THE CAREERS, Aston and Alice, from District 1 met with the two girls nearby the swamp. The pair seemed to have been sleeping in the trees, jumping down when they saw Cherry and Frankie walk past. With five Tributes left in the arena, it sparked a new found determination within the Careers; they wanted to win more than anybody, and they already had an advantage of winning.

Aston and Alice spent most of their energy taunting them, shouting insults as they chased after Cherry and Frankie. The Careers both had machetes, Cherry had Dottie's axe, and Francesca had her trident. Usually, Francesca's plan wouldn't be to run, as it gave their enemies a boost of confidence, though Aston and Alice were skilled and relentless.

As expected, Cherry and Francesca could only run a certain route before eventually arriving at the swamp because the forest encircled the water. Francesca remembered that Cherry stated she could swim, and Francesca was confident that the two could out-swim the Careers. They would be safe in the cornucopia, having a secure space to shoot at the Careers from the deck— they just had to make sure they got to the deck first. 

"Swim as fast as you can!" Francesca insisted, as the two reached the water. Aston and Alice were only a distance behind, though Frankie believed that they could make it to the Cornucopia in time. Maybe the Careers would give up when they reached the shoreline and saw Cherry and Francesca on the deck. Or maybe, Cherry and Frankie would lead them straight into the jaws of the alligator.

Francesca was so focused on surviving that she forgot that Kipper and Nico had died here; their bodies had been taken by the aircraft, leaving them behind in the arena. Frankie's body was aching now, every kick of her legs required an insane amount of energy and power; she made sure to keep checking if Cherry was beside her.

As expected, Francesca had made it to the deck, pulling herself up onto the surface with a groan as she caught her breath. Her eyes immediately flickered to the Careers in the distance and, to her surprise, they hadn't given up at the shoreline... they were swimming after them.

Frankie's eyes darted to Cherry, who was only a few kicks away from reaching the deck though she was clearly struggling to keep up. Her pace was getting slower and Cherry kept lifting her head to inhale breaths of oxygen. Francesca encouraged, kneeling down and reaching out her hand, "Come on! Hold my hand, Cherry."

Francesca looked at the Careers in the distance, both of them gaining on the two girls. Though, as Frankie opened her mouth to encourage Cherry once more, she noticed a shadow beneath the water. The plan would work, as the Careers were swimming straight towards the Cornucopia as the alligator was awakening... though so was Cherry.

"Cherry!" Frankie called out in distress, reaching her arm out further though the girl was still struggling to grab it as she continued to swim. Frankie's shout of panic must've alerted the Careers too, as they began swimming faster. They were gaining on Cherry now, just inches away from reaching her.

Francesca's eyes darted at the water wildly, trying to catch a glimpse of the alligator's shadow beneath the depths of the surface once more, though she could no longer see the Mutt. Not being able to see it made Frankie panic more; the predator could be anywhere, it was only a matter of when it was going to jump out of the swamp. They just had to pray that they were lucky enough to not get caught.

"Fran!" Cherry shouted, her voice muffled by the gurgling sounds of water as she was dragged back by Aston. His arms were wrapped around her, fighting her in the water and repeatedly dunking her head under to create a somewhat confused dysphoria for her.

In an instant, Francesca dropped her trident on the deck and found herself diving back into the swamp; Alice wasn't too far behind, though Frankie noticed she was becoming more hesitant with every swim because of the fear of the alligator. And somehow, Francesca was behind Aston, strangling him from behind and using all her strength to push him down below the surface of the water. He punched and kicked, and Francesca knew that he was trying to grab his machete from his pocket.

"Go!" Francesca shouted through heavy pants; her eyes on Cherry, "Go to the deck!"

As they fought, the machete in Aston's pocket kept scratching at Frankie's thighs and legs as the blade pointed out of his belt. She winced, trying to keep the lock her arms had around Aston's neck, though the boy was older and stronger than she was. Aston's plan seemed to be to kill Cherry, as he kept trying to swim away from Francesca and towards the deck. Though, Frankie grabbed and pulled him back towards her every time, leaving scratch marks on his wet skin.

Francesca sent another punch to his face, her hand aching with bruises. Aston used his leg to kick Frankie in the stomach, forcing her away from him; he took his opportunity of freedom to swim towards the deck. Francesca coughed, trying to swim after him though she couldn't catch her breath; the force from Aston's kick seemed to have jolted the oxygen out of her weak body and she could only watch as Aston swam away. Towards Cherry.

And suddenly, from within the water, the large Mutt opened its jaws and stopped Aston from reaching Cherry. The girl fell onto her back in fear, keeping away from the edge of the deck as much as possible, though she kept her eyes on Francesca, who seemed to be in the middle of the chaos.

BOOM!
Aston's screams were lost in the massive jaws of the alligator, as the water splashed and the Mutt disappeared once more. Frankie glanced behind her at Alice, who had stopped swimming at once. Her face was filled with horror and fear, though she quickly swallowed these emotions and began swimming back to shore.

"FRAN!" Cherry shouted, and she was stood to her feet now. With her left hand, she was pointing to the water below her, obviously seeing a shadow that Frankie hadn't noticed yet. The blonde girl looked down, her heart sinking as she caught ripples of a shadow directly below her.

A new found adrenaline kicked in, allowing Francesca to swim at lightning speed towards the deck. With every kick, she was thankful for her survival. Cherry grabbed her trident, turning the weapon around and offering it out for Frankie to old onto. Francesca reached out and grabbed her hands around the slippery pole, as Cherry began pulling the trident towards her, along with Frankie.

"Here!" Cherry dropped the weapon, immediately kneeling forward to grab Frankie underneath her arms. The girl's body was limp with weakness, unable to lift herself at all. Cherry groaned, struggling to lift Francesca out of the water as she panted and coughed for air and Cherry could've sworn that she noticed another glimpse of a shadow in the water.

Cherry began pulling Francesca quicker, her breathing becoming more desperate as she Frankie tried to help climb onto the deck herself. Cherry fell back, continuing to pull Frankie on top of her when...

SPLASH!
The water erupted as the Mutt attacked once more. Its jaws had locked itself around Francesca left leg, refusing to let go as it tugged and pulled at her flesh. 

"FUCK!" Francesca was screaming loudly, holding onto Cherry's skin so tightly as the girl pulled her body away faster. Though, as Cherry was pulling, Francesca's leg was being gnawed and ripped through the beast's teeth. Francesca continued to yell inaudible words, as Cherry grabbed the trident beside her; she held onto Frankie with one hand and, with the other, she launched the trident at the alligator's face. The weapon landed straight between the monster's eyes, and its jaw unlocked from Frankie's limb as it returned back into the water.

Cherry panted, before pulling Francesca into the centre of the deck. The pain was unbearable and, as Cherry dragged her body along the wood, Frankie could only scream. Her vision was soon clouded by agony, a darkness blurring her eyes closed.

a/n:
FRANKIEEE

side note: thank you so much for reading this far, i appreciate you all so much!! the 72nd hunger games is ALMOST OVER, i can't wait to write the quell