Sam was having trouble outrunning the pack of career tributes. Every time he thought he'd shaken them he would hear their voices not far behind him. They weren't even bothering to keep quiet enough to sneak up on him. He'd left the cornucopia with a few lethal weapons and some supplies, so he wasn't completely helpless, but if the other four tributes managed to surround him he knew he didn't stand a chance. Part of Sam knew he should have just left Blaine to his own devices back there. He definitely wouldn't be in his current predicament if he had. The career pack would have taken their time to torture and kill Blaine, he was sure. They took it personally that the smaller boy had outscored all of them in training. Sam wasn't surprised. He probably would have been friends with the other boy if they'd met under different circumstances. He figured Blaine probably had sponsors lined up around the block wanting to help him.

Sam wondered if he should have attacked Blaine himself after they got away from the career pack. At least then it would be quick for him. Not like what his death was sure to be if the careers caught up with him. That's what Quinn had wanted. She never should have stayed to fight for supplies. They didn't really know each other that well even though they lived a few houses away from each other and were in the same year at school. After the reaping they had gotten closer and Sam wished he had bothered getting to know her before all of this. They both knew neither of them had much of a chance in the Games, but he was determined to at least go out fighting. All Quinn wanted was for it to be quick and painless. That's why she stayed for the cornucopia fight. She knew that if she ran into the careers later in the Games, there was a good chance they'd draw it out. Quinn didn't want her little girl to see that. As much as it hurt watching her fall, a small part of Sam was glad that at least Blaine hadn't made her suffer. She was gone before she had a chance to feel any pain. Sam wondered what his District thought of him helping Blaine only seconds after he had killed Quinn. He picked up his pace as the footsteps behind him grew louder.

Blaine was pretty sure he was heading in the right direction to get back to the cornucopia. Every corner looked the same so it was difficult to be sure. He was getting anxious as the sun moved lower in the sky. It would be almost impossible to find Kurt in the dark. At one point he thought he heard someone running in his direction, but they must have been in the next corridor over because the footsteps sounded muffled through the stone walls. He wondered what the Capitol audience thought of this arena. It was definitely a first of its kind, but it didn't offer much in terms of action. As if the Gamemakers had read Blaine's mind, the maze threw him its first curveball. Blaine had hit a dead end, but when he turned around to go back the way they came, he found himself facing a wall instead of a corridor. Thinking his mind was playing tricks on him, Blaine slowly turned in a circle. He was definitely boxed in. He tensed up, knowing that whatever was about to happen wasn't going to be good.

Slowly, the walls started moving together. While it wasn't original as far as booby traps go, it was certainly effective. As Blaine looked around trying to come up with a way out, thick sharp spikes slid out of the walls. Knowing his only choice would be to go over the wall, Blaine quickly pulled the length of rope out of his bag and tied a ring at one end. Was it his imagination or were the walls closing in even faster? He focused his breathing and tried to catch the rope loop around one of the spikes close to the top of the wall. After almost a dozen failed attempts, Blaine finally caught a spike and pulled the rope tight to close the loop. He put his weight into the rope making sure it wasn't going to slide off and drop him on his ass. Blaine took off his pack and threw it as hard as he could over the wall. He heard it hit the ground on the other side. Careful not to slip and impale himself, Blaine placed a foot between two of the spikes and used the rope to pull himself up. The walls were only a few feet apart now, but he didn't panic. If he lost focus and fell, Blaine knew he wouldn't have another chance to pull this off. His hands were sweating, making the task even more difficult. Climbing as swiftly as he dared, Blaine braced his weight on the spikes and made his over the wall. As soon as he made it to the top he tugged his rope free just as the walls locked together. Without anything to attach the rope to, Blaine didn't have an alternative way into the corridor below him, so he lowered himself as much as he could until he was hanging on by his fingertips. He let go and as soon as his feet hit the ground he bent his knees to absorb some of the impact. After giving himself a few seconds to catch his breath, Blaine realized he had just lost his chance at having a bird's eye look at the arena. From on top of the wall he could have tried to solve the maze. He even could have walked along the top of the wall until he found Kurt. Cursing himself for his hindsight, Blaine looked around and realized his supply pack was nowhere to be found. Either another tribute had grabbed it while he struggled to scale the wall, or the maze had shifted again and it was just another thing he had to find. Blaine was glad he'd heeded Burt's advice and kept most of his weapons, a small amount of food, and one quart of water on his person. With the sunlight almost completely gone now, Blaine had no other choice than to dust himself off and keep moving.