Katniss wakes with a fleeting sense of happiness tied to Peeta, but the morning bread delivery and the shrinking number of tributes remind her how little time they have left. Unsure whether the alliance is truly protecting Peeta, Katniss pulls him into the water under the pretense of teaching him to swim so she can suggest that they break away. Peeta agrees only after Brutus and Enobaria are dead, because he believes Beetee is building a trap for them, and Katniss reluctantly accepts staying a little longer.

After the group scrubs off the last of their scabs, Beetee gathers everyone and explains his strategy. Reasoning that Brutus and Enobaria are probably hiding at the jungle’s edge where they can watch the beach and escape arena attacks, Beetee proposes using his special wire to connect the lightning tree to the saltwater. When the midnight lightning strike hits, the current should travel through the wire into the wet beach and water, potentially electrocuting anyone nearby. Although the others only partly understand the science, Katniss, Peeta, Finnick, and Johanna agree because the plan could kill the Careers and costs them little if it fails.

The alliance leaves the beach to inspect the lightning tree before beginning the setup. Katniss leads carefully once Finnick reminds the group that she can detect the force field, and she confirms its position by throwing nuts ahead of her. While Beetee studies the tree, Finnick guards him, Johanna finds water, Peeta gathers nuts, and Katniss hunts rats. As the eleven o’clock section begins clicking with what sounds like deadly insects or creatures with pincers, the group withdraws to the neighboring sector, watches the noon lightning strike from a safe distance, and then returns to the ten o’clock beach so Beetee can spend the afternoon working with the wire.

With Beetee occupied, the others rest and then decide to make a final feast from the sea before the trap ruins that food source. Finnick directs them in catching fish, gathering shellfish, and diving for oysters. Peeta finds a pearl inside one oyster and gives it to Katniss, who treasures it as the one gift she can fully accept. Holding the pearl, Katniss hardens her resolve to defeat Peeta’s ongoing attempt to sacrifice himself for her, and when Peeta realizes that his locket did not change her mind, he turns silent and withdrawn.

A sponsor parachute brings spicy sauce and another twenty-four rolls from District 3, leaving seven rolls in reserve, a number that no longer divides evenly and suggests bread meant for only one survivor. The allies gorge themselves, then throw the remaining seafood back into the water so Brutus and Enobaria cannot use it. As night approaches, there is nothing left to do but wait for Beetee’s plan to unfold. Katniss and Peeta sit hand in hand, both still committed to dying for the other, and Katniss quietly imagines the pearl being returned to Peeta after her own death.