75th - part 9
katniss’s pov
We’re about to settle down on the beach when I notice them. Three new people on the beach. At least, I think they’re people. They’re covered in red and stumbling around. One is practically dragging another onto the sand while the third runs around in circles, apparently deranged. Finnick, Cole, and I duck into the tree line, watching as the newcomers approach the water.
The dragged person collapses, causing the dragger to yell and throw their weapon at the sand in frustration, then push the spinning person to the ground. Now that the dragger is clearly unarmed and the others are distracted, I ready an arrow and aim it at the head of the dragger.
“Johanna?” Finnick grins and steps out of the trees. “JOHANNA!”
“FINNICK!”
Shit. I quickly lower my bow and rush after Finnick with Cole behind me. As we reach the shoreline, I recognize the other two as Wiress and Beetee. They’re completely covered in the red substance, grinning at me dopily.
“We were all the way deep in the jungle where I thought it would be safe ,” Johanna snarls at Finnick. “Then the rain started. I thought it was water…turned out to be blood . Hot, thick blood, it was pouring down…”
“Tick tock,” interrupts Wiress.
Johanna rolls her eyes and pushes Wiress away from her. “We were stumbling around gagging on it blind . That’s when Blight hit the forcefield.” A flicker of hurt passes over Johanna’s face and I feel a chill. Finnick wasn’t there to help Blight, which means…well, he’s not here, so it’s obvious. He’s dead.
I don’t know what to say. Images flash in front of my eyes of Blight, the sweet man who wanted to have a goat of his own, the boy who cried in the arena, one of the only people I could trust as a mentor. My friend. There’s nothing I can say, but at least Finnick manages to say, “I’m sorry, Johanna.”
“Yeah, well…,” Johanna shrugs and kicks at the sand beneath her, “he left me with these two.” Her eyes lock on me with a fiery gaze as she spits, “you’re welcome, by the way.”
“Excuse me?”
“You wanted them! Here you go!”
As if on cue, Wiress falls face first into the water with a loud splash. Cole and I grab her by the arms and hoist her up, then help her sit down at the edge of the tide so we can wash the blood off of her. Meanwhile, Finnick tries to help Beetee clean off nearby. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Johanna walk away from the group and clean herself and her ax privately.
“Can you handle this?” I mutter to Cole before heading toward Johanna.
She’s dunking her head in the water, scrubbing madly at the caked blood on her face with her free hand while keeping a tight grip on her ax with the other. She looks up as I approach, but doesn’t acknowledge me.
“You didn’t have to get them out,” I say quietly.
“Hmph. Well, we wanted to,” Johanna sneers. “Consider it a parting gift from Blight.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Whatever.”
I can hear Wiress babbling behind us, and suddenly I feel so guilty. Even though I never asked Johanna and Blight to rescue them, maybe I am responsible for Blight’s death, so of course Johanna’s pissed at me. She should be. I got her mentor killed.
Suddenly, Johanna pulls her right arm out of her jumpsuit. I guess she’s never been shy about taking her clothes off, but it catches me off guard and I can feel myself blushing until I spot the gash on her forearm. She dunks it in the water and winces.
“Let me—”
“I’m fine,” she barks, backing away from me.
“No you’re not. You’re putting salt in a wound.” I grab her by the wrist to get a better look as she tries to wrench herself free. “What happened?”
“Gloss. Volts ran to the Cornucopia for that stupid fucking wire and nearly got us killed. But it’s nothing, seriously, it’s just a scratch. He got a knife in the back, so if you really wanna play healer—”
I drag her out of the water, make her sit on the beach, then tap a tree to get fresh water. Johanna insists that she’s fine, but when I offer her drinking water, she happily gulps it down and lets me clean her wound without a complaint. The difficult part is finding a way to bandage her arm, but I manage to find some moss and the thick stem of a plant to act as a knot.
It’s then that I notice the golden medallion around her neck. I think back to what Effie said, about us all needing something gold to show that we’re a team, and how I decided to trust Finnick because he had Haymitch’s gold bracelet. Except this time, it pisses me off, because why would Effie and Haymitch think that I need to be told to trust Johanna? Sure, I didn’t want her as an ally, but not because I didn’t trust her.
Regardless, I shake it off and go back to tending to her wound.
It’s more intimate than it should be, because I have to lean over Johanna’s arm to tie the stem. Which means I’m closer to her than I probably should be. I can feel her watching me and I wonder what she’s thinking, if she’s trying as hard as I am to stay focused. I’m so frustrated with myself because I shouldn’t be worrying about this right now, but I can’t help it. It’s like my brain won’t work properly when I’m this close to Johanna.
Our eyes meet and maybe it’s wishful thinking, but there’s a look in Johanna’s eyes. Like she might feel this too.
“I could never kill you,” I whisper. I hope it’s enough for her to know what she means to me, just in case we don’t make it to tomorrow. But it still doesn’t feel like enough, especially after what she’s gone through to bring Wiress and Beetee to me.
Johanna doesn’t say anything back. She just stares at me for a moment, then looks away.
“Tick tock.” Wiress comes up behind me at the worst moment, grabbing me by the shoulder and shaking me. She starts pointing urgently toward the lightning tree. “Tick tock. Tick tock!”
Just as the lightning begins to strike the tree, it hits me. “It’s a clock.”
“What are you talking about?” asks Johanna.
“The arena, it’s a clock. Wiress, you’re a genius!”