philophobia

13

"You need to protect her."

"I will" Emmett nodded as he pulled back from the embrace.

"No, promise me. Promise me you'll help her. Aspen needs to live" Harley pleaded with the older man, glancing up at the ceiling as the robotic announcement was made that he has thirty seconds left. As Harley stepped into the tube, a tear rolled down Emmett's face.

"You didn't deserve this, you shouldn't be the one going back in that arena" his voice cracked as he spoke, trying to remain strong.

"Thank you, Emmett, for everything" Harley nodded at the older male before the tube closed and he his body began moving upwards.

Water.

That was the first thing he noticed. Stone pathways about twenty feet to the side of each tributes pedestal, two tributes between pathways, and a cornucopia full of shiny toys just calling his name. Gloss was to Harley's left, giving the boy a curt nod to show his loyalty before continuing to look around for his sister or the other careers. He saw Mags to his far left looking nervous, she couldn't seem to find Finnick and neither could he.

The cannon boomed and Harley was off, diving headfirst into the water.

The athletic boy was one of the first tributes to reach the stone pathway. He grabbed a sickle, light in weight yet lethal for its dual fighting style; close contact or a limited distance that depended on the strength of the user. Breathing erratic, he scanned his surroundings as quickly as possible before making a decision.

"I got you" he called out, pulling the fragile woman out of the water and up onto the stone pathway.

She sent him a smile before frantically tapping his arm and pointing behind him. Harley covered her body with his own, his broad back flexing as a dagger punctured his right shoulder. The male from District Eight thought killing Mags would make for an easy kill but instead, harmed the most dangerous tribute in the entire arena. A low growl emitted from the back of Harley's throat as he launched the sickle, a canon booming as it made contact with the boy's throat.

"Mags stay here and stay down, Finnick will find you. I'll keep an eye out but I need to find Aspen" he instructed, handing her the dagger that had been previously wedged in his skin.

He kissed the elderly woman on the forehead before turning and running over to the man he just killed, prying the sickle from his throat before diving back into the water. Spotting the struggling woman was easy for him, adrenaline kicking into overdrive as the salt poured into his wound and burned him. His pain took a backseat to the threat of Aspen not making it.

"Climb on" he ordered.

"You'll drown" Aspen argues, continuing to try and swim forward.

"Stop being so fucking difficult and get on" he barked at her, grabbing ahold of her arm so she couldn't go anywhere. Against her better judgment, she listened and allowed him to swim all the way to the beach with her on his back. He didn't let her get off there though, he continued carrying her through the jungle, only letting her down when he decided there was enough distance between them and the center.

"Are you alright?" he asked, examining her for any injuries.

"I'm fine sweetie, let's just get walking," Aspen said softly, caressing his cheek to try and settle his nerves before he agreed, helping her to her feet. "I'm okay."

Every time the canon sounded, both Finnick and Harley froze, wondering if the other had just died. "I'm sure he's fine" Aspen commented.

"Hmm?"

"Don't play dumb with me" she paused, gently smacking the back of his head. "Did you forget I basically raised you?"

"Let's keep it moving then, mom," he said sheepishly, shaking his head at Aspen's antics before trudging forward.

Minutes felt like hours as the thick, humid air began coating their lungs, making it hard to continue onward. Forty-five minutes into their exploration, a muffled scream drew their attention. Tightening his grip on the bloody sickle, Harley lead the way, following the sound. Stalking closer and closer to the commotion, he caught sight of the female from District Five with a spear in her hand. She didn't notice him, instead, she was too busy hunting down whoever was making all of that noise. Harley lowered himself into the foliage, knowing that he was well hidden.

"It's them" Aspen whispered in the boy's ear.

"Who?"

"I see Mags, and I think that's Katniss."

"Go to them, I'll take care of her" he nodded. Just as Aspen began walking off, the female turned to face her and grinned, pulling her arm back as if she were about to throw the weapon.

Not on his watch.

Running forward, Harley locked his arms around the girl's waist and tackled her to the floor, yelling at Aspen to run. Ducking in time to miss the spear she had thrown, they tumbled to the floor.

"Finnick!"

"Aspen?" Finnick yelled back, moving in front of the lovebirds from Twelve. Seconds later, the frantic blonde came running out of the dense brush and straight into his arms. "Are you alright? Where's Harley?"

"I'm fine. We heard the explosion and were coming over to check it out when he spotted someone creeping up on you guys" she explained, her rapid breathing making it a little hard to understand her. "He gave me his sickle" she added, holding up the bloody weapon as concern clouded her eyes. It finally registered for all of them that he had no weapon.

"Harley went after them without a weapon?" Katniss interrupted. Aspen nodded her head, jolting forward when a cannon sounded. They all turned, looking around for any sign of movement.

"Finnick," Katniss said, drawing the string of her bow back as the thick bushes in front of them began moving.

They had no idea who it was and she wasn't taking any chances.

"Mal" Finnick breathed out before running to the exasperated boy and pulling him into his arms. Harley did what he needed to do to protect the people he cared about. Both weaponless, the girl didn't stand a chance. Taking a solid punch to the face was all Harley accepted before pinning her arms down with his knees, placing his hands on either side of her neck, and snapping it out of place. The sound of the cannon was oddly comforting to the more primal part of him. "It's done," he said, face void of any emotion as his eyes flickered between Peeta and Katniss. "Don't bother thanking me, I took pleasure in her death."

He glared at the couple before walking over to Aspen, who had sat down next to Mags and checked in on her, making sure she was alright. He collected his weapon from her as Katniss disappeared up a nearby tree. Peeta sat with Mags and Aspen while Finnick pulled his partner to the side, still in the other's line of sight but out of earshot.

"You're hurt" he whispered, showing Harley his bloody fingers.

"Guy from Eight tried to get Mags, thought she was an easy kill" Harley shrugged. "He was wrong."

"Thank you for protecting her."

"Don't be stupid" he scoffed, grabbing a nearby leaf to wipe some of the blood off of his weapon before looking over at Peeta. "What was all the commotion about?"

"He hit the forcefield."

"Fucking dumbass" Harley chuckled, shaking his head.