Masked Enemies

Chapter Seven

Finnick

We were settled in a room under an abandoned building when they brought us Peeta. He was chained, and he wasn't given a nightlock pill.

Now we're escaping from a poisonous black sludge. We've already lost Boggs and a few others. Peeta killed one. We all understand it wasn't his fault, but he won't stop blaming himself.

I followed Gale up the stairs of an abandoned building, the others trailing behind me. We had barely escaped the sludge, which was flooding the complex from all sides.

I open the door of a Capitol resident's apartment. It is empty. That's good.

We settled in the living room. I sat next to Peeta, to watch over him. The TV flickers and comes to life. The familiar face of Caesar Flickerman is hosting the Capitol news.

"Good evening, this is Caesar Flickerman with the Capitol news. We would like to report the deaths of a rebel squad. A very important one, in fact."

They show the faces of Katniss, Gale, Cressida, Boggs, and Peeta. Finally they show me. I snicker at their stupidity.

"We'd also like to report the bombing on District 13. Many people were injured-" Caesar's image was replaced by images of civilians from District 13. "Greer Damiras, Harley Gorgen, Adam McCartney, and- oh dear, it seems that one of the victor's loved one has too." Caesar paused, and ran off the screen.

Next to me, I could hear Katniss's breathing getting faster and more uneven. I panicked too.

Caesar came back on the set, smiling and fixing his bow tie. "Sorry 'bout that, folks. Anyway, injuries. Um- Annie Cresta."

"Annie." I whispered. "Annie." I repeated, this time a little louder.

The TV went black. Then it came back to life. This time an old man with a blood stained napkin appeared on the screen. Coriolanus Snow. The one we were set out to kill. Next time I saw him, I was hoping it would be at his funeral.

"Hello, Squad 451." Snow started. "Yes, I know you're alive. The whole death thing was just to get the public happy and fighting."

I sighed. I don't know why.

"Also, Mr. Odair, if you're there, I figured you might want to see what happened to your wife." the President said.

I could already feel the tears in my eyes. "What did you do to her?" I got up and asked, even though he couldn't hear me.

Snow merely smiled. He snapped his fingers and his image was replaced by a live feed into District 13. Into the hospital. The cameraman walked around until he found the right room. He opened the door and stepped inside. I took a breath. Annie was lying on the bed, unconscious. There was an oxygen mask placed on her face, and bandages wrapped around her torso.

Terror washed over me. My wife was probably dying in the infirmary right now. And I was sitting here, supposedly dead.

"Annie!" I cried. I got up in a daze, sprinting towards the TV. I banged on it, crying out her name. I didn't care what other people thought. I just kept banging on the screen.

Finally I pressed my head to it and said her name one last time.

"Annie." I moaned. I pressed my head to the TV and the room collapsed into silence.

Hey, guys.

Sorry about the horrible quality. I'm never going to be done apologizing. Also, I didn't want to write the entire book over again, so I just paraphrased it.

Also, sorry about the whole "getting Annie injured" thing. I promise it has a part to play later in the story! 

All credits to Suzanne Collins!

Thanks for reading!