Sugarcubes // Finnick Odair - Hunger Games Fanfic

XXV.

"Stop it."

"No." he says, and I make sure that I'm looking at him. I really don't want to cry. Not when a thousand people are probably getting a live feed of my eyes. Waiting to see if the great Kendria Parstons tears up.

"Finnick stop. We'll deal with that if we get there." I tell him, but he refuses to back down.

"Kendria, if I die," I inhale sharply. He continues talking "I just need you to keep going. You know? I love you. I want you to keep doing what needs to be done."

I know that he's talking about the rebellion in an instant. He's talking about if Haymitch fails to save him. He doesn't want me to go mad and pit myself against the rebellion. He wants me to help them. To change the world. All my life, changing the world has seemed out of my reach, and now this man is sitting in front of me, telling me that that's exactly what he wants me to do.

"The same goes for you too, Finnick." I tell him, and he nods, enveloping me in his arms. My axe arm falls limp. The shaft of his trident rests against my head, a small reminder that we're still in the games. That no matter how safe I fell at this moment in his arms, I'm not safe. We're not safe. Not until we get to thirteen. And maybe not even then. What we've signed up for is a long hard fight. I'm not sure if I'm ready for it.

"I love you too Finnick."

And I hate him for making me feel like this, especially in the hunger games.

"You didn't say you would," he tells me, after a moment of silence. I sigh. "And I don't want one of those false promises that you're so well known for."

"Alright, if you die, Finnick, which you won't, I'll keep going." I tell him, acting like the thought of him dying isn't the most heart wrenching thing ever. Like I'd be able to just keep going, after seeing him dead. This is all for the sake for the Capitol anyway, isn't it?

He's about to say something, probably to call my bluff, but the national anthem begins, drawing all our attention to the sky. After the anthem is over, however, the sky goes dark. No deaths today. The viewers in the Capitol must be thirsting for blood. I think only Beetee's grand plan – the promise of gruesome death – prevents the game makers from interfering, making the show more interesting.

At around nine, we leave our camp behind and cross over quietly to the beach in the midnight section. From there, it's a quiet, uncomfortable and exhausting hike up to the lightning tree. We have about three hours to make this plan work, less if we don't want to be fried along with the careers.

Beetee asks Finnick to assist him, and the rest of us stand guard. Before he even attaches any wire to the tree, Beetee unrolls yards and yards of the stuff. He has Finnick secure it tightly around a broken branch and lay it on the ground. Then they stand on either side of the tree, passing the spool back and forth as they wrap the wire around and around the trunk. At first it seems arbitrary, then I see a pattern, like an intricate maze, appearing in the moonlight on Beetee's side.

The wave at the ten o'clock section erupts, and I flinch. Judging by the sky, we have an hour and a half left. I realize that this is the last hour and a half of the hunger games. And unlike any of the games before, there are still plenty of us alive.

Beetee's work on the trunk of the tree is completed. He then reveals the rest of the plan. I can feel my heartbeat rising. Since we move most swiftly through the trees, he wants Katniss and me to take the coil down through the jungle, unwinding the wire as we go. We are to lay it across the twelve o'clock beach and drop the metal spool, with whatever is left, deep into the water, making sure it sinks. Then run for the jungle. If we go now, right now, we should make it to safety.

I know the reason why its me and Katniss, of course. There are two. One is that we can't afford to leave Katniss and Peeta alone. There's a high chance that they run away, leaving the plan of getting all of us out ruined. Another is that Katniss's tracker must be cut out of her arm. The rebels can only pick her up if they're sure she can't be tracked. By sending me with her, Beetee is making sure that I get her tracker out. I hope Finnick understands that he is responsible for Peeta's.

"I want to go with them as a guard," Peeta says immediately.

"You're too slow. Besides, I'll need you on this end. Katniss will guard," says Beetee. "There's no time to debate this. I'm sorry. If the girls are to get out of there alive, they need to move now." He hands me the coil firmly.

"It's fine. We'll drop the coil and come straight back up," I tell Peeta waving off any concern in his eyes. "I promise not to kill your Fiancé before then," I say with a laugh. It's not funny.

"Not into the lightning zone," Beetee reminds me. "Head for the tree in the one-to-two-o'clock sector. If you find you're running out of time, move over one more. Don't even think about going back on the beach, though, until I can assess the damage."

She gives Peeta a kiss. I give Finnick a knowing look. "I'll see you later, Four." I tell him, fixing him with a grim smile.

"I'll see you, Seven." He tells me.

"Ready?" Katniss asks me, and I tear my eyes of Finnick. I smile at her. A sadistic, what could possibly go wrong, sort of smile.

"Why not?" I ask, thinking of a million reasons exactly why not on the spot. But hey, there's a million risks in the hunger games. I'd not still be alive if I didn't know that.

Published: 27 April, 2024