The first thing I do when I wake up is scream. The searing pain in my back has returned; I reach out, grabbing the closest thing to me and squeezing. Grass rips in my hand as I pull it from the ground.

"Stay still," a boy says nearby. That's right - I forgot that Russell saved me from the Feast. The small boy kneels over me, pressing his fingers against my back. Slowly, the pain subsides, and I let out a sigh of relief, shaking torn pieces of grass from my hands.

"Sorry," Russell exhales, stepping back to allow me to sit up. "I didn't want to waste any of the medicine until you woke up. No point in numbing anything if you're unconscious."

"Why did you bring me here?" I croak. There's no point in avoiding the subject - Russell had no reason to drag me all the way out here instead of just leaving me to die.

"Tell me your name first," Russell says, wiping his hands on the ground. "We haven't met."

"Luna," I throw out. "And you're Russell. I told you to kill me earlier, and you didn't. Why did you drag me here?"

"My sister told me to," Russell says with a small shrug.

"Your sister?" I say, glancing up at the small boy. One glance at his face tells me that he's not joking. "But isn't she-"

"Yes," Russell says with a wince. "Lay back down and I'll tell you the story. You need more medicine."

I follow Russell's orders, laying flat on the ground. Russell sits next to me, pulling the top of my shirt down to expose my upper back.

"Healing is what I do," he explains quietly. "It's what I'm good at. I've always wanted to be a healer, even back in Four. I didn't think I'd need it much in here, though."

"Lily was supposed to protect me. We were going to stick together in here, and if anything happened to her, I'd be here to help heal her. Well, that went out the window when they killed her in the Bloodbath."

"Who was it?" I ask as Russell prods at my injury. Only now do I realize that Trent's arrow is no longer in my back; Russell must have removed it while I was unconscious.

Russell takes a deep breath, as if just saying the name of his sister's killer pains him. "Calista," he says.

I'm surprised to hear the girl's name; this whole time, I've been so focused on Amanda and Midas that Amanda's younger sister has slipped off my radar. Maybe she's more dangerous than I thought. "Midas killed my brother," I tell Russell, "so I know how it feels."

Russell smiles, but it's an empty smile. "She told me something before we went into the Arena," he continues. "She said that if she was killed, I had to use my skills to help me survive. She told me to find someone who was on the brink of death and save them. That way, they'd owe their life to me and protect me in the Arena."

I raise my eyebrows at Lily's strategy; it's genius. Now it all makes sense - there's no way Russell would have been able to survive this long otherwise.

"So you saved someone at the Bloodbath," I prompt.

Russell nods. "Mickey," he says. "The boy from Ten. He was on the ground, bleeding. I helped his sister carry him away, and I scavenged the Arena for plants and herbs to heal his injuries. After Mickey recovered, his sister Tina took me under her wing. We stayed together as a close-knit group up until a few days ago. I don't know if you saw them, but there were these horrible crabs-"

"I saw them," I tell him, shuddering at the memory of being pinched by the horrible beasts. I remember seeing Mickey in the sky after the crabs attacked.

"I wasn't able to save Mickey that time," Russell says, his eyes pointed to the ground. "He was completely covered in them. It was horrible."

"After that, everything was awkward between Tina and me. She was grieving her brother, and she took it out on me a bit. We split and went our own ways."

"So you needed someone new to protect you in here," I finish his story for him. "And you chose me."

"Pretty much," Russell says, his small smile returning. "I'm lucky you weren't already gone when I arrived. If I left the Feast alone, I would've been screwed. That's probably why the Gamemakers gave me this medicine in my bag; they knew what I'd try to do."

Russell pats my back, pulling my shirt back up. "You were lucky - the arrow passed through your backpack before it struck your back, so it took most of the force. If it passed directly through you, you would've died."

I sigh; I don't feel very lucky. I sit up to face Russell. "Look, if you're hoping to find someone to protect you in here, you'd be better off with pretty much anyone else. I can barely keep myself alive."

"I'm sure you're fine," Russell sighs.

"My allies wouldn't say the same," I mutter. "You know, the ones who are dead? I don't think I've done a single thing right in here, Russell. I've made every possible mistake."

"Well, it wasn't like I had any other choice," Russell says frankly. "I don't think the Careers would've liked me very much."

Russell's words sting, but I know he's right. I'm Russell's only hope at this point, and I have to accept that. I see now why Russell didn't just kill me at the Feast, even though I don't like it.

"So what's the plan, then?" I ask. "You and me against the Careers?"

"What other choice do we have?" Russell says, rolling his eyes a bit. "Should we just kill ourselves now and let one of them win?"

"I told you to kill me yesterday," I point out, and Russell sighs.

"You need to let that go," he says. "I'm not going to let you die, so you need to accept that. You may not think you're helpful, but I sure feel a lot safer with you around than without."

A warm feeling spreads in my chest at Russell's words. Who was the last person who told me that they wanted me to live? That they wanted me around? For the first time in a long time, I feel useful, like I have a purpose. For now, my purpose is to keep this twelve-year-old boy alive as long as possible.

I grab Russell's hand, giving it a squeeze. "You're making me almost glad that you saved me," I tell him. "Almost."

Russell gives me a squeeze back. "I'll take whatever progress I can get," he laughs. "Let's show them that these Games aren't over just yet."