A deadly fog is advancing on Katniss and her allies. She has only to scream out a warning and Finnick awakens, takes stock of the situation, and runs off with Mags. Peeta is still recovering from being shocked by the force field and is slower to wake. Katniss does her best to stay with him rather than abandon him, particularly because she views abandoning Peeta as doing what the Capitol would prefer. They struggle to evade the fog and discover that it is paralyzing. Finally Finnick returns and lifts Peeta and has Katniss carry Mags. However, soon Katniss can carry Mags no longer. The fog is slowly paralyzing their limbs. Finnick has already dropped two tridents, and Peeta is holding on to the third one. Finnick apologizes and says he will not be able to carry them both.

Mags understands the situation. She dashes up to Finnick and kisses him, then she turns around and runs into the fog before Katniss can react. They watch her body writhe in pain before a cannon shot announces her death. Finnick turns and continues to carry Peeta toward the shore. Katniss does her best to keep up.

At the shore, Katniss discovers that the salt water draws the fog’s poison from her body. She bathes herself slowly because the pain of the water against her skin is intense until more of the poison leaves. Next she heals Peeta, who looks up and sees a pair of monkeys in the nearby trees. Once Katniss and Peeta are in control of their bodies, they turn their attentions to Finnick, who is suffering much worse than either of the District 12 victors. When Finnick starts to revive, Peeta leaves to carve a hole in a nearby tree for water.

Katniss and Finnick, now mostly restored, suddenly notice that there are many monkeys in the trees above them. Katniss is alarmed, but tries to sound calm as she calls to Peeta to return to the beach. Peeta realizes that something is wrong and slowly returns, but when he senses the horde of monkeys above him and looks up, they attack. These are not natural monkeys but genetically altered muttations, and the allied victors once again find themselves fighting for their lives. Katniss spots Peeta fighting with a knife, and she sees that he is about to be caught by an attacking monkey. Katniss throws herself at him to save him, though she knows she will not make it. Suddenly a morphling addict from District 6 arrives out of nowhere, sacrificing her life to save Peeta.