Long chapter alert.

"We could do it, you know."

"What?"

"Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it."

I wake up from the dream with a start. That day was only a week or two ago, but it feels like a lifetime. I'm not sure if we'll make it this time around. I need to find Gale.

Yesterday I didn't leave the camp by the river until about two hours before sundown, so I still have a ways to go until I reach where Gale must have made his fire. I quickly eat before I pack all my stuff in my bag and climb down the tree.

I hike all day, going in circles and loops, until I finally find the area where Gale lit his fire. The logs are still there, charred black, and some of the traps around it seem to have been activated. Gale killed two of them, I know. There's a lot of blood. He might have shot one of them in the neck, and that would explain it. But there could be many other reasons why.

Over the next few hours I loop around the area to search for him, even using the flashlight I found in the career pack when the sun goes down. After about an hour of searching in the dark I give up, going back to Gale's camp and climbing what I assume is the tree that he would have been in.

The night is so cold, the tip of my nose feels frozen. How is Gale faring in this? The thoughts spinning around in my head don't let me fall asleep for a long time.

The sound of stampeding footsteps wakes me up. I don't even have to look before I know it's there. I already smell the smoke. When I do open my eyes I see it right away. It's hard not to notice the wall of fire creeping towards me.

I scramble from the tree. I almost fall down before I realize I'm in my sleeping bag still. I put the sponsor bag inside the sleeping bag last night so all I have to do is get out of the bag and throw it over my shoulder. I climb down the tree as fast as I can. When I hit the ground I take off immediately in the direction opposite of the fire.

The world has transformed to fire and smoke.

Burning branches crack from trees and fall in showers of sparks at my feet. I follow the animals whose footsteps woke me up. The rabbits and deer. I even see a pack of wild dogs. I trust their sense of direction, so I follow them as best as I can. But they move gracefully. I trip over roots and fallen tree branches. To think I pride myself on knowing how to move through a forest.

The heat is horrible, but the smoke is worse. I pull my shirt over my mouth and nose. It offers a thin veil of protection, but it doesn't help completely. I choke as I run, even trying not to breath for as long as I can. Twigs materialize out of the grey haze before I can move out of the way and cut my face.

This was no tribute's campfire gone out of control, no accidental occurrence. The flames that bare down on me have an unnatural height, a uniformity that marks them as human-made, machine-made, Gamemaker-made. Things have been uneventful for the past two days.

The fire is designed to bring the tributes together. It's not the most original device to do so, but it is oh so very effective.

After a few minutes I feel my throat and lungs burning. Tears run down my face. I can't take it anymore so I duck behind a rock and then the vomiting begins. I lose all the food I ate today. I heave and heave until all that comes out is bile, and then I dry heave some more.

I know I should keep going, but now I'm lightheaded. I feel so weak. I give myself a minute to put myself together. I drink the two mouthfuls of the water I have left. I fold my sleeping bag, and my jacket for good measure, inside my bag. I'm being too slow, though. The minute is up. And the gamemakers were counting too.

I duck when I hear it. The fireball blasts over my head and crashes into the rock. I scramble up and start to sprint for my life. I hear the second fireball on my left and dive down just in time. I'm barely on my feet when the next one hits the ground where I just was.

If I make the wrong move, I die.

Time loses meaning as I run. Any time I hear the hiss I dive out of the way without even having to look. To stay in one place is to die, so I'm always moving. I keep moving forward. I know that this has to stop somewhere. I know that certain parts of the arenas are rigged for different things. If I keep moving I will eventually get out of reach of the fireballs. But into the hands of the remaining careers probably.

I have no idea how long I do this, but at some point the fireballs become less frequent, which is good because I'm vomiting again. All that comes out is stomach acid. It burns my throat on the way up. I wait for the next fireball to come, but I don't hear the noise.

Somehow I pick up on the scent of singed hair. I hands find my braid and I realize a fireball must have burned off at least six inches of hair.

I hear the noise, but I'm not as quick to relax this time. I move, but it goes in between my arm and waist, hitting my ribs on its descent to the ground. I let out a sharp scream before I get the sense to roll it back and forth on the ground. It hit near my elbow and ribs. Without thinking I rip the blackened fabric off my waist.

The attack is over. The gamemakers don't want me dead. Yet.

If it stopped that means that there is at least one other tribute close to me, and I'm willing to bet it's not Gale.

My sight is poor. I can see maybe fifteen yards in any direction. A tribute could easily be concealed from me here. I should draw my bow as a precaution, but I doubt my ability to hold it for long. The pain in my hands can in no way compete with the burns on my arm and ribs. Burns are the worst kind of pain to me, but I have never experienced anything like this.

I don't even realize that I've walked into a pond until I'm ankle deep. I stick my hands into the cool water and feel instant relief. That's what my mother says to do to burns, run them under cold water. I throw my bag on the bank and drop into the water until only my head sticks out.

I take off my shirt to examine the wounds, but I almost faint when I finally look at them for longer than a second. The skin is bright red and covered with blisters. I force myself to breathe normally. I know there are cameras on me right now and people will judge me based on my reaction. Pity does not win sponsors, refusal to give in does.

I wash my face, force myself to eat some of the dried fruit. I wish that I had water to drink, but I don't want to drink water that hasn't been treated with iodine. I look at the burned ends of my hair and cut off another inch for good measure.

I sort my bag. I decide to take out my bow and arrows, knowing that I'll eventually have to deal with another tribute. I put my jacket on, but it gives me the feeling of when someone presses their finger against a bruise, so I take it off immediately.

It almost hurts to breathe, the rise and fall of my chest constantly bothers the burn on my ribs. But this is just something I'll have to deal with.

I've been here too long, I know. The smoke is starting to clear, but it certainly can't be healthy. I might try to leave, but everytime I lift my ribs above the water the pain sends me back right away. And despite the pain, drowsiness starts to take over.

I'm lucky that I'm ready when I hear the footsteps, because I have less then a minute's head start. I take off, running as fast as I can away from them. That is, until I remember that I have my bow. I arm it and point towards where the footsteps are coming from. I'm about to fire when the figure breaks through the foliage and almost runs into me. But I can't because it's Rue.

She looks at me with wide eyes and stops in her tracks.

"Who are you running from?" I ask, lowering my bow.

"District 2," she says.

This would be an opportunity. I could leave her to die at the hands of the remaining careers and no one would blame me. After all, only one person can survive these games. But I can't do it, I can't stand by while she dies.

"I'll help you," I say, grabbing her hand and running. She seems confused for a second, but doesn't hesitate further. We hear their footsteps behind us, urging us to move faster.

"Can you climb trees?" I ask her.

"Yes," she chokes out.

I pick a tree and tell her to climb it. I expect her to be slow, but she scurries up like a squirrel. I follow her. By the time District 2 reaches the bottom of the tree we're at least twenty feet in the air.

We survey each other for a while. Then I smile at them.

"How's everything with you?" I call down. This throws them off for a second.

"Well enough," the boy says, "Yourself?"

"It's a bit warm for my taste," I say, "The air is better up here. Why don't you come on up?"

I draw back my bow and point it down at them, trying not to wince as I stretch the burn.

"I'd rather not." He doesn't move away, though. The smile fades from my face and I narrow my eyes at him.

"Tell me about Gale and I won't shoot you," I say. He considers it for a moment.

"How do I know that you won't shot me after I tell you?" he asks.

"I guess you'll just have to trust me."

He actually laughs, looking from his district partner to me. "I guess I will."

"So get on with it."

"Alright. Settle down. Your plan worked. When we saw the two campfires we split up. It did seem suspicious, though, but the fires were far enough away that we figured it was a coincidence. So I went with Marvel and Glimmer-," he must mean the tributes from 1, "-to lover boy's fire. His traps caught all of us, but I cut myself out before he could shoot me."

He pauses then asks, "How do you have two sets of bow and arrows, by the way? I only remember there being one at the cornucopia."

"Generous sponsors," I say, "Keep talking."

"Both of the arrows he fired hit Marvel and Glimmer in the hearts, so when I heard the cannons I ran away. I didn't run too far, though. I wanted to catch him on the ground so he wouldn't have an aerial advantage. So I waited for him to climb down and then I ambushed him. Didn't know he also had a spear. He caught me in the arm with an arrow before I reached him. Then I slashed his leg with my sword." His voice changes from amused to angry as he keeps going. "Then you know what the motherfucker did? He stabbed my foot into the ground with the fucking spear and ran off. I couldn't fucking run with a spear pinning my goddamn foot in the goddamn ground. So he got away."

I have to hide my smile. The boy is angry now.

"This is where my trust should come in handy. Can I go now?" he asks.

"Put down your weapons," I tell him.

"Why?"

"You just told me that you waited for Gale to climb down and then you ambushed him. How am I supposed to know you won't do that now if you're still armed?"

"Fine," the girl says this. She puts down her weapons first then convinces the boy to do the same. I see the gauze wrapped around her forearm. If I wasn't able to kill her, at least I hit her throwing arm.

"Now unless you want an arrow in your other goddamn foot I suggest you leave," I say.

The boy and I stare each other down until his district partner finally starts to walk away, tugging on his arm. I now notice that he's limping. I wait a good five minutes before I put down my bow.

I look at Rue. There are black marks on her face as if she was breathing in ash.

"Rue? We should go now," I say to her.

"Why are you helping me?" she asks.

"The careers aren't the only ones who can make allies," I say, but she doesn't completely believe this, so I add, "And you remind me of my sister." She doesn't question this.

"Come on, we have to go now," I tell her. I start to climb down. She doesn't hesitate to follow me now. When we hit the ground I tell her to stay close and start to run in the opposite direction of where the careers went. My lungs feel smaller than usual and my burn is aching.

"Did you get burned?" I ask Rue.

"My arm."

We stop to eat and look at our burns. I've barely had any food stay in me in the past twenty hours, so I figure it's a good idea. All the food I have left is one rabbit and the cheese from District 4's pack. Rue has a handful of roots and berries to contribute. I pick up a berry and hold it between two fingers.

"Are you sure this is safe?" I ask.

"Oh yes. We have them back home," she says. I bite into it and it's sweet and tart. It's almost as good as District 12's blackberries. I think of Gale and it feels like a weight has settled onto my shoulders.

"I've never had this much meat to myself before," Rue says. I'll bet she hasn't. I'd bet meat hardly comes her way.

"Take the back leg."

"What?"

"I can hunt more, and I can set snares. This rabbit will only keep for another day so we might as well finish it off."

Rue looks uncertainty at the leg. I pick it up and put it in her hand. "Oh, take it."

Hunger wins out. She doesn't hesitate to bite it once it's in her hand.

"So you weren't kidding about being allies?"

"No."

"What about Gale?" she asks and that makes me stop to think for a minute.

"I need to find him," I say.

"What happened?"

I tell her about our plan, how we split up. She nods along. I tell her how he hadn't come back to our camp so I decided to look for him. I also connect what I knew to what Cato said. I doubt that Cato lied about anything, he definitely wasn't in the position to lie and he didn't know how much I already knew.

"I think I know where the river is from here," Rue says.

"You do?" I try not to sound too excited as I say this.

"We just need to head a little right of the direction we were headed in."

"Oh good."

"So it's true," she says.

"What?" I ask stupidly.

"You and him," she says with a smirk on her face. Of course that's what she was asking. I roll my eyes at her but nod my head, a smile tugging on my lips.

I look down at my hands. They're covered in scars and thick skin, from years of hunting. I know that Gale's hands are too. Maybe that's why we fit together, because we've both been hurt but healed together. I've let him see my scars and he's let me see his.

"That's why I need to find him..."

Hey guys. Sorry it's been a while since I've updated. I've been busy with the holidays around and I was trying to plan how Katniss and Rue's timeline will play out. I thought about not having Rue in this story, but I feel that Katniss choosing Rue as an ally is one of the most important parts of the book so I really wanted to include it.

Happy 2016!