They hadn't known what had happened when they woke up. From what they thought, there were still seven tributes standing, and the night had passed through normally.

They were walking through the woods, Zane holding the slingshot that Kelvin used, working much better than he thought, and Amethyst holding the spear that Cole had used. There was no way they weren't going to go hunting that day, since they would die of starvation at any moment. They had known there was a water source somewhere, so maybe there was food near or in it.

Amethyst had been frowning the whole trip, terribly missing her friend and her family. Zane looked for something, anything, to brighten the mood. "Amethyst, want to know something?"

"What."

"It's my birthday today."

"Fifteen?" He nodded. "Well, happy birthday to you then," She said sarcastically. 

She didn't want to sound bitter, but that's how it came out. Zane didn't really mind, and took it more like a joke and laughed. "Yeah, it'll be my last one anyways."

"You still don't know."

"Oh I know. I'm the youngest here!"

Amethyst didn't answer. She wanted to win, and didn't want to admit that she might not. Zane had no problem doing it, for he was almost sure Amethyst would. He knew that if it were down to her and him, somehow she would outsmart him and be crowned the victor. She survived this far, and he had only been alive then because he had saved her. 

He just didn't just want to die. He knew he would, even if he didn't want to.

A few minutes later, they heard a voice. It was huge, and made Zane jump when it came on and made Amethyst almost drop her weapon on her foot. They stopped walking, and listened.

"If you are listening to this, you are one of the final four left in the 54th annual Hunger Games!" His voice projected all across the arena, like a giant speaker at a concert.

"There are only four left," Zane said to her. "it was seven last night." Amethyst looked back at him, frightened.

"Now, to celebrate how far you've made it, we've hidden an object in the arena. An object that will make your chances of winning even stronger. If you want to have a higher chance of victory, we suggest you hurry up and look. Before it's gone."

The speakers died down, and the sounds of the arena were normal again, the distant crash of waves and swaying trees.

"Amethyst, we need to get it. We'll have a huge chance of winning then," Zane urged her. 

"I know." She didn't argue this time. Usually, she had a way to think differently than him, but she agreed that time. "We need to leave now."

"It could be right under our nose-"

"Or it could be on the whole other side of the arena." Amethyst raised her voice. "It could be floating in a river, buried under the ground. Maybe someone already has it. We won't know unless we look." She paused, contemplating. "We can't look as fast together. We need to split up."

She looked at him, and starting leaving, but Zane grabbed her arm back. He pulled her right in front of him, not letting her make any further steps.

"That's even more dangerous than staying together. What if one of us does find it? We probably won't even have time to get back to the other person. Plus, I've never survived on my own before. Kelvin was always by my side-" Zane took a small, sad breath. "I'm not used to being alone, Amethyst. Please don't make me."

She couldn't say no. "Okay, fine. We'll scout together."

He smiled.

A/N

Definition of Amethyst: "Amethyst is a meditative and calming stone which works in the emotional, spiritual, and physical planes to promote calm, balance, and peace. Emotionally, Amethyst is used in crystal healing to help heal personal losses and grief, bringing one gently past."

***

It's not safe there anymore.

Skya had encountered Fiona the night before, lucky to have made it out alive. She made an act to grab her supplies and run out before she came back.

When she heard the announcement, she was shocked. She hadn't been keeping track of the events of the games since it started, and couldn't believe she was one of the final four. She had no hope she would get past the cornucopia, and definitely one of the last standing. But now that she knew that, she needed to win. Though she didn't know if it was possible. If they are one of the last four, the other competitors must be amazing.

She needed that extra token.

She didn't know where it could possibly be, but she knew that she better keep looking. A rush filled her, the fact that she could actually win.

What would it be like, in the village? She thought. At least we won't be starving anymore. We'll be living like kings, even owning our own telephone!

She couldn't push the thought out of her head.

She was looking for hours, checking every place possible. She knew that the gamemakers wouldn't put it out in the open, for that was way too easy.

When she went to check part of a tree, her hand came across something. No, it wasn't a container of some kind, (what she had been hoping for), but a message, written on the bark. Skya's eyes went back and forth, reading it word for word.

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
They strung up a man
They say who murdered three.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.

More and more lines were scribbled down, and Skya stepped away from it with shock. She knew those lyrics. It was forbidden to sing that in District 3, for it was something that tended to spark even the tiniest bit of rebellion. Plus, the lyrics scared her.

She looked for a sign of who wrote it, but it was only those lines that everyone knew that were written.

She didn't know that everyone else feared those lines as well, and at that moment the Capitol was determined to cover it up, and make sure that it was never read during those games again.

As Skya stepped back even further, something ghastly happened. The tree leaves caught on fire. It started at the top, then made it's way toward the bottom. Skya watched in horror as the lines burned down into ash, and soon she was standing in front of a pile of burned wood.

Everything else in the forest stayed the way it was, and Skya didn't know what to think.

But one thing is for sure; whoever wrote those lyrics on the tree meant it to have the effect it did, even if it was just with Skya.