Chapter Twenty-two: The Beginning

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Chapter Twenty-two: The Beginning

"Kai?"

I turn my head to see a silhouette of a person a few lengths away from me, breaking up the dead silence of the morning - save for the sound of the flowing water a few feet away from me. It takes me a few moments to place the familiar voice and, when I do, my shoulders slump. There's only one other person in Victor's Village who would be awake right now. "Finnick?"

"Yeah." He takes a few steps towards me, coming close enough for me to actually see him in the moonlight that surrounds me. His hair is sticking around, slick with sweat. He's wearing almost an identical blue sweatshirt to the one that I'm wearing and joggers; he must have been working out.

I don't speak until he's standing almost directly in front of me. "Where did you go?"

"Took a run around the lake." He points behind him, where both of us know the large lake that defines our district is. There's a beat before he speaks. "Why are you out here?"

He stops walking but stays standing a little above me. I hesitate before patting the couch. This is one of the black couches that was originally in the living room. "The same reason as you, I expect."

It's been four days since I spoke to Finnick and saw Jewel - since I really left this house. I traveled back over to my old house to grab some sentimental things that Jewel left behind. But, other than that, all that I have been doing is buying furniture and paint from the capitol; I figured that it would be easier to buy something and ship it over here than to try to talk to people in the district. They'll probably refuse to sell me anything and yell at me for causing the death of a child, which is a pretty fair thing to argue.

He accepts my offer and sits down next to me. "Wasn't this in your house?"

"I ordered new stuff, so not anymore." I reply. My eyes leave him and return to the sky, which is where my efforts were focused before Finnick appeared. It's around five in the morning right now and the sun is just starting to rise. It is painting the sky in a dark red hue, but that will soon lighten. I've found that the nightmares - most of which involve James or Alice and, one night, even Kelley - wake me up around four or five in the morning, so I start my mornings out here most days. It's peaceful to watch as the sky is painted with vivid hues. "My stuff should be shipping in today, actually."

"You didn't just get stuff from the district?" He asks.

I shake my head. "I got Orange to help me get stuff from the capitol. I doubt people will sell me anything here. "

I probably could have gotten stuff through my own Capitol contacts, but it was much easier to ask for the help of our district representative. She was more than happy to help me once I called her, and even attempted to buy some of the shit with her own money - although I refused to accept any monetary help.

He frowns before letting out a small snort. "You mean Clementine?"

"Yeah." I let out a small chuckle. I've been calling her Orange in my head basically since I met her, so it's kind of funny to hear her real name out loud.

Neither of us speak for a few moments.

I thought that him being here would disturb my calm, but it doesn't really. We sit in silence for a few moments until a question enters my mind. I ask it after a long moment of deliberation; it's probably not the nicest thing to ask, and is probably quite intrusive, but I know he'll answer it truthfully. "How many did you kill?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Finnick shift to look at me. He doesn't hesitate to answer. "Five." I bet that number is engraved into his mind.

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