Wow this chapter is 10/10. Why did I ever doubt myself?

I honestly don't know if I'm being sarcastic or not. Please keep reading this.

If you haven't noticed (honestly idk if anyone would notice) I am posting every day now. I just wanna get this story done and take something off my plate, ya know? Then the third book, not sure if I'll post every day or just twice a week, I refuse to commit in either direction.

As much as we dislike listening to any directions from Turquoise, we look up. I suck in a deep breath of air. All I can see is thick black clouds gathering, clouds I swear weren't there a minute before. As if on cue- and maybe there is a cue; I don't know- snow flies at us in sheets, pelting our uncovered faces with needle-sharp crystals.

Storm changes her tune immediately. She covers her face with her arm and shouts to be heard over the suddenly-howling wind. "WE NEED SHELTER!"

Peeta looks to me. We're not far apart, but the volume of snow carried on icy wind blurs his face in front of me. "THE CAVE!" he yells to me, and I nod mutely. There doesn't seem to be much point in trying to talk in this blizzard. I don't imagine the fleeing rival pack will get very far.

Nolan takes charge when it seems no one else will. "GRAB WHAT YOU CAN!" he orders. "Peeta- lead the way!"

We fill our arms with supplies- you know, the stuff that hasn't blown away already- but really, I'm the one giving the directions. We brave the high winds, forge through the knee-deep snow. Luckily our tracks from yesterday are still visible- even this freak storm of the Gamemakers' invention cannot cover them so quickly.

"THIS LOOKS LIKE A DEN!" Thunder yells when he gets his first glimpse of the cave's mouth.

I'm already darting into it, despite my earlier reservations. The relief is instant. Even though it's still cold inside the cave, the lack of wind and snow makes it feel like paradise, and suddenly I can hear properly again. "It's not a den," I promise, gesturing for the rest of them to wiggle between the rocks as well. "There aren't any tracks except for ours. Trust me."

Peeta backs me up, and everyone piles into the cave. The steep entrance widens into a chamber that's maybe twenty feet long by ten feet across. With all seven of us, it's a little crowded, but we don't dare explore further into the cave, even though there's clearly more to see. By the mouth of the cave, at least we have something for light. It's dim and gray, but wandering into complete blackness gives me the shivers even more than the lingering cold of the wind.

"Well, I don't see what other option we have," Nolan declares. "Let's set up camp."

§

"What are they thinking?!" Gale is practically tearing out his hair. "They can't- they have to-"

On the contrary, Haymitch is the picture of calm, although Effie is biting her manicured nails. "Easy, Hotshot. What are they supposed to do, get hypothermia 'cause you're afraid of caves?"

"They didn't even bring any food!"

"They brought some food." Haymitch points to one of their secondary screens, where a blurry Turquoise pulls a blurry can of sardines out of her pocket. "We'll send them food."

"Oh yeah? With what money?"

Haymitch doesn't seem fazed by that either. "People are gonna eat this stuff up. Besides, we still have our secret weapon."

Effie huffs at him, joining the conversation for the first time. She has long since learned it's better to stay out of their arguments; it only fuels their fire, but in some cases she can't help herself. "You don't mean Katniss Everdeen's kid sister?"

He shrugs. "Why not? She's already charmed half the country anyway."

"She's a child!"

"She gives a great touching interview. People will throw money at her," Haymitch reasons. He pauses. "I'll talk to Cashmere. Can you handle this here, Hotshot?"

"What's to handle?" Gale grumbles. He hates being called "Hotshot". "All I can do is sit here and watch them throw their lives away."

"You're being dramatic," Haymitch tells him, pushing his chair away from their enormous desk. "I knew you'd make a great mentor."

§

Our situation is, to put it mildly, not good. We have little in the way of food, and what we do have is exclusively fish. Turquoise grabbed a can of sardines and H carried two of the walleye she and Nolan caught. That's it. That's one meal for all of us, and not even a large one.

We can't go back for more, though. In addition to the high winds and blinding snow, the temperature has dropped down to nothing. The cold seeps in through the mouth of the cave, and even in our thick jackets and thermal shirts, it's cold. I'm sure going back out into the storm would kill us if we stayed out there for very long, and with the blinding whiteness, who knows if we'd even be able to find our way back to the cave?

We have some useful stuff, at least. Everyone brought their weapons, and Storm grabbed most of the "spare" pile, including the flame thrower. Nolan grabbed one of the drinking water capsules and Thunder brought the sleeping bags. Peeta and I grabbed armfuls from the "tools" pile, which fortunately included matches, rope, and an electric lamp we are saving for a higher level of emergency. We got some of the first aid stuff, too.

I use some of the rope to set a couple snares, even though I doubt they'll yield anything. My only hope is that whatever animals might live in this arena will be seeking shelter just like we are. H and Nolan organize the supplies. Storm lurks by the door, unofficially on watch with her javelin in hand. I can tell she's getting restless; she might be the only one who hates being caged more than I do.

Eventually, Nolan convinces her to sit down with the rest of us in the middle of the chamber. "No one will be moving around in this weather," he reasons. "We need to hear your story."

Storm might hate being told what to do, but she does like attention. She begins her story, and all of us pay rapt attention. "Well, I started out the same way we took to get Lightning," Storm begins, nodding towards Turquoise, who is playing with these weird sunglasses she found in the tools pile. "But I followed a different set of tracks. They went deep in the woods- I tracked all day and all night. I finally found 'em- both from District Five- probably around one in the morning."

The two cannons Turquoise told me about.

Storm grins slyly. "Didn't take me long. But I bent up the last of my cross bolts, so I tossed my bow and left with just my spear. By then I was getting pretty hungry, so I found a geyser and started cooking a fish over it."

Thunder rolls his eyes. "We don't care what you had for breakfast, Storm. How did you end up getting chased by the rival pack?"

"I'm getting to that!" she insists. "I was cooking the fish. But my mistake was-" I'm surprised Storm can even admit to making mistakes. "-I used my old spear, my good one, as a roasting stick. So when the other pack came onto me, all I had was my hunting knife."

"Why didn't you just stab them with the fish?" asks Turquoise, looking up from her shenanigans for the first time.

"Because I didn't think of that," Storm replies irritably. "So I took my hunting knife. I'm not that great of a throw, but the one girl is missing an ear now."

I'm sure she's exaggerating.

"But, y'know, then I was completely without a weapon," Storm continues. "So I ran- I'm godlike in battle, but there were five of them! And I figured the best thing would be to lead them right into a trap."

"Did you really think that one through?" Nolan asks dryly. "If we hadn't been on our guard, they could have killed us!"

She just shrugs. "I knew you'd have people on watch. I just can't believe they ran from a fight like that…they sure seemed to want to kill me."

"There's a big difference between five-and-one and five-on-seven, Storm," H points out.

"They're still cowards!"

"Well, we are terrifying," Peeta puts in. "But I think it's just as likely they were running from the storm. Did you see how fast it came in? They probably just knew they needed to find shelter."

"The only storm they should be afraid of," Storm declares. "Is me."

I think all of us roll our eyes. "You know, you were running away from them," I can't help but point out.

"There were five of them; what was I supposed to do?!" she demands. She gets up and kicks the ground, like a toddler having a tantrum. "And I still haven't eaten or slept, so I'll be taking those sardines and a nap."

"Hey, who said you get the whole can?" Turquoise asks indignantly. "Ever heard of sharing?"

"No, what's that?" Storm asks innocently. She peels the top off the can and drops a couple sardines down her throat- which is disgusting, by the way.

"Really, Storm?" Thunder complains. "We don't have much food, and it has to last all of us, well- for who knows how long?"

She just shrugs. "Yeah, okay. But I'm hungry."

She grabs one of the sleeping bags off the pile and curls up in it, effectively ending the argument. The rest of us are left with our stomachs grumbling, staring longingly at the two fish that are all we have left of our food stores. None of us have eaten today either, but common sense dictates that we should make what little sustenance we have last as long as possible. That more or less means not eating breakfast.

"Wanna play Go Fish?" Turquoise asks enthusiastically, interrupting our five-way brooding session. She is wearing three pairs of sunglasses. I don't know why we grabbed sunglasses when we could have been grabbing food.

"Turq, what the fuck are you talking about?" Nolan asks irritably. Bad move phrasing it as a question. That encourages her to answer.

"Well I just thought, we have fish; we could play a game…" She trails off when our faces all harden, as if she is actually paying attention to social cues. "…you know, actually, I'm going to go look outside!"

"You'll freeze to death," H warns her, even though Turquoise is already darting away.

"Hopefully," Thunder mutters darkly.

We all disperse, as much as a group can disperse in a small, cramped cave. Peeta and I stick together. Neither of us says a word, but his presence is still comforting- that's the way it's always been. He's my rock. My dandelion. I need him more than ever, consequences be damned.

Three hours later, the first cannon goes off. We all perk up, and Storm laughs, proving she is just as twisted as I deemed her on the first day of training. "Oh no. I guess somebody couldn't take the heat."

"You mean the cold," Turquoise supplies.

"It's an expression."

"Now you're really making stuff up!"

Storm groans and rolls over, going back to her nap. It's a relief for the rest of us; when she's asleep, that "walking on eggshells" feeling is completely gone. I realize that, in the day Storm was away from the group, I did not miss her at all.

"We should eat something," H declares. "We have two fish…we need to keep our strength up, with this cold."

It sounds reasonable. The frigid air seeping into the cave saps our strength just as much as a proper battle would, and we don't want to end up like whoever's cannon just went off. At the same time, the raw, dead-eyed fish does not look very appetizing. My stomach rumbles loudly at even the thought of food, but I still hesitate.

"How're we gonna cook it?" asks Turquoise.

H shakes her head. "You don't need to cook it. It's fresh and it's been kept cold; it's fine to eat raw."

"Ewwwww," says Turquoise, echoing my thoughts.

"Why don't we just start a fire?" Thunder suggests. "It's cold in here anyway, and-"

"NO!" Peeta and I shout at the same time.

"Well, what's your problem?" huffs Thunder. "We can burn the extra spear handles- maybe some of your arrows, Katniss."

"No fire," I state. "You can't start a fire in a cave! That's, like, rule number one of mining safety!"

"Forgive me for not being from the mining district." Thunder rolls his eyes. "We're really not far from the surface anyway- I'm sure it wouldn't matter!"

"Of course it matters!" I think of my father, killed in an underground explosion. I don't know if fire was involved- no one survived to tell the story- but it seems stupid to take chances. "The gases can be anywhere underground. And it's not that cold."

"So you just want to eat the fish raw?"

"No, but I will if I have to!"

Turquoise, as helpful as ever, butts in. She takes that particularly innocent tone that means she definitely knows she's being a pain. "You know, Katniss, you might not think it's that cold, but the rest of us don't have anyone to snuggle with. Does that seem fair to you?"

My cheeks burn. Peeta and I are next to each other, yes, but we're not that close. We're barely even touching, and in such a small room, it's really hard to completely avoid touching anyway. "We're not snuggling."

"No, you should!" Turquoise insists. "Conserving body heat is really smart! Actually…let me get in there!"

She wedges herself between us and makes herself comfortable. Neither Peeta or I says a word, but I'm sure our faces tell the story. Nolan is definitely laughing.

"Let's start a fire," Thunder says again. "We can't eat raw fish. We'll get food poisoning and that would probably kill us. We're not far enough underground for a fire to be a problem."

"NO FIRE!" Peeta and I both yell.

H is on our side, at least. "They're fine raw, Thunder! Grow up!"

"Grow up?" he repeats indignantly. "I'm partnered with a literal menace to society, and I need to grow up?"

"I've done nothing wrong!" Turquoise insists, and she repeats that phrase to different beats for several minutes, which in itself is absolutely something wrong.

"Raw fish is not that big of a deal!"

"We're in danger of freezing to death, too!"

"We can't afford to burn our weapons, though," Nolan points out. "And quit yelling. You're going to wake Storm up and we all know what happens then."

"I think Storm would be on Team Fire."

"Usually if Storm agrees with something, that means it's a bad idea."

Our argument is diffused by the arrival of parachutes- three more of them, encrusted with snow. Turquoise squeals, and the rest of us are a normal level of excited. Nolan wakes Storm (he's still the only one who can do it safely) and the rest of us unscrew the capsules. Food, thank God. Beef jerky and dried fruit, large rolls of white bread- all things, I notice, that do not need to be cooked before eating. I think this proves mine and Peeta's point about starting a fire being a bad idea, but I wouldn't dare say that out loud. I don't need to be right. It's enough to have something to eat, real food when I was halfway expecting us to starve.

There's a note that indicates this feast is meant for District One, but Thunder and Turquoise are willing to share. "I'm sure the next parachute will be from your mentors," Turq tells H, sounding condescending and clueless at the same time.

If it bothers H, she doesn't show it. She has a roll in her hand and she looks perfectly happy. "I guess I'm just not as likable as you are, Turquoise."

"That must be it," Turquoise replies cheerfully. "Hey, how many apples do you think I can fit in my mouth at one time?"

Thunder groans audibly. "Nobody answer her."

I, however, am in a mischievous mood. I chew on a piece of jerky and consider my answer seriously. "Hmm…whole apples?"

She holds one of them up and shows me. "Slices."

"Hmm, okay. Seven."

"Your wish is my command!" Turquoise sounds positively gleeful, and she immediately starts shoving dried apple pieces into her mouth. It's cheap entertainment, but it really can't be beat.

Despite the odds, Turquoise does manage to fit seven apple slices in her mouth at one time. She chokes a little but recovers, fortunately preventing us from having the ethical debate of "do we actually try to save her or not?". All of this is apparently really funny to her, which doesn't surprise me anymore than the initial stunt with the apples.

I myself just savor the food. It's crazy, how only a few days ago, we were living in the lap of luxury and eating the very best food in the country, and now all we have is the very basics of nutrition…and this stuff tastes better. I guess there's something to be said for desperation.

Hours pass and we all grow restless, but the wind and snow show no signs of slowing down. I have a bad feeling that this storm may go on for days, not just hours. We could be trapped in this cave until we all go mad or kill each other- I really don't know which would come first. We hear the anthem play, but if the fallen tributes are projected into the sky like they're supposed to, we can't see them. The blizzard limits our visibility to only a few feet in front of our noses.

It's hard to tell time from underground, with the storm raging on, but I think it's around ten o'clock when the second cannon goes off. Storm, of course, cackles like a witch. The woman has no empathy. "One more down!"

"I'm sure it was from the cold," I comment, looking up to the mouth of the cave. It's definitely still cold in here, but I can only imagine how much worse it is out in the open. I'm sure a lot of the other tributes are without shelter right now. In our travels across the arena, we saw a lot of trees, but only one cave.

Nolan shudders right along with me. "I always thought that would be an awful way to go, freezing to death."

"I guess we'll just have to share body heat," Storm says suggestively. Nolan just rolls his eyes, refusing to give her a reaction. The bottom line is, she's just like Turquoise- getting riled up only encourages her, and we all know it.

"Well, I don't know about that," says H. "But we really should get some sleep. It's late."

She's always so practical. And such a natural leader. I can't believe the Careers turned her down the first time she approached the group, because it seems like a no-brainer. Something about the whole situation seems off, but I can't put my finger on it.

I yawn my agreement. We've all been putting off going to sleep, I think. Whether it's because of the howling wind or the other assorted terrors, I do not know. The storm has just put all of us on edge. "Alright. Who's got first watch?"

District Two volunteers to go first, and we work out the rest of the order from there. Turquoise starts lining up the sleeping bags (she has some particular lineup they need to follow- I won't act like I understand) and that's when I notice our real problem. Whoever grabbed the bags didn't grab all of them. There are only six bags left for seven tributes.

Turquoise seems to notice at the same time I do. For all her flaws, I guess she can count to seven. "Oh no!" she exclaims, not sounding upset at all. "I guess the lovebirds will have to share. CACAW!"

What do bird noises have to do with any of this? I do not know. Nor do I care. It seems wrong to protest sharing a sleeping bag with my supposed lover, but the idea of it also unnerves me. It wouldn't be the first time Peeta and I have fallen asleep together, but there are distinctly different implications to crawling into a sleeping bag together versus accidentally falling asleep on a living room couch. I don't know if I'm ready for that step in our fake relationship.

At the same time…what other choice do we have? I think back to the cannons, the tributes who died presumably from being too cold. They probably would have been grateful for a sleeping bag, especially one with a warm living person in it. Refusing it and shivering by myself on the edge of the cave seems stupid on so many levels.

Besides, we have a love story to tell, and I am doing what it takes to survive. I never envisioned a world where "doing what it takes to survive" means snuggling with my male best friend in a cave, but life is just full of surprises lately.

I meet Peeta's eyes, hoping to communicate everything in just one gaze. I'm sure this is awkward for him too, and even though it was originally his (admittedly good) idea, he probably feels weird about it. I definitely do.

We both stare down at the sleeping bag for a moment before doing anything about it. It's big enough for two, but…still not that big. It will definitely be a cuddly affair.

I take a deep breath and decide to grow up. It doesn't have to be such a big deal. It's Peeta. He's one of the people I'm most comfortable with in the world, and even if circumstances were different, even if we weren't trying to convince the rest of the world we're in love, something like this could be happening just because of the cold. I'm sure all of the tributes who don't have shelter are sharing sleeping bags, and none of them are being babies about it.

I'm the first to crawl into the bag and Peeta follows, I guess when it feels like I've given him permission. His every move is hesitant, not touching me any more than he has to, and I appreciate the respect even though part of me wishes he wouldn't treat me like I'm made of glass.

"You guys are so cute!" Turquoise crows from across the cave. It's so dark in here; she probably doesn't even see what she thinks she's seeing. Thunder tells her to shut up so I don't have to.

With two of us, with our big puffy coats on, the enormous sleeping bag begins to feel a little bit claustrophobic. There's not room enough for me to lay on my back like I usually do- I have to lay on my side, with Peeta's side pushing into my back. I can feel he's tense- he doesn't like this any more than I do.

There's something comforting about the warmth, though. I hadn't realized how long it had been since I felt properly warm. The storm rages on outside, and our allies shiver inside, but Peeta and I are perfectly comfortable. Temperature-wise, at least.

We both move around in the first few minutes, trying to get comfortable without disturbing the other. Eventually, Peeta shifts and slowly, very carefully, wraps one arm around me. "Sorry," he whispers. "It was going numb otherwise."

"It's alright," I whisper back. We're madly in love, right? "Goodnight, Peeta."

"Goodnight, Katniss."

We probably should kiss goodnight, but that doesn't seem very realistic for the position we're in. I think holding each other is enough, entwined in each other completely.

For my own sanity, I pretend to be asleep almost immediately, but that's about as far from reality as you can get. My brain refuses to shut down, even though I need to rest a lot more than I need to think about any of this. Really, I think not thinking about any of this is probably my best bet anyway. Don't think. Just do. Just act. Thinking leads to unnecessary complications. Thinking leads to Gale. Thinking leads to last year.

Peeta, the person once knew as well as I knew myself, has become a mystery to me. He's changed since last year- from being completely comfortable around each other to holding me at arm's length now. He doesn't want to make me uncomfortable, I guess. By pushing the ruse too far. But this certainly isn't comfortable either, dancing around each other in a way that's full of inhibitions.

This isn't even the first time we've walked the line between friends and lovers. Despite my best efforts, I find myself thinking of last summer, before Gale and everything got messed up. He'd held me then. We'd kissed, too, and back then, all of it had felt perfectly natural.

I know I'm the one who messed it up. I'm the one who's changed. There were reasons for it, things I don't necessarily regret, but part of me wishes we could go back to those days. When everything was simple. When all I had to worry about was a night in jail for getting caught by the Peacekeepers.

No, things have definitely gotten worse.

But in this moment, curled up in a sleeping bag for two, I can pretend. If I close my eyes, if I think of nothing but the strong arms around me, I am home.

§

A sly smile takes over Haymitch's face. "Jealous?" he asks in a conversational, and definitely not deliberately annoying, manner.

"Shut the fuck up."

§

Almost against my will, Peeta's steady breathing lulls me to sleep. And I sleep better than I have in weeks.

I wake up confused, though. Confused and sweaty. I take a moment to remember where I am- Peeta's face buried in my shoulder really helps me figure that one out- and then I wonder why I am awake. It's certainly not because I am well-rested and rejuvenated. I don't know what time it is, but it is definitely not morning or time for Peeta and I to keep watch, and I feel like I could sleep for several more days.

Still, something feels wrong. Instead of rolling over and going back to sleep, I shift in the sleeping bag, trying to get a look around the cave without waking the still-sleeping Peeta. He needs to rest probably even more than I do. The first thing I notice is light. The electric lamp we were supposed to be conserving is on, casting a dim glow around the chamber and especially on Turquoise, who is holding it up and looking around just like I am.

I think of Turquoise as someone who is silly above all else, but right now, she looks exceptionally grim. She nods at me when she notices I'm stirring, but she says nothing. She's on her guard too, but she doesn't want to make a fuss. Not yet, not unless she's sure there's something worth causing a commotion over. Thunder's expression is much the same.

Their vigilance does nothing to calm me down. If anything, I'm even more suspicious than I was before. A scraping sound from deep inside the cave confirms my worst fears: we are not alone.

The scraping ceases, and for a moment, I think I imagined it. I'm about to try for more sleep when Turquoise screams and ruins all hope of that. Her voice stirs something inside of me, a primal fear that's had no reason to cross my mind for years.

She screams, "BEAR!"

I am having WAY too much fun and it's making me want to write another Hunger Games fic but I have a job and a mortgage and I really don't have time for that…

Literally somebody stop me