UNDERDOG | FINNICK ODAIR

Chapter 20

She sits down beside me and opens a tube of what looks to be ointment for our itchy skin. A pungent smell comes out it and it's dark green. Ick.

She begins to rub it into her leg, her eyes light up with relief and she globs some into her hand and passes it to me.

I immediately rub it into my arms and left side where the fog had hit me the worst. I pour more out onto my hand and pass it to Finn.

"It's like you're decomposing." Finnick says to Katniss who was putting it on her face. He eyed the tube warily before slowly beginning to treat his itchy spots too.

The relief is almost instantaneous. As soon as I get out of here I'm finding Lacey and Haymitch and I'm thanking them for this.

"Poor Finnick. Is this the first time in your life you haven't looked pretty?" Katniss asks, mocking him.

His skin is a hideous shade of green-gray and the scabs underneath don't help his looks. I stifle a laugh.

"It must be. The sensation's completely new. How have you managed it all these years?" He bites back at her.

"Just avoid mirrors. You'll forget about it." She smirks.

"Not if I keep having to look at you." He mutters.

"Finnick you must not be remembering the bad haircut and acne you had in 6th year like I am. And I think you look especially lovely today Katniss." I say.

"Thank you! You as well." Katniss says with a grin.

"Low, real low." Finnick mumbles.

We rub the goo into each other's backs where we can't reach. I put extra on my neck where an especially big one was still bothering me.

"I'm going to wake Peeta." Katniss says once we're all done.

"No wait, let's do it together. Put our faces right in front of his." Finnick suggests.

So we do, we get practically inch's from his face and Katniss shakes him awake. He jumps awake, "ah!" He yells.

We break into a fit of laughter until another silver parachute falls from the sky.

It was a loaf of fresh bread from district four. I caught it before it hit the ground. As soon as I held it in my hands I was home again.

I reminisced the playground where much younger versions of Finnick and I used to eat lunch and play away our days.

I was there again, but this time I was much older, Finnick was covered in green goo, and we were missing a vital element to lunch time.
Annie Cresta.

Her father would pack this bread for us everyday and we would eat it there.

"This will be good with the shellfish." I call out to Peeta and Katniss who are covering Peeta with ointment.

We eat our meal quickly, not realizing how hungry we had all gotten. The scabs were starting to peel and it took a lot not to pull them off completely.

As I'm finishing off my portion of bread I hear screaming from the other side of the arena. We all stand and try to see what's happening when the ground seems to begin to vibrate and a great wave forms on the hill and crash's down the slope, falling trees.

It hits the sea with great force. Making large waves that caused water to rise to our knees, despite our place furthest from that section.

Our stuff is almost carried away but we scramble around and collect everything except our suits which are completely ruined.

A cannon goes off. A hover craft flys over where the wave once was and reaches down to pick up a body, making twelve people left.

We put our things back into place and are about to sit back down when Katniss whispers, "There." Nodding further down the beach to three dark red figures tripping and stumbling unto the beach.

We back into the jungle quietly to not attract attention. "Who is that?" Peeta asks, "or what? Do you think it's mutations?"

"Johanna!" Finnick calls out to her, running out to meet them. I follow closely behind when I realize it is indeed Johanna.

"Finnick! Beck!" She yelled back. "You wouldn't believe the absolute hell I had to go through to get these two here. It almost wasn't worth it. We were walking through the jungle, totally fine then out of nowhere a storm blows in. We thought it was rain, you know, because of the lightning, and we were all so thirsty. But when it started coming down, it turned out to be blood! Thick, hot blood." Johanna huffed. "You couldn't see, you couldn't speak without getting a mouthful. We just staggered around, trying to get out of it. That's when Blight hit the force field."

"I'm sorry, Johanna." Finnick says the same time as I say, "That's terrible, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah well, he wasn't much but he was from home. And he left me alone with these two." Johanna said bitterly, nudging a mostly unconscious Beetee with her foot.

"He got a knife in the back at the cornucopia. And her-" Johanna spat, we all looked to the poor woman who was circling in place, murmuring, "tick tock." Over and over again.

"Yeah! We know. Tick tock. Nuts is in shock." Johanna says.

This seems to get Wiress's attention and she wanders toward Johanna, running into her. Johanna pushed her to the ground, "Just stay down will you?"  She screeches at the blood covered woman.

"Lay off her." Katniss hissed.

"Lay off her?" Johanna snaps, stepping toward katniss and slapping her across the face. "Who do you think got them out of that bleeding jungle for you? You-" Finnick grabs her and throws her over his shoulder, taking her to the water and dunking her under.

"What did she mean? She got them for me?" Katniss asks Peeta.

"I don't know. You did want them originally." Peeta says.

I stay quiet despite knowing exactly what she means and what this has to do with everything.

"They're not doing so good, we should do something now before it's to late." I cut in.

Peeta carries Beetee and katniss and I each take one of Wiress's hands and we head back to camp.