The Hunger Games - Peeta Mellark (1)

}19{ - Doctor Distefano

The sky went black and Livia heard a chorus of frogs begin to sing.

'Stay put and get some sleep, Livia', she instructed herself, although she wished she could start tracking Peeta now.

Tomorrow, she would find him.

She did sleep, but in the morning she was extra-cautious, thinking that while the Careers might hesitate to attack her in a tree, they were completely capable of setting an ambush for her.

She made sure to fully prepare herself for the day- eating a big breakfast, securing her pack, readying her weapons- before she descended.

But all seemed peaceful and undisturbed on the ground.

Today would have to be she would have to be scrupulously careful.

If Peeta was as badly wounded as Cato thought, Livia would be in the position of having to defend both herself and Peeta without any assistance.

But if he was that incapacitated, how had he managed to stay alive?

And how on earth would she find him?

Livia tried to think of anything Peeta ever said that might give her an indication as to where he was hiding out, but nothing rung a bell.

So Livia went back to the last moment she saw him sparkling in the sunlight, yelling at her to run.

Then Cato appeared, his sword drawn.

And after Livia was gone, he wounded Peeta.

But how did Peeta get away?

Maybe he had held out better against the tracker jacker poison than Cato.

Maybe that was the variable that allowed him to escape.

But he had been stung, too.

So how far could he have gotten, stabbed and filled with venom?

And how had he stayed alive all these days since?

If the wound and the stingers hadn't killed him, surely thirst would have taken him by now.

That's when it clicked.

They had planned to meet by the water.

There was the lake, but Livia found that an unlikely option since it was so close to the Careers' base camp.

A few spring-fed pools.

But you'd really be a sitting duck at one of those.

And the stream.

The one that led from the camp Rue and Livia made all the way down near the lake and beyond.

Well, it was a place to start, anyway.

To confuse her enemies' minds, she started a fire with plenty of green wood.

Even if they thought it was a ruse, Livia hoped they would decide she was hidden somewhere near it.