The Angel (Finnick Odair x OC x Johanna Mason)

5

Annie Cresta stands before me, but despite my being a career and having killed other tributes, she seems unfazed and unafraid.

"You're Harmony, right?" she asks softly, not even holding a weapon out in front of her.

"Yes," I answer, too shocked to do anything else.  "And you're Annie from 4."

She starts to take a step toward me, but I , with delayed senses, pull out my knife, the blade facing her chest.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now," I say unblinkingly in a cold tone, but she still does not seem to fear me.  I don't even know why I'm giving her a chance.  If it was any other tribute, I would've stabbed the knife in their chest without hesitation.  But maybe it's because I actually talked to Annie before the games, and I know she's too nice and gentle to be killed by the likes of me.

"I need your help.  It's my district partner," Annie starts to say, distress creeping into her voice.

"That's not a reason," I insist, my knife still in front and unwavering.

"You're not like the others," Annie says quietly.  I raise my eyebrows, urging her to continue.  "I've seen you fight and I've seen you kill.  Your allies, they seem to enjoy it.  But you don't.  I saw you hesitate."

"So what?  That doesn't prove shit," I argue, although I'm unsure why I'm getting defensive.  "Don't forget, I'm from district 2."

"Please," she says, getting desperate.  "I wouldn't ask if I had any other choice."

Intrigued, I lower my weapon slightly, asking, "What is it?  What do you need?"

Annie takes that as an invitation to continue, "Ripley, my district partner, is injured.  We don't have any medical supplies, but I'm hoping that maybe there's something in your backpack that could help."

I weigh my options in my mind.  I could either leave them and continue on my way, but it could be fatal to travel alone when there's still 7 tributes left.  On the other hand, helping them now could possibly make winning harder for me.  Still, I need some allies, especially now that I'm separated from the rest of the career pack.

"Fine," I decide.  "Allies?"  I sheath my knife and hold my hand out for her to shake.  Her grip is gentle but firm and she allows herself a small smile at having convinced me.

"Lead the way," I tell her, and we head off deeper into the valley.

***

As I apply some salve I found in my backpack to Ripley's wound, Annie and Ripley tell me the events of what happened to them after they fled the bloodbath together.

Ripley has managed to grabbed a small backpack before heading into the valleys during the bloodbath, while Annie has only escaped empty-handed.  They met up together a small distance away from the Cornucopia, far from the other tributes, and proceeded to go on foot until they could find the end of the arena. 

All in all, it was a good plan, if they haven't been attacked by Chip from district 3.  One of Chip's talents is technology, and he used some items he snatched from the Cornucopia to construct his own weapons.  After hearing their account of their run-in with Chip, in which there was an explosion and Ripley got hurt, I can conclude that it was probably also him who threw that exploding contraption towards us when I was still with the careers.

"So what now?  Do you guys have a plan?" I ask Annie and Ripley when we've all told and related our experiences.

"Not really," Ripley replies.  "We're just gonna keep going in the same direction and hope we reach the end while waiting it out."

"What do you suggest?" Annie asks me.

"Actually," I say, pondering, "Ripley's right.  Hopefully the other careers will finish off Chip for us, since I know they'll be out for blood after that attack.  Then, once their alliance ends, they'll end up fighting one another, doing the work for us."

"Okay," Ripley says slowly, eyeing me suspiciously.  "But you're in an alliance with them, aren't you?  What's to stop you from betraying us and killing us off before joining up with the careers again?"

"Seeing as my salve just saved your ungrateful ass, I'd be careful before flinging those accusations around," I snap back and he recoils, but then I sigh and my voice softens.  "My alliance with them lasted as long as it benefited us.  Now that we're separated, I don't owe them any allegiance.  I work for myself and myself only."

Satisfied, he nods and drops the topic.

Just then, a parachute flies down, and our faces light up at the sight of sponsors.  Unsure whose it is, Annie looks to Ripley and me for guidance, but we both shrug and let her take it.

"It's from Finnick and Jason!" she exclaims when she reads the message.  "Jason's your mentor, right?" She directs the questions at me.

I nod and say, "He's also my brother."

Annie brings the parachute over and starts to unload its contents while Ripley and I read the message.

Stick together and be careful,

Finnick & Jason

"Huh, so our mentors are agreeing on this alliance," I muse as a sense of homesickness washes over me when I read my brother's name.

"It appears so," Ripley says.

We finish unloading the contents and Annie lets out an involuntary gasp at the feast laid out in front of us.  I smile and say, "What are we waiting for?  Let's dig in."

***

The next morning, I wake up to the sound of a cannon.  Panicking, I startle awake and look around me, letting out a sigh of relief when I find that both Annie and Ripley are safe and sound and that the cannon isn't because their deaths.

Ripley is already awake, being watch in the early morning, while Annie is only just stirring awake.

"There's only 6 of us left now," I point out, and I can tell they are feeling as uneasy by this as I do. 

This means that it'll probably be better for us to split up, lest we end up being the last three and have to kill each other.  I would've been fine with that if I hadn't spent most of yesterday chatting and training with them.  Now that I feel we've grown closer, it's going to hurt a lot more when I take their lives with my bare hands.

However, before any other words can be said, we hear another cannon echoing throughout the arena. 

I freeze in shock as I ponder what that means.  Since the three of us here are all still perfectly alive and intact, it has to be one of the careers.  But which one?  Have they turned on each other so quickly already, not even bothering to go their separates ways before killing the competition off?

Uneasiness settles into my heart when I come to the conclusion that it's most likely Romulus who was killed, if my other assumptions are correct.  It seems natural that the district 1 tributes would rather pick off someone outside of their own district first.

Although Romulus and I aren't close by any means, he is still from home.  Sorry, was.

"5 left, what now?" asks Ripley, the fear and distress clear on his face.  He must be afraid that I'm going to turn on them, now that most of the tributes are gone.

"The smart thing would be to split up," says Annie quietly, pulling the words from my mouth and saying what I don't have the courage to.

"Alright," Ripley agrees, "let's say we leave after breakfast.  And we'll split our supplies equally."

With all three of us in agreement, we start pulling out our stock of food with grim expressions and a heaving feeling in our hearts.

Little do we know, the careers are only a short distance away from us.  Before we even finished breakfast or said our goodbyes, an arrow strikes the apple on the ground, clean through the core.  The shot meant to intimidate, not harm.

Alarmed, I get to my feet and turn to the direction it was shot, only to find Amethyst grinning in victory, a bow in her hands.  My bow.

"Game over for you, Harmony."