✧ﾟ･: *✧ﾟ･:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Sacrifice || Eleven
'Who did Katniss want as allies?' the Head Gamemaker asked. We were back in the big, secret white room for our second meeting. This time, it was in the dead of night, making it easier for us to go unnoticed in all the revelry. Haymitch spun around to address the room instead of Plutarch.
'The special contestants vying for a place in Ms. Everdeen's alliance are, drumroll please,' he announced, dramatically tapping against the table. 'Weird and Weirder.' Beetee and Wiress. My hunch about Katniss' tendencies concerning alliances was right.
'Ok, I need all of the tributes to form groups. These will be the people you will stick with for most of the Game,' he instructed. I instantly faced Johanna who was already grinning at me. We headed over to each other.
'Ready to kick ass?'
'As ready as I'll ever be.' The crazy, mischievous glint in her eyes was what got me obsessed with her in the first place. Sure, she was a few years younger than me, but her ferocity made up for the age gap. She was so strong; I aspired to have a strength like her's one day. I don't know why she decided to be friends with me, but I didn't dare question her.
All of us had formed pairs or trios of sorts. Plutarch sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose.
'Everyone already knows the plan, and I very clearly explained we could only have the groups split in three max before they merge on the second night when we extract Katniss and whoever else we can. Ok, I'll split everyone up,' he sighed. 'Since Peeta will obviously stick to Katniss like glue, we can't have Beetee and Wiress with them too. It'll be too much of a load. Finnick and Coral, you stay with Katniss, do whatever you need to do to keep her alive.
'Group two will be comprised of Beetee and Wiress and they'll merge after a while into the Games; it'll keep Katniss' trust with us. Now, I need someone to stay with Beetee and Wiress to keep them alive. Johanna, you can keep with them.' I didn't like the plan Plutarch was creating at all. Finnick's safety was guaranteed since he was with Katniss and Plutarch wouldn't let any major harm go Katniss' way. However, Johanna was a different story. Plutarch would happily sacrifice her and anyone else to keep anyone from suspecting anything until the Games were over.
'No,' I said. 'I want to be with Johanna. Katniss can protect herself just fine and she has Finnick too. Peeta will live with the two of them by his side. I'll stay with Johanna; it'll be hard to protect both Beetee and Wiress on her own.' Plutarch considered me carefully.
'Coral…' he said in a warning tone. 'Katniss probably likes you a lot better than Finnick given your little conversation during the Training Sessions.' I was so sick of the unspoken words that hung in the air that I just spit them out.
'Then do something about it, but I will stay with Johanna!' I exclaimed. 'Look, my loyalty may lie with this plan, but it sure as hell does not lie with you. And my trust doesn't either. I want this rebellion as much as every Victor in this room, but you've never had a proper taste of your own creations. Your motives and benefit from this seem sketchy so I suggest doing this on our terms just as much as yours.' I had expected the tension to climax, but it felt as if a breath of relief had been released in the room. Everything we were thinking was out in the open, we were playing this games with all our cards spread out. There was nothing to hide; nothing to fret about.
To my surprise, and probably everyone else's, Plutarch smiled.
'I'm glad we have such a stubborn fighter on our side,' he said. 'Okay, fine. With the honest intent to gain your trust, you can be part of the second group.' I nodded stiffly in his direction. From there, we were briefed on how the Games would go down. Suspiciously, Plutarch was adamant on not telling us the layout of the games and any surprises it held. He claimed that "not all of us were great actors" and the audience would be able to tell that something was off if we avoided everything that was thrown our way and knew things that we shouldn't have. His baloney explanation and a few other factors were the exact reasons I didn't trust him.
The meeting was quite short since we needed to get back to the Training Centre before dawn. As we were all getting up, stretching, yawning and making our way to our separate routes, Haymitch walked up to me. He already had Finnick in tow.
'Haymitch,' I addressed suspiciously. He never really talked with anyone unless it concerned debauchery. And I definitely did not know much about it. He did spend a bit of time with Mags, but Finnick and I usually only watched their interactions from afar. Our rare conversations though, were never not amusing; his drunk-self acquired quite the sense of humour.
'Sweetheart,' he replied with his common nickname. 'Look, I'm gonna cut straight to the chase. Katniss might cooperate even if we don't get Beetee and Wiress to her, but she will never cooperate without Peeta. Now, I trust you two a lot more than the others,' he said gesturing towards the Victors who were leaving, 'both morally and physically. I need you two to keep Peeta alive, or this rebellion; it's burning to ashes.' We both nodded understandingly.
'Oh,' he added, 'and since Katniss hasn't gotten to trust Mr. Peacock yet, take this.' He unclasped a golden bracelet and handed it to Finnick. 'Show it to her, she'll know.' Haymitch clapped us both on our backs and walked over to his route partner. Finnick and I shared a look before hurrying over to our own routes.
Thankfully, I was going back via Route 2, a short distance of crawling through the vents into another room in the hotel we were apparently meeting at. Once my partner and I were in the other room, we were to change and return to the Training Centre in the thick of all the partying going on outside. We already had fake IDs prepped for us so we could get into the building. Even better, Johanna was my partner.
'For the record,' she said as soon as I got close enough to hear her, 'I could totally handle those two on my own.' I rolled my eyes. Of course, she could, she was Johanna Frickin Mason.
'I know,' I replied simply, starting our journey back.
Once we were out of the hotel, makeup on, wearing ridiculous costumes, we followed the designated path back.
'Wait,' Johanna said, holding my arm back. I gave her a curious look.
'What if we just stayed here for like a few minutes?' I cocked a brow. 'I wanna party for a bit.'
'Johanna,' I warned. We weren't meant to step off our routes.
'Come on, it wouldn't hurt at all. We'll get back before sunrise,' she promised. She pulled my arm, tugging me into the crowds. I looked back at the path, worried. We weren't meant to be doing this. But the colours and the aroma and the laughter were so compelling.
'Fine,' I said reluctantly, 'but only for ten minutes.' She laughed and pulled me in. Moments like this reminded me of Johanna's youth and of mine as well. Sometimes, it was alright to smile and laugh and pretend all our worries away. Sometimes, it was ok to be young and vulnerable. Sometimes, it was fine to ignore whatever dangers the future held and just enjoy the present.
So, I let myself slip into the festive colours and smells and sounds with Johanna's hand gripping mine.
HI-LO
I really loved writing this chapter, it was emotional for me to write so I hope I conveyed the feelings well for all my readers. Thank you for your continued support!
Luv yall,
Lea Valdez