"This entire arena seems to be laid out like a clock, with a new threat every hour, but they stay only within their wedge." Katniss explains as Finnick helps me walk along the rocks, his hand on my waist."It all starts with the lightning. Then the blood rain, fog, monkeys. That's the first four hours. At ten the big wave hits from over there." She points over to one side of the arena.
"Wiress you're a genius." My father states whilst walking past her and I smile at him.
"Look the tail points to twelve." Peeta says as he points towards the tail of the cornucopia.
"That's where the lightning strikes at moon and midnight." Katniss walks over to make sure he's correct, which he is.
"Strikes where?" Beetee asks, suddenly intrigued.
"That big tree." I answer as I point up at the massive tree behind the cornucopia, recalling the events of the previous nights.
"Good." He nods as Wiress starts singing.
"Hickory Dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock."
It's probably a rhyme for children but it keeps her happy.
Finnick makes sure I'm alright as I crouch down to look at the drawing Peeta made in the sand of the arena.
I zone out a bit until I hear Wiress' gasp and look up only to find Brutus right behind her, he snapped her neck.
I grab a knife from my belt and chuck it, aiming for his chest, but end up just nicking him I'm the shoulder as he dives off.
I groan at my failed attempt. And begin to help Beetee to his feet. Only for us to be immediately knocked down again as the entire cornucopia begins spinning violently.
My father grabs hold of a rock and holds Beetee with his other hand and Beetee grabs onto me.
I feel my grip start to loosen and I let out a scream. "NO!" My father shouts, trying to get closer to me.
"Dad!" I yell as empty boxes start flying at us I completely drop Beetee's hand and get knocked into the water.
I flail about aimlessly, trying to reach the surface without getting hit again. After a moment, the spinning stops and I'm able to reach the top of the water. I gasp as I try to get the oxygen back into my lungs and just hold on to the edge of the rocks, unable to get up.
I cough as Finnick and my father sprint over to me, spewing up water. My father places his hands under my arms and pulls me up onto the rocks. I'm coughing on my hands and knees as he pats my back. After a while I stop and my father lets me go.
"You okay?" Finnick asks as he places his hand on my back, me still gasping for air. I lift up a thumbs up, unable to get any words out as he helps me to my feet.
I look up to see everyone else staring at me as my father comes up to the other side of me and I lean into him. He places his arm around my shoulder and Finnick walks over to Johanna.
"We'll be alright." My dad mutters to me and I look up and smile weakly.
——
We're all sitting in a sort of circle, my dad with Beetee and I'm sitting next to Finnick.
"So besides the careers, who's left?" Katniss asks as I lean into Finnick.
"Honey, we are the careers. Me, my father and Finnick? We outnumber them." I laugh, earning a chuckle out of my father.
"Maybe Chaff? Just those three?" He thinks aloud, getting back to the topic at hand.
"They know they're outnumbered. I doubt they'll attack again." My father states. He knows them better than anyone so I nod.
"We're safe here on the beach." Finnick says from beside me.
"So what do we do, do we hunt them down?" Johanna asks, likely just wanting this to be over. She's not the only one.
I hear a young girl screaming and Katniss' eyes widen. "PRIM! PRIM! PRIM!" She stands up and runs off trying to find the source. Finnick tries to follow but I shove him back and run to catch up with her. "PRIM!"
"Katniss! Katniss wait!" I yell as I'm chasing her, she's still screaming along with the little girl.
"Help me! Help me-" I hear the girls tortured screams get cut off as she shoots a bird down with her bow.
"You okay?" I ask as I stop for a moment.
"AIMEE! HELP!" I hear a woman I know and who practically raised me screaming in agony for me.
"AUNT CASH! AUNT CASH!" I run for a moment when Katniss stops me. I'm still screaming her name.
"It's not her!" She shouts to me, trying to get me to calm down. "It's just a jabberjay it's not her." She cups my face, seeing me not getting any less panicked.
"How do you think they got that sound? Huh?! Jabberjay's copy." I explain to her as I hear a man's voice screaming for Katniss.
"Gale." She whispers, unable to comprehend what's happening as birds swoop down at us from all angles. The screaming getting more intense.
I grab her hand a pull her back towards the group only to see Finnick and my father banging on some kind of invisible wall. I keep running anyway and smack my head right on it.
"No! No! No!" I scream as I hear a girl who I once knew and trained begin screaming my name, over and over again.
"GLIMMER!" I yell as I bang my hands against the wall while my father and Finnick try talking to me. I place my hands on my face and then over my ears looking for some sense of relief.
-
I'm sitting with my hands on my ears rocking back and forth when my father and Finnick come rushing over to me. "The hours up, it's okay, you're safe, it wasn't real." My father whispers into my ear.
"Aunt Cash! Find aunt cash! Please!" I shout into his face, tears streaming from my eyes. My father freezes upon hearing his sisters name. I look over to see Katniss being comforted by Peeta.
"It's fine. They won't touch Cashmere alright?" Finnick says as my father stays frozen.
The way he says it makes me almost believe him. Almost. "You're boyfriends are right." Johanna cuts in, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"The whole country loves your sister, Katniss, and Cashmere. If they tortured them or did anything to them, forget the districts." She pauses, shaking her head. "There would be riots in the damn Capitol."
"Hey how does that sound, snow?! What if we- what if we set your backyard on fire! You know, you can't put everybody in here!" She shouts at the sky, waving her hand with the axe about.
Everyone just stares at her in shock. "What? They can't hurt me. There's no one left that I love." She mutters as she walks off and Katniss just stares at her. "I'll get you some water."
——
I sit down, off to the side of the group as they watch me.
Glimmer. The girl I failed to prepare. Everyone presumed she was just bad with a bow and arrow. She wasn't. Katniss was too high up. She wasn't a bad shot. She was good, she didn't understand. She was like my little sister.
And Aunt Cash. The one I could protect. As soon as I could I took her place as Snow's pawn. All of this for nothing at all? Is she gone? Has he hurt her?
A hand on my shoulder pulls me out of my thoughts. It's Finnick. "Come on." He says as he grabs my hand, walking me over to the water and he sits down.
I look to him sceptically. He notices my hesitation and chuckles, eventually I decide to go for it and sit down. He smiles and bumps my shoulder with his.
"What?" I question as I giggle at him, I don't even know why.
"You. Your face." He replies, staring into my eyes.
"Oh come on, I'm not that ugly." I joke as I stare right back into his gorgeous green ones.
He looks down to my lips, then back up to my eyes before pulling me in for a passionate kiss, our lips moving in sync. His hand stays on my jaw when he pulls away, his forehead resting against mine. I almost forget about everyone behind us.
"You're the most beautiful girl in the world."
Guess it's not a secret anymore.
——