Chapter 1:

I'll Be Home Soon. (Part 3)

Standing over the lifeless bodies of Jalesh and Dazra, Johanna's hands trembled. She had killed and it had been too easy. It shouldn't have been easy. There had been no final words, no screams of pain, no pangs of guilt as she struck down the final blow. Just quick and sudden death, one moment they were there and the next they were gone. But worst of all, she felt nothing. No sorrow, no guilt, no joy or sense of victory. At least, she though, she should feel something.

Johanna's eyes were fixated on Jalesh. His large muscular body looked like it could jump up again at any moment was it not for the trickle of blood running down his neck. His eyes were wide open as if he was in an eternal state of shock. She wanted to crouch down next to him and close them, at least give him some dignity in death, but her body wouldn't move. Her hands still trembled, clutching the small knife, but the rest of her stood frozen.

It was the loud echoing sound of the cannons that trusted her thoughts back to reality and she was abruptly aware of her close proximity to the Cornucopia. She had no idea if the other Careers were still alive or where they were, but soon the hovercrafts would come to collect the bodies, and if they were around then that would give them a pretty good idea of were she was.

This is when panic struck her, disorienting her. The bodies at her feet suddenly made her ill and the desire to run became too great. She dropped the knife and without thinking she ran into an unknown direction, away from the bodies, away from the cornucopia, away from the known dangers.

Twigs and branches scratched her face as she ran through the dense forest. Every time she paused to catch her breath sounds seemed to surround her. The wind? Birds? Tributes? As she spun around constantly, triggered by the lightest noise, anticipating a new attack, she got more and more disorientated. Any seconded now someone could jump from behind a tree or a bush. Just like the other two had. The density of the forest, which once had made her feel safe and hidden, suddenly made her feel vulnerable. The trees that had been her protection now were her enemy, hiding unknown dangers.

She ran until her lungs hurt and her legs ached from exhaustion. Only then, when she was fully satisfied with the distance between herself and the bodies, did the panic slightly subside. Aware that she was lost Johanna stumbled into a clearing, hoping it might give her an indication on where she was, but nothing looked familiar.

At least she was out of the forest and her surroundings were quiet, giving her the reassurance that no one had followed her. Walking into the open space was like lifting a heavy burden off her shoulders. She gave herself a moment to regain her thoughts as she soaked in some sunlight.

She might have temporally escaped the other tributes but it worried her that now the world knew was capable of killing. It was much sooner than she had hoped. She cursed herself for her own recklessness. The game makers would have their eyes on her now. Not only that, but the betting people of the Capital would become interested as well. Especially since there were only seven or less tributes left. Her life or death now mattered to more than just her and her family. The arena was now as dangerous as the tributes. Game makers loved to give the punters a run for their money.

This though had only just entered her mind when an unsettling feeling made Johanna look at the ground. She was sure it just moved. Not like an earthquake, but it definitely felt unstable. She stood perfectly still, examining the earth surrounding her feet, then to her horror she saw it liquefying and slowly it started sucking her in.

Her first reaction was to jump, but the ground she landed on was so soft she sank in even further. Quickly she tried to run back towards the forest but with every step she sank deeper, until she was unable to move her legs. Franticly she tried to reach solid ground, but in vain, within ten minutes the sand had sucked her down to her hips. There was nothing she could do, the slightest of movement made her sink faster.

The clearing was free from any trees or rocks she could hold on to and the forest was only just beyond her reach. For the second time that day Johanna was struck by panic. However, this time she couldn't run away from it. If anyone came across her now she would be an easy mark, and if they didn't she would drown in the liquefying sand. Only a miracle could save her and unfortunately Johanna had long ago given up on miracles.

Finnick wrapped a towel around his waist and let himself fall on the large bed in his quarters. He could see steam float out of the bathroom, slightly fogging the nearby mirror. His wet hair soaked the sheets but he didn't care. What were the chances he was going to spend the night here anyway?

He wanted to sleep, curl up into the sheets and not wake up for several days. For those unconscious moments he could then forget Jalesh and how he failed to save him. His tribute, Annie, had won last year, granted by a fluke, but it had made him forget how much it hurt, losing your tribute. You'd think you would get used to it, but so far he hadn't.

Before he allowed himself to be swallowed by sorrow a female Avox entered the room carrying a brand new suit. Without making a sound, she walked across the room to place it on the table, al the while avoiding looking towards the bed.

As Finnick lay there, he couldn't help but stare, amazed at how silent they always were. Her feet seemed to barely touch the ground. With her black hair tied up in a bun and the standard white Avox uniform she seemed, for that moment, the most natural thing in the entire Capital. In a city full of decadence the simplicity of the girl made her beautiful. Even though she was a mute slave, forced to serve, just another accessory to a Capital household.

When he first came to the city he used to try and communicate with them but that only seemed to upset them. He assumed it probable got them in trouble. So now he only looked at them as they passed by, his way of acknowledging their existence. In truth, he loved seeing them. They were like ghosts hovering around in a city full of puppets.

He wondered what she might have done to deserve such a cruel fate. Was she a Capital citizen who had dabbled into illegal trade? Or had she tallied up a debt so large she had no other option then to sell herself? Or maybe she once lived in one of the districts and had merely stolen some food to survive, or had upset a peacekeeper by ignoring his advances.

The possibilities were countless, but what ever it might have been, Finnick doubted she deserved the fate of an Avox. To have ones tongue removed and spend the rest of her live in servitude, to be treated like a shadow, no one deserved that.

She was a reminder of why, in a few minutes, he was going to dress into that suit she just brought. Then go and meet a woman named Servilia Sanders, who must have paid a lot of money to get him on his first free night. He would then seduce and charm this woman. Who will convince herself, that no mater the large sum of money she parted with, that he truly loves her. That she was different from all the others, and that when she takes him to her room he came willingly because they had something special.

He was going to do this because, if he didn't, someone he cared for would end up like the Avox girl now leaving his room. With that though he pushed himself to get up from the comforts of his bed.

The suit on the table was black with a few blue highlights, surprisingly plain. But as he walked towards it the light caught it from a different direction and he saw it was covered in a hue of sparkling blue dust. Sparkles were the new thing apparently.

Next to the suit was a tray he received an hour ago. On it laid an envelope and a dish with two red pills. Finnick had opened the envelope as soon as he received it. He knew what it contained, the standard letter informing him to whom he was promised for the night, so he had only scanned for the name.

The pills were Euphoria, an illegal party drug that did precisely what its name promised. It was popular among the Capital citizens, but extremely dangerous if used inappropriately. They were expensive and hard to get, so the black market was littered with badly produced imitations. But not these ones, these came from the government's own pharmaceutical laboratories.

Finnick looked at them in disgust, they always gave him some, but he tried never to use them. He had seen the nasty side effects. Some of the other Victors took them regularly. But everyone knew that as soon as the Capital had lost its interest in you the supplies would quickly run out and the only other alternative available in the districts was Morphling.

Finnick grabbed the suit and quickly got dressed. He and Servilia Sanders were going to a so-called in-game party thrown by one of the senators. Most of the Capitals élite would be there. Finnick suspected that Servilia was trying to score some kind of points by showing up with one of the most sought after Victors on her arm. But with whom he had no idea. He turned on the television, just in case he had missed something important. There was always the slight unrealistic hope that it would al be over.

On the screen he was Johanna slowly sinking into the sand trap. For a moment he looked at the struggling girl. How she had fooled him, everyone for that matter.

"Good try," he whispered under his breath.

It looked like Leila might be joining the party later on as well. He was about to leave the room when he glanced back at the pills again. For a moment he hesitated before grabbing them and shoving them in his pocket. You never knew with new clients, they might bring some of their own. In that case he rather take the real thing then risk a black market knockoff.

Hours had passed and breathing became harder. As the sand reached her chest Johanna felt her insides slowly being crushed. Her thoughts wandered in depressing directions, this is where she was going to die. Not by the hands of another tribute, but by her own stupidity. Johanna wanted to let out a scream of anger. The only things stopping her were sheer exhaustion and the sand crushing her lungs. Desperate for anything Johanna looked up at the sky and did the last thing that came to mind, the one thing she thought she would never do.

"Please… Leila!" Her voice was shaking, and so soft it was almost a whisper. But she knew the cameras would catch it. They wouldn't miss a tributes dying plead. "Help me! … Please!"

Begging, her last resort. With her eyes close to tears she scanned the skies, but no silver parachute came to her rescue. Her cry for help went unheard. Not that she had expected otherwise.

She was just about to given up on her last bit of hope when Johanna noticed there was movement amongst the trees. Conflicted she wondered if she should call out or stay quiet. It could be the Careers she thought. But even so, at this point would that be a bad thing? A quick death would defiantly be preferable to slowly suffocating.

Before she had the chance to make up her mind Marcus, from district nine, walked out from behind some bushes. It was clearly by accident because coming across Johanna being swallowed up by the ground made him jump right back behind a tree. Marcus was tall and tanned with red hair, a face full of freckles and eyes as green as the forest itself. On his belt he carried a small axe and he had another one in his hand as he glanced at her from behind the tree.

The sight of the axes gave Johanna the most ridicules sensation of homesickness that she couldn't help but laugh. Here she was about to die and an axe made her want to go home. She wondered if he was going to use it to kill her. How appropriate, she thought.

Carefully Marcus entered the clearing, scanning his surrounding to make sure that it was safe.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

She had to bite her lip not to say something sarcastic. Surly he could see she was not okay.

"Not really," She said, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.

"Here, grab on to this," he said holding out one of the axes. "Can you reach it?"

The act of kindness bewildered Johanna but she wasn't going to let him change his mind, quickly grabbing hold of the handle. With surprisingly little effort he pulled her out. Feeling the pressure lift of her body Johanna couldn't help but gasp for air. Never in her life did the touch of solid ground make her feel so grateful. For a moment she just lay there on the ground, not caring what Marcus's intentions where. Looking up at him into his worried eyes a thought crept up in the back of her mind 'Why is a fool like you still alive?'

"You could have left me, or killed me?" she asked stunned and wide eyed, still catching her breath.

He simply shrugged his shoulders, "Didn't seem right, it being you and all."

Johanna was almost shocked. He meant because she was so weak and hopeless. She couldn't even imagine how he rationalized the blood spatters on her face.

"And now?" she asked glaring at the axes. She was so weak and exhausted that if he did change his mind there would be little she could do.

Another shrug from his shoulders, "If you want you can stay with me for a bit," he said.

She could see he meant it, he was an even bigger fool then she thought. He was going to trust a girl he didn't know in a game where everyone was out to kill you. However she figured that if he wanted to kill her he would have left he in the sandpit. And she could use the protection, if only for a while. So she and held out her hand so he could help her up.

"You wouldn't happen to have any water, would you?" she asked with a weak smile.

A/N: Just want to say thank you to all the wonderful people that gave me such helpful reviews so far and anyone following my story. You are all much loved ^_^