Lily Juniper Abernathy: The daughter of an alcoholic victor (book 1)

Eight cannons in twenty seconds

Finnick continued to gut the fish and Rosie sat braiding my hair then messing it back up and starting again. She was tying my hair with my mom's hair ribbon into a ponytail- to mess back up again- when we saw someone crash down into the river. Rosie screamed and clung to me as Finnick ran over.

The person flipped and kicked him in the face. Finnick ran and pulled the person out of the water tossing them onto the bank. Adaam coughed and spluttered as Finnick turned him up to the sky

"What kind of stunt was that!?" Finnick snapped

"No-nothing: I just thought..." He coughed and coughed.

"Help him Finn." I said, gently rubbing Rosie's back.

"What were you running from?" Finnick asked as he gave Adaam a sip of water from my bottle.

"Them." He spluttered "Zanna and Carter were coming for me- they broke off from me, after Marco."

Marco, the guy who trapped a six year old little girl in a net in an attempt to kill her.

"I'm scared." Rosie garbled burying her head in my dad's shirt.

"It's okay Rosie." I mumbled

"Pfft, you alone can't protect her from Zanna?" Adaam chuckled

I covered Rosie's ears- "No, but I can try my fucking hardest to make sure Zanna doesn't get the chance to touch a hair on her head."

"Ooh, Abenathy, didn't know you could say such horrible words like that coz of your mommy might tell you off?"

We heard a cannon fire in the distance. Zanna and Carter must've caught up with Marco. I let go of Rosie's ears and took hold of her as she sobbed

"I can say what the Hell I want thanks." I growled, "And mention my mom again and your cannon will be firing pretty soon too, right?"

He nodded "Right?"

Hmm...Maybe I should've just let Finnick leave him where he was drowning.

The capitol anthem rang out that night and startled me awake. For what was probably the first time in Hunger games history only one tribute had died that night.

"It's Marco." Finnick yawned. Marco from district 4 who had Rosie trapped in that net: If anyone was going to kill him I wanted it to be me but I suppose if I would've I probably be put in the 'mentally unstable tribute' group.

"Zanna must've done it." Adaam mumbled

The anthem ended.

I leapt out of the sleeping bag and was sick all over the floor again.

"It must've been something you ate?" Rosie mumbled, frowning

"I've had the same as you and Finnick?"

She shrugged "Night!" She mumbled burrowng down in the sleeping bag again

Adaam had already dosed off again.

Finnick paused "What if-" He began

"What if?" I began. Then I froze. It hit me. I was pregnant. In here of all places.

As I was about to confirm what I could see expressed in Finnick's face two cannons fired...then four. What had happened? We all waited. Another. And another. And another

The river in front of us suddenly swelled a little and then washed away again- Another cannon and then silence. 8 lives in the space of about twenty seconds.

"The waterfall must've flooded...." Adaam muttered, sighing and turning back over

He nodded at me "You better do something about butterfly girl. Wake me up when it's my turn to watch."

Finnick came over to me once Adaam had gone asleep. I noitced then I was trembling.

"Lily, I'm so sorry- I took advantage of you- I'm so so sorry."

"You make it sound as though you raped me: we both knew what we wanted..." I mumbled trailing off "But here of all places."

He put his arms around me and I burst into tears. The day when me and Finn began our 3 month relationship was the day I lost my virginity to him- purely because I made the point I was going to spend the rest of my life alone having never experienced intimacy with a single person. So he offered. If I wasn't going to ever have anyone else, he offered for us to have sex. And we did. Only now did I note how quickly it all happened.

"I need to get out of here." I sobbed

"We are going to get out- and Rosie is coming with us, we'll get her back to Aunty Katniss- I know it."

I nodded then giggled softly "Why do you call Katniss Aunty?"

"Coz she's my godmother? I dunno?" He shrugged. He drew some of my now tear-damp hair from my cheek "I love you."

"I love you too..." I paused and giggled "When we get out of here my mom is going to kill me and my dad will probably kill you..."