The Capitol's Darling - The Hunger Games

twenty-two: blood rain

KATIA'S POV

It's been around half an hour now since lightning striked that tree.

And I was on my way towards it.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into. There was a very high chance E was right, and that I was being led right into a trap, but that was a risk I was willing to take.

I had no intentions of staying here any longer, so if this trap leads me to more tributes, (and potentially my death) then the quicker we get out of here.

I was now closer to the tree than the cornucopia, when I could hear fainted voices.

I immediately readied all my weapons and hid myself amongst the large plants.

As the voices came closer and closer towards me, I was able to hear their voices. 3, I counted. Great, 3 against 1. Let's do it.

Once a figure finally appeared, I didn't even give myself time to register who it was before I threw one of my knives aiming at his leg.

I purposely didn't aim at his heart or head more for the Capitol's entertainment than mine, so I could watch the others react as I stayed hidden within the plants.

I watched as the tribute I had hit scream in agony as he clutched his leg in pain. The girl next to him quickly caught him before hitting the ground and I was about to aim another knife towards her when another voice spoke.

"There! Over there in the bush!" They yelled. I calculated his appearance for a mere second before ducking down to avoid a flying weapon that was thrown towards me. I had figured out that the tribute who outed me was Beetee from Didtrict 3.

Still ducked down, I could hear a girl yelling while running towards the area I was hidden in. Whoever this was, clearly was no match to me as I could predict everything she was about to do.

But before she could, I rolled away just in time to miss the axe she slashed to the ground, in hope it was me under it. While she was caught off guard I grabbed her short hair and yanked it towards me. She yelped and shouted as I smashed her head to the ground and wrapped my left hand around her neck choking her, while I lined up my trident right against her heart, prepared to push it through any second.

But the minute I looked into the tribute's eyes, my eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

"Johanna!?" I exclaimed.

I removed my trident from her immediately and loosened the hand that was around her neck.

"Katia seriously!" Johanna groaned as she rested her head on the ground in exhaustion. "Nuts, Volts, it's fine go help Blight!" She yelled out to the other tributes.

That's when things finally clicked. Nuts and Volts.... Johanna's nicknames for Wiress and Beetee. Wiress and Beetee... District 3.

"Jo what the actual fuck!" I yelled in disbelief, not caring if her allies had figured it was me who had tried to kill them.

"I should be saying that to you! What the hell are you doing here and why did you just stab Blight with a knife! And where are the careers, are they here!?" Johanna rambled in distress.

I looked to my side to see Blight, Johanna's district partner laying on the ground in pain as the District 3 tributes aided to his leg.
"It's just me don't worry."

"Jo what the hell are you thinking siding with them?" I whisper-shouted, referring to Wiress and Beetee.

Johanna looked hesitant about what to say as she thought for a long moment, "I just- I didn't have a choice ok? I had to. Just don't ask and don't kill them. Please."

I scrunched up my nose as I studied her face. "Look- you're gonna end up dead if you stick with them so come with me, you'll have a better shot at surviving." I proposed.

Her face was unreadable as she was silent for a minute. "Look Kat, I would love to go with you, but your with the careers- and they will kill me the minute they see me. Plus no matter how much I want to, I can't leave them." Johanna confessed.

"Ok." I replied. "But I came here to do one thing and I'm not leaving until it's done-" I raised my trident aiming at Beetee who was almost done aiding Blight's leg, when Johanna beside me knocked my trident from my hand with the back of her axe.

My trident fell a few metres away from me as my eyes turned towards Johanna. "What the hell do you think you're do-" I was cut off when a slight burning feeling made contact with my hand.

I looked down at it to see a red droplet that looked a lot like blood. "What the hell is that." I asked concerned. I immediately stood up and ran to pick up my trident when the same burning feeling hit my neck. But this time it burned a lot more.

I hissed trying to ignore the pain, picking up my trident to aim back at the District 3 tribute, hoping to finally do what I came here to do before any more distractions, when more droplets had rained down on them too.

"Rain. Rain! Water!" Beetee exclaimed happily as he looked up and opened his mouth, hoping to catch some of the droplets in his mouth.

Then it started to rain louder and harder on all of us. While the others seemed to be ecstatic at the thought of rain, I was hesitant.

The rain dropping on my arm was red, and I couldn't ignore what had hit me a few moments ago with the burning feeling.

Then suddenly that same burning sensation returned but 10x worse each time the rain drops made contact with my skin.

Johanna and the others started to cry out in pain as the burning rain poured down on us.

"IT'S BLOOD RAIN! RUN!!"

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