chapter fifty-six
THE GROUP GATHERS AROUND THE TABLE, looking at the holographic map.
"That's us," Cressida points to a spot, "that's the city circle," she points to another, "it's at least seventy-five blocks north."
"Seventy-five blocks?" Finnick asks to confirm. Cressida hums an "uh-huh".
"Nobody knows we're alive. This is our chance. These buildings," Katniss points, "do they look over Snow's gardens?"
"They do," someone replies.
"If he goes outside at all, I could get a clear shot."
"We are getting ahead of ourselves here, we're pinned down," Jackson says, "Hit that button, and scan for pods."
The holo beeps, and thousands of orange dots pop up across the map.
"Just about every ten steps," Seeder states.
"Yeah, and this doesn't even show the new ones," Gale seconds.
"So we can't go anywhere in the streets," Finnick adds, looking at Octavia, who nods in agreement.
"And the rooftops are just as bad," Jackson says. Pollux signs something to Castor, who speaks up after thinking for a moment.
"There might be another way."
───
Underground tunnels were not something Octavia was particularly fond of. Castor tells the group that Pollux is familiar with these tunnels and that before they made him an Avox, he worked in them.
Pollux begins to cry as the group enters the tunnel.
"Hey, are you gonna be okay? Look at me," Castro speaks to him, "We're gonna get through this, I promise."
Pollux nods and begins to lead the way.
As the group makes their way through the tunnel, a train passes through. Katniss holds the holo out, it beeps once.
"We're too exposed here," she says. Pollux motions for the group to follow him, making a run for a door across the train tracks.
One by one, the group makes their way down a ladder, bringing them into the sewers.
"Stay beside me," Finnick instructs to Octavia, "both of you," he looks to Seeder. The women both nod. Octavia takes his hand in hers for a moment, squeezing it tightly.
"It looks clear," Katniss says as she begins furthering into the area.
The group walks through sewer water for a while before coming up on a smaller tunnel. The tunnel is full of water up to Octavia's chest. Katniss leads the way.
Eventually, they get to a point where the water is at their feet rather than their chests.
"Okay, everyone, let's stop here and get some rest," Jackson says, "I'll take the first watch."
"Hey, Peeta, just tuck in there," Finnick says to the boy as everyone finds a place to settle.
Finnick motions for Seeder to sit down, the older woman doesn't argue, taking a spot next to Octavia.
"You okay?" Finnick turns his attention to Octavia. She nods.
"I'm good, Finn, get some rest."
He pulls her into his chest, letting her lay on him comfortably.
"I love you," he whispers. As she listens to his heartbeat, her body warms.
"I love you, too."
───
During the night, the silence is broken by a few words.
"I'm scared, Seeder," Octavia whispers.
"Don't worry, we're gonna be fine," the woman replies.
Octavia's eye drifts to Finnick's sleeping body.
"When he thought he'd lost you, I thought he'd kill everyone in his path. He was so heartbroken that I was sure it'd turn into rage," Seeder explains. Octavia remains silent.
"He loves you so much, Octavia."
"I know," Octavia nods slightly.
"And I love you."
"I love you too, Seeder."
───
Octavia woke to the sound of Peeta ushering everyone to wake up.
"We gotta go! We gotta get out of here, they're releasing mutts!"
Finnick pulls her to her feet before lending a hand to Seeder.
"Pollux, what's the fastest way out?" Katniss questions.
He gestures in a direction.
Gale leads, followed by Katniss. Jackson and Castor cover the back. Seeder, Finnick, Octavia, and Peeta are in between, along with the other rebels.
They continue to trek through the sewers, Gale setting fires to see through the darkness. The quiet is haunting.
Pollux leads the group to a small crawl space. He goes in first. Once he scopes it out, he gestures for the others to follow. Gale goes first, then Katniss, then Peeta, then Octavia, Finnick, and Seeder. Jackson turns to face the group, preparing herself to go through the crawl space.
On instinct, she turned around to check behind her again. This time, she was met with the disgusting face of a horrific-looking mutt. Her screams were silenced by death quickly.
Katniss fires an arrow, exploding the mutts as Gale begins shouting.
"Go! Go! Go!"
They're running for their lives, something that all of them are familiar with.
"Come on!" Finnick shouts, pushing Octavia in front of him gently. As they run, water splashes up from their feet, soaking them.
Castor is just behind Octavia, and then all of a sudden, he is gone. Mutts charged from the side, taking him down immediately.
"Castor!" Octavia shrieks, unsheathing her katana and swinging into the mutts. Cressida begins firing, taking mutts down with every bullet.
"Come on! We have to go!" Finnick pulls her away from the hungry mutts.
The group eventually reaches a ladder. Pollux begins ushering Peeta up. Katniss and Gale hold the mutts off with their engineered arrows.
Finnick and Octavia stab and slash at the ones that get through.
Seeder fires her gun into the head of a mutt who'd found its way on up of Peeta.
Now, it seems that they're coming from every direction.
Octavia doesn't have time to blink before a mutt launches itself onto her. She manages to hold onto her blade, but can't bring herself to lift her arm with the weight of the mutation resting on it. Her other arm fights to keep the mutt's teeth away from her.
Finnick's trident pierces the mutt's skull, causing it to fall limp instantly. Octavia lets a breath of relief out as Finnick pulls her up. Against all odds, Cressida and Homes emerge, helping the group hold off the remaining mutts.
The group begins climbing the ladder, beginning with Peeta and Gale.
"Get back! Octavia, get back!" Finnick shouts. Wielding her katana, Octavia continues to take down mutts.
"Seeder! Come on!" Octavia cries out. Seeder continues to fire her weapon.
As Katniss begins to climb, a mutt jumps out at her. Finnick launches his trident into the mutt with a grunt.
Another mutt charges him, pulling him beneath the water.
"Finnick!" Octavia screams, rushing toward him. Seeder pulls her backward.
"No! I've got him! You get up the ladder!" Seeder shouts, firing her weapon as Finnick emerges from the water, taking the mutt down.
"Seeder—"
"Octavia, go!"
With a hard push, Octavia grabs onto the ladder. Her limbs are numb with fear, but she finds enough strength to begin climbing.
As she reaches the top, Finnick and Seeder pull into the base of the ladder.
"Finnick, go! I'll hold them off!" Seeder yells over the sound of her gun firing. He hesitates for a moment, wanting to fight with her.
"Finnick, go!" Her scream is unlike anything he'd ever heard from her before, so he goes.
He reaches the top, wrapping his arms around Octavia, who is shaking with fear. Seeder finds enough time to latch onto the metal bars. Octavia watches as Seeder begins climbing.
She gets nearly halfway up the ladder before a mutt launches itself at her, ripping her off of the ladder.
"Seeder!" Octavia cries out, attempting to go after her. Finnick holds her back with all his strength, watching in terror as Seeder falls to the ground.
With a loud thud, Seeder crashes into the metal railing. Mutts pile on top of the woman. Her screams echo throughout Octavia's head.
"Seeder! Seeder! No!" Her voice breaks as her screams tear her throat apart internally. Tears pour furiously from her eyes.
"Stop! Let me go! We have to do something!" Octavia shouts hysterically, writhing against Finnick's hold. Katniss pushes past Octavia, holding the holo out in front of her.
"Nightlock, nightlock, nightlock." She drops the holo down the ladder. The holo destructs, taking the mutts and Seeder with it.
The hot flames nearly burn Octavia's face, causing her to instinctively jerk away. She can hardly hear anything over her painful sobs.
"Keep moving! Keep moving!" Gale's voice booms as he drags Katniss away, motioning for Finnick to do the same.
"No! No! We have to get her!" Octavia cries out.
But there is nothing left of Seeder to get.
"She's gone, Octavia, she's gone," Finnick's voice floods her ears as he drags her away from the last piece of District Eleven she had left.
There is no time to mourn the dead.
As soon as they reach the train tracks, gunfire greets them.
Finnick pulls Octavia behind a pillar, firing his gun furiously. A pod appears, shattering Homes to pieces.
"Come on! Come on! Keep going!"
At this point, she isn't sure who is shouting.
The group runs wildly as the ground begins to fall from beneath them. Octavia can feel Finnick practically pulling her along with him.
As they reach the end of the pod, Peeta and Katniss crash into the ground. As they share a moment, Finnick attempts to console Octavia.
"She's dead, she's dead," Octavia cries into Finnick's chest.
"I know. I know. I'm so sorry, I'm sorry," He whispers into her ears, tightly holding her head with his hand and her waist with his other.
"You're alive," she says shakily, letting her fingertips caress the skin of his cheek.
"I'm here, I'm alive. I won't ever leave you."
END OF CHAPTER
rip seeder!
finnick made it out alive!!
tbh seeder definitely did not expect to survive the mutts, she knew she was sacrificing herself for finnick and octavia
there goes the last of district eleven that octavia had.. :(
thank you for reading!