When We Fall~Finnick Odair {Book 3}

Chapter Twenty-Three

•••

They sat in an all too familiar circle, the leaders of District Thirteen and and victors faced one another from across the dark brown table.

Katniss and Gale walked into the room, both of them being the last to arrive. They took their normal spots, Katniss giving Autumn a confused glance as they sat.

"What is this meeting for today, President Coin?" Gale asked, turning his attention to the woman.

She shook her head. "We'll get to that in a moment," she clasped her hands on the table. "But first, Autumn would like to say something."

"Finnick and I have been talking and we've agreed to allow recordings of our wedding to take place and the footage be used as promos," Autumn spoke.

"When will your wedding take place?" Gale asked, his arms crossed.

Finnick looked at Autumn and smiled. "We've been talking with Effie and a few others who have been in charge of the wedding, and we've agreed that it'll take place in five days." Autumn smiled, but held her breath for the news she was about to break to them.

"And I've invited Peeta," she spoke. Everyone in the room stopped breath, except for Finnick who knew before Autumn even spoke to Peeta.

Coin was the first to speak, her tongue and eyes sharp. "You really think that's a good idea?"

Autumn turned to look at her. Internally, she began to panic, but she wouldn't let her confident exterior fail. Finnick squeezed her hand form under the table. He opened his mouth, about to help Autumn, but she beat him too it.

"You showed him the video of Katniss being shot," Autumn spoke. "I'm sure a wedding won't scare him."

"I'm not concerned with what scares him," Coin's tone became more hostile. Finnick's eyes turned threatening as he looked at Coin, shifting in his seat to guard Autumn. "I'm concerned with Peeta scaring others."

"We are allowing you too use our wedding as war fuel," Autumn's voice became cold and demanding. "I have simply requested that one of my friends be there. He can wear handcuffs and have guards around him, but Peeta Mellark will be there."

"It would be good for the promos," Haymitch spoke up, glancing at Autumn. "If the District's saw a loyalist to the Capital at a party celebrating something the rebels helped bring together, it may sway some minds."

Haymitch looked at Autumn and Finnick with a sly smile, winking at the two of them quickly as if he say he was on their sides. Haymitch hated the way Peeta was being treated and he'd do anything to help the poor boy. He was still Peeta's mentor, after all.

"Katniss?" Finnick spoke, looking over at her.

Katniss sat, stiffly in her chair, her face as emotionless as it was when speaking to Peeta a couple of days ago. Her eyes darted back and forth from Finnick's to Autumn's faces. Slowly, she began to nod.

"I agree," she spoke and then looked at Coin. "Peeta should be there."

Coin clenched her jaw and took in a large breath, before nodding. "Okay, fine. Handcuffs and two guards at all times."

Autumn turned her head and smiled at Finnick, quickly kissing him on the cheek as a thank you for his support.

"Okay, now onto why we're here," Coin shuffles the papers in front of her before clasping her hands over them. "The rebels are ready to storm the Capital. They want to end this, once and for all. And they need a group that will lead them." Autumn swallowed, squeezing Finnick's hand tighter in her own. "We are creating a team known as the Star Squad, or Squad four hundred fifty one."

"Who will be on it?" Gale asked.

"You," Boggs answered. "And me. Finnick, Katniss, Autumn, Jackson, Holmes, Michele, Johanna, and the Leeg sisters. That is, if everyone passes the mental and physical exam."

"When do you plan to storm the Capital?" Finnick asked.

"A week and a half," Boggs responded. "So we better get started."

•••

Autumn let out deep breaths, feeling the warm water falling over her skin in tiny waves. Autumn had long ago been able to control her mind long enough to take a bath, but she was never able to close her eyes or go under the water. This was the very task Autumn had to master first if she wished to be a soldier on Katniss's team.

Autumn took a deep breath in and closed her eyes. She gripped the edges of the white tub before pushing herself under the water. Once she was under the water, she opened her eyes.

For a single second, Autumn believed that she could handle it. She thought that maybe she was no longer afraid of the water like she use to be and the flood no longer hurt her. But she was wrong.

Panic began to set in and her body began to shake with fear. Autumn fought with herself, part of her mind keeping her head under the water to prove she was ready to be a soldier and the other part begging to break above the surface.

The water seemed to turn red right before her eyes, blood surrounding her body and entering her eyes. Autumn finally couldn't take it anymore as she pushed her head out of the water, screaming and rubbing her eyes.

"Finnick!" She screamed, desperately. "Finnick!"

He burst through the door and ran into the bathroom, finding Autumn in the bathtub clawing at the skin on her body.

"What's wrong?" Finnick yelled, desperately, trying to help her.

"The blood!" She yelled. "Get it out of my eyes! Get it off of me!"

Finnick grabbed Autumn's wrists, stopping the poor girl from scaring her body with her nails. She looked up at him, realizing that there was no blood in her eyes as there was no red in her vision.

"There's no blood," Finnick spoke. "You're safe. You're here, with me. You're okay."

Autumn began to cry as Finnick let her wrists go, which dropped into the water. Finnick sat on his knees, holding Autumn as best he could from his spot outside of the tub. He kissed her head, holding her close to his chest and wishing Autumn's nightmares away.