A/N: Thanks to mangesboy01, xx-Want-A-Sugar-Cube-xx, Clover80, Klicker'andKash, krikanalo, allonsydney, Kman528, PrincessLyoka, richards25 and Beauthg for reviewing!

This chapter includes dialogue taken from Chapter 20 of 'Catching Fire', so sadly that isn't of my creation. Nor is the victor for this chapter, for that matter.

But anyway, on with the story. I hope you enjoy today's chapter :)


"She plays her vinyl records singing songs on the eve of destruction

She's a sucker for the criminals breaking the laws

She will come in first for the end of western civilisation

She's an endless war, she's a hero for the lost cause

Like a hurricane in the heart of destruction

She's a natural disaster

She's the last of the American girls."

- Billie-Joe Armstrong, 2009.


The 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Third Quarter Quell) - Day 1, 2.15 pm

Margaret 'Mags' Tyler (81), District 4 Female (victor of the 11th Annual Hunger Games)

Green Day - Last of the American Girls (2009)


Slowly, as the afternoon wears on, with everyone feeling more and more disheartened by the lack of water present in the arena, we continue our trek uphill. The hot, humid air has taken its effect on all of us. Katniss and Peeta, the tributes of District 12, more more slowly as the afternoon wears on, and Finnick begins to lose energy beneath me.

I'd told him time and time again that I'd be able to take care of myself in the arena. That I could survive on my own. But while Finnick didn't doubt it for a second, he also argued that I'd struggle to keep up should our alliance have formed as it now has. And, having seen the arena, I can't deny that I wouldn't be a burden to the group.

Really, after all I've done for him, I suppose I should be grateful that Finnick is giving back. Not that I ever doubted it, of course, but I was there to help him at times of his life when nobody else was. Such as the difficult winter after the 70th Hunger Games, or even the time when I helped him through the arena.

I wasn't Finnick's mentor. At least, not officially. It was Auriel, a young, inexperienced mentor who'd done a couple of Games after his victory in the 58th Games but little more. I don't blame Auriel for anything that had happened to him, but by the 65th Games, he was in dire straits. It had started with a row between Auriel and Harrow (I can't remember what sparked the argument), but it quickly escalated to much more than that. Eventually after several weeks of antagonising each other, Harrow stepped over the line. I think he meant to startle Auriel, maybe to knock some sense into him, I'm not sure, but I remembered being told that Harrow had caused some sort of mental shutdown inside of Auriel's mind, rendering him almost insane for months.

It was when the two victors had been sharing a training day at the Training Centre. Harrow had waited in the kitchens before lunch, and threw a bread knife at him as soon as he opened the door. Thankfully, the knife missed, but the desired effect had been created. Auriel's Games had seen him fighting through the corridors of the District 4 Training Centre, which was laced with traps. Something about the way that Harrow had throw the knife had caused some sort of flashback to his time into the arena. Harrow had done the unthinkable, and used the mental instabilities caused by the arena against another victor.

Let's just say that Harrow wasn't the most popular among us in the next twelve months.

Auriel, who was chosen to be Finnick's mentor, being completely incapacitated, I had to attempt the daunting task of mentoring two tributes for the same Games, and I have to say that it's an experience I never want to repeat. It made me have a lot more respect for the victors like Blight and Haymitch, who literally spent decades mentoring two tributes a year. Well, Haymitch couldn't stand it, but you get my point.

When the new rule that victors could decide among themselves who was going to mentor each year at the 67th Games, I made it clear that I'd had enough. We'd had two victors in the past two years. At least I could claim that I'd gone out on a high, if that's any consolation.

Suddenly I'm jolted out of my daydream when Katniss screams and I see a bright flash as Peeta flies backwards, landing on his back in the vines that he had been attempting to clear. I can't imagine what he hit that caused so much damage - there's only trees and vines here - but Katniss certainly seems alarmed, keeling down beside him.

"Peeta?" Katniss says quietly, giving her district partner a slight shake. He's unresponsive. Something's happened, and I've no idea what. Katniss runs his fingers over his mouth, rests her head against his chest. I watch as her facial expression begins to show desperation. "Peeta!" she calls again, far more desperately, shaking him much more vigorously. As she starts slapping his face, Finnick sets me down by a tree that I can use for balance and rushes over towards Peeta.

"Let me," he says to Katniss, pushing her out of the way and doing a quick examination of Peeta's condition, the way he's been trained, just like every other child has been in District 4. Then he pinches Peeta's nostrils shut, ready to start the emergency procedure.

"No!" Katniss screams, clearly not understanding Finnick's incentives as she hurls herself at him. Finnick's attention diverts from Peeta only for a split-second to knock Katniss backwards with a well-placed punch, sending her flying into a nearby tree, before returning to working on Peeta.

He knows what he's doing, Finnick does. No doubt he's been through this several times before. Usually it's only used for half-drowned sailors at home who's been involved in a fishing accident, but I guess Finnick can't think of anything else in this situation, even though I'm not actually sure what happened. Whatever it was, it must be serious.

For a while, it seems like Finnick's fighting a lost cause, and I can tell that with every minute that Finnick spends breathing air into Peeta's lungs, Katniss is starting to believe the same thing. Then, after what feels like hours, Peeta splutters once, gives a small cough slowly comes back to the world around him. Finnick sits back on his knees as Katniss rushes over to her fallen district partner.

"Peeta?" she says softly, checking desperately for the reassuring touch of his beating pulse on his neck.

"Careful," he splutters, opening his blue eyes again. "There's a force field ahead." Suddenly I understand what has happened, and how lucky Peeta has been. Finnick has managed to bring him back from the dead. I've never known anyone to survive a force field shock given in the arena. Usually the Gamemakers make sure that any force fields in the arena are 100% certain to kill, but maybe Plutarch has managed to lower its strength slightly without raising suspicion. I don't know all the ins and outs of the plan to break out of the arena, but Finnick does. All I know is that we need Beetee, and he's got the knowledge passed on from Plutarch of how to get us out of here. Oh, and that we need to keep Katniss safe, too. That's why Finnick saved Peeta. We don't need him; not really, anyway. But we need Katniss, and we have a better chance of proving our loyalty to her if we keep Peeta alive, too.

"Must be a lot stronger than the one on the Training Centre roof," Peeta says, and I notice that Katniss is crying. "I'm all right, though. Just a little shaken."

"You were dead!" Katniss cries. "Your heart stopped!" Then she puts her hands over her mouth, and she looks as though she's on the verge of sobbing. Really, after all she's been through, she should be afraid of a few tears, the poor girl.

"Well, it seems to be working now," Peeta says reassuringly, but it's too late to stop her losing control, if only a few moments. "Katniss?" he asks gently, rather concerned.

"It's OK," Finnick says. "It's just her hormones. From the baby," he adds, and I already know that he's just trying to cover up Katniss' weaknesses to the audience, and to play the vital pregnancy support to gain us sponsors in the arena. Apparently Haymitch, who is organising the part of the plan run by the mentors, is going to communicate with us through sponsor gifts. We need all the support we can get to benefit the plan. Finnick knows a swell as I do that the pregnancy is faked - Haymitch told him this morning when they met briefly to confirm that the plan was going ahead - but he knows that by reminding the public of Katniss' supposed condition at every possible moment, he'll get her sympathy from the public, which can only be a good thing.

"No, it's not-" Katniss starts to say, but immediately breaks down into sobs. For a moment, I see Katniss and Finnick stare at each other through the tears, as if trying to work each other out, but then Peeta tries to speak up before anything can become of the tension.

"How are you?" Finnick asks quickly, turning Katniss' attention back to her district partner. "Do you think you can move on?"

"No, he has to rest," Katniss answers for him, but is distracted by her runny nose as she tries to find a handkerchief but doesn't have anything to use. I reach up and pull a clump of moss from a branch of the tree above me and I hand it to her. She thanks me before blowing her nose and wiping her tears from her face. Then she becomes distracted by something else and grabs something form around Peeta's neck that I can't quite see.

"Is this your token?" she asks him.

"Yes," he replies. "Do you mind that I used your mockingjay? I wanted us to match," he explains. Now that Katniss has moved the object in her hand somewhat I can see the glint of gold clearly. It's similar to Finnick's token, too. It's the symbol of the rebels. The symbol that gave us hope throughout the dark winter that followed the November revolts.

"No, of course I don't mind," Katniss replies, smiling.

"So do you want to make camp here, then?" Finnick asks, trying to return the conversation to the business at hand. I can tell that he doesn't feel safe here, stationary in the thick jungle.

"I don't think that's an option," Peeta says. "Staying here. With no water. No protection. I feel all right, really. If we could just go slowly."

"Slowly would be better than not at all," Finnick admits, and helps Peeta to his feet.

"I'll take the lead," Katniss suddenly announces confidently, and Peeta starts to object.

"No, let her do it," Finnick says, taking Katniss' side for just a moment before turning to interrogate her.

"You knew that force field was there, didn't you?" he asks, frowning at her. "Right at the last second?" You started to give a warning." Katniss nods. "How did you know?" Finnick asks.

Katniss pauses for a moment, and it's obvious to everyone around that she's lying as soon as she starts speaking. "I don't know. It's almost as though I could hear it. Listen," she says.

"I don't hear anything," Peeta says. Ok, maybe it wasn't obvious to him that Katniss was lying.

"Yes," Katniss insists, and Finnick and me play along, listening in, although we both know there is nothing to be listening for. I don't know how she detected the force field, but it certainly wan't like this. "It's like when the fence around District Twelve is on, only much, much quieter." She pauses for a moment, and we all listen intently for nothing once again. "There!" she exclaims. "Can't you hear it? It's coming right from where Peeta got shocked."

"I don't hear it, either," Finnick says truthfully, because there isn't anything to hear. "But if you do, by all means, take the lead."

"That's weird," Katniss says, pretending not to hear Finnick's comment, pretending to be puzzled. "I can only hear it out of my left ear."

"The one the doctors reconstructed?" Peeta asks earnestly. I get the impression that he's gullible enough to actually believe her.

"Yeah," Katniss replies, shrugging. "Maybe they did a better job than they thought. You know, sometimes I do hear funny things on that side. Things you wouldn't ordinarily think have a sound. Like insect wings. Or snow hitting the ground."

It's as though she's thought all this through, but it's still a lie. I can't stand to hear her continue about her supposed heightened sense of hearing, so I interject before she says anything else.

"You go first, then," I tell her, although I'm not sure that she completely comprehends me. My mind has remained sound through the years, but sadly my body has not. I know what I want to say, but somehow I can't force my mouth to make all the right shapes anymore. Combine that with my strong District 4 accent, and i bet she barely understands a word I say. I'm glad Finnick can serve as a translator when needed. He's used to the way I speak. But this time, I get the impression that Katniss understands what I'm after.

Katniss takes the lead of the party as we prepare to depart, walking off into the dense jungle once again.


A/N: I'm not sure whether too much of this chapter was just a change of perspective from the original book. I tried to include some background info on District 4 and the rebellion. Hopefully you all enjoyed it anyway :)

Regardless of your views on the chapter, I'd like to know what you thought of it via review. As ever, constructive criticism is welcomed :)

P.S. I now have three side stories underway to follow on from this one, two of them community projects. '75 Games: After the Mockingjay', '75 Games: The Forgotten' and '75 Games: Meet the Victors!' have all been published over the course of the last weekend and have a few chapters already posted. Feel free to go and read them, if you feel inclined to do so :)