The whole woods behind me.

All of it.

It's all on fire.

I'm moving before I can think, instantly undoing the rope around me and getting out my sleeping back, slinging both hurriedly into my pack as I jump down from the tree.

It's a fair distance to the ground, and the impact hurts so much I cry out, but I don't allow myself to stop for it. I run.

I sprint through the woods, hearing the fire behind me but not daring to look at it. This must be a gamemaker trick, it must be, because I'm too far away from everyone else.

The fire burns through the trees faster than normal, as well, and in no time is tight behind me. I'm running as fast as I can, because I have to get away from it, I have to-

"Argh!" I yell, as a fireball shoots towards me. I duck just in time, avoiding it, but another one comes quickly. I roll out the way of it, panting hard.

The air in my lungs is failing to sustain me as I flee, the fire still following me.

Then, all of a sudden, a tree branch collapses in my path, blazing with fire. I back up instantly and run to the side, but a blaze has just started there-

"ARGH!" I scream as I feel the burn tear the leg of my trousers, collapsing back into the roots of a tree. Looking down, I see my right thigh is badly burned and I have to fight against the tears in my eyes.

Then another fireball comes shooting at me, and I'm collapsing sideways, tumbling down a leafy verge. I'm crying out in pain and my whole body is aching as I get up, running as fast as I can.

As I enter a haze of smoke I see that the fire has stopped chasing me, but that doesn't mean I'm out of trouble. I've just been pushed back into where the other tributes are, and now can be easily hunted down.

When I find a pond, I don't hesitate to jump straight into it.

The relief comes instantly, my burnt leg reacting exactly the way I hoped it would. I know chilling burns directly with cold water can lead to worse symptoms if it's not sustained, but I'm just happy with the relief for now.

I lie in the water, my whole body shaking, as I blink the tears out my eyes. My family will just have witnessed all of that, and whilst I know they'll be proud of me for evading it, they'll also be sitting solemnly in our home right now, trying to grasp just exactly what happened to me.

And that's my fault. I did that to them.

"Ha-ha!"

"Oh my god, do you-"

"Wait a second-"

The sounds of voices instantly make me freeze.

The sounds of multiple voices.

I spot them before they spot me. The career pack, all four of them, including Jasper, are walking over the rocks towards me, laughing and grinning.

And then Marvel's gaze snags on me.

"There she is! There she is!"

And I'm already running.

My lungs have barely recovered from the last time, but if I want to stay alive, I have to exert them again. I flail about for a second, trying to find my way out the pond, before my feet hit the ground and I run full pelt into the woods behind me, being chased by their cackling taunts.

"She's mine!"

"Not if I get her first!"

I quickly realise that I won't be able to outrun them, because that's ludicrous. But I don't need to outrun them to stay alive.

I just need to outsmart them.

"Where you gonna go, huh?!"

"Ha, fish her out the pond!"

I spot my tree a few seconds later, instantly abandoning everything to climb it. I shin up it quickly, the bark making my shaking hands ache, and the burn on my leg sting. I don't cry out, however, or make an attempt to stop. My life depends on it.

I'm on my chosen branch, which is about twenty metres up in the air, when the careers reach me, all gathering around the bottom of the tree. They're whooping and laughing and Jasper is joining in, but I'm too scared to be angry right now.

"Yeah, we got her!" Glimmer yells as she runs in.

"Where you going, Girl on Fire?" Marvel chuckles.

"That's not gonna help you up there, Sage!" Clove chuckles.

Jasper just grins, whooping along with them as Marvel hi fives him.

"Come on, let's get her!" Marvel smirks, going up to the tree and trying to climb it. I decide climbing further is useless, because the limbs further up seem less stable, so I stay where I am for now and pray he isn't good at climbing

"He's gonna get you, Sage!"

"Ha! Look at her up there!"

"Come on, Marvel! Kill her!"

"Get her, Marvel! Take her down!"

But clearly, it's my prayers that are answered, not theirs.

Marvel is about halfway to me when he grits out. "I'm coming for you!" However, he seems tired and is panting heavily. Clearly, having all that muscle brings issues.

And then he grabs a small dry branch that snaps with a resounding CRACK when he takes it, and tumbles all the way to the ground.

"Urgh!" He grunts on impact, and Glimmer rolls her eyes.

"I'll do it myself."

From there, she gets her bow, which I know she isn't too good at, takes aim, and fires.

To her credit, I have to stick tight to the tree trunk to avoid the arrow, but it misses me by at least a couple inches.

"Give me that!" Marvel says angrily, snatching the bow out her hands and taking an arrow, trying to hit me himself.

Again, I stick tight to the tree, and the weapon flies right past me.

Seeing them, the mighty careers, left so defenceless by me, I can't resist but have some fun.

"Maybe you should throw the sword, darlings, since you're so useless with everything else!"

I don't care anymore, so why not give the audience a show?

This seems to anger them to no end as Marvel sticks his middle finger up at me, and Clove takes out a knife. She's just about to release it when Jasper speaks.

"Let's just wait her out."

All three careers turn to him, unimpressed, but Jasper doesn't let that phase him as he smirks. "She's gotta come down at some point, unless she intends to starve. Let's just kill her then."

They're silent for a second, considering this. I hate to admit it but he's right. I don't have food, and my water supplies will run out eventually. Then it'll be over whether I like it or not.

Marvel soon nods. "Okay," he presses the bow back into Glimmer's hands. "Somebody make a fire."

As they set about making their little camp, I try to let my mind settle. There has to be a way out of this somehow. There has to be.

I sit back on the limb, bringing my leg to rest on it as well as I look down at the burn. All the relief from the pond and the adrenaline from the chase has worn off, and it's left a throbbing, stinging sensation that brings tears to my eyes.

I let out a small gasp as I rest back against the trunk, fighting against the tears in my eyes as I bite down on my lip. I slowly take my water bottle out of my bag, trying to pour some on the burn, but as soon as I do, it throbs harder, so much so that I bite down on my fingers to make it stop.

I let out a whimper, which is probably the most pathetic sound I've ever made, as I try to touch it, but that makes me gasp in pain as a tear, which I quickly wipe away, leaks out my eye.

My whole body is shaking, and I'm in agony. I can't see a way out of this, and I don't know what I'm going to do.

There's no happy ending to this.

☦︎☦︎☦︎

It's dark when the parachute comes, but apart from that, nothing else has changed. I'm still sitting up in my tree, pack clutched tight, and burnt leg laid out before me. I've tied myself in since then, but I haven't got out my sleeping bag, because I don't much care. I'm dead whatever happens.

That is until I hear the chime.

I've been watching the games since I was ten, so I know how the parachutes work. Sponsors talk to mentors about buying gifts, mentors get their money and buy them, and then they're parachuted into the arena, straight to the chosen tribute.

But to get gifts, you have to have sponsors, so naturally, when the chime starts, I instantly know that it's the careers that have been given something. Not me.

But I'm proven wrong when the small parachute flies towards me, the wind blowing it slightly off course and lodging it above me, in a branch.

Instantly, excitement creeps in. Haymitch and Andrew managed to get me sponsors.

I quickly undo my rope, keeping it tied to the tree as I inch up it, ignoring the pain in my leg and forcing myself not to cry in pain. The careers are still awake below me, and have a fire going, but I don't think any of them notice me. If they do, they don't say anything.

I reach the parachute in about a minute, seeing a small container hanging off it and not hesitating to open it.

Inside is a small tub and a note, which I read first.

ᴀᴘᴘʟʏ ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴏᴜsʟʏ ᴀɴᴅ sᴛᴀʏ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ - H & A

I frown slightly. What is he talking about?

But all becomes clear when I reach for the tub, my shaking hands opening it quickly and seeing a moderate amount of pink, jelly like cream inside.

Burn ointment.

I'm smiling before I even apply it, reaching in to take a small amount from the tub and rubbing it gently on my burn.

The relief is instantaneous. It's like the cream is sucking all pain from the burn, and in turn, my body. I sigh in relief, throwing my head back as I apply another layer.

"Oh Haymitch, Andrew, thank you," I whisper, knowing my mentors will be watching right now, eager to see my reaction to the gift they managed to snag me.

I sit back into the tree, not being able to stop my smirk.

I'm still dead.

But at least I'm not in agony anymore.

☦︎☦︎☦︎

The next morning, I wake before any of the careers do.

I'm glad of this fact, because it means I can assess my situation without having them yelling or gawking. Yes, escaping whilst they're asleep has crossed my mind, but I wouldn't manage it I don't think. And I'm not taking any chances.

The burn on my leg is healing. It's still very noticeable on my leg but not as sore once I apply another layer of the burn ointment that morning.

"Psst! Psssssst!"

I frown slightly as I look down, at the careers, who are all still asleep, then back up, as my eyes catch her.

Rue. Right there, standing not so far away from me, hanging out a tree. She's looking pretty good for a twelve year old in the arena, no burns or scratches or anything, just how she was when she stepped off her plate, but that doesn't explain why she's here.

For a few seconds she and I just stare at each other.

Then slowly, almost inconspicuously, she raises her hand, and points to something sitting right above my head.

☦︎☦︎☦︎

My head snaps upwards so fast I almost get whiplash, but I don't let that stop me.

Because just above me, attached to a branch of the tree that I'm in, is a nest.

A buzzing nest.

And it doesn't take many guesses to know what will be inside it.

I look slowly back down to Rue, who is now pointing from the nest, to me, to my knife, and back again. Then she mimes a sawing action.

I smirk despite myself, and nod to her. She nods back before disappearing into the trees.

I look up, smirking. That nest up there is a tracker jacker nest. Tracker jackers are genetically engineered wasps that the Capitol used against the districts in the war. As they sting they inject you with venom, causing hallucinations and possibly fatal consequences if too many stings are obtained.

But if all goes to my very rushed plan, none of them will be stinging me today.

I untie myself, putting the rope into my pack and taking the knife out before putting it on my back. From there, I ready myself for pain as I begin to climb.

The burn still stings slightly, but it's not nearly as bad as climbing to the parachute last night. The nest is higher up than that, however, and I need to make sure I stay as quiet as possible so as not to wake the careers, because they'll surely leave once they realise what I'm planning to do.

When I reach a point that my hand can stretch to the branch the nest is on, I stop and lean my whole body against the limb I'm on. Putting the knife in my right hand so I can start to saw through the branch.

My plan is brutally simple. Cut the branch off, send it flying down to the careers, and wreak havoc on their camp so I can escape.

I just have to pray that whilst I'm sawing the branch, none of the wasps think of me as their prey.

I begin to saw slowly, the serrated edge of the knife making it quite easy. I need to go as fast as I can, however, so I don't wake my hunters that lie beneath me.

I'm about a quarter of the way down when one of the wasps takes an interest in me, and I'm nearing a third when it stings.

"Argh!" I cry out, my voice high and breaking as pain explodes all throughout my neck, the area it went for. Tears blind me as I continue to saw, trying to keep my hands from shaking.

I look down worriedly, but am slightly relieved when I see none of the careers are awake. I continue to saw, my movements choppy as I focus more on how the sting on my neck has started to swell-

"Ugh-" I grunt as one goes for my hand this time, thankfully the one that isn't sawing. A bead of sweat falls down my neck as a tear does the same on my face.

More than halfway through-

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck-

My hand is hurting, there's blisters forming on it, and I can't keep sawing, it hurts-

Come on, come on, come on! I think as the branch begins to fall, as my pain hits its peak-

Then it's tumbling towards the ground.

And once again, all hell breaks loose.

The careers are awake faster than I can think, screaming. The nest has exploded, the tracker jackers spilling everywhere and no doubt stinging all of them.

Marvel is the first to run, batting them away and yelling about the lake, trying to evade them with water.

I don't see Jasper, but I hear his shouts.

Glimmer is up and following Marvel, screaming her head off as she does. She's got at least five stings, I see, as she runs off.

Clove, meanwhile, isn't so lucky. She's on the ground screaming, begging for help, as they consume her. Tracker jackers cover almost every inch of her body, all of them infecting her.

She screams, cries, absolutely deafens me, as she gets up off the ground and tries to run.

But I am too busy climbing down the tree to notice.

Apart from the two stings I obtained in cutting the branch off, it seems I am all but free from them. The rest have other prey to catch.

I climb down hastily, and not nearly as nimbly as normal. My hands are shaky and my feet placed clumsily, and as a result of this I end up falling about eight metres down to the ground instead of climbing the whole way.

When I hit the soft forest floor, my world tilts on its axis. I get up, but my ears are ringing and my vision is going in and out of focus. I can hear myself breathing heavily, but every other sound I hear is muffled and distant.

I manage to run, but when I do, I regret it. I feel faint, and something in me knows I'm going to black out any second.

Bang! The sounds echoes in my ears as I crash into a tree, pressing my hands hard against it yet not really feeling anything at all.

Then, I see her.

Clove is near, just five metres away. She doesn't look like Clove, though. Her whole body is deformed, she got so many stings, and she is twitching slightly, but she will no doubt die in minutes.

Then, in my hazy gaze, I see something.

The knives.

And I'm already running.

My feet feel like bricks as I make my way towards the girl I once thought was going to kill me. My hand is shaking as I inch it towards her.

How I manage to unbuckle the knife holder belt and get it off her body, I don't know, but I do. I stagger back from her, holding a full pelt of knives, feeling satisfied, though I can't quite work out why.

Everything is spinning as I stand straight, and the whole woods is shaking. Isn't... isn't that supposed to happen...?

"Sage! Sage!"

A boy is running towards me.

A... blonde boy.

Cato, somewhere in my head tells me. His name is Cato...

"Sage!" The boy yells as he sees me, sprinting straight at me. "Sage, come on, you have to run, you have to come with me-"

Three of him suddenly appear, all speaking the same words, before my vision focuses once more and there's only one of him. He's very close by now, his hands on my shoulders, shaking gently.

"Sage listen, you have to run, I know a safe place but we have to-"

But I don't know what I have to do.

Because I'm blacking out before I can hear it, collapsing into the boy's - Cato's - arms.