We fall asleep on the beach. I wake to a bright light pushing against my eyelids--the sun, telling me to rise and shine, because a new day has begun. 

Terra's arm is wrapped around my shoulder, warm and absolutely heavenly. She is still asleep, and I smile as I watch her breathe softly. 

Honestly, Terra is beautiful. I'm not even blinded by my stupid little crush--she is objectively gorgeous, her cheekbones strong and accentuated perfectly by soft waves of blonde hair. Her eyelashes are long, and her eyes are currently closed, but when open they are a stunning shade of forest green. 

She has a beauty mark right next to her mouth, a small brown dot that could almost pass for a freckle. I brush my thumb against it gently. Her skin is warm as well, and her eyes flutter open at my touch, meeting mine. She smiles, and my stomach twirls. 

I look up, movement in my periphery dragging me out of the moment. There is a rustling in the far-off trees on the beach, and a flash of red hair catches my eye. 

"There's someone there," I whisper, and Terra gets up quickly, silently, following my gaze. The moment is ruined, but honestly, I would rather have both of us alive. 

I don't know what I would do without Terra right now, and not only because she is the one protecting the both of us. 

I don't think I'd survive, or at least not for long. This arena is meant for fighters, something I very much am not. 

"Who's there?" Terra shouts, even though I bet we both know who it is--who else could ever share Taura's signature red hair? The expression on her face is fierce, but when she reaches for her bow, her hand is shaking. 

"Terra," I whisper urgently, close enough to her ear that no one else can hear--as if someone all the way on the other side of the bay could have heard, anyways. "There's probably more of them. They'll get us both."

Something in the back of my mind prevents me from saying 'killed,' and my voice quivers slightly. 

"I can handle Taura," she says, confirming both of our suspicions on who it is. "She's just overconfident, that's all. With Vulcan, all she was doing was dodging."

"But that was Vulcan," I counter. He was much stronger than Terra, and definitely more vicious, too.

"Exactly, that was Vulcan. You didn't see him, later on? He was totally losing his mind--could barely aim a shot."

Terra smiles, tilting her head to the side just a bit, as if to emphasize how perfectly unharmed it is. "I'm all sane, so I think we're good. I can handle Taura."

I consider this.

"What about the others? She was traveling with some more tributes, right? Someone had to've set that fire."

"Well, I don't know who," Terra starts, rising to her feet, bringing her bow and arrow with her. "But I'm sure whoever they are, they can't be that bad. C'mon, we'll be fine. I'll watch your back."

I hesitate, staying on the ground for just a moment longer. "You're sure?"

Her smile returns, and words can't explain how grateful I am to see it. "I'm sure. I have a plan. And nothing will happen to you, I can promise that."

She doesn't mention anything about herself, so I say nothing in response, a coward. We set off.

By the time we've reached the beach and the spot where Taura must've been, she is long gone. This is expected, obviously, so Terra already has a plan. 

"We'll lure her out with a fire," she says, already gathering the larger beginning logs. "They want to think they can act like the careers, hunting all the rest of us--they can be met with the real careers."

I don't think I would count as a real career, but I like that Terra's confident, and I don't want to shoot that down, so I let her continue, savoring the grin that doesn't yet leave her face. With how often she glances my way, I wonder if I am the one who brought it there. 

And oh, do I hope so. There aren't many things that can bring about happiness in the Hunger Games, and being one of those things for Terra would make my whole year. 

Terra gets started on the fire, and I help by gathering wood from the shore, being careful not to venture too deep into the woods, still paranoid from the flaming red hair that I'm sure was right here just hours earlier. I catch her staring sometimes, which brings a small smile to my face, and I wonder if this is what it feels like to be in love. 

Probably not, though. I have heard stories of love, and although they often contradict each other on how long it takes to fall, the most believable of them all seem to be the ones where months pass, even years, before a character truly knows that they are in love.

And yet, my circumstances are pretty unique, so who really knows?

I bring my stacks of kindling back to the island, breathing heavily after the long swim. Terra smiles at me, all grins today--but I'm not one to talk; so am I. 

We start a fire. I ponder for a second how the fire is going to help us at all--shouldn't they already know we're out here? But Terra explains her plan, and everything makes sense. 

"Okay, I don't think you're going to like it," she says, and I brace myself. 

"I'll pretend you've attacked me. I'll scream, and you'll run away, leading them to believe you've left the island unattended. When they come to loot--which they will, trust me--I'll..." she pauses, checking my expression, "...get them. They'll be caught off guard--won't be expecting it."

"And," she adds, finally, almost as if trying to calm my nerves, "the viewers will love it. It's dramatic, it's risky, it's violent. We'll get plenty more sponsors, I bet."

"That's true," I say carefully. "But honestly, Terra, I can't let you fight off them on your own. We don't even know how many people they have--they could've been collecting more since we've last seen them, and at the very least, there's three, which is two more than you."

"They're not careers," she says, dismissing my comment. 

I frown. "They're dangerous."

"Not as dangerous as me," she grins, jokingly flexing her bicep, the comment not working as a joke in the context, only serving to make me more anxious. 

"I don't think it's a good idea," I say, curling my legs up to my chest in the hot sand. It's near midday now, the fire burning bright, unnecessarily hot.

"Daphne," Terra says, and her pronunciation of my name is both ways slow, as if she's explaining something complicated to a child, and sincere, as if she truly believes that everything will turn out just fine. 

She's wrong, though. Nothing turns out fine here--it is quite literally impossible. Even those who survive, one every year, are scarred forever (and ever and ever). 

She wraps her arms around me, and I lean my head against her chest, grateful for the support, ignoring the extra warmth that is doing nothing but adding to my growing discomfort. She pulls away, planting a soft kiss on my forehead, and stands. 

"Please stay alive," I say, and I mean it. "For me, okay? For us?"

"For us," she agrees, and hands me a sword from where it is leaning against a palm tree. I don't recognize it, but am momentarily thankful that it is not--was not--Vulcan's. 

"Are you ready?" I ask, my voice quiet, just slightly scratchy. I'm not going to be actually stabbing Terra, but I might as well be. The risk is just as high. 

I slide the blade down my forearm quickly, gritting my teeth against the pain as I wipe blood along the sword, making it believable. I will leave the sword behind at the scene of the crime, and why would they bother to check if Terra truly has a life-threatening wound? No one wants to examine the body of someone currently dying. 

However, they burnt down our entire camp with no knowledge of whether or not someone was inside the cornucopia or not, so maybe they're just psychopaths, all of them. It's not impossible, really. 

I extend a bloody hand to Terra, and she moves closer, letting me wipe it all over her shirt. It's much less than a real wound would produce, and it is all I can do to hope it will be okay. 

When she is done, Terra screams. 

The sound curdles my blood, makes my pulse stop in its place, almost brings a scream to my own throat. She falls to the ground, surprisingly an excellent actor. Her eyes flutter closed, and I know that it is my turn to run.

So I do. 

***

sorry for the big gap between chapters <3