Johanna

To say that hearing Annie scream like that is frightening as Hell seems accurate enough for me. Her in that kind of agony sinks my heart, because I know Finnick. And if he were locked up in a cell and heard the only person on Earth he loves cry out like that, well, he would loose it. Bad. Rip his hair out until his head was bleeding lakes, cry oceans of tears. It's that awful of a shriek.

Snow caused that. No doubt that cold-hearted monster did it. Or is doing it. Is she being tortured right now? The endless kinds they could be putting her through right as we speak. Forcing her to watch reruns of her old Games. Making simulations of Finnick being harmed and presenting them to her. The possibilities stretch out into an infinity. Someone as mad as her could loose themselves over things such as that.

Or the rebellion! Snow probably believes she knows something about it and she can't give him the answers he's looking for. Being harmed for being oblivious to it. No doubt about it, Finnick would never tell Annie about it, knowing how vulnerable she'd become for owning information about it, and him being so overprotective about her and all.

Now that I think about it, I'm starting to piece together my own questions and answers. Is the rebellion the reason Snow has me? He thinks I know something! Yes, that must be it. I'm no weapon against anyone, that's for sure. Well, if anyone, Finnick, but that's only because we're close friends. I'm guaranteed to believe Annie is the only person on his mind now. Wherever he is.

A man's voice echoes in the distance. "Take Miss Cresta to her cell. Snow's done with her for a while. Besides, I don't know what else to do with her."

Annie screams for them to let her go, but I assume they ignored her, due to her repeatings of it over and over again fading in the distance.

When it's still quiet, I hear Peeta say from the cell next to me, "That was brutal."

I sigh. "Yeah, well, welcome to the Capitol."

"I'm serious."

"I know that, Lover Boy."

"Quit calling me that. Please. Peeta's fine."

"Whatever."

"What's gotten into you? You were fine an hour ago."

I find it too hazardous for both Peeta and I if I tried explaining about my theory. Who knows what kind of recorders or cameras are hidden here?

So I say, "Nothing. Just...lost."

"Same here."

Dreadful time passes. Turns out the cabinets in our cells send us food so we don't starve to death. Nothing extravagant. Usually a glass of water and a slice or two of day-old bread. I decide I won't complain since it's edible, but water that doesn't have susceptible particles swimming in the glass would be nice.

Beating boredom consisted of sleeping, talking to Peeta, fooling around with the deck of playing cards provided, or thinking about what the future holds.

"Johanna?" Peeta says a bit after our second serving of water and bread have been delivered for the day.

"Yeah?" I take a gulp of the ugly-colored water.

"I wanted to ask, but if you don't want to answer for any reason-"

"I can't decide if I want to answer or not if I don't know the question," I point out. "So maybe you should ask."

"Okay then," he replies. I hear him take a deep breath and he says, "You remember how in the arena you said there wasn't anyone left that you loved?"

"That rings a bell," I say. "Why?"

"Well, is that really true? Do you really not love anyone?"

Well. The way he worded that made me sound ruthless. Of course there are people that I love.

"My family," I say. "But they're...all...dead."

I haven't had much time to run through memories of them. My parents. My younger sister Taylor. And it's as if the reunion of all my loved ones come into my mind to remind me of my haunted past.

Uncle Drew who first taught me the skills to an ax.

Carmen, the closest person I could count on to be my friend prior to meeting Finnick.

"Oh. I'm so sorry, Johanna."

He cuts off my thoughts with his sorrowful response. I want to shrug it off, but I can't. It's not exactly something you can shrug off.

"I know, I just miss them," I say. After a long pause, I speak up. "I lost my sister in the Games. My parents...well, it was because of me. My good friend died from an illness a few days after my Games."

"That's awful. Really."

"No dip."

"Johanna, you don't always have to be angrily sarcastic about everything. Where will that get you?" I can barely catch him softly breath the words, "in here, specifically."

"I'm choleric, really. And a sarcastic piece of crap. That's just who I am, Peeta. You should know that."

"Were you always so rough?

"You're questions are very ruthless."

"They're only as cold as you, Johanna Mason," Peeta points out.

Neither of us say anything else.

What I presume to be a groggy two days later, Peeta and I exchanging less conversation than usual, something bizarre happens.

I greeted my slightly cleaner water and, this time, a stack of stale crackers as tall as my pinkie in my cabinet after waking up. No one stops me from eating all of the pile and downing down only half the water. Except when the footsteps approached.

I wish there was a way to turn down the volume of the footsteps. I suddenly came very vulnerable to fright, and once the anxiety reaches inside of me, I can't get it out. It's not right for me to be nervous. I'm suppose to be as tough as nails, but it seems I'm only as tough as cotton now. Conceal it, I order myself. Be cold.

A shadow arrives. I take my time standing up and approaching the cell's gate. Through the gaps of the metal bars a man surrounded by numerous Peacekeepers stands somewhere between my cell and Peeta's.

It's his voice that sounds familiar.

"Mr. Mellark," the short, thin and gray-haired man says, "my name is Ed. I am here to escort you to President Snow, who wishes to see you."

I gulp. Uh oh. Snow wants to see Peeta, meaning something is wrong. As much as the whole Lover Boy act annoys me, the idea of Snow doing something awful to the fragile personality of him was unthinkable.

"Well, what does he want?" I snap without a thought.

"That I cannot say, for I don't know. I'm just Mr. President's assistant."

Oh! Now I recognize it! The voice. He is the one who told someone or some people to take Annie away.

I can make out Ed unlocking the gate of his cell. Peeta steps out as asked, a gait that's as soft as he is. The gate shuts.

"Good. Now follow me, if you will. We have about a three minute walk to start on. Come along."

Peeta manages to take a quick glance at me, then I see it.

A shake of his head.

And then he's gone from my vision.

Story Question: What's going to happen to Peeta?