Skimming by // Katrina One-shot

She’d known something was off that morning. She just couldn’t place it at the time.

Looking back she realized it had been the birds. They had been absent from the docks. The wharf had been devoid of the cry of gulls. Hell, even the fish hadn’t been biting. It had been eerily silent. Too late to worry about that though. Too late when she saw the wall of water coming towards her. She put the motor of her small boat on the highest speed it could go and she knew it wasn’t going to be enough. Not nearly enough. 

She was a career of the highest caliber. An Olympic medalist.  Had won more fights than she cared to count.

The ocean didn’t give a single fuck about any of that.

The water hit and launched her little boat into the air, riding the wave like a cowpoke in ten might have ridden a horse. She held on to the side for as long as she could but it wasn’t enough and she slipped off. Once in the water she kicked and struggled, tossed by the waves and trying to break the surface. But through the murk she couldn’t see the surface. Couldn’t find it. After a few minutes she had to open her mouth and took in a breath that was equal parts salt and silt; burning her throat, choking the life out of her. This is how it ends? She thought wearily, angrily.

Katrina blacked out.

She came to a minute later when she slammed into something hard. She felt a sharp pain in her side and wondered if she’d broken a rib. She opened her eyes blearily, mouth clamped shut and found she was actually above water; or at least her top half was. She had slammed into a tree branch, one that was thankfully still connected to the trunk in a tree that was still rooted, even though the water was still surging around her. She sucked in the air greedily before pulling herself up and straddling the limb like it was the only thing keeping her anchored to the world, which it was.

But it wasn’t until she looked down and saw part of a roof go floating by that she realized just how screwed she really was. The branch she was holding onto was high up, and when the water went down –if- it went down, she’d be stuck two dozen feet above the ground.

That was alright. She told herself. She’d figure it out.

She didn’t need anyone.

A moment later her heart sunk.

Irene and Juliette were out there somewhere, and she was powerless to do anything to find them. They, they would probably need help.

Katrina slowly eased herself back, until she could feel the trunk of the tree.  Collecting her thoughts, and finally hearing the noise around her. The roar of the ocean's fury was peppered with the creak and crash of buildings giving way.  People were screaming. People were dying. She looked to her right, in the direction of the district and saw the waves bring down a whole block, shapes that couldn't be fish twisting in the churning muck.  She looked back towards the ocean and saw nothing. The docks were gone, buried under a ton of water; if they were even still attached, which she doubted.  

She coughed, tasted copper, brought her fingers to her lips and took them away crimson. Wonderful. I can add internal injuries to the list of the things to worry about.  As she sat in the tree branch, ignoring the cries of people and the rush of the waves beneath her she thought about life in four, and how it was never going to be the same.  She thought about the lack of victors in four and wondered briefly if this tidal wave was created by the Capitol, perhaps to punish them for not doing better in the arena. For making the finale, only to die; even the finale where Leon Krigel won had been tainted by the death of a strong district four career.

 It wasn't for lack of trying. Katrina had seen a lot of damn good careers go into the arena and die, either because they made mistakes or because of the unpredictable happening.  Like that blond bimbo in eleven somehow churning out two victors in a row. Or the tsunami.  Katrina made herself a promise right then and there.  No matter what, she'd never let herself be taken off guard again. She'd pay more attention to things, account for every outcome and nothing and nobody would do this to her. 

She coughed again and spat a bloody gob into the rising water, eyes trailing to her feet as she did so. 

Katrina sighed. 

On top of everything else she would need to buy new boots.