unforgivable ➸ finnick odair

T W E L V E

DOUBLE UPDATE HYPE; SORRY FOR THE SLIGHTLY SHORTER CHAPTER 

After yesterday, Everly and I silently agreed on yet another rest day. Using a rock to aimlessly sharpen the already pointy tips of my trident and my knives, I stared at the clouds, the strangely soothing sound of the rhythmic grating of stone against metal lulling me into a daze. Everly was attempting to do the same to her axe, averting her eyes from the array of bloodstains on it, but the blade refused to refine itself and eventually she gave up and began to peel off bark from the tree trunk and branches in boredom.

It was a normal day, if you could call any day in the arena normal... until we heard the screams.

First, a high-pitched feminine wail that made Everly's head shoot up. Her eyes darted around as she quickly jumped down from the tree and raised her axe menacingly. I followed her lead, silver blades carefully placed back into my vest and trident at the ready. Then for a while, it was silent.

"EVERLY! ELECTRA!" An all-too-familiar scream could be heard, and I stared around, bewildered. "EVERLY! ELECTRA!" There it was again, and I furiously tried to think of who it could be coming from. Everly stared at me, and I stared right back before we both pounced into motion, tearing through the forest and yelling her name.

Hope rose in my heart as I chased her voice. "MAY!" I yelled. "MAY, WHERE ARE YOU!" Everly was doing the same, and I could hear her footsteps just behind me. May was in the arena, she was still alive! I ignored all logic in my brain, gazing around frantically.

"ELECTRA!" A male voice yelled loudly. Hearing his voice, I continued trampling through the branches and bushes. There as fear in his voice, and that fueled me onwards. Screams echoed all around me, and they gradually turned even more fearful. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I ran onwards, Everly doing the same. Bolt, May, a girl who I could only presume was Everly's sister Diana, even my father - I had failed them all once. I wouldn't fail them again.

Then a scream began resounding over the rest of them. The high-pitched wail that I knew all too well. 

"BREEZE!" I screeched, ignoring the hoarseness of my throat. My little sister's screams were now all I could here, overpowering the rest of them's. 

"ELECTRA! ELECTRA, HELP ME! PLEASE!" She screamed, her voice full of pain and suffering. Branches roughly swung at my skin and I could feel painful bruises and grazes begin to litter my body, but I didn't care. Nothing else mattered but Breeze. Her screams grew louder, and soon I burst into the clearing where they seemed to come from, holding up my trident with a wild look in my eye. Everly joined me a millisecond later, axe held in position and leaves and sticks stuck in her tousled blonde hair.

All we could see were these black birds that I recognized immediately. Dread welled up in my throat.

"Jabberjays," I croaked out, suddenly so drained of energy. Everly's body slumped as she came to the same realization I had moments before. We had been tricked. So cleverly, deviously, heartlessly tricked by the Capitol. They had took our human emotions and twisted them with no regret or mercy. 

Then two other people stumbled into the same clearing just like we had, all messy and panicked, weapons at the ready. Shark raised his trident and Ocean shakily readied her dagger. We had a stare-off for a few seconds before they stared at the Jabberjays and their arms dropped. Then Shark raised his trident again, a vicious glint in his eyes.

"Shark," Ocean hissed loudly. He just glared at us, the sun gleaming off of his weapon.

"We can talk about this," Everly said slowly, stepping forward and letting her arm drop to her side in an attempt to appear non-threatening. "We were tricked too, you know." But Shark wasn't having it. He remained in his position, an evil glint in his eyes. A strangled cackle tore from his throat.

"You think I care about you? Any of you?" he sneered. "This is the Hunger Games. All I care about is getting back home to my family." And with that, he lunged forward, trident poised to kill. He flung himself at my ally, my friend. Screaming, Everly stumbled back, falling to the ground and holding her axe up to protect herself. Shark raised his trident, prepared to sink the pronged weapon into her chest. Ocean lingered back, a frightened and reluctant look on her face.

And suddenly, spurred by hearing my sister's pained yells mere minutes ago, Everly and Shark weren't Everly and Shark anymore. This scene was all too familiar. Sun glinted off of the District Four boy's brown hair, giving it a metallic, bronze sheen. Flashbacks pounded at my brain, but one thing was for certain:

I may have been unable to save Breeze, but I could save Everly.

Holding my trident in the position they had taught me, I let the weapon fly. It soared through the air with a unique kind of grace before sinking itself into Shark's exposed chest, just before he stabbed his own trident downwards. Letting out a surprised gasp, he fell onto his back. Squealing, I looked back to see Ocean fleeing the area, abandoning her district partner wtih no second thoughts. Ignoring her escape, I pulled Everly to her feet. She gave me a grateful look and then let me crouch next to Shark, who was slowly bleeding out.

Wrenching my trident from his prone body, I let my lips twist into a vindictive smirk at the small scream of pain that escaped his lips. There was no regret in my heart as I bent down, meeting his wide sea-green eyes. In my eyes, this was not the Shark that I had tentatively approached in the training centre. The games had changed him, and not for the better. His resemblance to the person I hated the most in the world was just an unlucky coincidence.

"Too bad you taught me how to use this thing, huh?" I whispered into his ear, savouring the scared and pained expression for a few moments before getting up, flipping my brown hair over my shoulder and rejoining my ally.

"Thanks for that," Everly said, smiling.

"No problem. Let's go back. I think we've had enough action for one day," I laughed as we jogged back to our tree.

Hearing the loud cannon boom minutes later was like music to my ears.