Chapter-26

Chapter 26

Peeta's interviews are today. I'm nervous about them, because this could get him sponsors, but I know he doesn't want to play these games this time. I'm scared for what he will say to Caesar.

Over the past couple days, we've watched each tributes Games, and developed a list of weaknesses and strengths. Watching them was tough, but it was oddly Beetee's Games that made me want to puke. He electrocuted the remaining tributes and actually looked like he was enjoying himself, watching them twitch on the ground.

Peeta's dressed in his fiery red and black suit, looking stunning and fierce at the same time. If he weren't my boyfriend, I'd be scared of him. They somehow made him look five years older than he was.

Each tribute that has gone up for their interview has talked about how terrible it is that Snow is continuing on with these Games, and that if he were really as powerful as he says he is, he could just put an end to the Games. I don't think it'll work, but it's worth a shot.

Peeta's up next, so I give him a kiss for good luck and watch him go on stage. He shakes Caesar's hand, tells him it's nice to see him again, and sits down.

"Peeta! My, you look like a Victor! Is this the look your wardrobe designer was going for?" Caesar asks.

"Yes," he says. "I think it's working too. Finnick looked petrified when he first saw me," he answers with a laugh.

The crowd is laughing, while some women gasp and shout things like "I love you Peeta!" and "Marry me!"

"Oh, is that so?" Caesar asks, laughing too. "So, tell me Peeta, how does it feel to be going into the arena again, this time without Katniss?"

"Well, I feel relieved, actually. Of course, I don't want to go into the arena at all, but Katniss is safe, so I'm okay with it in the end."

"Peeta Mellark, so selfless!" Caesar says. "Tell us, did Katniss teach you how to use a bow and arrow? We wouldn't mind seeing a little bit of that in the arena!"

"She did in the training room, yes. But I don't plan on using a bow and arrow as my weapon," Peeta says.

"Oh? What weapon are you planning on using?" Caesar asks, mockingly surprised.

"Well, you'll have to wait and see, won't you," Peeta says with a wink.

"A 12, Peeta! It's never been done before! How did you get a 12?" Caesar asks.

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell you Caesar. I would if I could though. Trust me, you'd be the first to know," he says charmingly.

"Oh no! We've run out of time," Caesar says. "Ladies and Gentlemen, give it up for Peeta Mellark! Good luck in there, we'll be rooting for you!"

He goes to take his place next to the other eleven tributes, and takes Seeder's hand. All of the tributes are holding hands, showing signs of unity. The lights cut out suddenly, and the crowd screams. The tributes are forced back to the elevators in a frenzy, and I lose sight of Peeta. I decide to go to the car and wait for him so I'm not lost on the way back.

After five minutes, Haymitch throws Peeta into the car and the driver drives off.

"Sorry, I lost you and I tried finding you but Haymitch found me first," Peeta says.

"It's okay. Are you ready?" I ask. I know the answer. No one's ready, but I still feel like talking about something.

"Yeah, ready as I'll ever be. What do you want to do tomorrow?" he asks.

Tomorrow is his last day before he's placed in the arena with twelve other tributes. I can think of a lot of things I want to do tomorrow, but most include Peeta and I running away from the Capitol and never looking back.

"Anything, as long as I'm with you," is my simple response.

Apparently anything means a whole lot to Peeta, because when we wake up, he's running around the Tribute Center, gathering baskets and blankets, food and drinks, games and everything else you can think of.

"What in the world are you doing?" I ask.

"I want to take you out," he replies. "But we can't go out, so I'll take you up."

Up? What is he talking about?

"Come on, follow me," he says as he grabs my hand and drags me to a door. It's the door to the roof. I get it. Take me up, as in on the roof.

I'm so glad he did, because the day is perfect. We sit on the roof, cuddling and talking, eating and eating, playing games and kissing, eating and more eating, sleeping and chasing each other around. It's literally the perfect day. But anything we did would have been perfect, because Peeta would have been with me.

"I wish I could freeze this moment, and live in it forever," he says while playing with my braid.

"What?" I ask.

"This moment right here," he says. "Spending time with you, carefree and happy. I wish I could freeze it and live in it forever."

"I think I'd like that too," I whisper softly.

We stayed up there for hours, but Peeta wants to see Portia and Effie one last time before he possibly dies, so we decide to eat dinner with them. Dinner is nice, but Haymitch asks us to come with him when we finish so I've been on edge from the start.

When we're done, we step into the hallway that leads to the elevators, and see Haymitch.

"Follow me," Haymitch says. Peeta and I follow him out of the Tribute Center, and into a car. "This is Cinna's car. No listening devices in here."

"Okay, so what's the plan? How are we getting Peeta out?" I ask.

"The first Hunger Games were held in a Colosseum. Nobody visits anymore because it's falling apart and frankly nothing to look at other than rocks. Not very interesting and a waste of a trip. You met Plutarch, right Katniss?" Haymitch asks.

"Yes, the Gamemaker," I reply.

"Well, he's a rebel. Seneca Crane was a rebel too, that's why you both were able to live. Seneca died for this cause. Plutarch is willing to die if it comes down to it," Haymitch says.

"Okay, what does this have to do with the arena?" Peeta asks.

"Well, Plutarch and Seneca have secretly taken funds from their Gamemaker bank account, the one used for building arenas, to build an underground bunker beneath the Colosseum. Nobody knows about it," he says. "Everything will happen fast. Here's what will happen. The peacekeepers sleep in a bunker beneath the Justice Building in each district so we need to get rid of them. Each District has explosives created by Beetee. During your Victory Tour, I distributed them to each Victor. Each Victor picked someone to hold them. A random person in each district will blow up the train station and the Justice Building. I bet you can guess who it is in District 12."

"Gale," I say. He nods.

"Yes. Without the train station, supplies can't be brought to the Capitol. District 5 and 6 are the most important. District 5 is the power district. They have a dam that powers all of Panem on the edge of it. All of District 5 plans on sacrificing themselves for this. They will blow up the dam, causing Panem to lose power. Without power, the arena's walls will go down, meaning the remaining tributes inside can escape."

"District 6 creates and stores hovercrafts. Without hovercrafts, Snow can't retaliate. We know Snow has two Capitol hovercrafts in the Capitol, but one's for Snow when he decides to make his escape, and the other is for the tributes," Haymitch says.

"But how can we get Peeta out?" I ask.

"District 13. It's still alive, but underground, just like the Colosseum. The only problem is Snow knows about them. It's been agreed that taking the Victors there would let Snow know they want war, and could ultimately end up in nuclear warfare. We don't want that. So, they will loan us a hovercraft that will be used to pick up the tributes when the power goes offline, and fly them to the Colosseum for us to hide them. That includes you, your family, and all other Victors that are willing to come."

"We don't believe Snow would send nuclear missiles at the districts. Only District 13 is in danger of that. Snow doesn't have enough to waste on non-threats. But your family is being taken to the Colosseum right now," he says to me. "You and I will be in the hovercraft that retrieves Peeta, and will fly there after. Sound like a plan?" Haymitch asks.

"Sounds better than dying. So Finnick, Beetee, and Johanna are in on it?" Peeta asks.

"Yes. Beetee actually designed the technology for the arena's force field. He knows that it's connected to the dam, like everything else in the Capitol and Districts."

"Alright, let's head back before they get suspicious. Thank you Haymitch," Peeta says as he shakes his hand.

"This isn't a Game anymore kids. Don't say anything to anyone. Even Effie doesn't know," Haymitch says as he takes us back inside the Tribute Center.

Knowing the plan settled my nerves a bit, but I could tell Haymitch was keeping something from us. He seemed to be talking in a code or something, only giving short answers when important subjects came up. He was giving us the bare minimum information.

When we get back inside, I lead Peeta to his bedroom and lock the door, then attack him with my lips. I'm kissing him anywhere my lips can find bare skin.

"Katniss, slow down," Peeta says breathlessly.

"Peeta," I whisper. "I want this. I want you. Not because you're about to go into the arena, or because you might die. I want you because I love you."

"I love you too," he replies, and we kiss again, slower this time. We didn't have sex tonight. We made love tonight. Sleep found us fast after we were done, and I can't say that I've ever slept so well in my life.

The morning after is terrible. I'm a little sore from mine and Peeta's first time, and on top of that, he'll be entering the arena today. I'm a mentor, and Haymitch has taught me everything he knows, which surprisingly is next to nothing. All he told me was that the more cleavage I have out, the more men will want to sponsor me.

Haymitch told me most likely, I won't need to go that far. People like Peeta, and he's allied with Finnick and Johanna. Sponsors will be flooding our bank accounts.

This morning, I kissed and hugged and cried with Peeta, until his prep team showed up. Then, they started crying because they saw us together like that. It was an emotional morning.

Peeta promised me he'd come back to me, and although he can't guarantee that, I believe him. All he has to do is last three days in there, and then we're coming to get him. Three days. A long three days.

Haymitch and I are in the mentor's lounge, where we are connected to a huge party full of sponsors. It's never ending. There's a bar and tables for sponsors to talk to mentors, and a large television to watch the Games on. Inside the lounge is a smaller television but it is more quiet, and has a keypad you can use for sending your tribute items. Hopefully, we'll need to use this sometime after the bloodbath.

Haymitch and I are waiting for the Games to begin before heading out there. I want to see Peeta, and make sure he makes it out okay. If he dies in the bloodbath, I don't know what I'll do.

I watch him rise on the platform, squinting because of the bright sun in the arena. His platform is surrounded by water, which makes me happy because I taught him how to swim. Finnick will be alright too. I can only hope Finnick can really be trusted. Haymitch's plan better work.

Claudius Templesmith's voice is loud surrounding the arena, counting down from sixty. The arena is a beach, with a jungle surrounding it. It's odd, but I know why it's set up like this. Plutarch knows Finnick will be the best at swimming, allowing him to reach the platform first and defend the supplies. Genius, really.

"50."

Peeta takes in his surroundings and immediately smiles. "Thank you Katniss," he yells and blows a kiss into the air. He's thanking me for teaching him to swim.

"40."

Finnick is six spots to his left, and Johanna is 4 spots to his right. They can all see each other. Beetee is behind the cornucopia, so Peeta can't see him. Hope he's a good swimmer.

"30."

30 seconds until I find out if my boyfriend is able to live. The longest 30 seconds of my life.

"20."

Peeta sets his feet in place, getting ready to dive into the water. His suit is a wetsuit, and he has a gold necklace hanging from his neck.

"10."

"9."

"8."

"7."

"6."

"5."

"4."

"3."

"2."

"1."

"Come on kid, please don't die," I hear Haymitch whisper the second the gong goes off, alerting the tributes they can leave their pedestals without blowing up.

Peeta wastes no time. The second he's able to go, he's off and swimming towards the cornucopia. About five of the tributes are stuck on their pedestals, Beetee being one of them. But Johanna, Finnick, and Peeta are swimming rapidly.

Finnick reaches the cornucopia first, and immediately kicks around the weapons lying in a pile, in search of his infamous trident. He grabs itin time to spin around and duck under someone's punch. It's the man from District 9.

Finnick dodges punches and kicks with ease, and eventually stabs his trident through the man's gut.

The camera switches to Peeta, who is in a fist fight with the man from District 10. The man is closer to the cornucopia, so after kicking Peeta in the gut, he runs towards weapons. Finnick doesn't see him from the other side of the cornucopia. This doesn't look good.

"Run Peeta, what are you doing?" I yell at the television.

Peeta charges after the man just as he grabs a knife. Peeta slams his body into District 10's, and knocks him off balance, knife hitting the sandy surface.

He punches and kicks at Peeta, which Peeta dodges and deflects easily until one punch hits him in the nose, gushing blood onto his chin. Peeta sweeps his legs out from under him just in time for Finnick's trident to sink into the man's chest.

"Hey Cinnamon Buns," Finnick says with a smirk. "Did you miss me?"

"Of course, now come on, let's get Jo'," Peeta says. Johanna is on the other side of the cornucopia, yelling at Beetee for being lazy.

"If you don't get your lazy ass out here right now, I'll come over there and tear you a new one!" Johanna yells. Beetee sinks into the water, and starts swimming over.

"Jeez Jo', you don't have to be so angry," Finnick says jokingly.

"Shut up Finn, or you're next," she says. "Oh Cinnamon Buns, you don't look too good." She's right. His face is a bloody mess.

"I'm alright, just need to clean my face a bit," he says as he dips his hand in the water and scrubs his chin and upper lip.

"Besides your face, everything else looks great though," she says as she stares at his butt again.

"Katniss is gonna kill you if you win," Peeta says back laughing. He's right. Even if she doesn't win, I'll kill her again for this.

"Oh lighten up," she says. "Staring at Finn gets old after a bit."

"Hey," Finnick says. "You can never get enough of Finnick."

"Guys," Beetee warns. "We can talk later. Let's get the weapons we need and dump the rest in the water."

They collect knives and axes, tridents and swords, and dump whatever is leftover in the water. Peeta has a long sword with a pointy tip, perfect for stabbing things with. Or people.

"Let's set up a base out here in the open. We'll see how many are left, and form a plan from there," Johanna says.

The cannons start now. Boom! 1. Boom! 2. Boom! 3. Boom! 4. 4 cannons, 4 dead tributes.

They hang out around the outskirts of the Jungle, waiting for nightfall to see who's left to kill or survive against.

Finnick teaches Peeta how to catch fish with a net he wove earlier, and together they get five fish. They clean it together, and start cooking the fish.

"We're going to need water," Peeta says. "This is salt water, we can't drink it."

"Have your girlfriend send some for us," Johanna says.

"I don't know if we have sponsors. We'll see if she sends some, but in the meantime, we might need to look for some," Peeta says.

I look at Haymitch, and he shakes his head no. "Let's look at the arena map and plant types. See if there's water anywhere."

We begin looking for water on the map, but the only water there is the large saltwater ocean. I go over the list of animals in the arena, while Haymitch looks at the plants to see if any berries or anything have drinkable liquid. What I find is perfect.

"Haymitch!" I yell to him from across the lounge. "Look," I say as I point to the animal with teeth that curve inward. "It drinks by biting into something. Look at the trees and nuts, Haymitch."

We go over the trees together, and find that there is only one type, which is filled with water.

"How can they get to the water though?" Haymitch asks.

"Simple. My father used to take me out to the woods to get maple syrup as a kid," I say. "It was sweet and good in a bowl of oats. We used a spile to get to it. I bet they can use one for water too."

"Let's send them a spile then!" Haymitch says as he rushes over to the pad. "We were sent some money already, so we have enough. Wanna do the honors?"

I go over, and tap the 'purchase' button on the pad. A couple seconds later, a parachute drops down in front of Peeta. I go back to watching them.

By now it's gotten dark out, and soon, we'll see who died today. Peeta notices the parachute and opens it, calling the others over to him.

"What is it?" Finnick asks. Peeta keeps looking at it carefully.

Come on Peeta. I told you this story about me and my Dad, you know what it is.

He keeps staring at it for five minutes. I know he knows what it is, he's just searching for the right answer.

"Maple syrup," he says.

Suddenly, he grabs a machete and runs towards the jungle. Yes Peeta!

He starts whacking away at the tree, cutting a slot so the spile can go into the tree. He wedges it in, and waits. After a couple seconds, water begins to pour out. He drinks some, and the others soon follow.

"Thank you Katniss," he says to the sky and blows another kiss.

"You're welcome Peeta," I find myself whispering.

Once they're done drinking, they go to sit back down at their base. The anthem plays in the arena, and in the sky shows who died today.

First is the woman from District 5. She died by Brutus smashing her head into the cornucopia and dumping her body into the water before swimming off with two knives in hand, meeting up with Cashmere at the edge of the jungle.

The second person to die was Cecilia from District 8. She was drowned by Cashmere as she went towards the jungle.

District 9 and 10's men are next.

The remaining tributes are Cashmere, Brutus, Beetee, Finnick, District 6's woman, Johanna, Seeder, and Peeta. Only eight left in the arena. And only two and a half more days until we come to save you Peeta.

Peeta has first watch along with Finnick, while Johanna and Beetee sleep. Finnick and Peeta talk for a little, until the conversation takes an interesting turn.

"You really love her, huh?" Finnick asked Peeta.

"Yes," Peeta replied immediately. He didn't need to think. "I love her more than anything in the world."

"I love someone too," Finnick says. "I can't tell you who, or Snow might hurt her, but I love her so much it hurts. I thought you and Katniss were using the lovers thing as a strategy, but once I saw how you looked at Katniss, it was the same way I looked at my girl."

"I'm sorry Finn," Peeta says as he pats his back brotherly.

Finnick goes to sleep an hour later, while Peeta is still awake. Peeta doesn't seem to mind at all.

I'm brought to tears when I see him take his necklace off and open it. I didn't know it opened, but Haymitch explained that Effie wanted him to have something to remind him of home, and Peeta requested it.

The necklace has a picture of me and Prim together inside of it. Haymitch is tearing up too, but he won't admit it.

"I love you both. I'll be home soon," he says as he kisses the picture and puts it back around his neck. The second it's closed though, he hears a snap in the woods. It reminds me of the snapping we heard in our first Games before the girl from 5 was killed.

Peeta stands up and draws his sword quickly, positioning himself towards the jungle. Everyone is asleep, and he can't try to wake one of them up without dropping his guard.

Brutus breaks through the branches first, swinging a long knife at Peeta. Peeta dodges and ducks each attack, but Brutus is fast. Some of these swings are getting close to Peeta. Too close for me to feel comfortable.

"Come on boy, hang in there," I hear Haymitch say beside me.

Peeta swings his sword at Brutus, but he's fast. Cashmere is nowhere to be seen, which worries me.

Brutus gets close enough to slash Peeta's head, but as his knife comes down, Peeta's hand grabs the blade, saving his life but damaging his hand in the process. He slashes Brutus's legs with the sword, leaving him immobilized.

He quickly backs up, scanning the area for Cashmere. His hand is bleeding badly now, but he can't think about the pain. He doesn't even look like he cares at the moment.

He darts over to Finnick and shoves him awake as fast as he can, then gets up to defend himself if Cashmere comes out.

"What happened?" Finnick asks as he grabs his trident and prepares himself for a fight too.

"Brutus attacked us," Peeta says. "He got my hand good, but other than that, I'm fine. I got him in each of his legs, he's not walking. Cover me while I finish him off."

"I'll do it Peeta. You cover me," Finnick says.

"What? Why?" Peeta asks.

"You haven't killed anyone yet. It makes you an odd Victor. You earned your spot here, yet you're still pure. I'm sure you have nightmares from the Games but… Having nightmares about the people you murdered? You shouldn't experience that if you don't need to," he says.

I like Finnick a lot. I can tell he's been through something too, and it's haunted him the same way Johanna's haunted. He wants to protect Peeta from this for as long as he can.

"Alright," Peeta accepts. "Thank you."

Finnick goes to Brutus and plunges his trident in Brutus's chest, killing him quickly.

"Come on, I'll wake the others. We need to move so they can get the body. We need to clean your hand too," Finnick says.

They go wake Johanna and Beetee and help Peeta clean his hand.

"Jeez Cinnamon Buns, that's a deep cut," Johanna says. "Can you feel your fingers?" she says as she wiggles his fingers.

"No actually, I can't feel it at all. It's numb," he says with a frown.

"Fuck," Johanna mumbles under her breath. "Well you won't bleed out, but you have to keep it clean."

"Thanks Doc," Peeta says. They head over to Finnick and Beetee, who are talking among themselves.

"Beetee wants to move into the jungle, and look for tributes. Everyone left should be alone, right?" Finnick asks.

"As far as I know, yes," Johanna answers.

"Haymitch, what about Seeder? I thought she was your friend?" I ask him.

"She's not a fighter, not like the rest of them in there. She'd only get in their way, and I have to save the boy," he says with a pained look in his eyes.

They start traveling into the jungle, hunting for tributes. It's weird seeing them act as Careers, but I guess they are the Careers if you think about it.

They move for close to an hour when Finnick's trident hits the force field, stopping his heart.

"Everyone move!" Peeta yells as they all surround him. Johanna moves back but Beetee stays by him, so Peeta shoves Beetee out of the way.

He pinches Finnick's nose and begins… kissing him? No, he's breathing into his mouth. Finnick's chest is rising and falling. Peeta starts pushing on Finnick's chest over and over, repeating these steps for what seems like forever.

After a few minutes, Johanna says, "he's dead Peeta, give it up."

But Peeta doesn't stop. He keeps pushing and pumping air into his lungs until Finnick gasps for breath and opens his eyes. He's breathing by himself now. Peeta's gasping from exerting himself.

"Holy shit Cinnamon Buns, where did you learn that?" Johanna asks.

"Katniss's little sister, Prim, taught me. It's called C.P.R. It's my first time ever doing it," Peeta says. "Thanks for being my test dummy, Finn."

"Yeah, no problem," Finnick says sarcastically. "Thank you though. You saved my life."

Finnick pulls Peeta into a hug, and I think I'm ready to cry again.

"Don't thank me, thank Prim," Peeta says laughing. "Try not to die again though, if you could."

"I don't plan on it," Finnick says as he lets go.

"I might have to run into the force field myself if it means Cinnamon Buns's lips on mine," Johanna says with a wink.

"Oh come on Jo', I can do C.P.R. too. I'm sure you'd rather have Finnick's lips on yours rather than Cinnamon Buns," Finnick says. "No offense Peeta."

"None taken," Peeta says laughing.

They take a break and set up camp where they are. It's morning now, almost noon. In less than two days, I'll see Peeta again.

Boom! A cannon goes off, signaling the death of a tribute.