Chapter 38
There are eleven people left and the careers are tracking people to kill but so is the girl from Seven. She was definitely holding out on what she could do. Finnick was right she does have the upper hand.
I look to the screen Panem is seeing and they are showing someone running. When they hit a spot the cogs start again and mist comes from the ground.
"Poison?" Luna asks.
"Not necessarily." Mags says.
The careers are in the same section and none of the tributes don't seem to notice it.
"It could just be fog."
I get three pairs of eyes looking at me with doubt. I know they are right, nothing in the arena is normal. Nothing did happen to them but, the other tribute got mauled by the careers.
"Ten left." Luna says.
"Fourteen dead." I whisper. Finnick squeezes my hand. I think he is the only person who heard.
I see the Johanna girl chasing a tribute who looks twelve and terrified.
They keep running and then the cog sound starts again. Nothing seems to happen until you start to see the tributes reflection everywhere.
"Mirrors?" I ask.
"That's what it looks like." Luna says.
The twelve year old sprints away but Johanna has trouble figuring out the trap. She keeps running into the mirrors. She takes out her knives and starts breaking the mirrors to get out of the maze.
She can sill see the twelve year old as if taunting her.
"Where are you!" She shouts in anger.
The kid disappears and so does his reflection.
Johanna picks up her knives and the camera angle changes to the careers wondering around. They are where Johanna killed the girl with the tree, her pool of blood is still there. I find this strange because they usually clean that up when they take the body.
"Looks like someone had fun." Chase says.
"Yeah loads of it but where's the body?" The boy from Two asks. The girl from Two is still running towards them. She walks into the blood puddle and falls down in it like it is a lake. She tries to get up but something is pulling her down. You hear her scream and then she disappears. Then you can hear the cogs and the blood puddle disappears
"What the hell?" Finnick and Chase say at the same time
The boy from Two is looking up at the sky.
"One less to worry about." Chase says.
"She's not dead." The boy from Two says
I look to the wall where the number still reads ten.
"What?" Chase says confused.
"There was no cannon. She was probably transported somewhere."
"Where? How?" Chase asks confused.
"Beats the shit outta me. Let's just keep going." He says.
The camera angle changes and it shows the girl coming out of the ground and is almost in front of Johanna.
Johanna backs away probably wondering what the hell it is. The girl is covered head to toe in blood. Johanna stops and looks at the tribute puzzled.
"Doesn't matter what you are, just in chase." She says and shoves her knife into the tributes neck then a cannon goes off.
"Tribute then." She mutters
She takes her hands and starts to wipe away the blood to see what the girl had on her. She smiles when she uncovers the weapon that was drenched in blood.
"I'll take that." She smiles as she wipes off the blood of the axe.
"Well if we could bet I would bet all my money on her." I hear someone from a different floor say. I roll my eyes
"She's going to win." Luna says.
"Not necessarily Luna." Mags says.
"Why is that?" She asks slightly annoyed.
"Always account for variable change."
Luna rolls her eyes.
Johanna gets up after taking the girls stuff but, makes the mistake of steeping in her blood and falls somewhere as well.
"You think it's like that all over the arena now?" I ask
"Probably." Finnick says.
When Johanna appears she is near the boy who was trying to run away from her earlier.
He sees her and gets up but not quick enough because Johanna throws her axe at him and lands right in his forehead. She retrieves her axe but is careful not to step in his blood.
She runs away and then most of the tributes make camp and head to sleep.
Most of the tributes are asleep and are far away from one another. However, you hear the cog noise and they show a tribute that was in the same area as the deadly bugs. The bone chilling screams start and the tribute is dead within ten minutes.
"Nine left." Luna says and gets up from her desk and heads to the lounge. She usually does in the night time because there is almost no action. However, she stops once she hears Chase and the boy from Two talking.
"Why can't we sleep? It's been five hours." Chase snarls.
"Probably the gamemakers." Tribute from Two says.
"You think it was the fog?" I ask.
"That would make sense." Finnick says.
"It could be something similar they inject into us. However it probably won't work the same considering the conditions they are in." Luna says.
"What?" I ask confused.
"Annie please everything they give us has that drug in it so we are always awake. The food and the water both have it and the reason they lock us in here is so they can pump it in the air supply."
"Then what is the injection for?"
"To get the ball rolling if you would, and so we don't OD on the stuff." Luna smiles.
I shiver.
"It's okay Annie." Finnick says and glares at Luna who flashes a smile at him.
He smooths my hair and kisses my forehead.
"Okay." I whisper.
Finnick hugs me.
"It's okay." He says again.
I hear a door open and know Luna has left the room.
"Is that true Finnick?" I ask.
"They don't tell us but, it is a conspiracy theory that most of the victors have. There is no proof to back it up though."
I nod.
"I want to go home." I whisper
"I know, I know but, it's almost over there's only nine left."
"But then twenty-three people will be dead." I whisper into his chest.
Finnick hugs me tighter.
I think it is because he doesn't know what to say.
It's morning and Chase and the boy from Two didn't sleep a wink. Mags and myself think the fog was some sort of insomnia gas. If you don't sleep for awhile it can drive you insane.
A loud blaring noise goes off that sounds like a blow horn. I'm expecting an announcement but one doesn't come but, the sound of the cogs do.