Thank you for reading my story and for all of your reviews, I really appreciate it! Sorry for taking a little longer to update these days, things are getting quite hectic but it means a lot to me that people keep reading. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Fifty-Six

Finnick puts Mags on his back and the four of them are away, heading deeper in to the jungle. I don't want to look at the bloodbath going on at the Cornucopia but I can't help myself, some of my friends are there.

Luckily, Johanna has managed to team up with Beetee and both of them have grabbed Wiress before anyone has turned their attentions to them and legged it in to the jungle. Although, Wiress is walking at a snail's pace.

Unsurprisingly, the Careers have formed their usual alliance and Enobaria is fighting Seeder, they both have knives but when the former wrestles her opponent to the ground my heart is already in my mouth. She slits Seeder's throat and the blood begins to pour out.

I look over to Seeder's mentor, a young woman in her twenties who I hardly know, and I can see that she's shaking her head before she leaves her station. I wonder just how close they were.

Goodbye, I think and thoughts of strangling Snow quickly follow.

I can see that both tributes from 10 lie dead just metres away from Seeder and I'm grateful that I hardly knew them, although I've seen their faces around for years so it's still difficult to look at.

Cecelia has got her hands on an axe and several knives in her belt but she has to keep dodging Cashmere's knives as she tries to escape the beach. One catches her in her thigh, which slows her down, but she keeps going.

I glance over to Finnick and the others to see that Katniss is high up in a tree, looking down on the beach. Cashmere launches her body at Cecelia and stabs her heart but I don't think Katniss can see from the expressionless look on her face.

And just like that, three children have become motherless. We're only an hour in and I can feel my body going weak, this is a hundred times harder than I'd imagined in my head. Not just because our alliance is dwindling fast but because I know all of these people to some extent, even if we're not that close.

"What's going on down there, Katniss?" Asks Finnick after Katniss has climbed down from her tree. "Have they all joined hands? Taken a vow of non-violence? Tossed the weapons in the sea in defiance of the Capitol?"

"No," says Katniss

"No, because whatever happened in the past is in the past. And no one in this arena was a victor by chance. Except maybe Peeta." I have no idea where he's going with this, what he's saying is right, of course, but I don't know if it's going to convince Katniss to trust him.

I can see that calculating look on her face but Peeta, always the diffuser of tension, steps in between them to ask how many are dead. They discuss this for a moment before deciding to move on in search of water.

Peeta takes the lead, slashing his knife through the greenery as he walks but, all of a sudden, Katniss lets out a deafening scream and Peeta goes flying back, landing on the hard ground, motionless.

"Peeta?" Says Katniss, kneeling down next to him. "Peeta! Peeta!"

No, no, no, I think. He's not allowed to die! Katniss needs him, we all do, whether he knows it or not.

Finnick pushes past Katniss and leans over Peeta, holding his nostrils and breathing air in to his lungs. He stops for a moment and pushes down on Peeta's chest before repating. He's calm and collected whereas Katniss is hysterical, I don't think I've ever seen her like this. I know she cares about him but…could it be more than that?

Finally, Peeta coughs and everyone breathes a sigh of relief, including myself. Although, I can take a huge swig from my bottle to help relieve my stress.

"Careful," says Peeta, "There's a force field up ahead."

Katniss smiles and they check he's okay before deciding to move on, albeit slowly. I scan the arena in search of Chaff, who's clutching a knife and seemingly wandering through the jungle as if he has no purpose but from where he's positioned I can see that he's trailing Katniss. He must be very quiet for her not to hear him.

As they walk on Mags munches on some nuts she finds, which Katniss chastises her for as they may be poisonous but she just ignores her younger ally, which Finnick finds hysterical.

Eventually Katniss decides to check out the arena and climbs a tree to find that the force field has them trapped in a dome and that the only water source seems to be the lake by the Cornucopia. I just wish I could tell them soon the whole place will turn in to a deadly clock and they have to keep moving in order to stay safe.

Katniss goes hunting while the others begin to transform their little holding in to a more habitable place with Finnick and Mags weaving vines and constructing a makeshift hut.

As I watch the three of them work and talk about the arena, they're all very careful to avoid any talk of the uprising districts, an avox comes over to me with a note. I open it to find it's a message from Plutarch.

Day three at midnight. Send them a spile.

I let out a breath, District 13 are actually helping us, then. We're going to start this rebellion in just over three days and the whole of Panem will know about it. The thought both pleases and unnerves me.

I have no idea what a spile is but I find it in the catalogue easily enough and send it in after the anthem plays to avoid arousing suspicion. You can never be too careful when Snow is watching and I don't want him to crush the rebellion when we're finally teetering on the edge of it happening.

It takes them a while to figure it out but, unsurprisingly, Katniss knows what to do with it and helps force it in to a tree where water runs out of it for them drink. They settle down for the night with Finnick taking the first watch, which must mean that Katniss is either exhausted or starting to trust him. I'm not sure which one it is.

I allow myself to doze but I don't get much rest in and I'm soon awoken by the sound of a bell tolling. I open my eyes and look to the screen where only Katniss and Finnick are awake.

"I counted twelve," says Finnick and Katniss nods in agreement.

"Mean anything, do you think?"

"No idea."

They both look around as if waiting for something to happen but nothing does. It's obviously a clue about the clock but they're not to know that, this is definitely the most frustrating arena I have ever seen!

A lightning bolt appears a little way from them and that section of the arena is suddenly flooded with rain. As it's not close enough to my tributes I close my eyes again but it feels like only seconds have passed before I can hear Katniss screaming.

"Run!" She shouts, "Run!" And my eyes fly open to see a hazy fog racing towards them.

Finnick jumps up and pulls Mags on to his back and Katniss grabs Peeta as quickly as she can before they start running further in to the jungle.

"What is it? What is it?" Asks Finnick.

"Some kind of fog," says Katniss, "Poisonous gas. Hurry, Peeta!"

Peeta is finding it difficult to keep up and the anguish on Katniss' face is clear as Finnick continues to run. He stops to shout at them to keep running but it doesn't alter the fact that Peeta is still recovering from his ordeal with the force field.

Katniss' arm soon starts going in to a spasm, which must mean that the fog is designed to target their nerves. My grasp on the bottle next to me tightens as I stare at the screen, knowing there's nothing I can do. There's nothing I can send them to stop this horror.

"It's no good," says Finnick, "I'll have to carry him. Can you take Mags?"

"Yes," says Katniss but I think we both know that's going to be difficult, no matter how frail and small Mags may be.

They all run down the hill towards the Cornucopia but Katniss' body is growing weaker and so holding on to Mags is even more of struggle. The old lady rests her head on Katniss' back calmly, as if she knows what's coming.

No, I can't think like that. Mags has survived all these years, she can survive a little fog. She can. She can.

"It's no use," says Katniss. "Can you take them both? Go ahead, I'll catch up."

"No," says Finnick, tears welling in his eyes, "I can't carry them both. My arms aren't working." He turns to his old mentor, "I'm sorry, Mags. I can't do it."

Mags wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him on the cheek. I know what she's doing to do but it doesn't mean that my heart rate decreases. She walks in to the fog and her body starts to shake uncontrollably before she falls to the ground.

I want to scream louder than I ever have. Mags, my surrogate mother and friend is gone. She'll never get to see the rebellion she worked so hard for come to fruition.

I glance over at Chaff, who is dozing under a tree and wish that I could tell him. I know he'll see it in the sky tomorrow night but that seems so impersonal when Mags has been there for most of our lives.

I gulp down more of the bottle as Katniss and Peeta slowly make their way in to the water near the beach, it seems to be drawing out the poison from their bodies judging by the reactions on their faces. They then drag Finnick in to the water and slowly he returns to life while Peeta goes to tap a tree.

He dives underwater and stays there for a long time and I'm half wondering if he's decided to drown himself before he pops back up again.

"Don't do that," snaps Katniss.

"What?" Says Finnick. "Come up or stay under?"

"Either. Neither. Whatever. Just soak in the water and behave. Or if you feel this good, let's go help Peeta."

I don't have time to think about Katniss' change in emotions towards Finnick because ever so slowly a large group of monkeys appear in the trees above Peeta. Of course, these can't be real, harmless monkeys. They must be evil mutts made in the Capitol. Plutarch is really putting his stamp on this year's Games.

"Peeta," says Katniss, her bow raised. "I need your help with something."

"Okay, just a minute," says Peeta. "I think I've just about got it. Yes, there. Have you got the spile?"

"I do. But we've found something you'd better take a look at. Only move towards us quietly, so you don't startle it."

"Okay," he says and begins to move back but within seconds they attack and both Katniss and Peeta are firing everything they've got at them to take out the awful creatures. Peeta is hacking away with his knife but there's so many of them I'm finding it difficult to separate human from monkey.

That's when the female tribute from District 6, a morphling addict named Tressa, jumps on to a monkey as it's about to bite in to Peeta and blocks its path. It sinks its fangs in to her chest just before Peeta stabs it in the back.

"Come on, then!" Shouts Peeta as the monkeys begin to withdraw. "Come on!"

"Get her," says Peeta, "We'll cover you."

Katniss and Finnick raise their weapons while Peeta kneels down next to Tressa, soothing her with calming words about rainbows and colours. This is what makes him special, his ability to see other people's pain and know how to react to it. As she finally drifts off it's with a small smile on her face. He drags her over to the water and watches her float away. It would almost be poetic if it wasn't so horrific.

Finnick says he wants to take the night watch and, for once, Katniss doesn't argue. When he's certain that both she and Peeta are asleep he allows the tears to fall for his dead mentor. And I do the same.