𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐃, 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐫

𝓿𝓲𝓲𝓲 ── 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩

· · ─────── · 𝘋𝘖𝘖𝘔𝘌𝘋 · ─────── · ·

008. EIGHT: doomed

VALENCIA LET OUT A BREATH AS SHE TIED HER HAIR BACK INTO A PONYTAIL. The Callisto woman was reminded of her own games as she sprinted through the humid arena, realising that they were remarkably similar. Drops of sweat rolled down her forehead and her lips were already chapped.

After a little while longer of running, they came to a clearing which is where Finnick held his hands up to stop them. "Okay, hold up, hold up." He panted, crouching down to catch his breath.

Valencia nodded, putting a hand on his back to comfort him but scrunched her face up in disgust when she felt his sweat on her hand. "Okay, we've got to find fresh water soon or-"

The woman was interrupted by three sharp cannons going off, telling them that a further three people had died. Valencia and Finnick exchanged relieved glances before the latter spoke. "Well, they're not holding hands anymore."

Katniss turned and scoffed at his statement. "That's funny to you?" She asked him, hostility evident in her tone.

Valencia's eyes darkened as she looked at Katniss. "Katniss, every time those cannons go off? It's like music to our ears. You have to realise that you can't care about any of them if you want to survive this."

Katniss slowly nodded, gripping her machete tighter as she spoke, causing Valencia to do the same with her daggers. "That's good to know."

Finnick could barely hold in his chuckle as he knew that Katniss wanted to split off. "So, what? Do you want to face the Careers alone? I wonder what Haymitch would think about that."

"Haymitch isn't here."

"I wish he was." Valencia muttered.

"Okay, let's keep moving," Peeta spoke up, not wanting the conversation to escalate further. Katniss turned and fell into step with Peeta, leaving the pair from District 4 behind them.

Valencia sighed and helped Finnick up and for a while, the quartet walked in complete silence. The brunette's ears were filled with nothing but the various sounds from different birds throughout the arena.

As Katniss and Peeta were at the front, Valencia took it upon herself to guard their back and surroundings, so it took her by surprise when Katniss suddenly cried out. "Peeta, no!"

Valencia quickly turned to see Peeta chopping through some vines with a machete. She was confused as to why Katniss had cried out for a second before gasping when an invisible force knocked Peeta back towards them.

They all groaned as they hit the ground, hard. Valencia clutched her head as she sat up slowly, trying to make the ringing in her ears go away. Her head turned when Finnick grabbed onto her arm and checked her over for any injuries.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, his eyes wide.

Valencia nodded, lowering her arm. "Yeah, are you?"

"Yeah, but I don't think he is." Finnick motioned over to Peeta's body, which was alarmingly still. The duo scrambled over to him and noticed that steam was coming from his body.

"Peeta? Peeta!" Katniss called out, shaking his body. When the boy didn't move, her eyes widened and she turned to the District 4 tributes. "He's not breathing!"

Valencia held Katniss's arms to pull her away from Peeta as Finnick approached him. The raven-haired girl quickly aimed an arrow at the blond man but Valencia rolled her eyes and aggressively pushed it down. "Would you stop, what is wrong with you? If we were trying to kill you, you'd already be dead. Talk about being trigger-happy."

Katniss lowered her bow and arrow slowly, realising that Finnick wasn't going to harm Peeta, but was instead giving him CPR. The women approached slowly as Finnick placed his hands on Peeta's chest in fast compressions.

Katniss shook her head and muttered to herself. "Come on, please."

Valencia said nothing but remained hopeful that the boy would wake up. What felt like years later, three relived sighs came from their mouths as Peeta gasped awake, opening his eyes. When Katniss hugged the boy, Finnick pulled Valencia away to give them some privacy. She glanced up at him proudly. "Nice work."

Finnick smiled at her before holding her hand and pulling her along, further into the arena.

A while later, the quartet was back up and moving. Katniss had taken it upon herself to lead the group, and Valencia didn't have it in her to fight her on it. The brunette also noticed that the Everdeen girl would throw small stones at the forcefield, preventing any further accidents.

When Katniss stopped them to climb up a tree, Valencia shot her a thumbs up before crashing down the floor, having had enough of the heat.

"Woah, be careful," Finnick warned her, sitting down next to him. Valencia squinted up at him, even the smallest of movements drained her energy.

"If we don't find any water soon, we either die of dehydration or we drink our own piss. I don't know about you guys, but I vote for water." Valencia stated, making both Finnick and Peeta chuckle softly.

"The forcefield's a dome. We're at the edge of the arena, and I still can't find any fresh water." Katniss told them as she clambered back down the tree.

Finnick pulled Valencia up and turned to face Katniss. "It's gonna get dark soon." He told her. "We should be safe with our backs protected so we can set up camp, and take turns sleeping."

Valencia nodded in agreement. "Sounds good, I'll take the first watch." Her dark eyes narrowed when Katniss scoffed. "Oh, you got a problem with that, Girl on Fire?"

"There's no way we're doing that." Katniss crossed her arms. Valencia was about to speak when Finnick pulled her back, handed her his trident, and approached Katniss.

"Honey." He began, his voice adopting a low tone. "That thing that Valencia did back at the Cornucopia? That thing I did back there for Peeta? That was called saving his life, twice. As Valencia told you before, if we wanted you guys dead, you'd be long gone by now." With that, he turned and walked away to sit on a nearby rock.

Valencia tilted her head and slowly walked up to Katniss. "Listen, just because you and your fiancé won a game, doesn't mean that you know better than us. We have got years of experience on you two, and I think that you're forgetting that you didn't even win based on the normal circumstances. You didn't have to endure the horrific final fight between you and some other tribute. No, you and your fiancé just decided to try and eat some berries. If I were you, I'd pipe the fuck down."

Katniss clenched her jaw as she watched Valencia walk over to Finnick, before sighing. "Fine. I'll take the first watch." She then walked over to Peeta and once she was out of earshot, Valencia swore at her, making Finnick grin.

"I don't see how we get through this with her, she's impossible." Valencia groaned, putting her head in her hands.

"No, we'll get through it. We're together. That's all we need." Finnick assured her. When Valencia looked back up at him, her eyes soft, he blushed before clearing his throat and standing up.

"We should probably help set up. Come on, let's go."

Valencia let out a breath before reluctantly following the blond over to the pair of District 12 tributes, asking herself whether they'd really make it through this.

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author's note: hey guys! i really hope you enjoyed the chapter, my fav bit was the argument between katniss, val and finnick. don't be afraid to comment or write something on my conversation board, i love reading them <3