Liberosis - The Hunger Games

49

I awoke covered in water and in excruciating pain, my whole body felt on fire due to the salt seeping into the welts that the fog had left. I writhed in the grasp of the people holding me down before a sudden relief overcame my body. As the pain subsided, my body stilled and I relaxed into the saltwater, allowing it to cover my face. The two of my allies who had helped me in ripped me out of the water fearfully and I cough and spluttered the water out of my throat, "Easy, love, it's just us," Finnick muttered in my ear as I looked down at my body. My arms and legs were covered in blisters that immediately made me think of the man, the friend, that I had just lost.

"Atlas," I said, just above a whisper, my voice broken and hoarse.

Finnick pulled me into a strong, desperate hug as if he would drown in letting me go. Katniss watched the interaction with her eyebrow quirked, but neither of us paid it any mind as I buried my head into the crook of his neck, allowing a single weak tear to run down my face. I felt feral, not rabid as I had been on the day that Thorn had died when I slaughtered three careers within the span of ten minutes. Feral, vile, monstrous, a pit settled in my stomach, those were the words that Atlas had been called his whole life. His scarring from the Capitol's thirst for entertainment had labelled him a mutt, an abomination. The mere thought had me trembling with rage.

"It hurts, but we need to push it down," Finnick muttered into my hair, his hands wrapped around my waist, "Forget revenge, forget the heartbreak. For Peeta and Katniss," He continued, as Katniss swam closer to the shoreline.

I gripped his hand, pulling him further out into the water, "Swim with me," I mumbled with exhaustion, my legs wrapping carelessly around his waist. He let out a low chuckle as the two of us played in the water together, like dolphin calves, oblivious to the world around them- unknowing of the sharks that lurked in the depths. I somersaulted backwards gracefully, a gentle smile on my face, it was the most at home I had felt in days. Finnick was also enjoying his time in the water, pulling me under whilst I was not expecting it. It was dark under the surface, but I could make out my fiancé's silhouette only millimetres from my own. Without the eyes of the Capitol and the view of our allies, Finnick pressed his lips tenderly on my own, holding either side of my face in the same fashion that I was doing to his.

Letting him go terrified me as if he would dissolve into the water if I even dared, our hands were still locked together as we resurfaced. Katniss gave both of us an unimpressed expression, "Don't do that," She chastised, stepping out of the water and onto the sand.

"What? Come up or stay under?" Finnick challenged.

"I don't think you'll like her answer," I teased, ruffling his bronze hair was a grin as I threw myself onto my back, floating in the ocean peacefully.

"Just soak in the water and behave," Katniss sighed and the two of us snickered at her tone.

"Yes mum," We both sang as Finnick turned to tackle me under once again. It nearly killed me, that Finnick and I could act this casually together after one of our closest friends had died. Had we truly become so desensitized to loss and grief that we could switch it on and off as simply as a lightbulb? "Come on," I said, with a yawn, holding out my hand for the man to take as we wandered out of the water. Soon, the group had reformed, and we were moving lethargically in the tree line. Every so often, Finnick's head would whirl back to me to take in my appearance with concern causing me to scrunch up my eyebrows in confusion. Even with his paranoid glances and hand on my wrist, keeping me moving, I felt a sudden shift in my stomach, as if everything were about to take a turn for the worst.

Katniss must have noticed it too because she stopped moving, resting her hand gently on Finnick's wrist to stop him from making a sound. Suddenly I noticed the dark shadows looming above us in the treetops, there must have been about fifteen of these monkeys, craning their necks to examine the group of unsuspecting humans that had just wandered into their habitat. There was something in their eyes, a kind of insanity that I knew could only be manufactured by the capitol. They were mutts, waiting for their master to unleash them.