Catching Fire belongs to Suzanne Collins. I do own baby Mellark and Katniss loving Peeta. This is fanfiction, none of it is what happened in the actual book. In other words, this is fake.

Chapter 26

The anthem begins, but there are no faces in the sky tonight. The audience will be restless, thirsting for blood. Beetee's trap holds enough promise, though, that the Gamemakers haven't sent in other attacks. Perhaps they are simply curious to see if it will work.

At what Finnick and I judge to be about nine, we leave our shell-strewn camp, cross to the twelve o'clock beach, and begin to quietly hike up to the lightning tree in the light of the moon. Our full stomachs make us more uncomfortable and breathless than we were on the morning's climb. I begin to regret those last dozen oysters.

Beetee asks Finnick to assist him, and the rest of us stand guard. Before he even attaches any wire to the tree, Beetee unrolls yards and yards of the stuff. He has Finnick secure it tightly around a broken branch and lay it on the ground.

Then they stand on either side of the tree, passing the spool back and forth as they wrap the wire around and around the trunk. At first it seems arbitrary, then I see a pattern, like an intricate maze, appearing in the moonlight on Beetee's side. I wonder if it makes any difference how the wire's placed, or if this is merely to add to the speculation of the audience. I bet most of them know as much about electricity as I do.

The work on the trunk's completed just as we hear the wave begin. I've never really worked out at what point in the ten o'clock hour it erupts. There must be some buildup, then the wave itself, then the aftermath of the flooding. But the sky tells me ten-thirty.

This is when Beetee reveals the rest of the plan. Beetee and Johanna will take the coil down through the jungle, unwinding the wire as they go. They are to lay it across the twelve o'clock beach and drop the metal spool, with whatever is left, deep into the water, making sure it sinks. Then run for the jungle. If they go now, right now, they should make it to safety. Finnick hands the coil to Johanna.

Johanna and I are the fastest and most sure-footed on the jungle floor. At least we would be if I wasn't six months pregnant.

"We'll just drop the coil and come straight back up," Johanna tells us.

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

"Ready?" Johanna asks Beetee who nods his head, before they run off.

"So, what are we doing." I ask Finnick. Peeta grabs my hand and rubs circles on it.

"We wait." Finnick answers.

"Peeta, can you go tap a tree?" Finnick asks. I'm kind of leery about this plan, but it's not like I can one right out and say it. Peeta looks me in the eyes and I can tell by his face he is leery too. What is Finnick playing at though? He did not have to rescue Peeta, I would not have been any wiser if he did not.

"I'll be right over there," Peeta tells me pointing to a tree that's easily visible from my spot.

"Okay, I'll be fine Peeta." Finnick nods at Peeta for him to go on. Peeta goes over and starts to tap the tree. Finnick glances over me quickly. Then he runs over to me and puts his hand over my mouth. He lays me on the ground while I'm squirming everywhere. What is he doing? Is he going to kill me?

"Finnick," I try to say against his hand.

Finnick sits on my arms and pulls out a knife. Now I know he's not playing. I kick and try to scream to no avail.

"Ssh," Finnick mutters to me. Finnick takes the knife and digs it into my left arm. How does he manage to look so calm? I scream in agony, but no one can hear.

"Shut up. Do you want everyone finding us?" Finnick drops the knife, throws something else, and picks up moss then ties it around my mouth tightly. I try screaming to warn Peeta buts it's no use. Finnick moves behind Peeta quickly and cuts into his arm.

By the time I get up, because of my pregnant belly, Finnick is wrapping the coil around his trident. I hobble over to Peeta whose lying on the ground next to the tree. I'm losing blood, but the moss is definitely helping. Finnick doesn't even pay much attention to us and that's when I realize while I was freaking out, he grabbed my bow.

"I heard them through here!" A masculine voice yells. Finnick stares at us and quickly runs over to us then pushes our heads down. Then he does something I really wouldn't expect; he takes the knife and swiftly cuts his arm in the same place he cut both Peeta's and mine.

Why did he cut each of our arms in the same exact spot and it appears to be close to the same depth. The trackers. He cut where the trackers are, and got them out. That means the game makers cannot track us? Why would he cut our trackers out? He wouldn't, unless we were going somewhere, which we can't since we are trapped in the hunger games.

Brutus and Enobaria runs past us, but they do not see us since we are hiding in the underbrush of the jungle. Why doesn't Finnick kill them? He has a weapon, two actually, and I have seen him kill people without thinking twice. Finnick lets them pass. He lets them get away, if they saw us they would kill us, but he doesn't even kill them. What is Finnick doing besides going to psycho-vile?

Finnick gets up and takes a quick overview of us.

"Stay down, I mean it." He doesn't even sound like Finnick, he sounds like some head peacekeeper. His eyes even look so different, darker, instead of the usual lightness. The alliance is over. Finnick and Johanna must have had an agreement to turn on us tonight. I knew we should have left this morning. I don't know where Beetee stands. But I'm fair game, and so is Peeta. I am going to kill him, why trick us like this? How did I let myself believe him and trust him? Screw Haymitch.

Peeta looks at me, his eyes blazing into mine with a new look of ferocity. He wasn't afraid; he is pissed off. Peeta grabs one of my arrows and cuts the moss from around his mouth carefully, then cuts it from around mine.

"Are you okay?" He asks me urgently as soon as he cuts it off.

"I'm fine, except for this cut in my arm. Are you okay?" I ask hugging him. He stands and picks me up with him. "I'm fine. Where did Finnick go?"

"He went that way, towards Brutus and Enobaria." I tell him quickly as we make a move in that direction taking my bow from the stash in different underbrush closer to the lightning tree. As soon as I grasp my bow, I hear screams. Peeta and I look at each other, grab each other's hands, and take off as fast as possible towards them. The closer we get to where the screams sound like they are coming from a guy. Not sure which guy since there are somewhere around five left.

When we get close enough to get a glimpse of what's happening, Finnick and Brutus are battling it out, Enobaria stands around looking at the plants, not willing to help him despite him yelling at her to come to his aid. Somehow his arm being cut deep is barely fazing Finnick. He takes his trident and hits him squarely in the chest. Brutus falls to the ground struggling to breath. It's clear he is going to die soon. Finnick then goes for Enobaria and she matches him with her sword. Peeta and I look at each other.

As soon as those two are done fighting, the winner will be coming after someone else next and I do not want that to be us. Peeta and I crawl for a ways and then we get up and run as best as possible with me tagging along with both of us bleeding. We make it to the lightning tree before stopping to take a break. Finnick returns in a few minutes and I aim my arrow at him, he simply points to his cuff that Haymitch gave him. How the hell does he have a face that neutral when I am aiming an arrow at his head?

"Katniss, I promise I just need to do something quickly. It won't take long I promise." He's begging me, and honestly want to know what he's going to do. I nod my consent but keep my arrow aimed at him in case he tries something. He picks up his trident and gets a piece of the wire, a different piece than the one that was taken. What is he doing? Normally I would shoot him, but I'm really confused and want to solve this mystery.

He wraps the wire around the trident and looks at the tree. "Katniss what is he doing?" Peeta asks me quietly by my side.

"I don't know; I'll shoot him if he aims at us though."

Finnick seems to be looking for something in the sky. No the force field. He's looking for a chink, he's looking for a chink in the force field. What would lightening do to it? It would.. Blow it out maybe? I look at the lightning tree waiting for it to give its blast. After a few minutes the sky stars to darken, just above the tree, and the lightning strikes.

Finnick jolts around and falls to the ground. Peeta and I are thrown back. I land on top of him, which I feel kind of bad for. The forcefield starts falling down.

"Come on Katniss!" Peeta yells and we run away as best as possible from the damage.

Peeta and I finally stop to take a breath. I am breathing to deep. A hovercraft goes to the area with the lightning tree and the arm drops down to pick someone up. I guess Finnick is dead? Then the arm drops down two more times. What is going on? Have that many people already died? Why haven't I heard the cannons? Have they went off? They're supposed to go off.

Maybe it's so close to the end they are not even going to fool with the cannons at the moment. Out of nowhere Johanna comes running up to us. I start to grab an arrow before realizing they must have all fallen out. We are officially screwed. Johanna does something that surprises me, she takes my hand and with Peeta hanging on to my other one we run towards where the hovercraft was.

When the hovercraft flys away Johanna screams in rage and starts kicking stuff.

"You wanted to get on the hovercraft with the dead?" Peeta asks her, just as stumped as me. Johanna turns around to face us and glares at him.

"You idiots! We were supposed to be getting out of here!" She screams at us. What is she talking about? There's one victor, unless I win making it two. There is no we making it out of here.

"To go where?" I ask her stumped.

"To-" all of a sudden she stops as a hovercraft appears above us, but she doesn't seem that excited about this hovercraft. Johanna's breathing quickens, and she looks at us rapidly over and over again. What is she freaking out about? We are in the Hunger Games, the time to freak out would have been before we entered the games.

I glance over at Peeta who grips my hand tightly and kisses my lips lightly. What is happening? The hovercraft drops a ladder down, and we all look at each other not wanting to be the first to climb it. Johanna climbs up first after huffing at us and calling us an inaudible word I'm sure wasn't nice.

I glance over at Peeta sadly, and he nods at me then starts climbing the rope with his arms, he struggles a tiny bit because of the cut and his prosthetic leg, but he manages to get up. The entire time I'm climbing right behind him with my healthy arm both of us has our bad arms' hand linked.

When we reach the top, no ones there. No. No. Please tell me they didn't let us get out of the arena to kill us. What are they going to do to us? They aren't going to just let us go. Especially after what Peeta and I did last year and now we're both out alive again. Johanna waves at us from the seats and after glancing at each other we walk over to her.

"What's going on?" Peeta asks her sounding confused.

Johanna takes a deep breath, "Nothing you need to concern yourself with lover boy."

No one shows up. I guess the other tributes died. Or maybe they were picked up by that other hovercraft. After a long time, the hovercraft finally lands, and none of us know where we are at.

The door opens and we all glance around the seating area waiting for someone to get off. Johanna gets off and mumbles something, I again, can't make out. I doubt I really want to hear her anyway. Peeta walks out behind Johanna, still holding my hand I walk out slightly behind him. I thought that maybe we were going to another arena, part of the Quarter Quell, but no. This is something I wasn't prepared for in my wildest dreams.

Standing in front of us is a smiling man in a freshly pressed white suit, a white rose in his lapel, and a sickening smell all around him. He looks the same as he did in the office at my house. Like the words of our last conversation are still fresh off his lips. It is as if he's saying them to me now, convince me. President Cornelius Snow is looking at us smiling, but there is a glint to his smile that I do not like at all. And he is looking right at me.

Okay, first of all, I think I'll do a short Chapter 27 and that will be the end of this book. I will have a Mockingjay to be the sequel for this story. As I said before though, Catching Fire has a twist at the end on the regular book, other than the Everlark throughout the book. Thank you for reading! I get so many reads and I'm so thankful! I'm so sorry for making the authors note so long, but I couldn't resist.

-XOXO KD Howell