"Look behind, death. Look ahead, death. Look beside you, and you might just find safety."
Ocean
Just as I had finally found a comfortable position, the Capitol anthem began to play signalling that they were showing today's fallen tributes. I roll over to my back and push myself up so I'm leaning against Finnick's leg. "I counted eight," I say to everyone but I breathe a sigh of relief when I don't see Johanna's picture up there.
Just as they finish we hear the tell tale whistle of a sponsor gift. Katniss immediately jumps up and runs over too the small metal box. "Drink up?" Katniss says confused looking at the oddly shaped object. "What is it?" I ask, "it's from Haymitch," Katniss replies "I think it's a spiel." "A what?" Finnick asks, neither of us had ever heard of this small object. Katniss runs over too one of the trees and starts hitting the spiel into the tree with a rock. When she finished hitting it she just stood there staring at the spiel. After about five minutes fresh water started pouring out of the spiel. Each of us take turns drinking the water, I splashed some on my face and had a good long drink before giving up my spot under the water. I hadn't had any good water since this torture cage began there is no way I was giving this up. After a while of taking turns drinking the water we all went back to our positions either sleeping or watching.
After about and hour of lying on the ground uncomfortably these clock like chimes started playing. I sat up too suddenly and my back starts aching. "I counted twelve," Katniss said when they stopped. "Midnight?" Finnick said, "or the number of districts," Katniss finished. Then everything went quiet for a second before the lightning started. Twelve strikes all to the same tree, this huge tree taller than any other you could see it from anywhere. "Well if you aren't going to sleep, I will," Finnick said, "okay," Katniss responded before stationing herself to face the other way. Finnick came over and payed next to me, hugging me close he said, "Thank you for still being here, I don't think I could do this without you," I turn around to face him and smile, I kissed his cheek too before laying down fully and falling into a light slumber.
I wake up to a strangled scream before Katniss yells, "Run! Run! The fog is poison!" Finnick is up first before grabbing my hand and helping me up. The two of us run as far in the other direction as we could whilst still keeping Katniss and Peeta in our view. As we're running the fog starts coming in from all different sides. Suddenly Katniss falls over and Peeta runs back to rescue her but as she is getting stung by the fog so does he. Peeta already being injured isn't helpful at all Katniss can't carry him and we don't know what to do, I'm fine now so I can walk so we hoist Peeta onto our shoulders as we walk as fast as we can away from the fog. Out of nowhere the ground under our feet falls away and we fall down a hill anything but graciously. As I hit the bottom black dots start coming into my vision and slowly the world fades away into blackness.
I'm awoken by an incredibly painful sting on my body. I slowly begin to see better and I make out Finnick next to me holding me down and rubbing the blisters from the fog off my skin. In a small pond of water. When I was fully awake I started to watch as Finnick started to submerge my leg. "Shh it's alright O, I'm just getting the blisters off your skin," He tells me. "Is she alright?" I hear Katniss ask from behind Finnick, "Yeah I'm alright Katniss," I respond. As I'm lying there I look up into the trees and see this monkey like animal in the tree. "Mutts," I whisper to Katniss and Finnick.
I double checked my belt for my knives and found that I had all of them as well as my trident. Finnick quickly picked up his trident out of the water and stood up. I felt fine now that I didn't have the painful blisters covering my skin. I look over my shoulder to see if there were anymore behind us luckily there weren't for the moment but I also saw a glimpse of the blue water of the lake. "Peeta walk over here slowly," Katniss says. As he is backing up Peeta makes eye contact with one of the mutts and it sets them all off. They start growling and slowly advancing on us.
"Get to the beach!" I yell as I let one of my knives fly as one of them jumped on Peeta. Everything started from that moment Finnick was viciously stabbing any mutt that got near him, Katniss was shooting arrows at the ones further away, and Peeta was trying his hardest to keep them at bay with his sword. I was doing fine but I had now run out of knives so I grabbed my trident from its holder on my leg and got stabbing, everyone was slowly backing up towards the beach.
Everything was going fine until I saw one of the apes jump Peeta, I ran over and stabbed the mutt with my trident, as I picked it up Peeta got up from under it and gave me a quick nod as a Thank you. Next I see Katniss go down but Peeta ran over and stabbed the mutt and the two ran for the beach. As their running several of the mutts grabbed onto them trying to prevent them from getting away. They did alright at defending themselves until one of the mutts jumped on Peeta and held him to the ground. One of the morphlings then jumped out in front of Peeta just as the mutts attacked, it got her throat causing her not to be able to breathe properly.
The two 'star-crossed lovers' pulled her too the beach as Finnick and I stood guard, still stabbing the few mutts that came out near the beach. Katniss and Peeta stayed with the female morphling until her canon went off. They let her go as they pushed her out into the water. The two stayed out in the water talking till the Capitols craft left. After a good few minutes Finnick and I took to the water to catch some food so we could eat. Finnick worked better with his trident catching fish so I looked for clams and other shell fish.
After a while of fishing Finnick and I went back to the beach as we had plenty of fish to eat. We sat and ate the fish which was a welcome meal after nothing but water for the last two days. Peeta was shelling the oysters I had found when he finds a black pearl inside. Interrupting our quiet lunch/dinner, a huge tsunami like wave crashed over a section of the arena causing we believe only one person to die as only one canon was heard.
After a few second of silence when the wave had finished and the remains of it were washing up on our feet another scream was heard. This time coming from closer by. We saw two people cover in blood coaxing another out of the forest. I recognised them first as I yelled "Johanna!" I ran up to them and gave her a hug. "Ocean, Finnick!" Johanna yelled as Finnick followed me. After a couple of seconds Peeta and Katniss followed us over too everyone else. "Well I got them out, we were all the way deep into the jungle where I thought it was going to be safe, that was when the rain started, I thought it was water it turned out to be blood, hot thick blood, it was coming down, it's chocking us, we were stumbling around gagging on it blind, that's when Blight hit the force field, he wasn't much but he was from home." Johanna told us.
"Tick Tock!" Wiress kept repeating loudly, "what's wrong with her?" Katniss asked with genuine concern. "She's in shock, dehydration isn't helping, do you have fresh water?" Beetee says "we can get some," Katniss says. Johanna starts going off at Wiress for repeating tick tock in her ear and Katniss begins to break it up pushing Johanna away from Wires causing Johanna to spill confidential information. I pulled Johanna away into the water. I left her there as I went back to Finnick.
"This whole arena seems to be played out like a clock, with a new threat every hour, but they only stay in their wedge, it all starts with the lightning, then the blood rain, fog, monkeys, that's the first four hours. At ten that big wave hits from over there." Katniss tells us. "Wiress you're a genius!" Finnick says. By now we were all on the Cornucopia and I was searching for another belt of knives as I was out of my other ones and I can't find them in the jungle. I didn't pay much attention to what they were saying when I was looking for my knives. When I left the little room with all the equipment the careers had left I had two more belts of knives they obviously hadn't seen.
As soon as I rejoined the group I heard a gasp and Gloss slit Wiress's throat. Both Katniss and I sent out weapon into his chest. Johanna then pushed Katniss out of the way as Cashmere went to hit Katniss with whatever her weapon was, Johanna hit her straight in the head with her axe. Next to this I see Brutus and Enobaria coming at Finnick so I take on Enobaria trying to hit her with my knives but the best I do is give her a nasty looking cut skin her head.
Out of nowhere the Cornucopia starts spinning. I land near Finnick when I'm knocked off my feet. I slowly loose my grip on the rock and even with Finnick trying to keep me up and get sent into the water. I hold my breath as I water for the rushing white water above me to stop before I go back up. When I resurface I see everyone over where Katniss is getting out of the water. I jump out and run over to Finnick and jump on his back. "Everything alright?" I ask "Yeah we're all good." He replies. We all walk back to the beach with me on Finnick's back and everyone re-stocked up on weapons.
Back on the beach we all sit down and Katniss says "so besides Brutus and Enobaria, who's left?" "Maybe Chaff, just those three," Peeta responds. "They know their out numbered I doubt they'll attack again, we're safe here on the beach," Finnick says. "So what do we do, hunt 'em down?" Johanna suggests.
Suddenly screams start coming out of the forest yelling for Katniss. "Prim! Prim! Prim I'm coming!" Katniss yells back as she took off towards the voice, that's when I heard my voice scream out. Finnick's head snaps towards me, "it's fake that's all it is," he says. When he finished I heard a voice very dear to me. "Seiana!" I yell as I run into the forest as she screams for my help.
I follow Katniss into the forest. I couldn't find her so I just sat there screaming for my adoptive mum. Then I hear my voice again, I know Finnick must have entered the forest if I'm hearing my voice. After about 10 minutes I feel the presence of two people next to me screaming for their loved ones. Finnick and I were leaning against each other holding onto the other for dear life.
This continued on for an hour, when suddenly it all stopped, the noise, the screaming, everything it all stopped except for the heavy breathing of the three of us who were trapped it a glass cage for the past hour. I could hear Peeta looking after Katniss telling her it isn't real and trying to comfort her but Johanna didn't come over to Finnick and I and honestly I glad. It is probably better this way. Finnick's top was covered in my tears whilst my hair was damp in places from where he had been crying.
As Finnick and I were huddled up together and Katniss and Peeta were sitting together Johanna starts yelling to the sky after saying something to Katniss and Peeta. "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 yells, "what? He can't hurt me, there is no one left that I love." Johanna says before walking further into the forest, "I'll get you some water,"