"It's not possible," Brutus whispered, in pain from the thrown knife in his hand, the only sound in the ghastly fear washing over the five victor tributes present, all their attention on... Her. "Your canon! It sounded!"
Johanna could tell just why the careers reacted like this; she too heard the canon; she too was watching a monstrosity rise in front of them.
In front of them stood a dead woman.
"Why are you looking like that Janice? In a bit of trouble?"
Bera stood there, her head tilted to the side with a manic smile stretching wide on her scrapped up face with blood dripping out of her mouth.
With a... With a spear shoved deep through the crook of her neck on the right, through her torso and at least two inch of it sticking out almost at the bottom of her ribs on the left, her left arm slashed into by the spear, blood just oozing out.
"Make sure I am dead next time you sound my canon." She said, grabbing the shaft of the spear, walking down from her stop, standing between Johanna and the careers. "Because otherwise, I always come back."
Bera pulled on the spear, it moved up through her before before another jerk was needed to rip it out, a wet sucked voice heard as it exited the chest cavity. Only then, finally lifting her head up, her neck cracking loudly as she did so.
"I am hard to kill if you haven't noticed." She looked at them, light gone from her eyes and madness remained at the controls, spinning the spear, blood flying off it before pointing it at them.
(This, this whole scene, I don't know why but it is quite horrifying in my head ever since I thought of it.)
"Can you move?" She snapped out of her stupor as the sound of Bera's voice as she spoke to her, murderous gaze affixed to her.
"Euh yeah." She got on her knees and stood.
"Good, find Finnick, go."
"Wha--" "I SAID GO JOHANNA!!" As she clashed spears with Brutus, deviating his stab from her face to just slicing into her ears before whipping hers into his guts.
"Get her!!"
But as Gloss and Cashmere tried to round her, throwing her spear out in a spin with her body for momentum, whipping it around her.
"GLOSS!!" The spear cutting through his side and Cashmere saw not pity in those dark eyes that looked back at her, catching her brother's limp body as a spear stabbed through his face and twisted to rip flesh and nose out of his face, Enobaria's sword stopping Cashmere's own demise.
"GO!" She demanded from 1 who, using the shock she was feeling, left her brother behind and left, sprinting after Johanna.
The spear soared, whipping up vegetation, not giving a moment of respite, Enobaria ducking behind Brutus who had more skills with such a weapon and able to protect them.
Bera was not playing, this was a fight she needed to finish fast.
She was fighting through numbness, through pain, through blurred eye sight, through her brain tearing itself apart.
She never realized that with so much focus she could make it through it, but the toll (tole? idk) it is taking on her body if heavy, a body that's already shutting down.
She had a little time to regain her breath, the tracker they had stabbed into her arm being broken by the spear when it rained spears and so, she was counted as dead.
But Bera is durable, stubborn and outright a bastard and each story needs a bastard, and her story is not over!
Even with Brutus' spear through her shoulder, running her backwards until her pain-fuit-ed knives stabbed and flayed his forearm did he back up.
Her eyes were heavy, so heavy. With snap of her teeth, grabbing the third knife, driving it through her own thigh, deep, deep into her leg, agony forcing her eyes open.
"I'll regret killing Gloss before I ever regret giving you cosmetic surgery." She said, blood pooling out of her mouth as she talked, standing with body tilting more towards the left then being straight, spear held pointed down, but those eyes of psycho still remained firmly locked on the big man.
She expected nothing else from a woman that was trying to save her own life but she at least expected Enobaria to look like she meant it. A devastating blow of the spear in the side of her head, and as a 'stay the fuck down' prompter, drove her spear through her back and pinning her to the ground with it.
Bending back into a fall she almost cause herself from to avoid her head going fly, pulling the last knife out and dislodging the third from her legs, swinging both in a reverse grip and embedding them in his hip joint and side before a kick to legs sent her down.
Flipped over and ripping her spear up, blocked a stab by jumping it to the side and driving the flat end into his guts, making him bend over and get the spear then driving up in a swing under his chin, teeth slamming together.
Swinging the staff over her shoulder with blazing eyes, blocking Enobaria's swing as the twisted to face her but drive a strong kick backwards into Brutus.
If she won't stay out of this, Bera will make sure she will once and for all.
Bera moving the spearhead in between Enobaria's hands and slashed upwards, her left hand letting go of the sword as the muscles used to close her hand were severed, all the while swinging back to slash in Brutu's shoulder, facing him with a jab as she yanked back and the butt of the spear slammed Enobaria in the face, keeping on turning, the spear whooshing through the air--But she twisted it, the flat of the edge hitting her in the throat, a shove to the throat, spear aimed down and driven through her shoulder, and this time it was not dirt nor would she pull it out, it was a thick root and she drove the spear deep into it, jerking it right to bend it and make it even more impossible for her to avoid it.
Only a flinch at the slash through her back before she whipped back and grabbed the spear at the second stab, tho not grabbing on the staff.
Letting it jab through her palm and hilt out before grabbing the staff of it then, than driving her heal hard into his stomach and pulling.
Getting her weapon back from him since he dared taking it after thinking he killed her.
With one arm raised up, driving it in with her whole strength.
Brutus staggered and collapsed, forearm brought up for protection now pinned to his forehead.
She walked over, gasping for breath, struggling to move her own body, and wrenching the spear out just as the arena exploded.
She looked back, seeing pieces fall away.
Focus, you need to focus.
But the strain of not giving it being to heavy.
Dragging her foot after the other, both hands on the spear to walk, fighting herself up a mountain that was actually just a little hill.
A deep cough shook her marinating insides, her hands shook and slipped, her body coming crashing down.
She couldn't move, seeing a piece of the arena's ceiling fall inches away from her face, feeling the heat of the flames so close but unable to react.
Bera... Was... Done...
-------------------------------------------
Johanna, oh little Johanna.
As crafty as she is young.
She had hidden away in a shrub right by the battle as Cashmere wouldn't think of looking so close and run off.
She did almost give herself away when she used a sharp-ish stone to slice into her own arm.
It was fight worthy of a final in an arena and still, despite the injuries and state she was in, it was Bera that led the dance.
And from her hiding spot she scrambled out, heaving Bera's body up, screaming bloody murder with frantic waves when the hovercraft with Katniss and Finnick flew away.
Lucky her little heart, another had swooped in for them.
And that's how she found herself sitting in awkward silence with a woman she didn't know but was also a mentor of 8 while both waiting for news from the onboard doctors about if the youngest victor of 8 would make it until being transported to 13.