The head of the metal target near enough explodes as the bullets from the assault rifle make contact with it. Cressida is stood smirking victoriously as looks at me sideways and puts down the gun.
"Nice shot." I comment chuckling.
"You aren't as bad a teacher as you think you are." She smiles.
"It is nice to know i'm not wasting my breath."
She laughs as we start walking away from the shooting range. "I'm assuming you watched the Quell interviews elsewhere last night?"
I nod. "Yeah."
"I told Castor there's no way you'd miss them." She gestures to Castor who is helping Pollux reassemble his rifle. "What a way to shove it Snow right?"
"Yeah, though i think they hoped it would stop the games." I run my hand through my hair as we reach the reloading bench.
"Snow would never allow that." Cressida takes one of the screwdrivers from the tool box.
Snow wouldn't but neither would Plutarch, using the games is the only way we're getting any of the victors to the district without the Capitol tracking and following us. I get to work on tweaking the sights of the weapons that have been left by the recruits, Cressida doing the same. There's a moment of silence between us before Cressida stops what she's doing and looks up at me.
"So Johanna's interview was, interesting to say the least." She says.
I look up briefly from what i'm doing and nod. For the past few days Cressida has been saying things like that, hinting at something she was curious about. I'll be honest though, this is the first time she's mentioned Johanna.
"I'm unable to decide if she's incredibly gutsy or crazy." Cressida giggles.
I think at this moment in time it's a bit of both. Johanna was always gutsy and anger is a hell of a fuel to drive you crazy.
"I'd say a bit of both." I shrug. "I just hope she watches what she's doing in the arena."
Speaking of the arena, she's in there right now, they all are. They went in about three hours ago but Coin wouldn't let me watch because i had work to do apparently. Boggs had the thought to tell me that both Johanna and Blight got away from the cornucopia unharmed though, so i'm not completely in the dark on things.
A gentle smile appears on Cressida's face as she says. "You really care about her, don't you?"
I smile nervously. "I didn't think it was that obvious."
"Please, I'm not stupid." She laughs. "Four years is a long time to wait for someone who thinks you're dead."
I've never thought of it as waiting for her. She was never truly a girlfriend anyway. I mean i've been occupied with other stuff since escaping the Capitol and trying to save my life and earn my place here kind of took over. Through it all i've known i cared about Johanna and i still do, it just never felt like i was waiting for her. I wouldn't be surprised in any way to hear that she's found someone. I'd be sort of hurt, i think, at the same time as happy for her.
Cressida still continues talking about a topic i'd rather keep to myself, but yet i don't stop her or even come close to trying too.
"You know, i watched you guys in the arena during the seventy first games." She puts down what she's holding. "We all did. And the only other time we've seen something like with you and her, was with Katniss and Peeta last year. Difference is nobody dares bring you up in a conversation with Johanna, it's different with Twelve."
I actually laugh a little as i say. "Plus i think they got a slightly better ending."
She only nods to agree with me before moving on and saying. "But imagine if things had played out differently. It could be you and her that they're asking to front a rebellion."
Imagine that. Johanna the Mockingjay that everybody worships. I'd imagine she'd do it just to make Snow history and Panem a better place. She'd get annoyed by the people worshipping her though. I don't think it's any secret that she isn't a people person to start with. On the serious side of that though, imagine how different everything would be now. Maybe i wouldn't be in District Thirteen, maybe i'd be at home or in the Quell like Johanna is right at this moment in time. Who knows, but i can't help but to think that the first two years after winning would have been better for both us.
"I doubt we'd be half as inspiring." I comment distracting myself with working again.
"You don't know that." Cressida does the same and starts working again. "A lot of people were upset when you "died", more so when she tried to help you."
Yeah i bet all of them thought about it in a way that made me and Johanna public love birds like Everdeen and Mellark. I bet it upset them, knowing they were missing out on juicy gossip if one of us died and the other lived. I can already imagine the questions they'd be asking. Are you getting married? Are their any little ones due? What's your favourite position? Everything, they'd want to know it all so they could try and be like you. I'm overreacting, but knowing how nosy most of them are in the Capitol i'm probably closer to the truth then you'd think.
Cressida picks up on the fact i'm not rightfully enjoying this conversation and so she just goes silent and keeps working that way. I'm thankful really, this way i won't ramble myself into an early grave. By the time i've finished up working for the day it has to be late in the evening. I'm tired and i want to sleep, but i want to watch the games even more just to make sure everything is alright.
Working out a deal with Coin the other day meant i could watch the games in my room using a projector built into a small cube. It meant i had to work extra around the district, but it's not that big a price to pay. Not when i can follow whichever tributes i want this way. I actually switch between Katniss and Johanna. It feels like i should follow both of their progress' seeing as the idea is for them to meet up eventually. At the minuet nothing much is happening with Katniss, everybody is sleeping, including her. Johanna and Blight are both awake on the other side of the jungle, they aren't talking and instead are merely just looking around. Johanna repeatedly digging her axe into the ground and wiping the sweat away from her forehead. They look thirsty and with the arena being a jungle i can imagine it's humid and awful to be in. When the cameras pan out i can't see any other source of water save for that surrounding the Cornucopia and that's likely salt water so it's no good. The look on Blights face right now says a lot to me. He's almost sure this is how he's going to die, through dehydration. He won't. Johanna will think of something surely, and if not her then Wiress or Beetee who are also with them will. They are genius' after all.
I watch even more closely as Johanna stands up from her spot on the ground and stretches.
"Come on we should keep moving." She says.
Blight, Beete and Wiress all look up at Johanna from their positions on the ground exhausted.
She lets out an impatient tut as she says. "We need to find Finnick and the love birds. We're not doing it sat around on our asses." She gives all of them but Blight a death glare. "Now get up."
They all listen to her and pick themselves up off the ground, despite the fact she's the youngest there. In fact, she's the youngest person in the arena aside from Peeta and Katniss. Still, she is one of the most skilled fighters and to Blight, Beete and Wiress is their main weapon against the careers should they attack.
Blight follows Johanna closely whilst Beete and Wiress keep their distance. All four of them are constantly looking up to the sky as they walk. It takes me a while to realise why, but when i see the dark clouds looming overhead i know. Rain clouds. They're all the so thirsty those clouds must appear as a brilliant source, like a glass of ice cold water on a hot summers day.
The clouds eventually get to a point where they look to burst. The four of them stop and wait for the rain to fall down on them and clench their thirst. It does just that, only the rain is thick, and red. Blood. The rain was blood. It took them seconds to realise, in fact it hadn't even hit them before they knew. But once it began falling they were trapped in it. I couldn't even see clearly through it, and i'm not there, i'm watching through a screen.
They start running blindly through it, trying to find a way out from what I can hear - because I can't see a thing. Wiress is screaming about the blood, saying its that of the fallen as she runs. Beete is surely grabbing onto his District counterpart and keeping her moving with them. I lose sight of whats happening for a long while, almost an hour in fact. I can hear what's going, but all i can see is the cameras being streaked with blood. It's during this time that i hear the loud zap of electrical buzzing, like somebody disrupting a field of energy. Shouting follows the buzzing, it sounds like Johanna but the sound of the rain distorts it.
Then it stops just as fast as it came. The rain clears, the cameras clean themselves and reveal to me a sight i wished i wouldn't see at all.
Blight was laid on the floor, covered in blood from the rain, but his head it was ... burnt? You could barely see it was him. Johanna was knelt beside him, screaming his name as she tried to bring him round. She too was covered head to toe in blood that wasn't her own, as were Beete and Wiress. In front of them the force field was re-materialising, as though something had made contact with ... Blight, he'd hit the force field, that's why his face is unrecognisable and why he isn't moving.
Johanna is still trying to resuscitate him, despite the fact the cannon fired about a miniute ago. Blight was gone. She knew it but still she tried on for another couple of minuets before giving up. No tears fall, but i know Blights death has hit her incredibly hard. She's known him longer than me, and still i can feel myself getting more and more upset the more i look at his lifeless body. Johanna slowly gets up onto her feet, her eyes don't leave Blights body until Beetee makes his way over to stand beside her, at which point she locks them onto him.
"I'm sorry." He says genuinely.
Johanna says nothing, she just looks back at Blights body, then to Beete once more and scowls. "Move." She says as she barges past him and starts walking away.
Beete and Wiress are quick to follow her, but don't speak at all.
I find myself capable of watching no more, all i can see is Blights face. Burnt and peeling away. His eyes lifeless and cold that were still wide open as he died. I shut off the cube instantly and stand up to head into the bathroom. I splash freezing water over my face until i forget what i saw, at least a little.
I can't believe he's gone. I didn't know him long but i still cared. Now he's gone and i hate knowing it's because of our stupid fucking plan. If we hadn't agreed to do this then he'd still be alive wouldn't he? I pick up one of the metal holding jars on the side of the sink and throw it at the wall behind me.
Unable to stop thinking along those lines i storm out of my room and start wondering around. I needed to clear my head and cooping myself up in that room would just drive me crazy.