Two Evils ◦ Finnick Odair

dieci; calm before the storm

TWO EVILS.

10. DIECI: CALM BEFORE THE STORM

❝I don't want to be the one that shoots first.❞

❝What if they don't either? What if all of us refuse to shoot first?❞

❝We might still end up dead.❞

❝Maybe not. I mean, it worked for us last time.❞

❝They're not gonna make that same mistake again. You know and I know there's only one person walking out of here. And it's gonna be one of us.❞

It was the calm before the storm.

They seemed to be sitting in the eye of the hurricane, and it was just about to rain once more. Those last few hours had been surprisingly quiet and Grier loved the fact she didn't have to fight for her life, but there were still two careers in the picture. After that, she just hoped Plutarch would come through because mockingjay or not, Grier would not hesitate to kill her first if it really came down to that.

But like any storm, the calm would never last very long and death was sure to follow right behind it.

Not long after they had all settled on the beach, they were off and ready to do something dangerous once again. But that was their lives, and she couldn't do anything about it until Plutarch came with some sort of miracle to get them all out alive and somewhat safe. After this Game, she had a feeling that there would never be another chance where she could use the term safe. Safe would end up meaningless with the Capitol striking at every waking moment.

But there was never really anything safe in the first place. It was a dictatorship that lead to millions of deaths and peacekeepers that flooded your backyard. There was rarely a safe time in her life, but the revolution would make it cease to exist.

"Finnick. Grier." Joanna's voice floated over toward them causing both of them to startle, looking at each other with a slight glaze in their eyes. Grier blinked slowly before disentangling herself from Finnick's grasp, holding out a hand for him to grab her for support.

He gratefully took it, walking side by side with her as if she was the most fragile thing in the world. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Grier was feeling pretty fragile. She had been shaken to the bone causing the layers of harsh facade and angry glares to slowly peel away. Grier could feel the weakness seeping into her skin, coating it with veneer. She wanted to be strong, especially in front of her peers, but they already knew she could be strong. They knew she could be ruthless, and fierce, and an overall murderer.

It didn't matter though. There would be no way she'd break down just because of some stupid mutts. But then again, if she did, she'd have Finnick by her side the whole entire way. Kimber's words slowly started to muddle into her mind. She suddenly realized that maybe his words weren't entirely true. Sure, closing herself off possibly let her win but it also made her shoot herself in the foot for being so oblivious.

"I have a plan," Beetee spoke, looking at the group. "Where are the careers head to the safest? The jungle?"

Joanna shook her head. "Jungle's a nightmare."

"No one would ever want to step foot in that jungle," Grier added on, looking into the place where literal nightmares were made of.

"Probably here on the beach." Peeta said, grabbing a fist full of sand.

"Then why are they not here?" He asked. It was a good question. The careers weren't there because they knew that they had still claimed the beach.