The lizard-mutts turn the corner four, five at a time. The sewage tunnel suddenly smells like roses. Katniss, who was just shooting off arrows, is wide eyed and gagging, staring at the mutts. Their reptilian limbs move mechanically, and the distance between them and us is shrinking. I throw my tridant one last time, hitting one in the chest, then call my weapon back with the button on my bracelet. The mutt that I hit keeps on moving until someone unloads a dozen bullets into it. I see that my trident will be useless until I'm at close range. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that Katniss has started shooting again, slowly.
"Katniss, climb! Start climbing, we need to get out! Katniss!" I start yelling at her, and so do the others, looking over their shoulders as their hands are preoccupied with their weapons. When Katniss doesn't move, doesn't even seem to hear us, I grab her shoulders and turn her toward the ladder as she shoots off one last arrow. I push her forward and force her hands onto the rungs. Her arms are stiff. I order her to climb, and she starts to pull herself up. Pollux had already begun to climb in front of her.
"Everyone, move! Now!" I shout over the gunshots. Cressida is quick to follow my order, practically dropping his gun as he ran away from the ever approaching mutts. They can't be more than 10 yards away now. I call to Peeta, and he follows suit. 7 yards.
Homes and Gale are still shooting the mutts. As they run and swim closer, the bullets are more effective, but not nearly enough. Gale backs up to the ladder. "Homes wants to hold them back," Gale says through heavy breaths, "One got him on the leg anyway, he says. Bleeding pretty bad. Says he can't make the climb anyway." He turns and takes 5 shots, then reloads his gun and shoots more.
"And what about you?" I ask quietly. He doesn't reply. "Gale, Katniss needs you, you can't stay behind now."
4 yards. I brace myself.
"I'm more useful down here. Homes and I, we could hold them off from the ladder."
"Gale, get up that ladder, now. This is Katniss's biggest hunt of her life, she needs a good hunting partner. Go."
The lead mutts are suddenly on us. I see two sandwich Homes before one more reaches Gale and I by the wall. Gale tries to jump in front of me, shooting the mutt point-blank in the chest. Something under that stretched white skin still runs, though, because it's clawed hands still shred Gale's uniform and give him a nasty gash in the neck. I hold my trident white-knuckle tight and slam into Gale. "Climb!" I shout at him as my trident pierces the bottom of the mutt's jaw. It's wild eyes darken and I throw the body to the side. I can no longer see Homes. The tunnel in front of me is littered in mutt corpses, and some of the still living have stopped to snack on their brethren, but then three turn the corner and sprint at me. A new wave of the smell of roses washes over me, and I wish instead for salt and seaweed. I take a fighting stance, gripping my trident with my right hand. My left hand ties an imaginary knot. Then unties it. And ties it again. The smell of Snow's roses tells me I'm about to die, but if I'm going to die, I'm going to make it count. As the lizards close in, I think I can feel eyes watching me, and it's like I'm in the Games again. Adreniline rushes through me. The lizards surround me. I continue to lash out with my trident, inflicting wounds that would disable a natural thing, but soon they're so close there's nothing I can do. A white hand grabs my head, and it's cold, and I know that these things couldn't really be alive.
I see my life flash by. The mast of my parents' boat, the silver parachute that saved my life in the Arena, Mags laughing, the pink sunset sky when I saw Annie again for the first time after her Games, Beetee's trident, beautiful Annie in her wedding dress, waves breaking over rocks. Then it's over.