The Other Slip

Chapter 9

My back feels incredibly numb and my throat is even drier than it was last night. I try to speak but some raspy noise comes out of my mouth instead. I'm about to make another attempt but a loud clunk stops me. Haymitch and Finnick finally turn their heads and see the silver parachute by my side.

-"Of course once you're thirsty he sends some water." Haymitch starts opening the container.

-"What's that supposed to mean?" I snap. Haymitch just sips some water. Finnick grabs two of the bottles and brings one to Mags, and I take the last one. The fresh water is such a nice change from the warm humid environment. We all spin our heads towards the screeches coming from the beach. I send questioning glances towards all of my allies which Haymitch and Mags return, but Finnick stands up slowly and starts running. Once he gets a clear view of the beach he starts screaming.

-"Johanna!" His screams are immediately returned.

-"Finnick!"

Haymitch helps Mags up and I follow them towards the beach. Johanna is definitely not someone I want as an ally, but what could I do now? I see three red figures and start jogging to see what is happening. Johanna is hollering about some blood rain they were the victims of, while who I now see is Wiress is mumbling.

-"Tick tock!" She says as she approaches Johanna, who simply shoves her away.. Wiress then comes to me and repeats the same sentence. I simply agree with her and help her get cleaned up.

-"Tick tock..." she whispers, tracing the outline of the water and the wedges in the center. That's when I realize. It's a clock.

After explaining this theory to my other allies, we all go to the Cornucopia to get a better view of it all and examine the supplies.

-"Nothing but weapons." Finnick remarks.

-"No point in staying here then." I answer, "Let's go." As soon as I start making my way to the beach, the Cornucopia starts spinning violently. Mags gets flung off immediately and a cannon booms in the distance. I manage to grip myself onto the large rocks, the world around me spinning uncontrollably. Another cannon sounds, but I have no way of knowing who it is yet. My arms are about to give out when the Cornucopia finally starts to slow down. I pant, relieved, and hoist myself back up. I look around, counting heads. Mags is missing, which I expected, but there's someone else missing too: Wiress. Beetee and Finnick have a dead look in their eyes, and an uncomfortable silence reigns. Finnick's voice breaks in.

-"We should fish. This water is probably rich with food." We all quietly follow him back to the beach, where we find two parachutes. One of them contains water, and the other has some bread from District 4. After diving for some oysters and fishing, we make a meal out of the bread and all the seafood. The Capitol anthem starts playing while we eat, and the blue lights reflect on the water. Cashmere and Brutus are the first to appear, which is surprising. I look down when Wiress and Mags appear, feeling guilty. Once it's over, I lie on the sand and fall into an uncomfortable slumber.

(A/N: small explanation: the Careers were stalking them when they lit the fire, but since the alliance moved, the Careers were attacked by the fog instead.)