The seal of the Capitol shines above me and the anthem blares out. Its now or never, I think, and begin to saw. Blisters burst on my right hand as I awkwardly drag the knife back and forth. Once Ive got a groove, the work requires less effort but is almost more than I can handle. I grit my teeth and saw away occasionally glancing at the sky to register that there were no deaths today. Thats all right. The audience will be sated seeing me injured and treed and the pack below me. But the anthems running out and Im only three quarters of the way through the wood when the music ends, the sky goes dark, and Im forced to stop. Now what? I could probably finish off the job by sense of feel but that may not be the smartest plan. If the wasps are too groggy, if the nest catches on its way down, if I try to escape, this could all be a deadly waste of time. Better, I think, to sneak up here at dawn and send the nest into my enemies.

In the faint light of the Careers torches, I inch back down to my fork to find the best surprise Ive ever had. Sitting on my sleeping bag is a small plastic pot attached to a silver parachute. My first gift from a sponsor! Haymitch must have had it sent in during the anthem. The pot easily fits in the palm of my 186 hand. What can it be? Not food surely. I unscrew the lid and I know by the scent that its medicine. Cautiously, I probe the surface of the ointment. The throbbing in my fingertip vanish-

Oh, Haymitch, I whisper. Thank you. He has not abandoned me. Not left me to fend entirely for myself. The cost of this medicine must be astronomical. Probably not one but many sponsors have contributed to buy this one tiny pot. To me, it is priceless. I dip two fingers in the jar and gently spread the balm over my calf. The effect is almost magical, erasing the pain on contact, leaving a pleasant cooling sensation behind. This is no herbal concoction that my mother grinds up out of woodland plants, its high-tech medicine brewed up in the Capitols labs. When my calf is treated, I rub a thin layer into my hands. After wrapping the pot in the parachute, I nestle it safely away in my pack. Now that the pain has eased, its all I can do to reposition myself in my bag before I plunge into sleep. A bird perched just a few feet from me alerts me that a new day is dawning. In the gray morning light, I examine my hands.

The medicine has transformed all the angry red patches to a soft baby-skin pink. My leg still feels inflamed, but that burn was far deeper. I apply another coat of medicine and quietly pack up my gear. Whatever happens, Im going to have to move and move fast. I also make myself eat a cracker and a strip of beef and drink a few cups of water. Almost nothing stayed in my stomach yesterday, and Im already starting to feel the effects of hunger. 187 Below me, I can see the Career pack and Peeta asleep on the ground. By her position, leaning up against the trunk of the tree, Id guess Glimmer was supposed to be on guard, but