❝𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒❞ | k. everdeen

chapter 10: treason.

By the time Nola's mental clock struck two in the afternoon, she found she was tired of those people's company. She knew she needed them to survive, at least momentarily, and that her alliance would only complicate things when it came time to kill them, so she caught herself wondering, over and over again, what the hell she was doing there, and if she was still there, why she hadn't ended their lives yet. But she'd look at the golden mockingjay on Haymitch's bracelet, the bracelet she kept tucked safely inside her uniform, give it a little pat, as if to remind herself of its purpose, and then carry on as if nothing had happened.

Not that anyone noticed how Nola, a supposed career from District 2 who had nothing to do with two friends from the 12, two nutties from the 3, a half-crazy girl from the 7 and Finnick Odair, was coping. They all had enough to keep moving forward on their own two feet in the face of the adversity that the arena —or, rather, the gamemakers— put upon them, so no one was going to be so generous and altruistic as to stop for a moment and ask Nola Bernacci how she was doing. Because the truth was, she wasn't even interested in herself.

They arrived at the Cornucopia shortly thereafter, minutes after explaining how she and Katniss had come to the conclusion that the arena was a clock, thanks to the apparent incoherence and humming of Wiress, who was in a noticeably better mood now that they were taking her words into consideration. She had eaten some leftover seafood, and had even drunk nearly a litre of water they had previously obtained from the spigot, and almost looked like a new person. She still looked dreamy and sometimes lost, but she wore a smile on her lips and, if she didn't speak, she could almost pass for a sane person.

Nola thought she herself was unbearable, but having to deal with Johanna's presence as Katniss must have been hell. The older girl kept throwing snide, sometimes hurtful comments at her, as if to provoke her, and Nola actually admired Katniss's willpower not to pierce her with one of her arrows, because if it were her, Nola probably would have done it by now. So she took the trouble to walk around the two of them to check that neither of them would do anything stupid that they might regret. Although, judging by the looks of hatred, it was quite possible that neither of them would regret it.

Johanna, Finnick and Nola were the first to approach the interior of the Cornucopia. The latter two had had plenty of time to grab weapons, but Johanna, she reckoned, had had to scram after saving Beetee and Wiress's asses. So the girl grabbed all the small but equally deadly-looking axes she could find in her path, and that was what they all saw when Johanna threw one, and it stuck neatly into the wall of the Cornucopia.

—Well —Nola began, drawing her sword. Finnick stood on guard, as if he sensed something was wrong, but he relaxed noticeably when she used it to make a circle in the sand and split it into twelve pieces. Nola gave him a wry look—. I wasn't going to use it on you, you can relax. Thank you for your vote of confidence.

Johanna stifled a laugh, which she managed to hide with a cough, a gesture that Katniss especially didn't find funny; not just because it was Johanna, but because it only reminded her that sooner or later, Nola would finish them off. If they didn't do it first, of course.

—As Wiress said, it's two o'clock, and there in the background we can see the fog rolling in —Nola drew an 'F' on the portion of the clock that went from 2pm to 3pm—. From 12pm to 1pm we have the thunderstorm, the lightning —she did the same, drawing an 'L'—. Followed by the rain of blood, the fog again and then the monkeys.

—From 10 to 11 is the wave —Katniss reminded her, and Nola gave her a grateful look.

—Do we know anything else? —Nola asked, but no one seemed convinced of anything—. Well, considering that the times are repeated, being day and night, it's safe to say that we'll be left with 7 time slots out of 12.