❝cursed you as i sleep talked❞ 

ISLA LIMPED AS FAST AS SHE COULD THROUGH THE DENSE JUNGLE. All she had to guide her were the sound of screams, and even though the pain behind them broke her heart, she did not want them to stop. If they stopped, there was a chance that it was good, but there was also a huge possibility that that meant that she was dead.

That Lexa was dead.

The blonde girl's heart almost stopped when one of the shrieks was cut short. She quickened her pace, her leg screaming at her to stop, but she couldn't. Lexa needed her, despite the fact that she was the one that caused the limping in the first place. The betrayal had left the Angler girl's mind for the time being. The only thing that she was worried about was getting to her friend and making sure that she was safe.

She burst through another bunch of leaves, and her eyes widened as she entered the clearing. She ran over to the unconscious girl on the ground that had a huge gash on her head. "Shit, Lexa. What did they do to you?"

Since she had lived in District 4 for her whole life, she had had to save many people after they got caught in the current or did something stupid in the water. That meant that she knew CPR, so she tilted Lexa's head up to open her airway and started compressions.

"Shit, Lexa. Wake up," she muttered, terrified that she would never see those brown eyes again.

Isla's eyes slowly opened, and she felt someone poking her side. She looked over and saw Johanna sticking her hand through the bars separating them. From the look on the Mason girl's face, she had been talking in her sleep again. Johanna sighed, "You have got to stop cursing. It freaks Annie out."

"Sorry," Isla breathed out. She had been having dreams ever since the arena, and it changed every time. Some featured the man on top of Lexa, about to kill her, while in others, she was already dead. Sometimes, she never even made it to the woman. She glanced down at her heavily bandaged leg that was doing better. The Capitol's medicine was a lot better than what they had in the districts.

"That's not the only reason I woke you up, though," Johanna told her, and Isla looked over when she heard a light sob to see Annie crying in the corner of her cell. The Mason woman looked at the red headed woman in pity before informing the blonde, "Some guy came in a little bit ago and told us all the Victors from District 4 that died. Mags was on the list."

That made Isla freeze. Mags — the sweet old woman that never had an unkind thought about anyone. She was the strongest woman that Isla had ever known, and she was a role model and mentor. She was the closest thing that Isla had to any kind of parent since her mother died.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a cell opening. Two Peacekeepers threw Peeta onto the ground inside his cell, and the Angler girl guessed that they wanted him on TV again. She raised her eyebrows at him, shaking away the tears about Mags, "What did they make you say?"

"They had me call for a ceasefire," he groaned, pushing himself back so that he was propped up against the wall and tilting his head back so that it hit the stone behind him.

The blonde girl sighed loudly, wanting to go bang her head against the wall. Johanna stared at him in disbelief before rolling her eyes as she scoffed, "For fuck's sake."

"I'm sorry," he muttered, and he looked so upset and terrified that they would be mad at him. Isla felt bad for reacting like that because she really was not mad at him. He was being really strong about all they were doing to them.

"No, it's not your fault. It's the fucking Capitol," Johanna assured him, shaking her head. They had tortured him and the rest of them, and no one blamed him for calling for a ceasefire because the people in District 13 that mattered and that knew him knew that he did not mean it. Johanna then raised her voice, staring up at the cameras in their cells. "It's Snow. You hear that, Snow? Fuck you!"

Isla sighed, knowing that that would only end awfully. The Peacekeepers were not just going to ignore her talking bad about their president like that. "Johanna—"

"No, let them take me. They can't break me. They can try, but I'm rock fucking solid," she informed them and everyone else on the hall, and the sound of doors opening and feet shuffling indicated to them that their best friends were on their way.

About ten seconds later, four Peacekeepers were unlocking the Mason girl's cell and grabbing her by her arms. Isla tried to reach her through the bars, but it was no use because they were already tugging her through the door. "Johanna! Let her go!"

"Let them do it, Isla. It's no use," the woman sighed, rolling her eyes as she let them tug her out and down the hall. They heard her yelling and cussing until a door slammed shut behind them.

As soon as she was gone, Annie started crying again. Isla scooted over to the edge of her cell to try and comfort her, even though there was an entire empty cell between them. She turned when Peeta spoke up again, and he sounded like he was in the verge of tears. "I'm sorry, Isla."

"It's okay. No one blames you," she told him. If Johanna did not tell him off and told him it was not his fault, then none of their other friends would think that he did anything wrong.

"The people in District 13 do," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. She knew who he was thinking about. He was so helplessly in love with the Everdeen girl that it was both cute and sad because everything he cared about was what she thought of him. "Katniss probably does."

She shook her head. She did not know Katniss that well, but she knew that the brunette would not just think he turned on her. She knew the at he was loyal to her and saving her. Isla did not know what they had him say in there, but Katniss would know that he was not telling the truth. "Katniss knows that you would never say that unless you were being tortured. She'll understand."

"I heard them talking, and I think they want you up there next," he informed her, and he seemed almost scared to tell her, like she'd start yelling at him. She felt awful for him. He was being tortured and threatened, and now, he had to deal with this guilt and thoughts of what Katniss believed and did not believe.

She raised her eyebrows at him, and the thought about being on TV broadcast to everyone in the country had not yet really registered in her brain. She was just so tired and hungry and in pain that she really did not care anymore. "Any idea of what they want me to say?"

"Probably something like I did," he answered. They used him to get to Katniss, which was really big because she was probably their leader or symbol. That was why they were so intent on saving her. However, they had to get through to the other Victors as well. "They want to get to Finnick and Lexa."

"Lexa doesn't care about me," she scoffed, leaning her head against the bars beside her. Lexa had made it very clear that she did not care about anyone, especially Isla, even when the blonde called bullshit on her.

He stared at her with this look of disbelief that she did not understand. He insisted, "Yes, she does. You know that. You know she cares. Besides, you should see the way she looked at you."

They both fell silent after that because Isla was not sure how to respond to that.

Later, the Peacekeepers came and got her and brought her into a room. There, half a dozen people poked and prodded at her and got her interview ready. It was like being back before the Games. They did her nails, did her hair, shaved her legs, painted her face, and threw her into a very complicated dress before pushing her into a room with Caesar Flickerman.

"Hello, everyone. Today, we are here with Isla Angler from District 4," the man announced to all of the viewers. The Angler woman's foot bounced nervously and violently, and she prayed that he did not ask her anything hard to answer. She knew that she was being selfish, but she really hated being in front of the camera. "Isla, I'm happy to see you again, and I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances. Now, were you aware of the scheme happening among your allies, the one to get Katniss out?"

"No," she answered with a shake of her head. Peeta's words were replaying over and over in her head, what he said about Lexa. If it was true and Lexa did care about her, then she had to be careful about what she said.

He raised his eyebrows at the woman, and he leaned forward in his seat. She knew from the look on his face that he was about to say something that she would not be pleased with. "So, are you telling me that Finnick Odair, your own District Partner and former Mentor, left you out of plan completely and then le ft you behind in the arena?"

"No," she answered confidently. She glanced down at the bracelet on her arm and began playing with it, running the knots through her fingers. Wherever he was, Finnick had to know that she was not mad at him. "He did what he had to do."

"Well, what about Lexa? You put your life on the line for her many times in that arena, despite not knowing her very well, and she hurt your leg and then ran off, leaving you behind," Caesar said, and the longer he talked, the more her blood boiled.

Her fists grasped the edge of her chair so hard that her knuckles turned white. She had to tense every bone in her body to stop from lunging at him. She shook her head. "That's not what happened."

"Then, please explain because from our point of view, it looked a lot like they left you behind to save themselves," he continued, and it was obvious that he was making her upset, but he did not seem to care. He kept his pleasant smile on his face and did not seem empathetic at all.

She slammed his palms against her chair and stood up, almost leaning over him as she shouted loudly, "That's not what happened!"

"Quite selfish of them," he added, clearly not taking the hint that it was time to stop. She wondered if they told him to push her until she cracked because that was definitely what was happening. Did he have no humanity? Was he just some robot that had no feelings or thoughts about how other people feel?

"Shut up! Don't talk about them like that!" Isla shrieked, and he voice was breaking. She lunged toward Caesar, but two Peacekeepers were there to grab her and pull her back. They pulled her off camera and ripped off her microphone just as she said, "Don't talk about her like that!"