𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 | 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐫

EIGHTEEN

xviii. Dreams

Aurora's eyes fluttered open. To see white. Pure white. What was this? Was this heaven? Had she truly died? Only moments ago, her body was aching in pain as the water filled her lungs. Surely the cannon must've gone off, signaling her death. Her mind wondered to Finnick. How would he be taking it? Surely he must've been in pain, at the loss of his best friend. Aurora found herself aching for him, for his presence. He was alone.

The bright white light had turned into a sky blue, as the sight of clouds began to fill her vision. The pain in her lungs had left, as the cool air filled her lungs. The beautiful blue sky of District Four. The feeling of the coarse sand beneath her grazed her fingers, her bare legs. She immediately recognized the smell of fish, the sound of large waves crashing against the shore. She was back home.

Her head shot up, resting her weight on her elbows as she looked around. The beach was empty, except for one lonely boy sat on the edge of the pier. Confusion had crossed over her. It looked as if she'd fallen asleep on the beach, but the last thing she remembered was the games. The Quarter Quell. The rebellion. The aching pain of the fog, the crazed monkey mutts that'd attacked, Johanna covered in blood, the spinning cornucopia. Cashmere stabbing a knife into her leg.

At the memory, Aurora looked down at her legs to find... nothing. She was healed as if the wound were never there. But she felt it, she remembered the feeling of the blade piercing her delicate flesh. That was real, for sure. So she must've been dead.

She stood up from the floor, brushing herself off the sand particles that covered her normal white tank top, and green shorts. Aurora looked around once more. She and the unknown man on the pier seemed to be the only people there. It was quiet, the only thing heard was the ocean's waves.

After getting herself together, she walked to the pier where the man had been sat. He stayed still, almost no movement besides his legs swinging off the edge of the pier. He wore a casual t-shirt and shorts, details that would of which have no significance in identifying the man, considering in district four, that's what most boys wore.

Aurora reached the pier, slowly walking down the wooden structure. Her eyes were locked on the boy, who hadn't seemed to notice her presence. He looked familiar from the back, but she couldn't quite pinpoint who he was. Soon enough, the boy had turned his head revealing his identity.

It was Zale Evans.

Aurora gasped at the sight of him, her eyes widening, tearing up at the sight of her brother, whom she hadn't seen in years. Too many years.

"Zale?" She breathed out with disbelief. He held a small smile on his face as if he were glad to see her as well.

"You took long enough." He patted the empty spot beside him. She hesitantly walked forward, taking a seat beside him, her eyes never leaving his identical ocean blue ones. Her face was one of shock, not able to comprehend his presence.