Katniss awoke in the morning of the first day of the Games just before dawn. Prim was still sleeping soundly beside her, Buttercup curled near her feet. In the days since Johanna and Gale had left for the Capitol, it seemed like life was moving in slow motion. School was not an option any longer; all time during the day was spent hunting and gathering. There were three families now needing her assistance. She'd sell things at the Hob and bring the money or food to Hazelle, grab John from school and go hunting in the woods with him, then retire at night, completely exhausted from the day.
The only reprieve had been the night before during the interviews. She hadn't watched any of the other compulsory broadcast, choosing instead to go alone in the woods and pretend none of this was happening. But that night would be the last time she'd see her friends before they were thrown into the arena, so she watched with her mother and sister.
The tributes all rolled by, one by one, none of them particularly interesting. Her heart ached for little Rue as she flitted on stage like a bird, and Katniss wrapped her arm protectively around Prim. Then, Johanna. Never had Katniss seen her look so beautiful. There was very little cause to dress up in 12, so she was certain she had never seen Johanna in anything nicer than her reaping dress. Her makeup on stage was sparse, just some winged eyeliner and some lipstick that made her look even more devastating than she already did. Katniss knew from growing up with her that Johanna attracted attention without giving even the barest hint of effort, not that she'd ever notice or care. Katniss preferred the girl with the light freckles on the tops of her cheeks and a smudge of dirt across her chin, but this gorgeous creature on the stage was another thing all together. It stirred something deep within Katniss's stomach that she hoped was the result of having eaten one of Greasy Sae's concoctions.
"The plum and lamb stew." Katniss grinned at the screen, knowing fully well Johanna meant that for her. She wondered what plums tasted like. Probably sweet to counter the saltiness of the lamb.
"Her sister, Katniss, she's my best friend. I wouldn't want any pain to come to her. We've all suffered so much already. So this is my way... this is my way of protecting them both." Katniss rested her head on her mother's shoulder, feeling the comforting embrace of her mother's arm wrap around her shoulder. Her mother had taken on new life since both Johanna and Gale left. Seeing Katniss so broken, and knowing how Johanna's sacrifice had allowed her daughter to live, seemed to awaken something that had died inside her. She began teaching Johanna's little sister the ways of the homeopathic medicine, enjoying the company of the intelligent young girl. More importantly for Katniss, her motherly instincts had kicked in and she had begun making an effort to reconnect with her.
Gale looked striking. If the girls in 12 weren't already fawning all over him, they would be now. His rapport with Caesar was easier than Katniss thought it would be. Gale hated to fake interactions with anyone. He was smiling, joking, being all the things she knew Gale wasn't. It made her and Prim both laugh at loud to see how different he was. And then...
"She came here with me."
Katniss didn't even hear herself breathe out a "What?" until she saw two pairs of blue eyes staring at her. That couldn't be right. Gale wasn't in love with Johanna. And by the shocked and somewhat angry look on Johanna's face, the feelings were not reciprocated. Why would he say that? Jealousy began to roll up inside her stomach and Katniss felt flattened by it. It had to be a strategy for the games. Surely Johanna would not have gone along with that. It wasn't in her nature. Katniss didn't watch the rest of the program.
As Katniss walked through the woods the following day, she began checking on the snares that Gale had luckily taught her before the reaping. She tucked two rabbits into her belt, making careful work to set up the snare like he did. He was so peculiarly delicate in handling these deadly weapons. He knew how to balance the pulleys and weights, anticipating exactly where the prey would move. Katniss knew she lacked the same skill but she tried nonetheless. She had to try. Three sets of families were counting on her.
The early morning fog was beginning to be burned away by the heat, revealing the meadow before her. Today would be the first day of the Games. The bloodbath at the cornucopia. Gale and Johanna would be too smart to go for the cornucopia, Katniss thought as she climbed a familiar tree. Withdrawing a small end of bread, she gnawed on it as the sun rose ahead of her. This tree was Johanna's favorite. Johanna could scale trees with a frightening speed, somehow making herself lighter than air and sitting in the tops, balanced precariously. Before she was in the home, she and Johanna would often climb the trees together and get away from their lives for a little bit. She cherished those times.
Every night since their departure, she sobbed into her pillow, wondering how she was going to live without her best friends. Three Hawthornes, three Masons, and two Everdeens in the Seam, at least three of them up for reaping next year. Katniss was certain she couldn't support them all. Luckily Johanna had been right about John; he was a quick learner and very quiet. He was more like Gale than Johanna, but did not possess the anger Gale did. From what Katniss could remember about Johanna's dad, he looked a lot like him. He carried his confidence quietly, unlike Johanna who was loud and pompous a lot of the time. It both repelled and attracted people at their school in equal measure. Katniss didn't mind Johanna's brash attitude so much, but the small moments with her, the quiet moments where Johanna reflected on their lives, was what Katniss cherished most. It was a gentle, deep side of Johanna that she reserved for talking to her little sisters or Katniss.
The Games didn't start until about noon, so Katniss spent the rest of her morning devoted to resetting the snares and getting down the Hob to trade before everyone was shuttered in their homes or in the square to watch the beginning of the Games.
Claudius Templesmith's loud voice boomed in the central square in 12, signaling the beginning of the Games. The camera spun around in the circle and Katniss heard her breath catch as she saw Gale, poised to run. Four platforms to his right stood Johanna, her mockingjay pin affixed to the outside of her jacket. Katniss didn't realize it, but she clutched Prim's hand.
The gong rang out and all the tributes took off running. The camera cut so quickly Katniss could barely follow it. Her fingers probably cut off Prim's circulation as Johanna struggled over a backpack with another tribute. Her face got spattered with blood as the mousey girl from 2 stabbed the other person in the back. The camera cut to Gale who had just taken down a boy, Katniss couldn't name the district. Maybe 7. He punched the kid clear across the jaw, and with a deadly precision snapped his neck and let him drop to the floor. Grabbing his own pack the camera followed him as he grabbed something from the Cornucopia and found Johanna.
"C'mon, Jo! Get up! Let's go!"
The camera moved back to the cornucopia where the Careers were mopping up the tributes too slow or stupid to make it away fast enough. The screen went to Gale and Johanna in a sprint through the woods, separating themselves from everyone else. Good. Get as much distance from the nasty Careers as possible. "They made it," Prim whispered to Katniss, smiling up at her sister. "Half of them are already gone but they made it."
"We knew they would." On the screen, Claudius Templesmith began narrating their actions. Gale had somehow managed to procure an axe, which he promptly handed to Johanna. Look at that! Giving your weapon to the enemy! He must really trust that girl. They went to the Careers who were then sorting through the Cornucopia. Katniss felt her blood boil as the insipid girl from 1 grabbed the bow. That's not for you, Katniss thought. That's for Gale. Hell, even Johanna was a decent enough shot when she put forth the patience. Which was around never.
Katniss led Prim away from the square, unable to stomach watching any more. They had made it though the first hour but sometimes the Games lasted for weeks. She would rather spend her time with her mother and sister, or alone in the woods where she could cry in solitude.
But every day she found herself at the Hob watching the broadcast of the Games. Gale and Johanna were featured a lot since they were Panem's unfortunate "love story." She watched them in their quest for water, avoiding a giant wall of manufactured flames, making a safe camp near a little cave by the stream. She almost felt as if she was being carried with them, the way they moved together so perfectly, just as they three did in the woods. They got through the first three days unscathed. They were far from the Careers, who had booby-trapped the area around the cornucopia. It seemed as if they had decided to just wait it out and let the others take care of each other.
The camera found them one very early morning sitting around the embers of a dying fire. The stream they found was helpful to them but they knew they were targets. Only the girl from five, the boy from 3, the Careers, the disabled boy from 10, the two tributes from 11 and Gale and Johanna were left. A twig snapped above them and they both sprung to their feet. Gale with a knife in his hand, Johanna with her axe. Gale was about to throw it when Johanna grabbed his hand. "No wait. It's the little girl."
Rue climbed down from the tree and stepped toward them sheepishly. "I can help you."
"Help us?" Johanna questioned, tucking her axe into her belt. Gale still held his knife tightly in his palm. Johanna nodded to him to put it away and he shook her off.
Rue eyed the knife and nodded. "I know where they sleep. The tributes from One and Two and the girl from Four? They sleep underneath this big tracker jacker nest. They don't know it's there." Johanna widened her eyes but didn't speak. Rue smiled. "I don't have a knife or anything so I can't cut it down. You can."
Gale hardened his gaze. "How do we know you're not with them? Or Thresh?" Johanna raised her eyebrow in disbelief at him and he shrugged. "I don't know, it's possible. They tell her that they'll protect her and once they get rid of us..." Johanna nudged him with her elbow and stepped toward Rue.
"Uh oh, sounds like there's going to be a lover's quarrel." Katniss wanted to strangle whatever stupid person was doing the announcing. Gale and Johanna were so hot-headed how anyone thought they could pass as a couple flew right over Katniss's head. But where Gale's anger was replaced by stone dry logic, Johanna's anger was replaced by wet, hot empathy and emotion. Two sides of the same coin.
"I'm not lying," she replied in a soft voice. "I thought we could help each other." Unbeknownst to Gale and Johanna, Rue had been watching the Careers for two days. She followed their paths, helping herself to the scraps they left behind. She was not with them. She had somehow survived on her own skills and her incredible ability to fly into the trees. If Johanna was even a little like Katniss, she would take her on as an ally. "I help you find the Careers, and you two help me find more food."
"Deal." Gale opened his mouth to protest but Johanna raised her hand to cut him off. "Here's what I'm thinking. You and I will get up as high as we can in the trees. I assume you're good at climbing trees. I saw you in training." Rue grinned proudly and nodded. "So am I. So you show me where they are, and we'll climb up as high as we can. I'll cut down the nest and you take off. We'll meet back here." Johanna turned to Gale. "You stay on the ground and cover us. If someone comes after us, we kill them."
Gale nodded. "And then?"
Johanna shot him a glare as she began cleaning up their camp. "And then we'll fucking figure it out. First things first, we have to get rid of the Careers. We can worry about the future if we have one." Johanna picked up her backpack and put it around her shoulders. She handed some the rest of their meat to Rue, nodding for her to take it. "Go ahead, kid. You look like you need it."
"If we knock this nest down the bees are going to come after us, too. What's the plan? Hope they don't come our way? We both know that's how it works." Katniss smirked at Gale's stubbornness. But she knew Johanna. She knew Johanna saw in Rue what Katniss saw immediately: her sister. Johanna probably saw Aurelia and Celadine and Primrose all rolled into the tiny little bird that was Rue. If neither of them were to come home, Johanna would want it to be Rue.
"We'll run. We know that it's happening." Johanna looked to Rue. "Where they are, is it far? Will they be awake by the time we get to them?"
Rue shook her head. "Nope. It's not too far from here. The girl who was supposed to take watch fell asleep right when I left. It will only take a few minutes to get there."
Johanna paused, looking deep in thought for a moment. "Have you seen the red-haired girl from Five?"
Rue nodded her head. "Yeah. She's been very clever, avoiding everyone. She usually goes in after you guys or the Careers leave their camp and eats whatever is left. She figured out that the careers had put explosives near the cornucopia."
Gale whipped his attention to Rue. "They have mines?"
She nodded solemnly. "I saw her get in and out of them. The entire place is booby-trapped."
After Gale put out the rest of the smoldering embers he gathered his things and begrudgingly gave Johanna a curt nod. She looked to the little girl. "Well that's a problem for another day. All right then Rue. Lead the way."
The walk was short, as she had said. The cameras didn't even cut away from the trio as they approached the Career's camp. Katniss wondered why they had taken rest there. Maybe someone had gotten to the Cornucopia. More than likely, it was a way to attract people to the horn and possibly blow them up trying to steal supplies.
The non-verbal communication between the three of them was flawless. Katniss felt people bump past her in the Hob as the Games played on the television but she stood firm. She had to see if this worked. This plan could potentially kill them; tracker jackers are notoriously aggressive when they are threatened. When they would see the nests in the woods at home, they'd go as far away as possible. For both Gale and Johanna to approach them so closely meant a lot of trust being placed in this little girl and her plan.
Johanna and Rue silently scaled the trees together. Johanna removed her axe from her belt and Katniss could almost feel her nervousness. If she missed the small spindle of what looked like gray plaster that connected the nest to the tree, she'd be dead. All of them probably would be, including Gale and Rue. Gale was tucked into the safety of some brush, armed with his knife, watching Johanna. His eyes dipped down and Katniss watched them light up.
The bow! He was going to try and get the bow. That would be their best bet in taking out whoever in this pack survived the tracker jacker incident. The announcers finally noticed it too, making hushed comments into the microphone, as if their voices would disturb the moment. Even now in the Hob, trade seemed to come to a halt. Everyone was watching Johanna, Gale and Rue as they poised to attack.
Thwack.
Buzz.
If the broadcast wasn't live, Katniss was sure they'd have shown it in slow motion. Johanna's aim was perfect. The nest snapped off the tree and plummeted to the ground, hitting one branch before splitting open at the feet of the girl with the bow that had fallen asleep. Gale continued his watch from the brush as the Careers awoke in panic, swatting at the bees.
"The lake!" one of them shouted. It was too late for two of them. The girl from 1 with the bow was a goner, writhing on the ground, and the girl from 4 was about to be done as well. There was more rustling and the camera zipped back to find Johanna on the ground. Katniss gasped and her hand flew over her mouth. Johanna fell out of the tree and she was stung. One bump on her cheek, one on her arm, one on her leg, all swelling rapidly. Katniss didn't know she was screaming until Darius came up and hugged her from behind, trying to stop her from striking out against someone. She felt wetness on her face and realized she was crying. Gale needed to help Johanna!
Thump.
Rue landed on the grass next to Johanna, having gotten to her first, but with a spear through her abdomen. The camera cut back to the boy from 1, smiling deliriously with his own set of bumps all over him. "You think you can just get away with this?!" he screamed, falling to his knees. Gale stormed over to him and kicked him in the chest, forcing him flat on the ground. He lifted his head and slit his throat all the way around, just as Katniss had seen him do one thousand times to a kill in the forest.
But this was not a kill in the forest. This was a boy. With memories and a life and a family now gone with the boom of the cannon. Gale rushed back toward Johanna and Rue. His sense of priorities was clear. Rue would be gone within moments. Johanna, too, if he did not get the stingers out. Katniss watched his dilemma. Johanna would want him to take care of Rue in her final moments. Gale pulled out the spear and Rue let out a sickening gasp, crimson blood staining her green shirt in the center of her tiny belly.
"There's..." Rue's small voice cut through and the announcers stopped speaking. "There's some herbs near the... near the spring... put the leaves... on her stings... She'll live. She'll live and...you can win."
Even the announcers didn't speak as the cannon went off for Rue. Grimly Gale turned his attention to Johanna. He pulled the stingers out as quickly as he could, ignoring Johanna's hands as she tried to swat him away. Next to her prone body lay Rue, eyes closed, facing upward. Katniss watched Gale carefully as the cameras zoomed around him, taking in his features. He was angry. The way he set his jaw, the intense focus in his eyes, Katniss recognized it immediately. Gale despised the senselessness of all the Capitol-orchestrated deaths.
Gale began gathering flowers from around where they were sitting and placing them around her head like a halo. He placed her hands over her stomach, ignoring the single bird call that indicated the hovercraft was coming. He took her backpack and put it over his shoulders. He worked with intense purpose as he made her makeshift funeral, his thin lips set in a firm line.
Then, he did something extraordinary. He stared up directly at the camera. Katniss knew that look. It was the same look he'd get in his eyes when they'd talk about the terrible living conditions in 12 or the cruelty of the Capitol. "I will not let her death be in vain, District Eleven. The people responsible for her death will be punished." He pressed his three fingers to his lips and raised them in silent salute. His meaning was unmistakeable. The boy technically responsible for Rue's death was dead, already being picked up by the hovercraft.
He meant the Capitol.
They knew it too, as they quickly cut away to the Careers in the lake, evading the rest of the tracker jackers. When they returned to Gale he was back by the spring with Johanna, rubbing her stings with the leaf mixture that Rue reminded him of with her dying breaths. Johanna was barely conscious, moaning incoherently and still trying to swat away Gale's help.
But she was alive, Katniss thought, feeling the tightness in her chest begin to relax. Katniss felt like her body was moving without her. Her hand reached up and touched the screen as the camera showed Johanna wincing and turning over. She couldn't reach her. Her heart felt clenched in her chest like she was dying from the inside out. Against her better judgment, against her common sense, against reality, she wanted to be there in that forest with Johanna. She wanted to be getting her better and protecting her. The feeling was as overwhelming as Katniss's desire to protect Prim. But ...different. It was the strength that was similar, but not the motivation. Johanna didn't feel like her sister. She felt like a piece of Katniss she didn't ever want to lose.
The cameras swarmed in 12 like the nest of tracker jackers the next day. Once it whittles down to eight contestants, the families and friends of the tributes are interviewed and shown to the Capitol. Katniss had taken Johanna's siblings out of school, as well as Gale's, and between herself, Hazelle, and her mother, managed to get them all looking kempt and clean.
Effie Trinket, the woman somewhat responsible for them being in the Capitol, brought them all down to the Justice Center to brief them on what to expect. "Now, we've had to make some adjustments because of ...the situation between our tributes." Katniss raised her eyebrow, sitting on the chair inside the plush room and crossing her arms over her chest. "Katniss, you and Primrose will be presenting yourselves as Gale's cousins."
"Why?" Prim asked before Katniss could circumvent her inquisitive nature.
Effie looked over at Prim with a tight smile that looked to Katniss like it had been painted on. "Well dear, we don't want the viewers at home thinking that Katniss's friendship with Gale is anything more than a friendship. That hurts Gale and Johanna's chances of getting more sponsors."
"I haven't seen them get any sponsors," John interjected angrily. "Every time I see them they're fighting for their lives or hiding in a cave."
Effie tried to remain composed. "Haymitch has been working on that. It's been difficult. You see, the way they presented themselves in the interviews, that is the key to their getting more sponsors."
"By pretending to be in love," Katniss supplied in a dull tone.
John furrowed his dark eyebrows. "Johanna doesn't love Gale. That's gross." Katniss couldn't help but smile at John's summation. He wasn't wrong and it was one of the few times he sounded like an eleven-year-old, instead of the forty-year-old wise man that Katniss encountered in the forest.
"Yes, let's not talk about that, shall we? They are going to ask you about growing up with your siblings, what life is like, how proud you are of them. Speak as little as possible and this will be over quickly." Effie clapped her hands together and Katniss was surprised that white powder didn't fill the air. She was so caked with makeup she didn't even look real.
Gale's cousin. That was a new perspective. They did favor each other enough that it wouldn't be surprising. But everyone in the Seam at least knew that would be a lie. Prim didn't seem bothered; she was too busy blushing and shyly talking to Johanna's brother to even notice anything anyway. Katniss rolled her eyes and escorted Prim away from the boy and toward their mother.
She'd have to be careful with her words. Not too give away too much of her relationship with Gale or Johanna. She wished she could tell them. Act more in love, your lives depend on it!
From that day on, Katniss was glued to the television in all the times she was not actively hunting. She had filtered the information to John about Johanna, keeping him informed that she was still alive. Katniss sat herself at the Hob next to Darius and across from Greasy Sae, all of them watching Johanna convalesce in the cave. Gale kept up the hunting and within two days Johanna was awake and looking much better. Two more deaths in the arena had happened while she had been asleep: the boy from 3 and the limping boy from 10.
Gale and Johanna sat in the cave side by side, munching on some berries and nuts that Gale had foraged from the forest, as well as rolls donated from District 11. They didn't speak for a while and the camera went to Thresh cutting through the wheat fields. Suddenly it cut back to them. "How many days was I out?" Johanna asked, looking over at Gale.
"About two. Only two people died. Still two careers left, the girl from Five, and Thresh."
"She died," Johanna stated flatly, looking at the ground. "Rue died because of me. I saw her before I passed out. It was weird and green but.. I saw her look at me. And then there was blood. So much blood."
Gale nodded his head, turning his steely gaze away from her. "Yeah, she did, but it wasn't your fault. It just means that we've got to kill them. We have to get back at them for what they did to Rue."
Johanna took a look at her leg, on which the swelling had gone down significantly. They had been fortunate to escape major injuries and burns so Johanna was resigned to her fate with her sting. It could be much worse. She rubbed the area with her finger gently, then rubbed her two fingers together. "Is that," she grimaced, "saliva?"
"I chewed the leaves. It was the fastest way to get them on your legs."
Johanna looked over at him. Katniss couldn't tell what Johanna was searching for but they seemed to be on the same page as their eyes met. "You saved me."
Gale allowed himself a small smile and nodded. "Of course I did. I really thought I was going to lose you." His eyes went to the muddy ground beneath their feet. "She'd never forgive me if I let you die." Katniss's eyes went wide as she listened to Gale. Did he mean her? He must have. "You'd do the same for me."
Johanna nodded her head. "I would." Katniss nearly swooned as she saw Johanna lean in and press her lips against Gale's. Any shock he might have had he swallowed it well and responded in full, placing his hand on her cheek and pulling her closer. Every thought she had about them pretending to be a couple to save their lives was dashed as her heart beat too fast inside her chest. This wasn't right. Her fingertips gripped the table tightly and her jaw began to hurt from being clenched so hard.
Katniss realized, for the first time in all the years she had known Gale and Johanna, of whom she was jealous. She wasn't oblivious to Gale's feelings for her, and she could never quite shake the feeling that Johanna saw her as something other than a friend. Something more intimate than a friend and less chaste than a sister. Knowing their feelings and understanding her own were two separate things. Until now. Seeing their lips move over each other's, hearing the gentle sigh from Johanna's mouth and the way her fist had clutched Gale's jacket...
She was jealous of Gale. She wanted to be kissing Johanna. In one fell swoop, her life became both much more complicated and much more tragic. The thought of Johanna's lips pressing against his and Gale tasting...whatever it is Johanna tasted like made Katniss boil with jealousy. A useless, selfish jealousy that did nothing but amplify how powerless she was. They only had each other in that arena. Katniss would be lucky to see either of them ever again, and who knew if Johanna felt the same way? And could they even be together without Gale in their lives?
And Katniss would never forgive herself for the brief, fleeting desire that Johanna would win.
The anthem played above Gale and Johanna, and they looked at each other confusedly. Claudius Templesmith boomed from all around them, echoing in the trees and rippling across the lake. "A rule change is now in effect. There can be two victors this year if both of them are from the same District."
Katniss looked over at Darius. "They can both win." Her eyes went twice their size as she grabbed his arm and nearly shook him off the stool. "They can both win! They can both come home!"
Her overwhelming joy at the news was quickly reciprocated by the pair on screen. They cameras cut briefly to Thresh, alone in the wheat field, then to the girl from 5, alone in the woods near the lake, then to Cato and Clove from 2, celebrating the news. They got back to Johanna and Gale, who had somehow picked her up and twirled her around. She clasped his face in her hands and pressed their lips together again.
Katniss felt the joy begin to seep from her chest. They seemed genuinely happy. The kiss seemed like more than just a ploy. If she were someone watching in the Capitol, or even in the districts, she might believe them. Gale's arms holding Johanna underneath her legs, her hands pressing against the side of his face, the breathless, deep way they kissed... It was so very real. If this was an act, and Katniss wished down to her bones that it was, it made sense for them to be so intense. Gale and Johanna went about everything they did with intensity.
Gale placed Johanna on the ground and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You know what this means, right?" Gale leaned in closer to her. "We get to see her again."
Katniss opened her eyes just in time to see the smile appear on Johanna's lips for a moment. It disappeared quickly. "After we kill literally everyone else. Including Cato and Thresh who, no offense, could probably break you."
A parachute appeared above their heads and Gale snatched it out of the air. He opened the tiny silver ball and saw two vials of a slightly violet-tinted liquid. The note attached only said one thing, which the camera zoomed in on as Gale handed it to Johanna. To get home, drink this. - H.
"What do you think it is?" Johanna asked, taking one of the vials from Gale. She popped open the top and smelled it, grimacing. "It smells like blackberries. But sweeter."
Gale shrugged his shoulder and put the vial in his pocket. "Let's get this camp cleaned up and get moving. I want to get to them before they have a chance to regroup with more of their supplies."
He went to the small fire, putting it out with mud. He grabbed his backpack and put it over his shoulder, hoisting the quiver with the silver-tipped arrows on the other one. Johanna looked at the vial, then back to the camp. "Wait. Remember how Rue said that girl from Five was following us?" Gale nodded. "Well, set a snare. Leave some stuff here and let's booby trap it." Gale paused in thought, looking down at their haphazard set of supplies. "I know we don't have much, but to be honest, I don't want to have to kill her."
"No, we have enough." Gale went to work setting up an elaborate booby trap. He somehow rigged nearby vines, some twisting branches, one of his two arrows, and a small bowl of nuts into a deadly trap. The second she lifted the bowl to eat the nuts, the arrow would come virtually from nowhere and strike her. Gale was certain it would get her in the throat. Unfortunately it left them with only one arrow, and three more people to kill, if it worked.
Once it was set, they gathered the rest of their things, then took the vials out of their pockets. "What do you think it does?" Gale asked, popping the cork off the top and tossing it on the ground
Johanna shrugged. "Only one way to find out. Bottoms up, Hawthorne." They clinked their vials together and downed the liquid. Their bodies shivered hard and then snapped to attention. Johanna's eyes were black like a cat's, her pupils insanely wide. "Holy shit. I feel like I can see everything. I can see the bugs on the trees."
Gale clenched and unclenched his fists. "I feel stronger? Stronger than I've ever felt, even when I wasn't starving."
Johanna laughed. "When have you not been starving?" Gale nudged her with his elbow. "I agree. Wait. Nudge me again. Harder." Gale raised his eyebrow but did as she asked, nudging her harder with his elbow. Johanna didn't even flinch. "Gale, I don't think we can feel pain."
Gale turned to Johanna and held out his arms. "Punch me. As hard as you can, in the face." Johanna looked at him warily and he sighed in exasperation. "We don't know how long this lasts. Just do it." Johanna pulled back her fist and balled it tightly, then launched it at Gale's face. Neither of them reacted. Johanna's hand didn't hurt, Gale's face wasn't bruised. "That's what he meant by getting home. We can barely get hurt now."
"Then let's kill these assholes and get home to our girl." Gale grinned at Johanna and they took off into the woods, back toward the Cornucopia. They ran so fast the insect cameras had a hard time keeping up with them. Whatever Haymitch had procured for them made them near super-human in strength and speed. Within just a few minutes they were back at the Cornucopia, standing at the edge. Thresh was near the horn's entrance. "They must not be here," Johanna remarked. "He wouldn't be here if they were." A cannon boomed and they looked at each other, then behind them. There was just a limp little body with a flash of red hair visible from their perch on the edge of the plain. Gale went to step forward and Johanna stopped him with a hand around his stomach. "Wait. Rue said it was booby-trapped."
Gale nodded his head. He took the bow out and aimed it down toward a large sack of apples hanging near the horn. "Cover your ears." Johanna did as she was told and Gale let the arrow fly, ripping the bag open and spilling the apples on to the grass. Within seconds the entire grass was all blown up with loud explosions, decimating not only the supply packs but also killing Thresh on contact. Johanna winced as she watched his body parts fly all over the grass, landing with a series of sickening thuds.
After a few minutes Cato and Clove emerged from the woods to Gale and Johanna's left, screaming in anger. The 12 tributes exchanged a look and came charging out of the woods. The 2 natives were surprised but immediately sprung into action. Clove tackled Johanna to the ground as Cato wrestled with Gale. Clove unsheathed a knife and stuck it straight into Johanna's thigh, but to her surprise, Johanna didn't even flinch.
Instead she rolled the girl off of her and took the knife out of her thigh. She pinned Clove down beneath her, blood pouring from her leg. "How are you still alive?" Clove asked breathlessly, looking panicked around to find Cato. The camera came in closely to their faces.
"I guess I wanna win more than you do. Say hi to Glimmer for me." With one swift movement Johanna plunged the knife into Clove's neck, twisting it and listening to her gurgled screams as the knife and the blood filled her throat. She removed it and tossed it aside as Clove's head hit the grass and the cannon went off.
Johanna got up as quickly as she could, looking for Cato and Gale. Suddenly, from deep within the woods, she saw several pairs of glowing eyes. She took out her axe. "Gale!" Gale took a punch to the jaw as he looked at Johanna. "Gale, run!" Gale pushed Cato off of him as he ran toward Johanna. They began scaling the Cornucopia as fast as they could.
Katniss gasped as she saw the creatures chasing them. Hulking, four-legged animals that looked like oversized black wolves, bounding toward the three remaining tributes. Cato wasn't fast enough. Gale pulled Johanna up to the top of the horn, and Cato screamed as the mutts began tearing into his flesh. Johanna watched on, seemingly unable to move her eyes from the gruesome scene.
The cannon went off and everyone in the Hob began to cheer. Drinks were splashed as glasses were clinked, people were hugging; even Greasy Sae had given someone a big kiss on the cheek. Katniss sat in disbelief as the two of them, bloodied and haggard, waited for the announcer to boom his voice into the arena and signal their victory.
Instead, he said something else. Static crackled around them as they stood atop the golden horn, awaiting their victory. "Greetings to the final contestants of the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games. A closer examination of the rule book has disclosed that only one winner shall be crowned. The earlier revision has been revoked. Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor."
The mutts at the bottom of the horn took off back into the woods as the hovercraft cleared away Cato's body. Gale and Johanna stood, dumbstruck, staring into the sky. The revelry in the Hob came to a sobering stop. One woman in the corner began to weep. Katniss felt like she was going to puke. Any small amount of food in her stomach rose steadily to her esophagus.
"No." The microphones barely picked up Gale's voice, but it was clear to Katniss. "No," he stated more loudly, looking up. "I won't kill her. You can't make me. We are not leaving here without each other."
Johanna, emboldened by his strength, leaned into Gale as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Katniss and the rest of 12 watched with wide eyes. They were defying the Capitol! And why not? Katniss thought silently. They were going to die anyway. "That's right," Johanna picked up, her voice hard and shrill and strained. "I am not leaving here without him. So you can send in whatever monsters you have, Snow, because we will fight them all. We will go home. We will win."
Gale shucked down his bow, useless now without arrows, in a momentous gesture. Johanna dug her axe into the Cornucopia. They undressed until they stood in just the undershirt, pants, and boots they were given. Johanna's mockingjay pin glistened against the sunlight. Even that little piece of jewelry defied the Capitol.
"So what's it gonna be, huh?" Johanna screamed into the sky. "Two victors or no victor?" Katniss saw Johanna flinch and her leg gave, but Gale held on to her tightly. The medicine Haymitch gave them must have been wearing off and her knife wound was deep. The blood had begun coagulating on the skin but it there were dark red rivers streaming down her pants.
The silence was overwhelming. Katniss assumed the Capitol was figuring out a way to send some sort of lightning bolt to strike one of them dead, forcing only one victor. It felt as if every breath across Panem was being held. The static crackled again and Claudius Templesmith's voice rang through. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the victors of the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games! Gale Hawthorne and Johanna Mason!"
Author's Note: I'll probably be bouncing perspective like this. Hopefully it won't be too confusing. Let me know how you're liking my weird twist in the Hunger Games. Tbh I'm not suuuuuper thrilled with this chapter's execution. But I'm tired and I really wanted to get the ball rolling with this story.
