Love at Sea (Finnick Odair)

Chapter 32

Bang. Bang.

The cracks of gunfire rang through the air like thunderclaps in a storm. The sound of the shots was almost as loud as Peeta' yell.

"NO!" Peeta screamed.

Finnick could hear the terror in Peeta's voice. Hear the raw desperation as he screamed out.

He wasn't screaming for Katniss, Finnick was protecting her.

He wouldn't scream like that for Gale.

There was only one other person left that he'd scream out for.

And the thought of it made Finnick's blood run cold with dread. His heart lurched in his chest, a primal fear coursing through his veins. The realisation hit him like a physical blow. He felt the air rush out of his chest as if he'd been winded, and he couldn't suck in any other breath. The terrible certainty was making Finnick's mind race.

It was like a dagger to the heart.

Peeta was yelling for Taiya.

His new wife. His beloved wife. The only woman he'd ever be in love with. The woman he cherished above all else.

A surge of adrenaline hit Finnick, and he was able to snap himself out of his frozen panic. He spun away from Katniss in time to see Taiya collapse into the water.

"NO!" Finnick roared, racing towards her, ignoring all the chaos around him, that didn't matter anymore. His heart was pounding in his chest with every step. Was she dead? Was she alive? He didn't know, and the uncertainty tore at him like a knife.

As he reached the spot he saw her go down, Finnick threw himself into the water, plunging his hands into the liquid that was getting redder by the second until he felt her shoulders. He immediately grabbed onto her and pulled her up.

"Tay!" Finnick begged for a response as he brushed her hair out of her face.

He was fearing the worst until a small cough escaped her lips, followed by a splutter as she coughed up the water she had accidentally swallowed.

Relief flooded through every atom of Finnick's being, but it didn't ease the dread. He had no idea what had happened. "Oh thank god," Finnick exclaimed, his voice choking with emotion as he lifted her up higher.

The mutts were still paying the both of them no mind, and he was eternally grateful for that one small mercy.

Taiya's eyes fluttered open. "What the hell," she groaned, scrunching her eyes. "Finnick," she gasped, her voice barely above a whisper as her faster-than-normal breaths escaped her chest with a wheeze.

"What happened?" Finnick asked, his voice trembling with tears as he looked down at her wide, watery eyes, his heart was breaking at the sight of her.

Taiya shook her head in confusion. She wasn't quite sure what happened either, the adrenaline was pumping too hard. She wasn't feeling any pain, but she was crying. "I don't know," she raised her hand to her chest and pulled it back. It was covered in red. "Woah," her whole body quivered at the sight. She was bleeding. "Something hit me!" she began to panic as she looked around to try and see what could have hit her. As soon as her eyes landed on Gale, who was desperately trying to get past the mutts to reach them, she put two and two together. "That bitch shot me," she groaned, before her eyes rolled back and she passed out.

"Taiya! Taiya!" Finnick panicked. He didn't know what to do. "No, no, no, no, no," Finnick muttered to himself over and over. "No. You're ok. You're ok. You're going to be ok honey," he repeated over and over. He didn't know what to do. What was the survival rate for gunshot wounds to the chest? He had no idea. She needed a doctor. There were none. "Please wake up. Please wake up."