It had happened quickly then he had anticipated, he was being dragged like a rag dog. He couldn't focus on anything except the fear he felt, he was being dragged to his death and he couldn't escape.

His ears ringed like crazy as he tried to grasp where he was. He let out a heavy breath as he felt his body stop, he felt the softness of sand beneath his back. He could taste the blood that coated his throat, it made him cringe as he let his fingers grip it desperately.

"I got 'em out, we were all the way deep into the jungle where I thought it was gonna be safe. I tried to find Raven, but he must've ran the opposite direction, it happened so quickly, it was raining and I thought it was water, it turned out to be blood".

Raven shook his head slightly as he felt panic slip back into his consciousness. What if this was all fake, these could easily be the beasts, they were tricking him and they clearly wanted to make him suffer.

"Hot, thick blood. It was coming down so fast we couldn't see where we were going. It was choking us and I must've tripped because I found Raven. He was freaking out just as much as us. I was lucky enough to even get him out of there alive, he almost hit the force field. It's best you just keep your distance from him... he gets paranoid around blood".

Raven let out a heavy breath as he watched Katniss look at him. He saw the way her hand twitched, almost as if she was ready to shoot him. Was she the one who was secretly the beast? Could every single person beside him want him dead? His hand twitched as he let his fingers wrap around the knife hidden beneath the thick sand. He needed to just let his mind rest for once, or he'd lose it all over again.

He threw the knife without hesitation and it flew into Katniss's side making her cry out. He stood up so fast his body burned as he looked around in panic.

He let out heavy pants as he moved back slowly "this isn't real, stay away from me! You can't trick me! I know you're not them, just stay away from me!".

He screamed when Finnick gripped his arms and tugged him back "no no! get off of me!". Finnick groaned when Raven head butted him harshly.

Raven didn't flinch when Katniss raised her bow at him, the arrow was so close to his flesh. He felt his body shut down into rage, his hands clenched into fists as his eyes turned dark.

He was in that arena, he was doing whatever it took to go home. He didn't see Katniss in front of him anymore or the entire plan of keeping her alive.

All he saw was pure darkness and fear, his body shock  as he tried to stop his mind from playing tricks on him. "It's not real, none of this is real... it's just a trick, it has to be a trick...".

He pinched his eyes shut as he pressed his fingers against his head. Johanna looked at Katniss "it's okay, I can take care of him... just lower it or else I'll have no choice but to kill you myself".

Katniss was hesitant but she saw that look in Johanna's eyes, she was desperate. No words were exchanged but Katniss knew that look so well, Johanna was begging her for this. It was clear she loved Raven, he was just trying his best.

The games had ruined him and yet she had somehow helped him not go completely mad. Katniss lowered her bow "maybe keep him away from sharp objects".

She held onto her side as Peeta tossed the knife towards the sand. "Come on, I'll see if I clean that" Katniss nodded weakly at Peeta as he led her towards the water with a quick pace.

Raven tensed up when he felt someone touch his face "hey, it's okay Raven. I promise we're all real and this isn't inside of your mind". He opened his eyes slowly as he let out a deep breath "I can't trust anyone.... You don't know what I saw in that jungle".

He looked around "they could be one of them... you could be one too. It looked just like you Jo, it talked like you and then it tried to kill me... it wasn't human and I could hear whispers. There's more than one".

Johanna let out a chuckle "hey, you can pretend I'm not real all you want, but you're safe from whatever was after you. It's probably the capitol trying to mess with you, it's not the first time".

She grabbed a hold of his hand "come on, you can't walk around covered in blood. The water will help you feel better and you'll realize this is real".

Raven nodded weakly as he walked beside her towards the water "it changed form, it was you and then it was a creature... even if this isn't real. You should at least know what's out there".

He let out a shiver when he sat down in the water, it was freezing as he let his hands sink into it. "Looks like you've had a rough night, I thought for sure I'd find you in the jungle, but we kept getting lost".

Raven sighed as he looked at Johanna, she washed the blood off her face gently with her hands. "I haven't slept much, so everything's just confusing. Enobaria pushed me off the edge of a ledge but part of me thinks it was one of those creatures messing with me. There's no way she made it that far in the jungle when I watched her go the opposite direction of me at the start. I got attacked a few times but I managed to stop them before they could kill me".

He groaned when he washed the blood off his shoulder, the wound was deep and it burned like crazy. "Looks like everyone was out to get you this time around, I couldn't tell if you were hurt or not, too much blood all over the place".

Raven smiled slightly "I guess I'm not that easy to kill after all, just kept getting back up. Despite everything going on around here, not a lot of people actually tried to kill me. Just whatever was in the jungle".

Johanna scrubbed the blood off her arms as Raven looked at her with hesitation "I tried to look for you, but I kept running into people or... whatever those things in the jungle were. Had to kill one that looked like you but it just ended up coming back".

He sighed as he sat in the water, his hands going to a stop at washing the blood off his arms. Johanna could sense the unease in his voice as it wavered slightly, he had been through a lot before, but this time was different. She would've held him, but part of her was still terrified of Snow, he was watching and so was everyone else who wanted them dead.

Yet as she looked at him, watched the way his lips quivered and his eyes sunk inward. She felt a sense of warmth, for once she didn't care if she was caught. They were going to die inside of this arena, what else could she lose within a matter of a few days?

Her hands were soft, that's the first thing that caught his attention when she held onto his face. He had forgotten how beautiful her eyes looked, he inhaled sharply as her lips locked with his.

He could taste the residue of blood that coated them, he deepened the kiss as he held onto her with agony. He couldn't watch her fade away from him, perhaps his punishment in all of this was knowing he'd lose her if everything didn't work in the end.

He prayed that by some miracle this all ended, that they'd be rescued and sent to a safe haven. A place they could be together and not have to worry anymore. He just wanted her and nothing else, he could die this very moment but he wouldn't care.

She was in his embrace, her lips were easing his thoughts. He let out a soft breath as he leaned into her forehead, he relaxed into her touch.

"Don't go" he pushed her hair back as she looked at him through her eyelashes. "I won't, I promise" she wiped the blood off his face with her hand "turn around, I'll wash the blood out of your hair".

Katniss walked along the beach and sat beside Finnick, she wiped the blood on the palm of her hands onto her pants. Her gaze looked toward Raven, his back facing her as Johanna carefully washed the blood out of his hair. She looked peaceful almost, Katniss smiled slightly but it faded when Finnick spoke.

"I didn't think it was real, not until I saw the way Raven looked at her. They had spent so many years hidden behind these masks and I didn't think much of it. They were so cold to each other every time I would see them at the capitol and you couldn't see even a single hint of love within them".

He sighed as he looked at the sand "I didn't think Raven was capable of loving someone, he was this scared kid when I first meant him, spent half of the time drunk and trying to forget his games. He never told me but in a way he did. It was the games before yours and we had both been invited to a party to celebrate another year of being mentors".

He leaned back letting his hands sink into the sand as he continued his story. "For the first time Raven was sober, I mean that's a rare thing to see for him. He didn't touch a single drink that entire party and I remember when Johanna showed up, he had this look in his eyes, he was in love".

Katniss let out a soft breath as she looked at Raven "you really think he loves her?". It was a question she was asking herself, had she loved Peeta? She let it slip away almost immediately as Finnick stood up.

"I think if you find someone, don't lose them" Finnick smiled softly before he walked away towards the water. Katniss looked at Peeta and then she stood up.

—

  Raven couldn't focus on anything, not even his own thoughts as he watched Katniss explain the arenas set up. The only thing he could pick up was the clock, and everything else was blank, Wiress sat beside him as she chanted the same words over and over.

It made him feel lightheaded as he pressed his fingers against his shoulder. The wound burned even with it being weakly patched over with the cloth of his sleeve. He flinched when he heard whispering, it coated his eardrums as he gripped the knife beside his thigh. "Raven" he let out a shaky breath.

He felt the hair on the back of his neck stick upwards as his hand wrapped around the handle of the knife. He mumbled to himself as he looked around in panic, he bit into his lips harshly as he tried to calm down.

"Raven..." the voice kept going. He would've screamed but he couldn't. His hold only tightened on the knife as he kept looking around. He gasped when he felt blood splash onto his face, felt the coldness of water soaking into the back of his head.

Wiress was gone so fast, her body pulled back into the water as he watched the light leave her eyes. He couldn't breath as he felt his body start to fall.

Johanna had never screamed so loud in her life, her eyes widened in horror as she watched Raven be pulled under the water. "Raven!" she screamed as she ran to help him, but the ground beneath her began to spin. She groaned as she flew downwards, her hands grasping onto the rock desperately.

She couldn't focus on anything as she felt the water splashing all over her. She would've let go, joined Raven on the other side. Instead she just felt someone grab her hand, help her body relax.

"Hold on" Katniss had spoken so clearly and Johanna was grateful she was beside her. Raven was gone, her heart ached as she tried to ease it all away.

She felt Katniss's hand leave hers and she gasped as she watched the girl fly into the water. She should've dropped, let herself drown alongside Raven.

The spinning stopped and she felt lightheaded as she looked around in panic. She ignored everyone else as she ran towards the spot Raven last was.

"Raven!" she looked around as she screamed his name, her hands trembled as she kneeled down towards the water. She ignored the coldness of the water as it hit her skin "Raven!".

She turned around so fast when Finnick grabbed a hold of her "no! I'm not leaving him in there, he could still be alive... I can still save him".

She whimpered as Finnick gripped her arm and moved her away from the edge of the platform. "He would've wanted you to survive Johanna, I'm sorry but he's gone and there's nothing we can do".

Johanna sneered angrily as she stormed past Finnick, her hand grasped her ax angrily "just shut up, he could still be alive! We don't know if he's even dead".

Raven couldn't breath, when his eyes ripped themselves open he grasped so tightly onto his chest. He looked around in panic and then he gagged as he hunched over and felt the water leave his lungs.

He dug his fingernails into his side as he coughed violently, he sniffed as he let out wheezy breaths. He sat up weakly as he looked around the jungle with discomfort. He opened his mouth to call for Johanna but no sound came out, only coughs.

"raven..." He grew tense as the whispering entered the breeze, he felt the sound of it get closer. He stood up slowly, ignoring the pain his body felt.

The whispering multiplied and he watched as the faces of his past began to surround him. They were all coated in blood as they kept chanting his name, he moved slowly as he tried to find a way out.

They laughed at him and he couldn't tell if this was real or not, his mind was still fuzzy and he couldn't focus on anything anymore.

They kept staring at him and laughing and he covered his ears as he pinched his eyes shut. It got louder the more he dug his fingernails into his head and he couldn't help but rip open his mouth and scream.

Johanna felt lightheaded the entire time she was with everyone, she didn't feel like herself. She wiped the water off her face with her sleeve as she sighed to herself, they had a plan and yet part of her didn't want to go through with it.

Deep down she knew what needed to be done, she'd slip away with Katniss and when the moment was right. She'd rip the tracker out of her arm, yet why was she so hesitant about it?

She would've done it in a heartbeat if Raven was beside her like he was supposed to. He'd give her reassurance as he told her the reasons of why they were doing this, part of her wanted to scream.

Perhaps it would've been easier if she just died inside of this arena, she wouldn't have to watch everything unfold if things worked or failed. She felt like Raven in this moment, her mind messing with her as she tried to figure out what was next for her.

She looked towards the sky when she heard the familiar tune of the music for the fallen tributes. She clenched her hands together as she waited to see Ravens appear in the sky, to see his eyes.

The music felt so much louder as she sat up straighter when she didn't see a single mention of Raven. "He's alive" she whispered to herself as she watched the sky fade into dark clouds.

She stood up gripping her ax tightly as she looked around slightly "I have to go". Finnick moved forward  "what, no you can't Johanna. You and Katniss need to move the wire towards the beach".

She turned around "I have to find Raven, what if he tries going to the beach to look for me? He doesn't even know about our plan, I have to warn him".

Finnick grabbed her arm and she wanted to throw up, she saw the look in his eyes. The way his lips twitched in annoyance, it was clear she couldn't get what she wanted at this moment.

She didn't care about Katniss, she shouldn't feel so guilty for wanting to leave and find Raven. He was all she had left and she couldn't watch him die, she would find him and they'd be together again.

"Johanna, you can find him after. We don't have time to do a rescue mission, not when it's close to midnight". She licked her lips in frustration "I can't just leave him out there alone, he would do the same if I was in his position. I have to do this Finnick".

He let out a soft breath "I'm sorry Johanna, but we can't afford to all die because you wanted to run off and find one person. This plan only works if we all agree on doing it, there's no backing out".

She scoffed "Ravens far more important than some stupid plan, I can't leave him out there. I promised him we'd find each other in this arena as long as we were alive. I can't just break that promise".

Finnick sighed "Johanna don't mess this up for everyone, we need you to do this. I promise when we meet again, I'll help you find Raven myself".

She knew she wouldn't win this fight "fine" she moved back angrily as she grabbed the coil of wire off the ground. "Come on Katniss, let's get this over with" she started to walk as Katniss followed behind her.

Katniss huffed when Johanna pushed the coil into her arms "I can't believe this, you'd think he'd be on my side for once. It would've been quick, Ravens not hard to find, I could've found him in time".

They kept walking as Katniss let the wire trial behind them "you think he's gonna be okay? I know you're worried but I mean, I'm sure he's okay".

Johanna sighed "he's not okay, this place isn't good for him, it'll just make him go into old habits. He's all alone and scared. He's an easy target to be killed and I can't let that happen. If he dies it's my fault".

Katniss stepped over a rock "you can't blame yourself for something like that. We didn't know he'd be alive after he went in the water, would you have blamed yourself for that too? If he was really dead".

Johanna stopped walking "of course I would, I made a promise to keep him safe in this arena. Yet I look away for a second and he's just gone. I can't even keep him safe from himself half the time, I was supposed to help him and yet I couldn't reach him in time. If I was faster maybe I could've stopped him from going into that water or if I just kept my eye on him the entire time".

Katniss smiled sadly "he would understand Johanna, you can't blame yourself for something that happened. He's going to be fine, he's probably looking for you right now, you can't freak out yet".

Johanna kept walking "let's just get this over with, I need to find Raven before it's midnight". Katniss stopped walking "what the..." the cord stopped moving "it's stuck on something".

Johanna moved forward fast when the cord snapped and Katniss tripped slightly. She slammed the end of her ax into the back of Katniss's head, making the girl fall towards the ground in a daze.

She shushed the girl as she cut open her arm "stay silent and don't move". Katniss groaned as Johanna stood up quickly and threw her ax towards the rocks.

Then she heard the distant sound of Raven screaming and it made her stand up so fast. "Raven!" The thought of having to rip her tracker out of her arm slipped away so quickly as she began to run.

"Johanna!" his voice sounded so scratchy as she heard it in the distance. "Raven! I'm over here!" she kept running, ignoring the ache in her legs as she pushed past trees and rocks. She let out heavy breaths as she ran towards the sound of the voice.

She couldn't figure out where he was but she knew he was close, she couldn't give up. Not when everything was going to work, they'd be out of here and free.

"Johanna!" She turned a corner and could see him running in the distance. "Raven!" she waved her hands in the air as he ran towards her.

She smiled at the sight of him as she ran towards him but it faded when the sky began to crack open. She panicked as she began to run faster, he was right there and yet she couldn't reach him.

"Raven!" she gasped when a piece of the dome collapsed in front of her. She moved past it as she kept  running towards Raven, she reached her hands towards his as he looked at her with panic.

"You didn't take it out... Johanna...." his arm was bleeding like crazy, she gripped his hand so tightly. "The tracker..." he gripped her arm "I.. I can fix this.. just need to rip it out.. we have time still".

He let out heavy pants as looked at her. It happened so fast, he felt the air get knocked out of his body. They flew back as the dome collapsed around them, he hit the tree so hard as he cried out in pain.

He felt the blood running down his head as he tried to keep his eyes open. Johanna laid across from him her eyes shut as blood ran down the side of her face.

"Johanna..." he groaned as he crawled towards her weakly, his hand reaching for her as the bright light emerged above them. He let out a weak breath as his eyes began to close, his hand touching the tip of Johanna's fingers as his eyes shut in exhaustion.

They were safe....

—
authors notes:
sorry not sorry....
we all knew they'd get captured at one point, I mean it bound to happen eventually. They can bond over trauma together! Seriously I was tempted to make it to where only Johanna was taken and Raven got out since he cut his tracker out. But that would be been boring to write since Johanna's like not really in mockjaying part one much, only at the end part where she's rescued. So I ended up going the route where they're both taken and it makes a lot more sense, plus when I planned this story I wanted Raven to be taken, especially since he's terrified of the capitol and snow. Anyways enjoy this long ass chapter, I wanted to end act one so I could write the next part. Hence longer chapters and less chapters. It was gonna originally gonna be ten chapters and spread out more but then as I wrote it just sorta kept going so we're here. Six chapters for this act seems fair, might do the same for the next but we'll see! Enjoy!!!!