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Again, sorry this took so long. It skips a lot just a warning. Happy reading!
36
The Birds and the Rescue
We just have to keep them alive long enough to get out of here. That's all.
"Katniss, got that spile?" I ask while admiring the hole I made in the tree. She starts at the sound of my voice and then struggles to remove the spile from her belt and holds it out for me. I'm about to take it when a blood-curdling scream cuts across the air and Katniss's face goes white. She drops the spile and takes off toward the source of the screaming.
Who IS that?
"Katniss, wait! Stop!" I shout after her. What is going on? Is that another tribute screaming? She sounds young...but Katniss seems to care about her enough to go charging through the dangerous jungle on her own.
Finnick, they are going to find her.
Now I'm scared. I chase after her, listening to her voice as it screams some name a vaguely recognize. I'm lost in a maze of trees and brambles that whip the irritations all over my skin. My leg still hurts from the attack at the Cornucopia and it's making my trip more than I'm used to. And suddenly she goes silent. No more crashing through the trees, no more screaming. There's a whistling sound and then a thud as something tumbles to the ground.
No. No no no no no no no.
I run for where I last heard her until I crash through the opening.
"Katniss?" I exclaim, seeing her sitting on the ground. She looks up at me with a sick look on her face and just says, "I'm okay, I'm okay."
I stop to observe her when I hear it. The one sound that could freeze my blood instantly.
Annie.
She's screaming. She's here. They've taken her.
"ANNIE!"
They're hurting her. She's screaming because she's being tortured. And it's your fault. They've kidnapped her and now she's suffering.
The sound of it is unbearable. It's the same scream she emitted when she was called again for the reaping this year. It pierces my mind, I can barely see. This is what Annie must've felt like when she saw Troy lose his head. When it was waved in her face. I'm going mad.
I conquer the distance between me and Annie's voice in seconds. Finally I pin it, it's above me. In the tree.
Get her, save Annie. Save her.
Scream scream scream, it's all a bad dream.
I try to climb the trunk but there's no branches and I cant maneuver my body to shimmy up the rubbery trunk. The moisture makes me slide right off again.
"Annie!" I shout, feeling panic rising inside of me. "Annie! Annie! Annie!"
~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
"FINNICK I'M RIGHT HERE!" I scream at the television, standing on my feet. That's my voice in the forest, but I'm here. I'm in our living room, aren't I?
He's in a state of panic. And while I'm touched that he cares so much, I'm also furious. Furious at the Capitol for their trick. Furious at Finnick for putting himself in such a dangerous position. I'm not screaming, I'm here. I'm almost sure of it.
Katniss comes into the scene and scales the tree, shooting down the bird. When Finnick takes it in his hands I see his heart break all over his face.
