Hurricane • F. Odair

eighteen » national anthem

A L T H E A

The district partners stared at each other for a moment. Althea did her best to suppress any anger towards his recklessness. She knew that his only thought had been to get to her, and she let the notion of it subdue the bubbling anger in her veins. Anger would get the pair nowhere.
Something rigid poked Althea's thigh. Without thinking, she brought one of her daggers down and sliced through it.
Thatcher craned his neck to see what she had done as her fingers gingerly reached for the mystery object. Upon feeling a bark-like texture, she sighed in relief. "It's just a root."
   Thatcher snorted lightly, earning a glare. "I get it — could've been a mutt," he assured. In the almost pure darkness, she could see that he had accumulated a few cuts on his face and neck. She remembered how bloodied he'd been at the end of his games. While Althea had been covered in the blood of her opponents, Thatcher was mostly bathed in his own when they announced his victory. District Five had waited, holding its breath, to see if its boy would make it home despite winning.
   A liquid leaking into her pant leg brought her attention to the severed root again. She touched the liquid briefly. When it didn't burn, sting, or cause paralysis in her hand, she brought her fingers to her nose.
   The scent was barely there, but it reminded her of the stream behind their house back home.
   "What is it?"
   "I think it's fresh water," she admitted. Scooping some into her hands, she drank a small sip and waited.
   When she didn't keel over and die, she took a bigger drink. Her body begged her to chug it down, but she didn't want to make herself sick. The last thing she needed to be was water logged.
   Or dead.
   Priorities, right?
   Althea moved aside and pulled Thatcher to where she had been. He gulped handfuls greedily.
   "Hey. Don't make yourself sick," she warned.
   "Yes, mom," he teased.
   She scoffed. "I'll smack you again."
   "Child abuse."
   "You're twenty-six."
   "And?"
Panem's national anthem didn't allow her a response, snatching the words from her throat.
She scrambled to the hole in the ground to see if she could see the sky, but a flash of blue blinded her from the left, a hologram appearing in the cave with them. Althea's heart plummeted as the image of a limp and bloodied Cinna replayed in her mind.
The faces of Apollo, Woof, Cecelia, Orville and Karina from Nine, Kenny from Ten, and Seeder from Eleven flashed in front of their eyes.
Althea blinked and the hologram disappeared.
"Seven," Thatcher stated.
Althea nodded silently. That left seventeen, which included herself and Thatcher.
A rock clattered behind them. Althea leapt to her feet and drew her sword.
"Sad, isn't it?" Althea recognized the voice to be Maxine Keller from Ten.
Her fingers tightened over the hilt of her sword. "How's that, Max?"
The woman finally came into view. With messy hair and a bloodied leg, Maxine looked less that threatening compared to all of those Althea had faced.
More like a dog with rabies.
"Sad that I'm going to have to kill you," the woman snarled ferally. A knife came out of nowhere, grazing Althea's cheek.
The brunette barely flinched, sending a knife of her own in retaliation. The blade embedded itself in Maxine's jugular. Blood spilled. Thatcher and Althea watched as Maxine sank to the floor with a crumpled thud.
The cannon boomed.
Althea pulled her dagger from Maxine's throat. Cleaning it off on her pant leg, she tucked the knife back into her belt.
"Where did she come from?" Thatcher questioned.
"I don't know," she muttered. "We can drink up and see if we can get out of this hole before God knows what comes for her body."
   Thatcher nodded. Sweat beaded down his cheek and dropped off his jaw. "I've had enough."
   Althea felt the prick of rocks on her knees as she knelt down. She scooped a handful of water and scrubbed at her freshly cut face. It stung like a tracker-jacker, but it needed to be done. She just hoped there wasn't enough bacteria in the water to render the wound infected.
   The cool water slid down her throat in soothing salvation. Althea had to pry herself away from the liquid to save herself from getting sick. By the time she did, Thatch had created a platform of rocks with what little moonlight they had. With the heigh he had accumulated, he should be able to boost her out without issue.
   He climbed the rock structure first. Upon making sure her sword was strapped on tightly, Althea allowed him to hoist her out of the hole. Her nails scratched at the soil on top for a panicked moment until her hands found purchase on a thick root.
   Althea's breath came out in huffs and her arms strained to pull enough of her lower body high enough to use her legs and feet to assist her.
   Her foot snagged a root and she shoved herself the rest of the way.
   Once firmly on the normal layer of earth, Althea hauled herself onto her feet and let her eyes adjust. The jungle was dark, and quiet aside from the faint rustle of trees.
   Thick vines hung from the trees. She cut three of them and braided them into a single contraption that would no doubt hold Thatcher's weight.
   Althea lugged it over to the hole. "Don't stand directly under the hole. This is heavy," she ordered. When she lost his form in the darkness again, she let the tail end of the vine braid tumble.
   Securing the vine around her waist and wrapping the excess around a nearby root, she braced for the force.
   The vine jerked around her waist as Thatcher began to climb. When his hand reached the top, Althea gripped his arm and hauled him up.
   He lied on the ground and panted. "I've always hated rope climbing," he breathed.
   Althea scoffed. "Bet you're glad I forced you to go rope climbing last week then, aren't you?"
   He rolled his eyes so hard she swore she could hear it.
   She untied the vine from around her waist with a rumbling stomach.
   "Hungry?" Thatcher mused.
   With a twirl of her sword, she sent him an unamused expression. Dead eyes. Set mouth. "What gave it away?"
   "I call it my Althea Radar." He tapped his temple twice with a heart squeezing smile.
   A small smile of her own crept into Althea's face at the idea, but it fell just as soon as it rose.
   "We need to find a safe spot. Who knows what else is out here."
   "That tree looks pretty safe." He pointed to a large tree with giant roots that poked out of the ground like spider legs. "Good coverage. Sturdy."
   "I'll take first." She tucked herself onto a root that was walled by two others. She was cocooned, but she could see the jungle around them.
   Despite ample room around them, Thatcher tucked himself into the space below her.
   They stayed like that for awhile. Althea thought Thatch had fallen asleep, but realized he hadn't when he traced patterns on her leg with the pads of her fingers.
   "You trying to make me fall asleep?"
   His fingers paused as if he hadn't realized he'd been doing it. "Sorry. Miss Cass."
   Cassia had a knack for knowing when Thatcher's anxiety was getting the best of him. She would go into his room when neither of them could sleep. The siblings would take turns drawing shapes and patterns onto the other's back, shoulders, or arms, until they fell asleep.
   Althea reached down and slipped her fingers into his hair, giving him a little scratch. "Go ahead of it helps. I don't mind."
   Soon enough, his fingers dropped and his breathing evened.
   Althea watched as his chest rose and fell, wondering if Finnick was asleep, too. Or maybe he was keeping watch like she was.
   It didn't matter which.
   Just as long as he was breathing.

a/n: bc I love you and I have a fucked sleep schedule :)))) drink some water, ily

let me know what you think please!!! I like reading comments and seeing reactions to things <3

perhaps we'll get to see Finn next chapter ;)

xoxo,
hadley