Dead in the Water | An Odesta Fanfic

Chapter Eleven

During her whispered argument with Finnick, Annie had missed Kai's interview. When he came sneaking into her room that night, Annie was sitting on her bed, gazing up at the ceiling and wondering what the morning would bring. She was still in her dress, which had settled around her on the mattress like an ocean of silk. Kai opened the door without a word, and crawled up on the bed beside her.

He was quiet. That was more concerning than anything else that had happened that day. Usually, Kai came bounding in with twice as much energy as her and three new stories. But tonight, he sat next to her and simply stared at the wall, as if he were looking at something she couldn't see. Had she scared him that badly with her interview? Was he being overwhelmed with visions of her death as much as she had been tortured by the idea of his?

After several minutes of silence, Annie asked, "How did the interview go?"

Kai looked up at her. "Didn't you see it?"

And there she went again, only making life worse for him. "I –" There was no use avoiding the question. "I'm sorry, Kai. I was still upset after my interview and I guess I wasn't paying attention."

He nodded.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to miss it."

"It's okay." he said. "It wasn't much. Caesar just asked me about you and about what life is like back home."

So Caesar had taken the hint and finally talked about the brother and sister in the games. "Well, at least they were easy questions, right?"

Kai nodded again. Annie sighed. This wasn't how she wanted to spend their last evening together. "I'm glad you came in to see me," she told him. "I was feeling lonely in here."

He moved closer to her. "I wish we could stay right here forever." he whispered.

"Me too."

​He was quiet again for a moment. It was best to let him go at his own pace. "Annie," he said slowly. "What you said in your interview..."

So she had frightened him. How could she have been so careless? "What about it?"

​"I don't want you to die for me."

​She hugged him tighter. "I promised mom I would keep you safe, Kai."

​"Yeah, but," she could hear the tears in his voice. "What if I don't feel safe in a world without you?"

Annie froze. Since Kai's name had been called at the reaping, she had always been ready to die. Life had always ended for her in the arena. She had never imagined what it might be like to win the games, to be the surviving child sent home to grieving parents. Was it really bravery that pushed her towards self-sacrifice? Or for some selfish, horrible reason, did she want to be the one to die? She had never wanted to live in a world without Kai, but hadn't thought what he would be in a world without her.

"Oh Kai." Annie said, and leaned her head against his as a few tears ran down her cheeks. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"No, it is! You shouldn't be thinking about things like this. I never should have gone and shouted at Caesar."

"It wouldn't change the fact that one of us has to die." Kai said. "It's not your fault, Annie."

What thirteen year-old should be saying things like that? Why did he have to grow up so quickly? "I promise you, I'm not going to go throwing myself into danger in that arena." said Annie. "I'm not trying to get myself killed. I'm just going to try and survive. We are going to try and survive. It's not a question of which one of us is going to die. We'll deal with that when we get to it. Right now, it's a question of whether we can survive."