Secrets of the Sea | Finnick Odair

- chapter 27 -

FINNICK

Snow. Freezing-cold ice. He was right, the arena was designed against Cordelia. She was from Four, a District that never got snow. She'd never experienced a cold like this. The closest thing to that would be the early morning ocean, right before the sun had any chance to warm the water. Even then, her limit was only around fifteen minutes. This arena was no place for her.

Standing on that pedestal, Finnick could see the way she shook. It had been less than a minute and she was shivering. He didn't expect her games to be easy, but it was clear that these games had been designed against her.

Mags grabbed his hand and squeezed. Sitting in the mentor room was a nightmare, well the room itself was just that, a room. The real nightmare was the giant screen that broadcasted the games. It sat centrally in the room, surrounded by private rooms for each District. In that room were two main screens, with a smaller monitor in front of each, on the two main screens were two direct views of their tributes, the monitors had every other available camera angle on a tribute.

Finnick locked focus on Cordelia. She was glancing around, maybe looking for the careers? Finnick watched as she spotted Elliot and he could almost hear the thoughts running around in her head. District Four was at a disadvantage, maybe they should work together. It wasn't the worst idea but something about Cordelia working with Elliot didn't sit right. There was nothing he could do but support her as best he could, from here the best thing Finnick could do was trust that Cordelia would make the right decisions

"Ten, nine."

Something was wrong.

"Eight, seven."

Finnick watched the big screen, the close-ups of both District Four tributes proudly shown.

"Six."

Then there was one.

Both mentors watched as Elliot jumped from his podium, triggering the explosives built in for those who got off too early. The worst part is Finnick knew it was on purpose. Mags had mentioned the boy was retreating into himself. All cockiness disappearing basically overnight. When Cordelia told him about the threat from the careers, it was quickly followed by the lack of a trident in the private sessions. Finnick knew better than anyone that despite the similarities between tridents and spears, wielding one when you only knew the other was difficult. Tridents had more weight on one end, so when you tried to use a spear it was easy to find yourself overcorrecting. Pair that with a score of six, that was enough to drain confidence.

But enough for Elliot to deliberately jump? The boy was so hellbent on showing Finnick up, claiming he didn't need his help and was going to win his games faster. Yet here he was, being the reason for the first canon sounding before the games had even officially started- some volunteer.

Finnick wasn't worried about him, never really was. As always, his main focus was Cordelia. Who he had watched the whole time.

"Snap out of it Delia," Finnick muttered as the games started.

"Three, two, one. Let the games begin."

Jumping from her podium, Cordelia sprinted towards the bags and packs spread further out. Good, as long as she didn't go to the blood bath. She might survive, she had the skills, but with careers in their prime element, it wasn't the best option. Finnick silently cheered as she grabbed two packs, one in each hand, and sprinted off into the tree line.

The screen in front of him flickered, switching between cameras to show the best angle. Despite the volume of the main screen outside, Finnick could hear the quiet sobs from Mags beside him. The short, sharp breaths from Cordelia on the screen in front of him. He knew that the moment she stopped running, the second she stopped, it would all catch up to her. She would process everything and probably have a breakdown. Finnick knew her well enough to know that Cordelia hyperventilating was highly likely. And while he couldn't do anything for her, as much as it pained him, he could do something for Mags.