PLATINUM • THE HUNGER GAMES ²

| 21. THE TIDE DRAWING

BOOK TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

( THE TIDE DRAWING )

THE SUN WAS GLISTENING THAT HOUR and the waves cascaded elegantly on the sanding shoreline. Finnick sat by me sharpening his trident with a little pebble he had collected a moment before. He smiled as he scraped away at the metal, finding peace in the warm sunlight and enjoying the calm before the eventual storm. He poked at me every so often, just checking over me in case I completely zoned out — or entered my little dream world of nightmares. Instead, as he kept an eye on me, I shone the edge of my spear against the light, occasionally pointing it at his eyes. The glances he sent me afterwards, although, were not one's of playfulness. Perhaps it wasn't the best time to be playing games.

I leant back against the ground to stare at the spotless blue sky above us. You couldn't even see the artificial atmosphere textures anymore, it was just grey cloud and the openness of space. Even the sand felt comfortable against my back. Even the water appeared inviting.

All of a sudden, from the water Katniss came sprinting out at as. "Get up!" She ordered, dragging me from my comfortable resting position on the ground. "Get up — we have to move."

"What exactly do you want now?" I asked, huffing as I clambered to my weak feet.

"The arena," she continued, "It's a giant clock. Look, look at the segments around the Cornucopia. They're not just wheel spires, they're hands on a clock."

"There's twelve," Peeta added, nodding his head in support for his girlfriend, "Like the cannons we heard last night."

"It all explains why the fog wouldn't follow us past that hill."

"It all explains nothing," Johanna said, walking in front of Katniss to face eye to eye with her. He face hostile, she said, "How do we know you're just lying to kill us off?"

I ran it all through my head. If only Corey were here, he would have had it all figured out in ten minutes. The spires, the cannon shots, the area specific dangers. Maybe Katniss was right for once? And maybe I was actually beginning to believe her.

"That means the safest place to be is the cornucopia," I said, nodding at the two star-crossed lovers. "If anyone sees us, I count seven. Unless they're bloody stupid, they wouldn't attack when we've got the upper hand."

"Then that's where we're headed," Finnick stepped in, placing a hand carefully on my scorched shoulder. I glanced up at my friend, noticing how his confidence hadn't faded one bit. He clutched his trident with pride in our misfit group, smiling endearingly at the couple and then grinning silently at Johanna and I.