If Fire Caught

Chapter 17: Katniss

"I did not want to meet up with her," I say. Then I recognize the people with her. "Is that Wiress and Beetee?"

"Nuts and Volts?" Peeta asks. "I've got to hear how this happened. We reach Finnick and Johanna and I just hear the end of her story.

"We thought it was rain because of the lightning, and we were so thirsty. But what came down was thick, hot, blood. We couldn't see and we were drowning in it. We just stubbled around blindly, coughing and gagging. And that's when Blight hit the force field," she says. I think I remember his name. I'm pretty sure it was her counterpart from 7.

"I'm sorry Johanna," Finnick says.

"Well he wasn't much but he was from home. And he left me with these two," she says and nudges the barely conscious Beetee with her foot. "He took a knife to the back at the Cornucopia and she's in shock." Wiress starts grabbing Johanna. She keeps saying 'Tick, Tock' over and over.

"Will you shut up!" Johanna says shoving her off causing me to snap at her.

"Leave her alone," I snap.

"Leave her alone?" Johanna questions. "Who do you think drug these two fools out of the freaking jungle for you? You little self entitled-"
She cut off when Finnick grabs her and keeps dunking her in the water while she keeps screaming insults at me. I look at Peeta puzzled.

"Got them out for me?" I ask him.

"You wanted them as allies," he says.

"Yeah but if I won't have them long if we don't patch him up," I say. Peeta picks up Beetee and I take Wiress' hand and we take them back to our camp. I sit Wiress in the shallow water telling her to clean herself up but she isn't really paying attention to anything but repeating 'Tick, Tock' over and over.

I unhook Beetee's belt and find a heavy metal cylinder attached to it with vines. I don't know what it is but if its important to him, it could be useful. His clothes are sealed to him with blood so Peeta hold him in the water as I ease the clothing off of him. His underclothes are soaked too and I have no choice but to remove them. It doesn't really bother me anymore. There have been several naked men on the kitchen table this year because they've needed healing. You just kind of get used to it.

We lay him on a grass mat face down so we can look at his back. There is a shallow gash running down his back. But he has lost a lot of blood. I can tell by how pale his skin is, and he's still bleeding. I try to think for a moment before remembering some moss I saw back in the woods.

"I'll be right back," I say going into the forest. I bend down to gather some of the moss when I feel a slight movement in my swollen stomach. I sigh in relief. At least that's a sign that my baby is okay. For now.

I walk back to Beetee and Peeta with an armful of moss. I apply a thick pad of it to Beetees back and secure it with vines. We drag him into the shade and get some water into him.

"That's all I can do," I say.

"It's good. The games have made you pretty good at this healing thing," Peeta says.

"Trust me, I'm no healer," I say. "I've got my father's blood for hunting." I grab an extra piece of the moss and go back to Wiress. I ease her out of her jumpsuit and gently bathe her.

"Tick, Tock! Tick, Tock!" he cries out and I nod as I wash her nearly undamaged jumpsuit.

"Yes, I know," I say way gentler than I usually do when I talk. "Tick, Tock." I seems to calm her down and I help her into the jumpsuit once I wash nearly all the blood out.

I bring Wiress back up to the camp and see a sparkling clean Johanna and a peeling Finnick. Johanna greedily eats shellfish and drinks water as though she hasn't seen it in days, which in reality, she has. I try to coax some into Wiress but she eats very little. Finnick tells Johanna our story but leaves out a very important detail.

There is an argument of who is going to guard but in the end it's Johanna and I because honestly, I'm not falling asleep while she's awake. We sit in silence until the others are asleep. Johanna takes a quick look at Finnick to make sure he's asleep before finally breaking the silence.

"How'd you lose Mags?" she asks.

"In the fog," I say. "I stumbled and Peeta wasn't strong enough to carry me after his heart got restarted so Finnick took me while Peeta carried Mags. Then he couldn't carry her anymore and Finnick couldn't lift us both. She kissed his cheek and walked right into the poison."

"She was Finnick's mentor," she says accusingly.

"If you think I don't feel guilty I do. She might still be with us if I wasn't pregnant," I say.

"I'm just sorry he lost her," Johanna says surprisingly softly. "She was half his family.

"So why'd you have Nuts and Volts?" I ask her.

"Haymitch said if I wanted to be your ally, I need to bring them to you," she says. "That is what you told him right?"

"Thanks," I say. "I appreciate it."

"I hope so," she says.

"I need to ask you another favor," I say.

"What?" she says.

"If I die," I start. "And Peeta and you are still allies, I need you to make sure you get the baby out of me and to Peeta."

"Why?" she asks.

"Because I know he isn't going to have the heart to cut into me, even if its to get out our unborn child," I say.

"Sure," she says. No other words. Just a simple agreement as though we were business partners agreeing on a deal.

"Thank you," I say. Suddenly we hear someone saying "Tick, Tock" repeatedly.

"Great! She's up!" Johanna says. "I'm gonna go to sleep. Enjoy guarding with Nuts." And with that she gets up and goes over to where Peeta, Finnick, and Beetee are sleeping. Wiress comes to lay at my feet and I gently stroke her arm as she falls back asleep. My maternal instincts must be setting in or something. I barely use this gentleness with anyone, let alone a complete stranger.

There is a flash of lightning and rain starts just as it did last night, only over that region. Then twelve bongs ring through the trees. Like its noon. The sun is at its highest point in the sky.

Wiress whispers 'Tick Tock" in her sleep and it all clicks into place, including Plutarch showing me his watch at the President's Mansion.

"It's a clock!" I say out loud even though the rest of them asleep and can't hear me.