The Silent Killer (A Finnick Odair Love Story)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

His eyes are wide with pain and terror as he stares up at me. I'm frozen. I don't know what to do. I'm paralyzed with fear. Looking into his eyes wakes me up. I'm able to function. I do the first thing I can think of and whack the mutt with my blowgun. This dazes it, giving me just enough time to hoist Finnick out of the Transfer.

The mutt snaps at me, as do others, but I send darts into them. Just as one tries to bite my arm off, I shove my blowgun in its jaws, keeping its mouth unable to bite. Katniss throws the Holo into the tunnel, screaming the word 'nightlock' three times, then slams the manhole over the entrance to block the blast.

I can't keep my composure. I begin to sob, clutching Finnick like he's my lifeline. I bury my face in his chest, my tears most likely soaking through the material of his shirt. Though bleeding and in pain, he wraps his arms around me and pulls me onto his lap. At this point, I fit into him like a missing puzzle piece. My fingers have his jacket in a death grip, and I refuse to let go.

"Finnick," is all I can get out through the sobs that wrack my body. I can't help it. I almost lost him.

"Asphodel," he whispers into my hair, shocked. "Y-You saved my life. I was going to die. You...you saved me."

My sobs slowly calm, but I can't seem to stop murmuring his name. Slowly, I look up at his face. My fingers shake as I touch his face, terrified that this isn't real.

"Is this real?" I whisper, my voice quivering. "Are you really alive?"

"It's real, baby," he says shakily, his voice hushed. "You're okay. I'm okay. We're okay."

I gently run my right hand through his hair while my left is held tightly in both of his hands. I'm still shaking from the fear of losing him, my eyes wide and panicked. He moves my hand so it's over his heart.

"Feel that?" he murmurs. I do. I feel the constant, steady beating of his heart beneath my hand. My eyes locked on his, I nod. "As long as it beats, it will be for you."

He removes his hands from mine, instead placing one hand on the back of my neck and the other on my cheek. He kisses me in a way so desperate, yet savoring, as if he wants to remember this moment for the rest of his life.

"I love you," he whispers against my lips. "I love you so much." Before I can reply, he's ended the kiss and has me once again wrapped in his arms.

"I never realized..." Katniss trails off.

"Me neither," Gale replies, almost awed.

"Guys," Cressida says gently, "we need to keep moving."

Slowly, Finnick and I get to our feet. I can't even force myself to let go of him. I'm clutching his arm that he has wrapped tightly around me as we walk, horrified at the thought of letting go for even a second. It's utterly silent, only growing louder as we get closer to populated streets. Nobody questions us.

Having closed our cloaks to cover our weapons and torn, bloodied garments, everybody in the streets of the Capitol sees us as only a group of people. Cressida talks loudly, in an annoying Capitol accent, about the prices of furs and whatnot. My engagement ring is somehow unmarred, despite the underground battle.

We make it to a small, empty shop. Cressida talks to the owner, a woman named Tigris. Somehow, she's been surgically altered to look like an actual tiger. Striped skin stretched over her strangely feline body, whiskers, a flat nose.

"The legendary Asphodel Lethe," she says once her eyes land on me. Her quiet voice is a purr.

"They just suffered something rather...traumatizing," Cressida explains once Tigris takes in my still slightly shaking form, and Finnick's tense, guarded, and even more so protective posture as he holds me close to him.

Tigris leads us to a hidden cellar and provides us with pelts with sleep on. The cellar is rather large, even having its own small sink. Katniss runs the water until the rust coloring has cleared, then uses the clean water to clean the gaping wound on Gale's neck before she stitches it closed. Neither Finnick nor I require any stitches, so we just make our bed in the corner opposite the sink. A few pelts are laid out as a mat to sleep on, and we use our heavy cloaks as blankets.

Gale, Katniss, Cressida, and even Peeta chat quietly while Finnick and I sit in our corner in silence. I'm curled up on his lap once again, simply listening to his heartbeat.

"You saved my life," he says softly.

"That's what we do," I whisper, trying to keep my voice from cracking. "We save each other."

They pass around food, but I'm not hungry. Finnick tries to get me to eat, but I don't think I could keep it down even if I wanted to. He kisses me repeatedly, murmuring his love for me. Not once does he remove his arm from around me.

"Remember how I told you I'd like to be a writer?" Finnick asks. I nod. "I think I'll write books about all this one day. About the Games, the Quell, the Second Rebellion. Then, far away, there will be this small land where the people are fenced into their city, with no idea as to what lays outside.

"I'll model the main character to be like us, my blond hair, but with your beautiful gray eyes, and she'll be brave, smart, and undeniably selfless, like you. These people will have to choose a certain place to live and a certain way of life once they reach a decided age. Kind of like the districts, but not really. This main girl will eventually decide to live amongst the brave, but, like you, the leader of the 'superior' group of people will want her dead because she's different from everybody else. Like Snow said about you: Fear doesn't make you submit, it makes you rebel. She'll be the same way."

It's strange how we talk for hours about this book idea of his. I imagine people will love it. Neither of us notice the way Finnick's eyes light up every time I laugh. Neither of us notice the way I smile just a bit bigger whenever I see Finnick smile. Neither of us notice when Gale wakes up just long enough to hear a genuine laugh come out of me, then falls back asleep smiling because he knows the girl he loves is truly happy.

Finally, Finnick and I decide to sleep. He lays down, and I find my place on top of him.

"I can't wait to marry you," Finnick whispers.

"I can't wait to marry you, too," I counter, giving his lips a quick kiss. "I love you, Finnick."

"I love you more."

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A/N: Thank you for over 50K reads!!! As a reward to you all for being such amazing readers, I didn't kill Finnick. You're welcome ;)