The four of them turned to head to the beach only to see a group of monkeys cutting off their path, making them all take a big step back.

"Mutts," Taiya swallowed. They were sent in by Gamemakers with only one goal. Kill. And now their roars were getting even louder and more aggressive. Fangs bared. Hackles raised. Claws sharpened like blades. They were here to kill them.

"Get ready," Finnick warned everyone as they moved to all be back to back. That served them all the best chance of surviving. Cover as many angles as possible.

Taiya tightened her grip on her knives. She had to be quick and she had to be accurate. There were way more monkeys than they had weapons, so she had to make sure every throw was a death shot.

That's when it started.

One monkey lunged towards Katniss when she was facing the other way. Peeta dove in front and sliced at it, stopping it before it could meet its target.

They started coming from everywhere then.

Taiya was throwing knives like there was no tomorrow, but they weren't slowing down, and it didn't seem like their numbers were diminishing either.

"Closer!" Finnick aggressively yelled and she immediately knew he was yelling at her. In her flurried actions she'd drifted away from his back so she was quick to move back. They'd both feel more comfortable if they knew exactly where the other was.

And it was a good thing she did as well, because one monkey had launched itself towards her while she was pulling out new knives and she would've been screwed if not for the reach of his trident, which pierced the monkey mid-air and threw it away from her.

"Thanks!" she yelled.

Taiya looked around to try and keep track of the tributes from 12. They both seemed to be handling themselves fine, but Taiya could see Peeta was about to be overwhelmed, with two monkeys running towards him at once. So she immediately flung a knife in his direction, it just skidded past his ear and hit its mark in the monkey, sending it immediately crashing down and leaving him to only deal with the one.

There was no time for thank you's though, because they all heard a quick yelled and they saw Katniss plunge under the water as she used her bow to hold a monkey back.

"Get her!" Taiya yelled at Peeta. "I'll cover you. You get her."

Peeta didn't hesitate, he raced across the water to attack the monkey that was on top of Katniss and Taiya ran to his side so she could cover him.

Peeta plunged his knife into the monkey before hauling Katniss up out of the water. "We got to get to the beach!" he pushed her in the direction they needed to go.

"Go go go!" Taiya encouraged as she ran after the pair, Finnick was just behind her.

It wasn't a smooth journey to the beach. They were ducking and weaving to try and avoid monkey attacks. One lunged towards Taiya and she threw herself down to the ground and rolled, letting out a yelp of pain as it managed to slice its claws across her cheek. Finnick took care of it quickly though as he plunged his trident into it before helping her to her feet.

"Son of a…" Taiya yelled angrily as she wiped the blood away from her face.

"Complain later," Finnick dismissed as he gave her a light shove to continue running.

When they caught up to Katniss and Peeta, they saw the pair under attack. Katniss was kicking wildly at a monkey to try and keep it away from her, but it was relentless in its efforts. Finnick immediately speared it with his trident, quickly killing it before they moved on to help Peeta.

"Who is that?" Katniss asked as she saw a body lying on the ground. "A morphling!" Peeta cried out in shock.

"Get her out of here!" Taiya yelled to the younger pair as she and Finnick remained focused on the fast-approaching monkeys. Katniss and Peeta grabbed the woman's arms and began dragging her toward the beach.

"Go, go, go," Finnick encouraged her and she turned and ran after them. Finnick was using the length of the trident to keep the animals away from them. But they weren't giving up.

Taiya could hear the monkeys right at their heels. She thought they were done for. There was no escaping.

That was when Finnick wrapped his arm around from the waist, and for lack of a better word, catapulted them both out of the jungle and onto the sand. They rolled for a bit before Taiya felt his grip on her release, allowing her to continue rolling without him. He immediately leapt up into a crouching position in front of her as he held his trident up to the monkeys who were growling from the tree line. But they didn't come any closer.

Taiya wasn't willing to take her eyes off them though. It was either she watched the trees, or she watched Katniss and Peeta comfort a dying morphling. A morphling who was dying for them, not that they knew that.

It wasn't until her cannon boomed around the arena that the monkeys returned to the forest.

Finnick's trident immediately lowered and he turned to look at her.

"Come on," he whispered quietly as he grabbed her hand and walked with her further away from Katniss and Peeta. They were going to let the pair send the woman off before the hovercraft came to collect her. "You ok?" Finnick asked as they sat down.

"Mm hm," Taiya nodded as she pursed her lips, unable to properly vocalise. Because she was in fact, not all right.

"Let me see where it got you," Finnick asked quietly, as he touched her chin and moved her face so he could see her cut. "You're covered in sand," he smiled softly as he wiped it away.

"I like it," she joked.

"Like home," he agreed. "The cuts not too bad," he analysed. "And you still look pretty."

"I need a cream for it," Taiya said, not so subtly sending her request to the sponsors.

"Well you'll get it now," Finnick smiled. He knew just how eager Capitolites were to sponsor her.

"Are you ok?" Taiya asked him.

"No," he replied honestly. "But we can't fix that right now. Come on, let's collect all your knives and Katniss's arrows from the forest. It's clear now."

"Ok," Taiya agreed, letting him give her a hand up.

"Don't scratch," Katniss speaks up, ending the silence they'd all stewed in for a short period. All 4 of them had been unconsciously scratching at their faces. Where the fog had touched them had formed itchy scabs. "If you scratch they'll get infected. We should try for water."

A song then entered the air around them. A sponsor sound.

"Yes!" Taiya cheered as she leapt up and caught it. It was for her. Cream for her cuts.

"Katniss and I will get water, you two stay here," Finnick stood up and walked off with the younger girl.

"Time to be pretty again," Taiya smiled at Peeta as she smoothed it onto her scratched cheek. "You have any cuts?" she offered, holding up the small jar.

"Is that like what I got last year?" Peeta asked.

Taiya took a glance at the label. "Yeah it's the same," she nodded.

"It's good stuff," he smiled lightly at her. "You'll be as good as new in no time."

"That's what we like to hear," Taiya nodded as she sat down next to him.

"She sacrificed herself for me," Peeta announced.

Taiya tensed up. She knew exactly what he was talking about, but she had to pretend she didn't. "Huh?"

"It makes no sense. She was hidden. She was in no danger. But she threw herself in front of me. I didn't even know her name," he sighed as he looked down.

"Andressa," Taiya replied. "Her name was Andressa. Sweet woman."

"Hey," Katniss announced herself as she and Finnick came back with shells full of water. "Why don't you all get some rest? I'll keep watch."

"That's ok," Taiya shook her head. "I can do it. You and Finnick had way less rest so you should sleep some before morning."

Katniss hesitated for only a moment before she nodded. "All right. Thanks, Taiya."

"I'll keep you company," Peeta offered. "I don't think I can sleep right now."

"Cool," Taiya nodded, giving the boy a smile. She was glad for the company honestly.

"Wake us if you need anything," Finnick yawned as he lay down. Both of them were out like a light. Almost as soon as their heads hit the ground.

"So," Taiya smiled as she scooted herself towards Peeta. "What can we do for fun?"

"Fun? In the arena?" Peeta asked sceptically.

"Lighten up," Taiya shoved his arm. "Have you played slaps before?"

"What's that?"

"Ok!" Taiya straightened up excitedly. "So you hold your hands like this," she held her hands in a demonstration. "And essentially what you want to do is be the first person to do this," she slapped his hands. "But you can pull away to avoid being slapped and the slapper would lose. But if you pull away too early you lose." Peeta frowned as he looked at her in confusion. "You'll pick it up quick, don't worry," she assured as Peeta slapped his hands down onto hers. She looked down dumbfounded. He caught on fast. She usually played with Johanna and always won.

"Like that?" he asked.

"Yeah," Taiya grumbled. "Exactly like that."

She slapped her hands down but he quickly pulled them back and she missed.

"I think I've got it," he smiled.

"Haha," she replied sarcastically. "Ok let's make it more interesting. The loser has to answer a question."

"Deal," Peeta agreed before quickly slapping her hands and smirking at her. "Favourite thing to do in your spare time?"

"Swim," Taiya smiled. "Love it. I also like the piano," she said before quickly slapping his hands. "What's your favourite colour?

"Orange. Like a sunset, soft."

"I like that," Taiya agreed before slapping his hands again. "How siblings do you have?"

"Two older brothers. We're not close."

"Sorry," she smiled as they both lowered their hands, content to just quiz each other.

"You're an only child?"

"Yeah," Taiya nodded. "But I basically grew up with Finnick and Theo, so I wasn't really alone. I mean I guess I was alone until I met them but… it's hard sometimes to make friends being the mayor's daughter."

"You grew up in the mansion?"

"Yeah," Taiya nodded. "That was my home. I love it."

"I grew up in the bakery. We couldn't afford a different place."

"I remember going to 12 on my victory tour."

"It was snowing," Peeta remembered.

"Yeah," Taiya nodded. "That was traumatic."

"You looked so together though. I remember."

"I can act," she sighed. "I went behind a wall and cried after. It's hard to look at snow now without it being stained red."

"What was going to be your token?" Peeta asked.

"Huh?"

"Well, I'm sure you didn't want Haymitch's bracelet to be your token originally. What was it going to be?"

"It was going to be a ring," she answered vaguely. "I was going to thread it through a necklace I wear every day. A sea glass necklace my friend Annie gave me. It already has a ring on it, from Theo. So it was going to be the necklace with two rings on it. I'm friends with the Gamemakers so it was approved," she shrugged. "But instead I went in with this ugly thing," she mocked as she held up her wrist.

"You and Theo were always close?"

"Best friends," she agreed. "He may have wanted more but it never would have worked."

"Why?"

"I never could have loved him like that."

"Is he part of why you were angry at Katniss and me?" Peeta asked.

Taiya sighed as she dropped her head onto her knees. "Yes," she admitted. "I was so angry. Why do you both get to live when we didn't? You got to save each other and I had to hold him while he died. I think maybe it was more jealousy than anger. There were other reasons as well you know, like Seneca."

He was wise enough to know exactly what she was talking about. He also knew it was not the environment to go into further detail. If she said too much it could cost her sponsors.

"You want to learn how to fish?" Taiya offered. "Come on, I'll teach you," she grabbed his hand and dragged him into the water. "Ok, so keep completely still," she coached. "They'll think you're just part of the environment and get more comfortable. It'd be much easier with Finnick's trident but I'm not taking that away when he's sleeping," she smirked at the boy. "Ok, so what you want to do is look for the shimmer of the scales, you see," she pointed out to him. "You can watch it and anticipate its movements and then…" She plunged her knife into the fish and lifted it out of the water. "Voila. Breakfast."

"Good skill," he smiled impressed.

"Your girl can catch rabbits in snares. I can catch fish in the water," she winked. "We can get shellfish like oysters as well. For those honestly the best is just to dive and dig for the moment. We can make some traps later," she smiled before diving under. "Ta-da!" she announced as she popped back up, holding two oysters in the air. "This is for us. We'll get food for them later, they'll be out for a while. So lazy," she laughed as they walked back to the sand together.

"It's a good skill," Peeta confessed. "All I can do is decorate cakes."

"Dude I watched your games. You turned yourself into a rock. That's impressive."

"A bleeding rock," he teased.

"Do you want to try and make a mat with the grass weaves like I showed you before? That way we can keep the sun off them now that the sun is coming up. Might help them sleep a bit longer."

"On it," Peeta saluted as he went to collect the grass. "What are you going to do?"

"Make some more baskets. We can keep water and food in them. Easier than walking back and forward to the tree every time we want a drink."

It was mid-morning by the time Finnick and Katniss began to wake.

"What the hell," Finnick sighed as soon as he looked at Taiya and Peeta through his bleary eyes. "You corrupted him. I left you alone for only a few hours."

"We had fun," Taiya shrugged.

After they'd made the mat and baskets they were looking for more entertainment, but they wanted to keep it a bit lighter than 20 questions. Neither had had the easiest life.

So instead they'd made pirate hats out of the grass and were currently wearing them. They'd also gathered bits of vines and turned them into jewellery. Both were wearing pirate hats and had vines necklaces.

To add to that, when Finnick had woken up, they'd been practising cartwheels on the sand. Children.

Katniss was merely blinking at the pair before a light smile dusted her lips.

"Oh good, you got food," Finnick sighed in relief as he looked at the basket full of shellfish.

"Get them while they're fresh or walk the plank!" Taiya declared before giggling. "Tell them the joke, tell them the joke," Taiya shook Peeta's arm.

"Ok," he smiled. "What did the ocean say to the pirate? Nothing, it just waved," he smiled proudly. Taiya had told him the joke earlier and he'd been excited to repeat it.

Finnick loved it. He loved stupid jokes. Katniss let out a breathy laugh, which for her was quite an accomplishment.

"Good joke right?" Taiya nodded.

"Don't go fishing for compliments," Finnick's face lit up as he spoke.

Taiya winked at him in approval. There was always time for puns.

"Oh god," Katniss allowed herself to laugh aloud.

Finnick sat up and cracked a shellfish open with a stone, showing Katniss how to do it.

"You might want to wash up," Taiya suggested to the girl.

"Huh?"

"Look at your hands," Taiya pointed out.

The girl's hands were covered in blood. She'd been unconsciously scratching her itchy skin in her sleep.

"If you scratch it'll bring on infection," Finnick mocked her earlier comment.

"So I've heard," Katniss smiled before standing up to wash her hands in the water. On her way back to the group she froze and looked up the the sky. "Hey Haymitch, if you're not too drunk, we could use a little something for our skin!"

"Why didn't you think of that?" Finnick teased Taiya. "You could've got us rash ointment hours ago. It'd be better than the ridiculous things you usually put in requests for," he smiled.

Taiya and Peeta's eyes widened as they looked at each other nervously.

"What did you do?" Finnick asked nervously.

"We may have asked for two hot chocolates earlier," Taiya giggled nervously. The two had a blast while Finnick and Katniss were asleep, including indulging in some hot chocolate.

"Oh good god," Finnick dropped his head in shame.

"Got it," Katniss announces as she plunks back down beside Finnick and unscrews the tube.

"That stinks," Taiya complains when she gets a whiff of it.

"You look like you're decomposing," Finnick looked at Katniss sceptically as he saw the colour of her skin after applying the ointment. But Finnick had been hit with the most fog and was in turn the most itchy, so the innate desire to scratch won out and he applied the cream to his skin.

"Poor Finnick," Katniss playfully mocked. "Is this the first time in your life you haven't looked pretty?"

"It must be," Finnick played along. "The sensation's completely new. How have you managed all these years?"

"Just avoid mirrors. You'll forget about it," Katniss smiled.

"Not if I keep looking at you."

"Nice one," Peeta nodded in approval of Finnick's insult.

"You know what would go really well with this?" Taiya noted. "Seaweed bread."

"Taiya!" Finnick hissed, nudging her arm.

"What?" she whispered back. "Oh shit!" she realised. Bread was to be used as a communication device between them and Plutarch. Her sending bread requests could confuse the message.

Only moments later, a parachute arrived carrying seaweed bread from District 4 and Taiya laughed nervously as she glanced at Finnick's exasperated face.

"Well at least it will go well with shellfish," he relented as he tore the bread apart for them. "No more bread requests," he whispered to Taiya.

"Agreed," she nodded. She couldn't make that mistake again or they'd never know what the plan would be.

"How many tributes are left?" Finnick asked as they ate their food.

"14 by my count," Katniss answered.

"I've got the same," Taiya agreed. "10 others out in the jungle. Including the careers," Taiya looked over at Finnick. Aside from the careers, the rest of them were basically all aware of the plan.

A scream broke through the air, interrupting the calmness that had washed over them.

"That's new," Peeta frowned as they all stood up, watching as a segment of the jungle on the other side of the beach seemed to vibrate. An enormous wave appeared from nowhere, starting high on the hills, above the tops of the trees and roaring down the slope. A tsunami limited to one section of the jungle. It smashed down into the seawater with such a force that the water bubbled all the way onto their side of the arena, sending the baskets Taiya had made afloat.

"My baskets!" she cried out and the four of them quickly worked to collect the baskets she'd painstakingly built.

BOOM!

A cannon fired. Another dead. They all set down the baskets and looked back to the jungle part that the wave had come from. A hovercraft appeared and plucked a body out of the jungle.

"13," Taiya mumbled.

"There," Katniss said quietly, nodding in the other direction. "Someone's here."

The four of them quickly fell back into the shadows of the jungle, to stay hidden from the newcomers.

There were three of them who had come stumbling onto the beach. They looked to be in bad shape. One person was basically being dragged out of the jungle. And one was walking in circles and staring at the sky. Plus they all seemed to be painted in a brick-red colour. Not a good sign.

"Who is that?" Peeta asked quietly.

They're all ready for a fight when the one being dragged fully collapsed onto the beach.

The dragger then stamped their foot on the ground in anger and turned around and shoved their companion that was walking into circles to the ground.

Taiya let out a loud scream and quickly abandoned all three of them as she raced off and sprinted towards the red people.

"JOHANNA!"