❛ 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑺 𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬- 𝘵𝘩𝘨

CHAPTER 13

Haymitch ran away to the outside, so Arya followed, being chased by Colton, as they jumped on a hovercraft.

As soon as they were on it, Arya looked around and realized that Plutarch Heavensbee was on it as well.

"Ah, so you two knew to follow Haymitch. Good, good. Right now, District 13 is rescuing the tributes." Plutarch spoke.

"Wait, what? District 13? But it's supposed to be dead...nonexistent...bombed to the ground!" Colton exclaimed.

"Nope, that's just rumors." Plutarch and Haymitch sat down to fill him in, while Arya slid down against the wall of the hovercraft. She was slightly afraid of heights, so she felt slightly sick. She put her head between her knees, and imagined reuniting with Johanna. Would the two of them hug, kiss, or just awkwardly wave or smile? Would Johanna not care about their conversation about not kissing in public and do it anyway?

And part of Arya hoped she would.

But at that moment, Oakley walked through the door. Arya stood to embrace him in a hug, but he walked straight to Plutarch. Arya watched him whisper something to him, and Oakley nodded at Arya and Colton before exiting. Plutarch pulled Haymitch over, and they started talking in hushed voices.

It was rather awkward, so Colton turned to Arya to make a bit of polite conversation. "So do you know Oakley? How?"

Arya was trying to watch Haymitch and Plutarch, trying to see if she could read their lips, so she gave a very vague response. "He's from my district. We're friends."

Colton got the hint. "Ah. He's my boyfriend...so, you know...just asking..."

It returned to silence other than the hushed voices of Haymitch and Plutarch. Haymitch seemed to be shaking his head, and his face was slowly turning red. "Ugh, I need a drink!" He exclaimed, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Plutarch let out a bark of laughter. "I wish, Abernathy, but District 13 doesn't allow alcohol. Good luck in finding some, bud."

Arya eventually got fed up. "What? Will you just tell us? We're not weak or fragile! We can take it! Just tell us already!"

Haymitch sighed. "Well, since our top priority was to get Katniss and Peeta out of the arena, the Capitol managed to get some of the other tributes."

Arya sucked in a deep breath. Don't give into the panic. You don't even know if it's Johanna. It might just be Enobaria or Brutus.

"Are you sure you want me to continue?" Haymitch asked, and Arya became conscious that she was breathing heavily, and tightly gripping the edge of the table. She nodded, and he continued, saying, "Well, we managed to get Finnick, Katniss, and Beetee out. The others weren't so lucky."

Arya stared at Haymitch for a couple seconds before finally realizing what he was saying. And then she exploded.

"WHAT?! HAYMITCH ABERNATHY, YOU BETTER NOT HAVE JUST SAID WHAT I THINK YOU SAID! YOU DIDN'T NOT GET JOHANNA MASON OUT OF THAT ARENA! SHE'S THE ONE THAT YOU NEED, SHE HAS SO MUCH INFORMATION ON THE REBELLION, AND YOU KNOW THEY'D TORTURE HER UNTIL SHE DIES BECAUSE SHE'D NEVER GIVE ANY INFORMATION UP! AGHHHHHHHHHHHHH..."

Haymitch gave a quick glance at Plutarch, who signaled for someone else to come in, and quickly inserted a needle in Arya's neck, who collapsed, unconscious.

The next time she woke up, she was lying on a bed, with Colton and Finnick sitting next to her.

"Are you alright, now?" Colton Asked her nervously. The idea of Johanna being tortured in the Capitol almost made her relapse into panic, and when she finally realized what she was doing, her hands were collapsed over her ears, and was rocking back and forth on her knees.

This feeling, the worry and anxiety was almost worse than when Kinsley died. Wait- does that mean that I love Johanna that much? Would Kinsley be okay with this? She's dead, what am I even thinking!?

Arya could feel her breath hitching in her throat. "N-no..."

Arya could feel a tear trickling down her cheek, so she wiped it away. Finnick looked to Conan as if to say, 'Hey, can you give us a moment in private,' and he left.

Once he was gone and the door was shut tight, Finnick asked, "So do you truly love Johanna?"

"I-I don't k-know. I still l-love Kinsley, and I-I feel like I'm cheating on h-her! A-and I feel like it was my fault that s-she died!"

Finnick sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. "Look, I know you're a good person. So does Johanna, that's why she's attracted to you. And so did Kinsley. But the thing is, she unfortunately died. You're not cheating on her, and it was most certainly not your fault that she died. Yes, you may have gone your separate ways in the arena, but when I watched her die, rather than walking away, you ran to help her. If you didn't love her, then you wouldn't have gone to help. And if you don't love Johanna, then you wouldn't care this much about her and her safety."

"Arya, soon, we're going to be rescuing them from the Capitol, just be patient."

Arya took a deep breath, and exhaled, feeling an extreme amount better, and for the first time since when Kinsley died, 7 years ago, felt the pressure from her death dissolving into the air around her. "Fine, okay, I'm okay."