WHILE THE TRIBUTES SLEPT, LEIA WAS SPEAKING TO HAYMITCH. She had just seen Plutarch, and she was supposed to deliver the message back to the Abernathy man. However, the District 12 Mentor was not happy because it was not good news that she brought. In fact, it was literally no news. "He said he would know within the first two days."

"He says he needs more time," she told him, but she was growing more and more anxious herself. With a third of the Tributes already dead, she was scared that these Games were not going to last long. They needed to get in there soon if they wanted them all out alive.

Haymitch groaned, running a hand through his greasy hair. "We don't have more time. We need to know now so that we can notify them ASAP."

"Hey, I'm just the messenger," she reminded him. He shouldn't be getting mad at her. She had no power over what was happening, and that frustrated her more than anyone.

"I know, I know," he said with an apologetic tone. He sighed, finally giving her something to tell the Head Gamemaker in response. "Just remind him that the longer we wait, the more likely it is that we don't get everyone out. I know that matters to you."

She nodded. It did matter to her. A lot. And she didn't care who knew it anymore. She and Finnick had been so intent on hiding their relationship for so long, but she honestly did not care anymore as long as he made it out alive. She made her way back to her room, waiting a little bit before heading back to Plutarch because she didn't want to seem too suspicious.

She sat in front of the team, waiting anxiously for something, anything to happen. Finally, Katniss stirred, sitting up and realizing that she fell asleep while on watch. She sighed, rubbing her eyes, but she found herself wide awake when she saw a fog coming toward them. She was ready to let it pass over them, but when she reached out to touch it, it seemed to sting her.

She cried out in pain and got the others up, telling them that they had to run. However, Peeta was too weak to do so, and Katniss couldn't carry him. Finnick already had Mags on his back, meaning that they were almost definitely screwed. That was when Mags hopped off of the Odair man's back. She kissed him on the mouth, and he watched in confusion and then shock as she walked straight into the fog.

"Please go, Finnick. Please," Leia begged, tears falling down her face at Mags' sacrifice. He couldn't let it be for nothing. He had to go. He pulled Peeta onto his back, and they began running again, screaming when the fog made contact with them. All of a sudden, the mist stopped, as if hitting an invisible wall and then fading.

They stumbled into a small pond behind them, and the boils on their skin caused by the fog disappeared as soon as they made contact with water. As Finnick lay in the pond, he reached his hand up to brush his lips weakly before standing up.

However, they had about half a moment of rest before they were attacked by freaking mutt monkeys. Finnick seemed to be holding his own, but that didn't change the fact that Leia was pacing around the room, wanting to crumple to the floor. The group sprinted toward the beach, which was somewhere in sight. Leia gasped all of a sudden when a monkey flew at Peeta's back, and she gasped once again when something — no someone — flew out of the bushes, taking the blow instead.

They reached the water finally, and the Mellark boy pulled the woman who sacrificed herself for him into the sea, holding her as they stared up at the sky. Leia inhaled a shaky breath when she realized that it was one of the Morphlings. She was covered in paint, but the blood running down her neck was apparent. Peeta held her as she died, making the process as peaceful as he could before closing her eyes.

The Games were devastating, even if you didn't know the people dying. It was just such a sad sight to see. No one deserved that torture — no one.

《✵》

LEIA'S NEXT SCHEDULE MEETUP TIME WITH PLUTARCH WAS APPROACHING. She headed toward the Gamemaker building. She would never be allowed in, but she was able to stand outside. She walked around to the back of the building and stood by a tree, checking around to make sure that no one was watching. There, she waited until the Heavensbee man could find a time to step away. Finally, she saw him exit the building and make his way toward her, scanning their surroundings as he did so.

"Haymitch wants me to remind you that the longer that they're in there, the less likely it is that we get everyone out," she informed him. She had just watched Johanna, Wiress, Beetee, and Blight get caught in blood rain, and the District 7 man ran into the force field and died. "We already lost Cinna, the Morphlings, Blight, and Mags."

Plutarch nodded. "I'm aware of that. I'm trying to get your husband and his friends out, but you must remember that Katniss and Beetee are the main priority. She is the face of the revolution, and he can get us inside the Capitol once we're in District 13."

"I know. Just...please hurry," she begged, not even bothering to correct him when he said that Finnick was her husband. He might as well be at that point. She did not want to pressure him because she knew that he was trying, but she also wanted him to know that there were a lot of people relying on this plan working out.

He took a deep breath, rubbing his jaw as he thought for a moment. Finally, he told her, "Tonight."

"You're sure?" she questioned, her eyebrows shooting up. That was extremely soon, and she was ecstatic. She was already planning out everything she was going to send Finnick, the note included. She wanted him out of there as soon as humanly possible, giving him the least amount of chances to get killed.

Plutarch winced, biting his lip. He did not seem so sure but he confirmed nonetheless, "It might be a bit soon, but I'll make sure they're ready."

"Thank you," she replied, and he threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. If it weren't for him, Finnick might have ended up dead in the arena. She honestly owed him everything, even though she was hesitant about the plan before. He seemed shocked but patted her on the back for a moment.

When she returned back to her room, Johanna, Wiress, and Beetee had joined Finnick and them, and Katniss seemed extremely worried about the District 3 woman because she seemed to be going crazy. She kept saying 'tick-tock,' which she had been doing for the majority of the time since the Games started. Leia had no idea was she meant, but it all made sense when Katniss's eyes widened.

"It's a clock. Wiress, you're a genius!" she told the woman before running back to the others to explaining everything. "It's a clock!"

She brought them to the Cornucopia to explain while they salvaged some supplies. It had been nearly cleaned out, but there were still some useful things left. Beetee had had this coil of wire strapped to him the entire time, and he sat, playing with it while he listened.The Cornucopia was obviously the center, and each one of the triangles leading out from it represented a segment that each had an hour associated with it. At the right time, in the right section, a challenge would happen like blood rain, the fog, and the monkeys. At midnight, the giant tree was struck by lightning, and the cycle would start over again.

The camera cut to someone in the water, and Leia realized that the Careers were headed toward them. Gloss was the first to reach them, and he snuck up behind Wiress, who was sitting on the edge of the land. Leia breathed out, "No."

Wiress let out a gasp, and they all whipped around to see Gloss slitting the woman's throat. Katniss was quick to respond, sending an arrow flying into the man's chest. Cashmere then came running at her, but Johanna was faster. She dug her axe into the woman's chest, and the blonde fell to the ground. Knowing that the other Careers would be there in seconds, the five spun around hesitantly, waiting for someone to strike.

But then the island began to spin.

At first it was slow and manageable, but then it sped up. Peeta was first to fly, and Finnick went diving toward him. Johanna and Katniss were flung the other way, and the Mason woman had to dig her awe into the rock to keep them from going tumbling into the sea around them. Leia saw Enobaria fly through the air and land in the water somewhere, but Brutus was nowhere to be seen.

Finnick was holding Peeta with one arm and his trident with the other. It was stuck in the ground, holding them steady, but it would not hold for long. The Calore woman gasped when she saw that Katniss had released Johanna's hand and plunged into the water.

That was when the spinning stopped.

Johanna immediately ran over to where Katniss was emerging, and Finnick and Peeta were still recovering. Beetee had also made it somehow, though Leia was unsure of his method. She didn't really care, though. She was just glad everyone was alive. She released a breath she had not even realized that she had been holding. "What the hell are you doing, Plutarch?"