Querencia | Finnick Odair

One

Beeping.
Not good. It means I am not dead.
I pry my eyes open and see white. I try to get up, but restraints stop me, bury
themselves into my wrists. I turn my head and recognize the room. It is the one I woke up in when I won the games the last time.
Am I the only one that survived? Finnick...Is Finnick dead? Is Johanna? I wasn't supposed to live. He was.
The door opens and I hope for Penelope, or Haymitch, or Mariann, but it is not.
Two guards enter, remove my straps and handcuff me instead.
I speak. My voice hoarse and barely there, but I get a few words out. Asking what is going on. What happened. But of course, they don’t answer.
My head is spinning. Not only with questions. My bare feet tap over the carpeted floor, in the elevator, down into the basement, through many doors into a white room with two seats. They push me into one of them and leave.
I am too perplexed to question what they are doing.
Somebody blew up the arena. Snow won’t be happy. But if I am the only one that survived he would have gotten what he wanted. If not then I am screwed. Because that means that there was a plan. And it was a plan I didn’t know of. But I am pretty sure being in the hands of the Capitol was not a part of it. Or maybe I was just not important enough to be a part of it.
But then, where are the others that were still alive when the arena collapsed.
Because if there was a plan, somebody must have been waiting outside. Because the plan couldn’t have been to only blow up the arena. It probably was for Katniss and Peeta. But who would have the capacity to get victors out of an arena whose location is a secret?
My train of thoughts is interrupted when the President himself steps into the room.

"Miss Moreno"

"Mister President.”

“It seems as if you were right when you said we’d be seeing each other again.”
“I was referring to hell, but alas. How’s your shoulder doing?”, I retord and the man smiles at me. His weird, I know something you don’t know, smile.
“Just fine. So, Talisa. My Games were destroyed. Help me understand how.”

“I don’t know.”

“Do not lie to me! We do not lie to each other.”

“I know! I am not lying. I don’t know what happened. The lightning destroyed it.”

“Katniss Everdeen destroyed it.”

“Then it was her idea. Not mine.”

“She, Finnick Odair and Silas Donovan were taken from the arena. And since you had a relationship with Mister Odair, I do not believe that you had no knowledge.”

“Silas tried to kill us.”

“He tried to kill your boyfriend. He is also the one who informed me of your...secret bonding.”
“He what?”
“He came to me and informed me of your relationship, hoping that I would be able to break it up. Find a reason to...remove Finnick Odair. You had him wrapped around your finger. A little old for you I believe, but alas. He was rather dissapointed when I said no. I had no interest in that at that point since the Games were already
planned. How did you like the tribute selection?”
That stupid, egoistic son of a bitch.
“You had fun picking it didn’t you? I didn’t think you were one for a personal feud though.”
“Yes. But people like you and you aren’t the most compliant. If you knew of a rebellion you’d fight in it.”
“So you hand-selected my friends for the arena. As the last blow. To make me kill my friends?!”

He doesn’t say anything, as if he is waiting for something.

“You wanted me to turn into a monster. To kill their victors. And then they would hate me. Great plan, Mr President, truly. You just don’t know me at all.”

He nods slowly.
“Where is Katniss Everdeen?”

“I don’t know", I say.

“Where is your fiance?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where is Silas Donovan?”

“In hell, I hope", I growl and the President smiles, almost dissapointed.

“Miss Moreno. I am really trying to give you a chance here.”

“Why? I don’t know anything! I just tried to survive long enough, hoping that I could get Finnick through. Nothing more.”

“You want to tell me that Haymitch Abernathy did not involve his friend and one of the strongest tributes in the arena in his plan?”

“Yes.”

“I do not believe you, Miss Moreno.”

“I can’t change that.”

“Oh we will”, he says and calls in the guards who drag me out of the room.

“Oh and I believe it goes without saying that Mariann Halloway has joined the dead”, he says just as the door closes.
“You sick son of a bitch! She had children. She didn’t do anything wrong. Let me go! You asshole!”, I scream, call out profanities the whole way, through more doors and into a big room.
There I stop screaming. Because in cells separated by bars, sit my
friends. Peeta, Johanna and Gloss.
“No…”, I whisper as they push me towards the empty cell between Gloss and Peeta.

The guards here don’t wear armour, why should they, we don’t have weapons. So arrogant. So stupid.
I elbow one in the stomach and duck down, grabbing the taser from his belts that sits next to the baton. The other guard grabs me, but I stomp on his foot and slam my head back, making him stumble back ever so slightly. I turn around and press the taser into his stomach.
Then everything goes dark.