| " M U T T S . " |

___♔___

Soon enough, the night had grown into dawn. The careers laid at the bottom of a tree, where Katniss had perched herself for the night.

Katniss snapped awake, taking in the scene around her. The memories of the night before, slowly made their way back to her mind, as she stared down at Cato, Clove, Glimmer, Peeta, and Marvel.

But as she thought, she realized that they were right. She would have to climb down from the tree and face them, or suffer starvation and dehydration. Neither of the choices had given her hope that she would live.

A faint sound caught Katniss' attention. Her eyes flicker to a tree near her, landing on the small girl from District eleven. She immediately recognized the girl as Rue, the District partner of Thresh.

The small girl held her finger to her lips, signaling for Katniss to be silent. Then, she pointed to a hive. She moved her hand back at forth, trying to tell Katniss to use her knife to cut the branch down, so that it would land on the careers.

She shoots up from her spot, pulling a knife from her backpack. Rue watches carefully, as Katniss unties the rope from her waist, and climbs higher into the tree.

She then proceeds to dodge the Mutts- also known as 'Tracker Jackers.'

Katniss slices away at the thick branch, determined to get down from the tree. Her hunger and hydration mauls at her stomach, begging for help. But of course, she was use to it by now. She glances down at the careers as Cato stirrs.

But still, none of them wake up.

Katniss averts her attention back to cutting the branch that holds the nest. She yelps quietly as one of the Tracker Jackers sting her neck, sending a jolt of pain down her throat.

Through the many stings, Katniss stands her ground, determined to knock the branch down. And to her prevail, a 'crack' noise echoes throughout the woods, as the branch snaps in half.

When the nest hits the ground, a huge swarm of Tracker Jackers swarm the careers, waking them all.

Cato jerks from his spot, swatting at the Jackers that surround them. Glimmer screeches loudly, as the others leave her, making a run for... well, anywhere.

Glimmer clenches the bow in her hand, covering her face, trying to get away. But in the heat of the moment, she finds herself tripping over the roots of a large tree. Taking this as an advantage, the Tracker Jackers attack her, sparing no mercy.

Katniss steps down from the tree, her vision already blurring with hallucinations. She stumbles around, seeing double of everything.

A loud cannon sounds in the arena, signaling that Glimmer hadn't made it.

___♕___

Taylor's P.O.V.

"What was that?" Tamora gasps, shooting up from her sitting position.

"Relax," I chuckle, shaking my head. "It was just a cannon. No harm done."

"Who's cannon was that?" She grips my arm, fear flashing through her eyes. "Taylor, am I dying? Was that my cannon?"

"Geez, you're over reacting," I bite my lip, holding back my laughter. "You're not dead, armed you're not hurt. Besides, you'd have to be dead in order for the cannon to sound. And if you haven't already noticed, I'm here with you. You're not dead."

"Okay, I understand that." She breathes. "But I'm just worried that it could've been Zach. Ya know?"

My heart stops for a moment, as I process what she's saying.

Zach could be the one that just died . . .

"T-that's not possible," I stutter, standing from my spot. "Zach's with one of the careers. He couldn't possibly be dead, could he?"

And that's when I begin to fret. I pace the cave, running my fingers through my hair several times.

Breathe, Taylor, Breathe.

Tamora hisses in pain, hobbling over to me. "Tay, I think my back is getting worse." She touches the bandages on her back lightly, and squeezes her eyes shut. "I think it's infected."

"But we got medicine for it." I argue. "It was sent by a sponsor. I'm sure your wound is fine, but for right now, we need to go find Zach. He isn't dead."

I grab my axe and backpack, and begin to walk from the cave, when a horrible screech sounds from behind me.

"Taylor!" Tamora cries, falling to the floor. "It burns! Make it stop!"

I throw my things to the floor, and kneel beside her, flipping her body over. After peeling off her bandages, I back away in horror.

"How is this happening?" I whisper to myself, Tamara's cries of complete agony getting louder.

The wound on her back isn't healed, not in the slightest bit. Instead, boils have formed around the wound, each of them blazing red. Blood oozes from some of them, accompanied by a yellow pus.

I gag, covering my mouth with my hand.

It's gotten way worse! But how? The gift was from a sponsor!

"It wasn't from a sponsor." I mutter under my breath. "It was from a tribute. Someone poisoned the medicine."

"It hurts." Tamora sniffles. "Please make it stop. Please."

"No." I grab a canister of water, determined to clean her wound, and keep her alive. "You're gonna be fine."

___♕___

Third Person P.O.V.

Peeta shoots through the trees quickly, looking for Katniss without the other careers see him. When he spots a stumbling figure in the distance, he stops in his tracks.

"Katniss, go!" He yells, immediately becoming tense when she stays still. "Get out of here! Go!"

She leans against a tree, blinking rapidly as her hallucinations become worse than they were before. Images of Glimmer's dead body, and broken fingers- replay over and over in her mind.

"What are you doing?" He yanks at her arm, pulling her through the woods. "Katniss!"

And finally, Katniss blacks out. A small girl- Rue- watches from behind, stepping forward to help Peeta.

"Go." Rue says clearly to Peeta. "You'll be killed if they find you here. I'll take care of her, just go."

___♕___

"This was all your fault," Cato growls at Peeta. "Glimmer's dead because of you. You just had to wait for your girlfriend to climb out of that tree."

"I swear," Peeta stares straight into Cato's eyes. "I didn't know that would happen."

"I think Taylor would understand if we got payback for Glimmer," Clove says, a smirk forming on her lips. "A life for a life, right?"

"Exactly." Cato states, pulling his sword from his backpack. In a quick movement, his sword has sliced through Peeta's shin.

Peeta's yell echoes around them as he falls to the ground, bringing the careers pleasure.

"Don't do anymore damage," Marvel grabs Cato's sword before he can fully kill Peeta. "Let him bleed out."

"Don't follow us." Cato sneers. "You're lucky I have to find Zach, or I would torture you for hours."

After the careers walk away, Peeta takes deep breaths, staring down at the gash on his leg. Blood pours from the wound, and he grows slightly nauseous.

Without too much movement, the boy gathers dirt, mud, and moss, determined to hide himself from anyone who might come across him.

___♔___

Taylor's P.O.V.

A cannon bursts from nowhere, and tears gather in my eyes. I take in a deep and shaky breath, exhaling slowly.

I let go of Tamora's limp hand, and close her eyes that stare blankly at the sky.

"I promised I would save you," I murmer to her unmoving body, my hands balling into fists. "But I didn't."

A pang errupts from deep within my heart, knowing that Tamora was my second ally that's now gone.

"This is all my fault. I did this to you."

Anger builds inside of my chest. This is my fault. I was the one that gave her the medicine. Even if I didn't know it was poisoned, I still gave it to her.

Who would've poisoned the medicine?

I pack up my supplies, not wanting to stare at Tamora's body any longer. I sling my backpack over my shoulder, and walk farther into the woods.

I have to find Zach.

I just have to.

I can't lose him too.

_______