Mako's POV
Ariel and I wake to the sound of a canon but for the first time, I am not afraid. Ariel is safe in my arms and we are alone.
But then I remember we are still in the Hunger Games and that we are truly never alone, not with all the cameras around.
"What food do we have?" asks Ariel, rummaging through her bag. "I have a little water left, and some crackers. Um- oh! And a pack of dried fruit. You?"
I pull out the half eaten dried beef and we both start laughing at the sight of her stash compared to mine.
"I mostly ate the shellfish," I say. She nods and another canon goes off.
"Is it too much to hope that both of those cannons were Garnet and Aid?" I ask. Ariel looks down with a glum expression.
"What?"
"I killed Sapphire," she says. "And I let Scalpel die. I'm pretty much public enemy number one with the careers."
She tears up a little and lowers her head even more. I put my arm around her and give her shoulder a little squeeze, hoping she'll snap out of it for the cameras. Tears don't get you sponsors. We stay still for a while before I speak again.
"We should probably move if we don't want Garnet or Aid to find us sitting around."
So we pack up what supplies we have and enter the tunnels once more. My flashlight still works, whenever I shake it at least. My oxygen, I've just now noticed, is a little over half gone in the remaining tank. A short glimpse at Ariel's oxygen meter and it is dangerously close to the red area indicating empty. Did the careers hunt all their oxygen away?
Idiots.
Normally swimming through silent waters is peaceful, relaxing. Not here. Not in the Games were anything from collapsing caves to heat sensing sharks lie in wait for you to just trigger a trap. Here paranoia is an understatement.
"Mako?"
I turn to Ariel who is pointing at an air pocket ahead.
"Let's rest there," she says. I grab her hand and we swim to the cave. It is a good distance from the last cave and there is no way to leave a trail so even if Garnet or Aid is looking for us, it will be extremely difficult to find us.
I crawl onto the shore of the cave and just as I am pulling Ariel up, I hear the "shing" of a sword being pulled from its sheath, and a clicking sound that is similar to that of a gun. I am as still as possible, but my eyes rise to see the blade of a sword and the point of a harpoon in my face. Now I realize Garnet and Aid are the least of our problems.
"Get out!" says the boy from 12, trying to sound harsh, but truly he is failing. "You and your girlfriend!"
By now, Ariel has helped herself up and is staring down the barrel of the harpoon gun.
"Hey, that's mine!" she says.
"Ariel, hush!" I hiss
"Yea, listen to your boyfriend," says the girl from 12. Her grey eyes are hard and steely in the dim light, and her blonde hair stands out against the darkness.
"Get out now or we will kill you," says the boy. I squeeze Ariel's hand. Out of reassurance or my own fear I don't know.
"Listen," I say. "We mean no harm. We're just-"
"Ha! Yea right!" the girl laughs. "A couple of careers like you? I bet you would tear us up. Especially this bitch."
"Rue, watch your mouth!" says the boy. "Remember what dad said."
"Dad's not here, Cinna," Rue retorts. "Plus I'm sure fowl language isn't-"
"Ok!" Ariel yells. "This is ridiculous! It's a miracle you two have lasted this long, because you can't get along for two seconds it seems."
Suddenly the Capitol Anthem blares and then the faces of the girl from 8, and the boy from 10 come and go, followed by the seal.
"That's fantastic," Rue mutters. "4 careers are still alive."
"2," I say. Rue turns to me with a fire in her eyes.
"I'm not a career anymore," says Ariel. "And Mako was never one to begin with."
Rue and Cinna exchange glances, but before they say anything more, Plutarch Heavesbea's voice booms through the hole in the ceiling.
"Congradulations for making it this far, tributes! It's time to hold the Feast! And you don't want to miss this one!"
We all pause and listen to the place and time of the Feast.
"And don't hold your breath for another opportunity like this! May the odds be ever in your favor!"
His voice disappears in a burst of static that hurts my ears.
"Well it's obvious that whatever will be there will help us breathe," says Cinna. "Probably extra oxygen tanks."
"Then let's kill these two. There will be more for us," says Rue, lifting up the harpoon gun to Ariel's face again.
"Look, we'll leave if you want. But we could make a good team. And-"
"It's way too late for that," Rue interrupts me. "And I don't trust her." She motions towards Ariel. "Cinna, let's just kill them and get it over with. We can continue with our plan and tough it out."
"What plan?" Ariel asks a bit too casually.
"You would love to know, wouldn't you, fish-girl?"
"Don't. Call. Me. That!"
"Or what, you'll splash me?"
"You little coal burn brat!"
Rue's finger twitches at the trigger.
"Rue, stop." Cinna looks back at me with a soft but alert gaze. "Our plan was is we both made it to the last two, we would just let the Gamemakers choose which victor they wanted. We wouldn't kill each other. They would have to do it for us."
I raise my eyebrows at them.
"Noble plan," I say.
"Why don't you just threaten suicide like your parents?" Ariel says sharply.
"You know we can't do that, fish-girl," Rue snaps. "The last 'couple' that did that failed remember?"
I do remember. The 90th Hunger games, the couple from 10 made it to the end together and threatened to jump off the side of a cliff together if they didn't let both of them win. Only the ground collapsed beneath the girl, a movement produced by the Gamemakers no doubt, and she fell to her death, leaving her fellow tribute to claim the crown. I don't think anyone has tried it since.
"So are you going to kill us?" I ask calmly. As soon as I see Rue's lips start to form the word "yes", a package drops down from the hole. We all stare at it for a while.
"Who's it for?"
"Probably fish-girl and her boy toy."
"Who's going to check?"
"Fish-girl, go check to see who it's for," says Rue, probing Ariel towards the package. Ariel kneels down and carefully lifts the silver parachute off and opens the package.
"Well," says Cinna. "Who's it for?"
Ariel doesn't say anything. She pulls off what appears to be a tag and holds it up for us to read.
"From Finnick Odair," Rue reads aloud. "To 12."
Finnick's POV
Ariel has just opened the gift when Katniss Mellark bursts through the door in our viewing room, face red with rage.
"You can't do that!" she snaps, pointing at me accusingly. "Sending my children a gift. That's a bribe to keep my tributes from killing yours. There has to be some rule against that!"
I lean back in the love seat, arm tightly around Annie's shoulders.
"Look, Fire girl," I say. "There's no point in sweating over it now. They have the gift and it will be their choice whether to take the gift in the way it was intended, or kill my tributes anyway. In a way, it's a win-win situation for you."
Katniss' tired eyes flare at me and her jaw clenches.
"This is ridiculous," she mutters under her breath, storming out of the room. Annie suddenly clamps her hands over her ears and scrunches up with her knees to her chest. She must be hearing the voices again. I wrap my arms tightly around her and wait for the voices to stop. Once she comes back, she looks up at me with her big green eyes.
"Do you think it was a good idea?" she asks. "Sending 12 that bribe basket?"
I shrug and kiss her forehead, covered with matted brown hair.
"It's worth a try, babe," I whisper. "We have to keep our love birds alive."
I am about to say, "Think about it if you and I were in the arena together." But then I restrain myself. That is about the worst example I can think of. Annie is already damaged enough by the Games, replaying anything in her head would leave me with even more guilt.
So I shut my mouth and continue to watch the Games.
A/N: *fangasm* Mockingjay is out! Woot woot! I finished it yesterday and bawled my eyes out afterwards. Yes for those who have read it, my information is now inacurate, such as District 2's faction and other stuff, but oh well. Can't change it now. I thoroughly enjoyed Mockingjay and I hope you enjoy that and this chapter. Thanks for sticking with me guys.