- DRAGGED UNDER -
▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂
"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 explained as they walked across one of the aisles of rock that all surrounded the cornucopia.
"It all starts with the lightning, then the blood rain, fog, monkeys. That's the first four hours." She continued, pointing out each wedge and where she figured the terrors came from.
"At ten, that big wave hits from over there." Katniss gestured to one of the sections as they spread around the island that was the centerpiece of the whole arena, everyone scouting out the clock.
"Wiress, you're a genius." Finnick said with a snicker, taking his place beside Nadia with a smirk on his face. He felt more secure to know the mechanics of the arena.
"Look, the tail points to twelve." Peeta pointed to the end of the silver structure.
"That's where the lightning strikes at noon and midnight." Nadia added to the girl's concept. Katniss looked to her and took a moment to nod in approval. Nadia was just grateful she hadn't shot an arrow at her yet.
"Strikes where?" Beetee asked as he readjusted his grip on the spool of wire he had practically attached to his hip, not daring to let his precious invention out of his sight.
"That big tree." Katniss said, pointing again to the tree that stuck out like a sore thumb.
Beetee pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and squinted his eyes in that direction. "Good."
From behind the group that gathered around Peeta as he used his machete to draw in the black sand, was Wiress, crouching by the edge of the stone singing, but it sounded for like chanting.
"Hickory dickory dock. The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one, the mouse ran down. Hickory dickory dock." Wiress continued to sing as she hugged her knees to her chest.
Nadia only removed her gaze that was fixated on her when Peeta spoke up, the woman still glancing back every few seconds to make sure she didn't fall in.
"So, twelve to one, lightning... Then, one to two is blood. Then fog... And then monkeys." He said as he rubbed his chin in thought once finishing his little diagram for everyone to see.
"Hickory dickory dock. The dog barked at the clock. The clock struck three..." Apollo found Nadia's gaze from across their small circle, the pair sharing concerned looks for the woman as her eyes shot back and forth worriedly from the ocean to the cornucopia.
"And then ten to eleven, the wave." Katniss ran her hands through her hair that was a little frizzy from the humidity, looking over Peeta's shoulder as he finished writing everything out.
"What about the rest of them?" Nadia put forward her inquiry as she looked between Apollo, Johanna and Beetee. "Did you guys see anything?"
"Nothing but blood." Johanna answered as she crouched down using her axe to balance, analyzing Peeta's work.
"It doesn't really matter. As long as we steer clear of whichever sector is active, we'll be safe." Peeta stood straight and shrugged, one hand resting on his hip as he gripped his machete more firmly.
"Yeah, relatively speaking." Finnick added just as a gasp sounded behind them, the group all turning to Wiress.
Nadia retrieved a knife in a second, but the sight of Gloss with an arm around her neck as the other slid a knife across her throat made her grow tense.
She backed up a step as she shook her head, an inopportune moment to be seeing her own knife meet her friend's neck from her games, but she never was lucky when it came to the timing of reliving her past.
Through wide eyes, Nadia raised her knife to throw though her hand was a little shaky, but Katniss beat her to it having shot an arrow right into Gloss' chest.
Nadia didn't have much time to watch Gloss as well as Wiress fall back into the water before Cashmere came running around the corner with a knife raised threateningly.
Johanna saw her approaching and swung her axe in an instant with great precision, but Cashmere jumped back to block it before trying to slice Johanna's head open with her weapon.
Sighting Johanna had a definite fight on her hands, Nadia ran over just as she'd gotten her axe stuck in the ground.
Cashmere raised her knife to make the kill, but Nadia was faster as she threw one of her knives at the woman, the blade lodging itself into her wrist causing her to let out a yelp of pain and her knife clambered to the ground.
Johanna got ahold of her axe yet again and was back on her feet, the woman not stalling for a second before she made one clean swing of her axe, the sharp edge digging right into the side of Cashmere's head.
A canon erupted which confirmed a quick death, Johanna yanking her axe from the woman's skull with a splash of blood flung across the ground.
Johanna nodded in thanks to Nadia before their attention was turned to the sound of grunts and groans where the rest of them were fighting off Brutus and Enobaria.
They must've came from the other side, Nadia and Johanna running over to find Beetee the only one staying hidden inside the cornucopia to remain safe from all the sharp objects.
Flying arrows and expert swings from Finnick's trident seemed to have scared the two off as they started running from the commotion.
Nadia followed close behind Katniss who went after them quickly, Johanna right on their tail to offer her assistance as well.
Nadia lifted her knife seeing an opportunity at a clean shot at Brutus as he ran across an aisle of stone, but the ground beneath her started to shake and her balance was lost.
The entirety of the island in the center started to spin and on her way to the shaky ground, Nadia hit her knee and groaned, not having time for any other type of reaction as herself, Katniss and Johnna were all trying to hang on for their lives sake.
Water sprung up and hit their faces like fireworks, Johanna swiftly getting ahold of Katniss' hand with a strangling grip. Her heart dropped though as she noticed Nadia close to the edge, her knuckles white from how tightly she gripped the rocks.
Katniss was able to reach over just as Nadia's grip got weak and snatched her hand up to keep her afloat. However tight their holds were on each other, it didn't seen like enough against the speed the island was spinning.
Johanna nearly let go as water splashed in her face and her arm was getting tired from holding not only herself, but two other people up as well. Luckily she jabbed her axe straight into the ground just in time to hold them all up.
"Hold on!" She shouted, but Nadia and Katniss could hardly hear her above the spinning island and the crashing waves that met the edge of the rocks.
Nadia's deathly grip tightened as she felt a needle-like jab of the water against her ankle that had slipped off the side.
Katniss was the only thing keeping Nadia from falling in at this point with a grip so tight, she was sure the girl's hand would be imprinted into her skin.
"No!" Johanna screamed as her fingers started to slip from Katniss', Nadia hearing one last screech before both herself and the girl were whisked into the water.
Nadia fought against the crashing waves that tried to pull her under, her knee sore, her eyes stinging and her arms aching as she tried to muster up all the strength she possessed to pull herself to the surface.
She could see the point where she'd maybe be able to catch a breath, but before she could reach it, Katniss' foot collided with Nadia's head as she herself tried to kick to the surface and her sight was sent spiraling.
Her eyes burned, her head hurt worse than she believed she'd ever felt before, and the hazy black dot started blurring into her vision.
Once the spinning stopped and the waves had started to calm, Katniss resurfaced, gasping and coughing, her lungs aching from the exhausting fight that she endured to get air back in her system.
She was tired, her limbs feeling like jello as she climbed up onto the nearest aisle of rock and tried to catch her breath.
Johanna was the first to run over, crouching beside her and patting her back to help her get the water out as she coughed.
Her eyes went from Katniss as her breathing slowly went back to normal, to the water as she scanned the clear sea for her friend who hadn't yet made an appearance.
As Peeta came running down the aisle to make sure Katniss was okay with a hand on her back and a worried expression adorning his face, Johanna started back to the center all the while keeping an eye on the water for Nadia.
She looked up from her concerned scan of the water to find Finnick and Apollo stood near the edge of the island, both looking from her then around to try and spot the missing woman.
"Where is she?" Apollo questioned her, Johanna looking between him and Finnick who were on edge in wake of Nadia's disappearance.
"I don't know. Her and Katniss both fell into the water and I haven't seen her yet." She explained as her eyes locked back on the water. Maybe if she stared at it long enough, she'd magically appear.
"She's still down there?" Finnick inquired with a raised brow, the man tenser than Johanna had ever seen him before.
"Yes—" She replied, Finnick needing no further explanation as he handed his trident off to Johanna and dove straight into the water that had calmed since the spinning halted.
The salt water didn't affect his sight having grown up getting used to it. Even if it did hurt, he wouldn't care as finding the woman was too important to whine about burning eyes.
Her eyes were heavy and the black had taken over most of her vision, Nadia making the smallest of movements as an attempt to save herself. However, she was too weak and even the small movements made everything in her hurt.
She didn't even know if she was moving towards the surface. It all looked the same, just the dark sea pulling her under.
Her entire body ached like she'd been stoned for hours on end, her head pounding the more her heart rate started to drift. It was like she was on the verge of death, defenseless, the water like a beckoning siren tempting her to give in.
She blinked, trying to stay awake before her vision could be completely disregarded. But what appeared to be an angel piqued her interests enough for her eyes to remain open.
Once the presence got within a foot of her, she realized it was Finnick, the man taking her hand and started pulling her to the surface swiftly.
He was an above average swimmer and got them both to break the surface in a matter of a few seconds, Nadia coughing up water as Finnick held her tightly against him and swam back to the cornucopia.
Everyone seemed to have let out a simultaneous breath of relief as they saw Finnick and Nadia, the woman's sight still fuzzy and her hearing all muffled as the water clogged her ears.
"Help me get her." Apollo patted Peeta's shoulder and they got to the edge of the island as Finnick met them there, the two hauling Nadia up and out of the water as she let out relentless coughs.
Apollo sat down with her and laid her head in his lap as her chest rose and fell rapidly, her eyes shut tight to try and stop her head from spinning.
Johanna helped Finnick back onto the rock and offered him his trident, the man only shaking his head and passing her before kneeling down at Nadia's side.
"You okay?" Finnick's voice oozed worry aside from being out of breath as he moved the hair from of her face that had stuck to her skin. He held his hand against her cheek and caressed her skin softly.
"I've been better." She spoke with a rasp, everyone's tense shoulders falling as she gave Finnick a calm smile.
"Always the center of attention, huh?" Johanna snickered as she got to her feet having been crouched close to Nadia's side after they got her back on land.
"Always." Nadia squinted her eyes open to look at Johanna. Despite the joking way she spoke, Nadia knew she was worried for her. Most of Johanna's expressions were filled with anger, you just had to know where to look to find any sign that she actually had a heart. If you knew how to read her, she was actually a very pleasant person to be around.
Turning to shift her gaze to the sky where she was going to close her eyes and rest another minute, she was instead met with Finnick's green eyes.
"...Hi." She smiled, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly in reassurance.
"We should go." Peeta put forward as he looked over Nadia once more just to make sure she was actually okay. Maybe it was inevitable, but he didn't want to lose another person.
"Let's just grab what we need and get off this bloody island." Johanna stated as herself, Beetee, Katniss and Peeta started back to the cornucopia.
"Can you stand?" Apollo asked, the woman tipping her head up to meet his eye that held an abundance of concern as well, a menacing snicker passing her lips.
"I'm actually pretty comfortable." She said.
"Well, too bad." Apollo chuckled before he and Finnick got Nadia back on her feet, the latter saying nothing as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest.
Apollo stood back and looked at them for a moment with a proud, almost giddy smile. He would've cheered like a mad man if not for how worried Finnick seemed to be, so he decided to leave them be and go bother Johanna instead.
"I'm okay..." She spoke just above a whisper, her stomach twisting in that wonderful way as he hugged her tighter. "I promise."
"I know." He replied, laying a chaste kiss on her neck before he pulled back. He held her face in his hands and looked into her eyes, the man not even thinking how shocking this must look to The Capitol. "You just scared me is all."
She nodded with a small grin, sliding her hands up and down his chest as a gesture of comfort. "I was just testing you."
"What is nearly drowning yourself supposed to test me on?" He asked, astounded and a little tickled as he laughed softly.
She squinted her eyes in an attempt to muster up an answer, Finnick's smile growing the longer it took her to respond.
"...Reflexes?"
▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂