Chapter 22 - Breathless torture.
Since the Jabberjays I have had no sleep. How could it ever be possible for me to ever sleep again after hearing what sound was leaving my little sisters mouth at moment that she was blown up. Finnick was pretty much the only one that fell back asleep which I guess is fair considering he's been up all night keeping watch, until I took over. Annie has been up keeping an eye on Kai, who has just been sat there staring out at the sea for the past 2 hours. Annie seems pretty shaken up too, even though I'm not sure why, I guess it has something to do with this 'Penny' person. Johanna and Rowan walked off to do some practicing with their axe's. Uncle Haymitch went off with Rye to get some water and something to eat about 20 minutes ago. Peeta however has not left my side as the tears stream from my face. The sound of Prim screaming echos through my mind and I know that Peeta is thinking about Holly. I guess its hard to get over your little sisters death. Both of us lost our entire families. Rye is trying his hardest to keep it all in but I know he wont last much longer. He didnt only lose his baby sister, his unborn Nephew/Neice, his brother and his parents but he also lost his girlfriend.
At about 7am. Finnick wakes up so I crawl over to him, leaving Peeta near the sea with a kiss on the cheek. "Hey Finn." I say and he looks down at me, his smile smaller than it normally is when he has his usual facade on. "Who's Penny?" He looks confused. "Thats who Kai heard."
His face softens and he nods. "Well he would. Penelope. His best friend, They both really like eachother but havent told the other just yet. She's Annie's cousin and she's in here somewhere. We are all sure of it we just havent come across her yet, thats probably why he freaked out." I nod in understanding. "I think he's really close to giving up hope. If we havent come across her yet, I doubt we actually will."
I find myself looking at the back of Peeta's head, thinking about what would have happened if I had never come across him in here. How would I feel. I guess I would probably have given up hope too. "I'm sure she's here somewhere. She's probably hiding out somewhere, waiting for him." He nods and turns away from me, looking towards his younger brother and his girlfriend. Annie has given up trying to make Kai happy, now she just sits beside him staring off into the distance which is what everyone seems to be doing at the moment in time.
I'm about to say something else to Finn when I hear noise from the woods. Nobody else seems to hear it but I hear someones voice, causing me to jump because it was definitely not Uncle Haymitch or Rye, the voice was female. I jump forward and raise my bow towards the woods, alerting almost everyone. Around me, everyone raises their weapons. Johanna and Rowan come flying over. "What is it?" Peeta asks from my side.
"Someone's there. I heard it." I say back. He doesnt question it further.
Thats when I hear it again, this time louder, which everyone else must hear because they all tense up. "Tick Tock."
Another voice. "Would you shut up already!"
Then another voice, this time from behind me. "Penny!" I hear Kai shout and he pushes past me and Peeta to get to the woods. Finn tries to stop him but he dissapears quickly enough. We all stand on guard for another couple seconds before Uncle Haymitch appears.
"We found some more people." He says and 4 people walk out of the tree line behind him. One is Rye, 2 I recognise from past games, Beetee and Wiress from District 3 and the 4th person is completely lost on me, I'm guessing that its Penelope. Considering that Kai has his arm around her and Annie runs over when she appears, there is no-one else it could be. My bow falls and I hear Peeta let out a breathe behind me.
"Tick Tock." Wiress says again.
"Whats wrong with her?" I ask, it quickly crosses my mind that there are now 13 of us in this alliance, I'm guessing that was something the Capitol wasnt intending.
"She's in shock. Dehydration isnt helping, do you have any water?" Beetee asks. They all seem to fall to the sea where they wash off the blood that I didnt realise they where covered in till now.
I follow them, Peeta behind me every step. "We can get some." He says over my shoulder. "Infact thats what we sent Haymitch and Rye to do." I shoot a glance their way and Uncle Haymitch just smiles and shrugs his shoulders. Rye has dissapeared again. Hopefully to do his job.
Wiress appears at my shoulder, scaring me so much that I fall backwards into Peeta. "Tick tock." Instead of saying anything else, I hand my bow to Peeta and pull Wiress towards the sea to get her cleaned up.
"Tick Tock." Wiress says constantly as I wash the blood out of her hair. I feel the baby begin to kick so much that its painful. Then it seems to click. 'Tick Tock the arena is a...clock' Its all makes sense, the different things happening at the same time every day. That wave, the lightening. It all fits in. "Tick Tock." Wiress says again and I look down at her with a smile on my face.
I pull her face into my hands. "Wiress, you are brilliant." I shout in excitement and drag her back to shore as quickly as I can. "The arena is a clock!" I shout to the rest of them and they all look at me. "Its a clock."
"Oh no not her aswell." I hear Johanna mumble.
"No." I reach them now. "Wiress was right. The arena is a clock. With a different threat every hour." Something in their faces change and they all seem to nod. I look at Peeta for approval. If he believes me then thats good enough for me and it seems he does when he smiles. I smile back and quickly find my breathe, not realising that I had lost it. Everyone seems to be congratulating Wiress on her discover which makes me smile even more.
10 minutes later, we are walking towards the cornucorpia to figure out which sector is which. I'm infront and on the other side of the group is Rowan, keeping an eye on the woods with Johanna. Peeta is stood right behind me 'making sure I dont fall' as he says, as if I'm gonna fall, does he even know me? I guess he's just trying to look after the baby, who by the way wont stop bloody kicking. She's been at it none stop since I figured out the clock thing. Its getting kind of painful now. One foot flies towards my ribcage, causing me to let out a breathe and my bow drops to the floor startling Peeta. "Whats up?" He asks as if I'm dying.
I start shaking my head. "Nothing, I'm fine. The baby's kicking thats all." I carry on walking with him right behind me. His hand finds my waist and somehow Hope stops almost immediately. "How the hell do you do that?" I ask him a little too loudly.
He smiles slightly, glancing down at my stomach, making me a little uncomfortable. "I guess she is a little daddy's girl." I'm about to kiss him when I hear a scoff behind Peeta, turning to see Rye and Finnick watching us closely. Finnick has a huge grin on his face but Rye looks disgusted which makes me laugh. "Shut up." Peeta mumbles towards his brother. I laugh so much at both of their faces that I almost fall in the water.
Once we get to the cornucorpia, Peeta starts to draw out the map. Rowan and Johanna carry on keeping guard, Rye and Finnick grab some more weapons from the mouth and every else huddles around Peeta. "So this one is the blood rain that we got caught in?" Delly asks him which he nods too. "And this one is the wave?" He nods again.
"I dont know what the big fuss is.." Rye mumbles from behind Peeta, dropping weapons at our feet. We all look at him. "Peet, you're not even that good at drawing." Peeta scowls but I cant stop laughing.
"He's better than you." I say back. Thats when Rye scowls but I'm still laughing from Peeta so I cant stop.
"Anyway..." Finnick says watching us all. "So what are we gonna do-" Next thing I know a sword goes flying sraight past my stomach and off instinct I hit the ground. I look up to see none other than Gloss. Clearly he survived when Delly knocked him off his feet. I didnt think he had to be honest.
Peeta grabs my arm and pulls me off in the other direction. Thats when I look around, everyone is taking up arms to protect me. Why me? Thats when Brutus shows up and right infront of me at that. Just as I see him, his fist collides with my temple and I fall, hitting the rock beneath me.
Everything is fuzzy for a second until strangely the ground starts to rumble beneath me. The air changes, its almost as if I'm spinning, like when Peeta used to push me on the roundabout in the school yard when we where kids. What a pleasant memory. I wish I could be back there without a care in the world. Having no idea how my life would turn out. No family, pregnant as a teenager and in The Hunger Games at that.
Suddenly, my life is engulfed with water. I start to panic, breathing in, it cant be real. I can feel myself sinking as my lungs fill with water. One minute I was in the school yard, then I was in water. No, I was at the Cornucorpia with Peeta, and then I must have Fallen... I clamp my mouth shut instantly, keeping it the tiny bit of air I've got left. If not for me then for Hope. I cant die when she hasnt got a chance to live yet. Just calm down Katniss.
Then I hear music. A man singing. I know that voice its my...father. What is he doing here? "Katniss, do you remember that song?" He asks, I nod because I do, he was singing the Valley song.
"What is going on?" I ask him. I recognise the voice as the one I have now so its obviously not a memory.
He smiles, the smile I have missed so much. His hands find mine, "Do you know where you are Katniss?" I look around and nod. I'm at the lake, my dads lake. Where we used to watch the sun come up some times. "No, not here. Do you know where you really are?" His face turns serious and his grip on my hands tightens.
Then sun covers my vision as I'm plucked from the waves, coughing up whatever water was in my lungs. "Katniss!" Someone shouts and I find the strength to open my eyes, finding Rye. "You almost died!" Then Peeta appears, out of breathe as if he was running. "She's fine I think. How's hope?" Rye asks and I hold up my thumb as I'm still coughing up water.
"Come on lets get you back to shore." Peeta says, helping me to my feet and helping me walk when the coughing finally stops and I can breathe again. At the beach, I find the sand and fall into it, letting it take me almost into immediate sleep.
When I wake up the only person there is Peeta. He's not looking at me, he's looking out to the water, where the sun is setting. I pull myself forward to sit next to him but he still doesnt look at me. "Beetee came up with a plan whilst you where sleeping, to kill off the remaining tributes." I'm looking at him waiting to elaborate but he doesnt. Instead he talks about something else. "I dont know what kind of plan you have going round in that head of yours but you have to promise me that you will not die." He's looking at me now but I find myself looking away.
He's right, I had planned on dying all along. I have nothing to go home to and I might want to survive for Hope but if I raise Hope without a father I wouldnt do a very good job infact I probably wouldnt be able to raise her without Peeta. I cant put myself infront of Peeta, Rye, Uncle Haymitch and Delly. "You know I cant promise that Peeta." My hands find my stomach as Hope wakes up.
He takes my hand in his, forcing me to look at him, "Katniss, you have to promise me. I cant lose you and Hope." He's pleading, something that Peeta never does. "Please Katniss." I feel the sudden need to go somewhere, anywhere. I just dont want to be having this conversation because I dont want to let him down. I do a quick glance behind me to find Finnick, Kai and Rye laughing about something. I cant walk behind me. I dont want to draw too much attention. "Are you listening to me?" His grip tightens.
"I cant lose you either Peeta. I dont promise anything." I pull my hand away from his and start walking in the direction of the forest, past Rye. As expected Peeta grabs my hand and as he pulls me around I come up with another excuse to get him to leave me alone but instead he kisses me.
It feels good but I still pull away with tears in my eyes. "You're not gonna change my mind, you're only making it worse." Then I walk away and he doesnt follow me. I find a spot on the beach not far away, just in the lining of the sea to sit and stare at the water. I can still see everyone but I'm alone. I cant believe he would think I would promise something like that. I can not lose him just as much as he cant lose me. The feeling is entirely mutual and he doesnt realise that. I guess we just have to see what the next days bring because something tells me that this arena isnt going to last for much longer.