Catching Fire: Prim [Completed]

Chapter 23: Saving Rory?

Why didn't I see it before? The 12 bongs were the tolls of a clock, the 12 sections are like those of a clock-face. It's a clock. Each hour beings a new horror made by the gamemakers, ending the previous. First is the lightning, followed by the blood rain, poisonous fog, then mutated monkeys. Then a few sections over (I'm guessing ten o'clock) is the huge wave. Right now it's raining blood a little over to our right. The fog is going to start soon and we're too close to it for my liking. The wave proved that the horrors don't stay in their section of the jungle so I know we must leave.

"C'mon we're moving," I tell the others as I shove them awake. Most of them groan and try to go back to sleep but I just keep shaking them and eventually they get up.

"Tick tock!" Wiress exclaims as she sits up.

"Yes, tick tock, the arena's a clock," I tell her. She calms down now that I've finally understood. I take the time to explain the whole idea to the others who've gained conscience and soon they're all convinced- except for stubborn Johanna. But even she agrees that it's better to be safe than sorry.

Rory finds a huge leaf and draws the arena along with the horrors at each hour so we can visually see what we're dealing with. We only know five sections though- seven are still undiscovered.

"Midnight," Wiress chimes in as she sits up, "Midnight."

"Yeah, it starts at midnight," I reply to her. I've heard those words before... A voice resurfaces to my mind, saying "It starts at midnight". It takes a moment for me to place who's voice it is then I realize it's Plutarch Heavensbee's. Those were his last words to me at the party. Thinking of it now, it seems like he was hinting me on the arena. But why would he? I'm nothing more than a pawn in his games, at least in the Capitol's point of view.

"One thirty," Wiress pips up, breaking my thoughts. She's pointing to the blood rain and tugging on my sleeve.

"Yes, it's one thirty, and the fog starts at two, and so we need to get a move on."

She smiles and stands, following my instructions. Now that the communication barrier is broken, she's functional once more.

"Would you like something to eat or drink?" I ask, showing her the leftover bread and some water in a woven grass bowl. She nods before consuming the rest of the food and gulping down the water.

I look over the things I have- the spile, darts (thank you Finnick), slingshot, 2 spears, 2 machetes, and the ointment in the parachute. Finnick's still got his net, trident, and some shurikens.

Beetee's finally up and Rory helps him to sit up. But when he does, Beetee won't move any further. Instead he says,

"Wire."

"Wiress is right here, now let's go," Rory tells him.

"Wire," he insists. I groan. First Wiress and now Beetee- what's this thing with communication barriers with District 3 people?! Noah and I had no problems speaking with one another...oh Noah...I miss you.

["Oh, I know what he wants," says Johanna impatiently. She crosses the beach and picks up the cylinder we took from his belt when we were bathing him. It's coated with a thick layer of congealed blood. "This worthless thing. It's some kind of wire or something. That's how he got cut. Running up to the Cornucopia to get this. I don't know what kind of weapon it's supposed to be. I guess you could pull off a piece and use it as a garrote or something. But really, can you imagine Beetee garotting somebody?"] (page 238, lines 1 through 9)

"He won his games with wire," I whisper quietly, trying not to offend Johanna. But honestly I think it's a bit weird she hasn't been able to put two and two together because she's the one who nicknamed him Volts.