The Life of A Victor || Finnick Odair

CHAPTER 54

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"Like crazy," Finnick answered without an ounce of doubt, nodding his head slightly as he spoke. A few seconds passed in which Dove remained silent, staring at him up and down as if trying to decide something.

Her right hand went to his grey outfit's sleeve, pulling it upwards just enough to let her trace his forearm with her finger. "Finnick . . . are we really in Thirteen?" Dove asked.

"Yes, we are," Finnick affirmed, glancing at her unbothered expression. Where did all the desperation and joy from earlier go? She was so cold now. So distant. As if their relationship had gone to that lost year when they didn't talk to each other.

"If we're in Thirteen, why has my family not come to visit me? Why are they not here? They're alive, right?" She questioned, stopping the tracing on his arm to finish braiding her hair. "And Peeta . . . no one tells me anything about him, doesn't matter how much I ask."

"They're alive, but the doctors won't let us all come in. They fear how it might affect you, moreover if they tell you about Peeta. He's not doing OK. He was hijacked to believe Katniss is a threat to him. Your room is the furthest possible from his." He explained, taking a seat on the bed right next to her just as she finished braiding her hair.

"Hijacked? What does that mean?" Dove questioned, letting her hands fall to her lap as she glanced at him.

"Beetee explained that it's a form of fear conditioning torture. They showed him fake memories while injecting him with tracker jacker venom. They repeated the process until the memories were stuck in his mind, making him afraid of Katniss. So afraid that he would see her as life-threatening." Despite the doctor's warning about saying anything triggering, Finnick couldn't possibly hide such important information from Dove, much less when she asked about it herself. "He didn't attack Katniss, so Beetee thinks something went wrong with the torture or Snow's plan wasn't to kill her with Peeta."

"No. Snow's plan was definitely to kill Katniss. What he didn't expect was that Peeta and I would catch on to what was happening with his torture," Dove muttered, sliding herself off the bed as she tried to get to the door. Finnick was right beside her, making sure she wouldn't fall. "We chatted, every night. I don't remember how or when it happened, but soon we realised what they were doing to him. Until the day of the last interview . . . they used it on me too. "

"Dove . . ." Finnick muttered, not knowing what could he say or do to make her feel better. Probably nothing. He didn't know which memories they had altered, but fear was the most difficult thing to overcome.

"Don't worry, I won't attack you. Unlike Peeta, they didn't make me fear you. I'm afraid of myself. I'm a mutt. When . . . when I took the scissors, I didn't feel like myself. It was as if something had overtaken me. A sense of fear and exhaustion . . . I just wanted everything to end. It didn't matter how," she said, resting her back against the wall next to the door. "Finnick, are we really safe here?"

Finnick took a few seconds to reply, wondering which answer would be the least mental damaging for her after what she had admitted. However, he knew lying to her would be as bad as telling the truth. "I don't know. But what I do know is that, right now, Thirteen is safer than the Capitol or District Four. Still, I promise that once this is over, I'm taking you home."

"Miss Ogilvy, Mister Odair," a doctor greeted as they pushed the door open. They had a book in their hands. Not any book. It was Dove's songbook. "Your family thought this could be helpful to you. Your head doctor will arrive shortly, and I fear Mister Odair will have to leave the room. Patients may not have company during check-ups, just to make sure they're comfortable answering the questions."