The sun was gone now. With bated breath, Johanna waited. No countdown this time, it could start any second. It could start right now. A table weighed down with everything from backpacks to weapons rose from the ground just inside the Cornucopia. Johanna's feet were running before her mind fully registered it had begun. She spotted the redhead from 9 running towards the Cornucopia from further right, but Johanna had the lead as her feet and adrenaline carried her at a sprint across the open plain. The silver sickle flashed menacingly in his hand but right now, they were both too focused on the supplies to fight each other.
As Johanna drew closer to her goal, movement caught her eye from the shadowy depths of the Cornucopia. The girl from 3 was pushing a large rucksack out of the entrance of the Cornucopia then following it to crawl out into the open. Why was she crawling? She pulled a rubbery mat off the grass, gave Johanna one terrified look and sprinted in the opposite direction. Johanna threw her knife after the running child but missed, knife throwing had never been her forte. Johanna didn't spare anymore precious time chasing 3 and soon she was panting at the entrance of the Cornucopia. But the supplies were out of reach. The whole of the entrance to the Cornucopia was laced with coppery wires humming with electricity and occasionally sending blue sparks into the night. The girl from 3 must have crawled though the gap at the very bottom that only someone very skinny could slide through, but the grass was laced with wires too. She had taken with her the insulating rubber mat that allowed her to get out without being electrocuted. Johanna's heart sank.
In the few seconds it took Johanna to process the situation, Farro had arrived. His sickle cut through the air inches from Johanna's left ear, and she quickly turned to took on a defensive stance. They stood still for a moment both gasping for breath and waiting for the other to make the first move. Farro broke eye contact for all but a second as he glanced over at the supplies, trying to figure out the trap. This was enough for Johanna and she took a heavy lunge at Farro with her axe that he narrowly avoided. Surprise flickered in Farro's eyes, no doubt he still harboured the idea Johanna was a weakling, but soon he was fighting back as they danced in a steady stream of attack and defend. There was no taunting or even talking as they both focused entirely on the fight. The only sounds were their heavy breathing and the occasional clang of metal on metal as there weapons met. The two figures were soon shining with sweat despite the cool night air. Johanna focused on driving her adversary backwards, closer, dangerously close to the wires crackling with energy.
Farro was backed into a position less than a metre away from the trap when both of their attentions were pulled from the fight. A cannon punched a hole in the night and the girl from 3's face flashed in the sky. The Careers were on the move. There was no time; Johanna needed to get out of here, now. Johanna kicked out hard with her foot right square into Farro's chest and he stumbled backwards into his fate. His whole body vibrated as he involuntarily clung to the wires that were electrocuting him, pleading eyes focused on Johanna's emotionless face. Little blue sparks lit up the night as Johanna watched Farro being slowly fried from the inside out. The scent of charred flesh filled Johanna's nostrils. Then the cannon boomed.
Johanna stood transfixed for a moment by Farro's singed body that had now dropped to the ground until a small yell snapped her into action. The noise was an expression of pure anguish. Aullie was standing at the edge of the plain as transfixed by Farro's dead body as Johanna had been just a second ago. The pain in his eyes was obvious even from this distance. Johanna took a halfhearted step towards him axe raised but Aullie was already running.
Okay, okay, Johanna needed to think. She paced back and forth in front of the Cornucopia trying to work out how she could get to the supplies', and trying to ignore the unbearable smell of death coming from Farro and the fact the Careers could be here any second. Think, think she stared at the ground in front of her. But the solution came from the sky. A silken parachute dropped in front of her as if conjured by her desperate mind. Johanna hadn't even thought she might have sponsors. Johanna supposed her violence was appreciated in the Capitol and wasted no time in snatching up the gift. She felt a brief twinge of conscience as she was threw away her one remaining principle of not accepting help from Capitol citizens, but in the Games all principles are disposable.
The gift was a rubbery mat, similar to what the girl from 3 had snatched of the grass in her hasty retreat, it must be the key to getting to the supplies. Johanna supposed if she laid it on the ground and rolled into the Cornucopia that way she could avoid touching the wires. But would it work? Well the girl from 3 had done it, and she was clearly the more experienced than Johanna in such matters. But as Johanna was fumbling to unroll the mat a heavy fist made contact with the side of her head, making her stagger and drop the precious gift.
A dull pain throbbed through her and she shook her head to clear the stars. Turning round and stumbling backwards at the same time Johanna had to tilt her head upwards to look into Beau's face. It seemed she had forgotten just how very huge he was. Fresh blood dripped from a wound on his leg and he was panting as if he had been running for a very long time, but he still looked absolutely deadly. He lashed out at her again this time with the knife that was coloured with fresh blood, but now Johanna was prepared and she managed duck just in time.
"Ducking and dodging won't keep you alive, blondie." Laughed Beau as Johanna was forced to dance out of his reach again. She had to agree with him, he was just so damn fast; she couldn't win a fight against him. At least not a fair fight. Johanna lifted her axe to take a swipe at him but he caught her by the arm, yanking it harshly in his strong grip. He still had the energy to laugh as Johanna tried to claw at him with her free hand, panting for breath. He grabbed both of her hands in one of his muscular ones as she struggled desperately, and was raising his knife when Johanna decided to switch tactics.
"Please don't hurt me! I'll help you, I'll do anything!" Johanna whimpered pathetically. It had been a while since she'd put on the scared little girl facade but it seemed to be working. Well, Johanna was at the mercy of a lethal Career so the scared part at least was no act.
"What could you possibly do to help me?" He seemed undeterred, almost amused, but the fact she was still alive was encouragement enough for Johanna.
"The supplies. You can't reach them. I can." Johanna panted out in short phrases, thinking fast but trying to appear too desperate and fearful to be plotting anything.
"What?" Beau seemed confused; at least he'd paused with his knife.
"The wires. The whole things rigged to electrocute you. I'm small enough to slip under and then I can break the trap so you can get in."
Beau's slow mind seemed to be warring with the possibility Johanna might be a danger to him if he released her, and his need for supplies.
"Alright. But if you try anything your dead." Beau released Johanna who rubbed her wrists where the circulation had been cut off. "And leave your axe."
Johanna reluctantly did as she was told, feeling like she was surrendering one of her limbs. She had to heave Farro's charred body out of the way first which almost made her throw up. Then she unrolled the mat and arranged it carefully over the bare wires on the ground taking as long as she dared. The plan had been to get out of Beau's grasp, and now she needed to think about what she was doing next.
"Hurry up 7." Barked Beau as he glanced nervously around the moonlit grassland. He must be worried his old ally Titane would turn up. Johanna wondered if that's were he'd got the wound on his leg.
Johanna lay on top of the mat on the grass, slowly edging under the humming wires just inches above her. Touch them and she was dead. But soon she was safely inside the shadowy Cornucopia. She noticed a metal canister with the label 'high voltage' connected to a series of coloured wires that snaked through the grass to connect to the metal shell. This must be the energy source.
"What are you doing in there? Just disconnect the thing that makes it electric or whatever so I can get in there." Beau was squinting into the shadows of the Cornucopia apparently unable to see what she was doing. Good.
"Just a second. I just have to work out how to." This wasn't true, you didn't have to be from 3 to know to break a circuit you disconnect the source of power. But a plan had started to formulate in her mind and she needed a few seconds. Glancing over the table of supplies, she spotted what she needed and grabbed it. Kneeling by the silver cylinder, she tugged the collection of rubber-coated wires out of one end. The buzzing of live wires stopped abruptly, leaving the night quieter.
"Okay. It's off." Johanna had barely spoken the words before Beau was pushing his way through the coppery wires easily and rummaging through the supplies. He was entirely absorbed, even laying down his knife to greedily examine the supplies. He presumed Johanna was weapon less and too scared to try anything. He was wrong on both counts. Johanna threw one of the heavy throwing axes she'd picked up to where it buried itself deep in his lower abdomen making him roar in pain like an injured bear. He reached forward to lunge at Johanna but she danced out of his reach and he fell to the ground instead, shuddering in pain. Johanna hurriedly grabbed a promising looking backpack and quickly added a few extra and anything else she could fit. She was just hauling her new pack onto her shoulders when Beau's hand clamped around her foot dragging her downwards.
His blood soaked face was set in determination as he grunted in an animalistic way through his gritted teeth. Johanna let out a little scream as she had to cling onto the table to keep her balance and her ankle was twisted painfully. She raised the axe in her hand to try and hit at Beau's hand but they were both moving and she almost hit her own foot several times. Then she succeeded, cutting into the lines of muscle on his triceps making him release her as blood spurted from his arm.
Panting with real fear now Johanna backed quickly towards the entrance as she watched Beau still struggling, clawing in the grass to follow her, staining the ground with blood. She pushed her way out the tangle of wires so fast they cut into her skin. Only just fast enough. As she struggled out of the catching strands of metal and shuffled backwards on the ground Beau's bloody hand appeared reaching for the place Johanna's foot had been just a second ago. Johanna ran away driven by pure fear as Beau's cries followed her.
"I'm going to get you for this 7!" His angry bellows of rage rung in her ears as she ran from the lethal killer she'd just made her worst enemy.
Sorry if it's got mistakes and stuff but I've been editing this through a post-prom hangover haze. I could have left it till tomorrow but I haven't updated in a while so I thought you'd rather I just posted it imperfections and all. Review for internet hugs and my love :)