Hello, haters and hatresses and normal readers and readresses. Sorry about our awkward updates on… everything. We've both been very busy and… honestly a little lazy on editing. This chapter has honestly been done besides editing for 20 days and was started on May 12 so… yeah. Just start the new story.
We begin in a very familiar jungle arena Peeta was slashing through vines trying to navigate the land. Katniss saw the force field but not long before Peeta knife slammed right into it and was sent flying. "PEETA!" She called out as he hit a tree and moved no more.
Finnick went over to him and checked pulse. "He's dead."
"What no he can't be!" Katniss said. She made her way over to the body trying to muster the will to care.
"I'm sorry." Finnick said
Katniss said nothing trying to at least pretend to care. As far as the Capitol was concerned he was the love of her life, her fiancé, the father of the baby she's carrying and it was her job to convince the districts and Snow that. Yet here at his death she was not sure what to feel 'Just pretend. You've been doing it for a year now,' she thought to herself. "You're wrong!" She shouted to Finnick
Finnick fell back a step away from the body honestly getting a little scared. "Check." He said
She bent down beside the body and pressed her fingers to his neck trying to will herself to cry. Thinking quickly she lay her head on his chest. "No Peeta NO!" He was right though, not a single sound escaped his chest. "He's gone." She said forcing herself to shake. She tried to think of it a different way. Of the eleven-year-old boy who saved her family from starving to death.
That actually started to get to her if only slightly. She knew she needed a full on breakdown at least at first to convince anyone. She can't have care more about Rue's death than Peeta's. That gave her an idea and she tried to focus on Rue: her death, the faces of all her little siblings and parents, the older man she saw get shot for whistling her three note tune. Then at last the tears came. She let them fall as much as she could sobbing into his shirt. "Peeta NO!" She wailed
"I'm sorry, Katniss but we need to keep moving."
"And just leave him!?"
"He's dead. There's nothing that can be done unless you want to put flowers on him." She growled up angrily at Finnick "I'm just saying; you did with Rue last year."
"That was different."
"Well, we do need to keep moving before someone or thing finds us."
"Right, right." She said. She got up not taking her eyes off the body.
"We need to go." He sighed
"Right." She sighed. Her voice cracked slightly.
"Come on." He said gently
"Careful, there's a force field up ahead," she said managing to keep her voice hollow.
"Right." He sighed
"You looked like you were about to warn him though. Did you know it was there?" He asked.
"Well, I could sort of...hear it."
"Hear it?" He asked a little confused.
"The capital fixed my ear and now I can hear things that most can't."
"Hmm, well, you should probably lead then."
"Right, suppose I should." She went ahead going right so that her 'super ear' was on the side of the force field. She was still genuinely shocked at Peeta's sudden death "A force field," she muttered keeping her eye out for the kinks in the armor and throwing the nuts, "and just like that."
"I'm sorry." Finnick said
"I just can't believe it."
"It was rather sudden."
"And with the baby," she remembered looking at her abdomen. "Even if we can both make it out alive he or she will never know their father."
"That is a sad thought." Though the baby didn't really exist. Her mind flittered to Posy who actually was born after her father's death. "It'll be okay.
"Their chances of survival are pretty much non-existent anyways."
"In here yeah I suppose so."
"Bad enough to cause the impossible."
"Yeah, it'll be tough."
She nodded. "I have to try though." Finnick nodded sadly "Unlikely for even just me though."
"I think the odds are better than you think."
"Everyone here's an experienced killer."
"So are you and you're the youngest."
"Yeah, four people, two were indirect, one had killed my ally, and the last one was a mercy kill that really more credit should have gone to Peeta."
"Still you have a chance."
"One of the Careers or Johanna are much more likely."
"Not a guarantee though."
"What makes you so sure?"
"I have seen you work."
"Yeah, the whole world has. So?"
"When you want to win you usually find a way."
"Like the berries?"
"Yes like the berries."
"I wish I never did that," she admitted honestly.
"Well, you did there is no changing that."
"I know."
"I'm just saying no point to regret it."
"Well, nothing good came out of it."
"Not even Peeta?"
"He still died though."
"That does not make him a bad thing."
"It doesn't make it a good thing."
"You are too negative."
"How can you not be?"
"I have hope."
"You're the only one."
"No Mags does too."
Mags nodded from Finnick's back. "Good for you two then."
"Others do, too." Finnick added.
"Good for them."
"I'm just saying you should at least try."
"I will try."
"That's all I ask then."
"Got it, though I don't see why you care."
"Doesn't really matter why I do."
"No, I suppose not."
"Maybe I just like babies." He shrugged. "I mean, who doesn't?"
"Snow." She muttered
"That's dangerous," he muttered.
"Oh they didn't hear."
"I guess with the bloodbath still on."
"Yeah, it should end soon."
"Right," he said as they kept walking.
"Soon we should rest."
"Yeah, probably best."
"I can weave some mats."
"That works."
"I don't need to."
"You should." He said
"Why?"
"The baby." He reminded
"Right, need to think about the baby."
"Good so rest."
She sighed and sat down leaning against a nearby tree. 'So now what?' She thought She couldn't find much of an answer though but the cannons soon started going off. She counted nine. "So that's it then."
"Not that much all things considered. Still 15 of us left."
"Yeah but for how long?"
"Not much longer. I mean, not only is everyone here an experienced killer but this is a Quarter Quell. There must be something to this arena we're not seeing."
"Probably yeah."
"Speaking of which, we really do need to find water."
"Right but where."
"If I knew where I would have gotten some by now."
"Okay, sorry, calm down."
"Sorry, guess it's the hormones."
"Must be. Can't imagine that."
"You don't want to."
He chuckled and said, "I'm pretty sure that's impossible."
"For you to want to?"
"I actually meant for me to get pregnant."
"Oh! Yeah, I guess that is."
"It could have been a lot worse though. You're clearly still in the first trimester. Imagine if you were eight or nine months along."
"Yeah, I would be dead."
"Probably, I don't think anyone would be able to survive that."
"Not likely."
"That is a bright side though."
"Yeah, you make a good point."
"Just try to always look for those."
"I will; I have to now."
"Good, it does help though."
"We'll see."
"That we will," he said wishing he could tell her the truth about these games but there's more than a few reasons why not. Okay, so water then."
"Right, obviously there has to be some."
"Yeah, but I can't see any."
"In this heat we could probably die faster from it."
"Yes, just say calm okay?"
"I'll try."
"Good that is all I ask." He said
"I don't think we could make the night without finding some though."
"Well, maybe we'll get a gift."
"Maybe." As if on cue a parachute came down. Katniss immediately grabbed it opening it up. It was well to be honest she was not sure it seemed familiar. She took it out looking it over. "I have seen one of these before, but where? I need to hunt see if I can clear my head." Katniss said She got up taking her bow before Finnick could protest. She was off into the forest.
After a while of looking she did find a creature up in one of the trees. It looked like a rat, except with larger shaper teeth. She shot it down but once she did noticed it's nose was wet. "Water? From where?"
She started from the base of the tree and scanned out trying to find where it had been drinking. Yet it just looked like a tree.
She headed back to the others with the rat.
"Well, there's definitely some kind of water source nearby. I can't find it but he did," she said, holding up the creature.
"Well, that's good. It has to be around then."
"Exactly, we just need to find it."
"This has to have something to do with it" She turned the sharp tube in her hands a few times then looked at the sharp teeth on the treerat and it clicked, "A spiel!"
"A what?"
"A spiel, sort of like a faucet. You put it in the tree and normally sap comes out but here given the lack of springs and this creatures sharp teeth there's only one thing that could be worth having in these trees."
"Water." He finished for her. He took the spiel from her and a rock going over to a big tree.
"Be careful. We should probably find a way to drill a hole first. Can't risk damaging it."
"Right, maybe with the tip of the trident?"
"Or Mags' awl."
"Better idea." He conceded Mags of course handed it right over. He dug into the tree as far as he could. They used it and Katniss' knife to make the hole large enough to fit he spiel.
"Okay, be careful now." She said.
"Maybe you should do it. I don't know how it works."
"Probably for the best." He stepped aside and Katniss worked the spiel in. "Here we go."
At first just a few drops came out, then it started to increase. She adjusted it slightly getting a steady stream of warm water out. "Quick, we need a container."
Mags had soon weaved a basket tight enough to hold it. They held it under until it was full. They each took drinks from the basket. "That is so much better!"
"And now we have the means at any time," Katniss said. "Could you make another basket, Mags?"
She nodded smiling. She immediately started weaving another as Katniss filled back up the current one. "This gives us an edge."
"Yes it does."
"That is great!"
"The games will be short if the others don't though," Katniss stated.
"Not really an issue."
"Would turn us on each other real quick."
"True, but I think the others will get it later."
"They'd need their own spiels and knowledge on how to use them."
"Maybe."
"Just saying."
"It would be hard without them."
"Would it even be possible?"
"Maybe if they figure it out."
"I guess."
"Still unlikely, just as you said."
"I guess we'll see then."
"Yeah for now we eat."
"We need a way to cook it."
"What about the force field?" Finnick asked
"What about it?" she asked.
"We could throw it into that."
"Well… I guess it's worth a shot."
"Exactly."
"Should cut it up first."
"Right." He said nodding.
So she took her knife and skinned the rodent before slicing it. "Alright ready?"
"Ready."
She took a piece and tossed it. The piece came back charred on the outside but cooked nicely on the inside. "It works." She said eating it. She took another piece and threw it and soon they were all cooked
"Hmm… pretty good."
"Yeah, not bad.
"Couldn't have been picky anyways."
"Yeah true." He said.
She looked up wondering how long they were there. "At least a few hours. Think we should take camp here?"
"No, we need to move."
"Okay, follow me then," she said getting up.
"Right!" He said, so she led him farther around the circle.
The headed over for a while and then she decided to stop. "I'm gonna see if I can get a higher view."
"Okay be careful."
"I will." She said and started to climb a tree.
She climbed as high as she dared. Once there she looked around the arena finding why they can't turn left. It was nothing but a large circle. She noticed a few above head as well creating a dome. "We can't go any further." She muttered. She climbed down from the tree. "The arena's perfectly circular."
"So no farther?"
"No farther."
"Great." He sighed.
"Gonna be hard to avoid encounters."
"That's the point."
"Yeah, I'd imagine so."
"These will be quick but brutal games."
"Definitely."
"Should be interesting."
"Not to us."
"You know what I meant."
"Yes I do."
"They will love it."
"Yes they will."
"They are supposed to."
"You don't need to keep explaining."
"I know."
"Yet you still do."
"I was mostly talking to myself that time."
"Oh, I see."
"Yeah sorry."
"Think we should still keep moving or rest for now?"
"Rest for now."
"Works for me."
"Good, so who guards?"
"Think you be up for it?" He asked her.
"Fine."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I will be fine."
"Okay, we'll divide the night in thirds."
"Sure," Katniss said nodding.
"I'll set shelter then."
"You do that." He nodded and set to work. Katniss took to a tree and sat watching out. She soon saw something move and loaded her bow but didn't shoot yet. She stayed on sight and soon enough she saw people four of them in fact Even in the dark it took her only a second to recognize them: Johanna, Wiress, Beetee, and Blight. "We have company." She whispered down.
Finnick looked up having still been setting the shelter and a smile crossed his face. "Johanna!"
"Finnick!" She said sounding relieved
He got up and went right over to her. "You're okay." He said smiling
"Of course I'm okay. You really think I'm pathetic enough to die in the bloodbath?"
"No I worry though."
"Well, I'm fine. Where's the loverboy though?"
"He's gone." Katniss said with a bit of venom
"He ran into the force field surrounding the arena and was dead on site." Finnick explained.
"Well, that is unfortunate."
"How's she been taking it?" She asked.
"About as well as could be expected."
"I guess that's unavoidable."
"Yeah, well, try not to talk about it."
"Well, it's hard to lose someone you care about. That much I understand."
"I know sorry." He said.
"Not your fault."
"Still let's focus on what we do now."
"We try to survive obviously."
"Yes we survive."
"So, are we going to join up?"
"Why should we?" Katniss asked.
"Because I've been dragging Nuts and Volts here around just because you wanted them."
"What?" she asked.
"You wanted them as allies. Didn't you?"
"Yes, but why do you care?"
"Because you wouldn't have even considered it otherwise."
"Well... that's true."
"So yes or no then?"
"Well... okay." Katniss sighed.
"Good then."
"Yeah good."
"You guys taking camp then?" She asked Finnick.
"Yeah, Katniss is on guard."
"I'll help with the shelter then."
"Thank you." He said
The two of them set to work as Katniss kept watching. 'I did not expect that' Katniss thought suspicious She made a note to keep an eye on her. She watched as they prepared the camp
Soon the camp was set though. "Alright so we sleep in shifts?"
"Of course."
"Good do you want to join her on guard?'
"Yeah," Johanna answered, surprising Katniss even more.
"Okay, good then goodnight." He yawned.
"Good night, Finnick."
Katniss sighed this was going to be a long night. "What exactly are you doing?" Katniss asked, when Johanna sat down.
"I'm guarding." She said sarcastically.
"Why are you doing this though?"
"So that no one kills our group. Honestly, are you brain dead?"
"I mean why did you ally with us."
"Finnick is one of my best friends," she said simply.
"Yet you brought Wiress and Beetee to get to me."
"I knew he would team with you, and that you did not trust me."
"So appearently everyone knew I was allying with Finnick but me."
"I knew that he would convince you to team with him."
"Well, he was certainly not on my list. I didn't even really have one but if I did neither of you would be on it."
"Really?" She asked
"Well, after the first day I had Mags, Wiress, and Beetee but Haymitch thought I was insane so I simply said that then I want no one."
"Never speak out of spite."
"Well, they were the only ones worth my time."
"So you think."
"Everyone else is unbearable."
"You have to be to live."
"That doesn't make sense."
"It would if you had been a victor longer."
"Because you've experienced so much more in the extra three years."
"You have no idea." Johanna said darkly
"Okay… that's a little creepy."
"What?"
"You."
"Well get used to it."
"I have to get used to you anyways."
"Exactly."
"Honestly you're a little hard to swallow. With your defender-of-the-helpless act. Only it isn't an act, which makes you more unbearable. Please feel free to take this personally."
"Oh I will." Katniss shrugged.
"So if I have to put up with you I think you can put up with me."
"Fair enough."
"We're just stuck with each other, now."
"Yeah we are so let's get over it."
"I'll try if you do."
"Deal."
"Alright, then. That will make things easier."
"I hope so."
"Not easy of course."
"I know that."
"Your games last year were… a little pathetic to be honest. Not so much with you but looking at the Career Pack. One of them died in the bloodbath for crying out loud."
"Yeah that's true."
"Obviously not to you but it was almost kind of funny. Especially watching Glimmer try to swat away the tracker jackers."
"Okay that was odd."
"Funny how that didn't work."
"Yeah she was not too bright."
"So, again, pathetic."
"Yeah, I suppose so."
"There's games are and will be undeniably different though."
"Yes, I have noticed."
"That was inevitable though."
"Yeah all victors."
"And a Quarter Quell."
"So better mutts and traps."
"Exactly."
"Crazy in other words."
"That's the whole point."
"Entertainment."
"Exactly."
"Sad really."
"Yeah, well, what did you expect?"
"To die." Katniss admitted.
"We'll see I guess." Johanna shrugged.
"Yeah, I really was."
"What do you mean?"
"I wanted Peeta to get out of here."
"Ah, defender of the helpless strikes again."
"Not exactly."
"That's exactly what it is."
"Well, I failed because he's gone!" She snapped.
"Keep yelling and we'll all be."
"Well stop egging me on."
"Fine."
"Good." She sighed.
Suddenly a bong went off, not a cannon. Just a loud bong and it was followed by eleven more.
"What was that?"
"Twelve… the districts?"
"No way that's too obvious."
"What could it be then?"
"I am not sure but not that."
She then noticed multiple lightning strikes fairly close but not enough to pose a threat clearly being contained to a different sector. "It's just another trap."
"Oh, might be thunder or something."
"Odd."
"A little but it's at least an explanation."
"That's true."
"At least it's somewhere else."
"Yeah, not our problem."
"Haven't heard a cannon for it."
"Maybe it missed."
"I guess."
"We'll see though."
"Yes we will."
"Mean time we are stuck waiting."
"Nothing else to do."
A while later the lightning stopped and it began to rain where they were but it wasn't water. "Oh...what the hell is this!?" Katniss gasped as the red droplets came think fast and seemingly unending. They were boiling hot at well and made visibility nearly impossible.
"Finnick!" Johanna called out He and the others were instantly up and out. "Take cover where you can and be careful!"
"I can't see anything!" Finnick called out.
"Stay still all of you try not to move!"
She couldn't really tell if they listened or not some of the liquid getting up in her mouth but when it did it clicked what it was. "This is blood."
"Blood!?" Johanna gasped
"We need to get out of this!"
"How!?"
She tried to remember at least the right direction. Any but straight into the force field should work. "Just link arms and follow me." They each did successfully. Katniss headed away from the force-field.
As they went though Blight had lost his grip from Wiress at the end of the line losing the group in the rain. He staggered around trying to find them then hit the force field. A cannon went off pretty much instantly after. "Oh no! Who did we lose?"
"Blight."
"Damn it."
"Just focus on getting out for now."
"Right, we can't be too far!"
"Yeah." Katniss said and they keep moving eventually finding it.
The staggered out onto the beach. Luckily no one was there. They all took deep breaths in and out. "Everyone else okay?" Katniss asked.
"Well depends on what you mean by okay."
She turned and found that Beetee was unconscious. "Okay not good." She went over to him to try to figure out what happened. "Bump to the head. He should be fine with time if we can keep him alive until then," Katniss added.
"We need to rest."
"Might as well stop here seeing we're alone."
"Clean the blood off first."
Katniss nodded and went into the water herself. She watched as the water turned dark red. She took off the blood soaked suit leaving just her underclothes. "That's better." She attempted to scrub off what was left on her skin into the saltwater. Most of it scrubbed off.
Then she started to hear a soft chant of two simple words, "Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock."
"What's that!?" she asked, spinning around.
She found though that it was just Wiress chanting it. "Yeah, yeah, tick, tock, Nuts is in shock," Johanna said.
"Is that all it is?" Finnick asked.
"How am I supposed to know? She's nuts and the only person who can ever understand her is unconscious."
"Well, sorry."
"It's probably just that though."
"Well, we have to wait until he wakes."
"I guess so."
"Let's just keep her calm."
"I'll try." Katniss said getting out of the water. "Wiress," she said carefully.
Wiress looked at her but still kept muttering the phrase almost with a sense of urgency.
"Calm down please."
Wiress shook her head and just kept mumbling.
"What is wrong?"
"Tick tock," she said pointing out into the forest.
"What?"
"Tick tock, tick tock."
"Yes tick tock." She said
'Maybe, Jonanna's right.' Katniss thought. 'She's just in shock.'
"Okay come on." She led her to the water. She scrubbed the blood off her,
The chant never did stop though.
"What do you mean?" She looked around the spikes water and the jungle. "What could she mean?" It was hard to accept that it was just shock as Johanna had claimed. She seemed to be trying to say something urgent. 'What could it possibly be? Think Katniss'
She looked around her as a fog started the gather at the section next to where they came from and the twelve spurs above the water around the Cornucopia. "It's a clock!" Wiress seemed relieved but everyone else was confused. "The arena is a clock! Wiress you're a genius!"
Wiress nodded with a hug smile now. "What do you mean?" Johanna asked
"We think the arena's divided into twelve sections like a clock marks by these spurs in the water. Each hour a threat goes off in the corresponding section. That must have been what the bongs were, the stroke of midnight."
"Well, that does make sense."
"I knew that had to be something else to the arena."
"Yeah, I guess you were right."
"We'll stay here for now and see what we find to prove or disprove it."
"Fair enough."
"You should get cleaned off unless you like the blood on your skin."
"Oh right." She went and got cleaned off as Katniss watched the next section for anything.
"Now we wait." Katniss just sat down by the Cornucopia.
Please review and if you can think of anything killing of Peeta will change either review or pm Batmarcus or myself what it is and if we haven't already we will take it under consideration.