To Save a Victor

Chapter 21

You guys are officially the bestest!  And for being the bestest I give you... dun dun dun... two chapters in two days! Please enjoy you wonderful humans. 

Morning came all too quickly. The ringing in my ears was enough to drive me from sleep when the sky was still dark. Maneuvering my way out of Hank's arms, I silently slipped out of the house and down to the beach. The sand was cool beneath my toes. Cool air blew in from off of the sea as it crashed against the shoreline. I dropped into a cross legged position, looking out over the ocean. There was a tickle in the back of my brain. Something deep down inside my soul that told me that this might very well be the last time I saw this view. That this might be the last time I got to watch the sunrise from this spot. I took a deep breath, trying to fight the anxiety that started rising at the thought of everything to come.

Breath in.

Breath out.

In.

Out.

A gust of wind blew the strands of hair that had fallen loose of my braid into my face, forcing me to reach up and pull them out of my mouth. Something about that was so normal it was painful. Nothing about this world seemed right, but even living in this society of supposed perfect people, I still got hair caught in my mouth and sand in my shoes. The fact was, comforting, somehow. That there was still a sense of normality about this whole thing. The sun always reminded me of a little kid, peeking up from behind the edge of the ocean like a child would look over the lip of the table to see if there was another cookie. As it rose, the sky changed colors like an angry god threw a bucket of paint over the horizon. Bright oranges and purples. True beauty was here, not the fake stuff that resided in the Capitol. This was so real, but so untouchable. The sound of footsteps drew me out of my musings. Finnick sank to the sand next to me. His face was unsettled, hair still mussed from sleep and probably other activities.

"This is it huh?"

"Yeah, I guess it is."

I looked over at him, "It doesn't feel real, that this might be the end."

He looked over at me, a small smile gracing his lips, "Unfortunately Beatty, it is very real. Maybe it's not the final end, but maybe it's the end of something." 

I twisted the mockingjay ring on my finger. It changed between feeling like a brand and feeling like freedom. Today, I think it felt like freedom. 

Finnick held out a scrap of paper, tied with a small piece of twine. "Give this to Annie, if I don't make it out of here."

I took it gingerly, resting it in my palm, "But I'm going in with you."

"Then give it to Hank. But don't let her read it until I am dead and gone okay?"

I tucked the small note into my pocket, "Okay."

"Thanks Spunky." The old nickname that wasn't that old, originating on this beach, two years ago, sparked something in me.

"We're going to be okay Fin."

He sighed, shoulders slumping, "I hope you're right, I pray to all the gods in this world and the next that you are."

"Do you believe in heaven, Fin?"

Finnick looked at me for a moment before turning back to the ocean and the blooming colors on the horizon. I almost didn't think he was going to answer, "I do. I believe that there is something after this, I just don't know what."

I only nodded, staring out across the water, "Good."

"Good."

Believing in something was good.