Chapter 28
Lambs
Spruce
It's a blood-red dawn – I'm sure that's a product of the Gamemakers.
Drusa's hurt too – she has a deep cut in the process of heeling on her cheek where Katniss's arrow grazed her after she threw the tracker jacker nest, and, more pressingly, there are three arrows sticking from her shin, her thigh, and her shoulder. Courtesy of Clint I assume. I wonder why he didn't just kill her. I look at him curiously, and we share a look – and I know he knows it too.
Once Shale and Thresh get here, we'll all be in one place for the first time since the bloodbath. Tony's trying to save us.
Or he really is a devious, monstrous glory hound who told us that all along so we'd be more compliant.
But if he was lying … why didn't he kill me? What use do I serve at this point?
There's no time to figure that out. She descends on him, having figured out he's the one to blame for her misfortune. She has her knife at the ready. "Hold his hand out," she orders. Katniss does so while Clint helps her hold him down – Anthony looks scared for the first time. Clint looks away, and I assume I look as confused as he does – we don't know if we should help get the information or not. Drusa grabs his hand and holds out one finger with one hand, and brings forth the knife with the other. I don't know if she plans to cut it off or slide her blade under the nail – either way I find myself looking to the pen. Peeta's holding Brandy against his chest so she can't see, but Rue and Stephen stare in horror. Cato's still down – honestly I worry about him being in there with the others. "Stop!" I yell, before Drusa can draw blood.
"Are you crazy?" Katniss demands.
"Not … not in front of the kids. Please … not in front of the kids," I plead. "We can move him down the hill … Please, Katniss, Clint … not in front of the kids." Her eyes soften at that and Clint hangs his head.
"They're all going to be dead by noon," Drusa says coldly, and she forces the knife under Tony's fingernail. Blood gushes and I know that a very high concentration of nerves are severed. He manages not to scream.
"Stop!" I repeat and push her away. She could probably take me – she's as tall as me and better trained. "Please just … just let them die innocent. Please," I whisper. She rolls her eyes but nods. I'm not worth fighting right now. Clint and Katniss pick him up – with one on either side with a hand under his shoulder – and drag him down the hill.
Drusa does it again on the next finger and I can barely watch. He gasps but once again doesn't scream. He has to have been trained.
"You can try all you want, honey, I'm not telling you a thing until everyone's here," he says as she gets ready to slice under the third fingernail.
"Why not?" Clint asks.
"I want it to be fair," he says with a smirk even though tears are streaming from his eyes.
"You want what to be fair?" I ask.
"The last hurrah. The climax. I guess I'll tell you the general idea … when you all get here, you fight. I tell the last one how to get past the fences and the bombs … then we fight. It's the only way I have a shot – I can't take you all at once. I'm doing you a favor – getting it over with. If you get past me, the others are all pinned up for easy pickings – it'll be five minutes tops until you and your district partner are headed off for your victory interview."
"Unless of course you win," I say coldly. I shudder as I fight the Other Guy.
But there are bigger problems – Drusa apparently finds this arrangement acceptable, and she wants to start the fight now.
I grab her arm as she swings a knife at Katniss, and we fall to the ground. I'm completely right about her being able to take me – the only reason I'm not being stabbed is because Clint is desperately holding to her arm, fighting her. She throws an elbow his way and then it's Katniss saving me. I'm not sure if Katniss cares more about keeping me from getting stabbed or getting the knife away from Drusa.
And then it starts to rain.