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"death is not the greatest loss in life. the greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." - norman cousins ___________
I wake up gasping like a fish out of water. Finnick is next to me, his hand rubbing my back. "Cora..."
"No." I shake my head. My little sister wasn't dead. I refused to believe it. She was going to jump out at any second, telling me this was all a cruel prank. "Cora, I'm-"
"No!" I yell, sitting up. I make eye contact with Katniss. She looks guilty, but my only thoughts are of President Snow. I can see my uncle crying; something I had never seen before. The sorrow on Finnick's face doesn't go away. This is real. I start thrashing around, but Finnick is holding me tightly. "I have to get Marina! I have to get her!" I scream. I'm not listening to reason as Finnick whispers in my ear, or Katniss kneels beside me. "She's dead..." My whisper comes out as more of a question. Katniss nods, a single tear rolling down her face. I'm still rocking back and forth, and I see Peeta look at me with pity in his eyes.
"Dead. Dead, dead, dead, Dead! She's dead, and I didn't do anything. Mutts! Mutts killed her...mutts killed her. They stole her bracelet!" I look down at the bracelet I'm wearing; the matching one Marina had also worn for so long.
What seems like hours have passed, and while I'm still crying, I'm now still. I now sit next to my uncle; he's distraught.
"There is no mission to kill Snow. I made it up. They died because of me. Castor, Marina, Jackson, Messalla...I...I killed Marina."
"No one ever believed there was. We followed you because we trust you. They...they knew what they were getting into. Marina better than anyone. Their blood isn't on you, Katniss." Uncle Fletcher speaks up, and the everyone nods sadly. I take a shaky breath.
"You have to kill Snow, Katniss. It's all been leading up to this. You have to kill him, and I want to be there when you do." Marina, Azure, Wiress, and even Blaze. Every bad thing in my life was either his, or my mother's fault. Twenty-three innocent children die every year for what they call a 'game'. He took the desirable victors and forced them to be unclean with paying Capitol residents, slaughtering their loved ones if they refused. He had ruined my life, and the only way for this to end was to kill him. Katniss nods, and my uncle is hiding his face in his hands.
"How am I supposed to look Orion in the eye, and tell him that his little girl is dead? You two are like my own, and I failed Marina. I failed all of you."
***
Katniss wanted me to go with herself and Gale. It had been a hard no at first; from Finnick, Uncle Fletcher, and even Peeta had something to say about it. They said it was too dangerous for myself and the baby, but I had assured both them and myself that he or she was already a fighter. They had made it this far. It took a lot for Finnick to be swayed, but when he was, he insisted that he was coming along, too. He told them that we would be farther behind them; just in case anything were to happen. Finnick told Katniss that he trusts her and will follow her to the end, but wants to make sure I'm safe. She agrees to this, and the woman, her name was Tigress; I had learned, put us in cloaks, hiding our faces as best as she could.
That's what led us to where we were now; following the crowd to President Snow's mansion. A speech replays over and over as the citizens trudge their way through the streets. I'm holding Finnick's hand, praying that this goes well.
When the first bomb goes off, Finnick throws himself over me to protect me. Luckily, neither of us are hurt. Finnick helps me from the ground as we run through the now panicked citizens. Rapid gunfire echoes throughout the streets, and Finnick manages to grab a dead peacekeeper's gun. As I hear more explosions, Finnick is practically hiding me in his cloak. It's not until the car flips, separating Katniss and Gale, that I notice something in the sky. We aren't far from Katniss, watching as Gale is being taken away, and she's standing on top of the car.
"Finnick, look!" I say, tilting my head up. "Parachutes?" He asks, confused. Who was sending them? Was it Snow? The whole town comes to a stop as the parachutes draw closer to them until they explode, killing anyone close to them. Finnick and I are knocked back a bit by the explosion, and I clasp my hand over my mouth. I hated the Capitol residents, but there were children - babies in the crowd. I want to gag at the sight of blown off limbs, and parents crying over their dead or nearly dead children.
"Wait, Finnick, that's Primrose." I point, and his eyes widen as he sees Katniss calling out her name. "She needs to get out of here." He says.
Just as unexpected as the first one; another bomb goes off, and I see Primrose right in the middle of it. It reminds me of seeing Marina, though I knew that explosion had been coming. I bury my head in Finnick's chest. He had been right. It wasn't a good idea for me to come. I find myself calling out my own sister's name before realizing the current situation. We run to Katniss, seeing how bad her wounds were. My lip is quivering as I make sure she's still alive.
"He has to pay for what he's done." Finnick says, his jaw clenched. I'm terrified that another bomb is going to go off, but we refuse to leave Katniss behind. I let out a sigh of relief when I see a hovercraft from 13.
