Johanna Mason & The Rebel

Chapter 5 - Idiot

Johanna had overheard what had happened from someone in the crowd. She followed Rorke to the doctor and waited for his treatment to be completed. She observed the man while the doctor treated him. She had seen many of the lumberjacks in the district, but never him. She had been to all parts of the district but never come across this guy. If he was a troublemaker, she would had to have seen him before.

"Come on, let's go."

She handed some money to the healer. The man seemed confused as to why Johanna would pay for him. It wasn't until they walked to a more secluded street, and she pushed him into an alley that he recognized her for who she truly was.

"Tell me, when during your 'genius act of bravery' did it hit you that you were all on your own against those peacekeepers?"

She asked. Rorke was pushed against the wall and took to his head as he looked at her. He had heard that Johanna Mason was not someone to be gentle with idiots and he could tell she was less than impressed by him.

"You're a particular kind of stupid, you know that? Having lived here your entire life, you should've known that people would be too scared to help you."

Johanna continued before she handed Rorke a wet cloth to put against the eye where he had received quite a visible imprint of the gun that knocked him down.

"I sort of realized that when you were the only one willing to rescue me."

Rorke replied. Johanna shook her head.

"Oh, you think of me as some sort of heroine for helping you out back there? I'm nobody's hero. I just dragged an idiot away from certain death."

Johanna replied.

"Isn't that what heroines do?"

Rorke asked.

"Listen to me, idiot, I am not a heroine, never have been nor will I ever become one so how about you tell me what you're up to?"

She said as she grabbed his face and forced it up towards her. It was the first real look he got on Johanna Mason, the victor from five years ago. Her face was stone-cold, there was a slight red patch amongst her black hair, and eyes that seemed to have cried more tears than Johanna would ever admit in public.

"You sure don't seem to care about your own life, and you look too well-nourished to be from these parts of the district. You're not scared, which is foolish considering there's a lot to fear around here, and you like to think yourself as brave."

She went on unimpressed before she let his head go and he went back to treating the temple on his head. Johanna took a few steps back as she reached a conclusion of her own.

"Of course! It's a classic case of someone being an idiot, trying to rally the people."

Johanna went on.

"I am trying to keep the spark from the Games alive."

Rorke replied, not giving away anything regarding his true intentions.

"Oh, stop it, you don't care about people. You're not a hero, you think you are, but you're not. You're an idiot."

She responded harshly. The words hit him harder than he thought they would. Without realizing it, Johanna had chosen just the right words to slap him in the face.

"You are quick to judge..."

Rorke replied as he could tell that she wanted to leave. A part of her kept her staring at him though. Without realizing it himself, he had said something that hit Johanna Mason a certain way. Rorke could tell there was something in it, but he didn't know what.