The next day, we hunt. Well--Apollo hunts. I forage, picking out the berries and leaves I recognize (which isn't many) and carefully avoiding those I don't, taking extra cautions not to consume any, whether I believe them safe or not. 

It's not likely that Apollo will have any better skills in deciphering if this arena's flora is poisonous or not, but I'd rather consult with him first than die on the spot. 

The morbid thought sends a shiver through my entire body, and I stand from where I had been kneeling beside what I assume to be a blueberry bush, eyes scanning the greenery surrounding me. 

A flash of red hair catches my eye, but it is gone long before my eyes have even comprehended what it is I saw, and so I brush it off as a mirage, a hallucination brought on by pain, exhaustion, and hunger. Three things I'm unaccustomed to, that I seem to be feeling a lot more lately. 

A rabbit bounds before my feet, and, emboldened by my survival of Taura's vicious attack, I take chase, doing my best to quietly push past large foliage that reaches for me, as if in yet another attempt to rob me of my life. This whole arena seems out to get me--not just the tributes. 

I lose the rabbit for a second--but wait, no, there it is! It stops, staring up at me as I prepare to lunge, and then leaps into a bush beside it, gone forever. 

I'm not much of a huntress, so this isn't particularly surprising, but it's still pretty disheartening. Every rabbit lost is another pang of hunger in my stomach, one I'm currently not looking forward to. 

There is a small rustling somewhere in the brush and I spin, expecting my rabbit returned, hopefully sacrificing itself for the greater good of my survival. 

Instead, I find the edge of a blade.

My breath catches in my throat as if it's already been cut. I freeze, unwilling to move any part of my body, in case it moves me any fraction of an inch closer to that razor-edged sword. 

Taura smirks at me. "What, did you think I'd forgot about ya?"

"Well, I'd really hoped so," I murmur, my voice quieter than my words, which are a sword on their own. 

Taura frowns. "Oh, Four, that's no way to treat a gal holding you hostage, aye? Y'know, I'd say I've got the power here."

I weigh the pros and cons of screaming. 

"Should I just slit your throat now? Be a whole lot easier, really..." she waves her sword about dangerously, before dropping the tip to the ground, tossing it to the side without a second glance. It doesn't find the forest floor, instead being caught by a boy I vaguely recognize--from five, maybe? I feel like I remember him standing beside Nicola, earlier. 

My entire body relaxes without the imminent threat of death. Taura is still far from unarmed, her leather body armor equipped with many sheaths (made for throwing knives, probably) that seem to be fully stocked. And yet, none of those knives are moments away from stabbing through my brain, and so I'm okay with that. 

"This is Wyatt. Wyatt, Four, Four, Wyatt," Taura introduces, hands hovering over a dagger on her thigh, as if to remind me that I am never safe, like I'd ever forget that. 

I stare at Wyatt, whose gaze shifts between Taura and me, lips pressed into a thin, uncomfortable line. He presses the tip of the sword into the ground, a position that pretty much immobilizes his chances of defense in the event of an attack--but Wyatt doesn't seem like the type of person to be all that concerned about an attack, anyways. 

Neither of us say a word. Taura tuts, and I question her sanity for the nth time. 

"Oh, be nice," she says, not even attempting to lower her voice. I find myself glancing around the trees, expecting a blond boy to come jumping out. Did I really move that far away in my quest for rabbit meat?

"You first," I retort, gesturing gently towards her daggers. 

She just grins, crossing her arms over her chest in a demonstration of fake submission. "Happy, Four?"

"Happier if you'd stop calling me Four. Unless you want me to come up with a few nicknames for you, too--how does psychopath sound?"

"Magnificent," she responds, unaffected, and flips her red hair over one shoulder. "Now, Four, you'll be coming with us. Willingly would be nice."

"Daphne," I remind her, gritting my teeth. "And why should I do that, again?"

She raises her eyebrows, as if I am the crazy one to wonder why I should follow my probable murderers into their own territory. "Did you manage to forget we've got you cornered right now?"

I glance around. "Doesn't count as cornered if there's only two of you."

Her grin widens. "You don't know that."

She's right. I don't. There was that girl with them earlier--Lua? And while she doesn't seem like much of a threat on her own, the blades that she is surely carrying seem like they very well could be. And I am not afraid of a girl as little as her, but I am afraid of a small, starved woman, hiding in the trees, just waiting for me to provoke her. Lua is a black mamba, ready to strike. 

"Alright, all convinced? Let's go," Taura says, producing a length of rope from her backpack. "You'll understand, but I've gotta tie up your wrists. Y'know, just in case you try to make a run for it."

I stay still. At the very least, I am not going to aid Taura in her production of my own death. 

She tuts again. "Gonna make this hard for us, huh? Oh, Four... well, you'll learn better. Just takes time." 

Taura gives me another look, as if expecting me to turn my demeanor completely around and fall to my knees, begging for mercy. I don't, and so she moves forward, one hand wrapping around my right wrist. Her fingers are warm, but her grip is uncomfortably tight, twisting the skin. 

She grabs my chin, moving it to meet her eyes. I'm taller than her, but not by much--and not by anything that matters right now, anyways. Height will not win me the upper hand in this battle. 

Her dagger flicks across my cheek before I've even noticed it's out, and is gone just as fast, her hands expertly tying my wrists together, behind my back. There's not much I can do now but walk, following Taura's band of corsairs to their headquarters--which, I find eventually, is the cornucopia. A small girl slides off the edge, landing on her feet, shaking just a bit. I intake a sharp breath when I realize that this is Lua--I was never in danger in the forest. 

I am here for nothing. 

And Apollo is too far away to hear my screams now. Even if he did, he'd never get here in time before Taura would kill me, as punishment. 

My heart skips a beat, then a few more, and I wonder how I'm going to get out of this one. 

The obvious answer is that I'm not. It's the mindset I came into the games with--I'm not going to get through this. That's the sad truth, something many of us have to accept, the fact that some things in life are truly impossible. 

Blood drips down my cheek, but there is nothing I can do to wipe it away. The coppery taste stings my tongue, and I keep my mouth firmly closed, successfully silenced by Taura and her threats. 

Oh god, I'm really fucked, aren't I?