"Alright, now these things will start smoking like crazy, so the moment you light this one move on to the next one," you instructed Rue as you set up another campfire in the woods. "Of course, anyone can catch you at this point, so you really have to be speedy."

Rue nodded as she listened to you intently, placing the branches down on the huge pile that made up the third and final campfire.

"Then I'll just try to get rid of the supplies so that Thresh and the others would have to resort to nothing," you eventually concluded, slinging the arrows on your back.

Rue nodded. "That's a good plan. But we'll need to come up with a signal. You know, in case one of us gets held up." Shen then pointed to the golden chain on your neck. "What's this?"

You looked at what Rue was pointing to and gasped quietly. Again, you forgot about your mother's pendant. "Oh, this?" You uncovered the pendant, where the sapphire sparkled in a brilliant blue hue under the sun. "This is my token from my mother."

"That bird," Rue said, pointing to the golden bird surrounding the jewel. "That's a mockingjay. You know the story about them, right?"

You nodded. Mockingjays are really a slap in the face for the Capitol. Back when jabberjays were still around they would act as Capitol spies, relaying information from the Districts to the Capitol before something made them turn the tide and they would relay false information. As a result, they were banished to the wild, where they mated mockingbirds. The jabberjays then lost the ability to enunciate words, but with mockingjays, the thing with them is that they could simply imitate songs and fill the air with music.

"Yeah I do," you nodded. "But why do you bring this up? Are there any mockingjays here?"

Rue nodded. "Yeah, there are. Hey, I'll teach you a tune so that if one of us gets held up, we'd send that signal, and that will let the other one know that we're okay."

"Alright then," you nodded. "You sure this would work?"

"I used to sing to the mockingjays all the time back home to signal the end of work," Rue told you further. "Trust me, this would be no different."

For the first time you truly admired little Rue and her wisdom beyond her years. Being the oldest of six children, as you learned earlier, she was forced to grow up too soon. Her maturity was just so admirable. It was a miracle that so far she hasn't been caught yet. Knowing that leaving her alone now would put her in more danger, the best you could do is hope.

"Okay," you nodded. "Stay safe."

"You too," Rue said, wrapping her arms around you as she gave you a spontaneous hug, and you hugged her back now, biting your lip as you tried not to imagine her in danger. Soon, you pulled away, and while you headed to the Cornucopia, Rue headed off to the first fire.

As you laid low behind the bushes that surrounded the open plain where the Cornucopia lay, you caught sight of the remaining non-Career tributes that surrounded it--Thresh, the girl from 5 (oh for hell's sake, just nickname her Foxface for the time being, you decided, since she does have a face that resembles a fox), and the boy from District 3. All three of them were simultaneously guarding a huge pyramid of things ranging from supplies to weapons to even small packets of food. Your eyes immediately honed in now on the metal plates where you rose from below...and you knew something has gone amiss, the moment you saw the dirt unearthed and sitting on the grass.

"Hey! Over there!" you heard Foxface shout, pointing out into the forest. Sure enough, you saw a plume of smoke rise from the trees, and the first fire was lit. You smiled to yourself, crouching low behind the leaves.

"Let's go," Thresh said, picking up his scythe as Foxface picked up her knife. Then he turned to the boy from District 3. "Keep an eye out for tributes, and don't let anything happen to this," he threatened him, as he and Foxface immediately left for the fire.

Doubt seemed to settle in you as you analyzed the boy from District 3 and his position by the pyramid, his spear now in hand as he kept his lookout for anyone to come by. As time went, he couldn't help it any longer as he sighed, and slowly made his way to the pile of supplies, leaping in a sort of strange way as he landed on the ground on his tip-toes, nearing the pile with every step. Finally, he made it, and he slowly detached a huge sack full of food as he helped himself to dry fruit and a loaf of bread, snacking on those as he repeated the same little hopping dance as he made his way back to the station.

Huh. This caught your attention almost as immediately as the sight of the dirt above the grass did. Why would he just hop around like that, then? What's going on with the ground that--

Suddenly, there came another rustle in the trees from the other side, and you saw Peeta dart out from the trees, grabbing some of the supplies there with the same approach and departure method as the boy from 3 did, grabbing himself a couple bandages and gauze as he ran away now. As you watched him go, your eyes widened at his pace. Was he...limping? Apparently his movements startled the boy from 3 too, because now he was on his feet, heading in the same way you saw Peeta run, and was out of your sight in no time.

Great. Now Rue's second fire was alight, and now it was costing you time. You had to figure out what's happening.

So...there's the pyramid. There's the dirt on the grass. And then there's the funny approach and departure method that both the boy from 3 and Peeta seemed to adopt to and from the Pyramid. Is there a reason? Then it hit you...the dirt above the ground, the reason why they were avoiding them...

"It's mined," you realized. The same way your father died--being blown to bits in an explosion. Who knew that the mine he was working in HAD mines in the first place? Never being able to rescue your father since that day made you feel absolutely empty and guilty. But right now wasn't the time to think about your father. You focused your sights on the mines, then at the pyramid. No one in the history of the Games had ever tried to reactivate the mines before, and now that you knew they were there, there was no way you were going to stroll right into the mess. All you could do is stay here...and then what? How are you going to remove this link?

Your eyes soon lit upon a bag of apples just hanging outside of the pyramid, and an idea hit you. Best case scenario, you could try and have the apples trigger the mines below. The pressure didn't have to be that big, anyway. One year, a girl dropped a wooden ball on the ground before the time was up and they were still on their metal plates. They had to scrape off bits of her from the ground--literally--after the bloodbath.

So now you move further into the open, pulling out an arrow from the sheath behind you and positioned it on the string. Your breath only came out now in one silent whoosh as you focused on the one point in the bag that you were aiming for--the small flap in the bag that even you can see from afar. Then you let go. The arrow caught the bag and left a tear.

"Dammit," you murmured, positioning another arrow as you strung it now, aiming at the same point as before. Any moment now, Thresh and Foxface and the boy from 3 could return, and you didn't want to get caught in a brawl before you see Peeta again. Or Cato, for that matter.

If Rue was right about Cato not being able to hold up after you left him...then you had to see his face again before you die. Just to let him know that you were always there.

Silently, you said a prayer as you let the arrow fly now, the flap now completely off of the bag as the apples began to tumble down the pyramid. Then they hit the ground, and the entire pyramid went up in flames, knocking you back as you flew through the air, landing flat on your left arm. Smoke immediately curled through the blue sky, and falling flaming pieces began to float towards the ground, narrowly missing your body by inches.

"Crap," you mouthed, struggling now to get up, though your ears were ringing and your head felt heavy. Gritting your teeth, you brought yourself up on your hands and dragged yourself away from the open field, avoiding all the large flaming debris and making your way back to the forest just as Thresh and Foxface came back, and the boy from 3 did at the same time.

"What were you doing?!" Thresh roared, approaching the boy from 3 with a look that looked like he was ready to kill. Your eyes widened as he got into his rage--you remembered him being a tough guy, but never like this. Right now, he looked like a mean giant about to kill...except this wasn't from fairy tales. This was real.

"I-I-I--" the boy from 3 stuttered.

"You did this!" Thresh bellowed. "You did this and ran off, didn't you? You didn't want to look suspicious to us! But guess what--it didn't work!" He grabbed the boy from 3 by the collar and brought him close, just inches away.

"No, it wasn't me, I swear!" he cried. "I just got back from chasing Lover Boy!"

"Pah! You and your whole Lover Boy thing!" Thresh snapped, letting go of his collar as the boy stumbled back. You watched with wide eyes as the boy tried to run, but Thresh had him tight in his grasp again and then, with a swift jerk of his head, snapped his neck.

It was that quick. The death of the boy from 3.

"There's nothing there!" Foxface reported, shaking her head. "But what does it matter? I've had it with you, Thresh! You promised it would work!"

"IT SHOULD HAVE, IF THAT BOY DIDN'T TRY TO PLAY SMART! BUT LOOK AT WHAT IT COST HIM!" Thresh roared and bellowed and tried not to raise his voice, but it was so easy for him when he got angry to do that. You could imagine Cato doing the same thing if he was in the same situation. Who wouldn't?

Foxface shook her head. "Forget it, 11. I'm out of here. I'm going to live on my own. I'm out of your stupid alliance. I can't stay with you."

Thresh didn't even try to stop her as she turned on her heel now and ran off in the opposite direction, back to the woods.

For a moment, you didn't know what to do as you crouched, paralyzed at the scene unfolding in front of you. You were completely alone, without the Careers or Rue or even Peeta beside you. What could you do now? Check on Rue and see if she was able to light all the fires? Try to find the Careers and see how they're doing, especially since they lost 2 of their merry band? 3, if they counted you? Or try to find Peeta, whom you assumed was the Lover Boy Thresh referred him to? Rue did say he was near the river, last she saw him, but with his bolt through the woods, that would no longer be an option, right?

You decided eventually to get up and check on Rue first. The Careers might be a long shot now, and looking for either the Careers or Peeta at this point would be a waste of time. As you started to make your way through the woods, a knife in hand and constantly held in front of you, you felt cold shivers go up your system, realizing that this is one of your first trips through the woods, completely alone and without any allies beside you. The safety that you felt with Cato's steady tread and warmth beside you had now completely dissolved now, and you even missed his arm draped over your shoulders in protection. Heck, you'd even settle for Peeta's gently squeezes of your hand as you trek through the woods with him. Maybe you two weren't anything close to experienced hunting partners, but he was still your best friend.

Is he, anymore? A tear slid down your cheek as you recalled your refusal to accept his apology and forgive him. And in return, he took that as "no, I don't want you around because I want Cato". How very wrong that sounded, to think that you and Cato would ever be a thing. You convinced yourself that Cato was only doing all he could to protect you...and in return, you never made it to Peeta's side after all you have been through.

It was all you could do now to keep walking through the forest, keeping a sharp eye for anything that could kill you, trying to banish every single thought about your feelings for Cato and Peeta. You'll sort them out later. Right now...it's Rue you're worried about.

Hesitantly, you stopped at a clearing and began to whistle your signal to her. At once, the birds picked up the melody and started to sing back, their chirps echoing through the branches and the leaves as you smiled, lost in the beautiful tunes they created.

A shout snapped you out of your reverie, however.

"(Y/N)!!!!!!!!!!!!"