19 | RIOT
| THE CAPITOL; CONTROL ROOM |
A visage of Katniss and Peeta kissing plays on the screen, their foreheads pressed against each other. Plutarch Heavensbee closed the door behind him, the President's full attention on the screen as he watched the teenage girl.
"She's preparing to fight," Snow commented, looking over at the Head Gamemaker with his cold eyes.
Plutarch gave him a wistful smile, "that's our girl."
"This is what you predicted." Snow said while sitting on the couch that faced the large screen, various clips of Johanna and Beetee, Finnick and Greyson, Brutus and Enobaria playing, watching their every move. Plutarch sat as well. "Moves and counter moves," Snow tested the words on his tongue, a slight hiss at the end of his sentence as if he enjoyed the feeling of it lasting in his mouth.
"Indeed," Plutarch looked at the clock that hung on the wall and realized just how much little time he had left. He stood up and addressed Snow. "We'll toast when it's done? In the meantime, make yourself comfortable." Snow nodded and leaned back against the couch, prepared to watch Katniss Everdeen ruin all that she's created.
| THE ARENA; LIGHTNING TREE |
Wire after wire did Beetee mechanically wrap the copper around the trunk of the lightning tree, mumbling to himself every few seconds. Greyson was standing by Finnick, unsure about everything that led up to this moment. She was shaking with anticipation, every move she made felt like she had lead in her bones. But once the action started, she knew that she'd fight back.
She poked Finnick on the stomach, his muscles feeling hard to the touch as she withdrew her hand. Finnick looked down at her, a mixture of worry and adoration in his eyes. "Finn," she whispered so the others wouldn't be able to hear them. "Whatever happens, from today and onward, I want you to know that you're probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. And that's saying a lot from the girl who's lived most of her life alone."
He smiled down at her, kissing the top of her forehead. "I love you," he whispered back to her.
Beetee's voice cut through the humid air, holding out the coil of wire to Johanna and Katniss. "Typically, a lightning strike contains five billion joules of energy. We don't want to be anywhere in the vicinity when this hits. You two girls, go together now." They take it from him, Katniss wearily eyeing Peeta from afar. Greyson and everybody else knew what the plan was, but she feared that Peeta and Katniss would disrupt it and get them all killed. "Take this. Unspool it carefully. Make sure the entire coil is in the water, understand? Then head to the tree at the two o'clock sector, we'll meet you there."
"I'm gonna go with them as guard," Peeta stepped forward, volunteering himself for something everybody didn't want or need.
Beetee shook his head. "No. No, no, no. You're staying here to protect me, and the tree."
"No, I need to go with her." Peeta said, not taking no as an answer.
"There are two careers out there, I need two guards."
Greyson stepped forward and put a hand on Peeta's shoulder, causing him to look at her. She'd gained his trust awhile ago, maybe not all of it, but enough. "I'll go with them, okay? You know just as much as I do that Finnick isn't stable enough to take on two victors by himself, and I only have a few arrows left. I haven't known you long, Peeta, but I know you aren't an idiot."
Peeta questionably looked to her, then to a stoic, but slightly desperate Katniss. Beetee broke the tension.
"You all agreed to keep me alive till midnight, correct?" He asked.
"It's his plan, we all agreed to it." Johanna said, eyeing Greyson with respect.
"Is there a problem, here?" Finnick stepped in with his trident clenched in his hand, letting it sink into the soft ground. He looked at Greyson with confusion and irritation. She wasn't supposed to be the one leaving with the coil.
"Excellent question," Beetee mused.
"No. There's no problem." Katniss kissed Peeta, saying something to him that Greyson couldn't hear.
Greyson stepped toward Finnick who immediately dropped his trident and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her slightly off the ground. He kissed her then moved his mouth unsuspectingly to her ear and whispered, "don't die."
She sadly smiled as he put her down. "I'll try not to." She didn't tell Finnick this, but if it came down to Katniss and her; the two Mockingjays, she wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice herself.
The two of them returned to an impatient Johanna, Greyson going to stand by her friend. "Alright, let's go," Johanna said, discreetly sharing a look with Finnick.
The hill was steep from the trek down, vines caught on their ankles and even as they tried to be as quiet as possible, twigs snapped underneath their feet. Greyson was gripping onto her only knife, her bow slung back across her chest. She had three arrows left, a necessity she didn't want to waste. They were almost to the beach, Greyson could see it in the distance.
"Come on," Johanna said as it was Katniss who had the coil. "I want to put as much distance between me and this beach as much as possible. Frying is not how I want to go."
Greyson was about to agree, but Katniss had suddenly stopped moving, tugging on the coil. It was stuck. "There's something . . ." Katniss said, letting go of the coil and grabbing onto the wire.
Greyson sucked in a quiet breath as Johanna picked up the coil just as Katniss realized the wire was cut. And as if it couldn't have gotten any worse, Brutus and Enobaria emerged from behind the rocks, her teeth bared and his eyes sinisterly focused on Greyson.
Johanna reacted quickly, knocking Katniss in the back of the head and allowing time for Greyson to cut into her arm, a scream emitting from Katniss. Greyson found the tracker and threw it away from where they were, down by the beach.
"Shh," Johanna said as Katniss let out a moan of pain. "Stay down."
Brutus and Enobaria started making their way towards Johanna and Greyson. To divert them, Johanna threw her axe at their heads, missing her targets and losing her only weapon. Greyson painfully cut out her own tracker, then handed Johanna her knife and watched as Johanna started running away from them, a shout for Johanna caught in Greyson's throat. She wasn't supposed to leave them, she was supposed to stay with Katniss. This wasn't the plan at all.
"Come on," she heard Enobaria say to Brutus.
As they walked away, Brutus shouted. "Johanna, where are you?"
Greyson climbed up into their view, and Enobaria snickered as if the sight of Greyson was pathetic. "I'll go find Mason, you take her."
Brutus wickedly grinned at Greyson as he advanced forward. "My pleasure." Without a thought in mind, he tackled Greyson to the ground and knocked the wind out of her, pinning her legs together as she tried to grab an arrow from her quiver that was squished between the earth and her back. Brutus had no weapons, but that didn't mean he couldn't use his fists.
"Get off me, you ugly shit!" Greyson screamed, thrashing underneath his heavy weight. A vivid flashback of her and him in the training center came into mind.
He let out a deranged laugh as he sent the first punch, his thick knuckles crashing into her fragile jaw. Greyson could taste the familiar metallic blood in her mouth, the throbbing pain growing as Brutus sent in another hit. Greyson wiggled one of her hands free without him knowing and launched forward, clawing at his face. She felt his skin against her fingernails and his blood mix with Katniss' and her own on her hands.
Brutus wailed in agony, grabbing Greyson's arm and pinning it down again. "You think you're so clever, I don't see your fiancé coming to save you this time. And once I'm done with you, I'll kill him too." Brutus spat at Greyson, sending a punch to her eye and then another to her nose.
She could feel everything, but at the same time as he kept sending punch after punch her vision started to blur, and everything that seemed so simple as basic coordination, fell out of place. Blood dribbled out of her mouth as she spoke, painting her teeth red. "You could've snapped my neck," she breathed heavily. "Why haven't you killed me yet?"
His hand found its way to her throat, gripping it with force. "Shut up, stop talking!"
"Johanna!" A voice was heard in the distance, a far away tremor amongst Greyson's battleground. But as they neared closer and closer Greyson knew who it was, and she began to thrash under Brutus' choking hold, tears leaking out of her eyes.
Brutus stared into Greyson's eyes, nothing but pure satisfaction in them. Just as he was about to say something, three sharp spokes poked out of his chest, blood dribbling down his suit and onto her chest. His hands loosened around her throat and soon he was pushed off of her, revealing a relieved Finnick. A cannon went off, echoing in the eerie and dark jungle.
"You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that."
"F-Finnick," Greyson wheezed out while trying to sit up.
"Are you alright?" He crouched down and let her wrap an arm around his shoulders, fisting the material of his suit to get a better hold. "Wait, don't answer that. Of course you're not okay," he scolded himself.
"W-We have to f-find Johanna," Greyson said as blood kept pouring into her mouth.
"We'll find her, don't worry." Finnick reassured her as they made their way back to they lightning tree. Both of them were oblivious as to where Katniss was.
Finnick's grip around her waist was enough to reassure her that she was safe, for the time being. She knew that he'd protect her in any way that he could. She could tell he was on high alert, the hard expression on his face saying more than words.
Her breathing was deep, and her face where Brutus had hit her was swollen and painful every time she moved. Greyson could already start to feel the skin around her eye begin to puff up and cause her vision to be hazy. She could only see clearly out of her right eye. Greyson knew the tree was a few yards away from them. She'd made it.
A glare of light flashed up ahead, and Greyson immediately thought about Beetee. "Beetee," was all she could muster up. Her throat was closing on her.
Faintly, the two could hear Katniss yell, "Peeta! Peeta!"
Finnick looked ahead and started walking faster, hauling Greyson by his side. Rushing into the clearing, Finnick panted as he saw Beetee lying on the ground a few feet away from them. "Katniss, where are you?" He shouted just as Greyson was holding onto her throat, her chest barely rising up and down as it should've been. His eyes swept the area and to his surprise, Katniss was crouched down behind a bush, her arrow aimed straight at him.
He dropped his trident and raised his hand in surrender, locking eyes with her. "Katniss." His brain ran with words to say, anything to deter her from killing him. Greyson felt limp in his arms, shallow breaths escaping her. "Remember who the real enemy is."
Slowly, Katniss lowered her bow and looked up at the sky, the clouds swirling above the tree to indicate that the lightning was about to strike. "Katniss, get away from that tree!" Finnick shouted at her. She ignored him and instead wrapped a piece of the wire around her arrow and aimed upward. Finnick desperately took a step forward. "Katniss, get away from that tree!"
Greyson dropped to the ground and Katniss shot the arrow once she saw lightning flash down, a scream ripping from her throat. Finnick was flung back by the explosion, falling a few feet away from Greyson. He looked up, watching as everything in the arena started to fall apart, destroying the sky he gazed at each night and breaking tree branches as large pieces of metal fell on top of them. He wanted to laugh at it all, because they'd done it, they broke The Hunger Games.
Let the rebellion begin, he thought.
A/N: well, that happened. hopefully Greyson doesn't die. that'd suck. also thank you all so much for completing our goal so quickly! I was really surprised and happy at the same time! and on the whole #27 in fanfiction, I asked Wattpad about it and they said my story was in a different language besides English and I was like 'well shit okay' so that's why if you tried looking for it it wasn't there. the next chapter is the last chapter to part one! ahh this is awesome. okay I'm done.
Goal: 30 votes and 10 comments.
thank you for reading! xx