☆°.˙ ▍𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐘𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐃𝐀𝐘

⎰𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐧⎱

          𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃, thinking of their next moves and how to take down the Careers when a shrill scream was heard from the jungle.

         "Katniss, help me!"

          Katniss' head snapped towards the jungle with a look of horror before jumping to her feet

          "Prim! Prim!" Katniss yelled as she ran as fast as she could into the jungle.

          Fleur tried to stop the younger girl, but the next voice made the color vanish from her face.

          "Aunt Fleur!" Ben's voice yelled followed by a scream of pain.

          "Ben!" Fleur yelled loudly, her voice filled with horror and pain and her mind ignoring all rationality. "Ben, I'm coming!"

          Finnick attempted to stop the brunette from running into the jungle after Katniss, but Fleur pushed his arms away and followed Katniss into the jungle.

          "Fleur, no." Finnick stated as he attempted to follow the two girls.

          He ran towards the jungle only to be stopped before he could even go inside by an invisible barrier. He slammed his fists against it and was pulled back by Johanna who tried to hit it down with her axe.

          No avail. Both Finnick and Peeta put their hands against the barrier, hoping that the two girls would realize that they couldn't come after them due to the barrier.

.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

          "Ben, I'm coming! Ben!" Fleur yelled as she crashed into Katniss in a clearing, her eyes moving wildly, trying to find the source of the screams.

          Katniss grabbed Fleur's shoulders and turned the older girl to face her.

          "It's not him. It's not him. It's just a jabberjay. They're playing a trick on us. It's not real." Katniss stated as she showed Fleur the bird circling around them.

          If possible, Fleur paled even more at Katniss' explanation, causing the younger girl to frown.

          "Just a jabberjay, Katniss? How do you think they got those screams? Jabberjays copy, Katniss." Fleur informed the younger girl, causing her to pale with realization.

          "You don't think they. . . " Katniss asked as she trailed off.

          "That's exactly what I think." Fleur replied with a shaky voice.

          "Katniss! No!" A new male voice exclaimed. 

          Fleur didn't recognize the voice, but Katniss did. She started to run towards the source of the sound, but Fleur pulled her back.

          "Fleur! Help me!" Finnick's voice exclaimed and Fleur forced herself to ignore the pain in the voice. 

          "No, Katniss. It's not him." Fleur stated as she pulled Katniss towards the beach. "We're getting out of here! It's not him, Katniss! It's a mutt! We can't help the people we care about by running after birds!" Fleur shouted, causing Katniss to come back to her senses. "Come on!" 

          The two of them started to sprint as the birds started to follow them, each scream and call for help overlapping one another. Both of them saw that Finnick and Peeta were standing at the tree line, confusing the two. They saw their hands held up and their lips moving but no words coming and no attempt was made to reach the two girls.

          Fleur groaned in pain once her forehead made contact with the invisible barrier and was flung back. She landed on plants and winced as the cut on her forehead began to sting. 

          Finnick looked at Fleur in worry as she laid on the ground immobile, listening to Ben's screams, and tears slipped out of her eyes.

          Fleur let out strangled sobs as she listened to Ben's screams and slowly sat up before curling into a ball, with her knees tucked into her chest and rocked lightly as she pressed her hands against her ears, attempting to block out the screams. 

          "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Jonah. I broke my promise." Fleur mumbled in a broken voice as she closed her eyes and attempted to block out reality. 

          Finnick let out a growl once he saw how broken Fleur looked after hearing Ben's screams over and over and silently cursed the Gamemakers for their cruel, sadistic ways. What made it worse for him was the fact that he could not hold her and comfort her from the pain the jabberjays had brought her.

.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

          Fleur opened her eyes slowly when she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around Fleur's small body and pulled her close to him. She let out shaky breaths as she looked up to glance at Finnick who looked at her with an unreadable expression. 

          Fleur made a noise in the back of her throat once she saw Finnick's expression since the last time someone looked at Fleur with an expression she couldn't read, Jonah had sacrificed himself. 

          Finnick rubbed Fleur's back comfortingly as she looked over at the District Twelve tributes who were in the same position.

          "It's okay. It's okay, Fleur." Finnick whispered into Fleur's ear as silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

          "Is she okay?" Johanna asked Finnick as she gestured to Fleur who glanced at her with a blank look in her eyes.

          Finnick silently shook his head causing Johanna's jaw to clench. 

          "It's all right, Katniss." Peeta stated as he tried to calm Katniss.

          "You didn't hear them." Katniss replied.

          "I heard Prim. Right in the beginning. But it wasn't her." Peeta assured the younger girl. "It was a jabberjay." 

          "It was her. Somewhere. The jabberjay just recorded it." Katniss stated.

          "No, that's what they want you to think. The same way I wondered if Glimmer's eyes were in that mutt last year. But those weren't Glimmer's eyes. And that wasn't Prim's voice. Or if it was, they took it from an interview or something and distorted the sound. Made it say whatever she was saying." Peeta replied

          "No, they were torturing her." Katniss stated. "She's probably dead."

          "Katniss, Prim isn't dead. How could they kill Prim? We're almost down to the final eight of us. And what happens then?" Peeta asked.

          "Seven more of us die." Katniss replied.

          "No, back home. What happens when they reach the final eight tributes in the Games?" Peeta asked firmly. "What happens? At the final eight?"

          "At the final eight?" Katniss repeated. "They interview your family and friends back home."

          "That's right. They interview your family and friends. And can they do that if they've killed them all?" Peeta questioned. 

          "No?" Katniss asked in a tone that suggested she was unsure. 

          "No. That's how we know Prim's alive. She'll be the first one they interview, won't she?" Peeta asked. "First Prim. Then your mother. Your cousin, Gale. Madge." Peeta continued. "It was a trick, Katniss. A horrible one. But we're the only ones who can be hurt by it. We're the ones in the Games. Not them."

          "You really believe that?" Katniss questioned.

          "I really do." Peeta replied. 

          "See, Fleur. Ben's alive. He's okay." Finnick assured the brunette. 

          "How do you know that, Finnick?" Fleur questioned, her voice barely above a whisper. 

          "Ben's your only family and any friends you have that aren't in these Games, meaning they can only interview Ben. How can they interview the only person who knows you if he's dead?" Finnick explained causing Fleur to nod slowly. 

           "Ben's okay." Fleur repeated softly.

          "Could they do that, Beetee? Take someone's regular voice and make it. . . " Finnick asked, knowing Fleur would believe it if she had more proof. 

          "Oh, yes. It's not even that difficult, Finnick. Our children learn a similar technique in school." Beetee replied. 

          Fleur held back a choked sob as she thought, I didn't break my promise to Jonah.

          "Your fiancée is right. The whole country loves your sister. If they tortured her or did anything to her, forget the Districts, there would be. . . riots in the damn Capitol." Johanna stated with a scoff. "Hey, how does that sound, Snow? What if we. . . what if we set your backyard on fire? You know, you can't put everybody in here!"

          Everyone stared at Johanna in slight shock. Johanna shook her head before picking up some shells.

          "I'm getting water." Johanna stated as she turned towards the jungle. 

          Katniss grabbed Johanna's arm to stop her. "Don't go in there. The birds — " 

          "They can't hurt me. I'm not like the rest of you. There's no one left I love." Johanna replied as she shook off Katniss' grip and walked into the jungle. 

          Fleur leaned on Finnick, despite knowing that the screams she had heard were fabricated, it didn't numb the pain she felt from hearing it.