╔═══════════════════════════╗
REAPER
( chapter ten ) ╚═══════════════════════════╝

"SO BESIDES BRUTIS AND ENABARIO, WHO'S LEFT?" Katniss questioned as she looked at the other allies gathered around her. Nadia kneeled on one knee as she rested her sword on her leg, ready to fight any other Tributes that dared to come at them.

Peeta shrugged. "Maybe Chaff, just those three."

"They know they're outnumbered." Finnick started. "I doubt they'll attack again. We're safe here on the beach."

The Martell woman nodded her head in agreement with his statement. "So what do we do?" She inquired, glancing at all of them for an answer before offering one herself. "Hunt them down?"

The bow welding girl opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Beetee. "I have a plan." He stated, a moment of silence passing between them as they waited for him to continue. He glanced at them and resumed speaking when he saw that they were waiting on him. "Where do the Careers feel safest? The jungle?"

Johanna shook her head immediately, remembering her own experience. "The jungle's a nightmare." She answered him with a tint of disgust in her tone.

The District 12 male Victor spoke up, readjusting his tight grip on his weapon, which he held close in precaution of having to use it anytime he felt the need to. "Probably here on the beach."

"Then why are they not here?" Beetee asked rhetorically waiting for the rest to catch up.

"Because we are; we claimed it." Nadia replied, though he already knew the answer to his own question.

The older man nodded his head. "And if we left they would come. Or stay in the treeline." His eyes scanned their expecting faces. "Which in just over 4 hours will be soaked with water from the 10 o'clock wave. And what happens at midnight?"

Katniss shrugged. "Lightning strikes that tree." She answered, gesturing to the large tree visible from where they currently resided.

"Here's what I propose." They all looked at the man in anticipation to see what he had come up with. "We leave the beach at dusk. We head to the lighting tree. That should lead them back here." He picked up to copper wire resting at his feet. "Prior to midnight, we then run this wire from the tree to the water. Anyone in the water or on the damp sand will be electrocuted."

Nadia grabbed a handful of the sand and let the grains fall through her fingers before she looked back to Beetee. "How do we know the wire won't burn up?"

An amused chuckle escaped his lips. "Because I invented it. I assure you, it won't burn up."

The Latina met Finnick's gaze and they shared a silent discussion on whether or not this was the best call. She shrugged her shoulders before turning back to the group. "Well it's better than hunting them down. What can we do to help?" She inquired.

"Keep me alive for the next six hours." The District 4 Victor answered the pair. "That would be extremely helpful."

─

Nadia let out a tired sigh as she hiked up the rocky mountain, her blonde companion ahead of her and the genius behind her. Sweat dripped down the side of her face and she hastily wipped it with the back of her hand.

One foot in front of the other, her dangerous mind wandered to the mission she was assigned by President Snow. She had to admit, she was reluctant about betraying the people she had grown close to in the days they were thrown into this death trap. They had survived together and had each other's backs since almost the beginning.

The harsh truth was that she had a job to do, and if she failed, there was no doubt the president would have her killed.

But something in the woman had changed within the time she spent with these people. They were just like her, trying to survive the situation they had been put in. It wasn't any of their faults.

Nadia was torn. Does she kill Katniss, along with everyone else to get out of here alive? Or does she spare the mockingjay, resulting in her inevitable death at the hands of the old bastard who calls himself king?

She had no more time to dwell on her troubles as loud music blasted within the arena, drawing all of their attention to the displays of those who had passed in the games. Images popped up and Nadia glanced at Finnick, guilt building in chest, knowing that soon, his picture will be up there too. She hadn't even recognized the storm of emotions that swirled in her like a tornado, too focused on surviving that she hadn't given herself the time to actually feel.

The music stopped and they had a moment of silence for the fallen soldiers who lost their lives in this fucked war. Sorrow fired within her chest like a gun, the bullet bouncing off her rib cage and echoing throughout the shell of her body. Her throat closed up as her emotions got the best of her. She felt tears in her eyes, but didn't dare let them fall. You are a weapon, and weapons don't weep.

The Martell woman let out a deep breath, gathering herself and burying her emotions in the deepest and darkest parts of her mind where she doesn't dare to wander for fear of not being able to find her way back.

She was the first to move, continuing the tiring hike and the group followed her without a word being said as they resumed their trek into the forest, towards their ultimate destination.

It wasn't before long that they found it, and they all stopped behind Beetee as he admired the large tree. "Minimal charring," he mumbled to hinself, fiddling with the glasses that rested atop his nose, "it's an impressive conductor. Let's get started." They followed his footsteps and he wrapped the coil around the trunk, twisting it with delicacy.

"Typically, a lightening strike contains five billion jolts of energy." He glanced back at his fellow allies. "We don't want to be anywhere in the vicinity when this hits." Picking up the wire that connected to the tree, he turned to Katniss and Johanna. "You two girls go together now. Take this." He hands it to the raven haired woman, who looks at him with wide eyes. "Unspool it carefully; make sure the entire coil is in the water. Then head to the tree at the two o'clock center. We'll meet you there."

Peeta steps forward. "I'm gonna go with them as a guard."

"No, no, no." Beetee shakes his head frantically. "You're staying here to protect me. And the tree."

"No, I need to go with her." He motions to Katniss. Nadia raises an eyebrow; her gut is telling her something, but she doesn't know what it is.

"There are at least three careers out there." The older Victor argues back.

The wind whispers a warning to her, but it's too quiet to decipher.

The blonde persists. "Finnick and Nadia can protect you on their own."

"Yeah, why can't Finnick, Johanna, and Nadia stay with you and Peeta and I can take the coil?" The Martell woman's eyes glance between the two lovers. Why won't they just listen to Beetee? He's trying to keep us alive.

"It's his plan," the Latina spoke up, breaking her streak of silence since they had arrived there, "we all agreed to it."

"Is there a problem here?" Finnick backed her up, gazing at the two who argued against the group with an almost threatening tone in his voice.

Katniss didn't say anything for a moment. "No, there's no problem." She stepped towards Peeta and planted a gentle kiss on his lips, like she was promising him something. "I'll see you at midnight." She stated as they stared into each other's eyes, holding a secret conversation with just their looks, before Johanna tore them apart.

The bow weilding girl reluctantly left, leaving a trail of the coil behind them. Nadia watched until they were no longer in sight. She glanced at Finnick, only to see him already looking her way. He had a hard expression on his face, but his eyes held a softness to them and contradicted his body language. They held each other's gaze for an eternity before he left to check the perimeter. The woman let out a deep breath as she closed her eyes, trying to compose herself.

Now would be the perfect time to strike. She could take out Peeta and Finnick, leaving Beetee vulnerable to her. When the two women returned, she would have the element of surprise and it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to eliminate them. Then the lightening tree would take care of the rest.

It was simple, too easy. All she had to do was make the first move; kill Peeta and Finnick, the strongest ones in their group. After that, it was a peice of cake.

But as her eyes landed on the boy she had once known as a child, running along the shore barefoot as he chased her, she realized she couldn't do it. Couldn't put her life above his, because deep down he meant the same to her as he did all those years ago. Deep down, the little girl she thought had died as soon as she entered the arena for the first time, was revived, and that was the part of her that had changed.

Her heart nearly stopped beating as memories of the two flooded her mind like a broken dam, drowning her. Flashes of his hair, his smile, the beach, the sand between her toes, the taste of the salt water on her lips.

Drowning in memories.

Drowning in him.

A collection of sea shells, the wind in her hair, his laughter, his arms around her as he finally caught up to her.

Drowning in nostalgia.

Drowning in her past life.

Being lifted into the air, flying, the way he looked up at her, the way she looked down at him, the innocence, the youth, the ghosts of who they once were.

Drowning...

Drowning...

A wet tear slid down her cheek, leaving a hot streak in its wake; her sword slipped from her grasp and clattered to the floor.

[ it's been soooooo long i'm so sorry ! but i'm back and i plan on finishing this book. i hoped y'all enjoyed this chapter after waiting forever, thank you for sticking around ! ]