I wake up to constant whispers around me. I don't open my eyes, but my hearing kicks in.

"What happened to her hair?"

"I don't know. Maybe an animal?"

"Lumps of hair are everywhere. What if she cut it?"

"Why would she?"

"I don't know! It's so neat and cute, like she got it at the Capitol salon!"

I open my eyes, only to see my two friends over me.

Ash helps me up. "What happened to your hair?" she asks, irritated. "It looks... cute. Like a lob."

Confusion flushed over me. What? I messily cut it last night. How is it so perfect now?

As I get on my feet, I see another parachute. I crack it open, but it's just a note.

It says:

"Chia! It's your styling team! Dear, you made a fatal mistake last night; your hair looks horrible! Jagged edges, ugh! We got permission and send Lia and Drea to the arena last night to fix it in your sleep. HA! Have fun!"

I let out a smile and a small chuckle. Wow. What a waste of time. Fixing my disgusting hair.

"Today, let's hunt for food and water. We need to." Ash announces.

She's right. My stomach hurts and I need food.

I grab my hunting tools and fasten on my holster belt thingy.

Once everyone has their equipment, packs, and coats, we head out in a pack.

"At the training center, I learned how to make a tightly woven net to create a filter for water. It can also hold the water, which is awesome since we lost all of our canteens." Max states.

"Okay! That sounds great. Max, you have to find a lake. The game makers drained the stream last night. Can you gather water by yourself? I ask.

"Yeah." He responds, and jogs away.

Ash and I walk toward the cornucopia. Over there, we peer behind the rocks to see Sparrow and Thorn still sleeping under the horn. Next to them are piles and piles of meat and fruit.

Ash and I sneak around the horn. We don't know what to do. Kill them, or get the food?

By the time we reach the center, Sparrow groans and Thorn gets up.

They both stare at us, wide-eyed.

They immediately pull out their weapons.

So do we.

Ash aims her arrow at Thorn's forehead, and my knife aims at Sparrow's heart.

Sparrow hold her axe in a position that would instantly kill Ash, and Thorn has his spear pointed at my wound.

We stand in a circle, all aiming at each other.

If somebody lets go of their weapon, their ally will perish.

So we stand there for 45 minutes.

After a while, it starts to snow again. I think the game makers want something to happen.

Finally, the silence breaks.

"I will kill your friend in the next 10 seconds if you don't surrender," Thorn mutters to Ash.

10...

"I don't know!" Ash states.

9...

Ash's grip starts to loosen.

8...

Her jaw tightens.

7...

She's a true friend. She will let go.

6...

She takes rapid breaths.

5...

Halfway there. Make a decision already!

4...

Her stare intensifies.

3...

She aims her arrow.

2...

She gulps her saliva.

1...

She locks her knees.

"Say goodbye to your friend." He whispers.

Before he lets go of the spear, I watch as an arrow pierces his thigh. Ash got so nervous, her aim was off.

He's still alive, it didn't go in as far as we hoped.

Sparrow drops to her knees and forces out the arrow, begging Thorn to stay alive until they get medicine.

The parachute drops at my knees and she swipes it away, smearing the ointment on his leg. He seems okay, just tired now.

We run into the distance as fast as we can.

I see Sparrow scream, "GET THEM!" from far away.

Remember, Thorn is very fast and Sparrow is much stronger than Ash and I combined. They can chase us down easily.

I remember my mother once saying, "Your senses and skills become stronger when you are in danger." She told me a story once about a guy in District 6 who lifted up an entire hovercraft to save himself because he was trapped under there. And an Avox in District 12 who was in so much trouble that she ran away faster than all the other Peacekeepers.

We sprint faster than we can ever. I whip my head around, and I see both of them charging at us, full speed.

Thorn collapses in the middle of the arena, and Sparrow briefly stops to yell. "WE CAN'T LET THEM GET AWAY! YOU GOT YOUR MEDS, NOW HURRY UP!"

Thorn groans painfully and Sparrow rolls her eyes.

"Fine, I'll go alone. Go back to the Cornucopia!"

He nods his head in approval and starts to stumble his way back to the horn.

Ash and I continue running, but Sparrow is catching up. She doesn't seem to be aiming at me; only at Ash, who hurt her only friend.

At this point, I can tell we will reach the end of the arena soon, and Sparrow can corner us. There is only a few feet in between us.

She's getting faster and faster and I can see the edge of the large dome.

It's too late. We reached the end, there is no more to run. Sparrow tackles Ash and holds her axe against the skin of Ash's skull.

I don't know what to do, so I hold my knife at Sparrow. My heart says to throw it, but my hand says no.

I can't do it.

"LET GO OF HER NOW!" I scream.

Ash kicks and punches Sparrow who doesn't let go. Instead she threatens to slowly torture my friend.

I kick Sparrow once more, and she loosens her grip, tumbling off.

In rage, she charges towards me. I remember how the edge of the arena is bouncy but dangerous, like a forcefield. Before she can tackle me, I grab her arm and flip it around, pinning it behind her back and shoving her into the forcefield.

She bounces off and lies on the snow, motionless. We check her pulse, but she's alive. No cannon. Just knocked out.

We run away as fast as we can, leaving her unconscious body behind. None of us have the courage or strength to end her life right now.

"All that running really made me hungry. I don't think we can survive like this for any longer," Ash mumbles.

We climb a nearby tree and sit in the branches, taking turns at trying to kill animals.

After 15 minutes, Ash hits a small deer in the leg. It falls over and lets out a sad cry. I finish it off by hitting it in the back with my hunting knife.

We both climb back down the tree and haul the meal to the cave. Max waits there where the stream used to be, accompanied by a warm fire.  We properly roast the deer and remove the fur until it smells delicious.

The three of us feast on the baby deer silently. I'm worried that Max will get scared if we tell him what happened. So we stay quiet.

The day goes on as we properly ration the water. We only had about a gallon to last us the rest of the week or two. Max said he had to hike around almost two to three hours to find a lake. They might drain it too. It's the only water source.

We actually may win this thing.