"Peeta!" I scream. I shake him harder, even resort to slapping his face, but it's no use. His heart has failed. I am slapping emptiness. "Peeta!"
Finnick props Mags against a tree and pushes me out of the way. "Let me." His fingers touch points at Peeta's neck, run over the bones in his ribs and spine. Then he pinches Peeta's nostrils shut.
"No!" I yell, hurling myself at Finnick, for surely he intends to make certain that Peeta's dead, to keep any hope of life from returning to him. Finnick's hand comes up and hits me so hard, so squarely in the chest that I go flying back into a nearby tree trunk. I'm stunned for a moment, by the pain, by trying to regain my wind, as I see Finnick close off Peeta's nose again. From where I sit, I pull an arrow, whip the notch into place, and am about to let it fly when I'm stopped by the sight of Finnick kissing Peeta. And it's so bizarre, even for Finnick, that I stay my hand. No, he's not kissing him. He's got Peeta's nose blocked off but his mouth tilted open, and he's blowing air into his lungs. I can see this, I can actually see Peeta's chest rising and falling. Then Finnick unzips the top of Peeta's jumpsuit and begins to pump the spot over his heart with the heels of his hands. Now that I've gotten through my shock, I understand what he's trying to do.
Once in a blue moon, I've seen my mother try something similar, but not often. If your heart fails in District 12, it's unlikely your family could get you to my mother in time, anyway. So her usual patients are burned or wounded or ill. Or starving, of course.
But Finnick's world is different. Whatever he's doing, he's done it before. There's a very set rhythm and method. And I find the arrow tip sinking to the ground as I lean in to watch, desperately, for some sign of success. Agonizing minutes drag past as my hopes diminish. Around the time that I'm deciding it's too late, that Peeta's dead, moved on, unreachable forever, he gives a small cough and Finnick sits back.
I leave my weapons in the dirt as I fling myself at him. "Peeta?" I say softly. I brush the damp blond strands of hair back from his forehead, find the pulse drumming against my fingers at his neck.
His lashes flutter open and his eyes meet mine. "Careful," he says weakly. "There's a force field up ahead."
I laugh, but there are tears running down my cheeks.
"Must be a lot stronger than the one on the Training Center roof," he says. "I'm all right, though. Just a little shaken."
"You were dead! Your heart stopped!" I burst out, before really considering if this is a good idea. I clap my hand over my mouth because I'm starting to make those awful choking sounds that happen when I sob.
"Well, it seems to be working now," he says. "It's all right, Katniss." I nod my head but the sounds aren't stopping.
"Katniss?" Now Peeta's worried about me, which adds to the insanity of it all.
"It's okay. It's just her hormones," says Finnick. "From the baby." I look up and see him, sitting back on his knees but still panting a bit from the climb and the heat and the effort of bringing Peeta back from the dead.
"No. It's not - " I get out, but I'm cut off by an even more hysterical round of sobbing that seems only to confirm what Finnick said about the baby. He meets my eyes and I glare at him through my tears. It's stupid, I know, that his efforts make me so vexed. All I wanted was to keep Peeta alive, and I couldn't and Finnick could, and I should be nothing but grateful. And I am. But I am also furious because it means that I will never stop owing Finnick Odair. Ever. So how can I kill him in his sleep?
I expect to see a smug or sarcastic expression on his face, but his look is strangely quizzical. He glances between Peeta and me, as if trying to figure something out, then gives his head a slight shake as if to clear it. "How are you?" he asks Peeta. "Do you think you can move on?"
"No, he has to rest," I say. My nose is running like crazy and I don't even have a shred of fabric to use as a handkerchief. Mags rips off a handful of hanging moss from a tree limb and gives it to me. I'm too much of a mess to even question it. I blow my nose loudly and mop the tears off my face. It's nice, the moss. Absorbent and surprisingly soft.
Peeta nods but looks at me in concern "are you ok to keep going?" He asks, his grip tightening on my hand.
I nod mutely, swiping the tears from my face and sniff loudly "yes."
"Katniss, you knew that there was a force field there, didn't you?" Finnick asks.
"Yeah, it's" I pause because I didn't want to announce to the Gamemakers that there was a flaw or get Beetee and Wiress into trouble "my ear," I finally finish "I can hear more out of it now than what I could before."
"The one the Capitol reconstructed?" Peeta asks, sounding amazed but I knew he wasn't convinced.
I nod "yeah."
"Then you can go first" Finnick instructs "keep anyone else from frying."
I was happy to take the lead if it meant that I could keep Peeta from accidently attacking the force field again but, just to be on the safe side, I cut down a branch of hard nuts and toss them in the general direction. It's a good thing I do too because I'm missing more patches of the force field more often than I'm spotting them.
Then it got me thinking, we weren't walking in a straight line; the path I was taking was curved due to the force field. "Hang on" I say, looking around for a tree and finding a nice tall one with thick branches. I went over to it but, before I could begin the climb, Peeta's hand was on my shoulder.
"I don't want you climbing trees, Katniss" he tells me gently "I don't want you falling."
"It's ok" I assure him "I won't fall, trust me?"
He stares at me for a moment before nodding and stepping back. I climb up as high as I can. From this precarious vantage point, I can see the shape of the whole arena for the first time. A perfect circle. With a perfect wheel in the middle. The sky above the circumference of the jungle is tinged a uniform pink. And I think I can make out one or two of those wavy squares, chinks in the armor, Wiress and Beetee called them, because they reveal what was meant to be hidden and are therefore a weakness. Just to make absolutely sure, I shoot an arrow into the empty space above the tree line. There's a spurt of light, a flash of real blue sky, and the arrow's thrown back into the jungle. I climb down to give the others the bad news.
"The force field has us trapped in a circle. A dome, really. I don't know how high it goes. There's the Cornucopia, the sea, and then the jungle all around. Very exact. Very symmetrical. And not very large," I say.
"Any sign of water?" Asks Finnick.
"Only the water where we started" I tell him, feeling the dryness in my mouth and wishing that Haymitch would send us something.
"Ok" he sighs "let's keep going for a little longer, see if we can find water."
We head down a little, away from the force field, before continuing. I lag behind, letting Finnick and Mags take the lead, so that I can talk to Peeta. "How are you feeling?"
"Smoked" he replies, a shadow of a grin playing around his lips. "Seriously, Katniss," he says when I raise my eyebrows at him "I'm ok, just a little tired. I'll be fine. How are you?"
I couldn't exactly announce to Panem that I was still fighting back the hysteria that had overtaken me earlier so I just shrugged and said "worried, tired, thirsty and I feel a bit sick but I'll be fine once we eat."
"Poor you" he sighs mournfully "I wish I could help you for a while but a baby is not an easy thing to transfer."
Smiling a little at his words, I shake my head "it just feels unnecessary."
"What does?"
"The help people are trying to give me" I say "the fact that you're worried, that Cinna and Haymitch were keeping a closer eye on me, making sure that the baby's ok. I just-"
"Katniss" Peeta stops and grips my arms, he looks serious "I am doing what I can to send both of you home. I don't care if that sounds counterproductive, I will die before I stop protecting you. I love you both more than you could ever believe and I'm not losing you now."
I sigh, knowing that arguing with him was futile, and nod just as Finnick calls out "hey, are you coming or what?!"
"Katniss" he stops me again, moving his hands from my arms and taking my hand "we can trust Finnick."
"He saved your life" I tell him, my eyes watering at the memory "I'm in debt to him now."
We stop and make camp at around mid-afternoon when it becomes clear that three out of the four of us need to rest. Finnick, however, still looks good and strong despite the sheen of sweat on his forehead. "I'm going to go and hunt around for water" I announce, needing to get away from the concerned glances that were being thrown my way. "Don't worry" I tell Peeta when he offers to come with me "I won't go far and I won't be long."
I move as stealthily as I can through the trees, ensuring to stay away from the force field, but my body was slowly beginning to shut down. I didn't think that it would begin so quickly but, being pregnant, makes things ten times harder and it seems that I start dehydrating quicker as well.
As I slid down a tree trunk, I wished that Cinna had created a way for me to give the baby water without physically having to drink it. I place my hands on my stomach and rub my bump, worrying about the fact that I hadn't felt the baby move since last night. I then try to tell myself that losing the baby won't be a bad thing, something that I'd thought since the beginning, but I don't believe it any more. Losing the baby will hurt me but losing Peeta would kill me and, with that in mind, I become aware of the wildlife; managing to shoot a rat looking creature before heading back to camp.
When I arrive, I see the others have transformed the place. Mags and Finnick have created a hut of sorts out of the grass mats, open on one side but with three walls, a floor, and a roof. Mags has also plaited several bowls that Peeta has filled with roasted nuts. Their faces turn to me hopefully, but I give my head a shake. "No. No water. It's out there, though. He knew where it was," I say, hoisting the rodent up for all to see. "He'd been drinking recently when I shot him out of a tree, but I couldn't find his source. I swear, I covered every inch of ground in a thirty-yard radius."
"Is it safe to eat?" Peeta asks, nodding at the creatures I was holding
"I'd say so, I just need to skin and gut him" I reply
Finnick takes my kill from me "I'll sort them out" he says "you need to get in the shade, you look terrible."
Not that I like to dwell on it but I felt horrible; I had a monstrous headache coming on, my back aches and my mouth feels so dry that I'm sure that my tongue has begun to crack. "Come on" Peeta guides me over to the hut and sits me down in the doorway.
"He's not moving, Peeta" I mutter.
"He?" He frowns
I shrug "I don't like calling him an it."
"Maybe we should name him instead?" Peeta suggests but I shake my head. Naming him would be hoping for more than we're going to get. He sighs, sitting down beside me and putting a hand on my tummy. "He's probably just sleeping, Katniss" he tells me gently "you're tired so he's bound to be. You should try and sleep too."
"I want to eat first" I tell him and he nods.
"I'll see how Finnick's doing with the rat."
"It'll need cooking, Peeta" I call after him, hoping that Finnick had the sense not to eat the thing raw.
I doze for a little while; sitting somewhere between alertness and sleep. Until Peeta returns with the meat, which was blackened on the outside, skewered on a stick and a handful of the nuts. "I used the force field" he tells me "we didn't think it was a good idea to make a fire so-" he shrugs "it's not burned all the way through."
I popped one into my mouth and chewed. The meat didn't taste much different to wild dog and the burned outside gave it a better flavour. "You did a good job" I tell him before wolfing down the rest.
Peeta nods and stares at me for a beat before squatting down beside me. "Katniss, you've got to take it easy. You can't just run off hunting or climbing trees like you could before; you've got to remember that you're not only looking after yourself now."
"I can hunt" I scowl
"You can" he nods "but not when we've been trekking in a hot rainforest for hours. You might have given yourself heat stroke and that's not good when we don't even have any water right now!"
It felt like he was telling me off and I guess that he had cause to but I didn't like it. "I know what my body can handle, Peeta" I say, the heat had already made me grouchy but, along with the worry of an unmoving baby and lack of water, I was feeling like I could explode at any second. Peeta was walking a fine line that he didn't even know was there.
He backs off a little, sensing my bad mood. "I know" he tells me "I'm just asking, as your concerned husband, to be more careful." He offers me a little smile before leaving me alone to simmer.
I watch the sun set as I slowly eat the roasted nuts, the bowl resting on my stomach. Peeta had been over a couple more times to check on me, which I appreciated, but also kept away for longer than I know he would have liked, which I also appreciated; I didn't want to be snapping at him when he was being nothing but caring, especially as he'd almost died today.
The thought of his hollow chest overwhelms me again and, in that instant, I felt something. I cry out in surprise, sending the bowl of nuts to the floor.
"Katniss?!" Peeta and Finnick were by me in a few mere seconds. "What is it?" Peeta asks looking around as he frantically tried to find what was wrong.
"He's kicking" I told them. I'd felt him kick before but never like this, I could see my stomach moving in the area the baby was attacking and it was captivatingly odd.
"The baby?" Peeta asks stupidly
"No" I roll my eyes "Finnick; of course the baby! Here" I grab Peeta's hand, almost sending him face first into my lap before he managed to steady himself, and placed it over the area.
His eyes widened and he shuffled closer so that he wasn't stretching. He'd never felt him kick before. "Wow" he mutters to himself and we stay like that for a while until Finnick makes himself known again.
"Well" he coughs "as fun as this is to watch…it's weird so I'll just-" and he leaves.
"See" Peeta tells me, ignoring Finnick's retreating steps "there was no need to worry, he was just sleeping."
"Think we have Finnick convinced?" I ask, amused.
"Without a doubt" he smiles, bending down and kissing my abdomen.
Finnick re-joins us with Mags, a little while later, sitting along the edge of the hut as we stare up at the dark sky and wait.
The sky brightens when the seal of the Capitol appears as if floating in space. As I listen to the strains of the anthem I think, It will be harder for Finnick and Mags. But it turns out to be plenty hard for me as well. Seeing the faces of the eight dead victors projected into the sky.
The man from District 5, the one Finnick took out with his trident, is the first to appear. That means that all the tributes in 1 through 4 are alive - the four Careers, Beetee and Wiress, and, of course, Mags and Finnick. The man from District 5 is followed by the male morphling from 6, Cecelia and Woof from 8, both from 9, the woman from 10, and Seeder from 11. The Capitol seal is back with a final bit of music and then the sky goes dark except for the moon.
No one speaks. I can't pretend I knew any of them well. But I'm thinking of those three kids hanging on to Cecelia when they took her away. Seeder's kindness to me at our meeting. Even the thought of the glazed-eyed morphling painting my cheeks with yellow flowers gives me a pang. All dead. All gone.
I don't know how long we might have sat here if it weren't for the arrival of the silver parachute, which glides down through the foliage to land before us. No one reaches for it.
"Whose is it, do you think?" I say finally.
"No telling," says Finnick. "Why don't we let Peeta claim it, since he died today?"
Peeta unwraps the package and a metal thing falls out. He holds it up, examining it. "Any idea what it is?" He asks us but none of us have any idea though I have this niggling feeling in the back of my mind that I'd seen something like it before but I just couldn't place it.
The others don't spend long puzzling over it so I was left glaring at the object, trying to place it. Until a memory pops into my head; Yes, I've seen one of these before. On a cold, windy day long ago, when I was out in the woods with my father. Inserted snugly into a hole drilled in the side of a maple. A pathway for the sap to follow as it flowed into our bucket. Maple syrup could make even our dull bread a treat. After my father died, I didn't know what happened to the handful of spiles he had. Hidden out in the woods somewhere, probably. Never to be found.
"It's a spile" I announce, grabbing it and trying to get to my feet. Finnick, smirking a little, ends up gripping my arms and pulling my up like an infant but I was too excited to even think about being annoyed with him. "Haymitch has sent us means to get water!" I smile as I think about the cool wet stuff on my tongue before turning to see that the others still looked confused. "It's like a tap" I try to explain "you drive it into the trunk of a tree. People use it to get sap."
"But we want water, not sap" Finnick tells me.
"I know" I roll my eyes "I'm guessing that the trees have water in them."
Peeta takes the spile from me as he says "well let's go and find out."