unforgivable ➸ finnick odair

F O U R T E E N

I wandered around pointlessly for the rest of the day in a daze, with no real idea of what to do. After going the entirety of the games with a friend at my side, being completely alone was strange for me. I kept turning around and opening my mouth to talk to Everly, only to find nothing but the faint footsteps in the dust and the whisperings of the wind behind me. 

Eventually, the sky turned completely dark, the sun completing it's long journey across the sky. I found a decent-sized tree to settle in. Dumping my rather heavy pack down next to me, I leaned back and closed my eyes, suddenly not caring about the fact that another tribute could easily kill me now, in this moment of vulnerability. 

Being strong is so overrated.

The weight of everything that had happened so far was crashing down on me now. Against the odds, I had managed to forge growing bonds with 3 other tributes, only for them to be all roughly torn away from me. My hands found the cool black handle of the trident leaning against the truck next to me, and my eyes flew open as my grip tightened. Memories of Everly's final words flashed before my eyes.

"Win this. For me."

I had to survive, to kill, to win. I owed it to Everly, after all.

---

Flashes of lightning. Loud booms of thunder. Wind crashing against my exposed skin. Chills running up my spine. A gleaming golden trident held in someone's hand. Narrowed sea-green eyes. Dark skin. Wide, scared dark brown eyes. Feminine screams.

May.

Roots emerging from the ground. Can't move. Helpless.

Glitter. Silver spear tightly held in pale hands. Whistling. Flying through the air. Pained screams. A body falls to the ground. Blood. So much blood. Salt. Tears. Regret. Her eyes scream betrayal. I can't do anything. 

Bolt. An arrow in his chest. Faded brown eyes. White skin. Rhys. Bow in hand. Loud cackles of evil laughter. More tears.  A body crumples to the ground. Disintegrates. Why didn't I save him?

Everly. Knife wounds on her stomach. Jacket drenched in blood. Kieran. Dagger held up high. Another body joins the party. Rooted to the ground. Literal.

Breeze. Finnick. Trident. Bloody tines. Flower crown on blonde hair.

Lightning strikes down. 

Pain.

---

Morning light streamed through the leaves above my head as I jerked awake, sweat drenching my skin as I scramble out of my sleeping bag, grabbing my trident shakily and raising it in a semi-threatening manner. Scanning my surroundings cautiously, I lowered my weapon after realizing that there was no enemy nearby. Actually, that was wrong. There was an enemy nearby - in my head. He came out to play each night.

Shuddering slightly, I snacked on a few bites of the large bird, leaving the leftovers still in my bag before packing up and hopping down from my brief sanctuary. It was still early in the day, and the arena was starting to become suffocating even though I had only been in here for around a week. I wanted to end these dreadful games as soon as possible.

The forest was quiet today. Gone were the birds circling overhead, chirping their delightful songs; gone was the rustling of the wind blowing through the branches; gone were the shy animals that peeked out at us behind swaying bushes. Gone was the familiarity of the long blonde hair and the gentle sound her footsteps made ahead of our behind me. It was like I had a forcefield around me that prevented others from approaching me.

Frowning deeply, I decided to halt my journey at a rather large oak tree and lean against it to rest. It wasn't a particularly hot day, but my hands were already clammy and when I pressed my palm against my forehead, it came away slightly damp. Tearing another chunk of meat from the dead bird, I silently ate it, eyes darting around to check for enemies.

Suddenly, something small slapped against my head and promptly dropped to the ground. Wary and confused, I slowly bent down, keeping my head up, and felt around for the strange object before quickly returning to full height, giving the object a once-over. It was a stone - or maybe the more suitable word was pebble. It had a rough surface and an edge that, once pointy, had dulled over time. The pebble itself was faded in colour.

As I watched, perplexed, another similarly sized stone came flying out of the air, and when I traced it back to it's origin I found myself staring into the wide hazel eyes of Ocean Harris. Her chestnut brown hair was tangled and a lot wilder than it had been when we last crossed paths and her clothes were in far worse shape, but otherwise she didn't look all too different.

"Hey," she said awkwardly, giving me a slight wave. My eyes immediately found the knife she had clutched in the other hand and I swiftly held up my trident, prepared to send it flying straight at her, but she quickly placed the knife down and raised her hands in the universal surrender sign.

"What do you want?" I asked suspiciously, lowering my weapon slightly but never taking my hands off of her. Content in the knowledge that I wasn't going to kill her (yet), Ocean lowered her hands, grabbed her rather small backpack and climbed down the tree, jumping the last metre or two and landing in front of me with a small thump.

"I was thinking... there are a lot of strong opponents out there, and the best way to survive might be to work together. What do you say?" she asked, cutting straight to what she wanted to talk about and bypassing all that stupid small talk. I was about to open my mouth and politely decline her offer, but something stopped me.

I'm a human, and us humans are social creatures whether you like it or not. Human company is desired above all else. Maybe if I kept Ocean around, she might chase the loneliness away. Worse case scenario, I kill her quickly in her sleep and run away. She must know that the alliance wouldn't last very long.

"Okay. Set up camp here?" I asked. Looking surprised that I had accepted her offer, Ocean grinned and quickly scaled the tree, settling down on the nearest branch that could hold her small weight.

"Coming up?" she called, grinning.

Maybe this alliance thing wouldn't be so bad.