The first thing I do when I wake up is vomit. Back to square one I go - all the food I ate by the lake is coming back up the way it came.
As I regain my bearings, the memories come flooding back. Those crabs could have killed me... who knows how long I've been unconscious. It seems like the sun is setting over the horizon, so it must've been almost a full day, at least.
I groan, feeling my leg and neck where I was pinched. My injuries still twinge, but the feeling is nothing compared to the excrutiating pain I felt before I passed out. I don't know what it was that I encountered, but whatever it was, I never want to see it again. The way it shattered the nightly silence that I've grown so accustomed to still makes me uncomfortable in a way that I can't describe. Some fundamental factors ruled this Arena for the first week I was in it, and Helvius broke one of those factors with his crabs. What else is he willing to shake up just to make us suffer?
I quietly slip from my tree branch, making my way to the lake. There are no signs of the crabs left other than the bright pink crushed shell at the base of my tree where I stepped on one of the crabs. By the looks of it, I only have a few minutes before the night returns, and I want to take advantage of every moment I can get. I reach the edge of the lake, but I jog to the mouth of the river to drink some water - I don't know how dirty the lake water is. After drinking enough to satisfy my thirst, I scavenge for food along the lake. I find a bush of berries nestled behind a rock, and I pick it almost completely clean.
I barely finish eating the berries before the moon flashes red. I sigh as silence returns to the Arena - I wish I had more time before I'm thrown back into the stressful nighttime environment, but at least I'm awake to see the night, and that's something I'm grateful for.
I turn to face the lake as I prepare for the Fallen Tributes. Dee and Cee, my duck companions, are nowhere to be seen. They must've been too scared by the crabs to come back here; maybe I should follow their lead and travel elsewhere after tonight. I've been by this lake and the river feeding into it for days now, and while it's kept me fed, it certainly hasn't been a pleasant experience over the last few days.
Finally, the sky flashes above me, indicating the fallen tributes. I glance up, not sure what to expect. Who knows how many days it's been since the crabs attacked; I haven't heard any cannon shots since I woke up, so it's quite possible that there won't be any fallen tributes.
The words fade from the sky, and a face appears. For a moment, I don't recognize the boy, but I see his District below his picture. District Ten. Mickey, I think his name is. Just like Russell from Four, he was much younger than his sister, and I'm surprised he lasted this long. If he's up in the sky tonight, his sister might be next - they probably worked together in the Arena, after all.
Surprisingly, Mickey's sister doesn't appear in the sky. Instead, I see a girl from Eleven. She's the one who I wasn't sure about. I guess I can be sure now that she's gone.
The sky darkens as the girl from Eleven fades away. The darkness brings to my feet, and I return to my tree; I jump to grab the lowest branch, and I hoist myself back up. I don't want a repeat of the crab incident.
The fact that two tributes were killed today before I even woke up makes me feel like Mickey and the girl from Eleven were killed by the crab muttations, which would mean that I was unconscious for about twenty-four hours. That feels right to me, so I decide to stick with that assumption.
Two more down... and nine remain. My heart sinks as I think about the other tributes. There are nine tributes left, and four of them are the Careers. Before the Games, Simon told me that these Games were projected to be boring and predictable, and he was right; the only tributes who posed a threat to the Careers were Clay, Damien, and Lily, and the Careers removed all three of those threats. Without the other strong tributes, the rest of us have no chance against the Careers... it's just a waiting game until the Careers find each of us and kill us. Really, the only tribute left who could stand a chance against the Careers is Colby, and I don't see myself working with him in here.
Still, Sienna is out there somewhere, and she's probably looking for me like I am for her. I may not be able to do this on my own, but working together, we'd be able to at least try. With Sienna by my side, we could join up with Colby or even the girl from Ten. It would be worth a shot.
I sigh, looking up at the stars. All of this is just my imagination running wild. No matter how you think about it, we stand no chance against the Careers. The 117th Games are practically over now, and it was just as predictable as everyone thought it would be. In a few days, the weak tributes will be wiped out, and the Careers will turn on one another. Midas will be crowned the Victor, or maybe Amanda. They'll return to their District a champion, and everyone will forget any of this even happened.
I feel helpless. What would Damien do? I know that my brother wouldn't give up like this, even in the worst odds imaginable. I owe it to him to try to do something - the issue is, I have no idea what.
Come, on Luna, think...
Somehow, there must be a way out of this. Everyone has a flaw, and if there's a will, there's a way. It doesn't seem like that's true right now, but I'm patient.
I may not know the entire plan, but I know the first step: find Sienna. Tomorrow, I will set out into the Arena to find my friend, and I won't stop until I find her.