I wake up with a smile on my face. I keep thinking back to last night and it doesn't come off for a while. I just lay there in bliss, trying to cling on to the one moment of happiness. It soon comes to an end though, when the hot sun, grainy sand, and itchy skin pulls me back to reality.

When I finally get up from my spot in the sand, I see that everyone's gathered to watch a silver parachute descend. I join them. We open it up to find 24 rolls of District 3 bread just like yesterday. We add it together with the rolls left from yesterday and we now have thirty-three in total. We save eight and eat five each. And though no one says it, we know that the rolls will split between us evenly after one more death.

This alliance can't go forever, I think to myself as I chew on the bread. I sneak a glance at Rory, who's looking into the vast jungle ahead of us. Somehow after last night it's hard to look at him. I realize that people would've seen the kiss on camera and- oh no. Mom would never approve. I wince internally at the thought of facing Mom (and Katniss) after she's seen what I've done. I won't face mom though, because I'll be dead. If I want Rory to be crowned, I must be eliminated.

Then there's my theory about the others protecting Rory. What if I'm wrong? What if it's just all a big coincidence- what if...they're just trying to gain our trust and kill us? No, Finnick wouldn't do that...nor Beetee- not even Johanna who's been so mean. No- these people are nice. They aren't my enemies.

Enemies. I close my eyes as a memory resurfaces in my brain. Enemy...I remember. Haymitch. His scowling face, giving me his last words before saying goodbye.

"Just remember who the real enemy is- that's all."

Real enemy. That's right. My real enemy isn't Johanna. It isn't Beetee, and it certainly isn't Finnick. It isn't even Brutus or Enobaria. It's the Capitol. But the fact that I do not wish to attack them does not mean the same for my allies- they could still kill me. Which means it's time that Rory and I break away from the group. And so after Rory and I both finish eating, I take his hand and tug him towards the water.

"C'mon, I'll show you how to swim," I tell him, trying not to make the others suspicious.

He's got the flotation belt on so I won't have to worry about him drowning, but it could make the others suspicious. You normally don't learn to swim with a flotation belt. As I show Rory the steps that Katniss had taught me a few months ago, I notice Johanna watching us from the corner of my eye. But she eventually goes away to take a nap. Finnick's off making a net with vines, and Beetee's working with his wire. I know it's the right time to tell Rory of our escape. I'm about to tell him when he speaks up.

"Hey, the scabs are peeling off."

And it's true. By rubbing sand up and down on the remaining scales, you get them to peel off, revealing a fresh layer of skin underneath. We sit on one of the spokes, our feet dangling in the water. We're close enough to see the others but far enough so they won't hear us if we whisper. Great.

"So um I wanted to tell you, now that there're eight people left, we might as well sever the alliance."

Rory sits there quietly and I wish I can see what's going on inside his head.

"I think Beetee's planning a trap of some sort with his wire, for Brutus and Enobaria. Let's stick around until the careers are dead, then I promise we can go."

"Okay," I agree, even though I want to leave now. His idea seems better anyways because once we leave, we'll have two sets of adversaries to face. Plus there's Chaff who's been doing who knows what. Plus the arena is loaded with gamemaker traps. I then realize that if we leave, Johanna could kill Beetee. She brought him for me, after all. And without me, what purpose does he serve her? I can't try to keep everyone alive. My goal is for Rory to be crowned and he can't do it with anyone else alive.

"Finnick! We found out how to make you look good again!" I say loudly before realizing it could give away our spot to the careers. But then they're outnumbered anyways. They're not going to attack. Together, the three of us help each other to scour the scabs from our bodies. In the end we come out looking as pink as the sun but that's alright. We all apply a thin layer of ointment to protect our skin from the sun, and it doesn't look half as bad as it did with the scabs. Plus it'll camouflage us in the jungle.

After a while, Beetee calls us over to discuss something.

"I think I've figured out how to kill the Careers," he says, coiling and uncoiling his wire repeatedly as if to occupy his hands. We all listen to him like school children.

"They probably won't attack first seeing that they're outnumbered. We could go find them but that'd be real strenuous."

We all nod. Then Finnick raises his hand. Beetee 'calls on him' and Finnick says,

"Wait- let me get Johanna. She'll be furious if she finds out we're planning something without her."

She's always furious, I think to myself. But I don't say anything because I'd be mad too if I were left out of something important.

"Okay, so what's the plan," Johanna says as soon as she joins us. Johanna and her bluntness. Beetee ignores her and continues his explanation in a Socratic manner.

"So, where would you hide if you were them?"

"Them? Are we talking about Brutus and Enobaria or what," Johanna demands. I quietly give her a nod and answer Beetee's question.

"If I were them, I'd be hiding in the outskirts of the jungle so that I could run if there's an attack and also...to spy on us."

"And by watching us they'd know the seafood's safe and have a source of food," Finnick adds. "The jungle's a good source but with all the strange creatures it's hard to tell what's poisonous or not."

"Very good," Beetee says with a smile. "So here's my proposal. What happens at noon and midnight?"

"The lighting bolt hits the tree," Johanna says impatiently.

["Yes. So what I'm suggesting is that after the bolt hits at noon, but before it hits at midnight, we run my wire from that tree all the way down into the saltwater, which is, of course, highly conductive. When the bolt strikes, the electricity will travel down the wire and into not only the water but also the surrounding beach, which will still be damp from the ten o'clock wave. Anyone in contact with those surfaces at that moment will be electrocuted," says Beetee.] (page 359 lines 25~29 through page 360 lines 1~3)

We all sit there quietly, trying to comprehend what he's saying. I don't get much. We have close to no technology back at home and what he's saying is far beyond my level of thinking.

"Will the wire be able to conduct that much power? No offense but it seems pretty fragile," Johanna says.

"Oh-ho I know it will. I invented it," he tells her with a chuckle. "It's not actually wire wire, nor is that tree a tree. You know trees well, Johanna, and you know that it'd be destroyed by now if it were real."

Johanna nods glumly.

"Where are we going to be when it's performed?" Finnick asks.

"Far enough from the water- in the jungle."

"So...if the Careers are far enough they won't be electrocuted?" Rory asks.

Beetee nods.

"Won't that fry all the seafood, eliminating our main food source?" is my question.

Another nod.

"But there's food in the jungle, and we've got sponsors," Finnick points out.

We just sit there, trying to weigh the odds.

"Well we're in an alliance so we won't do it without consent. Let's vote," Beetee finally says. We all look at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move.

"I think we should do it," Rory speaks up. "If it doesn't work, there really isn't anything to lose."

"I'm with Rory," I say. "Even if it doesn't work, we'll kill the seafood and eliminate a food source for Enobaria and Brutus."

Finnick looks to Johanna with an eyebrow arched. He's not moving on without her.

"Okay fine," Johanna finally says. "As Rory said, we really don't have much to loose and it's much better than chasing after them. And I doubt they'll find out our plan seeing that we don't understand it ourselves."

It's set- we're carrying out with Beetee's plan. He tells us he needs to check on the tree before rigging it later. So we break camp and move along the skirts of the jungle up to the twelve o'clock wedge. By looking at the sun's position in the sky, I'm guessing it's around nine o'clock. We head into the jungle of the lighting section. Beetee's physical state is still weak and so Rory and Finnick help support him. They even carrying him from time to time. Johanna takes up the rear since she's the best fighter we've got, and I take lead because...that's the only spot left?

"Plus she can hear the forcefield," Finnick tells Beetee and Johanna. Beetee stares at me with a confused look because he knows I can't hear it. He's the one that told me about the shimmery patch in the first place and you probably can't 'hear' a forcefield. He keeps his mouth shut though.

We trudge up the slope, with beads of sweat rolling down our napes. We soon near the lighting tree, which is easy to spot as it towers over the rest of the jungle. Our spotting of the tree also means we're close to the forcefield. I see a shimmery patch about ten meters away from where we stand. I tell everyone to stop and throw some nuts at the field for confirmation. Sure enough it sizzles before shooting right back at us. I take a stick and draw a line to remind us of the field so that we don't walk into it.

"We should split up," Rory says and we all nod. We agree upon a rendezvous and assign jobs before doing so. Finnick guards Beetee while he examines the three, Johanna taps for water, and Rory and I are in charge of the food. Together we head out in search of edible things. We pick some nuts first then start hunting. We go for the tree rats since we ate them before and know they're poison free, and they aren't afraid of us and so they're easy to catch.

We hear the ten o'clock wave crash into the beach and are reminded of our rendezvous. We slowly wrap it up and head over to the tree. Beetee's still doing something with it and so Rory and I settle in and roast nuts and sear cubes of meat off the forcefield. Finnick quickly weaves some grass bowls for us to put the food in, and Johanna soon joins us with a bowl of her own, filled with water.

The sound of pincers clicking starts in the section adjacent to ours, telling us it's eleven. We all pick up our stuff, knowing it's time to move. We don't go far though, only to the same tree in the blood rain section.

We have a small feast and relax for a moment. Then the lighting starts, signalling noon. Beetee asks me to climb a tree and report back to him what the lighting and tree look like. So I scale a tree that looks sturdy enough and observe what's happening. The sight is quite striking. When the bolt hits the tree, it makes it crackle with electricity, lighting it up in a hot blue-white color. I tell Beetee what I see and he seems satisfied despite my lack of scientific language.

We take a circuitous route to the ten o'clock wave sector. The ground is smooth and damp, swept over by the wave a few hours ago. Beetee works on his wire, and we're all free to do whatever we want now. It's like being let out of school early.

"We're not going to have seafood after we follow through on Beetee's plan- how about we have a seafood feast?"

We all agree to Finnick's great idea and head for the water. With Finnick's guidance, we spear fish, gather shellfish, and even dive for oysters. It's great and it almost feels like we're just hanging out at the beach during vacation. That's far from the truth but we don't have much time to live and it feels great to have fun. I don't actually like oysters, but I love diving for them because the bottom of the water is absolutely breathtaking. Underwater corals decorate the floor, making it bright and colorful, and schools of fish can be spotted here and there. The water is emerald clear, and I wish I could capture the scene forever.

Johanna takes watch while Finnick, Rory and I clean out all the fish we've caught and open up the oysters.

"Hey! I found a pearl!" Rory exclaims and shows us his finding. It's beautiful. "You know, if you put enough pressure on coal, they turn into pearls."

"That's not true," Finnick refutes and I can't help but laugh. Rory's statement sounds like something Effie would say.

"For you," Rory says earnestly, placing it into my palm. I stare into his eyes as I close my fist around it.

"Thank you," I say, "Thanks for the gift."

I then realize Rory is my biggest contender here. We're both trying to get the other out of the arena, and I need to win. I need to destroy his plans of getting me out alive because that can't happen- not under my watch.

"The locket...didn't work," Rory whispers, his voice full of pain. I look away, averting his eyes.

Finnick gathers us for the meal and I let out a sigh as I head over. We're about to start eating when a silver parachute lands in the sand. Inside is a spicy sauce and yet another two dozens of rolls from District 3. Thirty two rolls. We take five each and leave seven. We'll never be able to split those evenly. We stuff ourselves with food and everything tastes so great, including the oysters, which have been improved by the sauce. When we're all full, there are even leftovers. We throw them into the water so that the Careers can't eat them if they ever make it out here. We just leave the shells as they are- the wave'll sweep them away. The five of us sit at the edge of the water and wait. Rory and I sit side by side, hand in hand.

He gave his last speech to me, his attempt to persuade me out of saving him. But he's failed. I was only reminded once more of my mission to make sure he makes it out alive. And I know that nothing I say will persuade him as well. The time for persuasive gifts has come to an end. I still have his pearl though, secured in my belt in a parachute along with the spile and medicine. I hope the pearl makes it back home. Surely Katniss and Mother will know to give it back to Rory before burying my dead body.

~A/N~ Hey guys...it's finally here. I'm so so soooo sorry for the late update- I promise I'll do one tomorrow. I was reading Divergent and I couldn't put the book down!! I'm so sorry and I'll upload again tomorrow. Two more chapters to go!!

That's all for now. See you next chapter :)

-Monica

For those of you in the one shot contest, I forgot to mention what I'm assessing the epilogues on. I'll be looking for creativity, mood/tone, character portrayal, and general writing quality. There's a month before the entries are due but I'd start writing if I were you. PM me if you have any questions :)