All for what? -A Finnick Odair x OC fic

Eighteen

   All anxiety washed off of me for a moment. For just a single second, I was home, on the beach with Finnick. The smell of sea salt drifts through my nostrils, reminding me of our early mornings on the beach. Reality hit me, just as the blazing heat set in across my whole body. This is not home, this is possibly my end. This is nothing like my prior games. It is not freezing cold, the clusters of dead tress are now a jungle, the path to the cornucopia is now water. 

  The water holds me together. Listening to the small waves, smelling the salt roll off the surrounding tides. It is comforting, in a time where I have close to none. After last night Finnick and I were pulled from eachother harshly, not to be reunited again until 60 seconds from now. 

  Last night was the longest I had been away from Finnick in years. I didn't sleep, I spent the first half of the night screaming at the door, yelling for the peacekeepers to let me out. After realizing my efforts were useless, I sat on the floor, waiting for morning. 

  I snap my head around, looking for Finnick, trying to reassure myself that he is okay, at least for the next 50 seconds. 

  I don't find him, instead I spot Peeta, Enobaria, and Beetee on my right and Seeder, Woof, and possibly Gloss to my left. This is one of the few times the one sided blindness actually becomes an issue, not wanting to twist my body anymore, I look back to the center. I cannot see Finnick. I breath heavily, feeling pain in my chest from the worry. 

   They couldn't kill him, not yet, they couldn't. 

                                Could they? 

 35 seconds left. I feel my heartbeat in my throat. I run hands over my face, bracing myself for the dive I will soon take.

  I spot the belt, pre-filled with throwing knifes, just ahead of me, waiting for me to reach. 20 seconds left. 

   I take a deep breath, 15 seconds. Exhale, 12 seconds. Once more, and then again, 3 seconds left. One final deep breath and the horn fills my ears. My body tenses and I dive in.

   I reach the cornucopia first, grab the knife belt and latch it around me quickly. I wrap my fingers around one of the blades, turning to come face to face with Finnick. I freeze and relief floods over me, "Go help Peeta! I'll find Katniss."

  Finnick is okay. He is alive. I watch him look into my eyes for a solid second before he turns to find thew mockingjay.

  I turn away from him, against everything I actually want to do. I spot Peeta, fighting with a male tribute, one from Distict 10. I run across one of the long barriers until I reach Peeta. The tribute has a machete, Peeta is unarmed. 

  "Peeta!" I hear Katniss behind me, her and Finnick are approaching. 

   I dive into the water, moving as fast as I can to reach him. I come up for air to find Peeta and the other tribute are now under the water. I grip the knife harder, making sure I have a hold on it, then I dive back under. 

 I cannot see anything under the water, just two figures fighting, no way of knowing who is who. Before I can think of what to do, the water around me fills with a deep red. 

  I reach the surface, Finnick now beside of me. He holds me with one arm, "Ivy, are you hurt? Are you-"

   "I- I don't know who is-"

  I am cut off by Peeta rising to the surface, gasping for air. I reach for him, assisting him in reaching the shore. 

  "We have to get out of the open," Finnick shouts above the chaos. 

 "We?" Katniss responds, grabbing ahold of Peeta as we are fully out of the water. 

 I glance over to her, but ignore the question. I point to the trees, "That way, Peeta you take the lead! With that leg you could fall behind."

  Finnick's hand runs over my back, "You gonna be okay?" His eyes travel down to my own leg, the left one has given me less and less issues over the years, but there is no telling how it will hold up with the new strains I'll be adding onto it. 

  "I'll tell you if I'm not," I force a smile to him, but I am not as sure as I may seem.