Chapter 36:
The time it takes for Paavo to make his trek from the Cornucopia to the forest seems like an eternity. It takes appreciably longer than it normally would, anyway, because he is still bleeding and goes at a slow pace, and has to stop and rest several times due to dizziness. But I am absolutely terrified of what he plans to do when he arrives at the alliance's camp, and each footstep seems to be in slow motion. I have to remind myself to breathe- I can't hold my breath until this is resolved; I will pass out long before then. Paavo has a death grip on the cattle prod in one hand, and if he can use it to incapacitate Ruby, Silk, and Stone- than Mouseface, Prim, and Annella aren't likely to pose any greater of a challenge. His other hand is clutching the wound on his shoulder.
As Paavo stumbles towards the alliance's shelter, Annella spots him first- she is cleaning some recently speared fish when she hears him crack a few twigs upon his approach (despite everything, I briefly smile, thinking of Peeta and how their lack of stealth in the forest must clearly run in their family). Annella is on guard instantly, poised to throw her trident, but not before she yells out to the rest of the alliance.
"Prim! Jack! Carrie!" she screams. "The traitor is here! Do I spear him?"
Jack is stable but too weak to respond- he doesn't even look up. Mouseface glances over, runs to Annella's side to back her up, but simply gives a shrug of her shoulders- she's not one to express her opinion. Prim glances up from Jack, and the look in her eyes is one of shock, but it is impossible to know what exactly she is surprised by. But Paavo responds before she gets a chance to speak up.
"I'm not a traitor," Paavo interjects. He tries to maintain his normal bravado, but he's far too weak for it to be effective. "Didn't you just hear the cannon? That's the sound of me taking out all three Careers," he attempts to sound cocky, but his voice is weak and escapes in a hoarse whisper.
"Prove it," Annella snaps back. "Drop your weapon."
Paavo looks hesitantly at the prod in his hand, taking a deep breath, but eventually obliges, releasing it into the snow. He holds up his hands. "Look. I did my job as part of the alliance. I was the mole, I did everything that I had to do to convince them that they could trust me, and I just killed them all with that," he nods towards the weapon now lying harmlessly on the ground. "One of the Careers sliced me open with her machete, as you can probably tell. And I happen to know that my district partner over there is a fantastic healer. I need her help." Paavo looks Prim in the eye. "Please?"
Prim returns his gaze. "I can't make you any promises," she says evenly. "That looks like a nasty wound." She sighs. "But I'll take a look at it. Annella, we're okay for now if you want to go back to what you were doing. If you can help me move Jack first, that is."
Before she obliges, Annella eyes Paavo suspiciously, but doesn't argue. She and Prim gently lift Jack away from the "rescue station," to a neighboring patch of ground.
Prim has Paavo lay down where Jack had been situated- within easy reach of all of the medical supplies in the Gamemaker-provided first-aid kits, as well as all of the plants that Prim had collected in the forest. Not to mention, near the fire, as she knew Jack's activity would be diminished while he was recovering. She has Paavo take off his jacket, and exhales when she sees the dried blood underneath.
"Like with Jack, the cold has helped reduce your blood loss," Prim explains to him. "As well as stave off infection. But I'm going to clean the wound anyway, just so I can get a better look at what we're dealing with. You might start to feel like you want to go to sleep, but it's important that you stay conscious. So keep talking to me, answering my questions. Okay?"
"Okay," Paavo agrees.
"So, how did you figure out the cattle prod?" Prim inquires. She is busily applying just a dab of antiseptic on the wound from the first-aid kit, which makes Paavo scream, but then uses an abundance of leaves to soothe the stinging, and he calms down.
"Um, I figured it was related to their district," Paavo says through clenched teeth. "Threes. We tried all of the threes earlier, but I noticed this morning that there were only three on each side that were located on a green-colored button. That would make them a little easier to find in a hurry. Green for go. Three three's on each side." His voice sounds weak, faint.
Prim nods, continuing to dab some gauze as well as a couple of different plant varieties on Paavo's shoulder. One looks just like aloe, though I know it is indigenous to warmer locales- so it must be some sort of Capitol muttation. "Okay, Paavo. We're just cleaning the wound here. Almost done. Meanwhile, I have another question for you. Why did you bring the prod back down here just now? Were you planning to use it to attack us?"
"What?" Paavo sounds tired but surprised. "No- not on you, anyway," He gives Prim a hopeful smile. We're going to be the last two. Right?" He looks at her adoringly.
Prim's expression turns sad. "No, Paavo. Carrie, Annella, and Jack are all with the alliance," she gently explains to him. "No one needs to hurt any of them. That's not part of the plan, remember? We're all in this together." She gently strokes his hair, then removes the last of the leaves and examines his wound closely, nodding with approval at her progress.
Though this is a tender moment between Prim and Paavo, and a critical one in terms of the alliance, I shudder. Because if the Captiol didn't know what was going on before, they probably do now. In trying to explain things to Paavo, Prim has made a grave mistake.
Paavo looks up at Prim again, gives her an almost imperceptible shake of his head in answer to her question. "I guess it's not part of the plan," he whispers.
Prim gently withdraws the leaves from Paavo's shoulder, and begins applying an extract from a different plant, which she has ground up somehow. "This Papaver somniferum extract is for your pain. There's nothing in the first-aid kit for that, but this is the stuff that the Capitol uses to make morphling," she says, eyes beginning to well up with tears. "This will make you loosen up, and it will help your shoulder feel better."
Paavo nods slowly, and you can see him visibly relax. "That feels good," he says softly, a slight smile on his lips.
Prim continues to apply the concoction, while Paavo is lying on his back, resting the back of his head on Prim's lap. Apparently everything she needs to treat him is within easy reach. "Does your arm still hurt?" she whispers to him after a couple of minutes.
"No," he murmurs. But then he gets a goofy smile on his face- he is clearly feeling some side effects of the chemicals- and says, "But it does feel tingly. How nice. Thank you." The pain medication has obviously kicked in. And with his pain finally gone, the tiredness that he must feel from everything- staying up all night, fighting the Careers, his wound, trekking to the forest- finally looks like it is catching up with him. His eyelids start to droop. So when Prim speaks again, I am surprised by what she says.
"Okay, now I'm going to give you something to make you sleep. This is Daphne mezereum." Prim reaches around for the plant, plucks several berries from it, and squeezes them so that their juice drips into Paavo's shoulder. She begins dabbing it lightly with a piece of gauze, holding it there for several moments, applying pressure, and then repeating the process. "You'll be asleep soon." Tears are still gathering in her eyes, and a few eventually slip down her face. "I'm so sorry, Paavo." She kisses him on the cheek.
Paavo's reaction to whatever Prim just applied is immediate. The color drains from his face, he breaks out into a cold sweat- his perspiration is evident even on the TV-, and he begins twitching uncontrollably. A ghastly pale, he opens his eyes long enough to give Prim a look of pure confusion- in his drugged state, it's difficult to tell if he can register what is happening or not. But the look doesn't last long- because within a few seconds his eyes close again, and he soon stops twitching, stops moving altogether. Less than minute later, the cannon fires.
My jaw hits the floor as I clasp my hand over my mouth for a moment, not comprehending what just unfolded. Impossible. Unable to keep my thoughts inside my head, I quietly voice what is now pretty plainly obvious. "Oh, my God," I whisper, "Prim just poisoned him."