The Sixty-Eighth Hunger Games

Chapter 16- FINNICK

I hate to admit that I actually cheered when I saw Nick fall off the cliff. I don't like the feeling of joy that came from watching the death of a boy who's only two or three years younger than me, but I like to think that it's different than the cheers of the Capitol people. They're cheering simply because they like Addie and want a good show. Some cheer because they've bet money on her. But I cheer because, unlike the animals outside, I care about what happens to the tributes in the arena. Not for money reasons, or for entertainment, but because I care about who they are as a person.

So when Nick plummeted off the cliff and the cannon boomed, I was actually glad. The amount of relief I feel as I watch Addie and James fall into a warm hug is astounding. Now that Nick is out of the picture, I hope they'll stand a better chance.

Their chances increase when I notice what Brie and Art have been doing. Art has distracted Torrac and drawn him out of the Cornucopia, and Brie has just ducked inside. She starts shoving random items into bags, just like the last time she was here, and throws it a good distance away from the structure. I unmute just as I hear Art taunting Torrac.

"Hey, ya big idiot!" His insults could use some work, that's for sure. Regardless of how good they are, they still make Torrac mad enough to go after the kid. Just as he's about to charge forward, Brie's shout stops him.

"Hey! What the nerd said! Over here!" Torrac whirls around to see Brie standing in the middle of the Cornucopia, hand raised in the air. "Deja vu, anyone?" she asks. "Nope, just me?"

"Last time you didn't blow it," Torrac says. He heaves his sword into the air. "Not gonna work two times in a row."

"But nobody said I wouldn't blow it this time," Brie counters. She flashes him a brilliant smile. "You never know."

On the screen broadcasting Addie and James, I see them start running through the trees, towards the Cornucopia. I don't bother unmuting them.

They break into the clearing, and Torrac visibly jumps, and then asks, "More friends of yours?" He's trying way too hard to be cocky. It's not working well.

"You could say that." Brie sends Addie a look of relief. No doubt she was wondering whose death the cannon signalled.

"So now what?" Torrac asks, putting on an annoyed tone. "I'm just gonna stand here and you run off with all my stuff again?"

"Sure. Or, I could do something else."

Art motions for Addie and James to step back, and by the looks of it, as his motions grow larger, they need to move a whole lot more.

Brie's smile stretches even further across her face, although I didn't think that was possible. "I really wanted to be the one to do this."

I flinch as I realize what's about to happen. Torrac seems to realize as well, because he turns and tries to sprint in the opposite direction, but he isn't fast enough. He's caught up in the blast of shattered wood, heat, and random bananas that came flying from somewhere.

A moment later, two cannons go off.

I enlarge the screen, trying to find my friends in the wreckage. Art makes his way across the clearing, which has expanded due to the blast. There are multiple trees down, and a patch of bare earth where the snow has been melted away sears the ground where the Cornucopia used to be. Bits and pieces of the Cornucopia are scattered throughout the clearing, and Art picks his way through the rubble. Brie's bags have been incinerated as well, and I hope that my brother hasn't joined them. The bags obviously weren't far enough away, and I can only hope that the others were safe too.

It's not exactly my lucky day. When Art pulls a tree branch aside, James has a stream of blood trickling down the side of his head, and Addie is wincing as she holds her arm, where a shard of wood is sticking out. At least they're both alive.