She goes into the woods.

Shuri surveys her surroundings, taking in the cliffs and streams and slopes, as she heads towards the trees. Ahead, she can see the flow of a small but ongoing stream. Better to have something to follow, she reasons, and it'll be a source of water to use to refill her bottles once they run out.

She picks up the pace a bit, but not so much so it becomes a run. No point in wasting all her energy in one go right at the start and then getting taken down. She scoffs inwardly at the idea of her, of all the girls in this damned game, being one of the first to be victimized. She's going to win, and no measly little man will stop her.

As she makes her way through the woodland, edging a bit closer to the stream as she does, she has to admit the place is surprisingly pretty. Far prettier than what it's used for, at any rate. Flowers in bursts of red and blue and yellow are blooming around the stream she's following, although they look less like blossoms that could fit in her mother's garden and more like some kind of specimen from a lab. The grass is emerald green, no hint of brown or wilt in sight, and the sunlight sparkles across the stream's waters. What a shame, she thinks, that it's all wasted on this kind of excuse for a game.

Not that she'll actually say it's beautiful, of course. Its purpose is ugly enough to overshadow its beauty, and she has far too much dignity to admit that anything about this place has merit after what she's signed on for.

If...no, when Shuri wins, she decides, she'll use her cash prize to buy the island and give it to her mother. There was nothing in the terms and conditions about what you could use your money for once you won it, after all, other than being unable to share it with the other girls.

She may be alone for now, but she makes sure to keep alert and continue looking around as she slows down her jog to a cautious walk. She can't afford to let her guard down at any moment. The furthest point on the island, she reminds herself. Hopefully, she'll be able to get around halfway there by nightfall.

The grass is increasingly littered with twigs the farther she travels, and Shuri stoops briefly to pick up a thick stick. A fallen branch, from the looks of it, and it's a little heavy in her hands, but she'll most likely need it to defend herself. She uses it like a cane as she walks.

It's only a few minutes later that she hears it. It's the sound of the man's voice, reverberating loudly enough from wherever he is to sound as clear as if he's standing right there before her. "Hour's up, ladies! Let the games begin."

Then there's a scream, and Shuri quickens her pace. She heads for a particularly tall, broad tree, and ducks behind the trunk to sit gingerly between the roots. She props the stick up next to her against the trunk and takes out her map, smoothing it out briskly as she unfolds it.

As she scans the map, guessing she's next to one of the blue lines that indicates a body of water, she hears the distinct snap of a twig from behind the tree. She freezes up, tightening her clutch on the map, and she grabs hold of her stick.