𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑳𝑨𝑪𝑲 𝑫𝑨𝑯𝑳𝑰𝑨, 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒓

𝑹𝒖𝒏 𝑻𝒐 𝒀𝒐𝒖

Reconvening in the treeline on the beach, Dahlia remained silent as she mourned Alaric's death while their remaining allies gathered in a circle. The group had just lost two key members and their absence was greatly felt by all the survivors. Though her tears had long since dried up, Finnick remained diligently by Dahlia's side, his stance protective as he kept an eye on both her and Katniss.

"So besides Brutus and Enobaria, who's left?" Katniss questions the group, some kneeling in the sand with her and others reclining against the branches of a tree.

"Maybe Chaff." Peeta pipes in from behind her. "Just those three."

"They know they're outnumbered. I doubt they'll attack again." Finnick adds in his expert knowledge, glancing briefly down at Dahlia who nods her silent agreement. "We're safe here on the beach."

"So what do we do? We hunt 'em down?" Johanna asks impatiently, eager for these Games to come to an end.

Nobody gets the chance to answer before the sound of a girl screaming interrupts their schemes. The voice that follows is young, too young for any tribute in these Games. It was the scream of a child, "Katniss, help me!"

"Prim!" Katniss yells in reply, recognising the girl's voice as her sister's. Before anyone could stop her, she was sprinting from the beach shouting for the young girl. "Prim! Prim!"

The group is roused to their feet, following in pursuit of Katniss. But the person closest to the distraught girl is Finnick, who is the quickest to give chase. "Katniss! Katniss, wait!" He calls loudly, running faster than the rest of the allies in order to get to Katniss. He trusts Dahlia in the company of Johanna, Beetee and Peeta but he needs to keep the Mockingjay safe so he can get his love out of this arena alive. Arriving in a clearing with a yell of the girl's name, he finds Katniss staring wide-eyed at her surroundings. "You okay?"

"Finnick!" A woman's voice screeches, a distressed wail following after. His body freezes at the horrific sound, the colour draining from his face in fear.

Katniss knows the thought process he's going through, because she had just experienced the same thing. "Finnick!" She exclaims, trying to stop him as he runs past her. "No! It's not her."

"Lia!" He cries desperately, sprinting further into the jungle to get to her. "Lia!" He had just seen her, she was fine. Why did he leave her behind? He should've made sure she was with him at all times, shouldn't have let her out of his sight. He had never heard her sound so tortured. "Lia! Lia!"

"Finnick! It's not her." Katniss explains, harshly grabbing the man's shoulder and forcing him to listen to her. "It's just a jabberjay. It's not her."

"Well, how do you think they got that sound?" Finnick retorts, paranoid that something terrible had happened to Dahlia in the mere moments they were apart. "Jabberjays copy."

This time it's a male voice calling Katniss' name, one she identifies as Gale, while a different female screams for Finnick. Annie, the girl he regarded as a sister. The jabberjays swarm the two tributes, swooping down and taunting them with the haunting wails of their loved ones. The horrible sound follows them as they retreat back in the direction they had come from. Finnick tries to block out the screams as best as he can, but Dahlia's voice pierces his ears.