I go back to my Real Job tomorrow so my posting schedule might change. The first week or so is always hard, but once I get used to it, it's not so bad. I might even get my life together this time 3

Enjoy Prim Chapter Number 2.

Primrose

Not surprisingly, I don't sleep very well. They warned me I might die. They did not warn me it would be so incredibly uncomfortable up until that point. The stone floor of the cave is as good of a mattress as one might imagine, and the down coat I'm wearing is no substitute for sheets and blankets. I wake up cold, stiff, and confused; it takes me a minute to remember where I am. Another to quell my panic when I see Hiron's thin face right next to mine.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he says. "But we're going to have a team meeting. Didn't think you'd want to miss it."

I sit up slowly, holding my sore neck as still as possible. If we weren't in the arena, I'd treat my sore muscles with Arnica Montana flowers; they're in full bloom this time of year. Since I am in the arena, the best I have available is an ice pack, and given how much time I've spent surrounded by ice, I'm not inclined to do that.

A team meeting seems oddly structured for The World's Deadliest Free-For-All, but I'm willing to go along with it. Anything's better than just sitting in this damp cave, which is all we've done since the Quell started yesterday morning. We haven't even left to find food, and the hunger pangs kick in with renewed force. I haven't skipped meals in a long time. Katniss always did her best to make sure I didn't have to.

I take my place next to Rye. He took the last watch overnight, and he looks just as bedraggled as I feel. Maris is yawning, but Jewel is bright-eyed and Hiron is just as energetic as he always is. "Do we have a plan yet?" I stifle a yawn as I ask. "And does it involve food?"

"Well…" Hiron trails off. "I've been thinking."

Maris rolls her eyes; she knows exactly what that tone means. "We don't need some big, complicated, idea, Hiron. We just need to get out there and hunt the rest of them down, before we all starve to death!"

A shiver runs down my spine, but I know she's right. It's hard to reconcile with, but it's the truth: if I am to survive, everyone else in this arena (except for Rye) must die. Is that what I want? It's not not what I want. I'm human; I want to survive. But the idea of killing is almost as terrifying as the idea of dying.

"No, it's not complicated!" Hiron insists. "I think we need to be more aggressive."

The word "aggressive" pleases Maris. It makes me nervous. "Aggressive…how?" I ask somewhat dubiously.

Hiron smirks a little. I haven't known him for very long, but I know that's the expression he bears when he's making a plan. "You know how there's bombs under the pedestals?"

We all nod. That's how they keep us from leaping into action as soon as we pop out of the earth. Until the clock strikes zero, you'll get blown up by land mines if you step off your pedestal.

Hiron taps the ground next to him. "Obviously, the Gamemakers haven't been here digging them up. They must still be here, deactivated."

"Well, obviously," Maris huffs. "Are you being serious? If we can't kill people, can we at least work on breakfast?"

He holds up both hands in defeat. "Yes, we will get breakfast. I don't know how yet, but we will. Anyway, the mines. If we dig them up, I'm sure I can-"

Rye, who'd previously been following along quite patiently, bursts out laughing. "Dig them up? You're definitely not being serious."

"The ground's frozen, Hiron!" Jewel exclaims.

He looks at me with big hazel eyes, as if I might be able to save him from the judgmental glares. "Well…" I'm trying, I really am. "We do have shovels?"

I think I've said exactly what he wanted me to say, even though Rye and Jewel both immediately jump in to say that won't work. "We won't need shovels," Hiron says triumphantly.

"Right, the mines will magically warp into our hands if we just say the magic words and ask very nicely," Maris says sarcastically. "How about breakfast?"

"All of you are terrible," Hiron declares. "And none of you listen. We won't need shovels. Think about it- the Gamemakers only had ten days to get this arena back in shape and presentable. They wouldn't dig the whole thing up to reprogram the mines. They'd just put new ones on top- buried in the snow."

I'm doubtful. He's reaching. He's really reaching. Ever-practical Jewel isn't quite sure about it either. "Or they'd leave the mines as-is and assume no one would be dumb enough to jump off. Who says the mines need to be dug up to be turned back on, anyway? Obviously they can turn them off remotely."

"I know about these things; I've researched it!" Hiron insists. "C'mon, can't we just try?"

Something about his energy is captivating, and I find myself consenting, even though Maris and Jewel both still look wary. Jewel is allowed to simmer; Maris is bought with the promise of fresh fish for breakfast. Rye has been agreeable this whole time.

We grab our shovels and set off. I'm nervous to go back to the Cornucopia and those pedestals, although I acknowledge that it's necessary. At least the bloodbath was largely bloodless. Rye stubbed his toe when we were rooting around in the Cornucopia; I think that was it though.

Maris leads the way, treading lightly like she's hunting something. In a way, I guess, she is. As unnerving as I find her, I'm glad she's on her guard. Rye and Jewel are in the middle, murmuring to each other about whatever it is older kids talk about. Probably about how immature the rest of us are, I guess- Maris and Hiron are both fourteen and I'm thirteen, to Jewel's seventeen and Rye's eighteen. Those three-to-four years make a big difference, I guess.

Despite his initial push, Hiron seems entirely unenthusiastic about the mission now. He lags at the back of the group with me, shovel slung over his shoulder. As usual, I'm thoroughly confused by him and his motives. If what he wanted was to go after the mines, why not prowl up ahead with Maris? Is something else going on that I don't know about? It seems like a very real possibility.

Nonetheless, I've already decided that I like Hiron, although I'd certainly like him more if he didn't act like an evil genius all the time. And right now I really have no option other than trusting him, so it seems like making polite conversation is the least I can do. "Do you really think you can reprogram the mines?"

"As long as I can get them open, I can." He grins at me. "I love anything with wires. Always have. Imagine the fun I'd have if I got these trackers off us."

My hand automatically goes to my right ear, which is cuffed with a white device about the width of my pinky. I'd always wanted a pierced ear, but not like this. "I thought the trackers were injected. I thought, I saw…"

My voice gives out on me. The memory I'm recalling is too painful to speak of. My sister, this arena. Pressing her knife to her forearm and slicing her tracker out. Spilling blood. A lot of blood.

I think I turn a bit green.

"They are, usually," Hiron informs me. "But I think it might be a supply chain issue, with this being such a last-minute thing and all…"

He pauses, then adds. "…and from what I've heard, District Three is a little too busy to be producing extra tracker chips."

He won't say it out loud- at least I hope he won't; it'd probably get us all killed- but I know what he means. District Three is rebelling. I've been kept away from the outside world for weeks, but I do know that when my sister and her friends escaped the arena, it set the nation ablaze. Everyone who's ever considered fighting is fighting now, with the goal of ending the Hunger Games forever.

I still don't know what to think about the rebels. Obviously they've left me in kind of a tough spot here, but I guess they probably didn't know what would happen to me and Hiron and the others. It's just as obvious, to me at least, that fighting is the right thing to do. I don't like things the way they are; I don't think anyone outside of the Capitol does. Change needs to happen. I just wish it didn't come at such a terrible price.

I try to tell myself it could be much worse. At least, by putting us in the arena, they've given us some margin of control over our own destiny. It could've been straight to the gallows for all of us.

Mercifully, there are no tributes waiting for us at the frozen lake. Just a handful of discarded shovels and a flock of mockingjays, and they flutter away as soon as we step out of the trees. I know I'm not ready for a fight- I don't know if I'll ever be. I'm a healer by nature. Killing goes against everything I am.

Hiron reads the room before turning to me. "...I guess we should probably have something to eat before we start the fun part. Could I have a lock of your hair, Prim?"

He's serious. I undo my braid and pluck out a few strands. It hurts, but really, it's nothing compared to the hunger pangs that are really starting to get to me. Hiron takes that and a couple branches and produces, surprisingly quickly, a makeshift fishing rod. Then there's the matter of breaking the ice. Maris takes care of that, swinging her shovel right into a weak spot.

I shudder, grateful that I'm far away. No matter what Hiron says or anyone else does, I will not be setting foot on that lake again unless I absolutely have to. Ever since I saw Peeta fall in and nearly die, I've been terrified of the same thing happening to me. This is no ordinary frozen lake- it's engineered so that the ice is perfectly safe in most places, but dangerously thin in others. I'll be taking no chances, thanks.

While Hiron fishes, Jewel and Rye make a fire. Even though we're all starving, it's worth it to take the time to cook our fish. The last thing we need is a case of food poisoning- I certainly don't have the means to treat it right now.

I'm not going out on the lake and they don't need my help with the fire, and Maris is keeping herself busy testing the durability of the different shovels, so I guess I'm on my own for now. Not sure what else to do with myself, I start poking around by the pedestals. I kick at the surrounding snow first, breaking the hard outer layer, and then I go in with my hands. I feel kind of silly doing it, like a child playing in the sandbox, but I guess I promised to try trusting Hiron. We'll see where that takes me, if I end up regretting it or not.

At first, it's a whole lot of nothing. I hear cries of excitement; the fish are biting and the fire has taken off. At least, even if this "mine" thing is a failure, I'll have the option of feeling warm for the first time since we got here. That thought heartens me, and I keep digging. Just when all seems lost, my fingers brush hard metal. My heart leaps into my throat for a moment- this thing is designed to explode, after all- but then common sense takes over. It's off. If it was on, I'd be dead by now. Long dead.

"I found something!" I exclaim, as I dig the metal disk out of its resting place. It's only about ten inches wide and three inches thick, but it's dense and heavy. I think back to what Hiron said, about loving anything with wires- I'm sure this is exactly what he was hoping for.

Everyone rushes over to me, disregarding their fire/fishing/quality control chores for now. "You were right!" Maris says to Hiron grudgingly. She sounds almost disappointed, although you'd think someone as violent-natured as Maris would have a healthy appreciation for land mines. I guess I don't know her as well as I thought I did.

"Oh yes," Hiron breathes, plucking the disarmed mine from my hand. There's that evil genius look again. "I knew it! I hope you're ready, guys- the fun part is about to start."

The Careers 2.0 are pretty fun to write. I know books with a lot of OCs aren't necessarily fun to read but there was really no other way to do this…if I could start over, maybe I would have had OCs in the 74th Games and then the original HG Careers in the Quell, but I still would have had to make a bunch of people up for it to work.