How It All Goes Down
- Katniss gets up. She feels tenderness toward Peeta but has to let it go so she can concentrate on getting through the Games.
- The group gets 24 more rolls of bread from the outside.
- Katniss stresses about their group. She knows working together has to be short-lived; there can only be one winner. She keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop.
- She takes Peeta aside under the pretext of teaching him swimming skills. Really it's a chance to talk. She thinks they should ditch the others right away, but he thinks they still need them for a while longer.
- The water seems healing and their scabs (from the poison fog) start to come off.
- Katniss agrees with Peeta for the time being. They call Finnick over so all three can soak off their gross scabs.
- Then the allies get together to make plans with Beetee. He outlines their strategy: to kill their remaining opponents before they get killed themselves.
- Beetee walks him through his strategy, which is figuring out where the others are likely to be and taking them out sneakily.
- The group decides that the others are most likely close by.
- Beetee says they should use the precious metal thing (which is really a container of special wire) to make a trap that is triggered at the twelve-hour mark by the lightning strike. He says they can use the wire to electrocute almost the whole area. Everyone in the targeted area will die.
- They will have to be far away so they don't get caught.
- The others are skeptical, but Beetee has answers to all their questions. They agree to give it a shot.
- The team gets started. They have to make their way to a special tree, where the lightning strikes every time, which will conduct lightning through their wire.
- The team briefly discusses the force field, and Katniss tells them where they need to stay to be safe from it.
- They arrive at the tree and get to work. They have to establish their camp, guard themselves, and set up their plan.
- Beetee tests the force field, but nobody else really understands what he's doing.
- They know another danger is coming at 11 hours. They're not sure what, though, so they have to temporarily retreat to another area where they will be safe. They go off to have lunch in the other area until 12 has passed, then they go back to the beach where they were before.
- The others rest while Beetee fine-tunes the weapon.
- They gather a ton of seafood to eat, since the fish in the water may die when they electrocute the arena. Peeta finds a pearl in an oyster and gives it to Katniss.
- The two make eye contact, and Peeta realizes that Katniss is still determined to save his life over her own. They're both sad.
- They get 24 more rolls of bread.
- They eat and eat, then they sit. Everyone is somber and thoughtful.