Disclaimer: Uhh... I dunno.
My blood chills when the camera goes to Peeta, who's face has gone paper white. It's not showing us Prim at all. Peeta's left everyone else behind and is running aimlessly through the jungle, trying to find Prim. There's another scream, and there's only one person in that entire arena capable of making that sound: Delia. So now they're both screaming bloody murder and Juniper and Sayer are running too.
"Peeta!" Prim's voice calls out, with pure terror present. "Juniper! Sayer! Help!" Delia's crying and screaming and I don't know what's going on and neither does anyone else in this room.
"Where are we going?!" Juniper yells to Sayer as they sprint through the jungle, getting caught on roots and such.
"I don't know! Wherever they are!" He bellows back to her and they continue running. Now it's showing the District 4 people running too, though I don't know where too or why. And then the next thing I know it's showing the boy from District Four, Linus, throwing a spear of some sort and the screaming ceases. But there hasn't been a cannon, so they must be alive, right?
"Peeta!" Prim yells again and Peeta smashes through the thick jungle trees and falls onto the dead beast at Prim and Delia's feet. Both of the girls are shaking and crying. The District 4 tributes slowly inch forward and Peeta tackles Prim and Delia in a hug.
Juniper and Sayer have made it there and Sayer's already pointing his sword at the District 4 tribues. "Don't take another step."
They drop their weapons and they raise their hands above their head. "We weren't going to kill them. We killed the beast." Sayer's brown eyes flicker to the beast with a spear in it.
"Why?" Juniper asks while she holds Delia in her arms. The girl's quiet sobs are muffled into Juniper's t-shirt.
"We want to join an alliance with you." The girl says, her gaze strong.
"Why?"
"We think that we would be stronger in numbers." Juniper, Peeta and Sayer look at each other before making a split-second decision.
"Deal." The group of seven now slowly gather all of their supplies and leave the beast, but grab the spear.
"Can we trust them, Finnick?" Cecelia asks Finnick and he nods.
"Yeah. I told them to find your tributes."
"Oh." The group slowly continues, until something happens. They find a gate. Linus and Siena, the District 4 tributes gasp, as does Finnick.
"It looks like home." Siena muses, running her hand over the gate."
"Should we go in?" Peeta asks and they nod quickly. The push open the gate and the District 4 that I remember is there. Linus and Siena run straight for the ocean, but stop short a few feet away from it.
"Why'd you stop?" Delia asks and then hesitantly step forward, closer.
"Do you think anything could be in it? I mean, remember last year, with the lake and all.." Oh how I do remember. I'm willing to bet that there is something in that water.
"I bet something's there. Maybe if we stay close to the shoreline we'll be fine." I can tell that Linus and Siena are itching to get into the water. If I was in the arena, I would love to stay away from the water and get as far away from it as I could.
So they all get in, most of the tributes staying close to the shoreline, when something dings from inside the District 12 room. I don't know how I heard it, but I did, so I stand and go into the room. Gale's passed out on the bed so I try to be quiet when I inch over to the table with the computer. Flashing right before me is an alert, and a map of the arena, showing that four tributes are also on their way to District 4. I use the buttons to zoom in on the small group and find that it's the Career group.
I race back out into the main room to find everyone else panicking. "The Careers are on their way." I start coughing and my head starts to hurt again.
"Yeah we know." Finnick shoots out at me and I cower.
"Should we send a note?"
"Notes have to be processed, as do parachutes. We can really only hope that they notice beforehand and have time to move."
"Where would they go?" I ask, sitting down again and tucking my feet under myself.
"Well, the other districts close to this one on the map are either 3 or 5. Neither are ideal, though, I would rather have them be in one where at least one of them know where they are. But at least they'll be away from the Careers."
"And if they don't get away?"
"They're screwed." Finnick says simply, staring intently at the screen as the tributes get closer and closer. Prim, Peeta and Delia are wading around in the shallow water as Linus and Siena actually swim further in. Juniper and Sayer are sitting, talking to each other on the edge of the beach.
The Careers are just entering the District and they hear our alliance. They all look at each other, eyes shining and then race off to the beach. I can't help but feel that this arena is weird. Weirder than normal.
Juniper and sayer hear the pounding of feet first and shush everyone quickly. That's when the Careers crash into the area and instantly start attacking. Sayer grabs Prim and Delia out of the water and shoves them behind a sand dune and gives Prim a knife.
Juniper is immediately pinned down by the women from 1, the one who tried to kill her at the Bloodbath. Peeta is attacked by the man from 1, and they're both wielding swords at each other and they're clashing and yelling. Siena and Linus both bear down on the man from 2, slicing and stabbing at him, and Sayer is left with the District 2 female.
Sayer immediately lunges at the girl, pinning her down and attempting to kill her. The girl knees him in the worst possible place and he doubles over and falls as she stradles him, slicing open his face from his eye down to his chin. Linus jumps at the girl, rolling her off of Sayer and stabbing her in the heart. Her cannon booms instantely.
Linus pulls Sayer up and he limps over, blood dripping from his face onto his shirt. He sees Juniper struggling and tries to walk but falls again. Ceceila tenses on the couch when her daughter has to dodge the repeated stabs aimed at her face. Juniper flips the grown women off of her and kicks her in the gut. The women falls with curses and when she comes up, her eyes are rimmed with pure anger and hate.
Siena is trying to hold off the man from 2, but with no prevail. He slices her neck and she falls, clutching her neck as the blood seeps through her fingers. It stains her white shirt as the man repeatedly slices her neck. Her eyes go white and her cannon booms. The man smiles evily and moves away from her body, blood still spilling out of her wound. This is really not helping my migrane. It's making it worse, actually, with all of the blood and the screaming.
The camera flashes to Delia and Prim, who are both cowering in fear behind the sand dune. The man from 1 keeps pushing Peeta closer and closer to the sand dune when the screaming starts. But it's not anyone in the arena. It's Katniss.
Peeta's face drains of all color and his blue eyes go paler. My jaw drops and my eyes search the screen as Peeta starts running. Katniss can't be there, can she? We would've seen her!
"Finnick! Are they really there?" I fire at him and he shakes his head, but hesitantely. Then he shakes it again.
"No. They aren't. The jabberjays are mimicking the voices."
"Where did they get the voices!"
"Interviews. They do have interviews from these people." Another scream starts and Juniper goes running after Peeta as Prim follows as Katniss's screams increase. Cecelia jumps in her seat and I realize that it must be one of her daughters.
All of their faces look full of terror and they have cuts and scrapes all over their faces and arms when Katniss's screaming stops and someone else's does. That's when I realize that it's me screaming. I'm sure they have plenty of that from my Games.
Peeta and Prim start running again when it stops. Thank God. They're both standing in a clearing as the screaming echoes and Juniper crashes into the clearing. All of them are panting and struggling to catch their breath.
"Do you.. Do you think it's real?" Juniper forces out and they shrug.
"They aren't here. I know they aren't." Peeta says while rubbing his eyes, tiredly. "They can't be here. Why would they? We're the tributes, not them. They aren't here."
Prim starts to cry from hearing her sister screaming and Peeta gives her a hug as Juniper collapses on the ground, holding her head.
"That was completely and utterly horrible." It's torture, that's what it is. Torture. "Come on. We left the rest of our alliance back in the District 4." She pulls herself off of the ground and tries to act like she's fine. She's shaking though. Peeta is also. I'm sure I'd be shaking if I have heard Gale screaming. I'd probably be worse.
"Well that was lovely." Johanna says monotonely, standing up and stretching, "I'm gonna nap." She goes into the District 7 room and shuts the door quickly.
"Is she always like that?" I ask to no one in particular and Finnick responds.
"Yeah. You get used to it." He says, leaning back in his chair and watching the screen as the trio makes their way to the District, their trail evident in their running. As this is going on, Gale comes out of the room and crosses to us quickly. He glances up at the screen and stops and stares for a moment. Then he continues walking and sits down next to me quickly. I link my hand with his and he squeezes lightly before directing his attention to the screen.
"How did they get all of the cuts?"
"It's a long story." Finnick answers for me and then tells the story. Gale's expression becomes stony when it gets to the part about the screaming and he squeezes my hand again. I drop my head to his shoulder and he pulls me into his lap while I protest.
"How do you feel?" He murmurs into my ear and I feel goosebumps flesh on my body when his breath tickles my neck.
"I have a headache." I tell him and he frowns, resting his hand on my forehead again.
"You don't feel warm anymore, though." He frowns again as he looks at the screen. Sayer, Delia, and Linus are going through the forest, both looking defeated, looking for the other three in our alliance. Delia is on Sayer's back again, sound asleep.
Sayer looks frustrated and Linus is just following the young man's path, with no talking. I wonder how long it'll be until they find each other. I hope it's not long. Who knows what kind of creatures are here?
Finnick goes to turn in and Cecelia offers to keep watch on the tributes. That's fine, as I want to talk to Gale about the arena. I think I have an idea of it. I slide off of his lap and go into the District 12 room and he follows.
"What?" He says after he's closed the door and sat down next to me on the bed.
"This arena's weird."
"Aren't all arenas weird?"
"No, this one's really weird. I think the small districts are related somehow."
"What makes you think that?"
"I dunno. I just get this weird feeling when I think about it."
His eyebrows knit and he turns to the screen. Yes, now that I do think about it, it seems odd.
"Yeah. It does seem weird." He concludes quickly and nods. I cough a few times and he gives me a look.
"I'm fine, Gale." He wraps his arms around my shoulders and I rest my head on his chest. I can hear his heartbeat and feel his breath on my head.
"I hope so." He murmurs, and I don't understand what he means. I shrug off the feeling and attempt to sleep again.
A/N: Sorry if this chapter isn't up to par, kind of out of inspiration. Still trying though. Review and tell me your thoughts!