HEARTBURN ➭ THE HUNGER GAMES

010

ੈ♡₊˚•. ˖⋆ ━━━━━⠀HEARTBURN !
▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ ⋯ ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ ˓ 𑁍ࠜೄ
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 TEN ・*: ·. ⇌ ஜ .·:*┛

   Julianna wishes she had ten more seconds.

   She hardly makes out the cornucopia, Mags to her left and to her surprise, Katniss to her right. There's never enough time, Julianna remembers this well. The last chime of the countdown rings out, and Julianna is thrusting herself into the icy water. Julianna is lucky she knows how to swim, well, she knows how to not drown.

   There was only one small river in 2, thankfully her trainers were thorough enough to teach her. Briefly. Julianna pumps her arms and kicks her legs, coming up for air before the harsh push of the waves push her back down.

   You must be bigger, stronger, and tougher than anyone else.

   Julianna can feel the harsh pressure in her ears just as she pops her head back up to breathe, only to come face to face with a rocky platform. The water splashes against the rocks and into her face, the water making her vision blurry. Julianna climbs blindly onto the rocks; her hands fly to her face to wipe the water out of her eyes. The redhead grunts, she doesn't have time for this.  

   Katniss has already made a b-line for the cornucopia, on her other side Mags is stood with her hands shaking through her hair. Julianna frowns, following the old womans gaze to somewhere in the water. Her eyes then dart to the cornucopia, watching tribute after tribute die. She decides she can't stand here forever, locking her eyes with Mags just as Peeta's head breaks through the surface. He's fighting someone from three, Julianna can't make out who and she doesn't stick around to find out. 

   Her first instinct is to find Enzo, grab a pack and flee into the forest. Her eyes take a quick scan, she feels sick when she doesn't find a curly headed boy. She slows her pace, a black pack sat at the edge of the cornucopia. Julianna sighs as she slings it over her shoulder, grabbing a hand-knife off of the wall. The rest of the cornucopia seemed to be cleared out for the most part, Julianna steps over the girl from eleven. Dead bodies of people she saw less than 12 hours ago now lay lifeless. As she walks around and out of the cornucopia, Finnick and Katniss turn to face her instantly. 

   Out of instinct, Katniss grabs a bow and loads her arrow. Julianna tilts her head, twirling her knife around between her fingers as she walks closer to Katniss and Finnick. Julianna see's Katniss visibly flinch as Julianna tucks her hair behind her ear, revealing the small gold studs in her ear. 

   The redhead breaks out into a wide smile, now standing directly in front of the bow. She tenderly pushes the weapon down and out of her face, "come on, girl on fire- I thought we'd braid each other's hair and talk about boys!" 

   Finnick rolls his eyes, eyeing the small knife in her hand. "Peeta and Mags are this way. . . if he's still alive." She says, nodding her head towards Mags. Katniss's eyes grew impossibly wide, she and Finnick darting to wear Mags was pacing back and forth. Julianna huffed, jogging after them. 

    The water is nearly dead still, Julianna's throat goes dry. Finnick drops his weapon, seemingly getting ready to dive into the water and save Peeta. Julianna eyes Katniss, her skin had gone almost completely pale. The red head tilts her head, she almost forgot why she stopped searching for Enzo. She wasn't here for herself this time. This wasn't about her, or her survival. This was all so much bigger than her. She had to stay focused. She had to stay focused on the goal. She had to stay focused on saving the others.

   A loud gasp snapped her attention away from Katniss, halting Finnick from his actions. It wasn't of shock, more so of the desperate need for air. Peeta pops up out of the water, sputtering water out of his mouth. He was being held up; his eyes were hardly open as he was pushed closer to the rocks. Katniss and Finnick are grabbing onto him instantly and pulling him up and out of the water. Mas taps Finnick mercilessly, pointing into the water.