Finnick Odair's Story: Dark Secrets (The Hunger Games Fanfiction)

We Are Not Weak

Hello everyone! I went to see Mockingjay (26/11/14) and... it was amazing and so much more than I hoped. It was thought-provoking, explosive, powerful, heart-wrenching - I came out of the cinema shaking and covered in goosebumps. Anyway, as this chapter and the previous one are set at the time of Mockingjay, obviously the story will be ever so slightly different, just for a change. Obviously nothing major will change - but one flaw in the film was that they didn't delve deep enough into Finnick's character, so that's what I want to do here for you. I hope you enjoy it! Please remember to vote if you like it. Also please comment, I love to hear your feedback!

Enjoy!

Also thanks for 50K+ reads and 1K+ votes!! It means the world to me.

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I'm beginning to think that Annie and I will never get married.

In fact, I'm starting to believe I'll never see Annie again - so I'm mentally preparing myself for hearing news of her death. No news is worse though, because I'm on tenterhooks constantly. Since my outburst two days ago, I've been sleeping a lot and doing very little else. Each night, Gale or Katniss will watch over me - and when I wake up in a cold sweat, they're waiting to remind me that it's not real. I don't know how I feel about this, but at least they care.

I wonder how Panem reacted to my video, which they broadcast yesterday. I have been avoiding the television since I saw what they've done to Peeta. He's completely brainwashed; like my parents were. Snow has twisted his mind and made him believe certain things, and the scary thing about this is that we have no idea how he's done it. Peeta is calling for a ceasefire, but he's not going to get one.

Days pass in the same routine - wake up from a nightmare, stay awake for a while thinking about Annie, eat a little, sleep. This unhealthy vicious cycle continues for a week. Whilst Katniss, Gale and the others train to be, I'm stuck in bed wishing I could fight.

"Have you spoken to Coin about fighting?" Katniss asks at the breakfast table one morning.

Glumly, I eat the mundane porridge but can only stomach a few bites. "No," I admit. "It's useless. She doesn't understand that training will help me get better. It'd be a useful distraction."

"It's ridiculous," Gale says, shaking his head. "You're one of the best fighters in Panem, hands down. She's making a mistake. They're training young, inexperienced teenagers to fight - when you're a ready-made soldier!"

Katniss nods in agreement.

"I don't know," I sigh. "I'll try some weight training in my room whilst you're practicing, and maybe I can keep up."

"We'll talk to the commanders as well," Gale says. "Coin can't be the only person in charge of whether you train or not - what does she know about fighting? Nothing!"

"Thanks," I mutter halfheartedly. I don't mean to be rude, but I have little energy as well as feeling completely useless.

We all fall silent, eating our breakfast and drinking watered-down cups of tea with hardly any milk, and certainly no sugar cubes. Haymitch joins us, with no food, and begins to talk about what's been happening in the Capitol. I tune out, letting thoughts of Annie fill my head and haunt my imagination.

Then, just as I'm about to close my eyes, I hear a sharp gasp from Katniss. She interrupts Haymitch to stand up, her mouth in a wide circle and her trembling hand covering it. I spin around, following her line of sight.

Johanna.

Johanna is standing at the door, escorted by two soldiers. I almost don't recognise her at first - her gorgeous brown hair has been shaved like a prisoner of war. Immediately, I am on my feet and running towards her, pushing past people to reach her.