When morning arrives, it feels like a breath of fresh air. The sun is shining, the breeze blows gently through the branches of my treetop perch, and for the first time in days, I feel at peace.

Despite my newfound determination, climbing down from my tree is still a mental struggle. I have to fight against my own fears as I slowly scale the trunk down to the ground.

I tentatively press my bare feet against the ground for a few seconds. A bird chirps overhead as I slowly curl my toes around the soft moss below me. I try to keep myself calm as I quickly scan the area around me, but I can feel panic starting to take over.

I take a deliberate look at my surroundings, bracing myself for an ambush, but no Careers jump out from the surrounding trees. A few seconds later, I slowly lower my other foot.

I feel exhilarated at this new development. I'm going to be okay... excitement rushes through me, and turn to face the river.

With a smile, I take two steps away from my tree, and then I'm hit with a wave of dizziness. My knees buckle beneath me, and I fall to the ground.

I groan as I lie with my face against the ground. It's only hitting me now that I haven't had any food or water in over a day. My fear of the Careers has disappeared, releasing everything else my body was suppressing over the last twenty-four hours. I need to find food quickly, or I won't make it to tomorrow.

I grunt as I lift myself to my hands and knees, and I slowly crawl toward the river. It takes a while, but I finally reach my destination, dunking my head under the water and taking a big gulp.

Ice-cold water rushes down my throat, carried by the rush of the river. I choke, gasping for air as I return to the surface. Maybe that wasn't the best idea.

I wipe the water from my face, leaning over the frothing surface of the river to take smaller sips of the fresh water. Slowly, I feel my energy return as the water sinks through my body.

My next mission is to find food. I finally push myself to my feet, and I'm able to walk tentatively down the riverbank. I consider walking back up the river to my old camp - I know there are berries there, and my shoes might still be by the river - but the image of Damien's body flashes in my mind, and I dismiss the idea.

I shudder at the memory of Damien's death. His blood is probably still on the ground of our old camp, staining the moss where he lay. Who knows if the Careers are still hanging around there, but I don't want to find out.

I have to go downstream, then. I trace my way down the river, but my journey is shorter than expected. After a few minutes of walking, I come across an unexpected development: the river ends.

I gape at the large lake ahead of me. Next to me, the river trickles steadily into the lake, replenishing it with fresh water. I don't know why I'm so surprised to see that the river comes to an end; for some reason, I assumed that it extended indefinitely.

Just like everything in this damn Arena, the lake is serene. The sun shimmers on its surface as a pair of ducks bob for fish, sending small ripples through the water. Dragonflies zip around the plants lining the lake's surface as the wind rustles the leaves of the surrounding trees. I sigh, stepping closer to the peaceful lake.

I take a closer look at the edge of the lake, and my heart leaps at the sight of some small shrubs on the opposite side of the lake. Those look like edible shrubs that I studied in training... I'll have to take a closer look.

As I approach the shrubs, I glance over at the two ducks, who are now floating calmly across the surface of the lake. I wish I could hunt the birds for food, but I don't have any weapons, not to mention that I would need matches to start a fire to cook the meat. I'll have to adopt them as pets for now. As I sit against a tree trunk to face the lake, I settle on two names: Dee and Cee for Damien and Clay. Damien would hate it, I'm sure.

Upon further inspection, my suspicions are confirmed: the shrubs are edible. I don't hesitate as I rip the shrubs from the ground, using my small knife to chop them up into some semblance of food. After clearing the whole area of shrubs, I finally feel full and accomplished. I didn't think I would make it through the day, but I made it. Maybe I don't need Damien or Clay to survive in here after all.

Darkness begins to fall over the Arena once again, and I fight the urge to return to a tree like I have the last two nights. I'm not in danger anymore - the Careers are far from here now.

I watch Dee and Cee as they play in the lake. My mind wanders to the other tributes... with the events of the last few days, I'd almost forgotten about the other tributes except the Careers. We're still far from the end, and I'm still far from the only tribute left in here.

I think about each District, and slowly, I build a bigger picture of who is left. Midas and Trent, Calista and Amanda... Jax and Lindsay are both gone now... Lily from Four is too, but not little Russell, though. I'm shocked by this; I can't remember the last time a twelve-year-old lasted this long in the Games. Without his older sister, I can't fathom how Russell has survived this long, but he's bound to be the next to go, right?

I count all the tributes up as the sun sets over the trees. Midas, Trent, Amanda, Calista, Russell, Sienna, Colby, and the two kids from Ten. I think one of the girls from Eleven is still out there, too, unless I forgot about her. Including me, that's eleven. One week has passed in the Arena, and eleven of us are still here.

I sigh as the moon flashes red and the silence returns. The fallen tributes flash in the sky - NO FALLEN TRIBUTES - and I turn my gaze back to the lake.

The silence presses against me, and a shiver runs up my spine. Even though I feel safe by this lake, the silence of the night still makes the paranoia rise in my mind, and it's hard to fight that paranoia when you're in here by yourself. I don't have anyone to watch over me while I sleep, and someone could come in and kill me like Midas did to Damien.

That's decided then - I need to get back up in the trees for the night. It's the only way I'll feel safe. I start to rise to my feet, dusting off my pants, when a sound pierces the silence.

Click.

I convulse at the unexpected sound. It's a soft sound, but in the vacuum of the night, it sounds like a sonic boom. And then there's another one. Click.

Am I imagining things? In the first seven days, I've never heard a sound at night. It would make no sense for things to start now. What am I hearing, though?

I turn to the lake, and my blood runs cold. Dee and Cee are flying silently away, startled by the unexpected sound. I'm not imagining things - something is happening.

My eyes are fixed on the lake as the surface begins to ripple. Then, finally, the surface breaks, and it emerges. It's some sort of glowing crab, and it's massive. I recoil at the sight - despite the red light of the moon, the crab shines in neon colors that hurt my eyes. Behind the crab, an army of smaller crabs emerges from the lake. One glance at the nearby river reveals that crabs are emerging from every inch of the water.

The giant leader lets out another deafening click, startling me back to reality. I scramble back, running toward the trees. The crabs follow; the sound of thousands of claws hitting the ground echoes around me, filling my mind.

The trees aren't too far from the edge of the lake. I tuck my knife into my pocket, sprinting toward the trees with full force. I approach the nearest tree, moving to grab the rough bark for a quick climb... and the bark crumbles in my hand.

I watch in horror as the bark of the tree breaks apart; the tree sheds a layer, revealing a smooth, shiny surface. Around me, the other trees begin to break apart as they shed their bark.

I scream silent curses as the crabs reach me. I run to another tree with a low-hanging branch, stomping on one of the crabs on the way. It squeals as my bare foot crunches against its shell; next to my foot, another crab latches onto my leg with his claw, sending a searing pain up my body. I scream, using my hands to wrench the crab free, but more crabs replace it. Giving up, I turn my gaze back up to the branch above me, and I leap with all the energy I have left, grabbing the branch with my hands and hoisting myself up. I swat another crab off my leg; another crawls up my back, and I'm unable to reach it. I feel it as it reaches my neck, and another searing pinch is delivered to my neck before I grab the beast and throw it to the ground below.

I seem to be safe now - I wasn't able to climb the barkless trees, but the crabs can't seem to, either. Still, the two pinches I received aren't seeming to get better... I feel myself panic as my leg begins to throb. Knowing Helvius and the Gamemakers, the crabs' claws are probably laced with something...

The sound of the clicking crab army below me begins to fade as I lean closer to my treetop perch... the world around me slips away as I lose consciousness.

A/N - lots of developments in this chapter... will this be the last straw that breaks Luna's spirit? We'll have to wait and seeee

~S