When Russell wakes me up in the morning, I expect to be surrounded by rabid monkeys or killer bees. I'm surprised to see that we're not in danger as we eat breakfast; this is the much-anticipated fourteenth day, after all.

The Careers set out once again to hunt Russell and me down - I guess they have nothing better to do at this point. Today, Russell's leg is strong enough to support his weight, and he's able to walk beside me as we follow the others. This time, I'm careful to watch where I'm stepping.

"It's crazy that we're still alive, if you think about it," Russell says quietly next to me as we follow the Careers through the grove. "I mean, how many times have the Careers ignored signs that we're here? It's crazy."

Russell's right - I expected these kids to be methodical hunters who'd catch us the moment we slipped up. They have been training for this all their lives, after all. Somehow, though, Russell and I have managed to survive. I think back to when I was with Damien - even then, the Careers nearly heard us by the river, and they ignored us. Only when Clay and Sienna told them where we were did they finally catch us.

"I think it's arrogance," I suggest. "Sometimes they hear us, and they just don't care enough to check if it's us, because either way, they'll kill us eventually. It doesn't matter to them if they catch us now or later. For all they know, we're about to starve to death anyway."

"It's surprising, though," Russell says with a frown. "I mean, those girls are sisters of Camilla Russo of all people. They should know not to be overconfident. Their sister's a Victor."

"Right," I nod. It seems like the District 2 girls feel like they're entitled to win just because of their sister.

Russell glances up at the trees above us. "I really wish they wouldn't starve us like this," he sighs. I glance up to see that the trees are completely filled with poisonous purple fruit. At this point, the fruit from the trees is our only source of food, so hunger and fatigue are starting to set into my body.

"Maybe they want to weaken us," I say, nudging Russell with a grin. "They think we're too strong. Helvius needs to starve us to give the Careers a chance."

Russell shakes his head with a laugh. "Come on," he says. "They're starting to speed up."

I pick up the pace, keeping my eyes trained on the Careers ahead of us.

I'm trying not to think about what the Gamemakers have in store for us. Whatever it is, it can't be good, and I just have to helplessly hope that it won't be unleashed on us today. I'm sure that Helvius is not happy with Russell and me, and he probably thinks that this wild goose chase has gone on for far too long. With a push of a button, he could simply kill Russell and me and leave the Careers to fight each other for the crown.

Now I'm freaking myself out. I need to stay calm - whatever Helvius does is out of my control. All I can do is hope that the Careers turn on each other before Helvius decides to end the Games. Russell has a much better chance against one of the Careers than three.

As the day goes on, it seems that Calista is getting more agitated. Amanda and Midas continue to fool around all day, but Russell and I are forced to duck behind trees more and more as Calista glances behind the group. She seems to be increasingly desperate, a prospect that excites Russell.

"The more they want the Games to end, the more likely they'll turn on each other," Russell says with a grin.

Regardless, Russell and I stay out of sight all day. Finally, the Careers give up, setting up another camp. Midas catches another squirrel, and the group gathers around a new fire.

Luckily, Amanda and Midas strike up another loud conversation, allowing Russell and I to talk in the treetops above without being heard.

"Your leg seems almost completely healed," I say with a smile, taking a close look at Russell's injury. I'm very glad to see Russell completely healed - I want him to survive this Arena, after all, and he can't do that with an injured leg.

"And just in time," Russell says, rummaging through his bag. "We only have one leaf left, so it's perfect."

"You really know your stuff," I say, taking the leaf from Russell. "I mean, I tried to learn everything I could about plants in Training, but you know way more than I do. I don't even think some of this stuff was in the books they had in Training."

"I've just been doing it all my life," Russell says with a shrug. "One of our neighbors was a medicine woman. Anybody who was sick in our section of District 4 would go to her. After school my parents worked and I would wander in and out of that little medicine shack. Eventually, she'd start giving me little tasks to do. Being around an environment like that helped me pick up so much stuff that I didn't even realize I knew."

"Do you think you want to do that when you're older?" I ask. "All the medicine stuff."

"Yeah, if I'm older," Russell corrects me. "That's what makes me happy. I mean, it's helped me survive in here this far, so I'm grateful for it."

"You'd be good for that," I say. "I mean, you saved my life."

Looking at Russell, I feel a foreign emotion that I can't quite place. I can't put a name to it, but then the word comes to me: pride. I feel so proud of Russell. Unlike everyone else in here, Russell never wanted to hurt anyone. All he's done is help others by saving their lives. I want more than anything for him to survive this.

Russell feels like a brother to me. We've helped each other through this Arena so much that he practically is my brother at this point. Is this how Damien felt about me before he died?

No, I'm mature enough now to know that Damien never felt this way about me. Proud. To him, I was always an inconvenience, always an annoyance. In Damien's eyes, I wronged him the day that I chose to protect our father over him, even though I was too young to understand the choice I'd made. Being around Russell has made me see that now. I've grown enough to understand that my brother only saw me as a girl he was forced to be around.

Well, I'm not like Damien was in that regard. Russell is nothing close to being just a boy who I'm forced to ally with, although he was at first. Russell has shown me time and time again why he deserved to survive this, but more importantly, he's taught me that my life was worth living to begin with.