Accepting a False Fate • Finnick Odair

The Restart

12 July 70PD

Fiddling with the hem of his shirt, Finnick watches intently as his two tributes hike through the woods, back towards the Cornucopia. The pair have decided that they need to venture back and take the risk of bumping into the careers because they are in desperate need of food. It is now day 3 in the arena, and only one person has died since the bloodbath.

"How are they doing?" Mags enquires as she sits down beside Finnick, "Brutus said there's still been no more deaths."

"They're fine. Jonah suggested they head back to the Cornucopia for food, so that's where they're going now."  The boy's eyes do not divert from the screen as he speaks to Mags.

Inside the arena, Luna and Jonah are both watching their backs as they walk towards the centre of the arena. It's quiet, almost too quiet. As they get closer to the Cornucopia, they expect to hear the careers, but they don't. All their can hear is birds chirping.

"We are almost there, I don't think the careers are here so we should just get in, get supplied, and get out as quickly as we can." Luna notices that Jonah's voice is shaky as he speaks. He is scared. He doesn't want to admit it as he wants to keep the girl calm, but he is just as worried as she is.

"That is fine. I think it is best if I grab our supplies, I am quick. You keep watch, we need to make sure we are covering our backs." Jonah nods in agreement of the girl's suggestion, understanding that if they let their guards down, they'll be at a big risk of being killed there and then.

As they reach the metal structure, Luna enters and begins searching for food, whilst Jonah waits at the entrance, knives in hand, on lookout. The redhead opens her backpack and stuffs in as much bread, cheese and fruit she can see in, then moves on to adding in bags of trail mix and oat bars.

"My my, what do we have here?" Luna snaps her head around as she hears a voice she does not recognise. The female tribute from 5 is standing in front of Jonah, a grin adorning her face. "Both halves of 4? Well this is going to be fun, two kills in one go.'

"I wouldn't step any closer if I were you. There's two of us and one of you." Jonah speaks up, trying to warn the girl that he will kill her. "We are giving you an out. Just leave us be and you can stay alive."

The girl lets out a mocking laugh and steps forward, "Oh, I am so scared. What are you going to do about it?" The girl takes another step, and so Jonah stabs her just below her left collarbone. She lets out a loud shriek as the boy aggressively yanks the knife out of her flesh. He uses his head to gesture towards the woods, and Luna takes the hint. She grabs their bags and takes off running back in the direction they came. As she enters the woods, a cannon boom sounds. Jonah has killed the girl. Or even worse, she has killed him.

The pair had agreed that, if they got split up, they would meet back at the cave, and so Luna makes her way back there. She can hear her own blood rush in her ears, her nerves sky high now she is alone. Going into survival mode, the girl chucks the bags deep into the cave and hides just inside the entrance.

Luna cannot tell if seconds or hours have passed, but she stands, hidden and silent, waiting. She hears hurried steps getting louder and louder, evidencing that whoever they belong to has found the cave and is making their way there. Acting quickly and on instinct, Luna raises the knife and thrusts it towards the intruder, but quickly stops herself when she sees that it is Jonah. She looks at him, guilt taking over her as she sees the fear in his eyes. If she had not stopped her actions quick enough, she would have taken her ally's life.

"Jonah." The girl sighs, her voice breaking. "I am so sorry. I- I thought you were someone else."

"It's okay. I thought about announcing myself but decided against it in case it alerted someone of our presence. I have to admit it, it is reassuring knowing you could defend yourself if it came to it."

"After that, I can't. The fear I just saw in your eyes is something I never want to see again, let alone cause." The boy pulls the girl into an embrace and whispers soothing words to the girl, calming her down.

After eating some of their newly acquired food for dinner, the tributes from 4 decide to make a plan for the following day. Whilst they were eating, two more cannons went off, signifying two more deaths.

"So, I was thinking that tomorrow we head to look for another place to camp. The tributes from 6 hide throughout the games so it won't be long until they find us. It is also likely the careers are looking for caves as most people use them for safety and shelter." Jonah explains. His logic is correct, even if the thought of leaving the cave terrifies the girl, and so, she reluctantly agrees.

"I think it's best we get some rest. I will take first watch." Luna nods. The boy does not argue, knowing that the girl is stubborn and it would be useless to waste his breath, and so instead he lays down and slowly drifts to sleep.

Luna does not wake the boy at all through the night. Instead she remains awake listening to cannons echo throughout the arena periodically as the hours pass. Eight. Eight cannons. Eight children killed in less than 12 hours.