The moon was riding high in the sky, pearled and feathered with the high-wind clouds as Dustin stumbled through the undergrowth, his arms straining against the dead weight of Neri's limp body. A little wind sighed across the tangle of crisscrossing branches with a slight aeolian hum as Dustin finally came to stop beside a meandering stream, gently setting Neri down onto the grass. Dustin bit his lip in anxiety at his ally. Neri was covered in red, painful welts, with thin red streaks of blood running down her once unblemished cheeks. Ignoring his throbbing arms, Dustin hurriedly knelt beside Neri and gently felt for a heartbeat.

He let a breath of relief escape his lips as the steady ba-dum of Neri's heartbeat vibrated through his trembling hand, filling Dustin with an unexpected warmth. Neri's chest rose and fell gently, and finally succumbing to his weariness, Dustin let himself collapse in a heap beside Neri, throat parched and muscles burning. The gentle trickling of the stream tempted him to drink, but he resisted the temptation for fear it was poison. It's just like those sick Gamemakers to do that, he thought, anger arising in his chest, poison everything. Hurt Neri and Aperio.

Aperio!

Dustin was up in the blink of an eye, terror suddenly coursing through his veins. All at once, gruesome images of Aperio's dead body flashed through the boy's mind, and Dustin struggled to push that thought away. No. Aperio's fine, he has to be. He's smart. However, Dustin could not help but think back to the cannons he had heard earlier when he was carrying Neri to safety. Was Aperio one of them? God, I hope not.

Neri stirred in the grass, a soft murmur escaping her chapped lips. Immediately Dustin's attention returned to the matter at hand, and crawled over to where Neri lay. Her electric blue irises fluttered open, and she let out a groan of pain. Instinctively, Dustin tenderly brushed Neri's thick mass of hair from her face. Hair as beautiful as a blossomed heliotrope, and so full of life that she could comb sparks out of it in the dark. Neri coughed and winced as she struggled to sit up. Torn between letting the girl do her own thing and trying to make her stay down, Dustin sat still as Neri sat up, eyes darting back and forth warily. As her pair of azure orbs landed on Dustin's face, the boy couldn't but help feel his heart do that same little race it had done before, when they had talked in the cave.

***

"Dust?" Neri's voice was hoarse and throaty, every word causing her pain. Her mind swam, and her vision blurred so that the only color she could see was black, with flicking specks of grey dotting the girl's eyesight. A small sliver of panic wormed its way through the very core of her bones, and Neri trembled. Black, she thought, it's all black-it's all evil, everything. Feeling the familiar lump growing at the back of her throat, Neri struggled not to cry. But, oh! It's so hard not to, Neri thought bitterly, resentment replacing her fear, it hurts. It's hurts more than what He did. This, this is worse. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, and any movement, however slight, sent shock waves of pain through her body.

"Y-yeah?" Dustin's voice sounded weary, and Neri immediately knew that their escape from the hybrid Fly Traps had taken its toil on her partner as well, and her heart softened. Dustin saved me, again. Despite her previous thoughts, Neri found herself wondering whether Dustin was actually a grey or not. He's...so unique. No grey has ever noticed me before, or saved me, for the matter. She watched him with interest and gratefulness as Dustin stood up, seemingly deep in thought.

Dustin Octavius, she wanted to say, you're the best grey I've ever met.

***

Seeing that Neri was coping, Dustin got to his feet, ignoring the girl's intent gaze on him. His mind had suddenly leapt into survival mode, and now that his previous mission of saving Neri was complete, another plan was already forming in his mind.

Step One: Go back to shelter, find supplies if they haven't been destroyed.

Step Two: Find Aperio.

Step Three: Don't run into anyone and get killed.

Step Four: Find some medicine for Neri. Herbs? Possible looting?

Step Five: Repeat step three.

Momentarily satisfied with his program, Dustin pivoted around on his heel to inform Neri of his plan, when the ground suddenly trembled. Both tributes froze in place, their eyes widening with newfound fear, their breathing escalating. There was no sound except the croaking of drenched frogs upon the rushing stream rocks. Another tremor was felt soon after, this time slightly stronger. Something creaked overhead, and at once the silence was penetrated with the shrill squawking of birds. Lifting their heads, Dustin and Neri watched as the silhouette of the fowls rise as one from every tree in the jungle, before taking off into the everlasting night. A shadow passed over them, and one glance upwards showed them that the silver moon had been draped with the eiderdown of darkness. The earth beneath Dustin's feet quavered once more, and he watched in growing horror as cracks appeared in the dirt.

He looked up, and the same time did Neri. Their eyes connected, hazel and blue. Both were filled with alarm, and panic. However, Neri's orbs were pleading, pleading with him to save her from what was about to come.

"Dustin." Neri said, not quite asking a question, not quite making a statement. Licking his lips, Dustin realized with a joint that his plans had just went down the drain. Taking a deep breath, he tried not to let his overwhelming sense of panic take control.

"Neri," even Dustin was surprised at how level his voice was, how calm. Reaching down, he heaved Neri to her feet, ignoring her grimaces. There was no time now, to tend to her burns and welts. "Neri," he repeated, staring deep into her eyes. Deep inside of him, Dustin knew that this was a make-it or break-it moment, "We have to run."

The ground heaved, more forcefully, and both Neri and Dustin stumbled. Neri let out a surprised yelp, but managed to steady herself against a tree.

"Where do w-we go?" Neri stammered, her eyes darting about like a deer caught in headlights.

Inhaling sharply, Dustin knew there was only one sturdy place that they could be truly safe from the earthquake coming, "The Cornucopia."

***

Neri gaped up at her grey savior, not knowing how to respond. She knew they had to leave their spot soon, but the Cornucopia? I can't go there. She shuddered at the memories, at how Venenious had almost taken her life. So much blood had been spilled there. So much darkness.

"Dustin, I-" her breath caught in her throat, and she coughed. Neri glanced upwards towards Dustin. Dirty sweat poured down from his brow and his hands bled slightly from the Venus Fly Trap's acid. "I can't go," she whispered, lowering her head in shyness and shame. She knew Dustin would think badly of her, call her an idiot, but she couldn't go back-it was too risky, too dangerous. Too dark.

Dustin scowled, a rare occurrence, and tugged her arm forcefully, as he tried to lead her away from the shaking clearing, "Neri."

Gathering all the strength she could muster, Neri wriggled her arm out of Dustin's grip, wincing as that small movement caused her pain. Behind them, there was a crash as a small tree fell to the ground. The earthquake's gathering strength, Neri knew this, but yet her fear of the evil and death shrouding the Cornucopia kept her feet glued to the ground. Dustin jumped as another tree toppled to the ground, and his face took on a more pleading tone, "Please Neri, we don't have time for this."

All Neri could do was stare. She felt her mind shutting down, tuning out the sounds of the groaning, heaving forest and Dustin's frantic pleads for her to move. She had done this before-when something scared her, something big, Neri would tune it out, let herself drift away into blissful oblivion. Then there would be nothing, nothing to hurt her, nothing to make her afraid. She'd been afraid for so long, too long. She had told herself to stop hiding, to be brave like everyone else, but she couldn't. Gradually, the sound of the crashing trees and crackling flames caused by a flash of artificial lightning seemed to die away. The Game makers were scraping the lees from the bottom of the cask, Neri thought hazily, everything blurring around her. And I'll be one of them.

She wanted nothing more than to die.

Dying would be such a relief-no more suffering at the hands of the Gamemakers, no more haunting nightmares of Him. Dustin would have more chance at getting home, and so would Aperio. They deserved to go home. They had something to live for. Neri? Neri had nothing, no one. Allison would be better off without her. Everyone would be.

Dustin was shaking her now, voice laced with sudden panic. "Neri?" she vaguely heard him ask-the darkness had consumed her, and his face was nothing more that a blob of colors, "Shit, Neri, stay with me!"

There was an eerie silence, and through her hazy mind Neri thought that it was all over. But then, "Damn it all to hell," she heard Dustin say.

She felt his hands on her scaly, bleeding cheeks, and then suddenly, unexpectedly, he had leaned forward and kissed her.

The darkness disappeared suddenly, replaced by an overwhelming sense of whiteness, and Neri's sparkling blue eyes snapped open, losing it's glazed-over appearance and becoming bright. Every nerve in her beaten, bruised body seemed to come to life, and suddenly she felt...something new. Dustin's fingers gripped her cheeks desperately, although Neri ignored the pain. Neither spoke as Neri found herself kissing him back with equal desperation and fervor. Fingers and nails clawed at the skin hidden under far too many layers of clothing as both of they both stumbled to their feet, crashing into the trunks of trees and branches of shrubs, not understanding the dynamics of corners, and forgetting for the moment that they were in the legendary Hunger Games, with millions watching their every move.

This was primal in its simplest form. There was nothing rational, nor sane about what they were doing. They should be running from the impending disaster, saving themselves, not doing this. This was insanity, an act of sheer folly, and lunacy-and so Neri gave herself into the madness.