The Midnight Sun - Finnick Odair

vii.

"District 3. Beetee Latier. Report for individual assessment."

I watched the man stand up, giving Wiress a comforting touch on the cheek, and walking through the doors into the main circle. Beside him, Finnick watched him leave and smiled brazenly, as if there was anything to smile about. That was the thing about Finnick, he always seemed to know everything, things that others didn't. It was as if he was full of secrets, but I guess that's why he had that air of sophisticated mystery to him, and why the women of the Capitol swooned and drooled over him like he was a piece of meat.

Realising I was staring at him, he looked over and we caught eyes. The eye contact lingered for a second, like it did many times before when we were both mentoring, and he leaned over to whisper something to Mags. He then too stood up, giving Mags a soft squeeze on the shoulder and walked over to me, where I was sat on an individual steel cube seat next to the wall, and sat himself at my feet, leaning with his back against the wall.

"Nervous?" he asked quietly.

"No."

His eyes travelled down slowly, then back up again, a smug look on his face as he leaned forward, a bit closer. "Then why are you tapping your foot?"

I didn't have to look down to see if he was right. As soon as he mentioned it, I became aware of the fact that I was doing it subconsciously, and stopped, to which he grinned.

Reaching into a concealed pocket in his jacket, he produced 2 sugar cubes, the little compact pieces of sugar glistening against the harsh white lights surrounding us in the waiting area.

"Want a sugar cube?" he asked nonchalantly, holding out the cubes in his rather large hand, which seemed to make the cubes look minute.

I felt a small smile creep up at the corners of my mouth, as I looked between the cubes in front of me, and him, before reaching out and taking one, popping it my mouth. He looked pleased with himself, and put the other in his own mouth, crunching immediately. I, however, let the cube dissolve in my mouth, savouring the sweet, yet somewhat sickly taste.

"You'll get diabetes if you don't stop, you know." I jested light heartedly, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"District 4. Finnick Odair. Report for individual assessment."

Confused, I looked back at Wiress, but she had already gone, meaning I had missed her summon while I was talking to Finnick.

"What, you worried about me now?" he asked smugly, pushing himself up from the floor, "We're in the 75th Hunger Games and you're worried about diabetes?" he laughed. "Don't worry, it won't be the sugar that kills me." He pinched my cheek lightly, and winked, before departing through the doors.

//

"District 8. Alaska Truehart. Report for individual assessment." I stood up at the announcement. I wasn't sure what I was going to do yet, maybe throw a few knives around, the same old, but as I walked, I got more agitated. The sight of the peacekeepers and their foul white suits guarding the door, Plutarch Heavensbee and his minions sat up in the safety of their force field protected box, standing over and watching from above as if they were deities. All this just reminded me how subordinate we were. Like pawns in their games. Any previous nerves had vanished, and I was walking slowly, but with a purpose.

"You have 10 minutes to present your chosen skill."

Wasting no time, I paced to the pile of dummies stacked up in the left corner. I dragged one out, throwing it on the floor, and went to the stand to collect three rolls of rope. Pinning the dummy against the target board, I secured him with one of the ropes, with a knot I had seen Finnick do the other day, and repeated it with two more dummies, all pinned next to each other.

I rushed over to the weapon stand, picking up three throwing knives, and going back to stand a considerable distance in front of the target board, in front of the dummies. Feeling the weight of the knives in my hands, I got in position, and threw, one after the other without stopping, where they pierced each of the dummies – two in the chest, one in the neck.

Going over to the paint stand, I took a small bowl of blackberry juice, and carried it over to the dummies, where I wrote on each of their foreheads.

Dad

Blaise

Renly

Back at the weapon stand, I picked up another knife, and made a single deep slash in my left palm, and the same to my right, then threw the knife on the ground, and smeared each dummy with blood. It ran down, the scarlet red contrasting with the pale white of the dummies, until it hit the ground, creating a small pool of crimson on the floor.

Everyone watching above had stood up, faces horrified as they looked on. Everyone except Plutarch, who was smiling down at my show of boldness.

Before I ran out of time, I grabbed some other colours: red, black, indigo blue, orange and yellow.

At the floor of the dummies' feet, beside the pool of blood, I started drawing. First the waves, then the dark mountains. Then, the low sitting sun nestled in the night sky – The Midnight Sun. And in the sky, a silhouette of a bird, wings spread wide, as it carried an arrow in its beak. It wasn't just any bird, it was the Mockingjay. It was a representation of two rebelling forces uniting for a greater cause.

Grabbing the red juice, I dipped my finger in it and scribbled, in huge block letters:

FREE PANEM

Looking down at my masterpiece, I stood unmoving for a second, before turning around slowly to the Head Gamemaker, who was still smiling, and his cronies, sticking up my middle finger out aggressively, and turning back to walk out, pushing and knocking over a few bowls of paint to the floor with an orchestra of clatters as I walked past. Deadly silence filled the air.