It's like I'm floating in a dark ocean.

I must fade in and out of consciousness, somewhat awake at times but not truly aware of my surroundings, because I occasionally hear muffled voices. Someone moves my hair away from my face. Occasionally, I'm given water.

Other times, I'm in the ocean, with no thoughts, no worries, nothing. Just a dark void where I could just be.

Except…I'm not any good here, am I?

My allies need me, right? I try to claw back to consciousness, but I just can't wake up. I come close, but I ultimately slip back under the water…until something pulls me out.

An intense, repulsive smell rips me from the void and back into reality. I cough, trying to purge the horrid smell from my nostrils.

"It worked! She's awake!"

Am I? I definitely don't feel like it. My head is heavy, and my entire body is tingling, like I haven't slept in days or not nearly enough. Sleep inertia, I think is what it's called.

I try to sit up, but I make the mistake of forgetting about my injured arm and it protests will a dull throb as soon as I put weight on it. Someone gently pushes me back down so that my head is resting on what can only be someone's lap. "Whoa, hey. Just take it easy. You were out for a while." Someone, probably Camdyn, adjusts the blanket on me. "You're okay, Ames. It took a while, but you're going to be okay."

"A while?" I mutter. I try to take in my surroundings, only to find my vision completely clouded. "Why can't I see?"

"Right," Drake says. "Here. Give me my glasses. She doesn't need to be affected by this right now."

"Close your eyes," Camdyn says. "The Sixes and Decida are here too, so don't freak out."

"I guess this means my speech worked." This gets a chuckle out of her. I close my eyes and feel Camdyn slip glasses on me. When I open my eyes, I can see Camdyn in front of me, Bran hovering nervously next to me, and Giemci's face above me. She's got a pair of glasses of her own. "Sorry, we were taking turns keeping you comfortable and it was my turn to be the designated pillow," she explains.

"It's fine…" I say, hating how strained my voice sounds. "Is everyone okay? How long was I out?"

"Everyone's fine," Drake says. "Except for you and Decida that is."

"Decida?" I try to sit up again. This time, Camdyn and Giemci must realize it's a losing battle because they help me up. I'm still a bit sluggish though and I find myself leaning against Camdyn. It's around that time that I notice that my arm is bandaged up. I look around and can instantly tell we're back in the cave. Everyone looks happy to see me, and everyone has glasses on except for Drake. I also notice, for the first time, that Lincoln has a series of bandages on his face.

I find Decida leaning against the cavern wall, her bandaged leg propped up on a backpack. She's incredibly pale and she's shaking underneath the blankets. I check my arm. It still aches, but it doesn't hurt nearly as badly as before. I gingerly rub the bandages, and instead of deep gashes, I find mostly healed scabs. "I don't understand?" I ask. "How did I heal up so quickly and she didn't?"

"My leg did heal," Decida muttered. "For the most part anyway. We got some medicine from the Capitol, enough for the both of us. Mine got infected anyway, or at least I think it did. The fever and headache seem to think so."

I suddenly feel incredibly guilty. "I'm sorry," I say quietly.

Decida raises an eyebrow. "Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault the medicine didn't work in time."

"Maybe the river had something to do with it?" Bran asks.

Decida shakes her head. "Unlikely. If that were the case, this idiot wouldn't need bandages."

Lincoln groans. "I didn't ask for a face full of river water!"

"And glass," Giemci offers timidly.

Camdyn, Drake, Bran, and I all must look confused because Giemci begins explaining what happened. "On the second day, we had a run-in with that survivalist alliance…" Her voice trails off as she looks to Bran. "What did you all call it again?"

"Flower Power," Bran replies.

"Flower Power, right. Anyway, the girl from Three threw a bottle at Link's face."

"We were honestly freaking out," Decida interjects, "We thought it was poison or acid or something really bad. Like fire the cannon and kiss him goodbye bad."

"Nope," Link throws his hands in the air. "Just knocked me out and cut up my poor handsome face. Kindly get to the part where you brought me back. It's relevant."

"Galaxy sent us a mortar and pestle," Giemci continues. "That's how we knew that we needed a plant to wake him up."

"Ah," I nod. "The classic plant equals cure cliché."

Link nods. "Yeah. Gigi and Decida were able to get me up by the end of that day, but it took us a while to find another one for you. Turns out, they aren't easy to find. Thankfully, Bran used his special stealth powers and found Flower Power. He noticed that they were collecting the plants too, so he was able to find one that way. From there it was just crushing them up in the mortar and pestle and making some kind of weird-smelling salt thing. And they stink. They really stink."

"How long did that take?" I ask carefully. "How long was I out?"

"You were asleep for about a day and a half," Drake says.

A day and a half!?

"What?" I breathe. "What…nothing went bad, did it?"

A day and a half. I stupidly knocked myself unconscious for a day and a half. My friends needed me, and I let them down.

Bran must sense my sudden distress because he scoots next to me and gives me a side hug. "We're just glad you're back, Ames."

I take a deep breath in and try to ease the shaking in my hands. I can't afford to show any more weakness than I already have. I'm supposed to be the Grim Reaper. I have to be strong, like Mom and Sunny. I can't afford to break down now.

I hug Bran back. "Good to be back."

"Nothing went too horribly wrong," Drake says. He's already looking fatigued from the fog.

"You can have your glasses back," I say, reaching for them.

Drake holds up his hand. "No, no, you need them more. We're a pair short. We're just taking turns."

"Has there been a cannon yet?"

Camdyn shakes her head. "No, not yet. We're kind of keeping our guard up for the time being. Bridgeteri was the one killed yesterday. No one's died since."

I nod slowly. "Once the fog's over, we should come up with a plan. Now that I'm up, I doubt the Gamemakers want us hanging around here. Decida, Giemci, Link? Did anyone discuss our idea with you?"

Link nods. "Can't say I'm the biggest fan of it, but we have the Careers outnumbered."

"Did Camdyn tell you…" My voice trails off and my eyes flicker over to Decida.

"That Cedar is with the Careers?" Decida replies bitterly. "Yeah. I know. Traitorous piece of-"

"We can't blame him too much," Giemci cuts in. "He did what he thought would keep him alive the longest."

"Still, I can't believe he would become a district traitor like that."

"He's not a traitor yet," Link says sadly, "at least not officially, but yeah, I see your point."

"We should wait until the fog clears," I say. "Then we can go somewhere else so no one can say we're camping…though this is a nice cave."

Bran chuckles. "I'll take that as a compliment. I found it."

"Hey, now." Camdyn gives Bran a friendly nudge. "Don't go taking all the credit. I scouted this place out."

"Fine," Bran says with feigned exasperation. "I guess Cam can have some credit. I suppose."

"So we're going to kill the Careers?" Giemci asks nervously. "That's really the plan here?"

I nod. "Yeah, but I think I speak for everyone when I say we're not going to force you into it. This is your life at the end of the day. If you don't want to risk it, then don't."

Giemci shakes her head. "I never said I was on board. It's just…I'm not a fighter."

"Neither am I!" Bran says. "You're crazy smart and I'm super sneaky. We can still contribute in other ways."

"Bran's right," Camdyn says. "You found the plant that helped us wake up Amber. Don't sell yourself short, kid."

"And what happens after we take out the Careers?" Link asks. "It will be just us, Flower Power, and Nero, and I think it'd be kind of awkward to just…off each other after doing something crazy together."

Bran, Camdyn, and I exchange a look. I give them a nod.

"Like Amber said, this is your life at the end of the day," Camdyn says. "If at any point you want to walk away, do it."

The others give a nod of affirmation. "Let's talk more about this plan after the fog leaves and we find another place to camp," Link says.

I smile. "Sounds good. Can I get some water? I'm thirsty."

"Here." Camdyn reaches into her bag and grabs a canteen. "Fresh rainwater, completely river-free." She passes the canteen to me, along with some bread. "Eat this too. You need to get your strength back."

She then turns to Decida. "Deca? Do you want water too?"

Decida shakes her head quickly. "N-no, I'm fine."

Link shakes his head. "You need water, Decida."

Decida sighs. "Just give me some time, okay? My stomach is churning."

I don't realize how hungry and thirsty I am until I start eating. The bread is a little stale, but it still tastes alright, and the water is cold and refreshing.

"Thanks," I say. "All of you. I…I'm glad you saved me."

Camdyn squeezes my hand. "Of course. You're our friend. We wouldn't leave you unconscious forever."

I smile and squeeze back. Then, my vision grows broken again.

I pull my glasses off and put them away. "The fog's gone," I say. "No cannon either."

Drake looks to me, and then to Decida. "Are you two okay to move?"

I nod. "I'll be alright. I'm more worried about Decida."

"I'm fine," Decida says, rolling her eyes. "I'll probably need help walking through."

"That can be arranged," Link replies as he begins to pack stuff up. "But you have to drink some water once we find our next camp."

Decida groans. "Fine…"

15th Place — Bridgeteri Earhart — Killed by the Wolves
Unfortunately, it was time for us to say goodbye to a member of Flower Power. She didn't get much screen time but believe me when I said that she had an impact. She helped turn the arena into a minefield and her knowledge of poisons and plants has helped Flower Power make it this far, and no doubt she's taught them some things that they will use going forward. While I have something big planned for Flower Power, it unfortunately will not involve our resident plant expert. Goodbye, Bridgeteri. May you grow a beautiful garden with all the flowers you want.

Amber's experience with the river was slightly based on my experience with anesthesia when I had my wisdom teeth out a few years ago. It literally felt like I was underwater. It was kind of surreal.

I decided to give everyone (except poor Amber lol) a bit of a breather here to establish the new alliance. Eventually, I'll think of a name, but for now, Amber's alliance will do just fine, since she's kind of being pushed into the leadership role.

We get a glimpse of what the Sixes and Seven have been up to since the Games began. We also get more King of Lurking moments from our favorite district partner. That's two alliances Bran has spied on now! One of these days, I'll name this alliance.

Finally, we get a peek at Amber's current mental state, which is…interesting to say the least. Losing Jenny was technically her first trauma of the Games, but the incident with the river didn't help much either.

I don't have any questions for today so…make some up yourself? I dunno. I'm tired, had to work late, but hey! My favorite baseball team won the Wild Card series and is advancing to the ALDS so yay!

Until next time folks!