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KILL FOR YOUR LOVE.

act two.

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

the arena, 75 ADD.

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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?"

"The lightning hits the tree," Juniper answered.

"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."

There was a long pause as everyone processed Beetee's plan. Juniper figured it was not only a good way to get rid of Brutus and Enobaria, it was also a good facade for his true intentions. Destroying the arena so Plutarch could retrieve them. But could it work? Beetee's wire looked too precious to be able to conduct the amount of power the man was talking about. And how would he exactly destroy the arena? Everything seemed to be a blur, especially for everyone else as they stared at him with furrowed brows.

But Peeta took a stab at it as he asked, "Will that wire really be able to conduct that much power, Beetee? It looks so fragile, like it would just burn up."

"Oh, it will. But not until the current has passed through it," Beetee said. "It will act something like a fuse, in fact. Except the electricity will travel along it."

"How do you know?" Johanna asked. She was not convinced and at the moment, neither was Juniper. But then Juniper realised she wasn't supposed to be convinced by Beetee's plan. Plutarch made it so no-one knew the full story. It was only luck that she had figured out more than she was told. 

"Because I invented it," Beetee told her. "It's not actually wire in the usual sense. Nor is the lightning natural lightning nor the tree a real tree. You know trees better than any of us, Johanna. It would be destroyed by now, wouldn't it?"

"Yes," she said glumly.

"Don't worry about the wire," Beetee tried to assure them. "It will do just what I say."

"And where will we be when this happens?" Finnick asked. 

"Far enough up in the jungle to be safe."

"The Careers' will be safe, too, then, unless they're in the vicinity of the water," Katniss pointed out.

"That's right."

"But all the seafood will be cooked," Peeta said. 

"Probably more than cooked," Beetee told him. "We will most likely be eliminating that as a food source for good. But you found other edible things in the jungle, right, Katniss?"

"Yes. Nuts and rats. And we have sponsors."

"Well, then. I don't see that as a problem," Beetee said. "But as we are all allies and this will require all our efforts, the decision of whether or not to attempt it is up to you five."

Juniper furrowed her brows. She wasn't convinced, but she wasn't supposed to be. The plan slightly made sense, but it would involve a lot of death if something went wrong. But how would Beetee destroy the arena? Would he do it whilst everyone was setting up his trap? 

("For worst case scenarios, everyone has varying degrees of information. Your main job is to protect Katniss Everdeen at all costs and then you just listen to Finnick and Beetee.")

Just listen to Beetee. Only Beetee knew what he was doing and all Juniper would have to do was listen to him and pray. There was a reason Plutarch gave them varying degrees of knowledge about the plan and so, Juniper Hale was not supposed to understand anything except that she had to protect Katniss Everdeen. 

"Sure," so she said. "Why not? It's worth a try."

"She's right." Katniss nodded. "If it fails, there's no harm done. If it works, there's a decent chance we'll kill them. And even if we don't and just kill the seafood, Brutus and Enobaria lose it as a food source, too."

Peeta agreed on doing the plan and so, Finnick looked at Johanna with raised brows, the woman sighing before saying, "All right. It's better than hunting them down in the jungle, anyway. And I doubt they'll figure out our plan since we can barely understand it ourselves."

With that settled, Beetee wanted to inspect the lightning tree before he had to rig it with his wire. And considering it was nearly nine in the morning and that they had to leave that part of the beach soon, they broke camp and walked over to the section that bordered the lightning wedge, heading into the jungle. Since Beetee was still too weak to hike up the slopes on his own, Finnick and Peeta took turns carrying him with Johanna in lead, Katniss at the rear, and Juniper in the middle with the three men. 

But as they neared the tree, Finnick suggested that the girl from Twelve should take the lead as he explained to Beetee, Juniper, and Johanna, "Katniss can hear the force field."

"Hear it?" Beetee asked as Juniper raised her brow. 

"Only with the ear the Capitol reconstructed," Katniss said. 

"Or are you just going insane?" Juniper questioned and huffed at the narrowed eyes she received from the girl. 

But Beetee didn't question the statement and took a moment to wipe the steam off of his glasses as he said, "Then by all means, let Katniss go first. Force fields are nothing to play around with."

Juniper immediately thought of Blight and scoffed as they continued their trek up to the lightning tree and they knew the minute they got there that it was the one. It towered over the others and seemed to have different bark and leaves than its companions. And so, once they arrived, Katniss began to collect a bunch of nuts from the slope they walked up and began to throw them about, watching as they bounced off of the surrounding force fields, sizzling and burnt. 

"Just stay below the lightning tree," Katniss told them as she threw one up directly above, watching as it hit a force field in the air. 

And so, with that, they divided up duties. Finnick and Juniper were to guard Beetee whilst he examined the tree. Johanna was to go tap the surrounding trees for water. Peeta was to collect some nuts. Katniss was to hunt nearby. And considering the woman from Ten didn't have much to do considering no-one would dare venture into the lightning zone, Juniper swung her sword around with a bored look until everyone came back from their assigned jobs. 

But then suddenly, the sound of the clicking rose again from the sector beside them. That meant it was eleven o'clock and the noises were much louder in the jungle than it was on the beach. Everyone listened carefully. 

"It's not mechanical," Beetee finally said. 

"I'd guess insects," Katniss pondered. "Maybe beetles."

"Something with pincers," added Finnick. 

The noise swelled as if alerted by their proximity and Juniper narrowed her eyes into the dark foliage of the jungle, feeling extremely uncomfortable at the sound. She guessed whatever was clicking, it wasn't anything nice. 

"Well, can we move?" Juniper asked. "I don't fancy that noise and it's less than an hour before the lightning starts."

Everyone nodded and so, they packed their things up and went to the same looking tree in the blood-rain section, squatting on the ground as they ate the nuts and some type of meat Katniss and Peeta had collected. The nuts had a mild, slightly sweet flavour that reminded Juniper of chestnuts, something they had in the Capitol. And then the meat, something from a type of rodent the girl from Twelve had found in a tree, was strong, juicy, and gamey. It was a big difference from the raw seafood they had been having.

Once the lightning began to hit at noon, Beetee requested that Katniss climb a tree to see what was happening. And once she got down a few minutes later, reporting her findings, he seemed very satisfied and suggested moving back to the ten o'clock beach. So they did, the sand smooth and damp from the tidal wave, and Beetee assured them that they had the afternoon off whilst he worked on his wire. 

So, they all took turns napping in the shadowy edge of the jungle, but by late afternoon, everyone was awake and restless and so, considering it might as well be their last chance for seafood, Finnick suggested having a sort of feast. Under his guidance, Katniss and Peeta speared fish and gathered shellfish, even diving for oysters, whilst Juniper and Johanna watched by Beetee, keeping an eye on the jungle and the other surrounding beach areas. It was only when the three came back, arms brimming with fish and other sorts of seafood, that Juniper raised a brow. 

"Well, that definitely is a feast," she said. The three of them looked immensely proud of their catches as they cleaned everything off and laid them out and Juniper couldn't help but shake her head as she fiddled with her sword. 

"Hey, look at this!" Peeta laughed suddenly as he held up a perfect, glistening pearl about the size of a pea. "You know, if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls."

"No, it doesn't." Finnick looked at him like he was crazy whilst Juniper couldn't help but snort. 

As they ate their meal, completely devouring it until they couldn't no more, tossing the leftovers into the water so the Careers' couldn't get it, the anthem began to play with the Capitol seal, but no faces were shown in the sky. And Juniper suddenly had a bad feeling as she figured the audience would be thirsty for blood. It must have been entertaining for them until that point. But they should be enthralled by Beetee's plan. The Gamemakers' must have been as well as they hadn't sent in any other deliberate attacks to get the crimson liquid spilling again. 

So, when it was around nine, they left their shell-strewn camp and crossed to the twelve o'clock beach as they began to silently trek back up to the lightning tree. As they did, everyone began to regret the feast they had prior, their full stomachs making them more uncomfortable and breathless than the humidity of the jungle ever would have. But once they reached the lighting tree, the amount of oysters and seafood they had became the least of their problems. 

Beetee had asked Finnick to assist him as the rest of them stood guard. But before he even attached the wire to the tree, he unrolled a good amount of it and had Finnick secure it tightly around a broken branch and lay it on the floor. Then they stood on either side of the tree, passing the cylinder back and forth as they wrapped the wire around and around the trunk. When it was nearly finished, they could hear the tidal wave beginning and it was then where Beetee gathered them up. 

"I want you two girls to take the coil down through the jungle, unwinding it very carefully as you go," Beetee instructed as he looked at Johanna and Katniss. Juniper eyed them. "Then, you are to lay it across the twelve o'clock beach and drop the metal spool, disregarding whatever is left, deep into the water. And make sure it sinks. Then run to the jungle."

"How about I go with them?" Juniper suggested. She was supposed to protect Katniss. If she didn't do her job, Plutarch wouldn't pick her up from the arena. 

But Beetee stared at her for a while before subtly understanding what she was getting at, nodding as he slowly said, "Yes, maybe Juniper should go as well. That would be... wise."

"I want to go with them as a guard," Peeta said immediately afterwards, disregarding what Beetee and Juniper had agreed on. 

"You're too slow. Besides, I'll need you on this end. Juniper is already guarding and she's a much more skilled fighter than you," Beetee said, but the boy didn't seem even the slightest hurt at the small insults. "There's no time to debate this. I'm sorry. If the girls are to get out of there alive, they need to move now."

Beetee gave Johanna the cylinder of wire as Juniper readied her sword, looking over at Finnick. She gave him a forced smile and a mere nod, the man reciprocating it. Everything would be all right. They just needed to take the spool down to the beach and then head to the jungle. Not too difficult. 

"It's okay," Katniss whispered to Peeta, everyone hearing it. "We'll just drop the coil and come straight back up."

"Not into the lightning zone," Beetee reminded her. "Head for the tree in the one-to-two-o'clock sector. If you find you're running out of time, move over one more. Don't even think about going back on the beach, though, until I can assess the damage."

And so, with that, Juniper took one more look at Finnick before her and the other two went down the slope, disappearing through the foliage. And usually, Juniper would despise the partnering with Johanna Mason and Katniss Everdeen, but there was little conversation going on with any of them as they moved at a good pace. Juniper had her sword ready in her hand in case Brutus or Enobaria wanted to join their trek and it was when they were halfway down that they heard the clicking beginning to rise, indicating it was after eleven.

"Better hurry," Johanna said. "I want to put a lot of distance between me and that water before the lightning hits. Just in case Volts miscalculated something."

"I'll take the coil for a while," Katniss offered. 

"Here."

Juniper looked around the dark greenery of the jungle as Johanna went to go pass the cylinder to Katniss, but as they did, the woman from Ten noticed something moving up above the slope and her jaw clenched when she saw the thin, golden wire snake its way to them, severed at the end. 

Brutus and Enobaria. 

"Dammit." Juniper scoffed as she went to go turn around, but she blinked slightly when she saw, in a split-second, Johanna heaving the heavy, metal cylinder into Katniss's temple, immediately making her drop into a tangle of vines. 

But she didn't question it. She knew Katniss was alive by the way she moaned and groaned in pain as Johanna sat on her chest, pinning her to the ground by the shoulders with her knees. And she didn't question it because of Plutarch. He had told them all different things of what to do, never telling anyone the full story. So, whatever he had told Johanna was beyond Juniper, but she didn't question it, even as the woman from Seven pulled a knife from her belt, stabbing into Katniss's left forearm, twisting it around as if she was trying to find something. 

Her tracker. 

"Don't just stand there, you blithering idiot!" Johanna snapped as she got up from Katniss, whose face was smeared with blood as well as her arms. Juniper spotted the small tracker laying on the floor. "Hale? Come on!"

Juniper turned to face Johanna and then suddenly, they heard two pairs of footsteps raining down the slope. Heavy. Demanding. Threatening. And so, without a thought, the two women dashed away from Katniss, bolting through the identical foliage of the jungle. As they did, hearing Brutus and Enobaria right behind them, Juniper realised that they had left Katniss alone. There was no cannon and they must have realised she would be dead soon. But she wasn't. All Johanna did was cut out her tracker so the Capitol couldn't watch her every single movement. But what would happen to them? Would Juniper and Johanna have time to cut theirs out?

The woman from Ten had no idea as she and the one from Seven continued running. They had no idea what sector they were sprinting through, but they needed to get away from the Careers'. Juniper could easily take on Enobaria and so could Johanna, but Brutus was indeed a brute. Juniper had only survived him because of Blight. But Blight was dead. The other three men were still at the lightning tree. It was just Juniper and Johanna. 

But it wasn't just Juniper and Johanna. It wasn't because as the Hale woman turned around, hearing the rustling of vines and leaves, she realised Johanna had gone a completely different way than her and had disappeared entirely. And Enobaria had completely disappeared. And so had Brutus. 

In. Out. 

In. Out. 

In. Out.

Juniper could feel her heart rising, thudding with every second that passed. She was alone. Every tree, every leaf, every part of the jungle looked identical and it was dark. The only light source was the moon and that proved to be little help. But what sector was she in? She had to be out of the lightning wedge. Was she in the clicking? No, she couldn't hear the clicking. Was it the wave? She couldn't tell if anything was damp. 

In. Out. 

In. Out. 

In. Out. 

But suddenly, as Juniper furrowed her brows, she heard heavy footsteps chase up behind her and so, with a simple pivot of the foot, the Hale woman turned around with her sword raised, intending to kill. But she noticed that the figure that managed to run up behind her had a stump that didn't end in a hand or fingers and he was much taller yet stockier than Brutus. 

"Chaff?" Juniper hissed. She could see his spear glistening in the moonlight, but she wasn't going to kill him like she did with Brent Higgins. "Where the hell have you been this entire time?"

"I-I honestly don't know." Chaff panted as he looked around. "I've just been wandering through the jungle, trying to find you lot."

"We were on the beach, you moron," Juniper told him, but she didn't have time to say anything else. "Look, Brutus and Enobaria went after Johanna, I'm pretty sure."

"So what do we do?"

"We need to go back to the lightning tree. Beetee, Finnick, and Peeta are there."

Chaff barely had a chance to nod before he had to chase after Juniper, who went bolting through the jungle. But she didn't actually know where the lightning tree was. She didn't know where she was and it was a miracle she found Chaff. She could have survived on her own, but the man had managed to live this long in the arena that it was good to have found him. But Juniper didn't fancy hitting a force field like Blight did and so, she tried to be careful, but her legs were racing faster than her brain could produce thoughts. 

But it was only when another figure went crashing into where they were that Juniper forced herself to stop, her and Chaff immediately raising their weapons. But the hint of ashy-blonde, the stunning blue eyes. It was Peeta. Why wasn't he at the lightning tree? He must have seen the wire come bouncing back to them.

"Where is she?" Peeta immediately demanded, his voice more aggressive than Juniper could ever expect from a boy like him. "Juniper, where's Katniss?"

"Why aren't you with someone?" Juniper growled as she watched him race towards her. Even in the faint moonlight, she could see that his jaw was clenched with his eyes stone-cold. "Why aren't you with Finnick or Beetee?"

"Forget them!" Peeta shouted. "Where's Katniss?"

Before Juniper could even answer or lie to the boy, a cannon boomed around, signifying someone had died. And as the Hale woman's brows furrowed, she saw the look of shock, disgust, and... rage... fill his face, causing her to look over her shoulder. 

And as she did, she pursed her lips at the sight of Chaff slowly dropping to his knees, a spear embedded so deep in his head that it went all the way through, the tip peeking out from his forehead, dripping in blood and brain matter. And as his corpse collapsed fully, she saw the faint, dark figure of Brutus standing further away from them. 

But before Juniper could even swing her sword around with the thought of killing Brutus stuck in her mind, it was the measly boy from Twelve that rushed forwards first. And Juniper had seen rage before. She knew what it looked like, what it felt like, and what the aftermath consisted of. But whatever anger, whatever agony that filled Peeta Mellark at Chaff's death was beyond Juniper's brain. 

But then she soon realised, as she watched Brutus charge at Peeta that Brutus was charging at Peeta. And that Peeta was attempting to fight Brutus. Brutus. A man so filled with blood-lust, whose only dreams were about killing, who was at least in his forties. Peeta. A boy whose soul was sweet, innocent, who sang a prayer with Juniper for Cashmere Nicholo's body, who was only seventeen. Juniper knew who was going to win the fight and so, she raced after Mellark. 

Peeta already had his machete out and was attempting multiple aggressive, clumsy swipes at Brutus, who managed to dodge every single one. The older Victor didn't have a weapon, only his fists, whilst Peeta had a sharp blade. But that didn't change Juniper's mind about attacking as she quickly pushed the boy away, making it so she was the one facing Brutus. 

Quickly, she raised her sword up with the intention of doing what she did to Brent, but the man from Two managed to grasp her wrist, twisting it as it forced her to drop the long blade, Juniper groaning at the situation she was put in. Despite this, however, she drew her foot back and rammed it into Brutus's knee, making him let go of her hand.

But the heel to the knee wasn't enough to make Brutus howl as he was filled with suffering and so, bending down slightly, he managed to wrap his arms around Juniper's waist, tackling her down to the earthy, spongy ground as he suffocated her with his muscly, large build.

In. Out. 

In. Out. 

In. Out. 

Juniper let out a guttural cry as she raised her hands up, digging her nails into each of Brutus's cheeks as she dragged them down, ripping away the flesh as blood seeped through his skin. The man let out a mere groan as he tried to push her away. But as he got up, looking around for his spear, he suddenly let out a pained whimper, causing Juniper to squint her eyes. 

She could barely see the glistening of the blade as it impaled Brutus in the abdomen, crawling backwards slightly as whoever dug the sword into the man had pushed him forwards, making him collapse. And Juniper had to blink twice as she saw who had done it. But it couldn't be. It just couldn't. 

Peeta Mellark. 

Peeta Mellark stood in-front of Juniper, her sword in his hand as it dripped with blood, the boy himself panting slightly as he stared at Brutus's writhing body. And then soon, the Victor from Two went limp. A cannon fired. 

"Katniss!" Peeta howled as he dropped the sword, running off into the darkness of the jungle, leaving Juniper by herself.

And as she was surrounded by two dead, bleeding corpses, it took her a while to even blink, to even shut her dropped jaw. Peeta Mellark had just killed someone. Peeta Mellark had killed Brutus. Juniper panted as she took deep breaths, but then suddenly, she realised Peeta had run off. He was by himself. He wasn't with anyone. Was Katniss all right? She had to be. Everyone else had to be because the two cannons that fired belonged to Brutus and Chaff. But Peeta was by himself. Finnick surely must have found Katniss by now with Johanna back at the tree with Beetee. 

It was only Juniper alone by herself and that she was okay with. But where was Enobaria? That was a question that plagued the woman's mind as she got up, retrieving her bloodied sword as she took one glance at Brutus's and Chaff's bodies before rushing into the foliage after Peeta. 

What if Enobaria got to Peeta? He was the only person without someone to protect him. But he had just killed Brutus. No, he was lucky Juniper was distracting Brutus. He was lucky. Peeta Mellark is always just lucky. So, as Juniper attempted to chase after him, charging through the vegetation, she figured he couldn't have run far considering he was so slow with his prosthetic leg, an injury he gained last year. Not that Juniper ever cared what injuries he sustained that Games. 

But suddenly, as Juniper Hale was by herself, bolting through the jungle like a madwoman with a bloodied sword, a bright, flashing light filled the entire sky of the arena. 

Lightning. Twelve o'clock. Midnight.

But the bright, flashing, white strike of lightning was soon replaced by the burning ebony of fire as everything suddenly erupted at once. The earth exploded into showers of dirt and plant matter. Trees burst into flames. And then, with a force so powerful, so mighty, Juniper Hale went flying backwards, tumbling into a tangle of vines. And as she felt a searing pain in her head, her body not seeming to move despite her mind screaming at it to, Juniper could only think of one thing:

She had failed once more.