121PART 2
"Johanna," I splutter, my bow dropping from my hand. I shouldn't drop my defence, especially when Enobaria is around here somewhere. But I cannot help it. Gale's face, along with the words 'District 12' are peering down at me. Then they disappear and my panic starts to rise even further. "Johanna, what does that mean?"
"It's nothing Katniss," she says but she doesn't look too convinced. "Nothing's happened to him. They're just trying to scare you, rattle you. Don't let them."
"But the cannon….." I turn, spinning around wildly. "Could they put him in the arena? Kill him?"
"It's never been done," she says, biting her bottom lip. But I hear what she doesn't say. Just because it hasn't been done before, doesn't mean they wouldn't do it. They could have dropped Gale into the arena at any time, and Enobaria or even one of the other tributes left might have killed him.
"We have to do –"
I don't get to finish my sentence. Something smashes into the side of my head and my vision swims. It comes again, a blow to my temples and I crash into the grass. Blood cascades down the side of my face. Through the sea of red, I see Johanna lean over me. Enobaria must have attacked us. Johanna is coming to help me...
Oh how wrong I am.
She drives her serrated knife into my forearm, just above my elbow and I let out a silent gasp. She wrenches it inside, ripping through my muscles and tendons until I can barely feel my arm. Then she takes it out, steps over my body, like I am nothing and takes off into the jungle.
Johanna has betrayed us. Not that I should be surprised. This ally thing was never going to last forever. She and Finnick were probably planning it for days. And I stupidly let my guard down. I should have killed her while I had the chance.
I am lying down, face in the grass. I can feel the wound in my side reopening and there is still blood running down the side of my face, dripping over my lips. My left arm is completely useless from where Johanna stabbed me. I am a bloodied, crippled mess but I cannot give up now. I use my one good arm to drag myself across the soil, inching myself slowly back to where I know Peeta is. I hope he can win. Johanna will get rid of Enobaria. Peeta just has to hope that she and Finnick destroy each other so he has a genuine chance.
I manage to lift my head ever so slightly so I can stare upwards. There is a large shadow in the sky. It almost looks like a…..hovercraft.
"Katniss! Katniss, where are you?" I can see that head of blonde hair ever so slightly, head turning frantically as he searches for me. I want to tell him where I am but I cannot seem to muster the strength to raise my voice to him. I am half buried in dirt and blood and grass.
I can see Beetee not too far away, perched in a tree, his wire wrapped around his hands. What is he doing?
There is an explosion of noise that shakes my whole body. My eyes close and open frequently and it looks almost like it is raining fire. This is it, I realise. I'm having delusions from the loss of blood. I am going, going…
Gone.
I should be dead.
But somehow I open my eyes. And I know I am not dead, because I recognise the inside of one of The Capitol hovercrafts, similar to the one me and Peeta were picked up in the last Games. If I am dead, there has to be a better afterlife than this.
I sit up with great difficulty, my body stiff and sore. Someone has stitched up my arm and bandaged my stomach. I feel for the wound on my head where Johanna struck me but it is only a patch of pink, raw skin.
I get off the bed gingerly, taking small, quiet steps. If The Capitol have taken me, then they must have Peeta too. What are they going to do to us? How did we end up out of the arena?
I look around the room, searching for something I can use as a weapon. It seems though that they have removed anything even remotely dangerous. Oh how well they know me.
I close my door as silently as possible and head down the hall. I can hear voices. One is almost familiar – gruff and gravely, with a hint of irritation…..
I open the door and three pairs of eyes lock on to me. Only two pairs look surprised. The third, grey seam eyes, just raise in appreciation. "Bout time you woke up sweetheart," Haymitch comments, and this is one of the very rare times I notice that he has no drink in his hand.
Finnick is smiling at me, but there is something very sad about it. On his left, there is a man I am sure I have seen before but cannot name.
The man seems to sense my hesitation regarding him. "Plutarch Heaversbee," he says, standing up and offering me his hand. I ignore it, because I know now where I recognise him from. He is the head Gamemaker.
Haymitch gives a low chuckle. "You can trust him Katniss." As if to reinforce this, Plutarch smiles at me. I still don't shake his hand though.
"Tell me what happened," I say softly.
To my surprise, Haymitch does not make a snappy comment in reply. He answers in detail with a straight face. Apparently there was a plan to break us all out of the arena, a plan formed as soon as the Quarter Quell was moved up so suddenly. Most of the tributes besides the Careers were in on this plan. Except of course Peeta and I.
Plutarch deliberately put the wire in the arena, so that Beetee could blow the arena up. That's what he was doing when I saw him in the tree. He was blowing up the force field so that the hovercraft could retrieve us.
There is a pause. "We didn't get everyone Katniss. The Capitol picked up Johanna and Enobaria….and Peeta." My fists clench reflexively and I feel like my chest could explode. The Capitol has Peeta. Haymitch promised he would save him, protect him. He failed.
Plutarch takes over but his voice is barely background noise. I am staring at Haymitch and he is staring back at me, my eyes glazing over with rage. "The tributes all agreed to sacrifice their lives for you Katniss. To keep you alive so the rebellion could live."
Many things click into place. Finnick trying so hard to resuscitate Peeta and offering to rescue him off the plate on the very first day. Johanna standing by his side when the Careers pounced on us. They were all protecting Peeta. But not for him. For me.
"You never planned to save him, did you?" I ask Haymitch quietly, and right then, it is only him and me, and the broken promise to protect a boy hanging between us. Our eyes stare each other down, daring the other to blink. Finally Haymitch looks away. He doesn't have to say a word for me to know the truth.
I leap out of my seat towards Haymitch. I may not have any weapons but I have my fists and my feet and my nails and I inflict as much damage as I can on him. He doesn't even try to stop me. Maybe he knows how much he deserves this after he let them take Peeta.
Finally Finnick pulls me off. Haymitch clears the tiny trace of blood on his face that I caused. Good. He deserves that and more. With a glare directed at me, he says, "You need to listen to me sweetheart. Whether you like it or not, you need me. This isn't about you anymore. This is about something bigger than all of us. Something that's been going on since before you were born."
"I don't care!" I scream. I know I'm being selfish but Haymitch promised. He promised to protect Peeta and he once again lied. "They've got him Haymitch. They've got Peeta. You have to go help him."
Plutarch Heaversbee and Haymitch exchange a look. There is something else they are not telling me.
"District 12 was bombed," Haymitch says flatly and the pain in my chest intensifies. My home. Destroyed. The words don't seem synonymous with each other. "Your family got out okay. They're safe." I am so relieved I let out a sob in Finnick's arms. Prim. My mother. They're okay. The Capitol haven't taken them away from me like they've taken everyone else.
Haymitch pulls a flask from his pockets but he does not drink it. He simply holds it in his hands, weighing it in his palms. "Peeta and the other tributes weren't the only ones The Capitol picked up." My thoughts go straight to my family but they're safe according to Haymitch. But who else…
It comes to me as soon as he says it. "They've got Gale, Katniss."
I just would like to say thankyou to everyone who reviewed, alerted, favourited or just simply took the time to read the story. There will be a sequel - you'll get to find out what happened to Gale and if Katniss and Peeta will ever truly work things out and get their happy ending. It will be probably be up within the week. Look for it.
Oh and p.s 100 reviews? You are all awesome :)