tell that I'm lying⎯-and I suspect that she can⎯-she doesn't say anything or bother to point out the truth. She tells me to wake her up in a few hours before climbing into her sleeping bag⎯-Barden's sleeping bag. Her breathing evens out within minutes, and I can only hope that I will have the same luck when it comes time for me to sleep.

I'm shaken awake by Zeppina in the morning. The motion startles me so much that I swing my hand out towards her, my mind perceiving her as threat. She narrowly manages to avoid me, falling backward onto the rocky ground. I take a few deep breaths to calm my furiously beating heart. I wince at sharp pain that spikes across my torso, my ribs protesting the action.

Zeppina stares at me with wide eyes, her gaze flickering to the knife in my hand. I give her an abashed smile. "Sorry," I mutter.

"No problem," she says with a raise of her eyebrow. "Just remind me not to sneak up on you anytime soon."

I give a short laugh, but it sounds empty to my ears. I'm still shaken up by my nightmares and the inherent dread that comes from being in the arena. I'm sure anyone who knows me well can tell just how hollow the sound is, and I'm thankful that there's so few of those people. I hope that the others watching me don't notice. I need to keep pretending to be okay. The more unaffected I seem, the better my odds of living become. That's part of the reason the Career tributes make it through. All of the sponsors know that they relish being in the arena, and giving support is a lot simpler when you know the tribute isn't going to break under the pressure. It's a lot easier to make it out when you don't have a problem with anything that's going on.

I push myself up off the ground, trying to work out the kinks in my body. I ignore the soreness in my limbs, trying to focus on how much my health has improved over the last two nights. Even without having anything to check with, I know that the fever has disappeared entirely and that the infection is quickly on its way out. It helps me relax a little, now that I'm not worried about dropping dead.

Zeppina scampers around, going ahead to check the snares while I set about cleaning up our supplies. She returns quickly and empty-handed. It isn't a big deal though. We still have some meat left from last night as well as the food we took from the Cornucopia.

"We should eat quickly," Zeppina says. "It'll be best if we set out soon."

The sky is filled with pinks, purples, and oranges, which tells me that sun couldn't have risen more than a few minutes ago. Traveling at such an early hour seems like the best idea either of us have had in the entirety of our eight days here. Hopefully most of the Careers will still be asleep and we'll be able to cross to the forest undetected. I don't hold out too much hope.

"We can eat as we go," I say.

Zeppina seems to like this idea because she hurriedly agrees. We leave the barren area behind, heading towards the mountains to our left. I pull out a package of dried apricots when the rumbling in my stomach becomes too annoying to ignore any longer. I bite into the fruit slowly, testing out the taste.

"Never had an apricot before?" Zeppina asks as she gnaws on her own food.

I frown slightly while chewing. How did she know that? She couldn't seriously read it on my face—could she? Why do I care about this? It's not even a little important. The small frown still remains in place. Her skills of perception are a little disconcerting.

I shrug, taking another bite out of the fruit. It's actually pretty good. "No, we don't really have them back in Twelve… or if we did, they would have been really expensive," I add as an afterthought.

She gives me an understanding nod. I'm sure she's used to living on little like I am. District Six isn't as poor as Twelve, and I have a hard time believing that there are many places in Panem as bad as the Seam, but they're still one of the lower districts. A lot of this stuff is probably new to her as well. I'm curious about what her life is like in District Six, but I stop myself from asking. There's no point in getting to know her. It would just make her death that much more difficult. Like Barden. I immediately push the thought from my mind. Thinking about him will just make me upset again. Anger. Focus on the anger, I remind myself. Anger will be productive, sadness will not.

I'm so busy focusing on the hatred I feel towards the Careers, that I barely notice what we're doing. It's nice. For once, I'm not scared-or not scared of the arena at least. I briefly note that maybe I should be a little scared of myself because a part of me is reveling in the lack of fear, looking forward to when I get to face the Careers. But the feeling is freeing, so it's hard to think about how wrong it is. Maybe I'm more like the Careers than I thought.

That makes me deflate. I don't want to be anything like them. They enjoy this. It's a power trip for them, nothing other than a way to have a little fun on the path to glory. They feel no fear of what might happen, no fear of repercussions. They have no sense of right and wrong. They are twisted and cruel, and I hate everything they stand for.

It's strange to think about it from this perspective. I envied Barden and Amelia for their innocence and desire to do the right thing, and here I am, planning the deaths of other tributes. Amelia didn't kill a single person in her Games. In fact, she saved a life. And I know that Barden has⎯-had⎯-blood on his hands, but he didn't kill any of those people because he wanted to. He did it because he wanted to survive. I want to survive too, but I know that there is a fine line between killing someone because I have to and actively planning⎯-hoping for the opportunity.

I huff out a breath through my nose, my fists clenching at my sides. The Capitol is responsible for this, for turning me into something that I never wanted to be. It's their fault that children are dead while others have been made into murderers. But aside from winning, there is nothing I can do to get back at the Capitol. I'll have to settle for going after their bloodthirsty little lapdogs. After all, that's whom the Capitol wants to win. Too bad they aren't going to get what they want.

"I think we're up high enough."

I snap my gaze forward to look at my ally and then over the side of the mountain. I squint as I look the rest of the way up, trying to block the glaring sun from my eyes. I chide myself mentally. I really haven't been paying any attention. We're almost halfway up the slope by now. We've made a lot of progress, although we still have a long way to go before we get to the forest.

"Yeah, but we'll have to be careful," I say, throwing a look down into the Careers' camp. "If we can see them clearly, then they can see us."

I'm sure she's already well aware of this, but I think it bears repeating. The mountainside isn't completely even, but the coverage will be minimal. The last thing I want is to be ambushed by them.

We continue walking in silence, only breaking it to make occasional comment about menial things. This is the most comfortable I've been around Zeppina in the time we've spent together without Barden. I'm not any closer to trusting her or to her trusting me, but there isn't any tension in the air. We never move into complete mindless conversation though. Neither of us wants that large of a distraction.

We walk until just before midday, both of us tired and in need of a break. The thin air causes fatigue to set in much sooner than it usually would. I take a seat on a large rock and pull out my water bottle. Despite the biting temperature in the air, the cold water feels good as it slides down my throat. I try not to pay too much attention to how freezing it is. I've gotten used to the burning and tingling sensations on my face that are no doubt an indication of frostbite. The pain is bearable, so it doesn't bother me that much. The pain in my ribs is much worse than that, but none of my problems are fixable at the moment, so I do my best to ignore them altogether.

A cannon sounds from above. I barely flinch this time. I've gotten used to the sound by now.

Zeppina and I both let our gazes trail down to the valley, trying to see if we can make anything out. There's no sign of a fight. The tribute must be in the mountains or the forest.

"Who do you think it was?" Zeppina asks after a moment, her eyes still trained on the Cornucopia.

"If we're lucky, one of the Careers," I reply, my mind listing off names in my head: Mace, Nerissa, Cato, Tilver… whoever killed Barden. That's who I hope it is most. But I know that it's not likely, so after a moment I add, "Who knows, though. There are still a lot of people left."

Zeppina purses her lips and nods, looking deep in thought. I mentally go over the list of tributes that are left, but it's hard to keep track when twenty-one people are dead. The only ones I know for sure are the ten Careers and Karn. My brows furrow as I try to remember anyone else, but my mind is coming up blank. So much for having a good memory.

"How many are left from your district?" I call over to Zeppina.

"Three, counting me."

I raise my eyebrows at that. The fact that District Six has only lost one tribute comes as a huge surprise to me. They usually do about as well as Twelve does in the Hunger Games. Since their district specialty is transportation, they are generally useless with weapons, and are therefore at even more of a disadvantage than most. I can only think of two Victors off the top of my head, and they only won by hiding until the rest of their competition was dead. Maybe that's what the other two from her district are doing. I wish it were what I was doing.

The sound of the hovercraft approaching pulls me from my thoughts. My eyes follow its movements as it glides across the sky, stopping above the forest. It pulls the body up from between the trees and flies off in the direction it came from. My eyes drift from the forest to the Cornucopia. The tribute was probably a victim of the Careers.

A violent breeze blows across the arena, carrying a sound that makes me freeze in my seat. My ears twitch at the noise, my stomach dropping. It sounds like laughter, both high and bleating, and low and rumbling. A group. I don't need to see them to know that the voices belong to a pack of Careers. Nobody else would be having this much fun. I can't tell how many there are, but I can tell that they're close.

I shove the water bottle back into my pack and throw it over my shoulder. "Someone's coming. We need to go."

Zeppina's eyes dart around the area, but she doesn't question me. We both start walking away quickly, our pace increasing to a light jog. I glance in the direction the laughter had come from. I still can't see anything, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

"We should probably run," I urge.

She doesn't need to be told twice. We both take off, our feet moving quickly beneath us. The wind continues to blow fiercely. My breathing is loud as I struggle to suck in air, trying to fight the pain in my ribs. Our feet hit the ground loudly, each step making a distinct sound as we go, but thankfully, we're downwind. Anyone behind us shouldn't be able to hear.

I don't run as fast as I can in an effort to stay with Zeppina. She's decently fast so I don't have to slow my pace too much, but I make sure that we run steadily. If they start gaining on us, I know I will have to leave her behind. I throw another glance over my shoulder, but there is no one there. Still, we keep running, the sound of their laughter ringing distantly in my ears.

I don't know how long we run. Minutes or hours maybe⎯-it all blends together with the burning in my lungs and the pulse pounding in my ears. I try to stay alert to my surroundings, but everything we pass looks the same. The only indication of progress is that we are getting closer to the forest.

I faintly hear Zeppina gasping and then the sound of my name being called from somewhere behind me. I throw a look over my shoulder, slowing to a stop when I see Zeppina has already done so. She's hunched over, trying to regain her breath. I look around the area quickly, but find nothing. I don't expect to. Zeppina never would have stopped if she thought they were still behind us.

My own breathing is ragged as I try to force air into my lungs. The pain in my ribs is agonizing, my harsh breathing only making them throb more. But I pace back and forth, knowing that if I stop moving, the fatigue will catch up to me faster.

After a few moments, Zeppina straightens up. Her cheeks are bright red and her voice sounds breathy when she speaks. "I don't think anyone followed us. We can walk from here."

I glance to the forest and then to the direction from which we came. I conclude that she's right. If the Careers had seen us, we would know by now. They would have taunted us while we ran for our lives. Probably would have thrown one of those spears I had seen in the Cornucopia too.

I scan the forest, trying to decide where to go. My eyes land on the area that branches off the main part of the valley, the one I had noticed during the countdown. I can see it clearly from where we are. It's a continuation of the forest, but it gets thicker as it moves back, creating a small inlet of trees. It can't be more than a mile wide either way, but it's the best cover I've seen since entering the arena.

"We should head that way," I say, pointing to where the valley branches off.

Zeppina heaves out a breath and gives me a tired nod. I guess she's not used to running this much. It's probably a combination of that and the cold air that makes your chest constrict every time you try to breathe.

I pull my knife out before I start walking and she falls into step beside me. I'm on high alert as we trek across the mountain, my ears and eyes hypersensitive to everything that happens. I don't want to be caught off guard.

We reach the tree line without any difficulty. The sky is still bright with sunlight, and we haven't run into any more tributes. I take time to survey our surroundings since I didn't pay much attention to the forest last time we were here. The trees here are tall and thin, fragile looking branches extending from the small trunks. It is nothing like the forests we have in District Twelve, but the familiarity of the plants helps me relax a little. I'm surprised that they can even grow in this climate, but then I remind myself that this arena is a creation of the Capitol. They can put whatever they want in here. I hope that the increase in plant life doesn't mean the increase in wildlife.

We wander around aimlessly for an hour, but I don't mind. The smell of the trees reminds me of home, and so I focus on that. I try to conjure Mr. Fairbain's voice telling me that if I win, I'll be able to see and smell the forests of Twelve myself, that I won't have to just imagine it. I take the feeling of homesickness and turn it into anger, channeling it into my desire to win.

We finally settle down a little ways away from a small creek. I can't tell if it branches off the stream that travels through the Cornucopia, but it's not that big of a risk considering how far away we are from the center of the valley.

I look up towards the sky, trying to gage the time. I estimate that it's about three o'clock, which means it will get dark some time within the next two hours.

"If we're going to set snares tonight, we should do it soon," I say, turning to face my ally.

She's seated on her bag, staring off into the distance with her lips pressed into a firm line. No doubt calculating something in her head. She looks toward me, snapping out of her trance.

"Yeah, it'll be getting dark in a few hours," she murmurs distractedly.

My brows pull together, but I give her a quick nod. She's acting a little weird, but I have no time to worry about that. I dig into my pack, pulling out the wire. I take the extra knife from my bag as well and place it in the waistband of my pants. It couldn't hurt to be armed with two weapons.

I stand from spot and begin walking away. "I'm going to go set them up," I say, throwing a fleeting glance towards my ally.

She doesn't respond, so I keep walking. I trudge through the forest for a few minutes. I don't want to set the snares up too close to where we're camped because it will alert any tribute of our presence. The trees will make this a lot easier. I could probably even make some of the more complicated snares that I learned in the Training Center. I decide that we won't be losing much if I try them, so when I find a spot far enough away, I set about making one and then repeating the process in an area a little farther away. Satisfied with my work, I head back to camp. The sound of the stream is all that reaches my ears in the absence of wildlife. The quietness makes me paranoid, and I have to actively try not to jump at every little sound I hear. I'm probably being featured on camera right now. I can't give anything away.

I unroll my sleeping bag when I arrive back at camp. Zeppina remains in the same position I had left her in. She still seems to be thinking something over, and while I'm curious as to what, I leave her be.

Maybe she's plotting my death. I roll my eyes at the thought even though it sends a shiver down my spine. They say to expect the unexpected, and if I've learned anything from the Games, it's that the saying holds a lot of truth. I could take her in a fight. I've got to have almost four inches on her, and even though I haven't exactly been well fed, I think I have some weight on her as well. Plus, I've got these two knifes. My butchering skills could definitely come in handy. If she gets too close, I know all the good spots to aim. I internally wince at the thought. I don't want to kill her. Even if I don't trust her, we've spent too much time together for me to not feel guilty over it. I don't know if she feels the same about me though. I have a feeling she's the type of person who'd have no problem stabbing me in the back—figuratively or literally—but for the time being, this alliance is mutually beneficial, so I don't think I have to worry about her just yet.

"Do you think we've caught anything yet?" Zeppina asks, finally breaking her silence. "I'm getting hungry."

The sun is just beginning to set over the far horizon, twilight fast approaching in the arena. We've been sitting in silence for the better part of two hours,maybe longer. It's hard to tell in the arena.

I'm nearly positive that we haven't caught anything. The chances of getting something this quickly in a place that isn't exactly teeming with wildlife to begin with is pretty unlikely. But almost anything would be better than this awkward silence, so I shrug and say, "I don't know. I'll go check it out."

"I can do it," Zeppina says as she pushes herself to her feet.

The expression on my face is no doubt suspicious, but I nod slowly anyway. I'm probably just being paranoid.

"There's one southwest of us, and the other is west of that."

She dips her head at me before wandering off into the wilderness, leaving me in the silence of the forest. I try to keep busy by cleaning myself with the water from the stream. It's freezing, but I know that I have dirt and dried blood on my skin, so I ignore the cold temperature. It doesn't keep me occupied for long considering that the only exposed part of me is my face, so I move on to the slashes in my arm. I apply another layer of the gel and wrap it again. I'm almost out of ointment, but the wound is healing quickly. I don't think I'll need it anymore after this. I sit back down on my sleeping bag when I'm done, trying to keep my mind empty and my focus on my surroundings.

A few minutes pass and nothing. No sound except for the running of the stream and my own breathing. Zeppina is taking longer than I would have, but that's to be expected since she didn't know where the snares are located. Sighing, I pull my knees to my chest and rest my forehead on top. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe⎯-

My head jerks up when I hear the sound a twig snapping somewhere to my left. I suck in a breath, scanning the area. It's the same direction of where I left the snares. It's just Zeppina. I repeat that to myself over and over, but she doesn't show up. Instead, I hear the sound again. Still, no figure appears. I sense the danger even if I don't see it. I bite my lip, anxiety swirling in my stomach as I push myself up off the ground and onto my feet. I swing my pack onto my shoulders and pull my knife out. I don't want to leave any of my other supplies, especially my sleeping bag, but I'm not about to be taken off guard.

Cautiously, I begin walking through the trees, my head swiveling from left to right. It's getting more difficult to see clearly in the fading light. The thicket creates shadows everywhere and the swaying trees create the illusion of people in the darkness. My heart gives a start every single time. I try to drown out the sound of my labored breathing, listening carefully for anything that sounds out of the ordinary. I faintly hear the sound of something impacting the ground. They're footsteps, but they are too heavy to belong to someone as small as Zeppina. She'd have to be stomping to make that much noise, and she's too smart to attract that kind of attention.

The snapping sounds through the air once again. It's much nearer. I grip the knife tighter, as I slink towards the source. My mind screams at me to run, but I ignore it, walking closer every second. I'm right by one of the snares now. I can make out a rodent hanging from the wire. Zeppina will be coming soon. Maybe she's heard the footsteps too. I gnaw on the inside of my cheek as I inch closer, listening for more of the sound.

I jump back when a shadow moves in front of me. I crouch down behind a tree, keeping my eyes on the place where the shadow was. There's more movement, but there is no wind to sway the trees. The silhouette is large and distinctly human. I hold my breath, afraid that my ragged breathing will alert the tribute to my presence. The form moves out of the shadows, walking towards the snare.

They're trying to take the animal.

I find part of myself hoping that it's a Career while the other prays it is a figment of my imagination. I don't get time to decide which I'd rather it be because I hear a second set of footsteps, these much lighter than the others.

A small figure in a red coat appears to the right of me. Zeppina. The shadow takes another loud step towards the snare. Zeppina's eyes snap in the direction of the noise. She pauses where she is, spotting the figure. They, however, don't notice her. They haven't moved a muscle, staying in their place within the shadows. Gingerly, I start crawling around the side of the tree, ready to attack if they move. Slowly and quietly, Zeppina reaches down towards her boot. There is the unmistakable glint of a knife as she brings her hand back up, poised to throw it at the dark outline.

I whip my head in the direction of the shadow. My eyes go wide as I take in the burly figure,its blue jacket and beige pants.

Karn.

Before I know what I'm doing, I'm jumping from my spot, running directly into both tributes' line of sight.

"Wait, don't!"

I startle both of them. Karn whirls around to face me, and Zeppina lets her knife fly. The blade slices shallowly across my leg. I wince, but remain standing.

"Just wait. Don't attack." I direct the command at both of them.

Zeppina is incredulous as she stands in her spot, weaponless. "Are you crazy?" she hisses.

Yes. I must be.

"Briar? What are you doing?" Karn asks, disbelief and confusion coloring his voice. I think I hear a twinge of anger too. I swallow dryly when I catch sight of a knife glimmering in his hand. When did he pull that out?

Maybe this was a bad idea. I am definitely crazy.

"Why did you get in the way?" Zeppina growls. "I had a clear shot."

Karn snarls, looking ready to pounce on the small girl. He could take her down easily.

"Just hold on a second," I say, urgency filling my voice as I glance between them. Both of them glare at me. I can tell they're itching to attack.

What am I doing?

"We can help each other," I say, my brain supplying me with a reason for my stupidity.

"How?" Karn bites out. "Why shouldn't I just kill you guys right now?"

I narrow my eyes at the comment, heat surging through my veins. Same old Karn. I guess the arena hasn't changed him at all.

I glare at him, spitting out, "Because there's two of us and one of you. And because I just stopped her from killing you. That's why." The scowl doesn't disappear from his face, but he lowers the knife a little, which I take as progress.

Zeppina scoffs from beside me. "How exactly can he help us? He was trying to steal from us!"

Zeppina is right on many levels, but as I look over Karn's sneering form, I know exactly what he can do for us.

"He can help us against the Careers," I say, a smirk finding its way onto my face. Maybe if I give the illusion of confidence, she'll be more likely to agree.

As much as I dislike Karn, I can't deny that he's a perfect ally for facing off against tributes like the Careers. If his bravado from the Capitol is to be believed, he's just as eager to prove himself as they are, and he definitely has the physicality to match.

Zeppina, however, doesn't look convinced. She shoots Karn a glare, before facing me. "We can't trust him."

I snort and shake my head. "We can't trust anyone," I say, giving her a pointed look. I know that she will not be offended by the comment. There is no illusion of trust between us either. This is an alliance of convenience, just as one with Karn would be.

I sigh at the look on Zeppina's face. "Listen, we're at a disadvantage without Barden," I say lowly. "There are too many of them for us to take on. We'd have a hard time with just the two of us, but he's from my district. I know that he's good with weapons. He could be useful."

Zeppina tears her gaze away from me and moves it over to Karn. Her eyes flit over him, no doubt sizing him up and marking him as either a good or bad partner. I hold my breath as I wait for her to come to a verdict. I don't know what I was thinking. Even if everything I said was true, this is a stupid idea. It could end very, very badly for me. I faintly hear the sound of a camera from somewhere behind me, and I'm reminded that everyone in Panem is watching us. Everyone in Panem is seeing how stupid I am.

Karn for his part hasn't moved an inch, opting to listen to our conversation and standing quietly while Zeppina gages him. His face has shifted from a glare to the cocky look that I remember so well, and if I weren't so anxious, I'd roll my eyes at his arrogance. Either he believes that she'll agree or he's sure that he could kill us both if she doesn't. My guess would be the latter.

I turn my gaze back to Zeppina as she finishes sizing him up. Her narrowed eyes and the creases in her forehead slowly disappear, fading into a calculating look. She always makes me feel like she knows something I don't.

"Fine."

I send her a relieved smile. It disappears as soon as Karn opens his mouth.

"Wait a minute. Who says I'm okay with it? Don't I get a say in this?" he drawls out.

I fight down the urge to roll my eyes and scowl at him. You catch more flies with honey and all that. "Come on, Karn. This is beneficial for you too," I say, letting my gaze slowly drift to the food hanging in my snare before snapping my eyes back to his. "There's strength in numbers. We all have a better shot of making it to the next arena together than on our own."

I want to say that he looks worse off than Zeppina and I. He's got scratches across his face, and I can see a blood stain on his coat and pants. Plus, if he needed to steal food from my snare, then he's probably not doing too well on that front either. But I don't say any of that. He has too much pride, and insulting him would only make him turn on us. If he weren't from my district, I wouldn't even be considering this. He's a risk, but until you get near the end of the Games-⎯or are a Career⎯-there's an unspoken rule about not going after people from your own district. I mean, there have been tributes that don't care about any of that and will kill anyone to survive, but most of the time, there is very little intra-district killing. Of course, trust is still absent. But you know what they say: Better to be with them than against them.

Karn's eyes scan over Zeppina and I, and my body stiffens as I try not to flinch under his scrutiny. His blue eyes are judging just like Zeppina's, but his look is more unnerving than it is calculating. There is something in them that seems harsh and cold, and well, off, just like the people in Twelve used to say. It's a look that seems familiar, but I can't quite place it. In this moment, I remember exactly how much I dislike the boy.

"Alright," he says after a second. I release a breath I didn't know I was holding. "You help me, and I'll help you."

The moment is charged, all of us glancing between each other to see who will make the first move.

"So… we should head back to camp," I say, blowing out a breath.

More silence. Zeppina throws a look at Karn before walking somewhere behind me. She's back in a second, her knife flashing in the fading sunlight. The blood trickling down my leg suddenly becomes very noticeable and very uncomfortable. I can see her watching Karn out of the corner of her eye as she makes her way towards the that I can blame her. He ranks just above the Careers in trustworthiness. And likeability.

I'd be willing to bet that Haymitch is pulling his hair out right now. He doesn't like Karn any more than I do, and he's made it very clear to me what he thinks about alliances. He's probably wondering when exactly I lost my mind, because it's pretty clear I'm not thinking straight. Sure, both Zeppina and Karn make for handy allies, but then again, so would any of the Careers. It doesn't mean I should join them.

What am I doing? I'm making all of these alliances with people I don't trust. There's rarely a day that goes by that I don't think of what happened to Amelia, or how she ended up in that situation to begin with. And yet, here I am, walking back to camp with two people I don't trust. I suppose that's just another part of the Games, though⎯-the loss of rationality, that is. Something tells me I'm going to regret this.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

So Karn is back...what is Briar thinking?! Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it!

Reviews:

SlyviaHunterOfArtemis: The filler was pretty much entirely emotion-based, co cute? is just as valid as anything else lol. Curious about what your Cato hunch is... we shall see ;)

WhiteEevee: Haymitch definitely knows when to make a move. I've always admired his strategic intelligence. Glad you liked the title! It was a last minute choice when I decided to split the chapter last week lol

Mely-the-Mockingjay: Ahh, glad my attempt at suspense (don't know if that's the right word) is paying off. It's always hard to find a balance between giving away just enough to keep people interested and giving away too much or too little.

FriendlyNeighborhoodHufflepuff: Barden will be missed. Also, love the username. Hufflepuff is a criminally underrated house. I've taken about 10 different tests and I always get Gryffindor, but Hufflepuff is always my secondary house, and I often think that would be a much more enjoyable house because I don't know if I could handle the craziness of Gryffindor lol

lovewords: Yeah, while I was unsure of splitting the chapters, I ultimately felt like it helped the pacing not just plot-wise, but world wise, if that makes sense. Like, there isn't always something happening in the Games. There are lulls and times when people are left to themselves, which is part of what makes it so scary. So yeah, this happened. I totally get what you're saying about Careers being intriguing. That's a huge part of where this story even came from. One of the scenes in the books that stands out most prominently to me is when Katniss talks about how even the families of district 2 mourn their kids, and it just made me think that they're a lot more than caricatures like they sometimes seem in the books. But it also struck me how hard that would be for someone to realize if you were faced off against them and you saw nothing but their desire to kill/survive/etc... sorry that was long. Anyway... Karn has made his way out of the woodwork now! Hope you liked the return. Ahhh, it makes me so happy that it makes you miss the books. That's such a huge compliment (: