Fire is Catching

Chapter 15: Jabberjays

CHAPTER 15: JABBERJAYS

I don't know what happened while I was out, but when I wake up Finnick hands me a note.

C & G r in a better place. Stay safe, love you, Chase

The sight of his name brings me to tears. He is right. Letting go of the island was reckless and stupid and selfish. I should've been thinking of Lilyanna and Chase, Finnick and Johanna, Onnie and Georgina.

"I'm sorry Alex," Finnick says.

"Cashmere warned me." I tell him, and the rest of my alliance. "She threw a knife near my ear to alert me."

Everyone is silent, but I continue. "Gloss had a girlfriend named Masie. They were planning to get married."

I look at every single person. "You know, I am done with people dying. What would happen if we all just refused to fight?"

Everdeen looked at me like I was nuts. "Snow would blow us to bits. He told me that's what he wanted Seneca Crane to do to Peeta and I when we held up those berries."

"Forget what he wanted to do." Johanna says. "9 dead victors? Just poof! Dead? Uprisings in the Capitol."

I want to smile, but I remember how mad I am at Johanna for killing Cashmere.

"I'll go tap us some water." Peeta says.

Everdeen's face is full of alarm. "But we don't know what's in that wedge."

"It must be monkey hour, and I don't see any in there." Peeta says. "I'll be fine."

Finnick stands up. "It's my turn anyway."

"I can at least watch your back." Peeta says persistently.

"We need you to make another map." Johanna says. "Katniss and Alex can do that."

Everdeen stands up, and asks suspiciously, "Why do we need two guards?"

"There are two Careers, and honestly what else would you guys be doing?" Johanna asks.

Everdeen doesn't look convinced, but I hand her the bow and arrows and say, "C'mon, you two can survive two minutes without each other."

Once in the jungle, Finnick spots a large tree and begins to drill a hole with one of my sharp knives.

I lean casually against a nearby tree. I can tell Everdeen is annoyed with me, but she killed one of my best friends without even blinking.

"Katniss, got the spile?" Finnick asks her.

She seems to fall out of space and nods. Everdeen pulls the spile from her belt and puts it in his palm.

That's when the screaming starts. It's pitiful and painful, and full of fear. "MOM!!!!!" Only one person could make a sound like that.

Lilyanna.

"KATNISS!!"

Both Katniss and I run off into different directions.

Vines are slapping me in the face, I am tripping over logs and running into branches, but I don't care. Nothing will stop me from getting to Lilyanna.

"Yana?" I call. "Lilyanna?"

Her voice is so full of agony and anguish. "MOM HELP ME!!!!!!"

She is not here. The pained screams are coming from a Jabberjays. But Jabberjays copy. Somewhere she is being hurt, maybe dying. Feeling so much pain.

"FINNICK!!!!!!!!" It's Annie Cresta, his lover.

I'm about to pursue Finnick, when I hear the cry. "ALEX!!!!!!!!!" Chase. They have him too?

"CHASE!!!!!!!!" I yell. "CHASE!!!!!!!"

"ALEX HELP!!!!!!!" Now it's Georgina's voice.

Are they okay? What did the Capitol do to them to extract these sounds? Chase would never scream unless what they were doing to him was truly despicable.

Everdeen finds me, with dozens upon dozens of birds chasing her, all screaming her name. "They're jabberjays!" She cries, tears streaming down her face.

"Jabberjays copy!" I yell. "Oh Lilyanna!"

"MOMMY HELP ME!!!! HELP ME PLEASE!!!!" Lilyanna's voice shouts.

Finnick is running back to us, barreling through the trees with birds following. "Go go go!"

We obey the order as more birds arrive. They fly near our ears and the screams intensify.

Johanna, Beetee and Peeta are in front of us. Why aren't they helping? We all run smack into the wall, Everdeen's shoulder, Finnick's nose, and my forehead are all bleeding.

Finnick lies on the ground and covers his ears and I fling myself down beside him. The Jabberjays are in our ears it seems, and several are swooping back and forth by our ears.

"ALEX!"

"FINNICK!"

"KATNISS!"

It goes on for an hour. Ages, it seems like. My vision begins to cloud and I black out.