The Capitol Star • A Finnick Odair Story

Thirteen

The steel door swung open and peacekeepers came into the room with guns strapped onto their backs.

They began to grab Peeta from his armpits and drag him out.

"Peeta? PEETA? NO NO DONT TAKE HIM NO! PEETA NO PLEASE PLE-" her plea's were cut short by the bang of the door being slammed shut. Her breath quickened and she scurried to the corner of her room, sobbing and trying to catch her breath.

She cried out for help, for anybody, but nobody answered. Aria couldn't catch her breath.

Minutes passed, maybe hours. Aria didn't even know what time of day it was. All there was, was darkness.

"We're never getting out of here." A voice croaked.

Aria slowly lifted her head, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Johanna?"

"Hey." Johanna chuckled, leaning her head against the bars. Her face was stained with blood and so were her arms. Her lip was busted and so was her eye.

"Are you okay? What happened??"

"I didn't listen to them. They fucking beat me. Beat me like there was no tomorrow. I almost believed there wasn't going to be." She ran a hand through her bloody hair.

Arias mind raced.

"Finnick's okay." Johanna's voice echoed.

"..what?" Aria mumbled.

"I overheard them talking about it outside my hospital room. They were talking about rebels who escaped, Finnick, Katniss, Beetee, they all escaped."

Relief flooded Arias body as she cried out tears of joy. She rested her head against the cold concrete, soothing her headache.

Hours later the door slammed back open. The peacekeepers threw a lifeless body in the cell next door.

"PEETA?!?" Aria screamed, reaching for the bars. The door slammed back shut and their footsteps receded away down the hall. Aria grabbed his hand through the bars. "Peeta??" She shook him.

"Peeta please, please wake up please." She shook his arm through the bar, his chest not rising nor falling, "please Peeta please." She sobbed.

She fell asleep holding his hand through the bars.

Aria was woken up to the sound of the lock on her doors clicking open.

"No please," she pleaded with the guards as they dragged her out by her shoulders. She didn't even fight back. There was nothing left in her.

"Youll be okay, you know." The doctor said as he strapped her down to the bed. He was young, light brown hair fell just above his eyes. He looked about 16 years old, his green eyes shimmered in the light as he smiled at Aria lightly.

"I don't know about that." Aria closed her eyes, a tear falling from her eye.

"I'm sorry." His eyes sulked down and his smile touched the bottom of his chin. "I don't want to be here any more than you do."

Her brow furrowed and her eyes frantically searched his. More doctors came into the room and he straightened his back as he tightened the last strap on her wrist.

"No, no don't leave, NO, NO PLEASE!" She cried out, thrashing in the bed, the straps tearing her skin open. The doctors put a small amount of morphine into her IV, just enough to get her to calm down.

"Now tell me. What is your name?" They asked.

"Aria, Aria Ricci." She whispered.

"Do you know where you are right now?" They scribbled random shit on their clipboards.

"Jail." She remarked, snorting.

"Funny. Where are you." The doctor asked again.

"I said what I said." Aria hissed through clenched teeth. The man in front of her slapped her roughly across the face, earning a grunt from Aria, her jaw hung open in surprise.

"Don't play games with me, girl." The doctor's eyes flashed darkly and Aria felt fear. Genuine fear. "Let us show you what you are dying to see." His eyes widened and a small smile stretched across his face.

His hands reached for a syringe and placed it into her IV. Sharp pains shot throughout her body and she screamed out for help. She called out a name in particular. One she never guessed she would.

"FINNICK!"

—

Her breath quickened and she shot up in her cell. Aria cried out and felt for anything safe on her body, maybe even to check if she still had a body.

"Aria! ARIA! It's okay Aria you're safe." Peeta called out for her and she held her heart in her hand, breathing heavily.

"Peeta I thought you were dead." Hot tears ran down her sunken-in cheeks.

"I'm okay Aria, and so are you."

Her body felt as if it was deteriorating.

"Finnick, he tried to kill me.." memories flashed in her head.

"No Aria he didn't." Peeta grabbed her hand.

"He tried to slice my throat with his trident-" her hands traveled up to her neck and felt for a scar on her throat. She winced as she pulled away, feeling scabby blood all over her neck. There was an open cut that stretched from one side to the other. "See? SEE?" She cried out.

"No, no Aria no. The Capitol did that to you. Please Aria stay with me." Peeta begged out for her as her eyes frantically scanned over her hands at the fresh blood that coated them.

"I can't, I can't do this, Peeta I can't." Aria sobbed and gripped at her hair, pushing herself away from Peeta and against the wall.

"No Aria, please don't leave me. Aria please." Peeta reached through the bars, trying to grab her, or the thin fabric that just covered her front side.

"I can't do this. I can't do it." She sobbed and grabbed onto herself for comfort. For anything she could.