When Kirsten and I woke up the next morning, I asked her if she likes to use a certain weapon.

"I feel like i'm really skilled with a needle bayonet. My great great great grandfather was one of the representatives of our District for the war before the dark days. He used a needle bayonet in the war because we are District 8, we use needles often to sew fabric. He passed away in the war, but the weapon still is in our house. I use it once in a while, bring it outside to the back of the factory and swing it around. There was one at the cornucopia, but I was too scared to get it cause it was really deep in. So I grabbed this bag and water canteens and ran."

"Oh." I respond.

I tell Kirsten to put the canteens in the burlap sack and carry it so I can hold the much heavier potato filled backpack. By the time I but my bag on, Kirsten had turned the burlap sack into a small backpack.

"How'd you do that?"

"District 8. Remember?"

"Haha." I respond, leading the way.

We walk for around 2 hours until we suddenly come across what looked like an arctic wolf.

The wolf was beautiful, and it looked like a capitol mod.

He was the alpha, obviously. He howled and a whole pack appeared, running from all directions. They ranged from babies to full grown adults.

I recognize these things! They are called Snow Mutts. There was an accidental infiltration of them 6 years ago. I remember, I was around 10 and Emma and I were at school together where they were playing that year's hunger games live on the televisions in the cafeteria. I looked at the screen for a moment, where suddenly, a bunch of Snow Mutts started chasing the career pack. Three were killed and the other two had been temporarily blinded. It was quick though. They regained their sight in an hour or two. Apparently, when these mutts bite you, a type of venom bacteria is released into your body, causing temporary blindness and not much damage. That is, if you're lucky. Most of tributes who were bitten had the venom cause extreme damage to vital internal organs instead, making you bleed from your mouth and nose until you die. The head gamemaker was fired that year. Her name was Dr. Realhorn. She was trying to invent a new mutt when she accidentally released a few packs of them into the arena.

Suddenly, one bared his teeth.

Here we go.

I reach down to my belt, confident, and then remember we don't have any weapons. The spear was back at camp.

My eyes widen and I mouth to Kirsten: RUN!

We sprint in the other direction and the mutts chase us, all faster than bolts. White fur is seen all around us.

As I run, I toss my jacket off and so does Kirsten. If anything happens to us, we don't need our coats destroyed, it's our only source of warmth.

I fall and paw at the mutts, yelling wildly.

"KIRSTEN THERE! A PARACHUTE! GO GET IT!" I yelled.

I continue fighting off the wolves. One of the females pounces on my arm and digs her teeth into the fleshy skin on my upper arm.

I scream in pain and my entire left arm is numb. I however don't stop punching the mutts with my right fist.

Kirsten tries running back to me with a small syringe with red liquid in her palm, but a small yet strong mutt pounces on her.

She screams in pain as the mutt buries his powerful teeth in Kirsten's ankle, ripping off the fabric.

Without second doubts, Kirsten shoved the needle into the neck of the wolf. It stopped and immediately wobbled away. She stood up and limped to me, still struggling, and stabbed the same needle into every attacking mutt.

She helped me up. I brush off the snow and fur on my pants and inspect the bite marks.

Kirsten and I sit down. I look at her wound first. The gaping cuts in her ankle triggered a small gag. I gulp and look more closely. She winces when I touch it. It bleeds a lot, so I rip off a part of the burlap sack and patch it up.

I do the same to my cut.

"We should find some shelter. You know, before the things kick in."

Kirsten agreed and we set off.

About an hour later, we find a clump of trees in a deserted area. We still have half an hour until the symptoms start occurring, so we try to get food and weapons.

We weren't able to get anything, but luckily, a sponsor donates a bread roll and some weapons. Down drops an axe and a trident.

We both try out the weapons, but we eventually each choose one. I stick the axe handle in my belt and Kirsten grips the trident. We try to use stones and sharp objects to peel the potatoes, and then cook them. Kirsten found some large leaves we can use as plates, and also helped heat and cut the bread.

I placed a sliced potato and a few pieces of bread on each leaf. We sat on the snowy ground and nibbled at our food.

I picked up my last potato slice with my hand and shoved it in my mouth. Kirsten looks down at her feet and pushes the food away.

"What happened?" I ask her.

"Nothing. I'm not hungry." She quietly responds.

"Please Kirsten. You can at least do better than that! This is the Hunger Games. I don't think you are full."

"I'm just tired." She whispers, and slips into the ripping burlap sack.

I sigh and carry the food over to Kirsten. "Cmon, you gotta eat. You don't wanna starve, right?"

Kirsten picks up a piece of bread and sticks it in her mouth. "There, happy?" She says flatly.

"Tell me." I said. "You liked the potato the other day, why not now?"

Kirsten sighed. "Ugh, you can't let me have secrets, can you?" She yelled.

She then ran away into the darkness.

I start to wonder a bit when the blindness or bleeding will start. Then I remember.

If the bite if from a female source, it takes another day or so before the symptoms kick in. However, if the bite source is male, then it will take action a few hours right after the bite. This is because the female's venom was still being developed when the pack was accidentally released a few years ago, so their bite isn't as strong or dangerous.

Suddenly, I hear a scream in the distance. Oh, Kirsten! She should be having symptoms now! She was bitten by a male!

I stagger side to side, trying not to bump into trees in the pitch black darkness. My head hurts but the screams only get louder. I can't find Kirsten!

I turn a corner and smash headfirst into a tree, but quickly recover. I hear Kirsten crying and screaming in pain. I run aimlessly, until I can make out a figure lying on the snow, twisting and turning, screaming for help. The white snow around her is now stained blood red and all my eyes can see is red. Bright red sitting in the middle of the darkness, accompanied by screams of pain. The red liquid pouring out of Kirsten's mouth, her hands covered with them.

She's not as lucky as me.

The bite might just cause her death.

I limp over to her, kneeling next to her. She coughs blood and she presses her hands to her bright red lips. I wrap my hands around her face, trying to save her, but knowing that I can't. Knowing that Kirsten has met her fate, knowing that this girl will soon lose her life. My hands are now smothered in her blood, some on my clothes. My hands shake wildly, and my arms, from my fingertips to my elbows, are now covered with Kirsten's blood. Her face is covered with the stuff, and she chokes on some blood, trying to say something. I grip the back of her head with my palm and the other one around her chin. I yell her name until my throat is raw, voice hoarse. She's been struggling for around 5 whole minutes now. "Stay strong, Kir. Stay strong. We should be getting medicine from a sponsor soon. C'mon."

Kirsten coughs crazily, trying to stop the bleeding from her mouth and nose. She holds them with her palms, but despite the grip, the blood continues flowing. Everywhere.

I can hear her breath slowing down. She stops hyperventilating and starts to relax a bit. My hands are still wrapped around her body. I feel more tears roll down my cheeks. "Kirsten! No!" I scream, raspy. I feel her turn her head to me and open her mouth to say something again. "Sp-".

Then, she blinks once, and her heartbeat stops, and a cannon goes off. My eyes become blurry from tears. I could barely even see in the first place, anyways. Her eyes and mouth remain open, blood stained on her soft skin. Her lifeless, limp body laying there, just like my father's at his funeral.

I sniff and let out my tears, wailing in the darkness. I run my calloused hands over her face and loosen my grip, letting go and backing away. I watch as the hovercraft flies in and picks up the corpse.

With my little vision getting less by the moment, I am able to make out the tiniest silhouette of her body in the air, being lifted into the hovercraft. I quickly pluck a small flower out of the tiny patch of dirt by the snow and show it to her body before she is lifted and flown away.

I tuck the flower in my pocket and feel my way back to camp. I can't believe what just happened.

When I get back, I sit against a tree and try to melt some snow with the fire, using it to wash the blood off my hands before putting the fire out.

I gather all of the supplies next to me and lean my head against a log, quickly slipping into a deep sleep.