I was almost asleep when the ballet ended, and Braken practically dragged me to my feet, turning to make sure Leo wasn't looking, and then asked me again. GET ME ONE? Then he put his hand on his chest, almost like he was apologizing, though his palm was flat this time instead of a closed fist. That was please, wasn't it?

"We'll see," I said. "Come on, we have to go before they figure out where we went."

He sighed again and took Leo's hand, helping him up to his feet. Together, the three of us staggered out into the freezing night, leaving the warmth of the building and pushing past crowds of people determined to block the exit by taking pictures with the decorations. 

Again, we were hit by a blast of icy wind, a few stray snowflakes drifting through the air. "Where are we going to go?" Leo whispered, shivering violently. 

"I don't know," I mumbled. I looked around, but I didn't know what I was really searching for. A miracle? No one was here to help us. The whole wide world was against us. I didn't know what to do. 

We walked for a little bit, and then Braken pointed to a dark alley. "In there?" Leo murmured, and the other boy nodded. 

"Just for tonight," I said, praying we wouldn't get caught or freeze to death. 

We ducked inside when it felt like no one was looking, and found that it opened up a little in the back, once we got past the cramped entrance. There were scraps of garbage all over the floor, and that gave me an idea.

"Do you think you can make a fire?" I asked Leo.

He nodded a little. "But ... won't they see the smoke?" 

"It'll get lost in the city pollution," I said, though I wasn't sure. "I'm afraid we'll freeze out here." I sat down, and the other two sat next to me. There was a little spot in the middle, just enough room for a tiny fire. Leo and I collected the scraps of garbage and piled them up, and then Leo held out a finger and ignited it. It smelled horrible, but it was warm. I held my hands out and let them warm up, sighing softly, and wrapping my blanket tighter around my body. Braken leaned his head on my shoulder, yawning wide like a cat, and then snuggled a little closer. My first instinct was to flinch away from him, but he had his hands pressed tightly against his chest, and I managed to hold still. I draped my arm across his back, covering him a little with the blanket, and he twitched a little in pain, but then relaxed. 

Leo watched with something almost like jealousy in his eyes. He scooted as far away from me as he could, and lit his hand up, rolling the ball of fire in between his palms to warm himself. I looked up at him, but he wouldn't meet my eyes. Once Braken was asleep, I voiced my question. 

"Leo, do you really hate me?"

He hesitated. "No."

"Then why are you acting like it?" I asked. "Why won't you let me help you?"

"Because I don't trust you. I'm afraid of you, Joel. I'm sorry."

"You're afraid of me?" I leaned back in surprise, and Braken shifted on my shoulder to get comfortable again.

Leo rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Um ... yeah. I don't know, I just get this nervous feeling whenever I'm around you, like my stomach is trying to eat itself."

"Are you sure you're not just hungry?" I said, glancing at his stomach.

"Positive. It doesn't ... there's just something about you that's not right. I don't know what it is, and it's nothing I've ever felt before. I felt it the second you were thrown into your cell back in the games." Leo shifted further back, as if trying to escape me. 

"I'm sorry," I said, confused. If anyone should be afraid, it should be me. He was the one who could burn me to a crisp in only a few minutes, and Braken could turn me to dust with a single touch. I couldn't do anything. I looked over at the sleeping boy on my shoulder and sighed a little. I wasn't afraid of Braken, not really, and he was the deadlier one. What was it about Leo that made me nervous?

He sighed softly and held his little ball of flame closer to his chest. "Yeah, well ... goodnight, then." His eyes flickered to his friend next to me, and no matter how hard he tried to conceal it, they were filled with the same jealously from before. Why was he jealous? Jealous of me, or of Braken? 

I watched him for another moment, and then he shifted away from me and curled up on the ground by himself, tucking his fire under his stomach to warm his whole body. I thought for a long time in the silence that settled between us. I thought maybe he was jealous that I was getting closer to Braken. I wasn't trying to leave him behind, but I wondered if that's how he was feeling. 

Even through the biting wind nipping at my skin and the dying garbage fire, I started to drift to sleep. I tried to fight it - I was afraid I wouldn't wake up in the morning - but eventually, exhaustion was too much, and I dozed off. It was freezing, but Braken's warmth helped sustain me through the cold night, if only on my left side. Nearly half asleep, I wondered what it would feel like if we all slept close to each other, and then as I slipped into the world of dreams, I wondered how warm Leo was. 

I had a dream that night. I had a sword in one hand and Braken's hoodie in the other. The soft pink fabric was covered with dark bloodstains, and Braken was nowhere to be seen. Leo was in front of me, backing away with a look of pure terror on his face. I had to kill him, though I wasn't sure why. My dream self pushed me forward, stumbling, but I couldn't run like I wanted to. I had to hurry. I had to get him before it was too late. 

"You can't do this," he said, his voice shaking. I didn't answer. "Please, Joel," he begged, backing into a wall.

I threw Braken's hoodie off to the side and slashed with my blade, and he screamed as I cut him across his chest, but instead of blood, liquid fire squirted out of him, soaking down his clothes and onto the ground. It lit the grass on fire at my feet, creeping closer, and then suddenly my arm burned and I jerked awake. 

Leo quickly yanked his hand back, falling over with a yelp, and Braken lifted his head sleepily. I twitched away from both of them, rubbing my arm uncomfortably, and Leo ducked his head. "What are you doing?" I demanded, my teeth chattering.

"I ... you ..." He rubbed the back of his neck, keeping his eyes down. "You looked like you were ready to hurt me," he muttered. "I was just gonna wake you up."

"Your hand was burning hot," I accused. 

"Your skin is freezing," he pointed out. "I'm warm. Maybe that's why it hurt."

Braken signed something, yawned, and laid back against my shoulder again. 

Leo glared at him. "How do you know?"

Braken shrugged and gave him another few signs, closing his eyes and snuggling closer. After a second, he looked up and patted the ground next to him, inviting Leo to lean on him so we could all be warm. Leo glanced at me, the distrust washing off of him, and then he shifted to sit down next to his friend, still keeping himself closed off. 

I relaxed again and pulled my blanket tighter around the shoulder Braken wasn't leaning on. My nose and ears felt like they'd fall off, and I thought I felt a layer of frost in my hair. I didn't sleep anymore that night. Braken stayed asleep all night, and Leo even caught a few minutes, leaving me to stare up at the cloudy sky in silence. 

I had no idea what we were going to do now. Varien had thought they'd let us go, and I believed him. But why? Why let us go? I didn't see any point in it, not if they wanted to get us back. They could have just stopped us and made their prisons and cages seem a hundred times more secure. I wasn't sure what to think. All I knew is that we needed to get out of here before they found us. 

And Anna and Braken - my thoughts wouldn't leave them alone, either. Did Braken know they were siblings, or did he just recognize her eyes from some memory from long ago? Had Anna ever been in the games? Where was their father? Was he really as ruthless as Anna had made him sound? Why had she taken us in if she was only going to turn us away? She had said she wanted to protect me. Did she really?

All these questions swirling around my head made me homesick. I missed those days when we didn't have anything to worry about - when we'd go on dates or cuddle on the couch and watch a romance movie. She'd always fall asleep on my lap, and I'd carry her to bed and kiss her goodnight, and she'd wake up enough to tell me goodbye, and then I'd walk home in the dark, looking up at the stars and smiling to myself. 

I wondered if I'd ever have a life like that again.