Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One

Arena, Day 11 Part 1

It was time to shut down the Hunger Games.

The rebels rose bright and early. Fuyuko called her friends into a huddle in the bunker to discuss how this plan was going to work, a backpack full of all her tech and the two maps slung on her back. Clare was leaning into the wall a few feet away from everyone else, her foot tapping and expression stern. Fuyuko was going to have to be very careful with her to maintain her fragile trust.

"I'm gonna keep Clare in the bunker and do what I gotta do," Fuyuko whispered, gripping the Ionicas' shoulders. "Here's what I need from you guys: the Gamemakers cannot catch wind of what I'm doin'. If they realize Clare and I are missin', they might start puttin' pieces together and they will kill me. You guys have gotta put on a show so they don't notice my absence."

"What kind of show?" Touma asked nervously.

Fuyuko shrugged. "Stir the pot! Start a fight! I dunno, just give 'em what they want."

"...We should try to let the other tributes know we're on their side, too," Marco said. "The boy from 1, the boy from 8, and the girl from 11. No one knows where they are, right? But we want to give them a chance to leave, don't we?"

"They're definitely on our side," Faqir confirmed. "We only learned about the rebellion by eavesdropping on them. The girl has a necklace with that symbol on it."

"Last we knew, they were in the ruins, but after the earthquake..." Haruka shrugged. "Who knows where they went?"

"And we want to draw the Careers away from the caves, anyway," Piero added. "If they figure out you're in here, it won't end well. We have to find a way to occupy the Careers' attention, show the last three rebels where to find us, and keep the Gamemakers entertained..." He sighed, brows furrowing. "Anyone got any ideas?"

For a while, the group was quiet, everyone trying to figure out an effective plan now that the day was finally here. Fuyuko racked her brain for something that would guarantee all three of these outcomes, momentarily thrown into a panic the longer everyone was silent.

"...What if we lit the jungle on fire?" Haruka suddenly spoke.

Piero looked over at him, caught off-guard. "I'm sorry, what?"

Haruka shrugged, embarrassed. "S-sorry, I don't know what I was thinking..."

"...No, wait..." Marco murmured, thinking. "...That's...th-that's brilliant."

"...The symbol of the rebellion is fire," Hinata whispered in realization. "Holy sh*t. If the others have been paying attention, they'll pick up on it right away. They're all smart, I've met them."

"And it'll tell them and the Careers exactly where we are," Piero said slowly, as if he was becoming more aware of the merits of the idea over time. "They'll...they'll come right to us. Why wouldn't they...? Evan...E-Evan implied they were on the hunt already."

"The Capitol'll go nuts for a huge spectacle like the entire jungle goin' up in flames," Fuyuko added. "And a fight between their two 12s in the middle of it...? So long as you keep ahead o' the flames and don't inhale too much smoke..."

"Marco was right," Piero said in shock. "That's brilliant...!"

Faqir looked proud. "Good idea, boyfriend! I knew you were the smart one!"

Haruka blushed, leaning over to him. "I-I don't know, I-I was just thinking about things I'm good at and literally all I could think of was 'figure skating' and 'arson!' ...Accidental arson!"