HURRICANE, finnick odair (hiatus)

viii. let the games begin

CHAPTER EIGHT!

LET THE GAMES BEGIN.

SHAKING — her entire body is doing nothing but shake. The tremors spread throughout the entirety of her being, twitching under the nervousness she is currently feeling, the fear flowing through her veins. She could die today, today could be the day she takes her final breath. The scary part, it'll be alone. Her parents, her brothers, Finnick, they will all have to watch as she dies and there isn't a thing they can do to stop it from happening.

"I need you to calm down for me," Finnick's voice rings through the air as he places his hands on the sides of her face. He looks rather blurry in front of her, the soft touch of his skin bringing little to no comfort in this situation. "Sunshine, you need to breathe,"

Rosalie inhales deeply several times, concentrating on calming down and slowing her intense heart rate. She closes her eyes and pictures life back home, the waves rolling in to the shore. The laughter of her brothers as they try to push one another into the water, this happening whilst she sits on the sand and rolls her eyes playfully at them. Those are the days she would enjoy from beginning to end, where the entire family gets to be happy and there are seemingly no problems in the world.

"That's better," Finnick mumbles quietly, the brunette's eyes opening back up to see him staring straight at her. "I need you to promise me that you will do everything in your power to come home, okay? I know it's going to be hard, scary and extremely traumatic but if anybody deserves to go home, it's you. Okay?"

"I-okay," She stutters in response, her hands moving to lay over his as they still rest on the sides of her face. "But if I don't, you'll take care of them for me, won't you?"

Finnick breathes deeply as her voice breaks and her lips begin to quiver. His eyes sting with bushed tears, afraid for the first time in what seems like forever. Rosalie Barton is the furthest thing from a killer and it's what she's going to have to become if she wants to win.

"Of course I will," Finnick promises sincerely, his hands moving to grab hers and intertwine away from her face.  Their foreheads lean against one another's, soaking up the small amount of time that they have left with each other.

"It's time to go," The sullen voice of a Peacekeeper interrupts the two of them and she begins to shake all over again.

"I love you, Finn," She whispers.

"And I, you. Come back to me," He responds.

The brunette looks into his eyes one last time, her face inching closer to his. Rosalie allows her lips to gently brush against his, for a moment, a second even, before pulling away once again.

The Peacekeeper gently grabs her arm and pulls her away, towards the large flying aircraft that the other tributes are all seated on. Finnick watches her go, a broken expression evident on his face. He catches one last glimpse at her face before she's gone, leaving behind the broken boy.

Back at her home in District Four, her family is huddled up in their small living room with the projector already set up. The Capitol coverage shows all the teenagers as they get on the ship and Carter allows himself to once again express his emotions, a tear sliding down the side of his face as he sees her — his big sister. She looks the same as she had when he'd seen her last but who knows how long that will last.

Asher watches him, swallowing his own sadness in an attempt to stay strong for his younger sibling. Carter can probably see straight through his facade but he keeps it up anyway, he feels as if it's his job. Their parents aren't in any better of a state — his mother crying and his father emotionless as they stare at the images.

"Any last minute predictions, Caesar?" Claudius Templesmith asks his colleague.

"From what I've seen, I'm going to stick with my pick of Caster Gillion from District One. Incredibly strong and from what has been said, incredibly skilful. Yourself?" Caesar responds.

"I'll have to agree with you,"

"How can they talk like that?" Carter asks his brother. "People are about to die and they're betting on them. They want Rose to die,"

"They think they have to right to play with people and their lives, Cart. It's always been that way. But you know what? When Rose wins, they'll be in for a great shock," Asher replies as he tries to assure the boy.

The four of them sit in the room for half an hour more before the cameras finally cut to the arena. The Cornucopia sits in the middle of a dirt flooring, the surrounding area seemingly green with trees. In the distance, things that resemble some sort of building can also be seen and Asher is having a hard time trying to decipher what the Game makers were going for.

Slowly, but surely, the tributes begin to raise up onto the pedestals for everybody to see. The family have their eyes glued on the screen and when they finally see her, they hearts begin to race. There she stands, Rosalie Barton.

Rosalie can feel the jacket she's wearing cling to her skin as she stands on the stand. Her eyes instantly dart around to look at where she is, at what she'll have to contest with. Trees, buildings and not an ounce of water in sight — she holds onto the hope that it'll be further in the distance.

The Career tributes seem to be eyeing the weapons hungrily, eager to get the games underway. The timer begins to tick down and Rosalie looks for a possible escape route, the fastest way to get out of there and be safe.

She can see a small opening in the trees to her left and then a much large one behind the Cornucopia, she's well aware of which one is the safest option. If she's lucky, she'll be able to grab something that is on the floor on her way out. The last thing she needs is to be unprotected.

"Ten seconds,"

She leans forward as the numbers decrease and when the loud canon like noise echoes around her, she leaps off the platform. 

Let the games begin.

Note!

Thank you for reading!