A/N: Thanks for reading that last chapter!
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Katniss's POV
A few more days after we all agreed to be alliances, I was outside of the hut cutting a piece of wood to make it sharp; into another weapon as if a knife. I was sweating because I had been working for quite awhile on it.
"Can you lift this?" I asked Cecilia as I handed her the wood.
She came forward and tried to lift the piece of wood with difficulty, then she shook her head.
"Okay." I responded before cutting a piece off of the wood. "What about this?" I asked her again.
She lifted it with ease and smiled, "Yes, I can." I smiled back.
Our conversation was cut off however as Finnick Odair came waltzing through camp in just his boxers, from bathing in the lake. I turned my head as Cecilia gasped and covered her eyes.
"Finnick, would you like to put on some pants?" I asked.
Finnick smiled at me and walked into my vision as I looked away again, "Why is this distracting?" Finnick humped the air a few times.
Johanna walked in them and rolled her eyes at Finnick, "Finnick, if take off your pants one more time I am going to paint some damn pants on you!" She muttered grabbing Finnick's pants from hanging from a tree and threw them at him.
Finnick laughed and started to pull up his pants, "Just thought I would give Katniss a show is all."
I shook my head, "Katniss didn't want a show." I whispered, as I looked to see that Finnick had his khaki pants on again.
"Is it okay to look now?" Cecilia questioned, still covering her eyes.
"Yes." Johanna rolled her eyes.
"Well, I suppose I will go and get some more wood for the hut, because it is getting a little shaky. I won't go far." Finnick told us, we all nodded, and he walked into the woods.
Everything went back to normal, after that, Cecilia went back to humming and picking at leaves, Johanna started drinking water and was staring into the woods like she hated the world, and I went back to cutting the wood into a knife. We all stayed quiet until we heard a loud roar coming from the right of me.
Johanna, Cecilia, and I all looked to see a huge cat with an orange mane around its huge face with teeth bared. Its black eyes were squinted in a way that looked like he wanted to eat us. My hand instantly found my bow to face the lion. It growled as it ran straight at our camp sight.
"Is that a lion?" I asked a completely stupid question, but I was dumbfounded.
"Run!" Johanna screamed, picking up some knifes before bolting in the other direction, Cecilia and I glanced at each other, and I grabbed her hand and started running after where Johanna disappeared.
We caught up to Johanna easily, "We can't out run a lion!" I yelled at her.
"I know! I don't know what to do! I have never been in this situation before!" Johanna responded. I could hear the lions paw pads hitting the ground behind us, it was getting closer.
"We have to split up, Johanna!" I screamed before letting go of Cecilia and loading a bow.
"Katniss no! You can't do it!" Cecilia cried.
"Just run! I'll be there soon!" I yelled back as I closed one eye and shot the lion in the one of its enormous paws.
The animal cried out in pain and then started running after me again. I started running in a direction that never Johanna or Cecilia went. However, I saw that the area where I was running was lit up in flames and several fire balls were heading towards me. The lion cried again and I turned to see it running the other direction, away from the fire place.
Before I even had time to be relieved, I saw another fire ball heading straight towards me and I jumped out of the way and started running where the lion disappeared. Three cannons fired and I jerked to a stop; looking towards the sky to see, the girl from 8, boy from 8, and boy from 7; which was Johanna's district tribute.
I heard the lion cry again and I started to run towards the sound, but no sooner did it cry it growled an angry sound. I broke through some trees to see Cecilia backed up against a tree with the lion coming towards her slowly, as if to tease her. Cecilia had no weapon, she couldn't climb the tree, and she couldn't run that would make the lion act fast.
Silently, I loaded my bow and shot the lion in the neck, area, the lion turned towards me and growled again; now it was royally pissed off. But before it could come after me, Johanna appeared on the other side and threw one of her knifes in the animals back. The lion looked between us and I glanced at the two girls before mouthing 'platforms' to which they nodded.
I didn't really know what I was going to do at the platforms, where we started the Games, but I did know there was water so maybe, just maybe, the lion couldn't swim. We all started running immediately only separated by the ten yards between each of us. Johanna and I moved in closer so that we were right beside each other.
As the platforms came into sight, I smiled but then I gasped and lurched to a stop beside the cliff. When did the cliff get here? But I was focused at what was at the bottom of the cliff, lava, as far as the eye could see there was orange and red lava and some fire spitting out towards me. I turned to see that I made it here first but Johanna dashed out of the woods, prepared to jump.
"No! It's lava!" I screamed at her, Johanna registered, but she had so much speed that she couldn't stop so I grabbed her hand before she flew off the edge and we did a complete 180 and Johanna actually went over the edge but I moved her over to the cliff side before she fell.
Then, my arm jolted because Cecilia was coming on my other side and I had to stop her as well, my arm caught her in the stomach and she fell back a few feet. After that, the lion came running out of the woods prepared to kill, it didn't stop running as it headed towards us. I ducked and the lion jumped right over us, cutting my arm in the process, and jumped into the lava. The lava reacted immediately and huge flames came up in the sign that the lion was gone for good. I fell back on my bottom away from the cliff, amazed.
"Did we just fight a lion?" Johanna asked, looking down at the lava.
"Did we just fight a lion and win?" Cecilia asked, looking at us.
"We just fought a lion and won." I whispered staring at the orange and red lava.
Then there was silence, we were all wrapped in our own thoughts.
Cecilia broke the silence with a huge smile on her face, "Hey, can't you get immortality from that?" She asked us.
I glanced back at Johanna's face before responding, "Yes, I think so." I shrugged.
Cecilia jumped up and ran back to the camp, "I'm immortal! I'm immortal!" she yelled.
I started to get up but Johanna grabbed my arm, "Why did you do that? You can't become immortal by defeating a lion."
I shrugged again, "Why ruin her imagination?" I asked before getting up and walked after Cecilia. Johanna walked after me in a few minutes.
When we reached camp about a half an hour later, because we ran about a mile away, Cecilia was dancing and still singing. As soon as I came into view, Finnick ran towards me.
"What happened?" He asked, looking me over. I was sure I was bloody, bruised, and burned, not to mention dirt covered.
Before I could answer Cecilia hugged me around the waist, "Katniss and Johanna made us immortal!" She then started dancing around the camp site again.
"I get back here and none of you are here, I start looking and I hear the three cannons, then I decided to come back to wait for you, and then Cecilia comes back yelling she is immortal and you are bloody and covered in dirt! What happened?" Finnick demanded.
"We got into a fight with a lion." I shrugged then walked over to log-bench and sat down.
"A lion! Where is Johanna?" Finnick asked looking around.
"She was about twenty yards behind me; she should be coming about now." I replied as I ate a piece of bread and drank water.
"A lion, what was a lion doing in here?" Finnick demanded.
I shrugged again and looked up at him, "It's just another day in the Games, Finnick."
"I understand," He nodded then he walked towards me and sat beside me on the log, "Let me inspect you, come on."
As I took off my jacket, I let him inspect me because after he wrapped my arms and legs in gauze I felt so much better. Finnick gasped.
"Katniss! Did the lion cut you?" Finnick asked me urgently.
"Yes, when it jumped into the lava its claws found my arm." I muttered finishing my bread.
Finnick stopped for a second, "Lava?" Then he shook his head, "This is a serious cut! It could even be permanent!"
"Permanent?" I asked, looking towards where his hands where on my bicep.
As I gasped, I didn't need an answer, there were two large cuts bleeding around my bicep. They were not deep but long and narrow. I could easily see where I would get a permanent scar. After I looked at it for a minute, Finnick grabbed the gauze and started wrapping more of it around my arm.
I idly wondered what I must look like to the people watching this, a battlefield. I must look like a battlefield! My left arm was really beat up with gauze around my hand, forearm, and now bicep. As for my right arm, it was pretty bad too; I could see new burns popping up, my arm was gauzed, and I had a few cuts here and there. My legs were hidden but I was sure they were worse.
As for my face, I couldn't see it but the reflection in the lake and I was covered in mud and as I washed my face off. I could see new bruises on my neck, cuts all over my neck and face, and burns on my neck as well. I didn't remember getting this hurt in the first Games, but of course I wasn't worried about myself after I found Peeta with a huge cut in his leg.
My thoughts were cut off as I realized Johanna was now being bandaged up, and I registered that she looked a lot like I did with everything but burns. She had cuts leading up her arms and neck and bruises camouflaging her white skin.
Suddenly, arms wrapped around my neck and I was ready to attack when I saw blonde hair and heard the person scream, "Immortal!" Cecilia arms where wrapped around my neck holding me.
"Cecilia, in the Games people try and kill each other, and when you do that it makes me feel like you are trying to kill me." I told her, pulling her away from me.
"What about this?" Cecilia asked hugging my right side.
"No, you are still attacking." I told her shaking my head.
"This?" She questioned, hugging me properly.
"Alright fine." I replied, giving up and hugging her back.
When we let go of each other, Johanna hissed.
"I'm sorry!" Finnick apologized and removed his hands from her forearm. "You have a really bad cut, Johanna, I need to cover it!" He explained himself as Johanna glared at him.
"Make it quick. I need to go bathe." Johanna winked at Finnick, her voice suddenly very innocent. Cecilia and I glanced at each other then rolled our eyes. "What's wrong, Katniss? Do you like being dirty?" She asked wickedly.
My mouth fell open in a gasp, "There is no double meaning to that is there, Johanna?"
"Well, no," Johanna's innocent voice returned, "I was just asking whether you like to be dirty or clean."
Before I could respond, Finnick interrupt us, "Someone needs to get naked and get clean!" He looked between us. I picked up my bow and arrows, grabbed Cecilia's hand, and started walking away.
"I am going to hunt." I told them as I dragged Cecilia with me.
We walked for an hour until Cecilia turned to me. "You can read my mind, can't you?"
I was taken aback by the question, "What?"
"Come on, Katniss, I know everything about you… and Peeta and I know that you are a telepath. So you can read my mind, can't you?" Cecilia explained proudly beside me.
"You are incredible." I whispered before Cecilia's face grew impatient. "Fine, yes I am a telepath and I can only read your mind when you are thinking very hard, when you direct them at me, and when I am paying attention."
Cecilia's face then reeked with concentration and I looked towards her and 'heard', "Katniss, can you hear me?"
"Like that." I whispered. "Yes I could hear you." Cecilia jumped for joy before I could hush her.
"Can you also move object with your mind?" She asked.
"Damn your good." I shook my head, "Yes I can, but I haven't practiced in forever along with the mind reading and I am not very good at it."
Before she could ask another question, we saw the two tributes from eleven; fighting each other. The girl was holding an axe that was bigger than her and the boy threw a knife right in the girls' heart and then snapped her neck. A cannon fired.
I grabbed Cecilia and covered her mouth in an effort to keep her silent, we slide behind a conveniently place boulder.
"Shhh, its okay, Cecilia calm down. We can't let him hear us." I whispered as low as I could.
Cecilia nodded and snuggled into me, "That was so scary." She thought.
"I know, you should never have seen that." I mouthed.
The conversation was cut off when a game bag was thrown over the boulder to rest there. I moved my head in an effort to let it fall naturally. The male eleven that looked like Thresh would probably just be resting; he would still be here.
My panic surged, did he know we were here? I couldn't afford to think l like that with Cecilia right beside me, frozen in terror. The eleven man picked up the game bag and I could hear him starting to eat. Then, I made myself, read his thoughts concentrating very hard because it was increasingly difficult to hear someone without them directing their thoughts at me or looking into my eyes.
"… I… suppose I… will just… stay... here for... the night." The eleven male was thinking. I let myself breath again and stopped my concentration.
The male seemed to hear me and started to walk around the boulder, but not looking behind it.
"He is not going to leave. You are going to have to run." I mouthed to Cecilia.
"We are going to run." Cecilia murmured from behind my hand.
"No, you are going to run." I commanded her, looking her in the eye.
"I am not leaving you." Cecilia refused to get up.
"Cecilia, do you have a weapon?" I asked. "I can't worry about protect you when I am fighting him." I whispered.
Cecilia stared at me for a long moment, "Fine. I'll send Finnick."
I nodded, "Don't move until I shoot him." I whispered to her as I got up and walked silently around the boulder to see the eleven male with his back turned to me.
I loaded my bow and traced his body, trying to decide where to shoot him, and then I whispered to the sky. "Peeta be with me."
I imagined Peeta tracing an X shape on the back of Cato's hand last year and then shot the eleven male in the same spot. He screamed in pain and surprise, turned, and started running towards me; two knifes out. I shot his leg before I had to hide behind a tree in order to protect myself from the knife being thrown at my head.
I appeared again and the male was in front of me with his back turned again, since I was not far enough to shoot, I simply drove the arrow into his back as hard as I could. The male turned around yelling in pain once again, and then cut my cheek before I could get away. As if I need any more cuts.
He threw another knife and I had to turn so quickly, that I almost got whiplash, and the knife was stuck in a tree with some of my hair held captive in it. Then, we both started hiding behind trees and dodging each other's weapons; each trying to tire the other person out.
"One-leg can't save you in here." The man would shout out. "I hope he is watching because you are mine now!"
He concluded that yell by throwing another knife, this time it pinned my jacket to the tree and I unzipped myself and ran before he threw another where my head was. My hand reached up to get another bow as I realized there were only about five left. This had to end before I ran out.
I ran silently behind trees until I was behind him again, then I dashed forward; gaining momentum as I whipped my body around so that both my feet hit his head in a karate kick. The force was so great that he fell to the ground, on his back.
My mind acting over my heart, I placed on foot on his chest as he threw his two knives and I caught them, because I knew they would come back, I put one knife behind his head and the other at his heart before we were both still.
"Be the change." The male thought before he closed his eyes and his breathing stopped. A cannon fired.
After that, I dropped the knives and got off of him and feel against a rock, in shock. My hands came up and where in my hair as I evened out my breathing and tried to figure out what just happened.
I sat there until I realized that it was completely unsafe for me to be in the middle of the woods with no protection that I could get to fast enough and myself in shock. I stood up slowly and took the two knives and situated them so one was in my arrows holder, and the other was in my belt.
The male, who I know felt so guilty that I didn't know the name of him, face looked peaceful but the rest of his body didn't. So, I grabbed his hands and placed them over his stomach on top of one another, and then I moved his legs so he looked like he was sleeping comfortably.
After that, I stood up and started walking back to the camp site. Walking, not running. But, I heard someone running towards me all I saw was bronze hair and athletic body before Finnick stopped in front of me.
"You're late." I said before walking around him and kept climbing up the hill towards our camp.
"What happened, are you okay? I heard the cannons fire." Finnick scrambled, trying to get in front of me but I kept dodging him. "Did you get both of them?"
"He killed her." I told him. I kill him, I finished in my head.
"Who killed him?" Finnick asked and then answered his own question. "Oh."
We both stopped as the anthem started to play and five people flashed before us in the night sky then went away from the world forever. There the male was, I figured out his name was; Ty Rudd. Ty was in the picture so strong and free but as he flashed away I knew that I had taken that all from him.
I shook my head before walking again, getting closer to the camp. Finnick didn't ask any more questions but his thoughts were crazy. I thought already I was getting better at reading peoples thoughts because I was practicing.
"Where do you think they are?" Cecilia's voice asked.
"Katniss is probably having her guts eaten by birds." Johanna started but I cut her off when I threw down a knife and it landed vertically in front of her legs. I didn't stop though as I walked over to Cecilia and let her hug me.
After a few minutes of silence, Finnick muttered, "Top six."
He was right; it was just us four and the two guys that battled us earlier in the week. Wordlessly, everyone went to bed and I was left alone to keep watch, as tired as I was, I didn't want to sleep. Partly because I was afraid horrible nightmares would come, but also because I just couldn't.
I looked around making sure that there was no one here. Then, I picked up a rock and decided to try and levitate it. I stared at the rock, looking it over, and flexed my hand under it. The rock lifted about a foot over my hand was flying in mid air.
Hesitantly, I moved my hand around and the rock moved with my hand. Then I slowly lifted my other hand and flexed it as well; moving the rock back and forth between my hands; keeping complete concentration.
I was very proud of myself as I levitated the rock and then threw it against a tree. Finnick woke up at that and I looked to the sky to see that it had been a few hours.
"Do you want me to watch now?" He asked groggily. I shrugged and we switched spots as a sleepless night awaited me.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I think next chapter will be the finale! Stay tuned! I love you all!