The weapon, which I now recognize as some sort of long, sharp knife, inevitably decides to embed itself in my shoulder. 

Pain flares throughout my body, and I feel my knees collapse beneath me. I've been hit in the same spot Oceania's trident hit me, a month ago. 

I know it's fully healed, but now I'm panicking. Will doctors be able to heal something again, if they've already done it?

Will they even heal me at all, since I ran away? Well... I know the answer to that question. It's no. 

I resist the urge to rip the weapon out of my shoulder. I know it might get infected, but I could also die from blood loss, which as I know much too well is not a fun way to die.

I hold in my scream, even though it feels like a cannon trying to make its way up my throat. My eyes bubble with hot tears that seem to burn my face. 

I fumble for my backpack zipper, finally managing to open it. I remove my ax, ripping part of the fabric in the progress, and hold it in my attacker's direction. 

She's heading towards me, but when she notices my ax she backs up, raising her hands. 

Her expression looks concerned and worried, but maybe that's just the tears in my eyes making my vision blurry. 

"Are you okay?" she asks. I shake my head, but don't lower my weapon. I'm not okay, but I'm not willing to accept her help. 

"Just- just get away from me," I stammer. She takes another step back. 

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," she start, glancing at the wound in my shoulder. I shiver when I notice her face. It must be really bad, if she seems that concerned. "I actually didn't mean too. I thought you were coming to steal my farm."

I give her a suspicious glance. Why would I want to steal her farm? I've got no in use having something I have to take care of. 

"I don't want your farm," I say, not sure what else would be appropriate. Should I ask her if she has any bandages? Or maybe I could just pull the knife out of my shoulder and throw it at her, as payback. 

Nope- I'm not in the arena anymore. I don't want everyone dead. I have to stop having those thoughts. 

"Do you have any bandages, or anything that might help?" I ask, gritting my teeth through the pain. She nods, and starts towards the shed before turning around as if she's just remembered something. 

"You seem like you can handle pain a lot better than most people. What district are you from?" I consider not telling her. She'd probably bring me the bandages anyway, and she doesn't need to know I was in the games. 

But of course, I'm awful at hiding things from people. So I tell her. 

"Seven. My name's Amethyst Greenwood." I stare down at the ground, though I can still hear her audible gasp. 

"The Amethyst Greenwood? The one who won the Hunger Games?" she asks. Her voice sounds shrill, like she's excited. I don't see why. Why would anyone ever be excited about meeting a murderer? 

And yet, I nod. I don't want all I'm known for to be winning the Hunger Games, but I would like for anyone who dares to attack me know that I'm a good fighter. 

She rushes towards me, getting a bit closer than she was before. 

"I can't believe it! The capitol announced you were dead- a freak accident, apparently. How'd you survive?" I frown. Of course the capitol faked my death. They couldn't just say that one of the amazing victors of the Hunger Games ran off, could they?

"I was never there. I ran away from seven and I'm never going back. Don't believe the capitol's lies." She takes a step back, as if I was the one to throw my knife, not her. And yes, maybe that comment was a bit hurtful. But what should I care? I was a bit hurt when she stabbed me in the shoulder. 

"...oh. Wow. I didn't know they could sink to those depths. But anyways, nice to meet you, I'm Jenny." She holds out her hand as if for a handshake, and I return it, then use my good hand to wipe the tears out of my eyes so I can see again. 

And she looks different now. Her eyes are a brilliant hazel, and she has dimples that seem to appear when she smiles. 

"Uh, bandages?" I ask as another flare of pain travels throughout my body, and she flinches, looking at my shoulder, and then rushes back into the house to get some. 

I sit outside for a moment while Jenny is getting the bandages. I wonder what it's like to live here, in- this must be District Ten, right? Yes, it has to be. I must've missed nine, somehow.

Jenny returns with the bandages, and I pull the knife out of my arm, handing it back to her. She wipes off the blood with a rag that seems for that purpose only before apologizing again. 

I nod and shrug as if it's fine. But of course, people will wonder when they see what happened to me. If they see what happened to me. If I don't get attacked by a wild animal, or drown in a lake, or... a million other things. 

I wrap up my shoulder in the bandage. 

"You know," I tell Jenny. She turns towards me, setting down the rest of the strips of white cloth within my reach.

"Well. No, I guess you don't know, as you've never been in them. But the Hunger Games are horrible." I continue wrapping my shoulder, making sure it's not too tight. "They change you. For better or for worse. Well, usually for worse. I went in there knowing I'd have to kill to make it home alive. But it still haunts me today that I, personally, ruined so many people's lives." I hang my head. I'm only telling Jenny this because I don't have anyone else too tell, and when I get captured I want someone to know. 

She listens quietly. I can tell she's waiting for me to say more, so I do.

And so I tell Jenny about the story she's heard about the Hunger Games, but from my point of view. How it destroys you, inside and out, to kill. Especially an innocent child. Especially when you never gave them the chance to fight back. 

And Jenny tells me a bit about her life. How she moved away from her home when she was old enough, and has lived here ever since. 

And then she agrees to take me into the city. I need new things, my old clothes are starting to stink pretty bad, and my cloak certainly won't fit in here. Or maybe it will. I don't know much about District Ten. 

We agree to go the next day, during the daytime. The sun's already starting to set, making me wonder how long I've been sitting here. 

I sleep in Jenny's shed, on a small pile of hay covered with blankets. It's not the most comfortable bed I've ever felt, but it's better than a fork in a tree.

I lie in bed for a while after the lights are turned off, staring off into the night sky and thinking. Jenny snores quietly, but not enough to keep me awake. 

I don't know how, or when, it happens, but eventually I feel myself start to nod off. 

I'm expecting to feel myself plunge into a dream, but nothing of the sort happens. 

I fall into blackness. A midnight-dark sea of blackness. Lights swim around me as I fall, somehow levitating. 

I fall and fall and fall, until my mind floats away.