10

POISON FOG AND FAREWELLS

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Evelyn smiled as Mags braided parts of her hair back so that it was out of her face, it reminded her of the hairstyle she wore in the 68th Hunger Games thanks to Octavius. But this year they had decided to keep it down which was a bad mistake. Having her long hair down meant that it was a disadvantage, anyone could grab it and use it to their advantage. 

Evelyn kissed Mags' head softly afterwards, "Now you get some sleep, you will need your energy for tomorrow."

The elderly lady nodded her head and lay down, staring at the night sky to wait for sleep to come. Whereas Evelyn wandered over to Finnick as sat between him and Katniss, keeping a distance to the girl on fire due to her previous distrust. 

"How's Peeta?" she asked, her eyes falling onto his sleeping body.

"He's okay I think, he's just dehydrated like the rest of us," she replied, making Evelyn more aware of the scratching in her throat and the pain in her skull.

Above them the music started to blast, showing images of all the fallen tributes from that day. The first to appear was the male from 5, making Evelyn peel a pang in her chest of guilt and regret. She felt Finnick wrap his hand over her knee. Yet Evelyn kept her eyes in the skies, searching for Johanna's face in the showing and sighed with relief when it didn't show.

"Seven," Katniss stated, having counted all of the tributes.

Evelyn leaned back into the tree behind her with a groan, Finnick's hand still tight around her knee that felt bruised thanks to getting knocked over by Peeta. She found her fingers twisting the golden ring on her finger out of habit, calming her nerves. But her eyes opened once more when a beeping rhythm floated around in the tributes, she recognised that sound anywhere. It was a sponsor. The package floated down from the sky and landed on the ground, making Katniss run to retrieve it.

"Drink up?" she muttered and pulled a metal tube out from the package, "It's from Haymitch, I think it's a spyle."

"A what?" Finnick and Evelyn looked at each other before following behind Katniss to see what she meant, watching as she used a rock to hammer the metal into a tree. They all waited with anticipation.

A gasp left her lips as water began to flow from the metal. Evelyn smiled and waited her turn to get the freshwater with a huge grin on her face, she then leaned down to break a leaf from a branch and turning it into a bowl to take to Mags. The older lady smiled and drank it up with no complaint.

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"Tell me about District 4," she requested as she stared at the false stars in the sky.

He chuckled, "District 4 is boring. Lonely. There is no reason for me to stay there and I don't know why I did."

"What about Annie?" Evelyn asked quietly, almost instantly regretting what she had said. Over the past few years, ever since Annie and Finnick had become an official couple, Evelyn felt betrayed and heartbroken. She only hoped that Finnick didn't hear her, but he did.

"Annie and I are friends, that's all," he continued to play with the fallen leaves hair as he thought back to his family and home, "Snow needed me to have someone, to make me more desirable apparently. 'The people want what they think is forbidden'."

"So you aren't in a relationship?" she inquired a little louder as if demanding an answer from the boy she had always loved. The only one she had ever loved.

"No, I haven't found anyone since we met."

Twelve harsh clangs sounded around them, "I counted twelve," Katniss informed just as several lashed of lightning struck the tallest tree in the arena.

"That could mean that it's midnight," Finnick guessed with his shoulder shrugging.

"Or the number of Districts," Evelyn added.

"Well, if you guys aren't going to sleep. I will," he joked as he began to lie down, his head falling to her legs that stretched out in front of her. Evelyn's fingers found his blonde locks and twirled them gently until he fell asleep. Even then she didn't stop.

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Evelyn watched as Katniss finally managed to fall asleep, they had both decided to stay awake due to not trusting one another just yet. But Evelyn knew that Katniss needed her rest just as much as everyone else, she was one of the strongest fighters in the arena and they needed her to be alert.

Suddenly, her head rolled off to the side and woke her up with a gasp. Her eyes instantly finding Peeta to make sure that he was still alive before they landed on Evelyn who was still forcing herself to stay awake, though the shadows under her eyes were prominent. It had been a while since she managed to gently slide out from under Finnick so that she could stretch her legs and wake herself up.

"Don't worry, he is still breathing," she remarked before standing up and stretching her legs with a stifled groan once more.

Katniss didn't reply, causing her to scoff and walk over to Finnick's resting body and sit beside him and Mags. Evelyn also noticed the white fog that began to creep towards them, her eyebrows furrowing together. 

"Katniss, don't-" she hushed her whisper before the District 12 tribute still reached her hands out, hissing in pain as she pulled back her arm.

Evelyn rushed over to her and helped her stand, the white fog hitting the backs of her legs which made her scream in pain. "Run!" they both shouted at their friends, "It's poison! The fog is poison!"

Katniss and Evelyn began to follow their friends as they ran through the forest to escape the fog . Evelyn had to defy all the pain in her legs and continue to sprint to save her life. It is what had kept her going in the first Games, and now it was doing the exact same thing now.

As they sprinted through the forest, the fog began to surround them on nearly every side of their body, leading them down one path to escape their death. Which ended up separating them into three different groups, leaving Evelyn alone to escape the poisonous fog. She slipped on vines and almost rolled down the hill before Finnick came into her view with Mags on his back.

She heard him scream out in pain and fall to the ground with a thump, making her run over to him to try and pick him up before trying to pick up Mags to help him out in any way possible. Evelyn finally managed to help Mags onto Finnick's back before they all ran over to Katniss who called out over Peeta's unconscious body within the leaves.

"I can't carry him," Katniss sobbed weakly after hissing in pain.

"I can try!" Evelyn sputtered before attempting to lift his body but failing due to the pain in her legs, falling onto her knees with a cry.

Mags suddenly placed her hand on Evelyn's shoulder before stroking her hair softly and then placed a hand on Finnick's shoulder and kissing his cheek. They could only watch as Mags walked into the fog silently. They only stopped crying for the woman to come back once they heard the cannon echo around them.

"We have to go!" Katniss called out, pulling on Finnick's arm, "We have to get out of here."

"Finn, come on," she coughed out before standing to her feet and helping Katniss pick up Peeta so that Finnick could help carry him. 

The fog continued to creep up on them as they limped through the forest, finally hitting their backs as they screamed and rolled down the hill. Her body connected with rocks and sticks as she fell, yelping in pain with each thud.

It felt like forever until they finally landed at the bottom of the hill. Evelyn had no air in her lungs but still managed to crawl to Finnick to make sure he was still breathing; not even thinking about the fog reaching them until she turned to the side to see it rebound off an invisible barrier to stop it from getting to them.

"Finnick," she whispered as she brought his head onto her lap to check him over. He had white spots covering his face and hands, varying in size and shape. She too had matching ones that covered her neck, hands and the backs of her legs. The same with Katniss and Peeta.

Behind them Katniss screamed in pain, making Evelyn turn to face her as Katniss submerged her hands under the water of a nearby pond. "The water- The water helps-" she croaked out and continued to rub away the spots that covered her body.

"Finnick, you need to get up," she sobbed over his body but got no reply, "Finnick, please. The water will make it better."

Finnick continued to choke on his words and flinch in agony as he breathed, soon Katniss and Peeta helped Evelyn drag his body into the water to wash away the pain. She waited until everyone else had been healed before she cupped the water onto her own sores and wounds to watch them wash away and disappear, only leaving red and raw skin behind. 

"We need our weapons," Katniss informed to Peeta who had been miraculously healed like the rest of them and now could walk freely. He stumbled over to where they had dropped their weapons on the ground to retrieve them. 

The now-group-of-four had decided to make camp near at the pond so they could continue to wash away the sores off their skin, "I'm sorry about Mags," Katniss eased over to Finnick who cupped the water over Evelyn's neck and back as she bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood in her mouth.

"She was never going to make it..." he muttered as he suddenly stopped helping Evelyn and decided to keep his hand on her shoulder, his eyes staring at the water to avoid looking at Katniss with tears in his eyes. Instead, Evelyn brought her own hand on to his and squeezed before she sat on the end of the pond with only her feet in the water so she could get a better look at her cheek; her skin bloody and inflamed.

Katniss slowly stood in the water and perched an arrow on her bow, "Mutts..." Finnick whispered out, making Evelyn's eyes widen at the sight of monkeys as more climbed down from the tree. There were a dozen or two of the monkeys sitting and staring at them, no one knew who was going to make the first move. Evelyn calculated how quickly she could reach for her weapon, weighed it up against how quickly the mutt could leap down and clamp its teeth around her throat.

Evelyn slowly reached over to her sword to see a monkey sitting right beside it, its eyes staring lifelessly at her and waiting to attack. The District 11 tribute decided to remove a dagger from the stack on her thigh and arm herself with one in each hand, just in case. 

"Peeta..." Katniss mumbled quietly as to not spook the animals around them, he looked over questionably with a hum, "Walk over here... slowly..."

He then looked up to see a monkey inches away from his face, bearing its teeth and roaring angrily at him, most likely startling the poor boy to death. Peeta began to almost crawl back to the others as more and more monkeys jumped down, Evelyn knew that there must have been more in the trees due to the echoes of them roaring at each other. 

"Get to the beach."

Peeta was the first to attack as one jumped out into the pond at them, but that didn't stop Evelyn launching a dagger at one of the monkeys that sat near her sword before going to grab it. A scream leaving her lips as the teeth of the beast clamped around her arm.

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Mags death really did hit harder this time around