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

The Luckiest Man in the World

Johanna eats like a savage as soon as she is awake. Katniss and Gale managed to scavenge lots of food from the kitchens by telling the cooks it was for Johanna Mason, who had just been rescued from the Capitol. I thanked then gratefully because Johanna could barely croak out a 'thank you', and then I stay with her whilst she eats enough food to last a week.

"Sh*t," Johanna says in between mouthfuls. "This is good."

I force a smile. I lean back on the bed and close my eyes for a second. All I can hear is the sound of Johanna eating as I drift away into my own world of nightmares.

Suddenly, I can hear the sound of screaming. I hear a deep cannon boom in the distance and my eyes are automatically attracted to the dark blue sky. I look around, the only light coming from the artificial moon at the top of the arena. It flickers a few times, giving everything a pale, eerie glow.

Worried, I clutch my trident and breathe silently - waiting. If anyone tries anything, I'll be ready to strike quickly and get out of here. The only sounds I can hear are the whispers of the forest, bouncing in and amongst the thick, green leaves. A twig snaps behind me and I spin around only to find nothing there.

Sighing, I breathe out and try to convince myself that I'm completely safe. I cover myself in foliage and camouflage with the wilderness, then close my eyes and try to fall asleep. My trident is clutched tightly by my side and I don't want to let go of it.

Then, there are voices and footsteps - I stealthily raise myself from the ground and stand in the shadows. I can barely see who it is, but I recognise their voices. It's Aven and Electra, the tributes from District 1.

"Where is he?" Electra says angrily. "He's like a fox, or a chameleon. Or whatever! We need to find him and kill him."

Aven sighs. "We'll find him. There's not many of us left. Foxglove and Penelope are the main threats, then Finnick. We'll sit back and let those three kill the rest of the pack, and then we'll pounce."

They stand in silence for a few seconds. I wonder if they've thought about the fact that there can only be one winner of the Games.

"Let's split up for a while and gather some food whilst patrolling the area," Aven says. "Go towards the lake and grab any supplies you see. I'll wait here and then we can sleep."

I hear them kiss one another, then footsteps, then silence. Aven, one of the biggest threats in the arena, is less than ten metres away from me, unprepared and alone. He would be so easy to kill...

Half of me wants to strike now and become one step closer to getting out of here alive. The other half is too scared to murder someone else. I watch Aven for two minutes, and then decide to go for it.

I clutch the trident that now feels like an extension of my body - a part of me. Slowly, I raise myself upwards and try to be as quiet as I can. It's so dark I can barely make out his silhouette, but I have a rough idea.

I catch his eye, nothing but a flicker of white in the dark, before I stab him. My trident is stuck in his back as he falls to the ground, screaming and crying. I pull it out and imagine the blood dripping onto the forest floor. He screams in pure agony, but he isn't dead.

Yet.

Aiming fiercely again, I stab blindly at his body and now he is only crying, not screaming like an animal.

"Please," Aven manages to choke out, his voice thick with sobbing. I feel no remorse. I feel nothing.

One final stab kills him and the cannon booms in the sky. I walk away from his corpse before the hovercraft comes to collect it. The blood on my trident, shimmering in the moonlight is just a mark of victory, isn't it?