L O C K E D- Finnick Odair

EIGHT

《'°•~Chaper Eight~•°'》
Drink up

FLASHBACK

FINNICK HAD RETURNED home in less than two weeks. I had refused to watch those games, for the fear that I would have to watch him die. I had no idea what the arena was like or who Finnick had killed. The only thing I cared about now was that he was alive.

Everyone was ushered to the Square to welcome him back to the district. He stood on the stage where he had been reaped only days ago, but now he was different. He had a gold crown on and expensive clothes. He waves to the crowd with a charming smile as the people clap and cheer that District Four finally had a victor.

I make my way to the front of the crowd. "Finnick!" I yell, trying to get his attention. His gaze switches over to me for a split second, and I'm one hundred percent sure he sees me, but he quickly looks away and doesn't look back in my direction.

After more cheering, Finnick is escorted off the stage by Valentina Mackenden and District Four's only other victor, Mags Flanagen. I push through the crowd to find him, and when I do, he has a cold look on his face.

"You did it!"

He looks at me like I'm a stranger. "I have to go," he says flatly. "They're showing me to my new house."

And Finnick Odair leaves.

THREE YEARS LATER

Finnick and I aboard the train, tears blurring my vision and staining my face. We sit on two navy blue chairs in silence. I haven't spoken to him since the day he returned from the Games, and even though I wanted to tell him so much, I still had nothing to say to him.

I had spent the last three years getting beaten by my father for the smallest things. Finnick had broken his promise of protecting me from my father, all because of the fame. In the Square, I would hear rumors of him taking random trips to the Capitol, and I had also heard his brothers had been turned into Avoxes after his victory, but it was all too hard to believe.

"Crying isn't going to help anything," Finnick mumbles. "But I guess that's what you do best."

What had happened to him? He had changed so much, from being comforting and kind to being so rude and arrogant. I hated him, and not for breaking for his promise, but for leaving me for the life of fame.

PRESENT DAY

I awake with a gasp. Finnick still sits next to me, the trident in his hand, his other resting on my arm. I mumble and sit up, propping myself against the tree.

"Are you okay?" he asks quietly.

I mumble a yes. "I can take watch now if you want to sleep."

He scoots up a little and says, "I can't." Sweat trickles down the side of his face. "You weren't even asleep for an hour." I glance over at Katniss and Peeta, Peeta sleeping, and Katniss watching over him.

"Are they okay?" I ask him.

He looks over at them. "Just dehydrated, like the rest of us." We sit in silence for a while. There's not much to talk to about while wondering if you're going to live another day.

"What happened to you, Finnick?" I dare to ask.

"Emmeline."

"No," I say sternly. "What happened to make you hate me? Why did you never talk to me?"

"It's not that simple," he says, looking over at me with a sad look in his eyes. "You know that."

He's talking about working for snow. If you refuse, he'll kill someone you love. I had refused, and my father and brother were murdered by Peacekeepers. Finnick had agreed, so I still never understood why he had ignored me for so many years.

"The day of the reaping, Snow saw you kiss me," he explains. "He told me that when I had gotten a little older, he would have me do jobs for people in the Capitol. If i were to say no, he would hurt you or my brothers, so I tried to make it seem like we weren't friends. I know you know that because he said the same thing to you."

I can't believe he's saying this in the arena, with all of the gamemakers watching. But then I remember: All twelve districts can see us.

He continues. "When I turned seventeen, Snow decided it was time. I refused, so on the day of your reaping, every single slip in the bowl had Emmeline Whitlock written on it," he tells me.

My mouth parts slightly at what I'm hearing. There's no way my games were rigged. I'm not saying Snow wouldn't do something like this, but it's all so hard to believe.

"I told him that if you lived, I would work his jobs," his voice breaks. "And you know Snow, he doesn't like when people try to compromise with him. So that's when.... he killed my brothers."

He drops his trident and grabs my hand. "I just wanted to protect you, Em." he looks at me, hoping I'll give some sort of sign of forgiveness. "I told Mags to volunteer for you because I just knew that your name was going to be called."

A single tear falls down his cheek. "Finnick," I say, weakly smiling as I wipe his tear away with my thumb. I pull him in for a hug, and he holds me tightly, the same way he had a decade ago in District Four's justice building.

We're interrupted by a faint beeping noise, and to our surprise, it's a parachute. Katniss wakes up Peeta, and she brings the silver container to us. She opens it effortlessly, and inside is a small metal cylinder.

"What is it?" I ask eagerly.

Katniss examines it in her fingers. "I think it's a spile," she says, showing us the note that came with it.

Drink up. -H

I have no idea what a spile is until Katniss brings it over to the closet tree and hammers it into the trunk. We stand there for a few moments, waiting for something to happen, and finally, water pours out of the cylinder.

We all gasp in excitement, and Katniss moves her mouth underneath the spile, drinking the stream as if she had never had water before.

"You're kidding me," Finnick says with a grin on his face as Peeta drinks. Finnick takes his turn and breathes heavily as the water fills his mouth. At last, it's my turn, and as the water trickles down my throat, I immediately feel better.

We all take turns for several minutes until we sit in silence. The quiet is quickly disrupted by loud bangs in the distance, almost like a clock. "I counted twelve."

"Midnight?" Finnick asks curiously.

"Or the number of districts," says Katniss. Momentarily after, a tree across the arena is struck by lightning, lighting up the dark sky.

"If you guys aren't going to sleep, I will," Finnick says, heading back over to the log. He lays down and closes his eyes out of exhaustion.

I doze off, but I'm shocked back to reality when I hear Katniss stand up next to me. "You okay?" I whisper, but she doesn't respond. We both turn our heads slowly to see a cloud of fog creeping through the rocks and down the hill. The mysterious haze gets nearer and nearer, and when it's only inches away, Katniss and I curiously reach our fingers out to touch the cloudy air.

Chapter 8- 1328 words

'°•~~•°'
-Olivia