Annie Cresta- Beyond the Sea

Chapter 24

Maybe I was too sad about Safiya's death. Maybe the reason was too many people I loved were dying. Maybe it's just because I was becoming insane. Or all of the above. But for some reason, I Just couldn't recover my... will, I suppose. The person I was when I started these games seemed to have washed away, like chalk in the rain. I've lost all information on what I would usually do in a time like this. Annie Cresta is just a name now. Just an outline, a clue as to who I used to be.
Whatever caused me to be this way, all I know is that I may not know myself anymore, but I definitely know Finnick, and he would want me to pull myself together and try to win this. For Safiya and Dallas and Darcy. And so I could go home and marry him.
I peered up and saw the cornucopia had risen to the surface along with a couple more trees. I decided to stay away from it because chances are the rest of the careers are staying there, and chances are I'm the first person they'll want to see. There should only be three or four left. Just hang out at the top of this tree, I told myself. If something tries to attack you, bolt into the water and swim as fast as possible. You'll escape that way.
Suddenly, I caught sight of the boy from 7 and the girl from 9 swim to the cornucopia. Clearly they were an alliance in need of weapons. Didn't look like they had much. But they were great swimmers, I had to give them that. They clmibed into the cornucopia, panting and soaking wet, shaking from the cold. I could tell from the way they held themselves they knew they had to be quick. The girl ran up and stole a machete from it's hook, when suddenly Bello appeared. She must've heard them come in.
Axe ready in her muscular arm, she quietly ran up to the boy. With her axe, she slaughtered the boy as silently as she could. There wasn't much of a struggle, but I had to look away. You never get used to watchingthat kind of shit.
His canon got the girl's attention.
The girl from 9 saw and gasped, but then turned furious, tears of rage and misery beginning to pour from her face. I was actually kinda curious to watch the battle that was now going to form between her and Bello. Even though it wasn't going to end well.
Bello swung her axe, but the girl from 9 dodged it and cut deeply into Bello's arm with the stolen machete. I decided to call her the Underdog. The name seemed kinda fitting.
The battle continued. They were almost evenly matched. Bello was almost robotic in her actions, she'd been practicing for almost half her life probably, but Underdog was fast, and had a lot of wit about her. It was no wonder she'd survived this far.
Suddenly, Bello was thrown onto the floor, and Underdog was going to make her final blow. Something inside of me jumped. If she killed Bello, I wouldn't have to fight her, and I just might be able to go home, if I killed Underdog from afar.
Suddenly, Underdog fell to the floor, dead, her canon sounding like a surrender. My heart fell out of my chest. What else did I expect?
Her face showed in the sky, and I saw that up-close, Underdog was actually kind of pretty. Someone Finnick might've liked if I had died.
Towering over his kill, the boy from 2 helped Bello up. Careers stick together, I remembered. But as they left to treat Bello's bleeding wound, I was suddenly happy and furious. Furious because Bello was almost dead but she survived, but happy because that only means I have the chance to kill her in the end. Plus, she's weakened. The finale will have to go down before she's fully healed. I was also begging for revenge on what she did to Dallas, on what she tried to do to Finnick.
Suddenly, from over my head, the beeping of a parachute got my attention. I saw one floating down to me, and I caught it before it hit the water. I opened it wondering why I would need a parachute. Inside was soup and a note. I opened the note and read it.

Annie,

Stay alive and stay strong. I know you can win this. There's not many of you left. Be VERY careful of the careers. They also know there's not many left, and they're coming to hunt the others down. Here's some food, your favorite. Eat it wisely and save some for later. Be safe. I love you.

-Finnick

I smiled a little bit, more for the cameras than because I felt like it, and slurped some, then put the lid back on the container and stuffed it in my backpack.
A cool gust of wind came, and, still being completely soaked, I was freezing. I pulled out the sleeping bag in my backpack and wrapped it around my shoulders, using it as a blanket. I was tired and exhausted. So I layed down the best I could in the top of the tree and fell asleep, listening to the arena during the day. Knowing they'll try and find me at night.