Hint on this chapter: Learn not to stop and smell the Roses!

I wobble after Max confused and dazed. These are two feelings, that have become known the past few weeks, or whatever it's been since I got bit by a Death Eater snake.

The morphine, Haymitch sent me, constantly drains than reboots my energy, making it nearly impossible to stay focused.

Sweat trickles my forehead, my fever rising. According to Jonny, my body needs to burn off the virus through a fever, fighting it makes my body weak and a fever will help keep my body at a regular weakness, therefore I can live long enough for them to kill Maddie, and crown me Victor once again, this time for real.

Therefore Jonny sent me running through the woods like a mad man.

"Come on Rosie, you're almost there!" I hear Jonny shout from the trees.

Ever since I taught him how to climb-swing like Rue, he hasn't stopped. He just keeps swinging, and swinging, and swinging!

"Come on Rose. You've got this." I repeat this over and over under my breath, until I believe it is true.

I keep making my way towards Max, who now stands with his arms wide open, as if about to take flight.

I fall into him laugh-crying at the exhilaration and the pain that screams in my ankle.

"Nice job Rose girl!" Max says as he lifts my frail body up, carrying me like a baby.

Ever since my little blow up, Max has became very "sympathetic" towards me. Treating me like a sick child at every chance he gets. It almost annoys me, but at this point, I can't trust any emotion that bubbles up inside me. Between the venom's virus eating at my brain cells, and the morphine, I am about as screwed up as my parents.

Max sets me on my makeshift bed. He stopped sleeping beside me lately, actually he stopped sleeping at all. Instead, he just sits by me and hums until I fall asleep, and when the venom gives me terrible nightmares he just hugs me and hums more.

Max kisses my forehead gently, but pulls away violently, touching his lips as if they were bleeding.

"Rosie, your fever. Your head is hot." He sounds concerned, but twitches with fear as he begins backing up towards the boxes on the other side of the cornucopia.

"Isn't that the point. Jonny had me run so my fever would rise." I say confused once again.

"Run? What? You fell out of bed, so I came to check on you. Rosie you have been sleeping all day." He looks even more scared, "Jonny! Jonny! She is having another episode. I think it's time!"

Jonny comes running around the corner of the boxes.

"Time for what?" I start to sit up, "You guys are scaring me."

"Nothing Rosie, just go to sleep, you need your rest." Jonny says in a soothing voice.

"I love you." Max whispers in my ear.

I close my eyes, confused for the third time in ten minutes. When I open them a few seconds later, Max is driving a knife through his heart, staining his shirt with red blood.

A whole-hearted panic-attack erupts from inside of me as Jonny ties a rope to a tree outside, and wraps it in a noose around his neck. When he kicks the box beneath him, I scream effortlessly, the sound never quite makes it out, so instead it sounds like an airy ah.

My blue-gray eyes close, burning with tears, the images of Max's body laying limp on the floor haunting me. I begin to heave but no vomit comes out, instead I am just left with a hovering feeling of nausea and sadness.

My eyes fly open once again, the same triangle of light awakening me from my bad dream. I begin to hyperventilate, but calm myself down with distant memories of the hob.

I think of Greasy Sae ranting on and on about why she refuses to fix the hole in the roof.

It feels like just yesterday a snowstorm destroyed the basically new roof, everyone was frantically running about trying to cover up the hole, so fresh snow wouldn't flood the place.

But she just stood there watching them, and when they began to patch it up with old pieces of plywood, she calmly said, "Use tarp, it is nice to be able to see what I am putting into the stew. I mean who knows maybe I have been feeding you all rat urine stew." She the turned away, spat at the dirt filled ground, and went back to braiding my hair.

Max comes running to my side as usual humming the same lullaby in my ear. At least I think it is a lullaby, I do not recognize the tune.

I start to day dream once again, staring at the beautiful primroses in the distance. But something catches my eye.

I sit up abruptly.

"Jonny!" I stand up limping as quickly as possible towards the mouth of the cornucopia.

"What?" He looks up from the ground as I point towards the meadow.

I can tell by the expression on his face that he sees it too.

A small speck moving quickly throughout the hundreds of primroses that grow in ornate lines.

"Max get your spear, and Rosie grab your bow." We don't move, "Fast!"

I run-hop towards my bow and toss Max his spear.

Jonny fastens all sorts of weapons in his belt and begins to run towards the speck.

Max chases after him. They look about as crazy as careers. Their crazy looking smiles, probably from the absence of sleep the past whatever it's been, and their determined eyes. That is my fault. All my fault.

I wobble quickly careful to stay at a steady, but slow pace, that allows e to always be able to see them.

I take in my surroundings quickly. Noticing the clear ocean for the first time since we got back to the cornucopia.

The boys reach the roses and disappear as they move into them. I guess I never really noticed how tall tthe weeds were.

I run at full tilt towards them. But something stops me.

A sound?

No.

Maybe it is the sight of all of the roses growing like a cornfield.

But I am not necessarily afraid to enter a cornfield.

I weigh the air. It feels heavier and dryer than usual.

I sniff.

And that is what sets me off.

It is the smell.

Abnormally sweet with a hint of copper, a scent that dries the air but warms the body.

The smell of blood.

And not just any blood.

Fresh blood.

I suddenly hear barking. The same barking that my parents heard in the 74th hunger games.

Mutts.

The dogs are taller than the flowers, but smaller than a small tree. My breath stops as they chase towards where Max and Jonny are likely to be.

I suddenly feel sleepy.

My eyelids grow heavy.

My brain goes fuzzy.

Just as I am about to fall to the ground I get one last word out.

"Run!" It comes out in a scream, but this scream uses up the last amount of my energy.

We've been gassed.