Infelicitous | f. odair

41 | MUTTS AND A SCENARIO

41 | MUTTS AND A SCENARIO

Three days pass. Greyson finds out that most of the Capitol's air-fleet had been destroyed in Two, and their own were decimated after the missiles hit the first few waves while attempting to go through them in the air, which meant they were fighting this on the ground, like ants.

Greyson also started to notice how cocky Finnick was getting. She didn't think it was because he was around the cameras that were filming them, but because he was nervous. He would play with the few inches of rope that stayed tucked away in his pocket when no one was watching, or he would grab hold of her hand and trace the veins underneath her skin like he was connecting the dots to a puzzle.

She worried for him, but she also worried for the others around them. The war was taking a toll on them all, especially the waiting. The longing to get out onto the field was slowly, anxiously biting away at them.

Greyson shot at a window already filled with jagged bullet holes, waiting for Cressida to say she was done for the day. That was all she was allowed to do. Shoot broken glass. Sometimes, she pictured Snow's face reflecting off of it so that it would give her a purpose for being there. And sometimes, they needed actual sharpshooters, but each time her, Katniss, Gale, and Finnick were never chosen.

One day, Katniss told Gale, "it's your own fault for being so camera-ready."

Greyson smirked at the remark while Gale glared at Katniss. If looks could kill.

On the fourth day, Leeg 2 was killed. She accidentally hit an invisible pod, releasing a shower of metal darts. One hit her in the skull, killing her instantly. Greyson had expected something more horrible. She thought of the worst nightmares she could think of, and mutts were the only thing that came to mind.

After that incident, Finnick hadn't left her side. He whispered in her ear at night about the life they could have if they won the war, about a house at the top of a hill that overlooked a field full of daisies where only the sun could touch. His chest would be pressed against her back in their tent, his hand always finding her's in the night, reminding her of the time when they were in the jungle-laden arena. She remembered how naive she was, and how much she's grown from everything that's happened.

That evening, two people arrived. One, with no shackles, no one pointing a sedative at their neck, and the other, without medication to quell their lack of sanity. It felt as though Greyson had been shot in the heart as she saw Peeta and Johanna stumble toward them, their weak physiques casting skeletal shadows onto the pavement. But it was clear what they were there for, as 451 was stamped in black ink on the back of their hands.

Boggs wasn't happy. He took Peeta and Johanna's weapons immediately and went to go make a call, no doubt to Plutarch. Greyson searched for Katniss' reaction, but Johanna had walked up to her and Finnick, who sat on the ground with her in front of the fire. She didn't look well, but in retrospect, nobody looked well.

Peeta shrugged from his desolate spot, all emotion wiped from his face. "It won't matter," he said to the confused team, "the president assigned me herself. She decided the propos needed some heating up."

Greyson's jaw ticked as she knew exactly what was going on. Two people she cared deeply for were by her side in a war zone, and Coin didn't waste any time for her perfect moment to strike. Now all they needed was an explosion.

Finnick's mouth hung open, "what are you. . . ?" He couldn't finish his sentence as Johanna sat down across from them, the fire illuminating the oceans inside of his eyes.

Greyson remembered that Johanna hadn't passed her evaluation test. They had flooded the space she was in, but it wasn't that Johanna couldn't swim, or else she would have been dead before the rebellion had taken action as they were in the arena. Finnick told Greyson about the torture Johanna had gone through in the Capitol, involving water and electrocution. She could only imagine what it could have been like, if she had been there just early enough to stop them from enduring a second more of the pain they went through.

She could remember her own evaluation test, and how it had heightened her night terrors even more.

The stream where Katniss had sang her hauntingly beautiful song trickled past their feet as Greyson bent down onto her knees and ran her fingers through the water. It was cooling, icy as the days were getting shorter and the leaves were changing. Greyson fell back onto her heels. "They had started out slow, as if they were unsure of what they were supposed to be training is for."

Finnick sat down beside her, staring into the glassy waves. "Did you pass?" He asked, his voice distant.

Greyson had learned that Finnick had taken his evaluation test earlier that day, while she had taken her's awhile ago, yet the pressure still weighed down her heart. "I don't know. What they did, what they made me do. . . it wasn't right." A hand slid into her own, and she knew it was his by the way their palms fell into place like song. Greyson couldn't look at him as she watched fish swim beneath the water, scurrying after the other. "I thought it was real at first. But then I realized that it wasn't, no matter how much I needed it to be. You. It was you."

Finnick furrowed his brow, "what did I do?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. You stood there staring at me, and I was told before I entered the room that whoever or whatever it was, I had to kill it in order to pass." She admitted, her eyes full of emptiness. She could still feel her finger against the trigger as his innocent eyes bored into her own.

"How long ago was this?" He didn't sound mad, but he didn't sound happy either.

"A few days before you came back to me. I didn't think they would be planning that far ahead, but I guess during a war they want their soldiers one step ahead of the enemy."

"Did you do it?" He asked after awhile.

"No. I couldn't. You hadn't done anything to me and I knew you would never hurt anyone unless there was a reason." She looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the stormy sky above them. "I would never hurt you Finnick."

He nodded reassuringly, "I know, I know." He paused, "but if I had, or if I was at the brink of death and was in pain, would you end my life?"

"What?" Greyson sputtered, staring at him as though he had grown three heads.

Finnick smiled, "I'm just giving you a 'what if?' scenario, it isn't real."

Greyson looked down at their hands. "If you were dying and in pain, and that was the only way. . . then I would do it, if it meant giving you peace." She felt her throat go dry as she muttered, "I just hope it never comes down to that."

Johanna rolled her eyes, looking between the two love birds. "I think you both know exactly why I'm here."

A/N: when you decide to clean instead of do more important things (ironically like Greyson had done in the beginning of our journey) and write this chapter. I've discovered that the script for part two isn't the one I want, so I found the book instead, which means I'll be going off of the book from now on, so hopefully I'll be able to get out longer chapters or prolong this book just a little bit longer since the actual book is long as fuck.

ALSO WHY DID I ADD JOHANNA I HATE MYSELF FUCK.

please ignore the spelling errors as I try to go through it as thoroughly as possible. thank you for reading, I'll be seeing you soon! xx