75th - part 10
johanna’s perspective
I guess I shouldn’t have put it past the Gamemakers to come up with something like this. And of all years, what could be better? A Quarter Quell, an arena full of Victors, and a new horrific threat every hour. It’s so unique that it almost makes you forget about the national uprising!
Katniss makes us all run to the center of the Cornucopia before she explains her theory, pointing toward different wedges of the jungle as she rattles off information. The fog comes at 3, the killer monkeys at 4, the wave at 10. It’s just like Katniss to take this and run with it, but give Wiress the credit even though Katniss was the only one who could make it make sense to the rest of us. I stop paying attention to the theory and watch her until she turns to me, her piercing gaze full of focus.
“When was the rain?”
I shrug. “No idea. Sometime in the night.”
Finnick gestures toward the part of the jungle we just left. “You were over there when we found you. So let’s just steer clear of that part during the night til we figure it out.”
“It might be best if we secure this island, until we’ve studied the other sectors and can be sure that we understand the dangers,” Beetee replies. He crouches down to the sand and begins drawing some kind of diagram, dividing it into the 12 sectors just like the arena. “The wave sector must be avoided at all costs, seeing as the effects would easily kill anyone on the beach. I think it’s safe to assume that the other dangers could also leave the jungle if warranted, but likely won’t leave their sectors.”
“The fog and monkeys stayed in the jungle,” Katniss interjects.
“Interesting,” nods Beetee, “In that case, we may be able to camp on the beach should the island prove inhabitable.”
Suddenly, Finnick leaps backward, shouting, “It’s inhabitable!”
I barely manage to turn around in time to watch Katniss’s arrow sink into Gloss, who’s already slit Nuts’ throat. He collapses, falling backward into the water with Nuts still clutched in his arms as the second cannon sounds. One Career down, three to go.
Nearby, a bit of movement catches my eye. Cashmere has just pulled herself out of the water and is now charging toward us, locked in on Katniss in particular. Of course. Katniss killed her brother, and now Cashmere wants revenge. I know that rage all too well. The victor from 1 raises her throwing knife slightly, but Katniss isn’t even watching. I have to act now.
Pushing Katniss aside, I hurl an ax into Cashmere’s chest. She lands on her back with a sickening stillness.
It hits me that she’s the first person I’ve killed in this arena. If not for her, I could have lived a lifetime without ever having to go through this again. The first arena was supposed to be it for me, the last time I’d ever have to kill. I was supposed to live the rest of my life in relative peace, having nightmares nearly every night but at least not adding to the list of things I need to forgive myself for. Even if it was in self defense, I’m a murderer again.
My self-pity is cut short by Katniss going after Brutus. Seriously, what chance does she think she has against Brutus? She fires two arrows, but misses, nearly taking out Finnick and Cole in the process. We must have the same thought at once, because she takes off running to try to get a better angle and I run after her.
There’s an enormous shift underneath my feet that threatens to throw me into the water.
Katniss and I fall together, but I manage to grab the rocky face of the island quicker than she can. Between the insanely fast spinning and the wetness of the rock, it’s difficult to hold on. But falling off is not an option, even for someone like Finnick.
Katniss loses her grip first. I scream, flinging my hand out and flailing it around until she grabs it, nearly losing my grip too in the process. Her hand clamps down on mine and I instantly wonder what the hell I was thinking. There’s no way I can hold both of us. But there’s no other option, and I can’t let her fall. I can’t lose her. Not like this.
Still tightly holding onto Katniss, I use my free arm to slam my ax into the rock, lodging it deep enough to hold us. But it’s not enough, and I can feel my hand slipping. If the spinning doesn’t stop soon, we’re both goners. I look down at Katniss.
I just have to keep my eyes on her. If I keep looking at her, it’ll remind me why I can’t let go.
I will not let go.
I will not let go, even if it means we both fall.
There’s a flicker of pain in her eyes. Like she just made a decision. And I know what she’s going to do before it happens because of course she’s going to let go, of course she’s going to sacrifice herself. But her hand slips through mine before I can do anything about it.
“NO!”
Her back hits the water and I almost jump after her.
I’m the first to reach Katniss once the Cornucopia stops spinning. She’s lying on her stomach, choking but still breathing, and my hand flies to her back before I can stop myself. I feel her chest heave as she gasps for air.
“You ok?” She nods and flashes me a thumbs up, still coughing. I sigh and sit down, still rubbing her back. “You scared the shit out of me. Thank god you can swim.”
Finnick, Cole, and Beetee arrive, hesitating at the sight of Katniss but otherwise fine. I turn toward Finnick and ask, “District 2?”
“Alive. Enobaria was on the beach when the spinning started, and Brutus hit the water but we just saw him run back into the jungle.” Finnick’s brow furrows and he adds, “Who was the other cannon?”
“Cashmere. I got her.”
“Pardon me,” interjects Volts, “but we really should be moving. We have no way of predicting whether the Gamemakers will choose to spin the Cornucopia again, which leaves us in an extremely vulnerable position the longer we stay here.”
“Yeah, what he said,” says Finnick.
As the men start to leave, I lean closer to Katniss and murmur, “Are you good to move?” Despite her steady breathing now, I still wonder if she’s hurt until she finally sits up. I try to help her stand, but she swats my hand away.
“I’m fine,” she mutters.
Awkwardly, I let her pass by me and head for the beach. I’m walking behind her, scanning the area for signs of Brutus and Enobaria, when it hits me how close I came to losing her. She could’ve died in the water. So could I, if I had fallen too.
And all the things that would’ve been left unsaid run through my mind, begging to be let out. I should just grab her by the shoulder right now, make her look at me, make her listen, make her understand. Fuck the cameras. Katniss Everdeen is the last person on this earth that I love, and I can’t let her die without knowing that.
I’m about to do it, really about to do it, when a scream pierces the air. “KATNISS, HELP ME!”
“PRIM!” Katniss takes off down the beach, flying into the jungle with Finnick and I at her heels. Prim’s voice in pain is enough to make her forget everything else, including the rest of us. “PRIM!”
“KATNISS, STOP!” Finnick yells after her. He’s right behind her, almost close enough to grab her, but I’m still at least 20 feet behind.
All of a sudden, I slam into some kind of invisible barrier. The force of the collision literally tosses me on my ass and I fall backward to the ground. Still, I leap to my feet and try to push past it, running a hand along the side and trying to find the edge of it.
“It’s no use,” Volts pants, having finally caught up with the rest of us, “It most likely lines the entire sector, to keep the victims from escaping.”
He’s probably right, but I try anyways for Katniss. I slam my body against it, my ax, whatever I can think of. Judging by the way it shakes after every hit, it’s not a forcefield. It seems like it’s some kind of thick plastic or glass, stretching from the very top of the arena to the ground. And Volts is right; it’s meant to keep people in, not out. I’m the only one in this arena that would willingly walk into this trap, because it’s the one danger that can’t affect me.
I’m about to give up when I see Katniss and Finnick running back toward us. Birds are swarming them, and they’re about to hit the invisible barrier when I hold up my hands against it. Katniss runs into it anyways, in tears as the birds divebomb her relentlessly, looking thoroughly hysterical as she thrashes around trying to swat the birds.
“Look at me.” She obviously can’t hear me, so I whack the barrier with my ax. “Look at me!”
Katniss spins back toward me and puts her hands on the barrier.
“Just keep looking at me,” I mouth.
She sinks to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, but keeps her eyes on me until it all becomes too much. I watch helplessly as she presses her hands to her ears and screams, desperately trying to drown out the sound of the birds. Meanwhile, Finnick sits a few feet away with a blank look on his face, numb to it.
“Jabberjays,” says Cole quietly, and I know he’s right.