kill for your love - the hunger games

(033) juniper hale, the failure that you are

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

KILL FOR YOUR LOVE.

act two.

(chapter thirty-three, juniper hale, the failure that you are)

the arena, 75 ADD.

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

AND JUNIPER'S QUESTION WAS answered the next morning as Beetee called them all over to huddle around him. It seemed, after all the hours of fiddling with his wire, he had come up with a plan. But was it a plan to destroy the arena or something else?

"I think we'll all agree our next job is to kill Brutus and Enobaria," he stated. "I doubt they'll attack us openly again now that they're so outnumbered. We could track them down, I suppose, but it's dangerous, exhausting work."

"Do you think they've figured out about the clock?" Katniss asked.

"If they haven't, they'll figure it out soon enough. Perhaps not as specifically as we have. But they must know that at least some of the ones are wired for attacks and that they're reoccurring in a circular fashion. Also, the fact that our last fight was cut off by Gamemaker intervention will not have gone unnoticed by them. We know it was an attempt to disorient us, but they must be asking themselves why it was done, and this, too, may lead them to the realisation that the arena's a clock," Beetee told them methodically and slowly. "So I think our best bet will be setting our own trap."

"Wait, let me get Johanna up," Finnick said. "She'll be rabid if she thinks she missed something this important."

After their conversation last night, Johanna had finally fallen asleep for what must have been the first time since the bloodbath. So, when the woman joined their huddle, it was no surprise to Juniper to see purple bags residing underneath her eyes. That was the first time she had slept since the start of the Quell. 

Beetee shooed them all back a bit so he could have room to work in the sand and he swiftly drew a circle, dividing it into twelve wedges. It was a map of the arena and even though it wasn't as precise as Peeta's leaf one with his delicate strokes, everyone could understand it as they peered down to look at it. 

"If you were Brutus and Enobaria, knowing what you do now about the jungle, where would you feel safest?"

"On the beach." Juniper rolled her eyes. "Considering the jungle is filled with things that could kill you."

"So, if it's the safest, why aren't they here on the beach?" Beetee asked as if he was teaching a class. 

"Because we're here," an impatient Johanna stated. 

"Exactly. We're here, claiming the beach," Beetee said. "Now, where would you go?"

Katniss spoke up as she said, "I'd hide just at the edge of the jungle so I could escape if an attack came. And so I could spy on us."

"Also to eat." Finnick nodded. "The jungle's full of strange creatures and plants. But by watching us, I'd know the seafood's safe."

Beetee smiled at them all as if they had exceeded his expectations as he said, "Yes, good. You do see. Now, here's what I propose: a twelve o'clock strike. What happens exactly at noon and at midnight?"