It took me even longer than I expected to find camp, but as night drew in, I found myself back in the quarry. Even the rabbit I killed was still there. I left it though, feeling guilty for some reason. I hurried back from there, exhausted by the days event and in desperate need of some water and some food. As I approached camp, I heard the soft call of my name.

Logan.

“Logan, I’m over here,” I shouted back.

“Raven!”

I didn’t see him until he slammed into my body, hugging me so tightly I couldn’t breathe.

“I was so worried! I heard the cannon, it could have been you!” he said. I felt a tear drop on to the back of my neck. He was crying.

“Shh, Logan. I’m sorry. I’m here now. I’m sorry…” I trailed off, biting my lip to stop a sob escaping. I clung tightly to his shoulders.

“It’s not safe here. Let me get you back to camp,” he said, taking my hand. As we walked I told him what had happened, and discussed my plan with him. He seemed wary of what I wanted to do.

“They’re stronger than we are,” he insisted.

“Says who?”

“Me.”

“I disagree. There are four of us, four of them. Even match, right? Besides, we have the element of surprise…”

“Whatever. Just wait for Clementia to shoot you down.”

That’s where Logan was wrong.

“I think it’s a fantastic idea,” Clementia exclaimed “Finally, we’re doing something of use!”

“So let me get this straight. You want to waltz straight up to the Career’s camp…and ambush it?” Minerva said, with an unimpressed twist of her mouth.

“Exactly.”

“Shall we go tomorrow then?” Clementia asked. At the time, I liked the fact that I was being put in control of the operation.

“Yes. We all need to get a decent sleep before we go. And then maybe do some hunting. The better fed we are, the stronger we will be in battle.”

“OK. Minerva, can you take first watch? The rest of us haven’t slept all day…”

“Of course,” she replied angelically, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. I wrinkled my nose in disgust at her. She was such a suck-up it was sickening. Logan caught me expressing my hatred and smirked to himself, and when Minerva’s back was turned, mimed tossing his hair and pouting. I chortled as quietly as possible to myself, throwing a glance at Little Miss Perfect. She was oblivious to our teasing, occupying herself with organizing the packs.

Logan and I settled down beside one another, and Clementia joined us on my left side. And so I fell asleep with a sense of achievement, with my best friends beside me and the moon high in the sky.

***

The sound of rustling. Whispers in the dark. Shadows looming over the resting bodies of my friends.

I was awake and alert. Something wasn’t right. I drew my knife and shook Clementia awake roughly. Her eyes spoke fear as she quietly reached for an axe that she had become accustomed to sleeping next to. Running footsteps neared, and as they reached camp, I threw myself out of hiding, straight on top of the intruder. We struggled momentarily on the floor, before I realised who it was.

“Minerva?”

She pushed me off her irritably, and brushed the dirt off herself.

“Who else would it be,” she snapped.

“We thought you were ambushing us!” Clementia exclaimed “Where the hell where you?”

“I went hunting,” Minerva said coldly, producing a rabbit and two birds from her bag. I stared at her suspiciously.

“Who were you talking to?”

“I wasn’t talking to anybody.”

“Yes you were. I heard voices.”

“They’re probably in your head, psycho,” Minerva smirked. I lurched forward to grab her hair.

“Enough!” Clementia squeaked softly, but I listened to her, and let go. Minerva rubbed her head pointedly, and I rolled my eyes at her.

“Look, Raven, I’m sorry but I really didn’t hear the voices. It could have been someone else.”

“In which case, we’re in danger. I think I’ll finish this watch,” I said, glaring at Minerva. She shrugged and crawled into our little camp. Clementia looked like she didn’t know what to say, and so followed Minerva. I sighed and lay down on my back to look at the stars. It reminded me of something my brother had once said, and I let the memory take over…

I was twelve years old. It was several weeks after my first reaping, and I sat with Jonah in the fields behind my house, watching the stars. It was a particular hobby of ours, and whenever we felt stressed or upset, the night was there to comfort us. When I was Jonah’s age, the dark frightened me, but he loved it. The moon shone down on his youthful face, the eerie light casting his face half in shadow and half in a pale yellow light. I was busy looking for pictures in the dotted stars when Jonah nudged me.

“What?” I asked him in annoyance. He was unfazed by my snappy attitude and pointed to a star, one that stood out in the sky amongst all the others.

“When I die, I’m going to be a star in the sky, just like that one,” he announced.

“Don’t be stupid. People can’t be stars,” I said with a roll of my eyes.

“They can,” he insisted “You’ll be up there too. And mum. And dad. We all will. But the most beautiful people become the brightest stars.”

I was pretending not to listen, but his theory was so beautiful that I wanted to hear more. He’d always been a good storyteller. And so he continued to elaborate his idea.

“God picks certain people from heaven, and tells them to shine like they’ve never shined before. People can try as hard as they like, but only one can shine the brightest. And that one person is in the sky right now, winking down at us and telling us to lead good lives so that one day, we might be half as good as them,” he said, pointing again at the incredible star in the middle of the black blanket sky.

“Who do you think it is?” I asked, unable to stop myself.

“I don’t know,” he admitted “Maybe one day we’ll find out.”

We must have stayed there for another hour, just staring at the one star. Then took his hand and led him home.

I managed to locate the star in the sky, and wondered which one he was. It was then that I spotted something. Right next to our special star, was a tiny extra star. It was as though the special star had adopted the tiny one, and taken it under its wing. It was Jonah for certain. I smiled and stared at the star. I wondered then if Jonah might be smiling too.

A rustling from within the bushes surprised me, but it was only Logan. He gave me the smile I’d become accustomed to when he awoke each day, and I didn’t bother to tell him that he had a twig caught in his hair. He was still inside his sleeping bag, and he practically fell over to my side, grinning.

“Hey gorgeous,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. I snorted, then covering my mouth in case anyone heard me.

“Hello yourself. What are you doing up?”

“I couldn’t sleep. I’m too cold.”

“It’s not cold, you wimp.”

“It is! Get in the sleeping bag and keep me warm.”

Grudgingly, I slid in to the bag next to him. His arms wrapped around me.

“That’s better,” he said.

“I wonder what Eddie makes of all this,” I said to Logan, quiet enough so that I couldn’t be heard. He chuckled.

“Jealous,” he said simply, and for good measure, kissed me on the forehead. I dug him in the ribs, but he just laughed, shifting slightly in the sleeping bag. I heard a little scratching noise, and realised Logan was writing in his diary. He chuckled to himself slightly as he wrote.

“What’s so funny?” I demanded to know.

“Wouldn’t you like to know!”

“Yes, that’s why I asked.”

“I’ll give you the book in a couple of days,” Logan said carefully. I knew he meant when he died.

“How are you?” I asked him. I realised with all that had been going on in the arena, we hadn’t had a chance to talk properly.

“Do you know what? I’m actually great!”

“No need for sarcasm.”

“I promise you, there is no sarcasm intended for once. I love being out here, in the middle of nature, it’s so peaceful…”

“Yeah, especially when you know there are people nearby thirsting for your blood. It’s like a holiday.”

“Who’s being sarcastic now?”

“No sarcasm intended!” I mimicked Logan, in a voice completely contrasting to his own. He laughed it off and hugged me closer, blowing a raspberry on my neck childishly to make me giggle.

“Why don’t you keep watch for a while,” I suggested to Logan when I’d finally stopped laughing “And stop being a pain!”

Logan chuckled “Alright. Get some sleep.”

Using Logan’s arm as a pillow, I settled down and closed my eyes. But somehow I wasn’t tired. It was like Logan’s presence was giving me energy. So I asked him a question that had long been at the tip of my tongue.

“Have you ever been in love?” I blurted.

“What?”

“Have you ever been in love?”

Logan’s silence caused me to flip over so that I could see his face.

“Come on. I want an answer,” I whispered, remembering that the Capitol would be watching. I was sure Logan wouldn’t want everyone in Panem knowing the answer to my question.

“It depends what you mean by love. I love people. I love you. But if you mean have I ever found a girl I want to spend the rest of my life with, then no.”

“What about all the girls you were with back home?”

“None of them were right for me. I don’t think I’ll ever feel that way about someone now.”

Inside the sleeping bag, I fumbled for his hand and clutched it. He rested his forehead on my own and smiled sadly.

“But there is no one I would rather spend my final days with than you,” he whispered.

I smiled and kissed his cheek lightly. Then I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift to sleep in his warm embrace.