Exhaustion and fatigue slammed into Akari with the force of a freight train. She had wandered the jungle aimlessly for hours and hours on end, and to no avail; there was no food. None that was edible, at least. There were plants covering every inch of the forest floor, and rain pattered lightly against the soft leaves. Despite the rain, it was hot, and sweat poured off Akari, making her shirt stick to her.

Animals chittered and chattered, scurrying to and fro. They were all too fast for her to catch in her sore, exhausted state. The only weapon she had were the spiked coverings she wore over her knuckles, but they were not enough to catch any of the tiny animals darting back-and-forth.

Worst of all, she hadn't found any water.

She could feel the effects of dehydration settling in. Her tongue felt thick, and she began to salivate. It hurt to swallow, and her throat felt like it had been scraped raw with sandpaper. At last, she collapsed, panting, and closed her eyes. I'm too tired. I can't... I'm so tired... Her mental voice trailed off, and distantly she realized she was probably going to die right then and there.

"Akari?"

At the sound of a tribute's voice, Akari's eyes slowly peeled open. Wynder, the young girl from District 12, stood over her with her arms crossed. The two girls had briefly talked during training a few times, but had never officially agreed to ally. "Water..." Akari croaked. Her voice was hoarse; sounding just as raw as her throat felt.

"Well... I suppose you'll be needing this?" Wynder asked, shaking a water bottle in her hand.

***

Wynder, by some twist of fate, had ended up in a jungle. After crossing the pool of electric eels, Wynder had run into a few tributes. Not wanting a confrontation, she ran through the twisting maze.

The tributes surrounded her when she reached a cave with no exits--only a pool of water in the center that caught her attention. She dove into it, figuring that there was a better chance to survive in the water then on the shore with three angry tributes.

As Wynder continued swimming deeper, a glimmer of light caught her eye. She moved towards it, narrowly avoiding being run through with an arrow. The light turned out to be a small tunnel, one which the small girl barely fit through as she tried to escape. Her supply of oxygen became increasingly small as she continued fighting through the water. Her vision blurred and her eyes stung as she nearly gave in to the urge to give up.

But then a voice in the back of her mind urged her on. Don't lose hope Wynder, not after you've made it this far! Although Garrett's voice was the one that spoke, Wynder knew that it was just her brain trying to keep her alive. The same way it had when she thought life wasn't worth living anymore.

The motivation paid off as Wynder surfaced, gasping for air. As she coughed and sputtered, she looked around. The musty cave Wynder had been living in for a few days was no more. Instead, tall trees towered all around, and animals chirped and croaked. She had ended up in a jungle, a completely different part of the arena.

Wynder pulled open her backpack, fishing out one of two water bottles that she had the luck of finding. She gulped half a bottle before realizing that she should probably save some for later. Wynder tucked the bottle back inside the pack, this time taking the time to inspect her weaponry. A few arrows had decided to become fishes during her swim, but other than that she had enough to defend herself for a while.

Upon deciding that being a sitting duck was not the brightest, Wynder began exploring her new surroundings. That's how she stumbled into Akari.

Wynder narrowed her eyes at the older girl in front of her. Akari, the District 10 girl, was leaning against a tree. She looks like death, Wynder thought, fighting the urge to tell her so. Despite how boastful Akari had been during the interview about being a fancy warrior, the girl didn't seem all that vicious. Not to Wynder.

Not while she was leaning against a tree, helpless and exhausted. I could kill her, Wynder thought. She rolled with the thought, playing with it in her mind. And if I don't kill her, she could kill me. But could I really live with the guilt of taking someone's life when I haven't even decided whether or not I want to live? Wynder stared at Akari again, the samurai's body screamed fatigue. Or maybe I can save her. I could die a hero instead of a coward.

She plopped down beside Akari, holding out the water bottle. Slipping the pack off her shoulders, she sat it on her lap and glanced at Akari, who was taking a sip of the water.

She sighed, giving it back to Wynder. "Thanks."

Wynder waved off the comment, drinking a little water, before she returned it to her pack. "We need to find food." She had some crackers in the bag but had decided that they would be better used when they were absolutely desperate with hunger.

Akari nodded, before gesturing to the jungle. "Good luck. I have been searching this jungle aimlessly for hours, and I haven't been able to catch anything."

Wynder pursed her lips, touching the bow on her back. "I can probably shoot something..." She didn't know what, the animals in the arena were definitely not native to District 12.

Akari frowned, glancing at Wynder briefly. "Is there any way I can help?"

Wynder looked at the girl. She didn't have, well, anything. Outside of the metal gloves on her hands, she didn't have any weapon on her, and nothing else of use either. It was Wynder's turn to frown. It was kind of ironic, the sixteen year old girl was providing for the soon to be mom. "Well... no. You're completely useless."

***

Hours later, Akari and Wynder both sat underneath the shade of a giant-sized tree, resting. Wynder had managed to catch a small furry creature that Akari didn't know the name of. They both had decided against starting a fire and risk attracting attention from tributes, or worse.

They had eaten the meat raw.

Akari gagged, and threw up onto the ground. Even the smell of the raw, uncooked meat made her stomach churn. There was a nudge from the inside of her stomach, and she sighed. You don't like the food anymore than I do, do you? Akari silently asked her child.

Akari took a deep breath and forced down the rest of the contents, gagging and choking the entire time.

Wynder looked at her, practically staring. It made Akari uncomfortable, mostly because she disliked extra attention. "What is it?" Akari asked her at last, unable to stand another second of it.

Wynder shrugged. "I guess I just can't understand something. Why would you willingly choose to bring someone into a world of suffering?"

The question caught Akari by surprise. She was unsure how to answer at first, resulting in an uncomfortable silence between the two girls. Swallowing deeply, she tried to find her voice. "I don't... I mean. It wasn't exactly planned. It happened before the Reaping, before I even thought about being Reaped. I mean, I've always wanted a family of my own. Yes, I know that it's cruel to bring a child to a world where they will one day be forced to place their name in the Reaping Ball, and one day, even possibly be Reaped themselves, but... I don't think I could give up having a family of my own just because of the world's current... circumstances."

Wynder furrowed her eyebrows, as if thinking about Akari's words. "It's not only that though," she paused, fear flashing through her eyes. "My mother, she was wonderful when I was younger. But things can change in the blink of an eye. It's not just the world's circumstances that contribute to someone's pain. Trust me, I know," She emphasized the last bit, pain very evident in her voice. "After you were reaped, did you ever think about killing the baby? I mean, it's highly unlikely that you are going to make it out alive."

Akari's eyes widened. Shock and horror swam through her, beating in time with her pounding heart. She had no idea what to say in response, and was so shocked that Wynder had suggested such a thing. "No! It's... There is still a chance, however slim, that I may survive. I... I owe it to my child to give us both that chance, without robbing them of that same chance." Akari's thoughts drifted to Hijikata. He was probably watching the screens. What would he do if he saw his wife kill their unborn child on live television?

Not to mention, the idea of killing a life... Akari shuddered.

Wynder didn't say anything. Instead, a far away look glazed over her face, as though she were deep in thought.

Suddenly, the world around them rumbled. Explosions rang, echoing in Akari's ears. Branches and roots of the massive-sized jungle trees snapped and cracked, as they were ripped and torn from the earth.

Dirt rained down around both girls, making them scream. Akari stumbled to her feet, with Wynder just beside her. The earth shook and rumbled, throwing Akari off balance. She grabbed onto the tree behind them, trying in vain to support herself.

Animals howled and yowled, birds cried out and flew off in terror.

Fear clawed Akari's chest, making her shiver. "What's... What's happening?"

Wynder met her eyes with a look of horror that mirrored Akari's. "I don't...."

There was an ear-splitting crash, and the ground before Akari's eyes cracked, and tore open. "Earthquake..." The word was lost on Akari's lips, covered up by the sounds of the world around them being shattered.

"We need to go, now!" Wynder yelled. The girl took off in a random direction, so Akari pushed her legs, forcing herself to follow. Leaves whispered and rattled, falling all around them. Debris and branches crashed down on them, slamming into them. Pain flared in Akari's arm and head, but she forced herself to continue. She ignored the burning ache in her legs, and the way her ribs stung.

***

The trees offered little protection from the falling debris. In fact, they did just the opposite. That was why Wynder had decided to run instead of staying in one spot. The trees came crashing down all around them. It was as if the jungle was dying, being ripped and torn apart piece by piece.

Wynder had only read about earthquakes in her school library. They usually happened on the west coast and only for a few seconds.

But this earthquake was difficult--and that's what terrified her.

For more than thirty or forty seconds the arena shook with the ferocity of a lion chasing after its' prey.

Only now, Akari and Wynder were the prey.

A tree crashed in front of Wynder, the force of the fall pushing her to the ground. A branch collapsed on top of her, knocking the air out of her lungs. The bow, quiver, and bag pressed uncomfortably into her back. She lay in a daze for a few seconds, watching as birds flew out of the foliage with cries of fear.

"Wynder!" Akari, had finally caught up. "What are you doing?"

"Taking a nap," Wynder replied a bit snarkily. I just want the world to stop shaking. She pushed the branch off her chest, standing up and breaking into a run. "You coming?"

Akari stumbled forward. Her footsteps became even more staggered--her breath more ragged. Wynder could only hope that she could keep up; she did not have the energy or desire to carry another human with her.

Wynder was looking for somewhere to hide--somewhere like a cave or a clearing.

And suddenly, she found one. Just a few hundred feet ahead was a tiny meadow filled to the brim with flowers. Pink and white petals cascaded off falling trees, mixing with the brilliant yellows of dandelions, the pale blues of the forget me nots, and the light purples of lilacs. It was a stark contrast to the destruction in the jungle behind them.

"We can rest there." Wynder pointed up ahead, beckoning for Akari to hurry up. She collapsed in the center, breathing hard. As soon as Akari reached her, the shaking stopped.

"That was fun." Wynder couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed at the Gamemakers for 'shaking things up'. "Are you okay?"

Akari's face was shiny with sweat, her whole demeanor screamed exhaustion. "I could use some water."

Wynder nodded, pulling out the now nearly empty bottle. She still had the other one, but didn't want to share quite yet.

Akari had nearly finished the bottle when the earth began shaking again.

This time, the earth ripped apart underneath Wynder. With a scream, she fell--saved only by grabbing a root that poked out of the ground like a hand. Her grip loosened with each movement she made in her struggle to climb back up.

She was going to die.

"Wynder!" Akari yelled, peering over the edge of the chasm at the distressed tribute. "Hold on." Akari had started to move away from the hole when Wynder spoke up.

"Wait." She held on to the root with all her might, but her energy draining quickly. Dirt continued to rain down on her even though the quake had stopped. "I don't want you to try to pull me up."

"What?" Akari sounded very concerned, but didn't stop whatever she was doing.

"You aren't strong enough. I could end up pulling you in." This is it, Wynder thought to herself. My end is here. Isn't this what I wanted? Her mind tried fighting her decision to give up, her eyes began filling with tears. "I'm so sorry Garrett. But at least I can die a hero," she whispered so only the cameras--that were without a doubt focused on the two tributes--could hear.

"My life isn't worth very much and you are worth two. Save yourself." Her arms burned with the effort of holding her body above the pit.

I'm really going to die here.

***

"No Wynder," Akari stated firmly."You saved mine, I can save yours." As the blossoms cascaded from the trees around her, she was reminded that a life is precious, no matter what.

She wasn't going to let Wynder die. As quickly as she could, she tied a vine from a nearby jungle tree around her waist. There was no time to ensure that it was secure. She could practically hear Hijikata screaming at her about her recklessness. But I have to save her. I can't let her die. I won't.

Wynder laughed before responding. "It's too late."

Akari crouched down, cautiously trying to turn around to get a better foothold.

Wynder screamed, and her arms gave out.

Akari reached her right hand down, grabbing Wynder's arm.

The force of the added weight, made Akari's feet slide down the cliff. She grunted and managed to grab a hold with her left hand, while still holding Wynder in her right.

I cannot let her die. I am not weak, Akari chanted.

Dangling off the side of the cliff, Akai's left hand slowly started to slip.