The Sixty-Eighth Hunger Games

Chapter 4- FINNICK

After an hour of talking, we've come up with as good of a plan as we can. We don't know what the arena will be like, so it's hard to prepare, but we know that James will not be joining the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. Addie, however, will be. She's been told to try to avoid the fray as much as possible, and grab anything that seems useful. Then, she'll meet James a little ways away and they'll try to stay off the radar as much as possible. That's it. That's our whole grand plan.

We didn't discuss what will happen if it's down to just her and James, but we all know what will have to be done. As much as I hate it... it has to happen somehow.

Addie and I walk James back to his room, and once I tuck him into bed, I ask Addie if she wants to see the observation deck on the roof of the train car. There's something I need to explain to her, and I'd rather do it away from the other mentors.

It's amazing up here, away from the lights of the District. I know that Addie has probably never been outside of District Four, and, regardless, this is a definitely new experience for her. The stars are almost as bright as the screen in her room, and I can see the silhouettes of the mountains against the speckled sky. Suddenly, Addie throws her arms out and closes her eyes, letting the wind whip her hair. The wind doesn't smell like rotting fish, like it does back in District Four, and if I can feel the difference, then Addie most certainly can. She turns around when she hears me laughing and grins.

"What?" She asks, starting to laugh too.

I shake my head. "No reason." There is a reason, though. I love seeing her happy. And that makes me wonder... I can't like her. I can't. One way or another, she'll be gone by the end of this week. Lost in my thoughts, I almost forget why I'm up here until Addie says, "So, I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing."

"And that is...?"

"You first," I say, curious.

Addie hesitates, seemingly unable to phrase her question. "Okay so, I don't wanna sound rude when I say this or anything, but... why did you volunteer for the Games? You don't seem like the Career type."

I lean forward, resting his forearms on the steel railing. "That's actually what I wanted to explain." I pause for a moment, gathering my thoughts.

"My parents, they saw it as an honor. They brought me up thinking that the Games were good, and as a kid, I was just waiting for the day when I could volunteer. But then, one night, my parents went out fishing, just like yours. They... never came back either." I turn to meet Addie's eyes, and notice that she's staring off into the distance. Probably thinking about her own parents.

"I didn't know what to do. I didn't have a way to support either of us, but I figured I had a shot at the Games, so I volunteered, even though I was really young. Everyone wrote me off as a Career, and I guess I was, but... I dunno. It felt different, somehow."

"What about James?" Addie asks. "How could you just leave him?"

"I had a friend promise to take care of him if I didn't make it back. It was so hard-" My voice breaks. "-so hard to leave him, but I figured he'd have a better life if I was able to win. And he did. For a while at least."

My voice trails off and we stand in silence for a bit.

"I had a brother." Addie says, looking down. "His name was Cameron."

She pauses, and I don't pressure her to keep talking, but she does anyway. "He was killed by the Peacekeepers because he was part of a group trying to start a rebellion, and... I never understood why he did it. But I think I do now."

Addie looks up at me. "The same reason you volunteered for the Games. He was trying to create a better life for me. And I've always been so confused as to why. I'll admit I hated him for what he did for-" she laughs. "For quite some time. But now I get it."