I can still do this

chapter 3

I rip the parachute off and run, flat-out sprint for the cave. Branches and leaves rip at my face and arms, but I don't let anything slow me down. I know he isn't dead - I would've heard the cannon, this would be over - but that isn't any consolation in these games. Something terrible is happening.

As I get closer to the mouth of the cave, I see water flowing along the ground. It's going inside - I know that instinctively before I even see it, and that only makes me run faster. I don't try to stay standing as I go down into the cave; I let the miniature waterfall carry me down, landing on my back, but I don't stay down for more than a second. "Cato?" I shout frantically over the rushing water. My hair is in my eyes and I can't see for a second, but then I scrape it back and look everywhere. And there he is, just his boots, chained to the iron loop that's somehow now a foot above the surface of the water.

The ground where I'd put the bread container and Cato's clothes is dry, since it's the highest place in the cave. Quickly, I take off everything, stripping down to my shirt and pants. No time to take off my boots, so I wade in with them on. A foot in, the floor drops off, giving way to a deep hole, full of crashing, torrential water. I feel for the bottom but can't find one, so I yank the knife out of my belt, stick it deep into the dirt, and hold onto it while I lower myself down into the hole. Thankfully, it's only a few feet deep, up to my thighs, so I put the knife back in my belt and wade towards the boots.

While I'm still a few feet away, something brushes my leg. I jump, almost fall, and then there's a hand clamped around my calf. I reach down and find his other hand. We lock our hands around each others' wrists and pull, and then his head emerges from the water, facing away from me. Immediately, he begins coughing. "Katniss," he gasps between coughs.

"What happened?" I grunt, moving my arms so they're under his. I hoist him up a little higher, bracing the back of his neck against my chest.

"Floor gave out. Started raining." He keeps coughing like he's going to lose one of his lungs, and his convulsing almost knocks me down.

"Been under long?"

"Couple minutes," he stutters, barely managing to get the first syllable out. In the back of my mind, I observe that if we make it out of this, I'll have to take a moment to be impressed with his breath-holding abilities. Right then, though, I need to focus on getting him out of this.

I pull the key out of my shirt, realizing with some annoyance that I have to find a new hiding place for it after this. "Listen, I'll unlock you," I say loudly, over the rush of the water. "But you have to hold on to me and make sure I don't fall, do you understand?"

"Yeah," he cough.

"Drink some of this water," I order, pointing at the swirling liquid around us. "Do it!" I repeat louder when he doesn't respond, and he listens. At first, he coughs it all back up, gagging and wheezing, but then he doesn't.

"Okay," he says, breaths still ragged, but he isn't hacking up his guts anymore.

"Alright, hold on to me. You let go, we die," I remind him, suddenly apprehensive about leaving my welfare up to his strength.

"I know." He twists around to look me in the eyes. They're bloodshot, tired, but definitely strong. He'll keep me alive. This time.

I take a few steps closer to the post and he sort of wraps himself around me, one arm locked around my waist, the other somehow convoluted under and around my shoulder and bicep, the chain between them cutting into my chest. Whatever he's doing, it's very secure - I take several more steps, held upright by his upper-body muscles. Right when I think I'm within arms reach of one of his feet, the ground beneath my feet shifts, drops a little.