𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗪 𝗔 𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗦, 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘 𝗔 𝗚𝗨𝗡
─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
chapter 009 , sacrifices
Katniss stared at the ground and tried to keep her eyes open. She was tired, but she didn't trust Finnick nor Nova to assign either of them for guard duty.
Instead, she stayed awake herself, humming softly to herself.
"How's Peeta?"
Katniss slowly turned her head and looked at the tall man, walking towards her.
"He's okay, I think. Just dehydrated like the rest of us."
Finnick sat down near Katniss at a good distance. He didn't have his trident with him, which calmed Katniss down a bit. At least she didn't have to fear being pierced by his trident.
Out of the corner of her eye, Katniss saw Nova lying curled up like a dormouse next to Mags, her arms wrapped around her shivering body.
"She's caring. I didn't expected that."
Finnick followed her gaze, letting his eyes linger on the girl from District Two. "Heritage has nothing to say about a person."
The sky was brightly lit by the Capitol's coat of arms, which looked as if it were floating in the sky. The anthem played and roused Nova from her restless sleep.
Slowly she opened her eyes, the pale moonlight falling on her face.
The tribute from District Five was the first whose face shone in the sky. This meant that from one to four, everyone was still alive.
Next up followed the male Morfixer from District Six, the two Tributes from District Eight, the female Tribute from District Nine, the female from Ten and Seeder from Eleven.
After that, the Capitol crest appeared again and the sky darkened so that only the moon was left.
Nova felt relieved. James was still alive.
She wondered how he was doing. Had he found any water? Was he safe or even still on the move? Was he still out with Cashmere and Gloss?
So many questions, yet not a single answer.
Nova stretched out her legs and sat up. The holder of the knives pressed firmly into the flesh of her hip, but she didn't want to put it down.
Glancing at Mags, Nova noticed that the old woman was still asleep. A little further on, she saw Peeta sitting on the floor, leaning against a tree, his gaze still locked on the sky.
Quietly, without waking Mags, Nova went over to Peeta, sitting down next to him. The eyes of Katniss and Finnick were fixed on the two tributes.
"Have you recovered to some extent?"
Peeta nodded and pulled a patch of skin off his thumb. "Pretty much. My body feels quite hot, like a roasted chicken, despite the cold, and my legs are a little wobbly, but I'm not in pain anymore."
"Very good," Nova replied curtly, rubbing her hands together. Goosebumps covered her body and she shivered to herself.
"Take my hand," Peeta commanded. Nova tilted her head and raised her eyebrow. "What?"
"You're cold and my body is hot. Warm yourself."
Hesitantly, Nova grabbed Peeta's hand and was amazed. Peeta's body temperature was indeed above average and now she was using him as a radiator.
She clung to his hand and took a delighted deep breath. "Thank you."
Peeta smiled at her and leaned his head back against the rubbery bark of the tree.
For a while, the two sat in silence. Nova's thoughts wandered back to her family.
How was Eryn doing? Was she doing fine without her? Was her mother taking good care of the young girl? Were they watching the games on television?
A silver parachute fell through the dense canopy of leaves and landed on the ground. The four tributes let their gaze rest on the parachute, no one reaching out for it.
"Who do you think this is for?" asked Katniss picking it up off the floor. "I don't know," Finnick said. "What do you guys think about Peeta getting it. Because, you know, he died today."
Nova helped him up and accompanied him. He untied the cord and spread the circular piece of silk on the floor. On the parachute was a small metal object.
Peeta took the object in his hands. "What is this?"
No one knew. They let the object pass from hand to hand and examined it extensively.
It was a metal tube that tapered slightly at the end. At the other end, it had a small grommet that curved downward.
Peeta blew into it to test if it would make a sound. It didn't. Finnick stuck his pinky finger in and tested it as a weapon. Useless.
Katniss pondered for a long time and then her eyes lit up. "It's a spile!"
She earned confused looks. Not paying them any attention, Katniss snatched the metal pipe from Peeta's hand and ran toward one of the trees.
The four gathered around the tree. Finnick lifted a stone from the ground and was about to smash the spile into the bark, but Katniss stopped him.
"Don't. You might break it. We need another plan."
Nova took out one of her knives and pushed herself in front of Finnick. She carefully drilled a small hole in the tree and then took the spile out of Katniss' hand.
Then she took a step back and all four waited patiently. At first nothing happened, but then a few drops fell from the spile, turning into a beam.
Katniss gasped and greedily held her mouth under the stream of water. "You're kidding me," Finnick mumbled, a grin resting on his lips.
Row by row, everyone drank some water. As the water ran down Nova's throat, she immediately felt much fitter.
Her tongue didn't feel like sandpaper anymore and the scratching feeling went away as well.
Finnick picked up a leaf to catch water for Mags. Nova held her hands side by side and formed a sort of bowl, then splashed the water on her face.
Like everything else, the water was warm, but she wasn't going to complain. That they now had water was a luxury not many tributes could afford.
After everyone was supplied with water, Nova noticed how tired and unfocused Katniss was. The brown-haired girl's eyes almost closed while standing.
"I can take the next watch." As expected, the girl from District Twelve was completely against Nova's idea.
"No, I'll do it," she countered, pulling the spile out of the tree. Finnick rolled his tongue against his cheek. "What is your problem?"
Unbothered, Katniss looked at him and tied the spile around her waist. "You're still asking that? Isn't it obvious?"
Nova scrunched up her nose, a sigh overcoming her lips. "Whatever."
She pushed Finnick away from Katniss by the shoulders to prevent further complications. Looking over her shoulder, she said, "You can trust us, Katniss."
The two Career Tributes leaned back against a tree trunk and looked up at the sky. There were no stars to be seen, only the pitch black.
Frustrated, Finnick ran a hand through his hair. "I don't get it. How can she be so suspicious even though we got Peeta back for her?"
"Give her some time," Nova breathed. The cool breeze blew through her hair, making the hairs on her neck stand up.
Dong!
A chime sounded and Nova sat up straight. Her hand gripped the sword lying next to her and she squinted her eyes slightly to get a better focus.
More chimes followed and Nova counted along in her head. "I counted twelve. Midnight?," she murmured softly, waiting for something else to happen.
"Or one for each district?" Finnick threw in.
Nova shrugged her shoulders cluelessly. "I don't know. Could be."
She thought an announcement from Claudius Templesmith would follow, but nothing of the sort happened.
In the distance, lightning struck an extremely large tree and lit up the whole arena for a second. But as quickly as the lightning came, as quickly it disappeared. Weird.
Resting in silence, they slowly fell into a restless sleep. Nova had snuggled against Finnick's body, clinging to his warmth. The young man had put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.
Nova was startled out of her sleep when Katniss cried out loudly. Alarmed, she jumped to her feet and was now wide awake as she looked out for the tribute, her grip tightening around the handle of her sword.
"Run!" Katniss yelled, running over to Peeta. "It's poison! The fog is poison!"
As if paralyzed, Nova looked at the dense fog approaching. It was as if she was back in the 69th Hunger Games. In the dark tunnel, hemmed in by the cold walls, haunted by the fog acid.
Her heart sank and she could not move, no matter how hard she tried. All the horror was playing out before her eyes.
Corroding skin, the smell of burning flesh, the helpless screams.
"Nova!"
Finnick, with Mags on his back and his trident in his right hand stood in front of the traumatized young woman. "Come on. We've got to go."
Pull yourself together, Nova. Don't show weakness, not now.
A switch flipped inside her and she ran off closely followed by Finnick.
The ground felt slippery under her feet and she feared falling over one of the thick roots that stretched along the ground.
The damp earth flew through the air and footprints were left behind. None of the tributes cared. The fear of being caught by the poison fog was bigger than that of being tracked down by other tributes.
The fog stretched like a wall in all directions, rolling smoothly across the ground. It was around ten meters high.
Looking over her shoulder, Nova saw Katniss and Peeta falling to the ground. They tried to pick themselves up, but their limbs twitched wildly.
The fog was very close to the two District Twelve Tributes and threatened to catch up with them real quick. Without further ado, Nova turned around and ran to them to help.
She put Peeta's arm over her shoulder and dragged him along. A few individual droplets detach themselves from the swath.
On contact with her skin, the chemical substance burned painfully. The jumpsuit did absolutely nothing, it was so paper-thin. Nova could have walked naked through the jungle and it would have the same effect.
With the fog attacking her nerves, a paralyzing feeling quickly spread through Nova's shoulders and she clenched her teeth. It seemed hopeless, but giving up was not an option.
Katniss could barely walk on her own and clung to Peeta. Peeta's artificial leg often got caught in the brush that stretched along the ground, making the escape much harder.
They had put a good ten meters between themselves and the wall of fog when Peeta collapsed.
"Finnick, we need help!"
"I can carry him. Can you take Mags?"
Nova nodded, but inside fear was growing. Mags was not a heavy person, but the trembling of her hands and the paralysis of her shoulders would make things twice as complicated.
Despite that she had no choice. Leaving Mags behind wasn't an option. Nova squatted down and Mags settled over her shoulders, as she had always done with Finnick.
Slowly Nova stretched her legs and with her knees pressed through she managed to stand up. With her left hand she grabbed her sword from the ground and ran, the fog closer than before. It shifted closer, silent and steady.
Soon Nova's arms became numb. The nerve pathways from her shoulders to her arms lay completely flat. She could no longer hold the old lady and she slipped off her back.
"Please, get back on my back. Please," Nova panted. It was no use. Because of her uncontrollably shaking arms and numb arms, she had no control over them and thus could not carry Mags.
The brunette looked to Katniss for help, but she sank to the ground herself, powerless. Finnick stopped next to Nova. Nova knew he couldn't carry both, Peeta and Mags.
Mags seemed to know that too, because she hugged Nova with a sad smile and pressed a kiss to Finnick's cheek.
Then it all happened very quickly. Finnick screamed her name and Nova gasped, her heart slipping into her pants.
The old woman limped into the poisonous fog. Immediately her body was seized by terrible convulsions and in a final dance she fell to the ground.
Nova wanted to scream, but her throat was tight. She could not believe it. She didn't want to believe it.
She averted her eyes and helped Katniss to her feet. She knew that if she stood idly by any longer, Mag's sacrifice would be in vain.
Katniss leaned on her and arm in arm they continued running. The pain and numbness spread throughout her body and Nova felt as if she were half dead.
Her gaze was fixed on the back of Finnick's head. His bronze hair shimmered in the pale moonlight.
The four collapse after a short time, the fog rolling towards them without mercy. That's it. Now they would die.
With her body twitching, Nova turned on her side and stared at the fog. Her breathing was choppy and it felt like her whole body was burning.
Just before their feet, the fog piled up. It looked as if it was being pressed against an invisible glass wall. Then it disappeared.
"It's gone," Katniss whispered, whimpering in pain.
Wincing and gasping, the four tributes lay on the ground, both body and mind permeated by the poison.
Peeta pointed upward, his lower lip twitching. "Monkeys."
Nova turned her gaze to the treetops, and orange fur caught her eye. The two monkeys were half the size of full-grown humans.
Katniss, meanwhile, had crawled to a nearby pond and held her hand in the water. She cried out in pain.
"The water. The water helps." Peeta and Nova joined the girl and cleaned out their skin.
Gently, Nova also held her hand in the water. It was excruciating. A milky substance oozed from the wounds. The less white that came out, the less painful it got.
Nova took off her perforated jumpsuit, her shoes and underwear were untouched to her relief. Piece by piece she slid into the water and gritted her teeth to suppress a scream.
Peeta and Katniss did the same, but Finnick retreated at the first contact with the water and lay face down in the sand.
Through the water Nova got back control over her body and also her thinking ability came back bit by bit.
Her arms were still shaking, but she decided to take care of Finnick. She scooped up water and poured it on his fists.
Finnick gasped and squeezed his eyes shut in pain. Because he was on land, the fog left his body the same way it came in; through clouds of fog that Nova was especially wary of.
They were exposed and Finnick's sounds could quickly be heard by other tributes. They were in a dangerous position, but the cleansing of the poison came first.
"Katniss, Peeta, can you help me over here?"
Peeta found shells and instead of doing it with their hands the three of them were able to fill the shells with water and empty them over Finnick.
Since his arms looked the most badly damaged, they started with them. Finnick just laid there with his eyes closed, groaning every now and then and raising his shaking hand in the air.
Nova grabbed it gently and squeezed it to show succor. "Shhh. It's okay," she soothed.
"We have to pull him into the water," Katniss whispered.
By the feet, Katniss and Peeta slowly pulled the boy into the salt water, while Nova still held his hand.
His nails dug into her palms, but Nova always kept her hand around his. Somehow he had to let out the pain.
White fog swirled around his body and slowly the pain subsided. The poison dissolved from his body and he became clearer in his head again.
He opened his eyes and wearily rested his head in Katniss' lap, his gaze fixed on the leaves above him.
"All that's missing is your head, Finnick," Peeta explained. "That's the worst part, but if you can take it, you'll feel much better afterwards."
"I'm going to try and tap a tree," Katniss said as Finnick slowly sat up.
"Let me drill a hole first," Peeta replied, grabbing the spile.
Finnick braced himself against Katniss and Nova, his hands gripping theirs tightly. Then they submerged his head under the water. His throat was so raw that his screams didn't come out. Only bubbles formed in the water and flew to the surface.
"How do I look?" asked Finnick with his usual grin, even if it was more wry than anything else.
Nova, glad to see him well again, tousled through his wet bronze hair and smiled mischievously. "Oh Finnick Odair. You are so handsome. I just can't resist you."
Finnick pouted at her sarcasm. Nova laughed and nudged his nose. "I have another one."
She rested her face and put on a fake capitol accent, "Do you know what you look like?"
"Like what?"
"Like my next lover."
Finnick hid his face in his hands and Nova laughed. The two of them seemed to have forgotten about Katniss, who was silently watching them while swimming some rounds in the pound.
Nova dropped the accent and spoke again in her normal voice. "You're cute when you're embarrassed."
In return, Finnick playfully rolled his eyes and pushed Nova's head under the water.
When she resurfaced, water dripped off her from everywhere and she glared at Finnick. "Oh you're laughing, Odair?"
The two ended up in a water fight, forgetting everything for a moment.
The games, the dead tributes, the dangers that loomed over them. Everything was forgotten and it was just the two of them.
It was a liberating feeling.
With their heads underwater, the two young adults looked at each other. Finnick grimaced and Nova's lips twitched in amusement.
For a brief second, Finnick's sea green eyes slid to Nova's lips, then back to her honey eyes.
The water rushed in her ears as she held her breath. Finnick's intense gaze made her nervous and little butterflies flew around in her stomach.
He leaned forward, but before he could get closer, Nova broke through the surface of the water and breathed in the warm air.
What just happened? What could have happened?
Finnick's head popped up beside her, his tongue pressed against his cheek. "Don't do that," Katniss scolded.
"What, come up or stay underwater?" retorted Finnick, fixing his hair.
"Both. Neither. Never mind. Just stay in the water and behave yourselves."
Then she turned to Finnick. "Actually, if you're feeling that much better you can go and help Peeta."
Finnick left the two girls alone and went to Peeta. Nova looked after him thoughtfully, her thoughts tangled with each other.
"I'm sorry about Mags," Katniss said.
Nova's gaze hardened and she averted her eyes to look at her hands. "She never would have made it, so..."
Her gaze slid to the rubbery branches of the trees. Monkeys were perched on them. So many that the branches bent.
They looked down hungrily at the two girls, something unnatural lying in their human-like eyes.
Out of nowhere, Finnick stood behind Nova and whispered tense in her ear : "They look dangerous."
Nova wanted to roll her eyes. Of course they were dangerous. After all, they were in the Hunger Games.
Moving very slowly, Nova reached for her sword and held it ready to attack, while Katniss retrieved an arrow from her quiver.
Watching and baring their teeth, the monkeys slowly approached. None of the three tributes dared to make a quick move, too afraid that the monkeys would then pounce on them.
"Peeta?"
With a turn of his head he looked at Katniss. "Yeah?"
"Walk over here slowly."
Katniss' voice was quiet, but Peeta could tell something was wrong. Slowly he walked towards the trio, but being quiet was never his strong point.
Almost there, he stepped on a branch that broke with a loud crack.
Peeta froze. All four held their breath and waited to see how the monkeys would react. At first they got no reaction and Peeta exhaled in relief.
Then one of the monkeys roared and they all joined in and jumped down from the trees, ready to kill the four tributes.
✰ 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 !! —
bye bye mags. </3
reminder for you to stay hydrated and take medications if you need any. take care of yourself honey xx
don't forget to comment below what you think of this chapter. feedback and votes are appreciated.
— 𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 !! ✰