Syra's scream rips through the small camp and forces everyone to jump awake. Haymitch topples out of his sleeping place, and is temporarily confused, but then he shakes his head and reality hits him like a brick. The two dead District 6 tributes, and a very upset Finnick. He's sitting over a body-
Oh fuck.
He lurches off the ground and runs towards them. He stumbles but manages to regain his footing just as he reaches Finnick and Mags. Finnick is sobbing, his entire body shaking. Mags, who's still alive but barely. She raises a shaking hand and touches it gently against Finnick's cheek. He chokes out another sob and raises his own large hand to cover hers. Bronze against white.
Haymtich knew how much Mags meant to Finnick. She was, as he once confined to Haymitch, practically his family. He could only guess how painful this was for him- actually he doesn't need to guess. He knows how painful it is to lose someone you love.
Syra is crying too. Cato has his arms wrapped around her and he's holding her to his chest. She's not putting on a show- she actually did care about Mags. Everyone cared about Mags. Everyone loved her.
He looks over and sees Katniss looking at the heart breaking sight of one of the Capitol's strongest Victors brought to his knees and racked with sobs. He reaches out and pulls Katniss closer to him, tucking her under his arm. She buries her face in his shoulder, not wanting to look at them any longer. Haymitch forces himself to watch. Mags looks up at him, offering a weak smile. One last goodbye. He forces himself to smile in return.
Her hand slips from Finnick's face, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. And then there's the sound of a canon.
Finnick is sitting against a tree, completely alone. He hasn't said a word since Mags died. He hasn't even wiped the blood off his face. Katniss stares at him, chewing her lip. She knows she's probably the last person he wants to see, but she feels like she should try to help him. She, Syra, Cato and Haymitch were sitting in a small circle, counting their supplies. They still have no water but the juice from the mango is holding them over... For now.
She reaches forwards and takes a mango, ignoring the groups quizzical looks. She gets up and goes to Finnick, walking quietly. She reaches him and holds out the mango, as a peace-offering. He glances it but then looks away quickly, shaking his head as a response.
"You should eat something," she says softly.
"I don't want to." he snaps. She's not used to his sharp tone.
"Finnick... I'm so sorry," she says. He turns away, not wanting her pity. She takes a seat beside him and tucks her knees against her chest. "You know, I lost my dad when I was younger. He was going down to the mines and there was an explosion. I don't like telling people, but I guess the reason I'm telling you this is because I actually know what it's like to lose a parent. So many people tell you their sorry and you just want to ignore them; because how could they possibly know what it's like? But I really do and I can honestly say that I am so sorry." she tells him. He's turned his head to look at her. His beautiful eyes are bright red, as sure sign he has cried.
"I should have protected her. I should have-"
"Don't do that. Don't do that to yourself. You'll torture yourself if you do that. You did everything you could. It was not your fault, Finnick." she says quietly. He nods and swallows the lump in his throat. She let's go of the mango and leans forwards, wiping the blood off his face with a large leaf she had come across. He lets her and closes his eyes. When she's done, she does something she deems really stupid. She leans forwards and wraps her arms around his shoulders. He doesn't resist. He leans forwards as well, resting his face in the crook of her neck and she cradles him against her chest. Finnick has his arms around her stomach, pulling her closer to him.
Neither of them notice Cato staring at him, with rage written across his face and fire in his eyes.
"Listen, we need to go back to the Cornucopia on the island because we have no water. We won't last long without that. Everyone good with that?" Haymitch asks the small group. Katniss and Finnick have returned to them and Finnick has now managed to calm down. Or at least put on a damn good façade.
"Do you want me to leave?" Syra asks quietly. She looks up at them with those wide doe eyes.
"You can stay; for now." Haymitch says gruffly. He throws a quick glance at Cato, who immediately turns away from the scrutinizing gaze.
They set off, taking what little supplies they have. Basically only their weapons, some mangos and empty water bottles and rope from the packs Katniss and Finnick managed to grab at the beginning of the games.
They all walk in silence during their trip to the island. Haymitch is leading, behind him is Syra and Finnick and bringing up the rear are Katniss and Cato. They're barely looking at each other. Cato is still angry at the fact that Finnick had his fucking arms wrapped around her, and she didn't seem to care. He knows this shouldn't affect him, Katniss is only his friend! And he did way more than just hugging with Syra, so it is completely hypocritical of him to be acting like this. And they were in the fucking arena- when did he ever care about Katniss touching anyone? God, it feels like he's thirteen again. He had a crush on this girl named Riya and when he once saw her flirting with another guy, so he broke the guys arm. Needless to say, that didn't get him anywhere with Riya.
He looks over to Katniss and wonders what she is thinking about. Mags maybe? Finnick? He feels himself growl at the thought. Katniss looks up at him curiously when she hears the noise.
"What was that?" she asks.
"Nothing," he responds bitterly, still thinking about the stupid District 4 tribute.
"You're so weird sometimes." she says, but he can tell she's smiling as she says it. He's about to respond, but Haymitch suddenly holds up his hand. They've arrived at the beach. Haymitch kneels down and the other surround him. He has become the leader of the group.
"Ok, I think Cato and Finnick should go first. No offense Katniss, but you're not the best at hand to hand combat. And Syra, you're a good fighter but I need you on the beach in case some of the careers decide to show up. Now, Finnick and Cato, when you go up I need you to look for water. That's the main priority. If not that, just grab some food or weapons. Sound good?"
Everyone nods and soon their plan is in motion. Haymitch and Syra are at the treeline, keeping watch for any of the careers. Katniss is up in a tree which gives her a good look at the beach too. Cato and Finnick are running over the stones leading to the Cornucopia.
"Do you have my back?" Finnick asks him. They're speaking quietly, but they're so close together it doesn't matter.
"Depends on if you have mine," Cato responds, eyeing him suspiciously.
"For now, yes I do." Finnick responds as they reach the tall metal structure.
"Then I have yours." Cato says. The two of them disperse and begin looking for the supplies. The careers have hidden them pretty well, but they manage to find a few things. Cato finds a bag of dry fruit and nuts and a set of daggers, like Clove used. Finnick finds a spear and, jackpot, a few bottles of water. He's about to turn and call out to Cato, but he's cut short when someone jumps on him from the high ledge of the cornucopia. It's Cashmere. They crash to the ground and he feels a sharp pain in his neck, it's her pressing a knife under his chin. He hears Cato running towards them, but then something dawns on him. Where Cashmere is, Gloss is definitely not far off. He arches his head back than snaps up; head butting Cashmere has hard as he could. He hears the crack as her nose breaks and she lets out a cry.
"Wait, Cato don't!" he shouts but it's too late. Just as he turns around, he sees Cato get hauled to a stop by Gloss who then thrusts a dagger deep into Cato's back.
Katniss feels her heart stop as she sees Cato stumble. Gloss raises the dagger again and brings it down on Cato's shoulder, and that forces Cato to fall to his knees.
She hears a loud scream, a scream of his name, and soon realizes she's doing it herself. Cato is still on his knees, and Gloss is preparing to bring the dagger down on his neck as a final death-blow, but amazingly, Cato grabs his sword and turns around and thrusts it through Gloss's stomach before he slumps to the ground. Finnick has put his trident through Cashmere's head and now runs to Gloss, doing the same thing to him that he did to his sister. She hears two canon's go off.
She hurls herself out of the tree and lands on the soft sand of the beach. Syra and Haymitch have already began running to the Cornucopia and she quickly catches up with it. She sees Enobaria running into the jungle, but doesn't bother with her. Enobaria must now she can't take all of them so she's retreating.
Katniss skids to a stop at Cato's side. Her hand flies to her mouth when she sees the amount of blood gushing from his wounds. She drops to her knees and presses her hand to the wound on his shoulder, trying desperately to stop the bleeding.
"Oh my God, oh my God! Cato don't leave me please don't leave me!" she's screaming this at him. Syra is on his other side. She's ripping through a pack, looking for medical supplies.
"Don't leave Cayson, don't leave again," she whispers and Katniss can see tears streaming down her face.
Wait, Cayson? Who is-
A groan from Cato causes her to focus all her attention on him. Her hands are now covered in blood.
"Oh my God! Haymitch do something!" she screams at her mentor. He seemed to be in shock, but then he comes back to his senses. He throws Katniss out-of-the-way and grabs Cato. He grabs one of his arms, and one of his legs, and lifts the boy on to his shoulders. Katniss is amazed he isn't crushed. He begins to return to the beach and Katniss feels someone tugging on her arm. It's Finnick, who has the water bottles under one arm.
"Hurry up!" he shouts. She nods, but then remembers Syra, who's sitting on the rocks, shaking. Katniss grabs her by the arm and pulls her away from the Cornucopia and back to the beach. They run across the rocks quickly, but it's not fast enough for her. Haymitch has disappeared into the jungle, knowing the beach isn't overly safe for a large group of people. He stops at a clearing and kneels down, letting Cato slip off his shoulders. Katniss is behind him, and grabs the bleeding boy before he can hit the ground. She has her arms wrapped around her chest and her legs around his waist. Haymitch goes to them and begins shaking Cato's shoulder, trying to get the kid to open his eyes... But nothing happens. Syra begins sobbing and Finnick quickly tucks her under his arm. He's looking at Cato with regret filling his sea green eyes.
Katniss has grown frantic. She looks up at Haymitch and begs him to help Cato. "Haymitch, do something! He's not waking up!" she screams at him. Haymitch looks lost and can only shake his head. To him, the boy is dead. He looks at the crazed girl in front of him, holding desperately on to Cato and as a result of that is covered now in blood. It's smeared across her face which makes her grey eyes stand out even more. There's such a look of desperation in them that his already broken heart breaks a little more as he mumbles these words to her.
"I'm sorry, Katniss."