Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and been really thirsty, so you tiptoed to the kitchen and got a glass?

That's how I feel right now. I'm sneaking past the career's tents, hoping so hard they don't notice me. Because if they do, then I'm dead. 

I peek into Aegis's tent, which is thankfully empty except for him, tied up with some sort of gray tape that looks strong. His eyes widen at the sight of me, and I smile. 

I start to untie him. The gray tape is hard to rip, but I manage it. 

Once Aegis is untied, he wraps his arms around me. I'm a bit surprised, I've never really had anyone hug me before, but after a moment I hug him back. 

"We need to go," I whisper quietly after he's been holding onto me for a bit too long. He lets go, and in the faint moonlight I can see that his face is bright red. 

When we're outside, in the field, I let go of his hand. He looks at me for a few seconds as if he wants to say something, but I shush him and run into the forest. After a moment, he follows. 

We'll go to Lee and Lea's old campsite. I've left a few things there, everything I couldn't carry. 

I run until I can see the faded hammocks swinging in the trees above me, and slow my pace. I slide down the tree I slept in that one night, and Aegis stands next to me, panting. We're both out of breath. It's a long run. 

I find a canteen I left here and shake it around, finding it's still filled with water. I take a sip and then offer it to Aegis, who gladly takes it. 

"Amethyst-" he says, in between breaths. I look up at him, and he sits down next to me.

"What happened? After they took me? How'd you find... all this?" he gestures to the campsite around us. 

I tell him the whole story. From when I woke up in the desert, starving and dehydrated and lucky I didn't die already. When I managed to make friends with Lee and Lea, and when they fell. And then when I laid the trap for the girl.

Aegis tells me her name was Rylie, and I try to fight the guilt that's starting to climb back to the top of my mind. 

"Wait. I saw Oceania and Cassia managed to get you, right after..." He chokes up. I can tell he's still sad about Victor. And so am I. But they knew each other better. They'd been allies since the training center.

"They did." I show him the bandage on my shoulder and leg. They still hurt, but I think they might be starting to get better. If I don't get infected, which is all too likely. 

"What happened there, with the careers?" I ask. 

"Once we left you, Cassia killed Etta. Said they didn't need her anymore, that she was useless. I tried not to watch." Aegis winces.

"We stayed at the camp for a while. I was sure Cassia wouldn't kill me, we're district partners. But then Oceania and Cassia had an argument, and started to fight, and... Oceania won. Cassia died. And then I was sure that she would kill me, since they had no use for me. But then they all left. Apparently they heard a tree fall. And when they came back, you followed." He stopped for a moment, looking at me with a glint in his eyes that I didn't think anyone would ever look at me with. 

His words about Cassia not killing him because they're district partner feel like waves of guilt rushing into my mind. I killed my district partner. 

He takes a deep breath, and I stare at the ground. I know what's coming, and I'm not excited for it. I'm about to make the capitol hate me.

"...Oceania said something about keeping me alive so you would follow. She said... she said you care about me." The words seem careful, like he's trying to judge my reaction and say it was all a joke if I respond to it wrong.

"I do care about you, Aegis. But... as a friend." I wince. I can imagine the capitol people watching. Screaming at me. Crushes must be returned, that's basic story logic. 

My gaze shifts away, staring into the distance. I listen to an owl hooting out its soulful melody.

Aegis doesn't talk for a long time. I don't want to look at his face. I know he thought that maybe we had something here. 

A scream echoes through the forest, making us both jump. I exchange a glance with Aegis, before I run off into the forest. Aegis hesitates, but then decides to follow me. 

Follow me to our doom, probably. You don't run towards a scream in the hunger games.