Ocean Eyes - Finnick Odair

Fourteen

Marissa stumbles to her feet, running after Finnick, who has his hand wrapped firmly around her wrist and is dragging her through the jungle.

"What is it? What is it?" Peeta shouts from behind them, struggling after Katniss.

"Some kind of fog. Poisonous gas. Hurry, Peeta!" Katniss urges. The blond moves slowly, tripping at every tree root and tangle of vines.

Finnick is still charging ahead, only concerned about getting himself and Marissa to safety, but she stops. She digs her heels into the ground to stop him and, he finally turns around.

"What are you doing?" he demands.

"Finn, we have to help them," Marissa says, referring to Katniss and Peeta, who are struggling to run from the fog. Finnick seems to realise they are having difficulty moving and, after swearing under his breath, shouts encouragements at them. They begin to move again but Peeta's artificial leg catches on something, and he sprawls forward.

Finnick rushes over to them, his hand reluctantly dropping Marissa's and, he hauls Peeta along with them. Eventually, Finnick slings Peeta over his back, carrying him through the jungle and away from the fog. Marissa is ahead of them all, untouched by the fog as she leads them towards the water that surrounds the Cornucopia.

The fog seems to be speeding up, walls forming on either side of the group. Marissa's foot catches on a vine and she tumbles to the floor, unable to untangle herself. Finnick rushes forward with Peeta, unable to stop and help Marissa but Katniss is at her side, desperately trying to free her foot from the vines.

Both of them scream as the fog reaches them, searing pain spreading across their skin wherever the droplets of mist touch them. Katniss' hands move frantically now, finally yanking Marissa's foot free from the vines and running away from the fog as Marissa clambers to her feet. She cannot see Katniss anymore; the fog obscures her view, and she does not know which direction the girl had run. Tendrils of fog lick at her back and, another agonising scream leaves her lips. The pain sends her tumbling to the floor again but, this time she falls down the hill. She rolls down the incline, crying out whenever her blistered back hit the ground and landing in a heap next to Katniss, Peeta and Finnick, who have all collapsed onto the earth.

Their limbs twitch as they lay on the ground, the fog targeting their nerves and Katniss makes a sort of croaking noise.

"It's stopped," she repeats and, this time her words are clear. Peeta, Finnick and Marissa turn their heads to the fog. It begins to rise upwards as if it is being vacuumed into the sky and, Marissa breathes out a shaky sigh of relief.

Peeta rolls off of Finnick, both of the boys groaning in pain and the allies lay there, twitching and gasping.

"Mon-hees," Peeta rasps, staring up at the trees above them. Marissa has never seen a monkey before and these are about half the size of a human, their fur orange. Marissa decides the monkeys are a good sign. Why would any creature hang around if the air is deadly?

Peeta is the first to move, struggling to his knees and crawling down the slope. Katniss, Marissa and Finnick crawl after him, none of them able to walk, until they reach a narrow strip of sandy beach and the water surrounding the Cornucopia laps their faces. Marissa cries out, the water burning her skin, but she does not stop. She carries on forward, submerging her whole body in the salty water. The water in her wounds is so painful, Marissa almost blacks out, but it slowly fades away with a milky substance leaching out of the wounds on her skin. Katniss and Peeta copy her actions, soaking the poison from their wounds but, Finnick lies face down in the sand, either unwilling or unable to purge himself.

Marissa struggles over to him, but she cannot drag him into the water because he is too heavy for her spasm riddled limbs to move. Instead, she cups her hands and scoops up handfuls of water, carefully emptying them onto his blistered hands. The poison leaves Finnick's wounds in the form of mist which Marissa takes great caution to steer clear of as she continues to pour water over him.