The bell rings twelve times. Automatically, I think of a clock tower. But most clock towers don't count down the chimes to your doom. Something's coming for us.
We start to walk, but Katniss stays put. "Wait just a minute. What if they're going to announce something?"
I had been thinking along those lines, too. Our prediction is met with silence. Now I'm really getting anxious.
Lightning flashes in the distance. But not close enough that we should worry yet. We even settle down to rest, and my eyes fight to stay open. I know we're not in the clear.
"Run! The fog is poison!" Katniss screams out of nowhere.
I wouldn't call it fog, more like a mist. Either way, it's dangerous, a cloud moving toward us. The second it touches my skin, I feel my face begin to droop. Nothing in these Games is ever normal. Like the blisters that appear on my hands and arms. The only sensible thing to do is run. They sting terribly, as if a million needles are pricking me at once. I keep hoping for it to end. This isn't how I imagined dying. Really nasty way to go, if you ask me. It feels disgusting.
Katniss stares at me in horror. "Looks like this fog's supposed to paralyze us. We have to keep going or it will get worse." Her arms start to move involuntarily.
"You think there's a way to get rid of these?" I ask Finnick and Katniss.
"I'm sure there is," Finnick replies breathlessly, still carrying Mags in his arms.
Suddenly, my legs give out from under me, and I sink to the ground. I hear Finnick say, "I'll take him. Think you can carry Mags?"
"Sure," Katniss replies.
Awkward doesn't even begin to describe how I feel when Finnick is carrying me. Here he is, a twenty-four year old, carrying a middle-aged drunk going through withdrawal. We don't walk too long before Katniss collapses with Mags.
"My muscles are getting weaker by the second, Finnick. She's too heavy for me now."
Finnick sets me down and walks over to Mags. "I tried to be strong, but I... I can't do it. We have to leave you behind, Mags."
With the tremor in his voice, it's easy to see how much he cares about her. Darn it. She's like a grandmother to him. I should've known.
Mags gives him a kiss, and just like that, she strolls right into the fog. It disappears instantly as she takes her last breath. The cannon fires.
Katniss and I remain silent, our mouths open in disbelief.
Finnick bows his head, but he doesn't break down yet. "Maybe there's a way to reverse our injuries up ahead. Let's keep going."
We get safely past the fog, and for the first time in a while, I feel calmness wash over me. I'm drenched with cold sweats, I'm still nauseous and trembling, but we're in the clear for now.
"What about the water?" Katniss suggests. "If we wash off in it, I think we'll gain back our muscle use."
"As long as you don't mind helping," I say. "Can't exactly move, you know."
She nods without question. Finnick leads me to the shore, and Katniss lowers me in. Immediately, my nerves rebuild, allowing me to walk again. Not only that, but the puss in my blisters disappears. I sigh in relief. Katniss fumbles her way into the water and lets her blisters soak for a minute, experiencing the same bliss of healing.
"Your turn, Finnick," she says when she goes back onto land.
Finnick just sits there on the ground, moaning in pain. "No..."
I walk out of the water. "Come on, Odair. The sooner you do it, the sooner you'll stop hurting. So help me, I'm going to push you in if you don't do it yourself."
Katniss glares at him. "Haymitch isn't kidding. Don't mess with a recovering drunk, Finnick. Just let me help you." See, she knows me well.
He groans again. I flex my hands. "Looks like we're doing this the hard way." I press my hands against his back, pushing him closer to shore. When we get to the water, I pause. "Last chance to let yourself in, trident boy."
Finnick refuses to move.
"All righty, then." Summoning all my strength, I give him a final push, and he splashes into the water.
"Are you crazy?" Katniss asks me. "He could've drowned!"
"Please, Katniss. He's from District Four. He's more than capable of keeping himself above water."
Finnick already looks like he's feeling better, popping his head out of the water and smiling. "Ok. I deserved that. Thanks, old man."
Oh no, he didn't. "Never call me an old man. I'm not that old!"
Finnick bursts into laughter. "Whatever." Katniss and I join in, having a good chuckle, while the fun lasts.
A screeching sound comes from above, reminding me of where we are. I look up in the trees and there are dozens of monkeys. Not just any monkeys. Mutts. The minute they see me, they come pouring down to the ground.
Katniss prepares her bow, shooting arrows left and right. Now that I'm strong enough, I pull out my club and bash the monkeys who try to get to me. Finnick stabs them with his trident. Just when a monkey is about to lock his jaws on me, an unseen figure leaps out in front of me, taking the entire attack head- on. We quickly drag the victor away, once Finnick dispatches the monkey.
On the beach, we discover that the camouflaged is the District Six female. Covered in blood and bite marks.
We come to her side, while Katniss takes her hand. "We'll stay here for you, I promise."
Guilt consumes me as I watch them. It's exactly what I did for Maysilee- after I left her to die. A few minutes later, the woman, too, reaches her end.
I'm ready to drop, having made it forty-eight hours without sleep. But it's getting dark.
Katniss can see my exhaustion. "Why don't you just go to sleep? Finnick and I can take turns holding down the fort."
"Um... well... this is embarrassing, but..." I tell her the whole story of why I'm afraid of sleeping at night.
She doesn't laugh, which makes me feel loads better. "You shouldn't feel embarrassed at all, Haymitch. You went into an arena where forty- seven people died, and you were the only one left. That's worse than what Peeta and I experienced. Now get some sleep."
Just like Rosemary, always trying to see things in a different perspective. I lay down on the sand. "Okay. I'll try."
Before I know it, I'm drifting away to unconsciousness, enjoying a good night's sleep for the first time in twenty- five years.