Salvation: A Finnick Odair Story

Five

Maisie

Since Finnick and I would be meeting up for a sparring match later that night, I had decided to try to get some sleep before I went down to the training area. Unfortunately and as expected, I hardly slept. Every time my eyes would close, images of my siblings' haunting faces flashed behind my eyelids, so I stared at the ceiling instead and made a small list. Each day, no matter how terrible life seemed, my family were to count off three things we were thankful for that day. It would keep me focused on the positive as best as it could. Tonight seemed to be challenging considering I took up a rather pessimistic attitude ever since I arrived in the Capital, but I still gave it a try.
1. Finnick and that he is here with me.
2. My new alliance with Katniss.
3. My family is safe another year.

I kept repeating those three things to myself, occasionally glancing over at the clock to check the time. Time is a funny thing; we frequently desire for it to slow down or speed up, but it always does the opposite. There I lay, mentally cursing at the clock for not speeding up time when I wanted it to. I still had yet another forty-ish minutes until Finnick and I were to meet, and it was honestly driving me to the brink of insanity that all I could do was continue to lay in bed. How selfish it was of me to complain about my situation of lying in a comfortable and lavish bed when some people throughout Panem didn't even have a mattress to sleep on. I rolled over onto my stomach to groan into my pillow.

When it was finally time to meet Finnick, I dressed quickly then quietly made my way into the elevator. I fidgeted with my hands on the ride down, knowing that we'd be in quite a lot of trouble if we were caught. I tried to not let that thought stress me out. The doors to the lift opened and I walked into the training area. The lights were on indicating that someone was in there. I scanned the room, but there was no sign of my friend.
"Finnick," I called in a low tone, my voice echoing off the walls. There wasn't an answer. I walked further into the room, thinking he would be at the hand-to-hand combat station.

As I continued my search I felt two hands grab my waist from behind, startling me. I was quick to turn around to smack my assailant, but Finnick caught my arm before I could.
"You're a little slow...and predictable," he teased.
"You scared the hell out of me, Odair!" I growled. "You know better than to sneak up on me; I could have hurt you."
"Maybe, maybe not." I rolled my eyes at his comment.
"And to believe I'm friends with you," I muttered.
"Aw Maise you love me," he teased again with a wink.
"So what are we doing?" I changed the subject, placing my hands on my hips. I yelped in surprise as he lunged for me, tackled, and pinned me underneath him onto the blue mats.
"Oh okay." I kicked him in the stomach, then rolled out from underneath him. I stood, waiting for his next move.

He stood as well, the look of determination in his eyes. He walked toward me slowly like a predator stalking its prey. I watched him cautiously, taking in every movement he made. I made my move and swiftly advanced towards him to punch his left shoulder then maneuver out of his reach. We circled around the mats another time before Finnick charged me, aiming a kick to my side I ended up deflecting. He tried another time, but I blocked that one as well as a punch to the stomach.
"I'm the slow one, eh?" I teased before delivering a jab to his chest. The blow caught him off balance and I took that as my chance to tackle him.
"Tap out?" I questioned. He easily flipped me over so our positions were reversed.
"Nope," he stated with a smirk. Finnick then dropped all of his weight on top of my body. I coughed upon impact, but started laughing nonetheless.
"This is totally against the rules," I wheezed.
"Tap out?" I was going to say no, but he weighed twice as much as I did and I could have sworn he was crushing me.
"Yep." He climbed off of me and left me gasping for air on the floor. When he was unsuspecting of it, I got to my feet then ran towards him, jumping up onto his back with my legs wrapped around his waist and my arms around his neck.
"Never turn your back on your opponent." I heard him chuckle.