Prim was sitting on our bed, slowly petting her annoying cat, Buttercup. The beast was watching me, its green eyes filled with its unspoken hatred for me. I moved closer to Prim, looking down at her dress, "Prim, why is there blood on your dress?" I asked, getting down to look into her eyes.

Prim smiled at me, still stroking Buttercup, "Oh." She giggled, "I guess I got it from last night." She looked out of our room, smiling more, not saying anything else.

I got up and turned around to see what was outside our room. The sight made my blood curdle. Our shack was gone, and Prim and I stood outside in a forest. But that wasn't what curdled my blood. A pile of dead bodies lit aflame, lay by a large tree. Effie Trinket stood by the pile, turning with a large smile on her face.

"Prim dear." Effie Trinket said, her bubbly voice making her smile more creepy, "It seems we missed one." The second she had said that, I gasped as I felt a sudden pain in my guts.

I turned around, coughing blood, "Prim?" I saw her smile, and the knife blade in her hand, "Why?"

Prim laughed a cold, emotionless laugh, "Only one can leave." She said, as I collapsed to the ground I had seen the faces of the bodies on the pile. The tributes of the games, and at the very top was Peeta and Rue looking at me blankly as Prim dragged me to the pile.

"No Prim Don't!" I cried out in shock, looking around for my sister. Instead I saw Peeta and Rue, sitting by a small fire eating fish.

"Oh thank God you're okay. I was worried you wouldn't wake up again." Peeta said as he rushed to my side. I looked around more, trying to sit up, "Slowly, you've been out for a while." He explained, helping me to get in a sitting position.

I could see we were in a small clearing with a clear stream running beside us. My bow, quiver and bag were leaning against a large rock, along with Rue and Peeta's supplies. I looked at my hands and arms. Large green maple leaves had been applied to them with a strange foul smelling salve. I brought my hand to my neck to feel that there was a leaf there as well.

Rue walked over to us with my flask and some cooked fish, "Don't pull them away yet." She handed me the food, "They need to stay on for another day."

"How… when…" I groaned a bit, "How long was I out for?"

Peeta and Rue exchanged nervous looks and then Peeta turned back to me. "Two days." The words sent a chill down my spine. "Only two people died while you were asleep, Glimmer and Aurcula."

I nodded chewing on the well cooked fish, "I know. I killed them both." I whispered, that bitter taste lingering in my mouth, "I shot Aurcula… and Glimmer." I remembered the sight of Glimmer's hollow eyes staring at me during my venom filled hallucination, "She died after I let loose the Tracker Jackers."

Rue's expression was one of sadness and guilt, "I'm sorry. I gave you the idea to use the Tracker Jackers. If I hadn't Glimmer might still be alive." She muttered, tears forming in her eyes.

I grabbed her hands, shaking my head, "No Rue, I would have done it even if you hadn't pointed it out. They needed to be scared off, and unfortunately Glimmer was too close to the nest to be spared." I hoped my explanation would be enough to make her realize that none of that was her fault. I would take the blame for Glimmer's death. The stain could not be on Rue's shoulders, only mine. The thought of shoulders made my eyes go wide, "Peeta did you mark Glimmer?!"

Peeta shook his head, "No… I'm sorry Katniss, I was too busy carrying you to safety."

I slammed my fist into the ground, I can't believe I missed marking another tribute I had killed. Especially Glimmer of all people. She was the one who had decided to mark tributes. It was her idea, her scheme and I dishonoured her by leaving her unmarked.

"Oh don't worry." Rue stated, grabbing another fish to munch on, "I marked Glimmer while I was looking for the leaves for your stings." She said, still looking a little upset, "I changed your leaves twice," she added, looking at me and Peeta with a forced smile. "We have nests in District Eleven, and these leaves grow back there, too. We use them to stop the poison from spreading through the body."

That's right, District Eleven is a farming District. "I'm sorry you had to mark Glimmer, Rue." I stepped over to place a hand on her shoulder, "Did you hurt yourself to get the blood?"

Rue shook her head, "No, I didn't have anything sharp on me, so I used Glimmer's blood for the mark. I thought it would be alright, seeing as she wasn't really killed by either of us. She was killed by Tracker Jackers."

I guess she wasn't really upset about her involvement with Glimmer's death, but probably how she had to mark her, "Yeah, you did a good thing. Glimmer may have been ruthless and cruel, but she deserved to be shown honour in death."

Peeta turned to glance at the two of us, "Do you think the Shines will mourn her?"

"I can't say for sure what they'll do. Only that they'll be very upset with us for causing her death, on purpose or not." The thought was one I knew might cause Haymitch some trouble in the future. He had told Peeta, when I was meeting Jérémie, that the Shines had a good deal of sponsors backing them and that gave them a lot of pull during the games.

"Well you guys definitely had at least one sponsor." Rue said calmly looking at a fallen tree branch, "I doubt that's for me."

Peeta and I turned to see a small container laying on the branch, a tiny parachute had been attached to it.

"A sponsor gift? But for who?" I asked Peeta as he limped over to the container and unscrewed the top, he sniffed it and smirked as he walked back to us, "Well?"

"It's an ointment of some kind, pretty expensive from the looks of it." He explained as he applied it to the wounds on my body. The cream felt cool and soothing on the painful burns and stings, "Must be a cure for infection and burns." Peeta seemed to think aloud.

I nodded, "Yeah, from the smell it's an anti-inflammatory. It should help with your wounds too." I suggested, motioning to his hands and leg, "It won't help your sprain but it will soothe the pain from the spear wound and the scratches on your hands."

We suddenly hear a giggle from beside us, "What?" Peeta seemed confused by Rue's giggle, even as he applied the soothing ointment.

"I thought you two were just pretending to be close so that you and Peeta could be more popular." Her point was solid, and it never occurred to me that others might think that.

"Peeta and I would never do that to each other." I told her, in a matter of fact tone, "I don't think either of us would do something like that just to get attention."

"Agreed."

Rue giggled again, before moving to the stream to fill her canteen and possibly to give me and Peeta some time alone. A sudden thought came to mind as I watched Rue collect her water, "Peeta?" I said, looking at him now, "Have you ever heard about the twins from District Eight, who were reaped during the 56th Hunger Games?"

Peeta had confided to me that he had rewatched a few of the older games while we had been in the Capitol and on the train. If took him a minute to remember those games, "I think the victor of that year committed suicide during his victory tour. Caesar Flickerman said the footage for those games were lost and wouldn't be broadcast this year. I think they don't want to relive the embarrassment of losing a victor so soon after his Games were over."

I nodded. "Cinna told me about them. He was a teenager and got to see the games himself. They apparently made a huge impression on the Capitol and they matched each other in every way. The girl was killed by a Career, when her brother found out he hunted the boy down, and soon he killed him. I'm afraid we might end up like them." I bursted out with tears coming to my eyes. Peeta grabbed my hand and began stroking my hair gently.

"It won't happen to us. No matter what we're getting out of here, with both of us alive." Peeta promised and pressed his lips to mine. "I love you, and I will never leave you no matter what."

I wrapped my arms around him, and kissed his cheek. "I know that. I don't want to leave you either." I whisper softly into his ear, before pulling away, "But we can't both live, the Capitol would never accept two victors for the Games."

Rue soon returned to our makeshift camp well after nightfall with more leaves in hand, and some news on the Careers. "They're keeping all their supplies near the Cornucopia."

"Yeah, our mentor assumed they'd do that." Peeta sighed, leaning back on the rotting log. His hands looked much better, as did his leg. I assumed, without looking, that my own wounds were better too. Rue even made a note of that as she peeled back the leaves I had reapplied to my stings.

"Didn't he also say to get rid of the supply? Otherwise killing the Careers would be difficult?" I added on, wincing as Rue applied more ointment to my stings.

"It will heal better if you add more on and leave it for a bit more." She explained before turning to Peeta, "I can help you with that." We both looked at her curiously, "Well I got a good look at the supply cash they have." She took a stick and began drawing out the Careers base in the dirt, "Here," She pointed to a crude drawing of the Cornucopia, "Is where the Careers have set up their shelter, beds, a cooking place, and their personal weapons. Here," She pointed to what looked like a mound of boxes, "This is where they put their supplies: food, water, extra weapons and medicines. They've got it all piled up. It's kind of weird though." She said looking at her drawing.

"Weird? In what way?" I asked, making sure to familiarize myself with the drawing.

"Well the supplies are pretty far from their shelter, and they're not being guarded. I saw Cato outside the shelter and he didn't even look at the pile once. He just kept scratching at his stings. I think they got the same ointment you did. But it doesn't seem as effective, probably came with the medical supplies." She smirked.

I rolled my eyes, "Enough gloating Rue, it doesn't suit you." I chided her gently.

Rue nodded, blushing slowly, "Sorry, anyway. He didn't seem to think the piles needed to be guarded. What's even stranger is that Sextus is allied with them."

"District Three's male tribute?" Peeta looked surprised, "Why would they ally with someone as weak as him? He only got a training score of 6. That's pretty low for a Career to look your way."

Rue shrugged, "I'm not sure why, but he's definitely allied with them. I saw Clove giving him a box of crackers. I mean she teased him first, but she did eventually hand them to him."

Peeta and I exchanged looks, and I knew he and I were thinking the same thing. If we could destroy the Careers supply piles, they would have to fend for themselves. Probably even break the alliance they were so well known for.

"I have a plan." Rue said, we listened to her in hushed voices. Deciding to prepare ourselves to enact it tomorrow. That night there were no faces in the night sky. In the morning I, who had been on watch, woke the others up and we began searching for the materials to make Rue's plan work. While Rue and I searched for the right kind of wood, Peeta, in a high tree, kept watch on the Careers. Though according to him, they were too busy complaining about the fact that their stings hadn't healed yet.

Rue and I set up large piles of slow burning wood 20 feet away from each other. The plan was to burn each pyre after the other. We hoped this would distract the Careers long enough for me to go in and somehow sabotage their supplies.

"Rue, light each pile as fast as you can. Peeta will be waiting for you by the last pile," I grimaced as I thought of one flaw in the plan. "I still need a signal to tell you when I'm done." I muttered in annoyance.

Rue smiled at that, "I know one that'll work." She then let out a four-note whistle. It was beautiful, ringing in our ears like a soft bell. Then to my surprise a bird whistled back the tune, then another, and another, soon multiple birds were whistling Rue's Tune. "Can you use that?" She asked with a pleased smile.

I repeated the tune, almost as well as Rue had and once again the birds echoed me. "Mockingjays." I exclaimed with a smile. Mockingjay were the hybrids of Mockingbirds and Jabberjays, another mutt created by the Capitol. Jabberjays were made to perfectly mimic the voice of any person they heard. They had been used by the Capitol as a way of relaying information overheard from their enemies. Unfortunately they had backfired on the Capitol as the rebels had found them and had them relay misinformation. This caused the Capitol to release all Jabberjays into the wild. They had thought since all Jabberjays were male they would eventually die out on their own. What they hadn't planned was that these birds would mate with female Mockingbirds, a bird they had most likely been mutated from. This union created the Mockingjay hybrid, birds that were able to recreate any sound they heard, apart from human speech.

Rue nodded quickly. "They're all around the forest. I heard them the first night we entered."

Peeta smirked. "I think that is the best signal we can get." I agreed with a nod, hoping against hope this plan would work in our favour.