Secrets had a way of coming out, Peeta knew this. He just hoped when all of his secrets came to light he would be the only one that was punished for them. His life had been all lies and sneaking around for the past two years. If you had asked him two years ago if he could keep a lie of this magnitude he would have said a resounding no. But now it was like breathing, looking Haymitch and Finnick in the eye and lying.

Right now, he was in his room watching Gale fight for his life. Gale had put his own life on the line when he didn't have to do it. He did it because he loved and wanted to protect Morse. There was no way Morse would have even made it out of the bloodbath. Unlike him, Morse would have run to grab a bag, one that was closer to the Cornucopia hoping it had things he needed in it. But his brother didn't even know how to fight, it was never needed in their home.

But now Gale was the one in the arena, at this very moment he was going hand to hand with the boy from 2. It would be his first actual kill like this. So far Gale's kill list was three and that was indirectly. That was not counting the boy from 3. If Gale won Haymitch and Peeta wouldn't be alone on the hill anymore. It also meant Peeta wouldn't be forced to be a mentor any longer. He wasn't like Haymitch or even Gale. His win wasn't about skill just plain luck. Gale had been very smart in his actions. Now there were only five left. Gale, the boy, and girl from 2, the girl from 4 and the boy from 11.

The girl from 2 and the girl from 4 were together, in the shadows, watching Gale and the boy from 2 fight. It happened fast, Gale swung out his knife, it slashed the boy's throat. Blood was spurting, he must have hit an artery. Peeta had learned a lot training when he was a tribute. The cannon sounded as soon as the boy hit the ground. Instead of taking Gale on the two girls left, Peeta was sure they were regrouping. They must have thought Gale didn't have it in him to kill, they had been wrong, he had a strong desire to live.

Now there were only Gale, the girl from 4, girl from 2 and boy from 11. The boy from 11 was hiding out in the tall building with all the food and supplies. What was left of the Careers were trying to kill the competition, they couldn't protect their stash and kill at the same time.

If they were smarter they'd just wait everyone else out, but that would risk the gamemakers forcing a confrontation. Peeta could see the girl from 2 was already tired of the girl from 4. He thought they may turn on each other before long. The boy from 11 worried him. He was smart but not cocky. He wouldn't risk leaving the building unless he was made to by outside forces. Gale was eating but very little, his snares got something at least every time he set one up. But water was his issue. He had trekked out and gotten water the day before. Peeta could see it was almost all gone.

An Avox delivered a note to his room and his heart started to pound. He knew it was going to happen. The winner last year didn't return because the mentors were the best they had, no need to replace them. That meant he was still the newest commodity in the Capital. The deals he made with Julius were all to do with the coup, nothing like people thought and he wanted it to stay that way. Like the deal he made for Shay, Peeta was to recruit one of the higher ups, an adviser who had already spoken about buying some of Peeta's time. This was the only way to have a chance of winning the man over.

He wasn't stupid, he knew what it was for but that didn't make it any better. Finnick had told him one time it's just another game. This one you have to play with them instead of for them. He thought about Katniss, what he would tell her if he ever got the courage to tell her about his feelings for her. Would she be disgusted? Women would want Gale, not greasy old men that had already let their intentions be known when passing him in the Capital. He should be grateful; he had a 2-year reprieve from this. He was older than Finnick now than when he won. This shouldn't be a big deal. It shouldn't. But it was and it was always going to be. But if all the work he was putting into this worked, no other children could be bought and sold like a piece of furniture. Children wouldn't be fighting to the death for the entertainment of the Capital.

In the beginning he had asked Julius why he was risking his life doing this. After all he lived in the Capital, the games never touched him. That was when Julius told him about being in love with a girl from 2. He had been young, a teenager himself. He wanted to marry her. He had met her when he traveled to 1 and 2, seeing the sights, living it up with the people. President Snow had Julius's wife already picked out for him, a business deal. Julius refused. Iris, the girl from 2 was picked in the next games. No volunteer. She died in the bloodbath, didn't even have a chance to win. It was then Julius realized everything was to the whim of his father. That much power, it distorted a person's way of thinking, it was just a matter of time before he killed everyone who wronged him just because he could, if he wasn't already.

Julius had no want to be President, he just wanted to leave the Capital and never come back. But until Panem was free, he couldn't, and he wanted his daughter to know that it wasn't a real game. Games don't involve murder and pain. Peeta like Julius but he knew better than to completely trust him. That was why he kept some pretty damning information on Julius, just in case. He kept information on Haymitch and Finnick too, he didn't trust anyone anymore.

Peeta arrived at Frizz's door, the higher up that had purchased him for the night. The one that he was supposed to earn the trust of. The one that he was supposed to feel out to see if he would be someone they could use or someone they needed to watch out for.

The door opened and Peeta's jaw dropped.

"Johanna?"

"Looks like we're a double act tonight, kid."

Katniss covered Prim's eyes. She didn't need to see Gale kill again. Watching him slit the throat of the boy from 2 was bad but this was the finale. There was going to be a winner and soon. The girls from 2 and 4 took each other out, it took longer for 4 to die but her wound was mortal.

Now Gale was fighting for his life against the boy from 11. The boy was smaller than Gale but seemed to be evenly matched. Gale used the dagger he had and tried to stab the boy, but he easily deflected. Gale was hungry, thirsty, and exhausted. The boy from 11 had been living where all the food and water was, along with the weapons that the Careers had collected. He was fresh while Gale looked like the walking dead. He had lost weight he already couldn't lose. The last three days he hadn't been able to snare any wildlife. He drank the last of his water the night before and it was almost nothing.

Prim pushed Katniss's hand away from her face. "He's not doing good," Prim said.

He wasn't. When it got down to two, Katniss was sure Gale was going to win. Now she wasn't so sure, the other boy clearly had the upper hand. She was going to see Gale die; she knew that now.

The ground in the arena started to shake, knocking both boys back on opposite sides. A great chasm opened up between them. Now they were separated by at least thirty feet if not more. The boy from 11 threw his knife but it didn't clear the chasm and fell in, not even close to reaching Gale.

The camera cut to an overhead shot. The chasm was bigger than she thought. The camera then panned to the only way to the other side. A small landmade bridge, miles away from them. She watched as a drone flew in and dropped water off for Gale. It must have been so expensive but them being the last two people would want their pick to win. A tribute from 12 and a tribute from 11. Last year when it was like this, it was a boy from 2 and a girl from 1, the boy winning. This was pretty much unheard of, Peeta's win with him against the girl from 10 was pretty out there but this was even stranger. The question she couldn't figure out was this move was clearly by the gamemakers. But why were they trying to prolong the finale?