| THE LOVE HE HATES | HUNGER GAMES | COMPLETED

26 | THE TUNNELS

     AESCHYLYS MOVED TO the Holo, Athena standing behind him as he scanned over the map. "Well, that's us and that's the City Circle. It's at least seventy, seventy-five blocks north."

Finnick raised his brows. "Seventy-five blocks?"

Aeschylus nodded with a small shrug.

"Nobody knows we're alive." Katniss spoke. "This is our chance. These buildings. Do they look over Snow's gardens?"

"They do." Chy nodded again.

"If he goes outside at all, I could get a clear shot."

"We're getting ahead of ourselves here." Jackson sighed. "Whether they are looking for us or not, we are pinned down. Hit that button, scan for pods."

Hundreds of orange dots appeared on the map. "Just about every ten steps."

Gale sighed. "And that doesn't even show the new ones."

"So we can't go anywhere in the streets." Finnick noted.

Jackson nodded. "And the rooftops are just as bad."

Castor then spoke, having gotten a hint from Pollux. "There might be another way."

The group found themselves underneath the Capitol, it was a much safer way to get to Snow's mansion without being caught by any pods, cameras and Peacekeepers. Athena landed on the floor beside Finnick, Aeschylus landing softly behind her.

"My brother knows these tunnels really well." Castor praised Pollux. "He worked sanitation down here. Right after they made him an Avox."

Pollux walked further into the tunnel, but seemed to get an uneasy and panicked feeling as he lightly clawed at his chest armour. His brother was quick to be by his side, helping him calm down. Pollux nodded and took a deep breath before beginning to lead the group through the tunnels.

"Took us five years to buy his way out of here." Castor spoke quietly. "He didn't see the sun once."

Aeschylus walked beside Pollux, the pair being the most knowledgeable about the area and where they were heading to. Athena stayed beside Finnick, not speaking much. The young woman had an uneasy feeling building in her stomach, she was scared. Scared that they would die, be captured, have to face those Capitol torture methods once more. Finnick gently knocked his shoulder against hers, silently asking if she was okay.

Athena looked at him and gave a small, tight lipped smile at him. It was the best she could offer for this very moment. But Finnick seemed to understand that she wasn't really okay, none of them were, but he had to check on the girl for his own ease.

Suddenly the sound of a train broke the silence the group had held, they all raced for cover and watched the train pass by. It held trucks, vans, weapons. Most likely all to be used on the rebelling districts.

Katniss sighed. "We're too exposed here."

Pollux then had an idea spring to mind, he motioned for everyone to follow him as he headed towards a door. They all headed in and the feeling in Athena's stomach worsened. It felt like they were heading to their deaths. They headed further underground, further away from pods and Peacekeepers.

Katniss raised the Holo, scanning for pods. "Looks clear."

The group continued their journey, going deep into the sewers, wading through somewhat deep water. It continued to get higher the deeper they went, Athena was now hiding her panic as they came to a stop. Cressida had decided that they all needed some rest, so they stopped when the water had gone back down and there were dry areas to sit on. Athena took a seat in between Finnick and Aeschylus.

"I'll take first watch." Jackson announced.

Aeschylus slipped his hand into Athena's as he closed his eyes, it was almost like he sensed she needed some comfort. She was doing well at hiding her panic, but Chy always seemed to know what she was really feeling. She closed her fingers around his and gently rested her head on his shoulder.

Finnick had moved opposite her to keep an eye on Peeta, he smirked at the pair, wishing to be by Annie's side and cuddling her like Athena and Chy were. Athena gave him a sympathetic smile, understanding the sad look in his eyes that he hid behind his smirk.

Athena didn't know how much sleep she had gotten before she woke up to the sound of hissing and Peeta shouting at them to leave. "We gotta go! We gotta get out now!"

"Keep your voice down."

"Mutts! They released mutts!"

Everyone jumped to their feet, following Pollux as he began to head for the nearest exit. However, they quickly came to a slow when the mutts began to get louder and louder. Athena panicked more as she recognised the sound, it sounded like the mutts from the 68th Games. Chy grabbed her hand for a moment, also recognising the sound.

The group crawled through some openings, the last one to come through was Jackson. She double checked behind her before starting to crawl through herself. She paused and looked back, only to be attacked by white, humanoid looking creatures growling like animals. They piled on her, Jackson wasn't even able to make a sound before she was dead. Athena half expected to hear a cannon.

Everyone began to yell and run, but always ensuring that Katniss and Peeta were with them. Athena held tightly onto her weapon as she ran, glancing behind her everyone once in a while to see how quickly the mutts were gaining on them. They were fast and as they ran down one area, they began to appear from the side. They quickly jumped on Castor, piling on him before turning to whoever was next.

The group became separated, Katniss, Peeta, Pollux, Gale and Aeschylus were on one side while Athena, Cressida and Finnick were on the other side. The small trio ran, not really knowing where they were headed. They hoped that they would be able to survive and be back with the rest of the group. The mutts continued to chase after them, Cressida basically running backwards as she shot at them.

Athena joined in, using her pistol to shoot at the mutts. Finnick then joined. The trio somehow managed to find the rest of their group, who had made it to an exit and had already begun to climb out. Finnick was quick to push Athena towards the exit, but the girl continued to shoot her weapon to try and keep her best friend safe.

Athena kept shooting after climbing half way, not wanting to leave Finnick behind. Katniss joined her on the ladders, waiting for the District Four boy. The boy launched his trident towards a mutt about to attack the two girls, losing his only weapon after using up all the bullets in his gun. A mutt then tackled him, taking him into the water, other mutts began to pile on him.

"Finnick!" Athena yelled, tears coming to her eyes as she watched her best friend scream for help.

Athena, against Katniss and Chy's cries, jumped back down into the tunnel and shot some of the mutts dead. This gave Finnick enough time to draw a small knife and stab some of the mutts. He ran over to Athena, pushing her to the ladder once more.

They began to climb, Athena feeling a tiny sense of relief when she heard Finnick right behind her. That was until Katniss screamed out his name. She turned to see Finnick being pulled from the ladder and back down into the sewer. They once again pulled on him, he screamed louder this time.

Athena felt someone pull on her uniform, dragging her up the rest of the ladders as she stared at her best friend being killed in front of her.

"Athena!" His voice called out, like a beg for death.

Katniss looked at Athena, but the girls eyes were glossy as Chy held onto her to stop any attempts of saving the victor who was already on the brink of death. Katniss spoke into the Holo, setting it to self destruct as letting it slip from her hands into the tunnel. An explosion pushed Athena and Chy back, but Finnick's screams had stopped. The girl was pulled to her feet by Chy and Peeta, both almost having to drag her away to safety.