The Third Quarter Quell

Control

Prim's POV
A noise woke me up. I reached for my dagger, and in the process I caught  Maple's eye. "What is wrong with Jay?" she mouthed. I shrugged. I got a grip on my dagger, and slowly sat up.

Something was nagging at the back of my mind. Then it clicked. President Snow was controlling Jay. What could I do though? It's not like I have magic powers to snap him out of it. "On three." Maple whispered.

"One, two..."  "Three!" We jumped on Jay, trying to wrestle the scythe from him. Gale jerked up. "Wake everyone up, Gale!" He hesitated. "Do it now!" Maple yelled. Jay pushed us off, and swung his scythe. I tried to dodge it, but I felt the tip hit the base of my pinky, and that part became numb. I didn't dare to look at it. "Jay, it's me, Prim!" His eyes looked panicked. I couldn't tell whose panic it was.

He swung the scythe at Maple's head, but she blocked it with her axe. "JAY!!" she bellowed. Everyone was helping now. Tyra took the scythe, and Gale and Voltice held him to the ground. Statak was watching from his spot. There was a puddle of blood on the ground, and the numbness was spreading. Jay noticed. His body started twitching, and he was mumbling something.

Suddenly, he burst out. "NO!!" He stared at us. "Jay?" "I'm back," he gasped.

"Prim, where is that blood coming from?" I slowly brought up my hand. My pinky was now a bloody stump. You know those times when something hurts so bad you start laughing? This was one of those moments, except my laugh was short lived.

"Okay, Jay, can you get that moss I used for Tyga?" He immediately took off. "Maple, can you rip my sleeve off?" She ripped it. I was thankful that it was my right hand that had no pinky, and not my left. Jay came back with an armful. I thanked him. "Press it on my hand, Maple, and tie the cloth around it." I didn't ask Jay because he was emotionally drained. Maple completed the band-aid, and I looked at my hand. It wasn't as bad looking, but it was weird without a pinky.

Jay was sitting far away from us, and seemed to be talking to himself.  I walked over to him. "Jay, is President Snow talking to you?" He kept talking. I shook him. "Jay!" He snapped out of it. "President Snow was talking to me. He told me that..." "What did he tell you?" "He would kill you." 

"Jay, I know you won't kill me. You can fight it," I said calmly. "Could I fight it today? Will I be able to fight it tomorrow? What if I kill you? I could never forgive myself! I'm never going to forgive myself for chopping off your finger!" "Jay, I'm fine!" "No, you aren't, Prim! I just cut off your finger!" I tried to hold his hand, but he jerked it away. "Please, stay away from me," he begged. "Jay, you won't hurt me." I reached for his hand. "No, I have to stay away from you!"

He got up. "Jay, please!" He looked me in the eye. "I'm sorry Prim," with that he started running into the jungle. "Jay!" I started chasing after him. I could hear footsteps behind me, but I had to get to Jay. Someone caught my waist and held me back. "Prim stop!" I heard Gale  order. I turned around, and was looking right into Tyga's blue-green eyes.

"We have to get Jay!" "No," Tyga said with a sigh. "Why?" "I have a feeling that we'll be doing President Snow a favor." "He'll die!" Tyga grabbed the collar of my shirt. "Think! Would President Snow let his little tool get killed?" I shook my head. He let go. "We should get some more sleep. I'll keep watch."

We slowly trudged to the beach. We all laid down in the sand. I stared at the jungle for a long time, and I could hear Maple and Tyga talking. "Is Jay going to be alright?" she asked. "I don't know. He might snap and kill himself." "Not Jay." "Maybe." "We'll have to end this soon. They can't hold on much longer." "Yeah, we'll come up with a plan tomorrow."