Hi again, everyone! Time to see what else is in store for Nessa and her reluctant new ally…but first, there is one other thing that should probably be looked into: the number of bloodbath deaths, which indeed was somehow a large number despite the absence of a certain Career tribute. Let's find out exactly what happened while the former giraffe's vision was blocked by her wig…

Everybody Makes Mistakes

It was the first time Clove had ever watched a Cornucopia bloodbath without enjoying herself. It was also the first time she was watching one in not District 2, but the second floor of the Capitol's Training Centre.

She groaned. Nothing had been going her way ever since she'd first arrived here. First Katniss Everdeen outscored her during their private training sessions, then Katniss Everdeen overshadowed her during the interview night, and now THIS. Some clueless stylist had been launched into the arena instead of her, and the Game Makers had decided to just let it happen. Weren't there cameras inside the tribute tubes? How could the Game Makers have possibly allowed something so horrible?!

That was why, rather than helping her fellow Careers overpower the weaker tributes, Clove was sitting in the living room of the District 2 tributes' temporary living space, watching a replay of what had happened so far in the 74th Hunger Games. She was completely alone too—her escort and mentor, along with Cato's stylist, were busy getting him some sponsors (not that he really needed any), and Rani was with the Game Makers, trying to gather information on how they'd decided to manage the launch time mistake. And (hopefully, as Clove had requested) to ask them if there was any way they could somehow eject that so-called stylist from the arena and replace her with the real female tribute from District 2.

Clove angrily clenched her teeth and her fists as she watched the bloodbath take place. The stylist who'd replaced her didn't even participate in it—she just walked away without even bothering to give anyone a hand! Because of her, the Careers that were launched into the arena basically had to double their efforts to kill the tributes.

Sure, some attacks they pulled were pretty easy and probably would have gone the same way regardless of her presence—Cato ferociously beat up the boy from District 6 before even grabbing a single weapon, then collected an axe and used it to easily slash the boy from District 10. He managed to steal a sword from the District 4 girl too, and then, much to Clove's surprise but delight, threw her at the boy from 6, making sure they smacked each other head-on so they'd both be knocked unconscious; which they were. He then threw both of the unconscious tributes in different directions, causing the boy from 9 (just as he was getting into a backpack scuffle with Fire Girl—UGH! Why couldn't SHE have been hit, instead of gaining an opportunity to escape from that attack?!) and the girl from 7 to be knocked out as well.

Clove snorted. Cato was a good tribute thrower, but he wasn't one to repeat the same move so quickly. This "knocking out as many tributes as possible" strategy must have been a last-minute plan, obviously formulated because he'd known her absence would give him and the other Careers a disadvantage. Sure, Glimmer and Marvel got their share of killings (he stabbed the boy from 8 while she grabbed the girl from 6 by her hair and slashed her after a close fight with her, then helped Cato pierce the boy from 5's stomach), and the fact that Thresh, the strong boy from 11, and the boy from 5 unleashed fatal sword-and-nunchucks attacks on the boy from 7 (just as he was about to rescue the girl from 7 before she got knocked out; talk about drama) and the girl from 3 was helpful too. But had it been four Careers in the arena instead of just three, things could have been different and more outstanding.

She then watched as Cato used his sword to slit the throat of the boy from 4 just as he tried to escape the area, then tossed his corpse at the girl from 9 just as she was about to shove a dagger into the back of Marvel's neck—which Marvel didn't notice right away, since he was too busy strangling the girl from 10, who actually thought she could get away with shouting, "Come on, this is ridiculous! Why can't we all just survive together and let the Game Makers kill us? They're the ones who want us dead, not us! What do we tributes have against each other anyway?"

Instantly the girl from 9 fell unconscious, allowing Marvel to successfully finish off the girl from 10 without any interruptions. Not all of the tributes were killed at the bloodbath though. The boy from 3 waited until everyone else was either distracted by each other or something in the Cornucopia before grabbing a fragile-looking spear and, after a failed attempt to grab a backpack before the girl from 7 did, running into the forest. The girl from 8, on the other hand, started to run into the Cornucopia like everyone else, but when she saw the boy from her district getting murdered by Marvel, she panicked and fled into the forest. The only item she ended up collecting was a tiny box of matches, which had fallen out of a backpack Glimmer had snatched. Glimmer hadn't even known the matches were there; she was too focused on trying to kill as many tributes as she could.

Thresh, Katniss, and two more tributes—Rue, the female from 11, and the girl from 5 that everybody had nicknamed Foxface because of her fox-like appearance—were able to escape into the forest as well, but they each managed to collect a backpack first. As for Lover Boy, he looked like he was tempted to do the same thing, but he stopped a few paces away from the Cornucopia. Apparently he wasn't sure whether or not he should help the odd stylist or just leave her be. It was almost like he knew her…

Suddenly Clove gasped. He did know her. Which meant Fire Girl probably knew her too. Had they told her to replace her in the arena as a sabotage specifically for her and make the whole thing look accidental?! Those fame-stealing creeps! Yup, Katniss Everdeen was definitely first on her kill list. And Lover Boy? He was officially second. Then maybe the stylist would be third, if she could pull off such a stunt under these circumstances.

Cato, Glimmer, and Marvel tried to chase after all the tributes that had escaped, but they were either too fast or too good at finding last-minute hiding places. Then they had no choice but to go back to the Cornucopia and kill the unconscious tributes before they woke up—and of course when they got there, Cato went into one of his typical angry tantrums. The swear words he yelled all got bleeped out by the TV, but Clove heard enough of what he said to understand why he was upset.

"WHY THE F—(bleep, bleep)—DID SOME (bleep) (bleep) USELESS LADY HAVE TO REPLACE CLOVE?! SHE'S OUR STRONGEST (bleep) LINK! I CAN'T DO ALL THE (bleep, bleep) WORK MYSELF!"

"But you didn't do all the work!" Glimmer yelled.

"Yeah," said Marvel. "In fact, I didn't do enough work! Why didn't you let me handle some of your victims?"

Lover Boy suddenly made a decision and rushed forward to try and calm him down by saying, "Okay, um…look, I know the bloodbath didn't really go the way you guys planned. But if you want, since Clove's not here—"

Cato growled at him. "You are so dead."

"Shut up!" Marvel yelled. "He's trying to form an alliance with us! Isn't that what we do need right now?"

Although he clearly wasn't happy about the situation, Cato nodded. "Alright…you'd better have some useful information we could use."

"I do," replied Lover Boy. "Side with me, and I guarantee you that Katniss will be the next tribute to die at your hands."

Suddenly the door to the District 2 living space opened, and Rani returned. Clove quickly paused the replay and stood up, anxious to see what information her stylist had gathered from the Game Makers.

Rani shook her head sadly, knowing exactly what the girl was thinking. "I'm sorry, Clove. They were very upset by what happened during the launch. It wasn't fair to you, plus they consider it an act of rebellion even though it was clearly an accident. But they were also worried that if they brought you into the arena a bit late, or even tried using the control room to specifically kill off the stylist who took your place, it would make the other Capitol residents think it was rebellion too. And that could result in them starting an uprising. The last thing the Game Makers want is for citizens of the Capitol to turn against each other."

Clove stared at her in disbelief. "So they're not letting me in? Even after watching MY training score, and MY interview with Caesar Flickerman?"

"No. They told Mr. Flickerman to tell anyone watching the Games that there's always a surprising twist involved in a Quarter Quell, and the one involved in this year's Quell was that there were two twists: hosting the Quell early, and introducing a new tribute at the last minute. In short, the most surprising Quarter Quell so far."

"How about a more honest way to put it," retorted Clove, a menacing glare manifesting on her face. "Making the audience think it's going to be a seemingly ordinary tribute like me who's going into the arena, and then taking everyone by surprise by revealing what's actually going on: some remote-controlled mannequin powered by me from outside the arena fighting in my place, its appearance based on a random Capitol citizen. As a twist to see if kids can overpower more experienced adults! That's the Quarter Quell story they really made up, isn't it."

Rani sighed. "Yes, that is what they said it was. Hosting the Quarter Quell one year early, experimenting to see how so-called remote-control mannequins can operate in the arena, and experimenting to see if younger tributes can beat an adult tribute. Since, as we all know, adults are more matured and experienced than—"

"I'M A CAREER!" Clove yelled. "How could anyone buy the Game Makers' pathetic excuse for my absence?! I mean, they might have if that woman had been as good at killing people as I am, but she's the least experienced fighter in the entire universe! I mean, the bloodbath started, and she just walked away with her wig blocking her view! Cato was right about her. She's useless! Helpless! While I'm better at handling a bloodbath than anyone ever could be!"

"I know," assured Rani. "I tried to tell the Game Makers how much you'd be sure to mind their decision and how unfair it is. I also reminded them that you scored a 10 in your private training session with them, but they couldn't bear the thought of an uprising taking place and wouldn't listen. All they can do is promise that if the stylist who replaced you wins this year's Games, they'll consider you the victor and give her some nightlock soup before she even leaves the tribute hovercraft. And if one of the real tributes wins, they will make sure you'll at least get to participate in the 75th Hunger Games instead. Regardless of next year's reaping."

"Careers don't wait another year, Rani. They take every chance they get when it comes to killing people and getting famous for it, and they don't make someone else do all the fun stuff for them. Even if that someone's a robot who does whatever they say! I've made it clear that I'm no exception…haven't I?"

"I'm sorry," said Rani. "But they've made up their minds. There is nothing else we can do but wait here and hope for the best."

Clove marched up and threateningly got face-to-face with her stylist. "I'm serious, Rani. If you don't tell President Snow to do something about this instead…right now, might I add…I'm going to grab a knife from the kitchen and show you how it feels to be the victim of an injustice. Then I can at least be well-known for something: the first tribute ever to attack their own stylist."

Panic flashed in Rani's eyes, and she quickly pretended she'd just remembered something. "Oh yeah," she said, "President Snow! Sorry, I was so upset by how unfairly you were being treated that I forgot going to him was an option too! I'll go talk to him right now, be right back…"

"You'd better be," snarled Clove.

Rani nodded vigorously and dashed out of the room. Once she was gone, Clove walked back toward her couch and pressed the play button on the TV. She then watched as Cato, Glimmer, and Marvel stabbed, strangled, and twisted the necks of all the unconscious tributes, then noticed the woman who had taken her place and rushed up to apprehend her. They would have killed her too, if Lover Boy hadn't convinced them that Fire Girl was a more important priority.

Clove couldn't help but smile. She may not be in the arena at the moment, but at least the other Careers were willing to make her be remembered. Remembered for more than just what everyone thought was a publicity stunt.

Getting around the arena certainly had its ups and downs at this point, now that Nessa had a tribute ally: Finch. Or Foxface, since everyone else in the arena had already come up with a nickname for her and she figured Nessa might as well use it too.

"Really?" Nessa had asked her. "It's a great nickname, but are you sure you won't think anyone's making fun of you?"

"If more tributes will be joining us, they will be used to the nickname. Confusing them will not be helpful in our situation."

"But—"

"Also, if you're the only member of our team that refers to me by my real name, it would seem like we are best friends. But we aren't. I'm only accepting your offer for an alliance because I have to."

Nessa did her best to hold back a sigh. Foxface wasn't exactly the kind of ally she'd planned on gaining (she didn't tell her this, but she had expected someone who'd be happy to team up with her), but whether either of them liked it or not, they needed each other. Nessa still had a few things to learn about the arena, and Foxface had injured her leg and ankle when she'd fallen into the ditch, leaving her no choice but to have the former giraffe's back. Figuratively and literally; Nessa had to give her a piggyback ride while climbing out of the ditch, and she continued carrying her that way when they started wandering through the forest again. It was sort of like how she'd given Lili rides on her neck for fun, except it had to be done a little differently because she was in a human's body now; which made carrying Foxface around a bit more difficult. The fact that she was older and therefore heavier than Lili didn't make it any easier.

Aside from the awkward way they got along, however, Nessa was glad that her first ally happened to be the girl from District 5. Maybe Foxface wasn't pleased with having to trust and work with someone, and maybe her leg injuries kept her from being able to walk (which the former giraffe still felt really bad about being responsible for) but her outstanding intelligence helped them a lot. The advice she gave included making sure they never stayed in one place for more than half an hour, staying as close as they could to a water source (once they found one), only eating food that didn't come from the bushes and trees in the arena (even if she didn't have much of that kind of food left in her backpack), moving around as quietly as possible, and avoiding the Careers at all costs.

"What's wrong with food that does come from the trees and the bushes?" Nessa asked, though she understood the rest of her ally's advice.

"You never know when something in the arena besides the tributes could harm you. I will leave it at that," was Foxface's reply.

As they continued through the forest, Foxface explained another important thing about the Hunger Games: whenever a tribute was "eliminated from the Games," the boom sound Nessa had heard once coming to the edge of the forest would play—one time for each eliminated tribute. Then, once the area was cleared, a hovercraft would arrive, collect the eliminated tribute(s), and disappear as mysteriously as it had appeared. Then, once it was nighttime, everyone who had been eliminated that day would have their pictures and district number appear on the screen.

"Ohhh," said Nessa. "So that's why we saw all those tributes' pictures!" She frowned. "But why did it say 'the fallen?'"

"It just did," groaned Foxface. She wasn't about to admit it, but she was getting really annoyed with having to do so much explaining! Why couldn't it have been the boy from District 3 that was given no choice but to form an alliance with her companion? It was a well-known fact that everyone in his district was exceptionally intelligent, and she doubted he was as antisocial as she was. He could have done far more explaining than she was doing right now, and she could have done what she'd been planning to do ever since she'd arrived in the Capitol: avoid interactions with any tributes, survive in her own secret way, and operate alone.

But alas, that wasn't the way things had played out. The boy from 3 was who knew where and who knew how (well, she knew he was alive because there hadn't been any cannons since the bloodbath ended, but being dead and being injured were two different things), while she was injured and stuck with someone who, until meeting her, had known absolutely nothing about Panem. She was so childish too—Finch/Foxface hadn't heard anyone say the word "booboo" since she was four! That was why she hadn't told Nessa that the eliminated tributes were considered "the fallen" because they were dead; she didn't know what kind of life her ally lived, but clearly there weren't many tragedies involved it. If there were any tragedies in it at all, anyway. She wouldn't be surprised if there weren't.

They kept going until they reached a very long and thick shrub, where Foxface decided they should spend the rest of the night. "If we camp out underneath the shrub and leave only our legs in plain sight, then hopefully anyone who passes us will think we were eliminated. But we'll have to make sure our chests are hidden well. Any noticeable trace of our breath, and we will be in great danger."

Nessa nodded and gently set her ally onto the ground. Her back instantly felt a strong sensation of relief, and she stretched for a bit before, unable to help herself, letting out a loud yawn. Then she quickly covered her mouth, realizing she'd broken Foxface's rule about being as quiet as possible.

"Yawns are okay," said Foxface, seeing her expression as she removed her backpack from her shoulders.

"Oh," Nessa replied. She smiled, and added, "So, what do our sleeping bags look like?"

Foxface once again stared at her like she'd said something ridiculous. "We are supposed to make it look like we've been eliminated! Sleeping bags will inform everyone we are still in. So as much as we don't like sleeping without a blanket, we will have no choice but to do so."

"Okay…" said Nessa, not sure what else to say. She actually didn't mind sleeping without a blanket or a bed. The ground was pretty comfortable, even underneath the shrub where there was very little space because of its leaves and pointy branches. It was a good thing she'd decided to wear Effie's longest wig for the day—if she hadn't slid it over her face and used its long pigtails to cover her arms, she would have been scratched by the leaves and branches for sure. As for Foxface, she didn't have to worry much about her arms because of the protection her jacket provided, but she did have to position herself so that she was face-to-face with the dirt; not the most comfortable way to sleep, especially with a scraped leg and twisted ankle. Then again, survival was no picnic in the first place.

"Well, good night," Nessa whispered.

Foxface ignored her and tried to go to sleep. Yet she already knew she wouldn't be dozing off anytime soon. Her leg was still hurting from her tumble into the ditch, and she could feel the air slowly beginning to get colder. That was only going to make their stay under the shrub more uncomfortable—great. Now she'd have to spend the entire night reminding herself to resist the temptation to start a campfire, shiver, or give any indication that she was cold and vulnerable. That doing anything at all as long as she was here would attract the Careers' attention and terminate her chances of either winning the games, or surviving long enough to escape them.

The furtive tribute suddenly realized the thought that had just crossed her mind. Did part of her actually want to believe in the small possibility that Nessa's plan would work? It wouldn't work! There was no way, and she knew it. No one could be trusted in the arena, and even if that part of the plan did succeed, the part that involved hijacking the hovercraft would fail for sure. The Capitol was simply too prepared for something like that.

Eventually though, despite the increasingly chilly temperatures, Nessa and Foxface somehow managed to fall asleep.

"Nessa! It's you!"

The former giraffe jumped at the sound of that voice. Could it be…was it really…? She crawled out from under the shrub, and her eyes widened in surprise. The entire arena had turned from a warm bright green forest into a very cold light blue one filled with leafless trees and beautiful soft white snowbanks. There was a humongous sheet of ice in front of her, and someone was just sliding off of the ice and making his way onto the snow to greet her. It was Golias!

Nessa gasped in shock and excitement, then rushed toward him and gave him a very affectionate hug. It was funny; having started out as a giraffe, normally she could only receive hugs like this! But finally being able to give them—that was something truly special to her.

"Ahhh…" said Nessa, "I missed you sooo much…!"

"So did I," Golias replied. "We've been looking all over for you! I'm glad we found you before those mean tributes did."

They released each other and smiled, until Nessa noticed something. "But…where are Lili and Yuri and Matt and Bongo?"

"They're with Finch…I mean, Foxface. Yuri's showing them all how to build a snowman!"

"A snowman?!" Nessa exclaimed. "That sounds like fun! Let's go help them!"

Golias giggled. "Yeah! But uh…is it okay if we go skating together first? Just you and me?"

This question surprised Nessa. "Really? You don't even want Yuri to skate with us?"

"Well uh," Golias tooted his trunk, "I do like skating with Yuri. But we've skated together a lot! I think it's time for me to start sharing the fun we always have…with you."

Nessa smiled warmly as she saw the adorable, tender look in the elephant's eyes. Her heart fluttered, and all she could do was nod in silence as he led her onto the ice. She then skated around him, showing Golias all the neat human moves she'd learned, and he showed her a special trick of his own: taking her hand in his trunk and spinning her around, so that she did a perfect ballerina pirouette.

The former giraffe laughed and cheered with absolute pleasure. Doing a pirouette was something she'd loved doing with Lili…but somehow, doing one with Golias instead seemed…more fun. And as she spun around and allowed him to suavely catch her with his trunk, she suddenly realized that spending quality time with him like this was something she had always longed for. Yet she'd never let herself admit it to anyone including herself, out of fear that Lili would get jealous if she chose one of her other friends over her best friend.

And then suddenly, Nessa found herself staring into Golias's beautiful, ocean blue eyes once again, her heart fluttering even more intensely. She smiled, he smiled back, and before she knew it, she was asking, "Um…Golias…remember the day we saved Lili from that island? I…I'm still very proud of you for getting that skipping rope for us. I mean, for being…there for us. I mean…"

"I know what you mean, Nessa," said Golias. "You were such a great leader. We never would have been able to save Lili without you."

"Thanks," whispered Nessa. Now she giggled nervously, as a strange but familiar urge to bring her face closer to his came over her. An urge that, for some reason, only happened when she was with him specifically…an urge to kiss him, like she'd done while thanking him for bringing over the skipping rope…

Suddenly she became aware of a warm, toasty smell behind her. She turned around, but there was nothing there that could possibly be the source of the scent.

"Do you smell that?" Nessa asked Golias.

He looked confused. "Smell what?"

"That warm smell…it smells like fire."

"Oh. You mean the rookie mistake?"

"What?"

"Nessa?"

"Uh…yes?"

Apparently not hearing her, Golias called her name again, but this time it wasn't his voice that came out of his mouth. It was Foxface's voice, in a frantic whisper—and the next thing Nessa knew, she was slowly being dragged forward by her legs. Golias and the beautiful winter scenery had vanished, making way for a closeup of Effie's green wig. Her reunion with the charmingly sweet elephant had only been a dream. The only real things about it were the cold temperature and the warm fiery smell, both of which she could still feel now.

When she felt her head leave the shrub, Nessa pushed the wig back above her eyes and saw Foxface just letting go of her legs, grimacing in powerful pain. Instantly she apologized for not waking up sooner and inadvertently forcing her to put pressure on her booboos.

"No time for apologies," Foxface whispered. "We aren't alone. There is another tribute here."

Nessa's eyes widened. "There is?" She made sure she whispered, in case it was one of the Careers.

"I do not know who yet, but it can't be the Careers. They are a lot of things, but stupid enough to start a campfire out here at night is not one of them."

"What's wrong with starting a—"

"Campfires never go unnoticed, especially at night. Their blaze's glow can be spotted even from a distance, which easily attracts the attention of other tributes. Especially Careers. In a matter of seconds, someone will come to finish off that tribute, who happens to be on the other side of our shrub, and probably us as well. So we have to leave, now."

"We can't go yet!" Nessa whispered. "If it's not a Career, we should ask that tribute if they wanna help us."

Foxface glared at her. "Are you crazy?! The last person we need on our team is an idiot who cannot resist the temptation to warm up the easy way!"

"The last thing we need is another tribute eliminated. Stay here. I'm going to bring the tribute over to us."

"But—"

"Shh. We can't make noises, remember?" Nessa said, giving her the same tough facial expression Lili always used when telling her friends to do as she said. Foxface reluctantly fell silent, and allowed Nessa to circle past the shrub and towards the tribute on the other side of it.

Once she got to the campfire, Nessa gulped nervously, seeing the tribute who had set up the fire was the strawberry blonde girl who had given her her entire dinner hours ago. Would she panic and run away again? She hoped not, but deep down, she had a feeling she already knew she would. Which she couldn't let happen this time. Not now. Not when the Careers could be here at any second. Nessa sighed. This was one of those occasions where she asked herself, Hmm…what would Lili do?

Suddenly the tribute, who was sitting cross-legged in front of the fire and rubbing her hands together, shifted to pick up a nearby tree branch. As she did, she noticed the former giraffe standing next to the shrub, and panicked once again. She immediately stood up and started to run away, but Nessa ran toward her at the same time, and she managed to grab her hand before she could go far.

The girl started to scream, but Nessa interrupted her. "Shh! I'm not trying to hurt you. You have to believe me, I'm trying to save you before the Careers do hurt you!"

The girl still looked scared. "How do I know you're not working with them?"

"Because they're after me too. Well, they will be after they find a tribute named Katniss. But they're mad at me because I accidentally went into the arena instead of their friend Clove, and they promised they would do something bad to me when they're ready."

Although there was still fear in the girl's eyes, she did consider what Nessa said and admitted, "That does sound like something the Careers would do…"

Suddenly they heard four pairs of footsteps rushing toward the campfire, and realizing it was probably the Careers, Nessa pulled the girl behind the shrub and had her crouch down with her, out of sight.

Foxface narrowed her eyes once the girl became aware of her presence. "You have no clue how lucky you are, Eight," she whispered.

The girl winced. "You're right that I'm from District 8. But would you mind calling me by my real name, which is Sonia?"

"Shh," Nessa hissed.

Foxface and Sonia quickly fell silent, and two seconds later, the four pairs of footsteps arrived at the campfire. "Hey," demanded a voice that Nessa instantly recognized as Marvel's, "where's the tribute that lit up these logs?"

"Probably hiding somewhere," said Cato. "No way they had time to run away."

"Who wants to take them on?" Nessa gulped as she recognized that voice too. It belonged to the boy she'd spoken to last night! He was still working with the Careers; they must have not found Katniss yet. She was undoubtedly a very good hider. Maybe that was why they thought finding her was more important than getting revenge for Clove's absence.

"Whoever it is, they're mine," decided Glimmer. "After I got knocked down by that guy in the Cornucopia and, thanks to you Cato, not killed, I wanna prove to you all that just because I screamed in fright doesn't mean I'm a coward."

Marvel snickered. "You know just saying they're yours was all you had to say, right?"

"Shut up and let her focus!" Cato yelled.

"Fine. But if she needs help dealing with whoever's campfire this is, you've gotta let me be the backup. I still haven't forgiven you for hogging all the action this morning."

Sonia gulped as they heard Glimmer come closer and closer to the shrub. She fearfully glanced at Foxface, and when she saw she looked even more terrified than she did, she turned to Nessa and mouthed, "What do we do?"

Nessa started to say she didn't know, but when she saw the terrified looks on her two companions' faces, her own fears suddenly vanished. She had to protect these two tributes. The Careers might be really mean, but if she didn't do something, all three of them would be doomed.

"I'll distract the Careers and make sure they don't come behind the shrub," whispered Nessa. "When I start singing, both of you crawl away from here. Foxface, lead Sonia to the ditch."

Before either of the girls could ask about the plan (and before Foxface had a chance to complain about the singing part, which she hadn't expected and then wondered why she hadn't expected), Nessa leapt to her feet and said, "Boo!"

Startled, Glimmer staggered back, almost dropping the sharp sword she was holding. Then, realizing who she was face-to-face with, she smirked. "Well well well, if it isn't Clove's replacement."

Nessa chuckled. "Hi Glimmer. That's a very shiny sword you have there."

"It's mine, in case you were wondering," Cato put in. "I just let her borrow it so she can, as she says it, 'prove she's not a coward.'"

Glimmer whirled around and glared at him. "Hey! Don't embarrass me in front of my future victim!"

"She already heard you saying it," he pointed out. "The only one embarrassing you is you."

"Guys, we don't have to do anything to her," said the boy from last night, looking a little nervous. "If you think about it, whether it was an accident or not, she technically saved Clove's life! If she hadn't been launched here instead of her, her life could have been the one on the line."

With a frustrated huff, Glimmer replied, "I'm only sparing her life if whoever's behind the shrub with her is Fire G—" She then gasped in surprise as Nessa took advantage of the accidental distraction and took the sword out of her hand.

"Give that back," warned Glimmer, pulling a dagger out of her pocket, "or else."

Nessa took a deep breath and stepped around the shrub. It was time to put her plan into action. "I'm sorry that I ruined all your fun," she began to sing, "and made it so your happiness was done."

Although she was really annoyed by Nessa's chosen signal, Foxface tapped on Sonia's shoulder and motioned for her to follow her. She then began to silently crawl back the way Nessa had carried her (well, half-crawling, since she had to keep her injured leg suspended in the air so it wouldn't hurt as much and slow her down), with Sonia painlessly following on her hands and knees. Both of them could only hope their team leader would be able to distract the Careers long enough for them to get a safe distance away from the campfire.

The Careers, meanwhile, were just as annoyed by the song as Foxface—but one glance from Cato, and Glimmer and Marvel knew they had to tolerate it for just a bit longer. If the Capitol saw they were willing to endure a series of song-talk just to make them feel more interested in the Games, they would be sure to receive some gifts from sponsors. As for the boy from last night, he was staring at Nessa in shock and confusion. Clearly, he hadn't expected the song any more than the Careers had.

"I'm sorry I made you worried she wasn't safe, sorry you thought she wasn't sound, but…everybody makes mistakes!" Then Nessa grabbed Glimmer's dagger and started dancing a little with it and the sword, causing her to nervously step back. Marvel then stepped forward in her place with a baton and a knife, but Nessa put the dagger in the same hand she was using to carry the sword, leapt over, and used her free hand to snatch up Marvel's knife when he didn't expect it.

"I never meant to hurt your feelings, I know she's probably staring at the ceilings. But I'm here to make it up to you, by asking if we can have a truce!"

The Careers, who had all pulled off their backpacks to search for more weapons, froze in surprise. "What?!" Cato said.

Nessa twirled and giggled, waving the weapons she'd taken here and there. "I heard you've been looking for a girl named Katniss Everdeen, and you're so angry your faces turned green. But if I help you find who you're looking for—"

"Then maybe you'll see she just wants you to win the war," the boy from last night sang. Obviously, he knew she was really just trying to distract the Careers so someone else could escape unharmed.

Nessa nodded and finished off the song. "'Cause everybody makes mistaaaakes!"

Cato thought for a moment, then said, "Okay ma'am. You wanna form an alliance with us? First you need to prove your worth."

"Yeah," said Marvel, "what kind of fighting experience do you have?"

Thinking quickly, Nessa said, "Well, the other tributes don't know I'm working with you now. So I can trick them into thinking they're coming to a surprise party, when they're really coming to you!"

Glimmer perked up in interest. "Surprise party, huh?"

"Yeah," said Nessa. She put the sword, the dagger, and the knives down, then took off her wig. Next, she took the sword and used it to chop the wig into three pieces of hair. After that, she tied one hair piece around Glimmer's eyes, one around Marvel's eyes, and one around Cato's eyes. As she did this, she explained, "I'll tell them it's a really fun party, and since it's a surprise, I'll blindfold them before I take them there! Then I'll bring them to you, and you'll…ulp…do whatever you want to them…without making a sound before they even take off their blindfolds!"

Then, as Cato said he liked the sound of that, Nessa noiselessly tiptoed away—and much to her relief, the boy from last night didn't tell the Careers she was leaving. Instead he nervously motioned for her to keep going, mouthing, Stay safe.

Once she was far enough away from the campfire to believe she was out of the Careers' earshot, Nessa broke into a run. It was time to reunite with Foxface and Sonia, and figure out what to do the next morning. She could only hope the boy from last night would be able to stall the Careers long enough for her to go so far, they wouldn't be able to find her again…

Well that's it…for now. Will Nessa, Foxface, and Sonia manage to survive the first night? And what will become of the other tributes (Clove included) and those who are outside the arena? New chapter coming soon. :)

Note: I just feel like I should say, credit goes to QueenOfMorning37 for providing inspiration for me to write bits and pieces of this chapter. Your latest review was honestly a very strong eye-opener for me, and I appreciate you pointing out the little plot hole you noticed. I tried to redeem myself on that as much as I could, so I especially hope this chapter satisfied you. But your advice was the main reason why various scenes on this page turned out the way they did, and I can't conclude this entry without thanking you for it.

Alright then folks…have a nice weekend, and I'll see you later!