The problem with one bad thing happening is that more bad things are likely to be triggered by this bad event, creating a virtually unstoppable domino effect of bad things. The dominos falling sluggishly at first then rapidly speeding up as momentum builds.

That was kind of what was happening here.

First I had gotten reaped, then I had been forced onstage in an interview with the women who wanted me dead, following that I had been mauled by a shark, attacked by a bigfoot, had my leg chopped off, then something that was so bad happened while I was unconscious, Carolina-Ax won't even tell me and finally I had to retrieve an underwater vile while surrounded by careers. However none of those things even compared to when the arena flooded.

It all started when Carolina-Ax got hit in the head with a parachute box.

We had just been sitting in silence, me working on my prosthetic leg and her sitting in silence glaring at something in the distance when out of nowhere two parachutes fell through the tree branches. One hit Carolina-Ax squarely in the forehead- she promptly swore and flipped off the sky. Mine landed neatly next to me.

Carolina-Ax scowled suspiciously at the box that had flopped to her side, rubbing her head. "It's probably here to kill us."

I shook my head, "No, Carolina-Ax, these are sponsor gift boxes. They should be okay to open." I said unlatching the silver colored box before she could tell me otherwise.

I opened it and a yellow piece of rubber fell out. Rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds plus water. Forms of polyisoprene that are used as natural rubbers are classified as elastomers. Currently, rubber is harvested mainly in the form of the latex from certain trees. The latex is a sticky, milky colloid drawn off by making incisions into the bark and collecting the fluid in vessels in a process called "tapping". Of course this rubber had been dyed and molded in order to create whatever this turned out to be.

"I will be severely pissed if that ends up killing us." Carolina-Ax grunted watching me as unfolded the... liferaft as it turns out.

"Yes indeed," I said deciding to take a risk, "This liferaft really is quite evil." I felt a grin make its way to my face.

She fake gasped, "Did the nerdy mechanic actually just crack a joke? The seventh sign of the apocalypse!"

"Yes as a matter of fact I did. I am rather proud of myself." I said serious again, looking at the life raft. "What do you suppose this is for? Someone finally felt bad for me because I couldn't swim?"

Carolina-Ax shrugged and opened hers, the same fell out. "Either someone has an awful sense of humor or something bad is about to happen." Her eyes darted from side to side as if she expected something to jump out and maul her.

Carolina-Ax was right as it turns out, because at that second Mayla's voice filled the arena. "Hello tributes! And congratulations on making the final 8, but that isn't why you are here." She laughs, "Well I hope you can swim! If not, row, row, row your boat!"

Carolina-Ax and I exchanged a look. "I'm going to kill that bitch." She growled as a rumbling filled the arena. Through branches, I saw a huge wave forming out in the ocean. My eyes widened in horror as I looked at the deflated raft in my hands.

I grabbed the raft and began blowing it up fervently as the waves crashed toward us. Despite the terror and the panic that consumed me in those fatal few seconds, the seconds that would decide whether it was life or death for me, I still managed to notice the raft inflated easier than it should have. If I survived I was going to take it apart and figure out how it worked.

The waves hit me like a wall of concrete, tossing me every which way, dragging me every direction, trying to pry my grasp from the float. The float shot to the surface and I gasped as my head broke the surface, I pulled myself completely into the float. I noticed that I hadn't managed to blow the float up completely, it bobbed low in the water. I sat up shakily and looked around, everywhere as far as the eye could see was water. I saw 6 other floats bobbing in the distance. I crained my neck around looking for Carolina-Ax, her float was right behind mine, her hair was plastered in front her eyes- er eye reminding me of a sheepdog. She swiped it out of her face.

I glanced behind me nervously at the floats in the distance. There was nowhere to hide, this was going to be a mass murder. We didn't stand a chance logically speaking, if my calculations were correct there were two career pairs left and the giant mentally challenged guy's pair. Unless....

"Carolina-Ax, quick! Bring your boat up alongside mine, get into my boat, and lets flip your boat on top of mine." I said nervously wondering if it was too late, if we had already been seen.

"Why?" She scowled taking in the arena, her eyes settling on the other boats.

"Just do it! Please?!" I said desperately, "I'll explain after."

She shrugged and hopped in my partially sunk boat and pulled her boat over us. "Nice. Now we have a little cabana to throw a little party in. Cute." She growled glowering at me.

I shook my heads, "No. Now when the other boats look at us all they will see is one flipped over boat. They will assume we drowned. Gosh, we can probably float here unnoticed until the final four." I said excitedly- though that of course is assuming that they hadn't seen us.

Carolina-Ax shook her head, swallowing hard. "No. These games don't win themselves. Great idea, but I say we use it as the element of surprise to pick off the strong ones." She said drawing her twin axes from her belt that had somehow managed to stay in her belt during the jawbreaking ride through the waves.

I looked downward and nodded. If we were going to be the ones to win, now would be the time to pick off the strong ones. I paused noticing how grave my line of thinking had become. I remembered how just a few days ago all I had wanted to do was build a sandcastle, and have a vacation. My mother had been right- even though The Hunger Games had the word games in it; there was nothing fun about them. They destroyed even the most optimistic of us.

"Good." Carolina-Ax said peeking through the crack between our boats, "We've got a while before the current drags us to them though, so get comfortable." She rolled over onto her back and closed her eyes.

I looked at her, wondering what made her tick. One second she was killing things and beating people up the next she was bawling. I didn't quite to know what to make of it, and then for the past day or so she had been actually going out of her way to be nice to me. She hadn't screamed at me to shut up once. It was actually quite scary. I sigh and looked away. It was really none of my business anyway.

"Revere." Carolina-Ax's voice cut through the silence.

"Uhhh. Yes?" I said looking over, surprised she was initiating a conversation.

"If we are going to die in the games, we are probably going to die within the next hour or so." She said unemotionally staring up at the ceiling of the makeshift hiding space. The sun was baking it, making the space between the two boats hot and uncomfortable to breathe.

I nodded, we have a one in 4 chance of surviving, but that chance goes down significantly because I can't swim. All someone has to do is knock me in the water and we are both dead. "I'm sorry." I said suddenly feeling like everything was my fault- even though I had been reaped the same as everyone else. "Its not like anyone will miss me anyway." I added, my throat choking up.

She looked at me. "Well. I don't suppose you strike me as the type of person who has two stable parents and a social life." She grunted cocking her head to one side and raising her eyebrows like it was just occurring to her now.

I sigh, "Your confidence in my sanity knows no bounds."

She shook her head, "Don't take it personally. So what is your story?" She asked looking over at me with interest.

I paused, briefly debating if I should tell her. After all I knew next to nothing about her except for the fact she killed someone and she wants to murder Mayla. "Well." I paused again regretting my choice to tell her. "My mom was raped when she was my age and... well six months later I came along. She tried to love me but I know its hard for her. I don't begrudge her at all, I am just a messed up failure. Like the things I try to build, I'm just a malfunction. I tried really hard to make friends... but I'm just not the kind of person people like I guess. Its okay though." I shrugged as if I didn't care even though I did. I did way too much.

I was lonely, I realized suddenly, a deep aching loneliness. Maybe that was why I hid my nose in books so much and built things and never stopped because if I did I would remember how lonely it is to be a failure.

Carolina-Ax looked at me for a long time. Then she leaned over and did the thing I least expected her to do: She hugged me. "It is okay because I like you. I have this theory that life gives you only what you need to get by, and if it gives you one friend? Then you are strong as heck and you shouldn't let any bitch mess with you." She smiled and leaned back.

I looked at her suspiciously, "Who are you and what have you done with Carolina-Ax?" I asked hesitantly. "Did Mayla poison you or something?"

She grinned, "Everyone is composed of different layers. People just aren't one thing. I have a nice side, I just don't show it very often. Just like you aren't all annoying. You have a bearable side too."

I felt my heart drop a little and I looked down. So I was annoying.

"Hell! Revere! Smile, I'm just teasing you." She gasped rolling her eyes like I was an idiot- which I guess I kind of was.

I decided to take a risk, "So.... Whats your story?" I asked looking at her hesitantly.

Her face got all white like it did the last time I mentioned it, she didn't break eye contact though. "Umm..." She looked away uncomfortably, her eye catching the crack between the two boats as she focused on something beyond it. "Crap! We're coming up on a boat- no two boats."

I crawled over to see what she was looking at, two boats were pulled up next to each other the life raft's occupants fighting for their lives. It looked like the pair from one had attacked the males from 7 and 3. I swallowed hard, "You want to attack them?"

She looked a little pale but she nodded, as we drifted the last couple yards toward the other boats I braced myself with nothing because- well I had nothing. Part of me wondered if part of the reason Carolina-Ax had decided to attack them was because she was avoiding telling me whatever had happened to her back in District 10. I wondered if I'd ever know.

"Stay here and don't move." Carolina-Ax whispered, I didn't argue. I knew I'd be useless in combat. "3..." This was going to be suicide, "2..." she couldn't triumph over four tributes. "....1!" I watched her throw off the float covering us off and leap like a cat of prey into the fight, starting off with chopping the male from 1's head off with ease. It tumbled, crumpling like a falling building, his head plopping into the water next to me where it bobbed next to me. Its eyes half open and its jaw slack. His sword slid over the side- I leapt forward and grabbed it before it could sink.

I looked up at the fight. The blonde career had slumped over dead, the giant from three had enveloped Carolina-Ax in his arms. his partner had clearly been dealt a deadly blow as he bleed in the raft panting. I watched in horror as the giant crushed her. I needed to help her, I thought frantically racking my brain for something I could do. Thinking fast I jabbed the sword into the side of the float they stood on. Air gushed free throwing the float off balance. The male from three lost his footing and toppled into the water dragging Carolina-Ax in with him. I gasped using my hands to paddle toward where they had went under.

The male from three's head broke the surface of the water gasping and struggling for air, his hands grasping my float. We made eye contact for one brief second before I forced myself to shove the sword through his scalp. I felt the blade puncture crack through his skull and slice through his brain as if it were no more than air.

I stared in horror at what I had done feeling my stomach flip. I let go of sword as the three male's body flopped backward into the water. I threw up shaking, I had done what needed to be done but that didn't make it any easier.

"Eww." Carolina-Ax scowled treading water a few feet away. "Grow a backbone. Or make yourself a prosthetic one to match your leg, just don't vomit in our life source."

I sat back shuddering, the extra life rafts was floating away leaving us with the half sunk puke infested one. "Sorry, I do not enjoy killing people." I muttered looking away.

"Excuse me? Are you saying I do? You think I volunteered for this hell hole?" She snapped, her eyes shooting daggers.

I paused half afraid she would kill me, but deciding it didn't matter. We were all dead in the end anyway. "Technically you did volunteer." I pointed out coldly.

"I- I didn't have a choice! The peacekeepers would have killed me if I stayed! You don't understand! Nobody understands!" She cried her eyes starting to water. Instantly I felt awful. She paddled over and held onto the float. "All I want is to be happy- I know its stupid I just- just! Gah I hope you rot in ****ing hell Mayla! I will cut your ovaries out and send them to your parents in a envelope!" She screamed and then burst out crying.

It was official. Females terrified me.

I hesitantly reached forward to touch her shoulder. "Tell me?- I mean you don't have to, but sharing your load with others help. I can help you. We can talk about it- or not. I mean its up to you." I said rubbing the back of my neck uncomfortably.

She shook her head pulling herself onto the edge of the raft. "My father was a butcher, my mother always in weak health stayed home to raise me. My life was happy at first- but I don't really remember it. Then- then my father started drinking and gambling. My mother had to work in the shop we lost a lot of business because she couldn't keep. up with the orders. He used to beat my mother and I then steal the little money we had to fund his habit. When I was eleven, I tried to stop him from stealing our money one night... It got really bad.... he ended up popping my eye out." She paused, her eyes distant as she remembered that night long ago. "Anyway not long after that I quit school and began working at the butcher shop for long hours, gradually we started to get business back and I brought in more money. I hid the difference between our old income so we'd have money for food. My father never got better, things only got worse as I got older. On the morning of the reaping I had been putting in some extra hours at the shop.... When I came home I heard screaming... which wasn't unusual for our house, still I rushed in-" She stopped, her throat choking up. "Mom was dead. He- he had killed her. I saw red... I beat him to death. I barely realized I was doing it." Her voice came out strangled and halted. "It would have been smarter I suppose.... to just let the peacekeepers charge me with murder and execute me.. but part of me just wants to live it see another day, to live to wake up with a smile on my face and just be okay. I want a future. I want to get old have children and start a new life. So I decided to volunteer for the games and get out of the peacekeeper's reach before they found the bodies. I thought I had a chance. " She shook her head. "I'm so stupid."

I was silent for a long time, Carolina-Ax's story embedding itself in my mind. Finally I spoke, "Carolina-Ax! We are in the final four! We can go home! We are so close to the rest of our life!" I said as she looked up with tears in her eyes.

Carolina-Ax shook her head, "Don't you see? We will always be broken and scarred from this. I've

killed more people than I can count, the stress is fraying my nerves, and living under the eye of the capital for the rest of my life- I just have no idea how I can ever be happy after this!" She exclaimed, cradling her head in her hands.

I hesitated, she couldn't loose hope. I had to say or do something... Then the reality hit me. "Carolina-Ax, we have been shoved into a fight to the death, we have been on Mayla's kill list since the beginning, yet we've managed to survive. We fought a shark, outsmarted a bigfoot, amputated a leg and survived a mass flood, I think we can figure out how to be happy."

Revere, Revere, such an optimist. Sadly his prediction never came true and he died before he could even have a chance at it- though lets face it. None of them did.