"Dahlia Blossom. Don't let the name fool you. She's better known as the Black Dahlia. And she didn't earn that nickname by smiling and looking pretty."
"She sure knows how to perform for the camera."
"Because she knows how to play the game. She alwa...
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"This entire arena seems to be laid out like a clock with a new threat every hour, but they stay only within their wedge." Katniss explains while the large group of allies make their way across the rocky edge to the Cornucopia. "It all starts with the lightning. Then the blood rain, fog, monkeys. That's the first four hours. At 10, that big wave hits from over there."
"Wiress, you're a genius." Finnick compliments the woman as he brushes past her, Dahlia patting her shoulder in acknowledgement. The two were relieved to be reunited with the rest of the Alliance, shifting some of the pressure of protecting Katniss onto the other members.
"Look, the tail points to 12." Peeta informs them, using his blade to gesture the direction of the Cornucopia's tail.
Katniss follows where he had indicated and notes, "That's where the lightning strikes at noon and midnight."
Beetee, still clutching to his precious coil, steps up on the rocks to survey the jungle area and asks, "Strikes where?"
"That big tree." Katniss clarifies, pointing to the distinct landmark looming in the distance.
"Good." Beetee mutters to himself but doesn't explain any further. It was clear that a plan was being cooked up in that clever brain of his, one that he wasn't ready to share just yet.
As the group spread about the Cornucopia, Wiress breaks away to sit by the water. She hugs her knees to her chest and sings, "Hickory dickory dock. The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one, the mouse ran down. Hickory dickory dock."
Her rhythmic chanting fades into background noise for the tributes as Peeta draws a rough sketch of the arena in the sand. Katniss remains next to him while Johanna, Alaric, Beetee, Finnick and Dahlia gather around to listen as he begins to unravel each section, "So twelve to one, lightning. Then one to two is blood. Then fog. And then monkeys."
"And then ten to eleven, the wave." Katniss adds on before turning to Alaric, Beetee and Johanna. "What about everything else? Did you guys see anything?"
The newcomers shake their heads as Johanna glumly replies, "Nothing but blood."
"We didn't care to find out more either." Alaric mumbles gruffly with his arms crossed.
"It doesn't matter. As long as we steer clear of whichever sector is active, we'll be safe." Peeta points out optimistically, glancing up to the rest of the tributes.
"Yeah." Finnick murmurs in agreement, sounding less hopeful than Peeta had been as he bumped shoulders with Dahlia. "Relatively speaking."
No sooner had Finnick finished his sentence than Wiress inhaled sharply in horror, her song coming to an abrupt end. Startled by her sudden silence, the group turns to find Gloss removing a knife from the poor woman's body. Katniss doesn't hesitate to shoot at the Career but Gloss moves just in time for the arrow to miss his chest. The sharp tip does penetrate his shoulder, but doesn't kill him as Katniss had hoped. He still has enough strength left in his body to flick his knife at the Black Dahlia. Yet the blade never reaches her. Alaric covers his daughter's body with his own, a grunt leaving his lips as the knife sinks deeply into his back.
