ALL OF THE DAYS IN THE ARENA were blending together, the tributes unable to differentiate between them. A few days (Haven thinks it must've been two or three) had passed since Reeve's death, and in that time her and Roxy hadn't encountered any other tributes, other than seeing the fallen's faces projected on the sky at night. The pair established somewhat of a routine, consisting of hunting, eating, finding shelter, and sleeping, just to wake up and do it again the next day.

Haven glanced up from the squirrel she was skinning and saw Roxy a few feet away, building a snowman. "I think you're the only person whose first instinct is to make a snowman while we're in the Hunger Games." Haven laughed. "That's why you love me." Roxy called back, throwing a snowball at the blonde.

"You know, you're my first real friend I've ever had. Growing up I only really was around my siblings." The blonde said, her tone more serious. "I find that hard to believe." Roxy said. "It's true. You automatically win the title of my best friend." The District 5 girl smiled at her. "Thanks bestie." Haven rolled her eyes at the ginger, amazed at how nonchalant she could act while they were in the arena.

The arena. The pair was brought back to their current reality when they heard voices, coming closer with every passing second. The two girls instinctively grabbed their weapons, Haven wielding her spear and Roxy her bow. The figures were closer now, a group of 5 approaching them.

"Shit." Haven muttered. "I second that." Roxy replied, realizing just who those 5 were.

The Careers.

"Look! I found some." the boy from 2, Max yelled. His partner, Daphney, cheered, breaking into a run, the others following suit. "Oh, I call dibs on the redhead! She's mine." Rosalie sneered.

The Careers were gaining on them, and the girls saw no point in running since they were outnumbered. Without hesitation, Haven quickly removed a knife from her belt, eyes focused on her target.

The dagger pierced through the air, exactly meeting its mark, confirmed by the loud BOOM of a cannon, and Daphney's body collapsing to the ground. The rest of the group didn't seem phased, except for Max who slowed down, crouching down next to his partner, a few tears falling down his cheeks. "Didn't know they had emotions." Roxy whispered under her breath.

The ginger paid for that joke almost immediately, her brief moment of distraction resulting in a knife sticking out of her calf. She whipped around, noticing Rosalie releasing another knife in her direction, but this time she ducked, missing the blade. Roxy immediately loaded her bow, her arrow piercing Rosalie's shoulder, causing the dirty blonde to scream out in pain.

Max got up from the ground, just in time for another one of Roxy's arrows to fly straight into his heart, causing him to fall right back down. Boom. The cannon went off a few seconds later.

The boy from District 1, Ellis began throwing daggers at Haven. The blonde reciprocated, throwing her own knives back at him, both of them dodging the other's weapons.

Ellis reached into his belt to grab another knife, only to realize he'd thrown his last one. The boy instead slid his sword out of the sheath, charging at the blonde. Haven gripped her spear, using it to block the blade of the sword from hitting her. Ellis was huge, much stronger than Haven, which was evident as he began to force her to the ground.

However, before Ellis could tackle the girl, Haven saw a brunette flash push her out of the way. She gasped, looking over to see her partner, Spencer now wrestling with Ellis. "Really Cade? Protecting the pathetic girl from back home. I should've known not to trust you." He sneered, the tip of his sword lightly pressed against Spencer's neck.

"Haven RUN!" Spencer yelled, his voice strained. The girl froze for a second, wanting to help the boy. "Spenc-" He cut her off. "GO! It's okay."

Without another thought, Haven took off running, Roxy on her heels. The two ran, before climbing two adjacent trees nearby. Haven was violently shaking, but refused to let out a sob, not wanting to give away her location. She watched from the treeline, waiting for the pair from 1 to retreat, scaling down the tree once they did.

The Cleary girl ran back into the clearing, finding Spencer laying there alone, a large gash wound on his torso. The blonde kneeled down next to her partner, lightly grasping his hand, "You didn't have to do that. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She hyperventilated. "Cleary stop. It's- okay." He croaked out. "Will you tell my mom and sister that I love them? Promise me." Haven nodded. "But, if I die-" She said.

"It's gonna be you Cleary." He wheezed out, each breath becoming more strained. "Thank you Spencer." The boy nodded, the pain in his eyes fading. BOOM. The tears blurred Haven's vision, but even then she could see how peaceful he looked. She gently let go of his hand, standing up.

"I promise." She whispered, so no cameras could hear. The tears continued to spill out of her eyes, freezing halfway down her face as she walked back in the direction of Roxy, picking up her knives she'd thrown along the way.

➸

She found Roxy sitting at the base of the tree, redoing the braids in her hair. "Hey." The ginger said, standing up and giving her friend a hug. The girl knew exactly what Haven was feeling, the two now having this unspoken, horrific bond.

Haven pulled away, gasping when she looked down at Roxy's bloody calf. "Roxy! Oh my god, your leg. Can you even walk?"

"Yeah, it just hurts really badly." She said, sitting back down on the fluffy white snow. Haven took off her backpack, rummaging around in it to find something to stop the bleeding with. She tore off a piece of her sleeping bag, using it to plug the wound, and then tied a piece of the rope around it to keep it in place.

"Not my best work, but it'll do." Roxy nodded, thanking her. The two decided to walk a little before settling down, not wanting to run into the pair from District 1 again. To their luck, they found another cave similar to the one from their first night in the arena.

As the sun began to set, Haven heard another beeping noise, looking out to see a parachute dropping. She reached out, the package gently falling into her hand.

The Cleary girl opened the box, picking up the slip of paper on top.

"You're getting closer kid. We're still rooting for you."
- Mal

Haven opened the round metal container, and she was instantly hit with a waft of warm steam. The thermos was filled with little roasted potatoes and pieces of chicken. Haven muttered another "thank you" to the sky, before turning to Roxy.

"Damn, your mentors actually care about you." She joked. "It's strange, I didn't expect to become so close with them. I thought they'd be absolutely terrifying and super strict." Haven thought of each of her mentors, and they were all about the farthest thing from that.

"This last week I've made more friends than I had in 16 years. It's just under the worst possible circumstances." The blonde sighed, stuffing a potato into her mouth. Roxy nodded her head in agreement. "It's crazy how good things can come out of the worst possible scenario."

// author's note
i'm sorry again. super sad ik ik. whoops. i loved spencer so this HURT ME to write. pls forgive me.
thank you so very much to everyone who's been reading this!! if you're enjoying it, please consider leaving a comment or voting it seriously makes me so happy:)
- a <3

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