Trigger Warning: PTSD

Sankie Earthash, 15, District 11 Tribute POV

This I know: Lightning rarely strikes the same spot twice.

This I remember: Lightning striking a tree at midnight, accompanied by twelve chimes.

When I see the lightning slice through the sky, carving a line to the same tree as last time, I know it means something big.

"That's the same tree as last time," I say.

"You kept track of that?" Silver asks.

I nod. "Didn't you?"

"I've been devoting all of my energy to trying not to get killed again," Silver says. "I'll admit I have been a bit lax with my tree-watching."

"The trees are important," I say. Then I realise how stupid it sounds. I need to think of a smarter way to phrase my thoughts. I close my eyes and concentrate. The trees are important. Why are they important, Sankie?

Lightning flashes behind my eyelids.

"Régine, what time is it?" I ask.

"Noon," She replies.

Eureka!

"The lightning struck at midnight," I say. "It struck the same tree at noon. What do you think will happen next midnight? And the midnight after that?"

"It'll strike the same tree," Silver says.

"And we can weaponise it," I add. My coil of wire is tucked into my belt. That's all I'll need.

Hopefully.

"So we have about a day and a half to get there?" Régine says. "It seems plausible, even with Fawkes."

Fawkes is curled up on the forest floor, fast asleep. Sometimes he screams like he's having a nightmare. His leg looks really badly broken. Régine told me and Silver to let Fawkes get some sleep. He must be so exhausted. He was always drinking coffee and eating sugary snacks in training.

He missed when the parachute came, carrying twenty-four loaves of bread from District 3. We have a deadline now - midnight on the third day of the games. There were two other gifts in the box - a pair of glasses and a delicate white flower. Régine decided that they were both for Fawkes.

"I'll wake him up in a few hours," Régine says. "It'll be good to have our leader back."

Silver laughs. "You think Fawkes is the leader of our alliance?"

"Yeah," Régine says, sheepishly.

"He's not," Silver says. "You're the leader. You've got everyone's backs. I'm the one who gets shit done. Ageis was the tough one. Sankie's the smart one. Fawkes is the one who keeps everyone from murdering each other."

"But Fawkes is good at leading," Régine says. "He was the leader of his alliance last games. They did what he told them to do. I've never told anyone what to do before. I basically did everything Ramona told me."

"Well, you're doing a great job with this alliance," Silver says. "Clearly, she taught you something."

Régine looks stunned. "When did you turn nice, Silver?"

"I'm not being nice," Silver says. "I'm being honest. Like I've always been. You are all slightly less dreadful than I first thought you were."

Régine and I both stare at each other, grinning.

"If we can turn Silver nice," I say. "We can accomplish anything."

Eidolon Wrack, 19 District 2 Tribute POV

Five cannons have fired since Honey and I were separated. But there's still more chance she's alive than she's dead. All I need to do is wait and I know she'll find me.

In the afternoon, it begins to rain. Hot, wet, sticky blood. It sends bad memories bubbling up in my mind of my own blood spraying everywhere. Suddenly I can't breathe.

I force myself not to panic. I force myself not to run. Honey could be close to finding me.

I curl up on the ground and hide my face from the rain. I try to pretend that it's just normal water but the stench of blood gives everything away.

Sobbing with fear, I lie down and silently beg for my sister to come and protect me. Honey, please save me.

But nobody comes.

I hope she's still alive. I hope she's searching for me or she realised that I'm useless and decided to win the games without me. Everything will be fine, as long as she's alive.

Régine Maurin, 18, District 3 Tribute POV

Sankie freezes up when the rain starts.

"It's the same place as last night, right?" Silver asks.

Sankie nods. "What time is it?"

I look at my watch, wondering how she keeps track of everything. "One o'clock."

Sankie looks up at the sky, moving her finger from point to point, tree to tree. Her eyes are full of this strange focus that I haven't seen before.

"Did the snakes appear at about five?" She asks. "And the beast at about six?"

"That seems pretty accurate," I say. "There was a massive wave at ten o'clock somewhere-"

"Over there," Sankie points in a direction with absolute certainty. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are in a giant clock."

"Funny," Silver says. "This clock looks like a jungle to me."

"Remember the Cornucopia?" Sankie asks. "Imagine it's the centre of a clock face. The weird triangles of water represent the hour segments of the clock. Every hour, a set hazard appears in a set segment. The lightning strikes at the same place at twelve. The rain falls in the same place at one. The beast…"

She trails off.

"So that thing," Silver says. "Is coming back in five hours. Here."

"Yes," Sankie says.

"Then we need to wake Fawkes up," Silver says. He looks worried. I remember the fear in his eyes when the beast grabbed him.

He's scared.

Before I can stop him, Silver grabs Fawkes by the shoulders and shakes him. "Wake up, idiot!"

Fawkes yelps and punches Silver in the face, lashing out at an enemy only he sees. Silver lets go and Fawkes tries to scramble backwards but his bad leg hits something and he cries out in pain.

"Please don't kill me," Fawkes begs.

"Fawkes," I say, gently. "We're not going to kill you. You're safe."

He stares at me, eyes wide and haunted.

"Where's the mutt?" He asks.

"Ageis killed it," I reply.

"Where's Ageis?"

My breath catches in my throat. Fawkes catches the sad look on my face.

"It killed her, didn't it?"

"The mutt poisoned her," I say. "I had to…"

I trail off.

Fawkes shakes his head. "That mutt was meant for me. I should've died, not Ageis."

"I know you didn't wish that mutt on us," I say. "None of this is your fault."

"It is. I'm always-"

"We can decide whose fault it is later," Silver snaps. His hand is pressed to his cheek, where Fawkes punched him. It doesn't look that badly hurt but Silver might be shocked. I'd be shocked if Fawkes punched me. "We need to move. Sankie, explain everything."

"Basically, we're in a giant clock," Sankie says. "Every hour, a set hazard appears in a set segment of the arena. This is the six o'clock segment so, every time it's six o'clock in the morning or the afternoon, the beast attacks."

"Was that why Binah sent the watch?" Fawkes asks.

"Yeah," Sankie says.

"Good," Fawkes says. "Did she send anything else?"

"How did you know?" I ask, handing Fawkes the box.

He shrugs. "It's a gift."

I watch Fawkes' face light up when he looks into the box. He puts his new glasses on with a smile. He looks more like himself. Then he reaches for the flower. He cradles it in his hands like it's something precious.

"What is it?" Sankie asks.

"Magnolia," Fawkes whispers, tears in his eyes. "I… we need to get out of here."

He tucks the flower into the front of his jumpsuit and reaches for his crutches.

"Let me help you," I say.

"I'm fine," Fawkes says. There's a look of grim determination on his face, the same look he was wearing when he made that speech. Somehow, he manages to pull himself to his feet.

"Which way, Sankie?" He asks.

"That way," Sankie says. She's pointing in the direction we must've been travelling in before the mutt attacked us but I haven't been able to keep track.

Fawkes immediately starts limping in that direction. He winces, suddenly.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"I've been worse," Fawkes says.

I can't argue with that. Maybe Fawkes has suffered so much that the pain from his broken leg means very little to him. He's learned to shut it all out, become desensitised. It shouldn't have come to this. Fawkes should never have been hurt this much.

I know that he needs a chance to heal, a chance to escape from all the pressure. As long as he's in this arena, he'll never have that chance.

I follow Fawkes into the jungle, knowing that I need to save him. Not just for him or to prove to myself that I'm a good person. For Binah. I know that it hurts her to see Fawkes in so much pain.

The flower she sent Fawkes was a message for him, a sign that she loves him. I don't know if he's realised it yet but I know that the flower seems to give him strength. But I see a message for me as well.

Give your life for him.

I know, with absolute certainty, that I will. I failed Ageis. I'm not going to fail Fawkes.

Sankie's figured out the secret of the clock arena. I knew, out of all the tributes in the arena, it was going to be her. She's the most intuitive tribute, especially when it comes to lightning. Now her alliance know how to avoid the arena hazards.

As well as Sankie's alliance learning about the clock arena, I decided to throw an Eidolon POV in there. He's not doing much, just waiting for Honeydew to find him. He still doesn't know she's dead. I just wanted to include a POV from him to show that he's in a section of the arena where the hazard isn't completely lethal. I think every tribute in the jungle was affected by the first round of hazards, apart from Rusalka, who moved around so much that she wasn't in a section with an active hazard for long.