Chapter 33
When I woke up, I saw that Katniss and Peeta were still asleep. After stretching my arms out, I stole a glance at them. Sunlight glinted off Peeta's blonde hair and Katniss looked more peaceful asleep. Maybe she was dreaming about her family. I saw that their fingers were interlaced and my heart yearned for Annie. I knew that if I sat idle, the memories would pull and tug at my mind until I was tearing my hair out, so I decided to keep myself busy. I gathered some vines and wove a mat out of them, the way Mags had taught me to do after I had won the Games. No, no, don't think about Mags. I propped the mat up on a few sticks above Katniss and Peeta, effectively shielding them from the bright sunlight. I filled two of the three bowls with water I collected through the spile, and then ran to the beach, where I gathered shellfish for us to eat. I had begun to crack them open with a stone I found nearby when Katniss awoke. She pushed her hair out of her eyes, and looked at me. I raised a shellfish, and told her," They're better fresh," before gobbling one up. It had been a while since we all had eaten, and I could see the hunger in Katniss' eyes as she leant forward to grab one. That's when both of us noticed her fingernails. It seemed as though they had been doused in blood. But I knew she had been scratching the scabs in her sleep. To liven things up, I said with a drip of sarcasm to my voice," You know, if you scratch you'll bring on infection." Katniss glared at me as she answered," That's what I've heard." I bit back a laugh as she waded into the water to try and cleanse her hands. Finally, she stormed back in anger, and yelled at the sky," Hey, Haymitch, if you're not too drunk, we could use a little something for our skin." I snorted in amusement as a parachute promptly landed beside her. She muttered something, sat down beside me and opened the tube tied into the parachute. The colour of the ointement inside was as disgusting as it smelt. But I guessed looks had never been Katniss' priority because she poured some of the nasty ointement onto her hand and rubbed her leg. It seemed to bring relief, as she followed suit with her other limb. She met my dubious gaze, and I said," It looks like you're decomposing." But at that very moment, a case of intense itching hit me, and I decided that I could afford for my beauty to be marred if it meant that I would be put out of my agony. However, as the ointement slid onto my skin, I regretted my decision, because it was slimy and gooey and yucky and …ugh. There was mirth in Katniss' voice as she said," Poor Finnick. Is this the first time in your life you haven't looked pretty?" I was in no mood for jokes in the current circumstances and I shot back," It must be. The sensation's completely new. How have you managed it all these years?" Katniss replied," Just avoid mirrors. You'll forget about it." With her as a living example? I thought not, and voiced as much," Not if I keep looking at you." But the ointement did bring welcome aid, and we continued to rub it into our skin. Katniss, content, said," I'm going to wake Peeta." Suddenly, an idea struck me. I told her in a bright voice," No, wait. Let's do it together. Put our faces right in front of his." I couldn't wait to see his reaction when he awoke to the sight of our horrendous faces. Katniss nodded her head, a grin tugging the corners of her lips up. I sat on my knees at Peeta's left side and Katniss at his right. We lowered our faces and Katniss sang," Peeta. Peeta, wake up." Peeta's eyes opened slowly, but they became wide when he noticed us. When they were able to focus fully, he let out a shriek and that set us off. Katniss and I rolled around in the sand, laughing like maniacs. Laughing made me feel so light; it was as though my burdens flew away with each burst of giggles that issued from my mouth. So I continued to, and every time I looked at Peeta's disapproving expression, I threw back my head and laughed again. I could tell Katniss felt the same, and finally, when we were both out of breath, our eyes met. Her face was surprising- she was smiling at me. Actually smiling. And she did look pretty when she was happy. My mother had once told me that people who didn't smile were beautiful when they did. I understood her now. Well, I had always been willing to be friends with this girl. But for the first time, she was considering it too. And then, another parachute landed on the sand beside Peeta. I saw what it was- bread- and immediately fingered it, remembering Plutarch's meesage that the bread indicated the time we would be rescued. I could see Katniss and Peeta looking at me in confusion; what was with the sudden urge for possesion? After I deciphered the unwritten note, I turned to them and said," This will go well with the shellfish." They didn't question me- for which I was grateful, as I had been instructed not to reveal any secrets about the rebellion, and least of all, to them- and I began to clean the meat. After I was finished, we ate, or rather gobbled, because the food was so impossibly delicious. It seemed more so, for yesterday's dark events had left us all empty and hollow. But halfway through our meal, we were interrupted by a tremendous tide that rolled up to the shore, swallowing our food and belongings. We managed to gather them before we heard a cannon boom, signalling the death of a tribute that had probably been swept away with the wave. A hovercraft collected the body- I couldn't see whose from the distance- and suddenly Katniss whispered," There," motioning to something at our right. I gazed into the distance and saw three red creatures walking out of the jungle onto the beach. After I realized that they were actually people coated in something scarlet, I quietly slipped behind a tree, where I watched the trio. It was obvious even from where I was that there was a problem. One was on the sand, his ( I could tell it was a male now) legs being pulled by another, while the last of them just ran around. Peeta's voice reached me," Who is that? Or what? Muttations?" I was about to reply that they were tributes, though unrecognizable at the moment, when one of the newcomers shrieked in irritation and stomped, roughly pushing the one wandering in circles down. Realization dawned on me; there was only one person in the entire world who could get that mad. I shook my head in amusement and thought: I'm coming, Johanna. I called her name and could feel my cheeks hurting from the wide smile that had spread over my face. Finally, someone who I could be myself with. Looking back, I saw Katniss and Peeta walking somewhat hesitantly towards our new allies. I turned my head back to the source of my elation and I could see her biting her tongue to keep from grinning herself. I laughed as I embraced her, thinking: Typical Johanna, trying not to show emotion. Johanna put up with the hug and when she drew away, she asked with raised eyebrows," Still alive, Golden Boy? I must say, I didn't expect you to be." I crossed my arms over my chest protectively and said," You don't look to good yourself, Mason. What's up with all the red? Don't tell me you've been influenced by your stylist?" Johanna threw up her hands in exasperation and said," Tell me about it." Then she explained all that had happened since the bloodbath at the Cornucopia, how she and her district partner, Blight, had pulled a flailing Beetee and a confused Wiress out of the saltwater, how they had had barely any time to gather weapons, how they had run into the jungle and escaped the attack by the Careers. By the time Katniss and Peeta had arrived, she was ranting about how blood had started falling from the sky. Without taking a single breath, she said," We thought it was rain, you know, because of the lightning, and we were all so thirsty. But when it started coming down, it turned out to be blood. Thick, hot blood. You couldn't see, you couldn't speak without getting a moutful. We just staggered around, trying to get out of it. That's when Blight hit the force field." Remorse instantly ate away at my heart, because I knew that even though she hadn't known Blight well, he was almost all she had got in her life. I said sincerely," I'm sorry, Johanna." Johanna looked away to avoid anybody seeing her face and replied," Yeah, well, he wasn't much, but he was from home." Spite crept into her voice as she continued," And he left me alone with these two. He got a knife in the back in the Cornucopia. And her-" She motioned to Wiress who was still wandering in circles and murmuring," Tick, tock" over and over. Johanna spat," Yeah, we know. Tick, tock. Nuts is in shock." As " Nuts" stumbled into Johanna, Johanna forcefully shoved her onto the sand, saying loudly, " Just stay down, will you?" I felt sorry for Wiress and was about to tell Johanna to stop but Katniss, the defender of the helpless, beat me to it, marching up to Johanna angrily and saying," Lay off her." Uh-oh. Not good. Not good at all. No one said that to Johanna Mason. Certainly, it would be interesting to see the two fiesty young women argue, but I had a feeling now wasn't the time. Johanna began to step in Katniss' direction, her voice rising an octave. She raised her arm just as her name left my mouth and she struck Katniss on the cheek. Yikes. Katniss looked livid, so before any more damage could be done, I hoisted Johanna up and flung her over my right shoulder. She pounded her fists on my back and screamed at me until I bent over the water and pushed her body in. She spluttered as I dunked her, and I thought I might as well use the oppurtunity to clean her up. I started scrubbing her face, but she slapped my hand away, grumbling," I can do it myself." Rolling my eyes, I replied," Sure you can," and sat down on the sand. I watched her attempt to peel away the dried blood, and heard Katniss' voice behind me. I looked at Johanna, and was about to ask her a question before I saw that she was trying to peel her skin away. I jumped up and dashed towards her, grabbing hold of her hands. I gently touched her raw knuckles, and gazed at her. She looked as if suddenly all the energy had been drained out of her. Sensing a breakdown, I guided her to the beach and made her sit down. I scooped up handfuls of water and poured them on Johanna's hands, wiping away the blood. I forced Johanna to look into my eyes and asked her," Johanna, what were you thinking?" Johanna's eyes were empty of light and her voice was hollow as she replied," It's hopeless, Finnick. I don't have anyone to go on for." I bumped my shoulder against hers and pressed a hand dramatically over my chest, saying in a pretend hurt voice," How rude of you, Miss Mason! How could you forget that you have me?" Johanna gazed at me for a long moment that seemed to stretch into hours before inexlicably bursting into laughter. I smiled as she regained her breath and continued her mission of become sparkling clean. Half an hour later, we rejoined our allies, who now seemed to be in better shape. Peeta offered Johanna food and water, and she accepted, snatching it out of his hands and stuffing it into her mouth. I encouraged her, because I had a feeling that she had been running on pure adrenaline since the Games began. When Johanna asked me about what had happned to us, I told her, my voice unsurprisingly detached. I told her about allying with Katniss and Peeta, Peeta hitting the forcefield, me restarting his heart, the poison fog and the mutts. I didn't speak of Mags death, not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't think I could without my voice breaking. And with the sponsors no doubt watching us like hawks, now was no time to be weak. Katniss announced that we should all get some rest, and everybody wanted to take the first watch. It ended up being Katniss and Johanna, both of whom refused to sleep. I didn't think it was a good idea for both of them to be left alone, because I was certain that one of them would be dead by the time we awoke. I offered to help, but Johanna pushed me down, saying I needed rest. I glanced at Katniss, who was fingering her bow defensively. She'd be able to fight Johanna, but hopefully, she wouldn't need to, if Johanna remembered her orders. I was out almost immediately, and didn't dream of anything bad. Perhaps the reunion with Johanna affected me more profoundly than I had thought. It seemed like only two minutes had passed before Katniss was jerking me. I instantly gripped my trident, remembeing last night, but there was no fear in Katniss' intense grey eyes. She shook me once more, snapping me out of the last of the hazy world of sleep and said," Get up." I rose and asked her," What's wrong?" She looked at me, then gestured to the circle of water that surrounded the Cornucopia and said," The arena's a clock."