Beetee eventually has to call us over for a meeting to introduce us to his new plan.
"I think we'll all agree our next job is to kill Brutus and Enobaria. I doubt they'll attack us openly again, now that they're so outnumbered. We could track them down, I suppose, but it's dangerous, exhausting work," Beetee says. I scoff at the dangerous part. We've all done our fair share of dangerous before or we wouldn't be here. But, our pack still isn't in the best of conditions unlike when we were young and able bodied.
"Do you think they've figured out about the clock?" Katniss asks.
"If they haven't, they'll figure it out soon enough. Perhaps not as specifically as we have. But they must know that at least some of the zones are wired for attacks and that they're reoccurring in a circular fashion. Also, the fact that our last fight was cut off by Gamemaker intervention will have not gone unnoticed by them. We know it was an attempt to disorient us, but they must be asking themselves why it was done, and this, too, may lead them to the realization that the arena's a clock. So I think our best bet will be setting our own trap," Beetee explains. Personally, I don't the Careers have figured it out at all because they simply don't care. Careers are bloodthirsty and that is about it.
"Wait, let me get Johanna up. She'll be rabid if she thinks she missed something this important," I say, walking over to Johanna and gently nudging her awake.
"We are talking about important things," I say, so she immediately jumps up. Beetee has drawn the arena in the sand.
"If you were Brutus and Enobaria, know what you do now about the jungle, where would you feel safest?" Beetee asks.
"Where we are now. On the beach. It's the safest place," Peeta answers first.
"So why aren't they on the beach?" Beetee counters.
"Because we're here," Johanna says, not seeing the point in all these circular questions and neither am I.
"Exactly. We're here, claiming the beach. Now where would you go?" Beetee asks.
"I'd hide just at the edge of the jungle. So I could escape if an attack came. And so I could spy on us," Katniss says. She's right and she would also know. That is one of her strongest traits in the arena.
"Also to eat. The jungle's full of strange creatures and plants. But by watching us, I'd know the seafood's safe," I add in.
"Yes, good. You do see. Now here's what I propose: a twelve o'clock strike. What happens exactly at noon and midnight?" Beetee asks.
"The lightning bolt hits the tree." Katniss answers. I watch Johanna sigh out of the corner of my eye.
"Yes. So what I'm suggesting is that after the bolt hits at noon, but before it hits at midnight, we run my wire from that tree all the way down into the saltwater, which is, of course, highly conductive. When the bolt strikes, the electricity will travel down the wire and into not only the water but also the surrounding beach, which will still be damp from the ten o'clock wave. Anyone in contact with those surfaces at that moment will be electrocuted," Beetee finally reveals. I give Johanna a quick look to verify what I'm thinking and she silently tells me that it is and to shut up.
"Will that wire really be able to conduct that much power? It looks so fragile, like it would just burn up," Peeta asks. I know it will and so does Beetee. We wouldn't be given faulty wire for the plan.
"Oh, it will. But not until the current has passed through it. It will act something like a fuse, in fact. Except the electricity will travel along it," Beetee promises.
"How do you know?" Johanna says, acting along with her role.
"Because I invented it. It's not actually wire in the usual sense. Nor is the lightning natural lightning nor the tree a real tree. You know trees better than any of us, Johanna. It would be destroyed by know, wouldn't it?" Beetee says.
"Yes," she agrees.
"And where will we be when it happens?" I ask, figuring this part should be talked about in public anyway.
"Far enough up in the jungle to be safe," Beetee responds.
"The Careers will be safe, too then, unless they're in the vicinity of the water," Katniss says. Beetee agrees.
"But all the seafood will be cooked," Peeta says.
"More than cooked. We will be eliminating that as a food source for good. But you found other edible things in the jungle, right, Katniss?" Beetee asks, which Katniss agrees to adding in a bit about the sponsors. Everyone agrees it is the right thing to do and then we get to work. Beetee inspects the tree with Peeta helping him. Johanna leads us to the tree and Katniss keeps watch. After we have arrived, I guard Beetee while he checks the tree, Johanna gets water, Peeta gets nuts, and Katniss hunts.
That night we have a picnic in the blood-rain section. We watch as the lightning strikes and tell Beetee all about it. We decide to catch more fish and shellfish, even some oysters at the bottom, which lets me go all the way down to the bottom where the beautiful fish and flowers are on the floor just like home. That's when I realize I will probably never go back home again. After this, who knows what will happen. Who knows who will die. I mean, I could even die.
"Hey, look at this! You know, if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls," Peeta says, showing me. However, my stupid bad mood doesn't have time for jokes.
"No, it doesn't," and then I get back to work. A parachute floats down from the sky with a pot of spicy red sauce and more rolls from 3, twenty four again, which I announce. We each take five and eat our feast greedily. And then, we wait. Beetee eventually asks me to help him by wrapping the wire around the trunk of the tree. While we work, I ask quick questions, verifying everything and helping work out all the problems we might encounter. I'm sure everyone just thinks it's small talk. Then, we make our way back down the beach. Where Beetee tells Katniss and Johanna to take the coil through the jungle, unwinding the wire, laying it across the beach, and sinking it in the water, then running for their lives. Peeta protests but we get rid of that problem quickly. Then, Johanna takes the coil.
Peeta and Katniss share a moment, so I go by Johanna.
"Good luck," I tell her.
"We'll be fine, calm down. We both want to get out of here and start this rebellion don't we?" She snickers. I smile.
"See you later, Finnick," she tells me.
"Yeah, see you Johanna," I say, and even though I know she will protest, I give her a hug, which she strangely accepts without a fight.
Then, I head off with Beetee and Peeta into the rest of the jungle.
Next chapter we blow up the arena! Yeah! Also, thank you guys for reviewing this chapter 202 TIMES! Thank you all so much for your amazing reviews ; I love you all! So now for some announcements which you can read in which ever order, number one is bad, number two is good, so feel free to read them in whatever order you so wish:
1) This story will be ending :( We've got around six to seven chapters left and an AU. Finnick's actual life story will end on June 20 and the AU will be published on June 21. I'm going to try and publish new chapters around every other day.
2) I have two new stories coming up! The first is something totally new that is also in an entirely different book series; Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare! Hopefully, some of you also love this series but maybe not so the synopsis will be on my profile so no spoilery things if you haven't read (which you really should do!). This will be an AU story, so no more "Life and Story of ..." titles (sigh) and the working title is "City of Vampires." The second of my new stories I will let you pick! For my last Hunger Games POV, I have created a poll on my profile page for you to pick which character I do it from. The options include Cashmere, Maysilee, Marvel, Thresh, Foxface, and Glimmer, so go vote! And both of these will start sometime in July.
I haven't posted what songs I listened to while writing this chapter so, here you go: Rootless by Marina & the Diamonds, Never Let Me Go by Florence & The Machine, and Wings by Macklemore.
So, yes, thanks for reading (and the extremely long author's note) and make sure to review!
- And the challenge, let's get to 300 reviews by the time this story ends. :)