Enchanted; A Finnick and Annie Fanfic ♥ (Currently Revising/Editing)

Chapter 25: We Won The War

I could hear the screaming all the way from the hospital. My first thought was that something bad must have happened. But, it wasn’t screaming. It was…cheering? I sat all the way up in the chair I had been sleeping in and listened. Johanna sat up from her bed, shook her head, and murmured curse words to the sounds that had woken her up.

“Are they cheering?” I asked, still slightly frightened, especially that we could hear it all the way down here.

“I don’t know. Go check it out.”

“Me?”

Even though it was dark, I could feel her giving me a nasty look. “Yes, you. I’m going back to bed.”

I got up and wrapped a silk robe Mrs. Everdeen had given me around my body. Sliding my feet into some cheap hospital slippers, I left the room, careful to be quiet since I could already hear Johanna snoring again, and followed the noise. I kept a hand on my tummy and tried to steady my breathing as I walked all the way to the Control Room.

I thought it was loud down in the hospital, but that was nothing compared to how loud it was there. As soon as I went inside, a wave of sound that had been muffled by the door came rushing out. Everyone was dancing to some music played by a guy on a saxophone. Some were singing, but mostly everyone was cheering.

A broadcast from the Capitol was being shown on every TV in the room. Everything looked to be pretty chaotic, with smoke covering the camera at times and screams that I couldn't hear over the cheering of the people next to me. I quickly realized it kept showing the same clip over and over again—President Snow’s mansion being stormed by hundreds of District 13 soldiers, Capitol soldiers being beaten or even captured by our soldiers, and finally, Snow being pulled from the mansion, forced onto his hands and knees, and rebels cheering and congratulating each other. I might have been too caught up in the moment, but I could have sworn I saw Snow smile ever so slightly as a bit of blood slipped from his mouth.

I looked around the crowded room, desperately trying to locate Plutarch. When I finally did, we made eye contact, and he crossed through the cheering crowd to come over to me. He wrapped one of his arms around my shoulders, nearly knocking me over, but then he steadied us both. All the while, he was laughing, and periodically cheering with the crowd.

“So…we won?” I asked, still trying to be concerned in case the inevitable happened.

“Of course we won!” he said, loud enough for everyone to listen, which incited a cheer. “We head out to the Capitol in the morning for Snow’s execution!”

Hope and warmth filled my entire body as I thought about what that meant. Not only would we all be free from the Capitol's reign, but I’d also get to see Finnick in less that twenty-four hours. The thought made me so happy I felt as though I was going to burst, and when the next cheer erupted from the crowd, I joined in. Finnick and I would get to raise our child together, back home in District 4, without having to worrying about he or she having to go through the torture of the Hunger Games. That thought made me want to dance along to the music like everyone else in the room, so I did, and I continued cheering when they did.

And everything was well.

When Johanna burst into the room, letting the door slam into the wall, I figured she’d heard the news and was coming to celebrate as well. But when I saw her face, and I saw her looking at me, it went from angry, to almost hurt, to furious. She stormed over to me, and just as I was about to say something to her, she slapped me across the face.

Everyone went quiet. The music stopped, the cheering stopped. The TV's were muted, so all of the cheers on there were silent as well. Everyone froze and looked to us.

I pressed a hand to my warm and stinging cheek, and said, “What was that for?”

“What the hell are you doing?!” She held tightly onto my arm so she could have control over me.

“I was celebrating! We won the war! We’re free of Snow forever, haven’t you heard?”

She hesitated to speak again, and I got a chance to see a few tears roll down her face. I may not have known Johanna as well as Finnick did, but I knew for a fact she was never the type to cry, even in the direst situation.  She quickly pulled herself together and shot the angriest glance I’ve ever seen from her at Plutarch, who was standing by the TV I had broken before that had now been replaced.

“You haven’t told her?” She screamed, squeezing onto my arm harder. “You had the nerve to let her celebrate with you when she has no fucking idea what really happened?” She started to cross the room over to him, but I pulled her back.

“What happened?” I asked, “What didn’t they tell me?”

Johanna let go of my arm that she’d been squeezing and rubbed the cheek she’d slapped gently before setting her hand on my shoulder. She didn’t even try and stop the tears that fell down her face when she said, “Finnick’s dead.”