Hebe kept watch over Gaia for most of the night, crouching over her body nervously. She'd occasionally check the girl was still breathing, carefully watching for the steady rise and fall of her chest. Then she'd return to peering into the woods, eyes constantly scanning for any signs of movement. Her axe was tightly gripped in her right hand, ears listening out for unusual noises.

Luckily they had missed the anthem so it didn't wake Gaia. Hebe worried slightly that she may never wake up. Her mind whirred furiously, flooding with possibilities. What if she went into a coma? What if her wound was infected? What if she died? Hebe wasn't sure she could continue in the games if her ally died like that. Not when she was supposed to protect her.

She remembered how she looked at the reaping. Weak. Scared. She looked like that now. It was the most fragile she had looked the whole time she had been in the games. Yet she was still beautiful, her olive skin glowed in the soft moonlight, her dark black hair flowing in a long bra on the floor.

Hebe began undoing the braid, stroking her hair as she went. She brushed it between her fingers, astounded at how soft it still was, despite the grease that should've accumulated by now.

Then she began humming softly. It was one of the pieces she used to play to her mother and father. She didn't know where it had come from, having been pulled deep from the recesses of her mind.

When it was all untangled, she began retwisting the hair back into its braid, humming all the while. Soon she noticed Gaia stirring slightly, and she halted her actions, whispering the girl's name. She got no reply, so continued with her plaiting.

Then she was suddenly pushed backwards, Gaia screaming at her.

"YOU'RE TRYING TO KILL ME! WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!" She kept repeating those words, her yelling getting louder and louder until she was almost incoherent.

Hebe sat completely still, confused by her ally's actions. Then she sprung into action, unable to control herself as Gaia was whipped into a frenzy.

"GAIA!" She shouted, stopping the girl's cries. She turned and faced Hebe, her crazed eyes red and filled with tears. There wasn't even a hint of recognition in her eyes, all that was there was fear.

Gaia didn't know who she was. It must have been some kind of hallucinogenic in the mutts' saliva.

Hebe moved forward and held the girl's hands tightly, and began to sing her song again, slightly louder this time. Gaia's eyes widened, but she stayed quiet. She listened intently to the song, and when Hebe was done, she watched as the mist covering Gaia's eyes disappeared, replaced with familiarity.

"Hebe?" She murmured, as if still unsure who or where she was.

"Yes."

Then Gaia began whimpering, small sobs wracking her body. Hebe rushed over and wrapped her arms around her, rubbing her hands soothingly down the girl's back. Gaia buried her face in the older girl's shoulder, crying and apologising all the while.

Eventually she calmed enough to let Hebe lay her down on the floor and braid the remainder of her hair. She sang all the while, occasionally moving from her hair to massage the girl's shoulders.

The next time she checked, she was asleep, peacefully snoring. She looked like even more of a child now than usual. Hebe's current situation closely resembled her previous one with Luca, and she wept knowing that she couldn't protect him.

She prayed that he was somewhere better now. Somewhere without the games, or the starvation, or the hardship. Hebe let her eyes slip shut, eyelids batting in an attempt to reopen them. But it was worthless, for she was already asleep.

The next day she awoke, Gaia was still there, her braid fresh and surprisingly neat. She peered over and held her hand over the girl's nose. She let out a large sigh as she felt her breath wafting onto her hand. She gently covered her forehead with her palm, testing her temperature. Gaia was unusually warm, and slightly clammy. Most likely symptoms of a fever.

Hebe stood to her feet and wandered over to her bag, grabbing the last of their water and crackers. She shook the younger girl awake, watching as her eyes filled with panic. Gaia eyed her with curiosity. She must've forgotten who she was again.

"Who are you?" She asked hoarsely, eyebrows furrowing as she tried to sort through all the thoughts that filled her brain.

"It's me. Hebe. Your ally, remember?" She reminded her gently. Gaia nodded as if she didn't really believe her.

"Yeah. I remember now."

"This is for you. It's the last of our food, so I'm going to have to go out to get some more."

"Ok."

Gaia seemed totally blank. Hebe brushed the girl's strange reaction aside. After all, she had been bitten, and was probably still in excruciating pain and under the influence. She chose to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"I'm leaving so you have to go and sit in that bush with what's left of our supplies. I'll make sure you're covered, but if you hear anything, stay totally silent and still. I'll be back soon."

Her ally nodded in response, just as absent-minded as ever.

She made the necessary preparations to cover Gaia, and picked up one of the backpacks to put the supplies in. Then she was opening the hatch to the tunnel and descending into the darkness.

She tread lightly through the labyrinthine tunnels, constantly alert for the sound of movement. She feared that another mutt may spring out and attack her. She'd die down here, bitten by a venomous snake or mauled by a bear. What Hebe had learned from the arena was that anything was possible; the gamemakers would go to any length to satisfy the hunger for entertainment.

They'd revel in the tragedy as Gaia was left for dead up above, the hallucinogens in her bloodstream overpowering her mind. So much so that when the cannon went off and Hebe's face was projected in the sky, she wouldn't bat an eyelid, unable to remember the girl that had once been such a close ally.

That was her greatest fear. Beyond the notion of her imminent death, it was the fact that when she did die, she would be immediately swept aside, the Capitol uncaring to the lives they had just destroyed. Finnick and Mags would return home to district 4 alone again, Annie would volunteer the next year, and Juno would fall into despair. There was no compensation for the fallen. Only those who survived had any value.

She was currently living this nightmare with Gaia. She had no idea how much longer the girl could survive. She had no idea how much longer it was before her mind cracked completely.

At first Hebe had been hopeful, that salve had worked wonders on her bug bites. But the episode she had last night as well as her behaviour at breakfast this morning concerned her. How could she survive in the arena if she didn't remember anything? How much did she remember?

It was then that it hit Hebe. She might not even know where she was; why she was here. Maybe all memory of the arena had been erased? The technology of the Capitol was truly astounding, but could it really destroy memories like that, and so selectively too? And what would be the value of doing so, surely a tribute that doesn't know they are in a death match would be dreadfully dull for the audience to watch. Especially one that was filled with such insatiable bloodlust.

It was then that Hebe emerged from the hatch of the tunnel, now in a slightly different part of the arena. She strode quickly out of the small clearing and into the larger section of the

swamp. She was eager to return to Gaia, especially as it seemed the gamemakers were not only making the temperatures hotter, but also shortening the length of the days.

Previously it seemed that there were a regular 12 hours in a day, but now that seems to have dramatically decreased to only 6 or 7 hours a day and slightly longer at night. In some ways she was grateful for it, although it did mean there was little time for dawdling. She had to cover a large distance in a very short amount of time. She had most likely spent around an hour in that tunnel alone, and would probably spend most of the day locating and travelling through tunnel number 1. Back to their old camp.

The two girls had been reluctant to carry all of their plentiful supplies with them when they spied on Anise and Ash, so instead hid their spare backpacks behind some rocks in the clearing. That way they had enough food to sustain them as long as they returned frequently enough.

They had chosen tunnel number 1 to put their camp next to because it was the one they had first explored together and took only around 20 minutes to go from A to B. The only issue is that it was difficult to locate the clearing from this side, and it was dangerously close to the place the pair from 7 had claimed as their camp.

Hebe moved cautiously through the swamp towards where she believed the clearing to be, watching out for a carved tree trunk. Then she heard a small rustle in the branches followed by the whoosh of a blade cutting through the air.

She ducked down nimbly into a nearby bush, axe at hand, fingers balling into fists. Hebe peered through the thick foliage covering her hiding spot, her dark eyes piercing into the wilderness.

Then Anise and Ash came thundering past, a large pheasant slung under the boy's arm. His district partner held a bundle of apples, most likely stolen from another tribute. Hebe had to resist the urge to chortle at the pleased faces, clearly proud of themselves for catching the pheasant.

'Have fun eating cogs and battery acid.' She laughed inside her head, eternally amused by her own jokes.

Soon the pair of tributes had disappeared out of sight, their silver suits receding into the distance. Hebe slowly rose from her crouched position, brushing off the dirt, twigs and leaves from her body. She continued with her journey, scanning the tree line for the telltale scrawls of Gaia's dagger.

Eventually, after nearly an hour of searching, she found it. Then she was walking through the walkway of trees and into the clearing, lifting the silver hatch and descending into another one of the tunnels.

Just as she remembered, this tunnel was short in length, but went unreasonably low down in depth. Her upper body burned by the time she had finished lowering herself down the rungs, and Hebe still had another 20 minutes of walking until she reached her old camp.

She moved through the tunnel even more quickly than before. It was like the more often she came down here, the more nervous she got. By the time she reached the other side her legs and arms were trembling not only with effort but with fear.

Every corner she turned and door she passed, she imagined a large dog lumbering out of it, matted mane shining in the dim light, claws and teeth bared, tongue lolling out of its mouth as foamy spit collected on the mutt's upper and lower lips.

But there was no mutt waiting to feast on her flesh, and she emerged on the other side only 30 minutes later. By now it was 'midday' and the sun had reached its peak in the sky. It burned into Hebe's skin, and she silently thanked god that her skin didn't naturally burn. Mosquitoes buzzed around her, and she had to keep slapping her hand into her neck to stop them from biting her. It was more than possible that they carried disease; she remembered learning about the epidemics that they used to get in district 4.

She dug her hands into one of the bushes, rummaging through the bracken until she caught hold of some fabric. Hebe grabbed it and wrenched it from the shrub, causing all the dead leaves to fall off of the plant to the ground. She slung it onto her back and walked to the other side of the clearing, retrieving the other heavy backpack that was still hidden there.

Then she opened them both up to take stock of her supplies. She began loading all the essentials into one of the backpacks, leaving duplicates of her pre-existing items in the other. She also made sure to grab another axe she had found. Her old one had already grown too blunt. This weapon was slightly larger, with a heavier base. She could certainly kill someone with only the handle alone. Versatility was always useful.

Then she returned the other backpack into one of the bushes, making sure it was camouflaged enough that none of the other tributes would stumble across it by accident. She didn't want to just give away her hard won supplies like that.

Hebe then returned back to the dingy tunnel, taking a more leisurely stroll this time through the concrete passages. She wondered how much longer she'd be in here for. How long had it been exactly? Two weeks? More? Time seemed to flow into itself in the arena, now it was impossible to discern when she had even originally arrived here.

Luca's face had begun to fade into obscurity, and small features that she had once been able to recall in exact detail had become fuzzy. His eyes are probably not the right shade of brown, her nose slightly too crooked, his lips too full or too thin. Niamh too was a distant memory, the melodic laugh that used to bubble from her throat was now mixed in with her shrieks of pain.

Other tributes were merely fuzzy silver blobs with blonde or brown hair, no obvious differences between them. The only people who stayed entirely clear in her mind were her mother and Annie, as well as Finnick. He seemed to have left a lasting impression on her, the familiar curve of a smirk, as well as the deadpan expression he often had given her. The words he'd said to Hebe on the roof of the training centre echoed constantly through her mind.

She drew her strength to continue from the memories that remained of those she left behind. At night when she slept sometimes she could feel the last warm embrace of her mother. Sometimes when the flies buzzed around her ears, she could've sworn it was Annie's characteristic chatter.

Gaia kept her going too. Her presence made the loss of Luca slightly more bearable, Hebe wasn't sure she would've made it had she been left alone for much longer after he was gone. In the games she seemed to have a habit of constantly supplying her protection to those weaker than her. It kept her fighting to survive if not for herself, then for their sake.

She climbed back up the ladder on the other end of tunnel number 1, hauling herself out from the hatch in the way she always had to. Hebe massaged her aching shoulders. The heavy backpack was beginning to weigh on her. She wasn't sure how she was going to face the next 1 hour of trekking through the tunnel, followed by a further 20 minutes of struggling to make her way back to Gaia. All whilst avoiding Anise and Ash.

Groaning, she started on her way, moving further through the swamp in earnest. Her mind returned to worrying about Gaia. It must've been something in the mutt's saliva, there was no possible explanation.

Exactly what it was doing to the girl she didn't know, but Hebe was fairly certain that it was affecting her memory and emotions. And in the games that could only ever spell trouble.

Hebe was currently around halfway through tunnel number 3, and she was now almost jogging. She was so anxious about the state she would find her ally in that she couldn't bear to just walk, especially not at the leisurely pace she had been maintaining thus far. No, she had to run, if not so that she would reach her destination quicker, but so that she could relieve even an ounce of tension in her body.

She was like a tightly coiled spring, her entire body ready to pounce at any moment. Her legs pounded on the floor beneath her, her arms pumping quickly at her sides, her hair bouncing behind her in its ponytail.

The worst part was that she had no idea what had sent her into this state, what had been the trigger that had whipped her into such a frenzy.

She prayed that the ladder would come sooner, that her legs could carry her faster. Now she had progressed from her earlier jog to what was practically a sprint. She was certain that when she finally stopped moving she would vomit all over herself from over exertion.

Then she finally saw it, the literal light at the end of the tunnel. The ladder going up to the surface glinted even in the dingy tunnel lighting. In Hebe's eyes, it shone brighter than the sun.

She grabbed onto the rungs with both hands and flung herself onto it. Hebe then began to climb like she never had before, rapidly scaling it like a monkey scrambling up a tree. She leapt upwards with reckless abandon, not once stopping to think about the way her bones would crack if she missed and fell down to the bottom. All fear had flown from her in that moment, ebbing away like a surging river.

Then, as she wrenched open the hatch at the top of the tunnel, all her fears came rushing back to her.

Gaia sat cross-legged in the centre of the clearing, head buried in Hebe's rucksack. Her bandage had been removed and her wound exposed to the air. It was red and weeping, leaking yellow pus. Around it was a forming crust of a scab, but right now it looked more infected than healing.

Her hair seemed unusually wild and unruly, and worst of all were the small yelps that escaped her at every moment.

It was at that moment she looked up at Hebe, and what she saw made her heart stop.

Her left eye had been gouged, and thick streams of blood leaked from it, covering her suit with large splotches of red. The other eye was filled with tears, and snot leaked from her nose from what was probably constant crying. Her pupils were dilated, almost entirely black, and staring at Hebe with a look of absolute hatred.

Hebe just stood and gaped, unable to say anything to the girl. Then Gaia began brandishing a bloody dagger, staggering to her feet and stepping forwards slightly. It was most likely the dagger she had mutilated herself with, and if Hebe had peered over slightly she probably would've seen half an eyeball.

"This is all your fault!" Gaia said, her face twisting in distress, "ALL YOUR FAULT!" She shouted, repeating her previous words.

Hebe was totally speechless. She was at a loss. How was she supposed to help her?

"You tried to kill me you bitch! You stabbed me in the leg!"

"Gaia. It's me. You were bitten, remember? By a mutt?" Hebe tried to be as gentle as possible, stepping forward toward her ally.

"Fucking liar! You've just been trying to hurt me all this time, haven't you!"

"No. We're friends, remember? It's me, Hebe."

"NO YOU'RE NOT! YOU'RE LYING TO ME AGAIN!"

Hebe could do nothing but stand still as Gaia bent over and reached into Hebe's backpack. Her mind had been overtaken with intense paranoia, and Hebe had no clue how to snap her out of it.

"And look at this!" She swiftly removed one of the peaches from Hebe's bag, holding it up to show her.

"Listen, I can explain-"

"NO. You were keeping food from me! Saving it all for yourself! Leaving me here all day to starve while you ate your own weight in peaches."

"Gaia, they're poisonous, remember? I showed them to you the first day we allied?"

The younger girl huffed, clearly not satisfied with the answer.

"If they're so poisonous, why keep them at the bottom of your bag! And you went to all the trouble to stab me, so if they were really that dangerous, you would've just fed one to me and be done with it!"

"GAIA I DIDN'T STAB YOU! YOU WERE BITTEN AND IT'S MAKING YOU PARANOID!" Hebe was beginning to devolve into hysterics, her heart cracking as she was unable to reason with her ally.

"LIES! YOU CALL ME PARANOID YET I VIVIDLY REMEMBER BEING STABBED IN THE LEG WITH THAT VERY KNIFE," She gestured to the bloody dagger she had dropped onto the floor, "AND THEN YOU CAME BACK LATER AND TOOK MY EYE!"

Gaia then screamed in pain, clearly having just remembered about her lack of an eye.

"I'LL FUCKING SHOW YOU YOU BITCH!" She shouted, lifting the peach to her mouth.

Hebe felt her mouth open to scream, but in that moment the whole world went quiet and she froze. She watched in slow motion as she bared her teeth and sunk them into the bright orange flesh of the peach, tearing out a large hunk of it. A squirt of juice came out and dribbled down her chin. She swallowed the peach and sat back, satisfied.

For a split second Hebe hoped that she may have been wrong all this time. Her ally would come out unscathed, she'd snap out of her episode and everything would be back to the way it was. They'd sit in the clearing and eat peaches together, they'd spend the rest of their lives there, exploring every inch of the arena.

But things didn't happen like that.

Instead Gaia screamed loudly as the juice that dripped down her chin began to corrode her skin, burning through the flesh and releasing toxic smoke into the air. Then the inside of her open mouth began to burn, her entire tongue dislodging from her mouth and falling to the ground.

Soon she was unable to muster any noise at all as the acid began burning through her vocal cords. Large holes appeared in her torso as it turned her insides to ash. All the time Hebe could do nothing but watch as her ally disintegrated in front of her. She sobbed loudly, trying desperately to muffle her cries with her fist.

Gaia began mouthing to her to help, her one surviving eye suddenly filling with regret, as well as a slither of recognition. In that moment Hebe did the only thing she could think of. Grabbing her axe, she slashed directly across the girl's throat, the cannon going off abruptly as she did so.

She cried as she killed her, screaming hysterically as she watched her former ally crumble to the ground, parts of her body already beginning to disintegrate. Hebe retreated into a corner of the clearing, watching intently as the hovercraft came to carry her away, small pieces of grey ash falling from the sky as they flew out of the arena.

She curled up into a ball and rocked herself, unable to look down and see Gaia's split eyeball staring up at her. Nor was she able to look at her blood-stained hand or axe, tainted with yet another innnocent's blood.

Hebe fell into a state that lay somewhere between sleeping and waking, rousing herself only so she could sob until her throat was raw, before returning to her purgatory.

Even when the anthem came and she had one last opportunity to see her face, she couldn't bear to turn her head to the sky, to look at the girl's sweet smiling face. All she could remember was her mutilated expression, and knowing what she'd done to her that was all she deserved to remember.