It’s almost sunrise when the ground seems to give in from under me, rumbling like a hungry beast. I peer up from where I fell to see where the damage is. My eyes are drawn to the mountains. We’re experiencing the fury of a full-blown avalanche.

“Move. Now!” I scream at my allies. Cameron and Quinn wake with a start, but as soon as they see the avalanche coming, they waste no time. We push rocks out of a section of the fort, making it easier for us to escape quickly.

The snow glides on down the mountain, and it reaches my feet. I fall down from the impact, but it could be worse. No broken bones or sprains. Snow has piled up overnight, providing a pillow of comfort.

Boom. Boom.   Sounds like two people weren’t so fortunate.

“Quinn? Cameron?” I look around as I stand up, shaking off the snow.

“I’m good,” Cameron says.

Quinn’s limping slightly when she gets to her feet. “I busted my ankle. It’s probably not broken, but I don’t wanna walk on it right now.”

“I’ll help you there.” I come to her side, putting an arm around her shoulders for support, while we keep on moving.  

Cameron trails behind us, shaking with fear. “That was a close one.”

We come to rest at a bush. Quinn’s not in any condition to walk, and I won’t leave her alone. “We’ll hide out here for now,” I tell them.

I peek over the bush once in a while to see if anyone’s snuck up on us, my knife at the ready. Hours pass. I guess the avalanche was today’s giant obstacle from the Gamemakers. They don’t like to kill off too many tributes in one day, because that would be boring for the Capitol viewers. Heaven forbid everybody died at once.

As the sun goes down, I sense a pair of footsteps walking by. Cameron’s eyes widen in shock, working hard to hold his breath. Quinn shoots me a look that says, why aren’t you doing anything?

If I could speak without being heard, I’d say, they don’t see us and we don’t see them, so what’s the problem?  I’d rather not become a killer. Unprovoked murder would only make someone else try to kill me in revenge. Plus, I feel better knowing that I don’t have blood on my hands.  So far.

Luckily, the tribute doesn’t stay. My stomach growls, reminding me that we haven’t eaten since last night.

“How about some soup, you guys?”

Cameron and I gather wood for a fire. Once it’s ready, the soup heats up quickly. We finish it off, frowning at the loss.

“Where are we gonna get food now?” Cameron asks.

“The pine trees,” Quinn replies. “The pinecones actually have edible seeds in them.”

I nod, remembering what I learned about edible plants in training. “We still have some apples and bread, too.”

While we were eating, the sky had begun to darken. Now I can’t even make out the figures of Cameron or Quinn anymore. It’s time to see the faces of the fallen. This day went by surprisingly fast. Only two tributes died today: the girl from District 8 and the boy from District 11, who were caught in the avalanche.  Just because I’ve adjusted to the arena doesn’t mean it’s any easier to know that other people have died while I live.