Stay with me? [Finnick Odair]

66

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Chapter sixty six
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After we are all done eating the feast we prepared, with help from more bread rolls and sauce from Haymitch, we all cuddle up on the sand, Katniss and Peeta are by a tree so Katniss can stay on watch, I'm cuddling against Finnick's side when the anthem plays.

But that's it. No faces, no memory of the fallen, just a blank sky with the anthem booming through the arena.

It's obvious that the audience is thirsty for action, some sort of drama or death to happen to entertain them, it's sick, but we're here to entertain them. That's all we're here for. I'm surprised the game makers haven't tried to speed things along, usually they would, maybe they're just interested in how Beetee's plan will play out.

At some point, I'm roused from whatever rest I got by Finnick and dragged to the twelve o'clock beach, we all begin to hike up to the lightning tree once again. It's a lot more uncomfortable after having eaten a bucket load of seafood, but I'm just glad to have food in my stomach — especially after my games where I was near starving to death.

We eventually reach the tree, Beetee uncoiling yards of his wire, he asks Finnick to wrap it around a broken branch and set it on the floor. He does as he's told and Beetee and Finnick begin passing the wire back and forth, wrapping it around the tree, there's a strangeness to it, but eventually a pattern emerges.

Beetee knows what he's doing, but nobody else understands what he is doing.

They complete the work as soon as the wave begins, its loud and shakes the ground, those of us who are on guard watch the trees carefully when Beetee reveals the rest of the plan to us. He wants Katniss and Johanna to take the coil through the jungle, of course, Peeta wants to go with them but Beetee argues that he wants Peeta here.

Katniss and Peeta say their goodbyes and Katniss runs off with Johanna, leaving us in the woods, Beetee turns to us.

"Finnick, take Clementine to the one-to-two-o'clock sector, if this all goes right, Peeta and I will meet you there," Beetee explains and Finnick puts his hand in mine, but I won't budge.

"What are you doing then?" I ask.

"There's something I need to do," Beetee mentions before Finnick drags me away, I don't even have time to argue, we run through the trees, twisting and turning and dodging trees as best we can — there's a distant snap echoing amongst the trees and I turn on my heel, brows furrowed, but Finnick tugs on my wrist and we continue through the trees.

"What's going on? Something went wrong!" I exclaim to Finnick, trying to pull Finnick back, but he's too strong for me. We don't stop until my legs are burning and shaking, I collapse on the ground, gasping for breath, Finnick allows me to lie on the ground. "Finnick?" I sigh, he shushes me and I stare up at him.

"Stay quiet, we're safe here."

I hear the excruciating pain-filled scream of Katniss and I lurch up, but Finnick pushes me back down, I groan, staring up at the night sky and listening to the screams of Katniss; unable to do anything as Finnick is keeping me on the ground.

He begins to move, seemingly ripping at my flesh, the point of one of my knives being used against me, a scream bubbles in my throat but it just comes out a strangled cry. He's digging in my arm for something, searching for something, and it is undoubtedly the worst pain I have ever felt.

Then the screams cease. The pain stops, Finnick tosses something to the side and sighs.

"I'm sorry, I had to do that."

It was difficult to reply, no sound came from my throat, so I just lay there motionless.

Everything is quiet. All you can hear are the trees rustling above us in the wind, it's almost peaceful, serene, but then Finnick pulls me off of the ground again and everything falls back into place.

We run for god knows how long, everything is spinning ever so slightly, just trying to avoid the branches and vines curling beneath our feet, the speed that Finnick is going signifies he's pretty worried — or he's just trying to outrun something or someone. We eventually stop. Finnick looks around frantically, but then his eyes are pulled down to the ground, I follow his gaze, gasping at the sight of fresh blood against the moss and vines.

"Johanna? Katniss!"

No reply, I stand there, swaying, when Finnick pulls me in another direction. I try to stop, almost collapsing. My knees buckle a couple of times, but Finnick keeps going, he doesn't even bother checking on me.

The boom of a cannon causes us both to halt, my head pounds in my ears and I feel like I could collapse at any second, Finnick seems hesitant on moving forward, but he continues through the trees. Eventually, I think we catch up to Enobaria, everything is blurry, but I notice the lightning tree come into view.

Cannons boom twice, someone is dead, two of them, my hope is that it's Brutus and Enobaria. We seem to have lost her.

Everything seems so normal right now, nothing is happening, but then I turn on my heel and look up to see Katniss with her bow pointed at the sky.

"Katniss, no!!" I scream, launching myself towards her, Finnick pulls at my arm but it's far too late for any effort to save me.

In a split second of explosions and lightning strikes, my whole body is thrown back into a relatively large tree and all of the wind is knocked from my lungs. I can't breathe, I'm completely paralysed, all I can do is stare up at the night sky as it crackles with the glowing light of the lightning. But something is off. Something has changed.

That's when the explosions started...