The poisonous fog reaches the group while they sleep, and Katniss immediately realizes they must flee. Finnick carries Mags and then Peeta when the fog’s droplets begin burning their skin and attacking their nerves, leaving Peeta partly paralyzed and Katniss’s limbs spasming. Katniss fights the impulse to save herself and stays with Peeta, making his survival her priority as they struggle through the jungle.

Finnick leads them diagonally downhill toward the sea, hoping water will help, but the fog steadily overtakes them. Katniss becomes too weak to carry Mags, and Finnick admits he cannot carry both Mags and Peeta because his own arms are failing. Mags silently resolves the crisis by kissing Finnick and walking into the fog, sacrificing herself so the others can escape; the cannon confirms her death.

Katniss, Peeta, and Finnick barely reach the edge of the fog’s territory before collapsing. When the fog stops and is drawn upward, they crawl to the beach and discover that the saltwater painfully but effectively pulls the poison from their bodies. Katniss and Peeta gradually recover enough to treat Finnick, soaking him piece by piece until his strength and awareness return.

As they recover, Katniss reflects on Mags’s sacrifice and on how much they now depend on Finnick. Peeta goes to tap a tree for fresh water while Katniss and Finnick remain near the shore. Finnick seems revitalized in the sea, but Katniss’s hunter instincts warn her that something dangerous has gathered in the jungle above them.

Katniss spots scores of monkeys massed in the trees and quietly tries to draw Peeta back without provoking them. The moment Peeta notices them, the animals attack in a frenzy, revealing themselves as mutts rather than natural creatures. Katniss shoots with deadly accuracy while Finnick uses his trident and Peeta fights with his knife, but the swarm nearly overwhelms them.

When one monkey launches straight for Peeta’s chest and Katniss has no arrow left to stop it, she rushes toward him too late. At the last instant, the unstable female morphling from District 6 appears out of nowhere and throws herself between Peeta and the mutt. The monkey sinks its fangs into her chest, ending the chapter with another sudden act of sacrifice.