RUINATION | FINNICK ODAIR

SEMPITERNAL YET EPHEMERAL

"Finnick is dead."

That was her breaking point. Those words didn't come from her torturers or Snow. It was straight from her own mouth, having finally let the last of her defense down.

She couldn't take it anymore. Her veins were on fire yet completely frozen from the tracker jacker venom; the substance no longer gave her that addictive pleasure. Her body was mutilated and hollowed out, barely recognizable. After being strapped to a chair for so long, Lara couldn't feel her legs except for the moments she was stabbed with syringes and knives.

Even a few of the nurses felt bad for her, knowing Snow held the strongest grudge for her. Out of all the tributes, she was the one he treated the worst.

Lara felt like there was no one with her. She hadn't seen Peeta, Annie, or Johanna, and she didn't hear their screams either. She assumed they were dead.

If they were dead, she might as well be too. She tried to hold out hope for a rescue by Finnick, but it was over. The last piece of the walls holding her together crumbled and she gave up.

"Finnick is dead," she mumbled, submitting to the mantra.

Her interrogator stopped in their place and set down the scalpel that was in their hand. They motioned for someone to get Snow so he could witness the progress himself.

Lara could hear two things: her pounding heartbeat and the hologram in the corner of the room. She couldn't move her head very well but the sound was the clearest thing in the room.

"This is Finnick Odair, winner of the 65th Hunger Games. And I'm coming to you from district thirteen...alive and well."

Her heart fluttered when she heard his voice. It gave her the strength to pick up her head and look at the holographic broadcast. She saw his face, finding only loneliness and grief in his eyes. She barely cared about the fact that he mentioned district thirteen, which was still a revelation to her.

"We survived an assault by the Capitol. But I'm not here to give you recent news. I'm here to give you the truth. The truth...not the lies about the life of luxury and glory for your homeland."

The truth he was speaking conflicted with the words that had been drilled into her head. But she knew he was right, as she always believed he was. She'd always choose to believe Finnick.

The more that she heard him expose the Capitol's lies, she gained more strength. She started to move her arms despite the pain, tugging against the restraints that now only pinned her wrists.

"You can't survive in the arena. Even if you do, the moment you leave...you're a slave."

Lara groaned and shifted in her seat. It brought some attention from the surrounding people in the room but they weren't worried too much. They figured she was too weak to actually break out.

But her strength was underestimated. Finnick's voice gave her unexpected power; she was strong enough to actually break through one restraint.

"President Snow used to sell me...my body, at least. I wasn't the only one. If a victor is considered desirable, the president gives them as a reward or allows people to buy them. If you refuse, then he kills someone you love."

Lara knew exactly what he was talking about. Snow had forced her through the same thing by threatening Finnick, Annie, and her brother.

"To make themselves feel better, the patrons would offer presents of money or jewelry. But I found a much more valuable form of payment...secrets."