UNDERDOG | FINNICK ODAIR

Chapter 21

Katniss leads Wiress to the shallows of the now calm ocean. Wiress plops down in the sea, muttering "tick tock" to herself and staring at the water.

"I can sit with her awhile if you want to help with Beetee," I offer as sit next to Wiress.

"Yeah, thanks," Katniss mutters, moving away from me and going to find Peeta and Beetee, leaving me to watch the slightly unhinged woman.

Wiress sits mostly in silence, only muttering the occasional "tick tock," and rocking gently back and forth, scanning the ocean.

"Hey Wiress, do you want me to help you wash off?" I ask after a few moments.

She turns to me and nods, "Tick tock," she replies.

"I'll take that as a yes," I mutter, cupping water in my hand and letting it fall over her shoulders, washing away the black blood dried to her suit.

I gently start peeling the fabric off of the woman, but she doesn't react besides adding another "tick tock." The suit is almost completely stuck but I'm able to peel it away with help from the salt water.

Her under clothes are just as red but after a few minutes they start turning a deep pink, the water lapping around her legs was washing most of it away. The under clothes weren't ruined beyond reason so I keep them on her, the water would take most of it out. The sea around us was already tinted red.

I rub at her arms after throwing the ruined clothes up to the shore. "Tick tock." Wiress insists, starting to squirm away from me, toward the shore.

I help her stand and let Katniss take her from my watch. I stumble over to Finnick and Johanna, both sprawled out like they were on a tropical vacation.

I kick Finnick's leg gently, "You sure did help a lot," I say sarcastically, "thought you would take the day off?"

"I was babysitting Johanna," he replied, smiling up at me lazily, like a cat.

"Oh yes, Johanna sure does look like she needs to be watched." I huff, gesturing to the dozing woman beside him. I shake my head before sitting down.

"Well at the time..." he started.

"Yeah yeah, well I guess since you haven't slept in three days I'll give you a pass." I muttered.

"I've slept some, I got at least an hour last night." He argued.

"An hour?" I quip, "I'm taking first watch, and you're going to sleep."

"Who knew you were so bossy?" He sighed, smiling all the same.

"You do, and you love it," I reply, grinning back.

"Well even so, I don't think I could sleep if I tried, Cordelia. Nice try," he replies.

"You're so frustrating," I groan.

Finnick opened his mouth to reply but Katniss suddenly stood up, she looked over the arena, surveying the different aspects.

"What is it?" I ask lowly, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Tick tock... this is a clock." She realizes.

I look over the arena and realize she's right, the land dividing the water leading to the cornucopia made 12 slices, one for each hour.

"It is," I say, standing up and going to wake up Johanna and Peeta, Finnick was already on his feet.

"We collect our few precious belongings after Katniss explained how things worked. Peeta and Finnick work to get Beetee back in his jumpsuit as Katniss speaks to Wiress, rousing her from her sleep.

I tie the medicine and spile to my belt, Katniss's watchful eyes were on me the entire time. She didn't like that I had the essential supplies. Good thing for her that I didn't plan to run away with them.

As I tie on the things with some vine, a argument breaks out between Peeta and Johanna. As I came closer it became clear to me that it was over some blood coated wire.

"He won his games with wire, setting up that electrical trap. It's the best weapon he could have," Peeta retorts.

Katniss steps forward, eyeing Johanna suspiciously, "Seems like you'd have figured that out," Katniss bites, "Since you nicknamed him Volts and all."

Johanna glared viciously at Katniss, "yeah that was really stupid of me, wasn't it? I guess I must have been distracted by keeping your little friends alive. While you were... what? Traipsing through the forest while Finn and Beck saved your ass every few minutes?"

Johanna has a very large flaw, she didn't know when to shut up. Katniss fingered the knife at her belt, and narrowed her eyes to slits.

"Go ahead. Try it. I don't care if you are knocked up, I'll rip your throat out." Johanna snarled.

Finnick took the cool of wire from the ground and laid it safely on Beetee's chest, "Maybe we all had better be careful where we step. Here's your wire, Volts. Be careful where you plug it." He said before stepping over him and joining Johanna and I.

Peeta picks up Beetee with ease and says, "Where to?"

"I'd like to go to the Cornucopia and watch. Just to make sure we're right about the clock," Finnick suggests, and since no one else offers up an idea, we start walking to the center.

Once we arrive at the golden horn, Peeta lays Beetee down in the shade and calls over wiress to help clean the blood covered wire.

She eagerly complies and starts dunking the coil in the waters edge. She sings a little song as she cleans.

"Ugh not the song again," Johanna complains, "That went on for hours before she started tick-tocking."

As if she's offended, Wiress stands suddenly, pointing her finger. But it's not at Johanna, it's at the  beach where a wall of poisonous gas was sweeping onto the sand. "Two," Wiress says before continuing to dunk her wire.

"Yes look, Wiress is right," Katniss says, "It's two o'clock and the fog has started."

"Like clockwork. You were very smart to figure that out, Wiress," Peeta compliments.

"Oh she's more than smart. She's intuitive," Beetee corrects. "She can sense things before anyone else. Like a canary in one of your coal mines." Beetee says to Katniss.

"What's that?" Finnick asks what I was thinking.

"It's a bird that we take down into the mines to warn us if there's bad air," Katniss explains.

"What's it do, die?" Johanna asks crudely.

"It stops singing first. That's when you should get out. But if the air is too bad then it dies, yes. And so do you." Katniss finishes.