The victory tour for Katniss and Peeta had gone according to plan thus far. Johanna and some of the other living victors took the tour as well. They had started in District 1 - Luxury - and they had lived in it accordingly.
District 2 - Masonry - where they dealt with the "pets." They simply glowed in their victory, happy as ever. Johanna grinned as she thought of their names coupled, which she expertly combined to become "Peeniss." Maybe it was the pervert in her, but she thought it was rather fitting, considering she was 95% sure that they weren't actually sleeping together. Nothing would irk those little shits more than her using their names to refer to the male appendage
In District 3 – Technology – they learned more about electronics than they ever thought possible. They drove in the most advanced of cars, and shot the most high-tech firearms on the market. Johanna reminisced on the victors from the district, a couple of dorks she liked to call 'Nuts' and 'Volts,' two perfectly capable, kind people who lacked all social skills, but were still completely endearing.
District 4 – Fishing – offered little, which made sense, considering it was Finnick's district. Johanna wasn't a fan of seafood, and at the moment she wasn't exactly a fan of the man, either. Both probably played a part in making her despise the district as well. It was the home to six victors, but she gave most of the credit to Mags, as she was the oldest surviving one, and an adorable old lady at that. Who could resist adorable old ladies?
District 5 – Power – their responsibility rested in the Districts' need for electricity. Johanna didn't know much about it, but she knew one familiar face from this district; Foxface. The sly, quiet redhead from Peeniss' Hunger Games, she died after ingesting nightlock berries, leading to her fourth place position.
District 6 – Transportation – they provide any and all forms of transportation in the districts. Trains, cars, the occasional jet, they were responsible for all of it. Peeta and Katniss' visit was less than memorable; Johanna had never cared much for cars.
District 7 – Lumber – her homeland, the place where she had been reaped. Where Ina had been reaped, and Blight. The place where her family had been murdered by Snow. She and her fellow district tributes attended the festivities while they were there, she remained stoic and impassive the entire time. The place might've held some of her best memories, but it also held some of her very worst.
District 8 – Textiles – Their responsibility lied in providing clothing and other necessities such as blankets, rugs, anything made of fabric. It's really quite a bore, the girl from the district whispered. Johanna was eager to agree as she watched them repeat the same, scripted speech to the crowd, yawning and turning her holo off before sauntering to bed.
District 9 – Grain – Johanna had heard through the grapevine that Peeta's family owned a bakery in district 12, she supposed he had this one to thank for their livelihood. Other than that little nugget of information, it was absolutely useless. Sure, it fed all of the districts, but grain? How boring can a place be?
District 10 – Livestock – While she loved killing people who tended to be total dicks, Johanna had a soft spot for animals. They were the purest form of life, she decided. They killed, to be sure, but it was for survival, not for cruelty. It reminded her of the games, of the kids who had to grow up far too soon in order to make it out alive - it reminded her of herself. She decided that she didn't like this district for that very fact. A wolf kills a rabbit not out of hate, but out of necessity, just as she and all of the other victors had; and she imagined she'd be killing a lot more rabbits before the end of this 'war.'
District 11 – Agriculture – while the other district visits had been less than interesting, this one proved to be the exact opposite. Johanna was sure that the rest of the movement – including herself – had been disappointed with the lack of rebellion in the other ten districts. Each visit Peeniss made proved to be less than fruitful, that is until this one. The falsely glowing pair appeared on the stage, Peeta starting off the usual, Capitol cock-sucking speech. Johanna imagined it was because of little Rue, Katniss was sure to feel more emotional in this district than the others.
Her suspicion was proven correct when the victor took Peeta's place and went completely off-script, directing an impassioned speech towards Rue and Thresh's families. "I feel as if I did know Rue, and she'll always be with me; everything beautiful brings her to mind," the young woman looked across the crowd to Rue's mother and siblings. "I see her in the yellow flowers that grow in the meadow by my house. I see her in the mockingjays that sing in the trees, but most of all, I see her in my sister Prim." Johanna was taken aback, a bit. After the games, Katniss had showed absolutely no emotion in public, had taken no stands against the Capitol, she imagined it was because Haymitch had ordered her not to; the man was a drunken slob, but a smart one at that. At the completion of her speech, an old man in the crowd kissed three of his fingers, and held them up in the air, a sign of respect that Johanna had come to associate with Katniss. The rest of the crowd followed suit, and one by one their arms were raised in silent defiance. The moment was harshly interrupted when Capitol guards shoved their way through the civilians towards the elderly man who had started the whole thing. They gripped him by the shoulders and arms, and marched him to the stage that had recently been vacated as Katniss, Peeta and the rest were ushered back inside. The crowd screamed, cried, and pleaded as the man was forced onto his knees and shot in the head.
Johanna stared in shock as they carried his body off stage, blood leaving a trail from where the bullet penetrated his skull. The crowd was in an absolute uproar, Katniss was crying as Haymitch led her and Peeta from the room. Every time something like this happens, Snow loses more footing on Panem, the girl from District 8 said. Johanna knew it to be true, this man's death would not be in vain, but it still hurt. When Johanna hurt, she reacted with anger, and right now that anger was leading to a lot of thoughts about a lot of ways in which she would kill Snow and his men. Her mouth tilted slightly into a smirk at the thought of what was to come.
District 12 – Coal – Peeniss' own district. After the events in district 11, it was obvious that no one was going to go off script here. Katniss looked defeated, as did the crowd. They may be happy to have their victors returned to them, but that joy was overshadowed by a looming, mournful presence that wafted through the air. Johanna could practically taste it on her tongue. They'd had it with the child murder.
Overall, while Johanna knew that they could've gotten a stronger reaction from the districts, the reaction from 11 was proof that their plan was working. Johanna knew that the majority of Panem wouldn't know what happened after the cameras were turned off, how that old man was murdered in front of his people, his family. But she also knew that every instance such as that one carried a lot of weight, and she was more determined than ever to make it count. Word traveled between districts, and eventually the rest will learn of what the pigs had done. If she had to spread word herself, she would.
Finnick wrote her a couple of times, both letters spoke of how much he missed her, how much she meant to him, blah blah blah. She had already given herself to him, she had already made herself vulnerable; if he wanted another chance, he would have to show it. Actions speak louder than words. But how was one to prove themselves through action when they were never around? She hadn't seen him since the end of the 74th games, she didn't know what he was doing. Was he in the Capitol 'servicing' the rich bimbos who so desired him? Was he back in district 4, preparing for what was to come with Mags? His letters never said; all he eluded to was that he was thinking of her. He was careful to keep everything else out. Snow wasn't to know about the Rebellion, he wasn't to know about their relationship, if you could call it that.
Grayson, on the other hand, was more than willing to visit her in district 8. Time and time again, he would show up out of the blue. She would stomach a night or two with him to keep up the charade, but she would never hint towards any kind of rebellion. The fact that he continued to prod her for answers about it was insulting – did he really think her to be so idiotic? She repeatedly fed him lie after lie, after all, it was what she was best at – aside from killing and fucking – and she had always been a person who uses the skills she has to get what she wants.
Months flew by, and before Johanna knew it, it was time for the 75th Hunger Games. She had been so busy drinking and hanging out with Blight and Ina, screwing Grayson to take off the edge, it just kind of snuck up on her. Funny how she would spend the entire games traveling the country, living in posh apartments in the Capitol, and then return home and not leave a single time.
She was three glasses of scotch in when she sat down on the couch at Blight's place to watch their psychotic president make his sure-to-be psychotic address to his impoverished wasteland of a country. She zoned out for much of it, but zoned right back in when the words "the male and female tributes will be reaped from each district's existing pool of victors."
Johanna threw her glass directly into the screen, glass shattering, spreading throughout the room like a bomb had just gone off.
"Bring it the fuck on," she growled, jaw clenched.