The Girl Who Sparked the Capitol - Book 2 - Peeta

Part Three: Chapter 19

"We have a big bathtub," Alessia answers.

"You must," he says. "You like the arena?"

"Not particularly. But you should. They must have built it especially for you," Alessia says with an edge of bitterness. It seems like it, anyway, with all the water, when Alessia bets only a handful of the victors can swim. And there was no pool in the Training Center, no chance to learn. Either you came in here a swimmer or you'd better be a really fast learner. Even participation in the initial bloodbath depends on being able to cover twenty yards of water. That gives District 4 an enormous advantage.

For a moment they're frozen, sizing each other up, their weapons, their skill. Then Finnick suddenly grins. "Lucky thing we're allies. Right?"

Sensing a trap, she's about to let her arrow fly, hoping it finds his heart before the trident impales her, when he shifts his hand and something on his wrist catches the sunlight. A solid-gold bangle patterned with flames. The same one Alessia remembers on Haymitch's wrist the morning she began training. She briefly considers that Finnick could have stolen it to trick her, but somehow she knows this isn't the case. Haymitch gave it to him. As a signal to Alessia. An order, really. To trust Finnick.

Alessia can hear other footsteps approaching. She must decide at once. "Right!"  Alessia snaps, because even though Haymitch is her mentor and trying to keep her alive, this angers her. Why didn't he tell her he'd made this arrangement before? Probably because Peeta and her had ruled out allies. Now Haymitch has chose one on his own.

"Duck!" Finnick commands in such a powerful voice, so different from his usual seductive purr, that Alessia does duck. His trident goes whizzing over her head and there's a sickening sound of impact as it finds its target. The man from District 5, the drunk who threw up on the sword fighting floor, sinks to his knees as Finnick frees the trident from his chest. "Don't trust One and Two," Finnick says.

There's no time to question this. Alessia works the sheath of arrows free. "Each take one side?" she says. He nods, and she darts around the pile. About four spokes apart, Enobaria and Gloss are just reaching land. Either they're slow swimmers or they thought the water might be laced with other dangers, which it might well be. Sometimes it's not good to consider too many scenarios. But now that they're on the sand, they'll be here in a matter of seconds.

"Anything useful?" Alessia hears Finnick shout.

Alessia scans the pile on her side and find maces, swords, bows and arrows, tridents, knives, spears, axes, metallic objects she has no name for ... and nothing else.

"Weapons!" Alessia calls back. "Nothing but weapons!"

"Same here," he confirms. "Grab what you want and let's go!"

Alessia shoots an arrow at Enobaria, who's gotten in too close for comfort, but she's expecting it and dives back into the water before it can find its mark. Gloss isn't quite as swift, and Alessia sinks an arrow into his calf as he plunges into the waves. She slings an extra bow and a second sheath of arrows over her body, slides two long knives and an awl into her belt, and meets up with Finnick at the front of the pile.

"Do something about that, would you?" he says. Alessia sees Brutus barreling towards them. His belt is undone and he has it stretched between his hands as a kind of shield. Alessia shoots at him and he manages to block the arrow with his belt before it can skewer his liver. Where it punctures the belt, a purple liquid spews forth, coating his face. As Alessia reloads, Brutus flattens on the ground, rolls the few feet to the. water, and submerges. There's a clang of metal falling behind her. "Let's clear out," she says to Finnick.

This last alteration has given Enobaria and Gloss time to reach the Cornucopia. Brutus is within shooting distance and somewhere, certainly, Cashmere is nearby, too. These four classic Careers will no doubt have a prior alliance. If Alessia had only her own safety to consider, she might be willing to take them on with Finnick by her side. But it's Peeta she's thinking about. She spots him now, still stranded on his metal plate. She takes off and Finnick follows without question, as if knowing this will be her next move. When Alessia is close as she can get, she starts removing knives from her belt, preparing to swim out to reach him and somehow bring him in.