❝𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒❞ | k. everdeen

chapter 14: dead.

Johanna had lost track of time and space in her confinement. She was not allowed to go out and there were no windows in her room, so the only indicator she had that the days were passing was the trays of the little food left in the doorway. That door was only opened three times a day: twice to feed and dine her, and a third time to try to coax any information out of her; a good euphemism Johanna had learned to use instead of calling it by its name: torture.

In came two men much stronger than her, whose names she didn't know and whose faces she didn't recognise. What she did recognise was the pain they inflicted on her every time they tied her to that damned chair. Her wrists and ankles were strapped with power belts to keep her in place, cutting off her circulation on multiple occasions, and Snow stood in front of her with an imperious gesture, as if he barely cared that he was harming one of his precious Victors. The procedure was quite simple: at her feet was a basin of water and, should she refuse to answer any questions that had to do with the Mockingjay or the rebels, an electric current would run through her body, thanks to the high conductivity provided by the water.

Johanna didn't know how many times she had been tortured, but she was still sane enough to know that there was fight left in her body. Still, she couldn't lie: the shocks were lethal, probably damaging some internal organ, but the mental after-effects of being locked in there were almost worse. In the mornings, she listened to Annie sobbing for Finnick's return amid screams and cries, and heard them come in to sedate her —luckily, no one was hurting poor Annie— and in the evenings, it was Peeta's turn.

The District 7 victor didn't know what kind of torture they were using on him, but the screams of horror and pain the boy let out were terrifying. More than once Johanna had pleaded for them to leave him alone, that they would soon realise the boy knew nothing, but her efforts were futile: Peeta continued to scream every night, and Annie almost sobbed for him.

Thoughts of the company at her side frequently made her think of Nola, and why she wasn't there with them; why she hadn't come back for them, as she had promised days before —seven, unbeknownst to Johanna. Was she dead? Was she being reserved for special torture because she was part of the career and still a damn rebel? The images of Snow torturing Nola made Johanna's blood boil; she was just a kid, and as much as Peeta was a kid, at least Nola knew details of the rebellion. In the end, she had the most to lose.

Until one night Nola walked through her door. Johanna was on her feet immediately when she saw her trademark blonde hair appear, but she froze in place when she got a good look at the girl. She was pale, so pale that Johanna thought it was some kind of Capitol make-up, but she discovered it wasn't. She had pronounced dark circles under her eyes, a worrying purple color that clashed with her pallor. She was dressed in white, elegant clothes, and for the first time she did not see her showing off her assets, but was rather discreet and sober. Johanna paled when she saw a white rose in the pocket of her blouse.

—Nola? —Johanna almost whispered. The girl raised her head and closed the door of the room behind her, looking at her immediately afterwards—. What have they done to you?

Nola gave a tired half-smile—. I'm fine. How are you? Have you heard from the others?

—They're trying to get information out of me, but I'm not going to tell them anything. I don't know what they're doing to Peeta, because he doesn't know anything, but it doesn't look good. Annie is intact, I can only hear her crying about being away from Finnick —Johanna shook her head, moving closer to the younger one—. Nola, what are they doing to you? Tell me.

—I said I'm fine.

—Bullshit! —protested Johanna. Nola turned around quickly, as if she was afraid someone would come into the room—. Why are you here?