Liberosis - The Hunger Games

44

The next morning was fraught with dread as Finnick, and I help each other off the ground of the balcony. We stumbled back into the apartment, nibbling on the fresh fruit that had been prepared for us, neither of us had an appetite, it was the best we could do. Reign and Annie greeted us with deep frowns, especially Annie, who appeared as though she had already been crying all morning. Reign had promised us a few nights prior that he would keep Annie away from any of the violence, it was still an emotional trigger for her that he couldn't bring himself to expose her to.

The two of them would be working alongside Haymitch to ensure that we received the messages about the raid, so we knew when to find each other and when to remove our trackers. It would be difficult to get through the games, a predominant amount of sponsorship funds would be going towards sending the messages, and we would have to fend for ourselves in many other aspects.

Soon enough it was time for Finnick and me to part.

It was hard to pull away from our Finnick hug, my fingers remained interlaced until the final moments, "I don't care what Haymitch says," He said lowly, "Find me first, ok?"

"I'll find you," I promised him, kissing the corner of his mouth, "No matter how long it takes, I will,"

I nearly cried in relief when I noticed the suits we would be wearing for the games, Gaia was wearing a similar expression as she held it up to my body. A wetsuit, like the one that I had worn for my games when I had leapt off the face of a cliff into the tropical water below. I identified the floatation device on the belt of the suit, it would be a swim to the cornucopia, and neither Finnick nor I would have a problem with it.

As I was dressing the wetsuit, I felt it, a feeling I hadn't experienced since the games were announced. It should have been expected, its fact it was the first feeling I would have thought to feel. Yet only now had it arrived, all my organs had frozen as if everything had shut down all at once. My lungs felt on fire, my entire body was trembling as Gaia zipped my wetsuit.

This was Fear.

The emotion took me by surprise, I rarely felt it anymore, after everything I had experienced, nothing had been worse than my first games. But this, this was infinitely worse than anything I could have experienced, watching the people that had grown to be my family die before my eyes.

Venus and Titan were standing behind her whereas Blaze had decided to stay and support Annie, who was struggling about as much as we were. After I had dressed, the two of them wrapped their arms around me, kissing my cheeks and begging for me not to cry, apparently, they had been at it all night, mourning the potential loss of both Finnick and me. It was unclear as to whether they were aware of the plot, both Cinna and Gaia had been a part of its orchestration, saying I was terrified for their safety was an understatement.

"Cinna's going to die, isn't he?" My voice sounded too weak when it left my lips, "The dress, it was too, upfront,"

Gaia pursed her lips, tying off the braids in my hair, "Nobody knows the extent of what the President Can do," She shuddered, "I suppose, the only thing we can do is keep fighting, one day, he will begin to fight back- but until that day, but until that day, I won't stop carrying the Mockingjay's legacy," She acknowledged, "Neither will Cinna and something tells me, neither will you- or Finnick,"

Gaia was surprisingly insightful when she wanted to be.

My fear contorted into nausea as I picked a bruised and bloody Cinna, crumpled expressionlessly on the floor, white-uniformed peacekeepers had been tainted with spatters of blood. "Bin," I choked out, Venus understood immediately and only seconds later, I was hurling my breakfast into the container.