Catching Fire: Peeta's POV

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games begin!" Claudius Templesmith sounds.

A minute to look at my surroundings. That's all I get to figure out the hell I'm supposed to do when I'm surrounded by water. Water is as far as I can see. A pink sky above me. The sun heats the water making the arena feel humid. The Cornucopia shines in front of me. The Cornucopia sits on a circular island with small, thin strips of land coming off the island. There is, I think, twelve strips each with a set of tributes. In the distance, you can see a white sand beach and behind that a lush green forest. I look for Katniss but can't see her; she must be on the other side of the Cornucopia.

The gong sounds. I freeze. How am I supposed to get to the strip of land if I can't swim? Really what the hell am I supposed to do? If I get off my pedestal I'll surely drown. After a few minutes, Katniss appears with Finnick by her side. Katniss starts to drop her weapons to the ground. I see Finnick's lips move, but I don't hear what he says. Finnick drops his weapons to the ground and then says something else, bending down to pat Katniss's stomach.

Finnick dives in the water, swimming toward me. When he's close to my place, I see something shining on his wrist. The golden bangle Haymitch was wearing, meaning he is our ally now. I let him help me back to the shore. When we reach dry ground, Katniss helps pull me up.

"Hello, again," I tell her giving her a kiss. "We've got allies."

"Yes. Just as Haymitch intended," she answers.

"Remind me, did we make deals with anyone else?" I ask, trying to make it seem casual.

"Only Mags, I think," she says nodding to the elderly woman.

"Well, I can't leave Mags behind. She's one of the few people who actually likes me," Finnick laughs.

"I've got no problem with Mags. Especially now that I see the arena. Her fish hooks are probably our best chance of getting a meal," Katniss says.

"Katniss wanted her on the first day," I say nodding toward Katniss.

"Katniss has remarkably good judgment," remarks Finnick, bending down to help Mags out of the water.

Mags says something with the word bob then pats her purple belt.

"Look, she's right. Someone figured it out," Finnick says, pointing to District Three's Beetee.

Beetee looks to be having a hard time staying above the water but managing with the purple floating device.

"What?" Katniss questions.

"The belts. They're flotation devices. I mean, you have to propel yourself, but they'll keep you from drowning," Finnick explains.

Katniss looks at Beetee. I know she wants to wait and let Beetee and Wiress join us. However, Wiress is nowhere in sight.

"We should get going," Katniss suggests sighing slightly.

She hands me one of the bows and a sheath of arrows she had grabbed from the pile of weapons. Next, she hands me a knife for myself. Mags tugs on Katniss's sleeve to get her attention. She mumbles something I can't understand and by the looks of it Katniss doesn't either. Katniss hands her the awl Mags kept gesturing to. She puts the handle in her mouth and reaches up to Finnick. Finnick tosses a net over his shoulder then hoists Mags up onto his back, gripping his weapon of choice, a trident, in his free hand. We run away from the Cornucopia toward the vast, dense, green forest. I guess a more appropriate word would be jungle.

It has trees I haven't seen in any of the other Districts. The trees have smooth bark and few branches. The earth ground is black and soft, covered with vines with colorful flowers. The bright sun is hot, with the air is warm and humid. I take a lead through the dense growth, cutting a path through the vegetation. Finnick is right behind me. Katniss behind him. After roughly a mile Finnick requests we stop and rest.

The trees hide the Cornucopia from view, and Katniss climbs a nearby tree to get a better view. She looks toward the direction of the Cornucopia for a few minutes. Then, slides to the ground.

"What's going on down there, Katniss? Have they all joined hands? Taken a vow of nonviolence? Tossed the weapons in the sea in defiance of the Capitol?" Finnick asks, his trident in a defensive position across his chest.

"No," Katniss says shortly.

"No, because whatever happened in the past is in the past. And no one in this arena was a Victor by chance," he glances at me. "Except maybe Peeta."

I know he says that because my first choice would be to try to make alliances instead of killing them. Besides, I would have very easily died last year trying to protect Katniss from Cato. Then there was the whole blood poisoning incident.

I see Katniss and Finnick planning an attack in their heads against each other from Finnick's comment about me. "So how many are dead?" I ask before anything can happen.

"Hard to say. At least six, I think. And they're still fighting," Katniss answers.

"Let's keep moving. We need water," I say.

"Better find some soon. We need to be undercover when the others come hunting us tonight," Finnick reasons.

That settled, we continue trekking upward through the unknown jungle. After another mile, we still haven't found any trace of fresh water.

"Maybe we'll have better luck on the other side. Find a spring or something," Katniss suggests.

We continue up the hill. I swing my knife to cuts some vines from our path, and there is a sharp buzzing. An electric current runs up the knife and into my arm. The last thing I remember is being thrown back as everything fades to black.  

Edited