Chapter 37: Quarter Quell, Day 2

The strains of the anthem awaken me.

It is several hours later, and the jungle has darkened into nightfall. The coverage on the screens above the bar shows the Districts 4 and 12 alliance, staring up as the faces of dead Victors appear in the sky.

The first to be beamed is Matthias Fletcher, that traitor from 5. That means that the Victors from Districts 1 through 4 have all survived. I don't know what Johanna and Blight did to mend that wound Beetee took, but whatever they managed, it probably took quick thinking on their part, and maybe even an assist from a sponsor. Johanna got in the way of Enobaria's attack just in time to ensure that the stab wound wasn't very deep, but it could still get infected and prove fatal, if left untreated.

Mitt Compton of 6 is next, though his district partner doesn't follow. A bit of a surprise, but a pleasant one. District 6 is usually viewed as underdogs with just as long, and even longer, odds than Twelve. Woof Barton is next. Nolan de Naro and Evelyn Morris, both of 9. Roan Tully of 10 (I smile in sadistic satisfaction). Chaff Habarti and Seeder Crue of 11.

Onscreen, Katniss bows her head into her lap, fiddling idly with the string on her bow. "Eight." She mumbles.

Finnick nods grimly. The light of the moon catches a shimmer along his irises, and I wonder if he's actually crying. If he is, it's probably over Chaff and Seeder and possibly even Woof; I don't think Finnick was all that close with any of the others.

Katniss glances over lovingly to where Peeta is still passed out, Annie a foot or two away. Finnick's lover is curled up in the fetal position and shivering a little, but not dangerously. The night temperatures are actually lukewarm at best; with the heat of the day, it must be broiling.

"Think we should wake them up?"

"Let them sleep. They've both had quite a day," Finnick is also studying Annie with adoration. Katniss notices.

"Do you think she'll be OK?" she asks, tentatively. "How is she handling it?"

The playboy shrugs. "I thought it would be easier to tell. She was petrified in the days after the Reaping; it was a struggle to calm her down. I think…. my presence is helping her to mask some of those worst emotions. Then again, the Games are still young; who knows what's out there?"

My goddaughter nods grimly, peering out into the foliage ahead of her. Suddenly, there is a shriek of plasma and lightning strikes a particularly tall tree in the distance. It takes a couple moments to realize that it isn't natural lightning; the plasma stays crackling in space, continuing to hit the tree mercilessly. A minute later, it halts.

Then the lightning strike is followed by twelve bongs. Finnick and Katniss cock their ears and listen. The sound is too high and long in tone to be a cannon; if they were cannons, we would be blasting into the Final Four, and Finnick, Peeta, Katniss and Annie would be the only ones left. When the noise fades, Finnick ponders:

"What do you suppose that was? Midnight?"

"Or the number of districts," Katniss shrugs.

A couple miles away, the Careers have also been listening to the bongs. Brutus's rock-like face is scrunched up in a frown, as he stands over a fire. Ordinarily, lighting a fire in the arena is considered a novice mistake, and often proves fatal. But with a Career Pack this strong and having taken possession of the Cornucopia, this foursome is in a formidable enough position that they can afford to do so.

"Hell is that?"

Gloss is sharpening a sword against the metal hull of the Cornucopia. "You've been on the outside too long, Barsetti."

My old mentor's frown deepens. "I'm not scared!"

"Never said you were," the younger man shrugs, lifting his blade up to the moonlight and watching it glisten. Gloss studies his reflection in the stainless steel and pops his lips once, satisfied. He moseys on over to stand next to his ally, both of them looking out to the beach in the distance and the jungle beyond. Behind them, Cashmere and Enobaria are sleeping before they have to cycle off and take watch.

"So…. eight dead," Gloss quips.

A growl rumbles deep in Brutus's throat. "I was expecting higher."

"Really? I was expecting less," Gloss cracks a grin that is almost cheery. "We are all veterans, after all."

"Not Mellark," Brutus states defiantly.

Gloss sighs and stabs his blade down into a fissure in the rocks. "You'll have your chance at him, Brutus, if he lasts long enough and you still want him that badly. But what Mellark did to Cato can't be undone, so you should stop thinking about it!" That's actually pretty sound advice.

A muscle ticks in Brutus's jaw. "I can't," he snarls. The aging Career turns away, counting off in his head. "Sixteen still live: Nuts and Volts, Odair, his plaything, woman from 5, woman from 6, Blight, Johanna…. Cecelia…." He stalls on her name for a moment before continuing. "Elena Perez. And Twelve."

"Should we start hunting in the morning?" Gloss asks, sounding like an impatient little kid.

"Districts 3 and 7 are together…"

"I bet Johanna just loves that," Gloss chuckles dryly.

"Districts 4 and 12 are also grouped off," Brutus continues right over him. "That leaves Circe, Maeve, Cecelia and Elena probably all alone. We'll start with the singletons, get in some practice, then go for the other alliances."

Gloss appears skeptical at the strategy. "You don't think we can take them? District 3 is mincemeat. So is Finnick's little slut."

"They're being protected. By stronger tributes. Besides, I don't want to take aim at Mason, Odair and Everdeen until near the end – the Capitol needs a show, after all." Brutus smirks wickedly. "But Peeta Mellark is mine – understand?"

"Completely," Gloss concedes, though there is something leery about him.

I gulp, trying to keep my face placid, and I jump when I feel a hand on my shoulder. Abram Mills pulls up a chair, smiling wearily at me, Mags and Halibut. He probably just got off contacting Chaff and Seeder's families, and he is pretty much off the clock now that both of his tributes – though loaned out – are dead. Hell, two of his fellow Victors from 9 are dead too.

"How is Ben taking it?" I murmur softly.

Abram sighs. "Not very well. I had to help him dial the numbers for Nolan and Evelyn's families." We both look back at the old battleaxe, slumped in his seat. "When the morning comes, I'll probably take him out to one of the shops. Explore a little bit so we can both take our minds off it." There is something in Abram's eyes that I am slowly starting to recognize, but know well enough to not comment on. Abram and Ben will probably also be spending their new downtime getting ready for when everything falls apart and Plutarch's plan is set in motion. I hope they'll get out OK.

"What are you looking forward to the most when you get home, Abram?"

It's a question that tributes inside the arena ask each other quite often, particularly near the end, but since I feel sort of like a tribute again as much as my kids do, I feel I need to ask it, to take my own mind off things. In the handful of years I have known him, I had no idea that Abram grew up working in Nine's little chocolate factory (his mother owns the place). Pretty soon, the pair of us are off, swapping stories of our childhoods and the best candy-making recipes.

We are finally interrupted at about one in the morning when someone onscreen screams.

We all snap our heads up to see a downpour coating the Victors of Districts 3 and 7. At first, they think it's a harmless thunderstorm, but when Johanna throws her head back and opens her mouth wide to catch a drink on her tongue, she quickly starts to gag.

"This isn't water! It's…."

"BLOOD!" Blight screeches. With that, he and the District 3 Victors start running around like chickens with their heads cut off, Johanna futilely trying to restore order.

"Nuts, get the parachute!" Johanna shrieks, and Wiress hurriedly obeys, gathering up a bottle of what looks like ointment (it must have been sent to treat Beetee's wound), and I hurriedly glance back to where Connor Murphy and Jules Elmer – the other Victors from 7 who are in an alliance since Jules was assigned out on loan to 3 – are scrambling to try and send something new to their tributes.

Back in the arena, Blight Gavin is doubled over, and from his labored breathing, he is starting to panic. "So much blood…. So much blood…. I gotta get outta here!" And he begins to pelt desperately into the trees.

"BLIGHT!" Johanna hollers. "Come back! Come…"

CRACKLE. Blight is thrown backwards as he runs into the invisible forcefield. But unlike Peeta before him, there is nothing to be done for him. Form smoking and eyes unseeing, he dies almost instantly.

Johanna screams angrily at the sky, now left all alone with a pair of aging nerds who are more equipped for the classroom than for the arena. She grabs Beetee and none too gently hauls him to his feet. With her other, free hand, she digs her nails into Wiress's wrist (the woman from 3 is still clutching the parachute) and begins tugging both along.

"Come on, move it!" The trio staggers out of frame. A moment later, we hear the cannon for Blight.

Several miles away from this, the retort causes a dozing Katniss to jerk awake. Next to her, a dead asleep Finnick doesn't even stir. My goddaughter strings her bow, leaving it settled across her knees but still ready to raise it at a moment's notice. She doesn't know if any hostile tributes are close by, and it is good for her to be wary.

I catch Connor Murphy out of the corner of my eye stepping into one of the curtained telephone booths to call Blight's loved ones. Behind me, Jules's head is bowed, his body shaking as he weeps.

Things are pretty quiet for the next hour, and I scan lazily through my funds. A windfall poured in after my tributes gave such a good showing at the bloodbath, but this cash flow has pretty much halted in the wee hours of the morning. In the interim, Connor crosses back to Jules and they begin to study their own sponsor war chests. Cash must be coming in, after Johanna and her allies survived that…. What was that? Blood rain? A Gamemaker trap, most likely.

I worry my bottom lip as I try to work out the puzzle. Twelve bongs earlier in the night… Finnick guessed it might be signifying midnight. But the Gamemakers have never before been concerned about helping the tributes keep time. What's their angle?

Turning to look down at my two mini screens, with their lenses trained on my kids. Peeta is still fast asleep, while Katniss is looking curiously at something to her right. Tentatively, she reaches out a hand to touch whatever it is….

…. And as that something finally floats into frame, she regrets it instantly.

"GAHHHHHH!" Katniss reels back, her hand burning up and strange goosebumps popping up along the flesh. She staggers away from the strange mist as fast as she can. "Run! RUN! The fog is poison!"

Finnick snaps awake, lunging for Annie (who is still asleep) and scoops her up in his arms. Taking off like a gazelle through the underbrush, his lover awakens soon enough, letting out a shriek of fear. Behind them, hand in hand, Katniss and Peeta are desperately trying to keep up with Finnick's long strides. I know he is trying to keep Annie safe, but if he abandons my kids….

The mist is gaining on my son and my goddaughter. It descends on their backs, and their spines seize up. Peeta lets out a yell and sprawls forward. The noise makes Finnick turn and dash back to the District 12 tributes as they stumble forward, staying just ahead of the fog. Katniss is crying, half-dragging Peeta along with her and begging him to get up all the way on his feet.

"I can't carry him," she warbles.

Finnick makes the decision in seconds. "Annie, hold onto my neck and don't let go! Here – give him to me…" And with a little help from Katniss, he manages to get my son across his back in a fireman's lift while still cradling Annie in a bridal carry. "Come on! Keep up with me, Girl on Fire!" And Finnick takes off once again; Katniss sprinting to keep up.

It is a testament to Finnick's strength that he is literally able to haul two tributes at once. It is lucky for all of us that Annie is fairly petite, and therefore quite light, allowing Finnick to focus most of his energy on keeping Peeta over his shoulders. The District 4 playboy is able to go at a decent stride, Katniss windmilling after him. Still, the fog rolls on, bearing down on the quartet. Annie is screaming, burying her face into Finnick's chest. This is what he feared the most – this is the kind of emotion Finnick has been bracing himself to see from her ever since the Reaping. Truly, she and all the rest of them are in the nightmare now, and even in Finnick's arms, she is unable to handle it.

The fog closes in on Katniss, causing her back to lock up and she sinks to her knees again, screaming. Claudius buts in with commentary:

"The toxins in this fog do a real number on the muscle functions in the body. If enough is absorbed, it could cause rapid shutdown of critical organs…."

I squeak. What a horrible way to die….

Somehow, Katniss gets to her feet and back ahead of the fog. She is loping rather clumsily now; the muscles in her legs don't seem to want to obey her basic commands. Finally, she crashes headlong into Finnick, Annie and Peeta, sending all three of them over the edge of a steep embankment. Katniss folds like a rag doll and tumbles after them, she and her allies crashing and bumping and plummeting through the trees and down the steep incline.

All four finally land in a heap at the bottom. Annie is whimpering and squirming, struggling to get up and out from where Finnick and Peeta are lying sprawled on top of her. She finally manages to get out from under them, big, green eyes going huge as she watches the fog advance down the embankment they just went over.

But then, a couple of feet from where the four tributes lie, the fog bunches up and billows towards the heavens, blocked from going any further by some kind of invisible wall. On the other side of this barrier, my kids and the District 4 Victors are safe.

Annie crawls over to her beloved and starts shaking him. "Finnick? Finny, honey, wake up…."

Finnick groans and opens his eyes. Annie smiles at him tenderly, though it's weak. "We're safe… I think…"

Finnick rouses himself completely. "Katniss! Peeta!..."

My son rolls off Finnick's back, groaning. Half of his face is drooping at a weird angle, and his arm muscles are twitching. Behind him, Katniss is even worse off; her legs are no longer responding at all. Clearly, District 12 took the worst of this insidious Gamemaker trap.

But staying ahead of it as they did, District 4 was not affected. Finnick bends over Peeta, studying the contortion of his facial muscles.

"Toxins," he diagnoses correctly. Casting his eyes about frantically, his whole being lights up with hope when he spies a small pond close by.

"Annie, baby, help Katniss get to the water. I'll try and roll Peeta over there!"

They have to roll both of my kids the several feet to the water's edge, Katniss screaming all the way and with Annie desperately trying to shush her. Other, less friendly tributes might hear!

Finnick and Annie look at each other, and he counts down. "One…. Two…. Three…."

They roll both of my kids in, dunking them. At first, I nearly yell in horror and anger, thinking they're drowning them! But after giving it about fifteen seconds, Finnick and Annie pull my son and my goddaughter from the pond.

Peeta's face is as good as new, and he's coughing and spluttering. "The hell did you do that for?!"

"Language," Finnick and I echo each other at the same time.

"The water helps purge the toxins from your body, Peeta," Annie explains gently. "We're going to let you and Katniss lower the rest of yourselves in."

Peeta trustingly takes her word for it, and encouraging a waterlogged Katniss, they both slide in, feet-first this time. Pretty soon, they are both sighing with relief and then stand up, good as new.

There isn't any time for them to relax, though, as when Peeta goes to plug the spile back into a tree, a chittering makes Katniss glance up.

Big, orange monkeys are slithering down the branches of the trees above, hissing and eyeing the quartet hostilely. Wary, Finnick takes a large knife that Katniss dropped and hands it to Annie.

"Peeta…." Katniss keeps her voice deliberately calm.

"I'm about to put the spile in, Katniss…."

"Actually, you know what? Don't," Katniss is still talking mildly. "Walk over here slowly. Don't make a sound."

Peeta frowns, cluing in a little, though he still hasn't seen the monkeys. "OK." Spile still in hand, he backs up.

"Don't look up," Katniss throws out.

Wrong thing to say. When you tell someone not to look somewhere, chances are they still will, out of instinct. And that's what Peeta does.

And all hell breaks loose.

Peeta barely gets his machete up in time. Leaping back into the pond, the foursome form a posse ring and begin stabbing at every attacking monkey in sight. Annie yelps when one makes right for her, and by sheer luck, stabs the beast through the temple while it's still in mid-air. Finnick's trident prongs are a blur, as he's having to work overtime protecting himself as well as watching Annie's back.

Katniss quickly goes through all her arrows, bringing down monkeys, and while Peeta covers her, she quickly ducks down to pull the arrows from the beasts' bodies. As she stoops over one monkey, my goddaughter spots light filtering through a gap in the treeline. The outline of the beach a short distance away.

"Get to the beach…." She is ordering, and the others are just beginning to break formation when she looks up and screams. "PEETA!"

The monkey is nearly on him and Peeta's back is turned. Katniss won't be able to reload in time. Suddenly…..

"AHHHHHHHH!" A fifth figure emerges from the trees like magic, leaping between the monkey and my son, its arms outstretched. The figure literally embraces the monkey as the beast sinks its teeth into her neck. Katniss shoots the monkey quickly and kicks it away.

Peeta whirls around. "The morphling! Quick – help me get her!" And he and Katniss drag her body towards the beach, now in full retreat. Annie has already pelted ahead of them and she helps them get Maeve Collins out of the trees.

The group is barely clear of the foliage before Finnick brings up the rear, bursting out of the jungle and onto the sand just ahead of the advancing monkeys. He points his trident at them threateningly, baring his teeth, and the monkeys retreat, somehow prevented from going any further.

All the tension in Finnick deflates and Annie drifts over to his side. He kisses her lips chastely, and the couple turns back to see Katniss and Peeta kneeling with Maeve in the tide.

"What happened? Who is that?" Finnick frowns, stepping into the waves and drifting closer.

Peeta is cradling Maeve in the warm water, calming her and speaking soothingly.

"Look up. There – you see that? All those colors. Don't worry about anything else…. You're right here, you're with us…."

Maeve is gasping, choking, breathing heavily. Her eyes are wide and she is staring at Peeta as though he is the only thing in the world. Finally, her head lolls back and the cannon fires.

BOOM.

Sadly, Peeta sets her body adrift in the waves, watching it float out to sea. In the pink and orange hues of dawn, a spotlight still beams down from a hovercraft onto Maeve's body, a claw dipping down to pluck her corpse from the waves.

Peeta wipes at his eyes, voice bitter. "She sacrificed herself for me, and I don't even know her name."

Katniss turns to peer at him. "You think she sacrificed herself for you?"

My son shrugs. "Looks that way."

The sun rises fast, the morning moving quickly. My kids and their allies stay back by the treeline; in the distance, they can see the Cornucopia, but there is no movement from the island. Frowning, I try to pull up the blue hologram schematic of the arena, but the button won't respond. Where are the Careers? I need eyes on them.

At about 10 o'clock, there is a rumble and a scream. A giant wave crests over the tops of the trees, the wall of water rushing onto the miniature sea and partially crashing into the Cornucopia. The water spreads out around the horn, causing the tide to roll in nearly up to the treeline. Another cannon sounds.

BOOM. That's eleven dead so far, and the Games have only been on for twenty-four hours.

Annie is scanning her eyes down the length of the beach, when something catches her gaze. "Someone's coming."

Finnick hustles her and my tributes just inside the treeline. A trio of blood-red figures is stumbling down the beach, the one at the head of the group beckoning impatiently for the others to keep up.

Recognition dawns in Finnick's eyes. "Johanna? ….. JOHANNA!" He starts pelting down the beach.

"Finnick!" Johnna cackles with glee as she rushes into Finnick's arms. "Oh gods, I'd kiss you if your girlfriend wasn't standing right there!"

"Good call," Annie remarks dryly, Johanna turning in Finnick's arms to see her and stepping out of the embrace shyly.

"Hello, Annie." It is probably the softest and kindest I have ever seen the bitchy District 7 girl. Annie nods back, smiling in a friendly way. Then Johanna looks over her shoulder to see Katniss and Peeta slowing out of a jog to join them and her beautiful smile falls back into its signature scowl.

"With…. the whole motley crew."

Taking her by the shoulders, Finnick gives Johanna a little shake. "What happened?"

"Well…. I got them out. We headed deep into the jungle where I thought it was gonna be safe – that's when the rain started. I thought it was water? – it turned out to be blood. Hot…. Thick… We were stumbling around, gagging on it, blind! That's when Blight hit the forcefield…." Johanna actually chokes up. "He wasn't much, but he was from home. And he left me alone with these two."

Katniss glances over to see Wiress wandering around in aimless circles, mumbling.

"Tick-tock…. Tick-tock…."

"What's up with her?"

"She's in shock," Beetee informs her, wincing from where he is kneeling in the low tide and washing himself over the head. "Dehydration isn't helping. Do you have freshwater?"

"No, but we know a way that we can get some," Peeta informs him helpfully, kneeling down to show Beetee the spile. "We can tap some from the trees with this."

"Very intuitive, my boy!" Beetee's smile quickly turns into a grimace, and Peeta notices, reaching out with concern.

"Are you all right?"

"It's but a flesh wound," Beetee waves him away. Johanna just snorts.

"Idiot took a knife in the back making The Run. He was after that thing!" And she points contemptuously at the spool of wire that Beetee is clutching.

"Well, whatever it is, it must have been worth it," Peeta states. His voice is a little tight, and Johanna blinks, backing down. I can't help but smirk. At least we know my son won't take any of the axe girl's shit.

Wiress's aimless circling takes her right into Johanna's personal space just then, and Johanna, frustrated, knocks her down. "Just…. stop it!"

"Hey!" Katniss barks, moving in quickly. "Lay off!" The two young women briefly grapple in a bizarre catfight before Finnick and Annie pull them apart.

"What the hell? – I got them out for you!" Johanna hurls invective at my goddaughter as Finnick literally sweeps the District 7 Victor off her feet, marches her down to the water and proceeds to dunk her like some kind of washerwoman. It takes a few soakings, which are halted by the sound of yet another cannon.

"That's enough…. THAT'S ENOUGH!" Johanna screeches, struggling out of Finnick's grasp, eyes darting towards the sky. "Was that another cannon?"

"There've been four since early this morning," Peeta states, holding out a hand to gallantly help Johanna as she steps out of the tide. "Twelve down, twelve to go."

A few steps away from them, Katniss is tenderly trying to clean Wiress up, the older District 3 woman still babbling, "Tick-Tock….."

All at once, Katniss starts casting her eyes about, also repeating the phrase. "Tick-tock…. Tick-tock…." It clicks. "It's a clock! Wiress, you're a genius! You're a genius!" Wiress sports a gummy, triumphant grin that someone finally figured it out.


After closer inspection of the island, Finnick judges it to be deserted, and the group of seven hikes single-file to the Cornucopia.

"This entire arena is rigged like a clock, with a new danger every hour, but they only stay within their wedge. That's why the fog didn't overtake us. That's why the monkeys didn't follow us. Lightning, blood rain, fog and monkeys – those are the first four hours," Katniss states flatly.

"Wiress, you're a genius," Finnick praises as he passes her.

"And look! The tail of the horn points at twelve o'clock!" Peeta points. "Towards that big tree."

"That's where the lightning strikes," Katniss nods.

"Strikes where?" Beetee asks.

"That big tree." The bespectacled man follows her gaze, adjusting his glasses. His eyes gleam.

"Good."

Peeta is drawing a diagram in the sand with his machete, and the others gather around. Only Wiress hangs back, sitting at the water's edge with her knees up to her chest.

"So, lightning, blood rain, fog and monkeys," my son recites. "Well, it's more than we knew yesterday anyway."

I look up from the smallscreen showing my son to see that the larger TVs are picking up some movement in the water. Quicker than the lightning strike, Gloss suddenly bursts onto the rocks, puts Wiress in a chokehold and draws a bloodred smile across her throat. The poor woman only manages to make a choking noise, but it's enough. The rest of the group spins around.

In one second, Katniss has fired an arrow right into Gloss's chest. In another, Cashmere is rushing forward with some dirks in hand, making right for my goddaughter. Letting out a feral yell, Johanna shoves Katniss out of the way and brings her axe right between Cashmere's breasts.

"ERRAHHHHH!" Brutus roars like an animal as he lunges for Peeta with a spear. My son shows no fear, however, and brings down his machete across the spear's hilt to engage. Brutus ducks, trying to dance around my son to find an open flank where he can stab, but Finnick moves in to guard my boy. None of the men notice Enobaria dashing forward to take out Finnick.

No one notices except….

"NOOOOO!" The plaintive scream makes Enobaria turn, but too late: Annie bravely barrels into her, bashing the District 2 woman up against the Cornucopia and with a scream, she plunges one of her lover's tridents through Enobaria's throat. Fierce protectiveness, love, and anger flash through Annie's eyes, and for just a moment, I see the girl who dispatched four tributes before her district partner was beheaded and she went mad from the trauma.

Johanna stares. "Way to go, Cresta!"

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. The only Career left standing, Brutus looks in danger of wetting himself. The moment would be delicious if he still wasn't hell-bent on taking on six other Victors now single-handed.

Thankfully, even my old mentor knows when he's outgunned. He turns tail and runs, rounding the horn as Peeta tries to pursue. Finnick throws out an arm and halts him, Katniss and Johanna taking over the chase. Brutus is on one spoke; the girls are just about to turn onto it when….

The entire island starts to spin.

Everyone hits the deck. Weapons and crates are flying everywhere due to the centrifugal force. Cashmere's body is cast into the water. With a shout, Beetee rolls backward and Annie reaches out a hand to steady him. Peeta is gripping the rocks with all his might. A scythe flies as a dangerous projectile towards him and he ducks so that the blade spins over his body and clears it by inches. Finnick crawls towards Beetee and Annie, reaching out a free hand so that they form a chain. With Peeta joining, they all clasp hands.

Further down the island, Johanna is hanging onto Katniss for dear life, the District 7 Victor anchoring them both with her axe buried in one fissure.

"Hold on!..." Katniss's palm slips from hers. "NO!"

My goddaughter goes over into the water, sinking down and down, spinning in all directions.

Then, just as quickly as the whole mess started, it stops.

Katniss surfaces, coughing and spluttering, swimming for one spoke in time to see Peeta and several of the others racing down the rocks to meet her. My son pulls his lover from the churning waves and they kiss lightly.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

Johanna huffs with relief. "Let's just get what we need and get off the bloody island."

The half a dozen Victors regroup on the beach. "So, other than us six and Brutus, who's left?"

"No way to tell until the faces show up in the sky tonight," Peeta shrugs at Finnick's question. "Maybe Cecelia Rheys from Eight? Just a guess."

His guess turns out to be correct, as coverage briefly cuts away to Cecelia stumbling through the jungle. She looks parched and exhausted. Three wedges away, Brutus is doubled over, his spear in hand, catching his breath from losing all his allies.

Back on the beach, Johanna groans. "So what do we do? We hunt them down?"

She is interrupted by Prim screaming.

Wait…. Prim screaming?...

Katniss goes white as a ghost. "PRIM!" And she takes off running through the trees, the others pelting after her and calling for her to stop. An inconsolable Katniss is scanning the canopy, panicking, trying to locate the sound. When she finally does, she shoots down a jabberjay – a bird notorious for copying human sounds; the Capitol used it as a weapon during the Dark Days.

More birds arrive, screaming like Belle and Glen and even Peeta, even though Peeta is right there and alive in the arena. Katniss runs blindly back the way that she came, finally crashing headlong into an invisible barrier where her five allies are trying to comfort her, but she can't hear what they're saying. Screaming and in tears, she curls up into the fetal position until the hour is up and the barrier falls away.

As soon as it does, Peeta takes my goddaughter in his arms and rocks her while she blubbers.

"Prim…. Prim…."

"No, she's all right…. No, they won't touch Prim…."

"Your husband's right – the whole country loves your sister. If Snow hurt her…" Johanna chuckles out a little laugh. "Forget the districts; there'd be…. riots in the damn Capitol." She throws her head to the sky. "WHOLE COUNTRY IN REBELLION? WOULDN'T WANT ANYTHING LIKE THAT!"

The Gamemakers don't even have time to edit her out. All the other Victors just stare at her. Johanna shrugs. "I'm not like the rest of you. There's no one left I love. So they can't hurt me."

The group morosely heads back to their stretch of beach, and the sun finally goes down.

Gloss. Cashmere. Enobaria. Wiress. Circe Montoya from 5. Maeve Collins from 6. Blight. Elena Perez from 10. Eight more dead. If this keeps up, a Victor will be Crowned by tomorrow evening.

But a Victor absolutely cannot be crowned. Come on, Plutarch…. hurry up….

Beetee seems to be thinking along a similar wavelength. "I have a plan," he gathers everyone else on the beach. "Why isn't Brutus here on the beach? Or Cecelia?"

"Because we're here; we claimed it," Johanna snaps.

"And what would happen if we left?"

"Well…. then I guess Brutus might come back to the beach," Peeta guesses.

"Which, in just a couple of hours, will still be soaked with water from the 10 o'clock wave," Beetee finishes. "Here's what I propose: between 10:00 and midnight, we go to the Lightning Tree, and run this wire from it down to the soaked beach. When the lightning hits the tree, it will be conducted all the way here, and anyone or anything in the vicinity will be electrocuted."

Just like in his last Games, I think. Although that arena was urban and Beetee rigged a trap from things he found in the rubble.

"How do we know the wire won't just…. burn up?" Annie asks curiously.

"Because I invented it, my dear," Beetee smiles. "Don't worry about the wire – it will do just what I say."

Katniss shrugs. "Why not? Even if it fails, there's no harm done. And the electricity will fry any fish in these waves, cutting that off as a food source for Brutus or Cecelia."

Finnick looks to Johanna and Annie. He won't go forward with this without either of them. Johanna sighs, raising her hand in the air. That's a vote for Yes. Everyone else's hands go up. Unanimous.

"So what can we do to help?" Peeta asks.

"Keep me alive for the next four or five hours – that would be extremely helpful," Beetee quips.

The group plans to leave just after the wave hits. In the interim, they split off to privately prepare. Katniss and Peeta walk down the beach to be alone.

"I think we need to go," Katniss whispers.

"This plan will work," Peeta states.

"I think so too – but once Brutus and Cecelia are dead, we both know what happens next…" my goddaughter's face falls. "I don't want to be the one who shoots first."

"What if they don't either? What if all of us refuse to shoot first?" My son sighs. "Maybe we could both….." He looks hopeful.

"They're not gonna make that same mistake again – you know and I know there's only one person walking out of here…. and it's gonna be one of us."

Peeta smiles knowingly. "Katniss… I don't know what kind of deals you made with my mom, but…." He pulls the medallion from around his neck. "If you die, and I live…. I'd have nothing. I could never move on and be with someone else. You need to live – for your sister and your mom."

Katniss gapes at him. "What about your mom? What about you?"

Peeta smiles sadly. "Nobody needs me – not even my mom. She has two other sons and my dad."

He's lying through his teeth, as I sit here watching the whole melodramatic moment. I could never live with myself if he died. I could never get over the grief, even with my husband and two other sons by my side.

Katniss looks heartbroken, shattered. "I do," she blurts out. "I need you."

And before my son can say anything else, she surges forward and kisses him. Peeta quickly gives up trying to talk Katniss out of saving him, and stealing his arms around her slim waist, cast in the light of the rising moon, he kisses her back.