PREY.
( 07 )

“He’s gone - he’s gone - shit, Katniss? What if he’s dead?” Finnick breathlessly panted once they (Katniss, Peeta, Mags, and himself) had reached dry land.

“Who?” Katniss asked, confused as to the ‘he’ Finnick was referring to.

“Ansel - God, what if he’s dead?” Finnick mumbled, worried thoughts clouding his mind.

“So what if he died? You two were only allies, right?” Katniss frowned, furrowing up her brow in confusion. She had assumed that the two boys hadn't been very close.

“We...we weren't just allies. That speech I made last night? That was about him.” Finnick confessed to Katniss. “And I promised that I wouldn't lose him.”

Katniss hardly knew how to respond. Ansel had received the lowest score out of all the tributes. If he was still alive, he was more than likely bleeding to death on the rocks of the cornucopia. “He’ll be okay, Finnick. I’m sure that he’s fine. He’s probably with Johanna. Now, we should go. We need to try to find the edge of the arena and camp out there so the other tributes don’t find us.” Katniss advised.

Finnick could only nod in response. The quadrant then began to walk towards what looked like the arena border. Mags hopped onto Finnick’s back, and Katniss and Peeta stayed ahead of the pair in order to discuss something to another. Every so often Mags would reassuringly rub Finnick’s pectoral muscles, almost as if she was telling him that Ansel was fine and everything would be okay. But Finnick was unable to believe her, not until he knew that Ansel was okay, at least.

But their adventure was quickly disrupted by a loud yell from Katniss. “Peeta, stop!”

Peeta hadn't head her, apparently, because he was immediately thrown back from cutting into what seemed to be a force field. “Peeta!” She screeched, running forward to the boy who had been electrocuted. Finnick quickly pushed her out of the way and began to perform CPR, hoping to bring Peeta back from the dead.

“Come on, Peeta…” Finnick breathlessly mumbled as he continued to push his hands down into Peeta’s chest. Once he realized that wouldn’t work, he pushed his mouth onto Peeta’s and began to breathe into his lungs. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Peeta took a deep breath.

“Peeta! I thought you were dead… Never do that to me again, ever.” Katniss mumbled, grabbing Peeta into a tight hug.

Finnick watched silently as the pair kissed. It made him miss Ansel even more. He could feel his throat clenching up and tears beginning to form in his eyes. He couldn’t help but think that Ansel was dead. Brutus could have easily killed him in the blood bath, and Finnick knew that it was all his fault. If he would have gotten to him instead of Mags, Ansel would still be alive.

“We should go and find water.” Finnick suggested, swallowing down the bitter feeling he had in his chest.

“Peeta, can you stand?” Katniss asked, obviously agreeing with Finnick’s suggestion.

“Yeah, yeah.” Peeta nodded, shakily standing up, still traumatized from the events that had just taken place.

Finnick began to exit the scene and cut through the thick jungle, until he heard the familiar dinging of a parachute. “It’s for you.” Finnick announced to Katniss as soon as he saw the name on it and handed it to the girl.

Katniss furrowed up her brow as she took the package from him, and still continued to do so as she opened it up and read the note. “Drink up. - H.” She read off. “I think it’s a spial.” She then said, looking at the object that came with it.

The girl shakily shoved the metal item into the tree next to her, and anxiously waited for water to flow out. Finnick watched as clear water began to flow into her hands. She took it in eagerly, and then grabbed Peeta, making him drink the water as well.

Finnick reached for a few deep leaves and grabbed onto them, filling them up with water for the group to drink. “I think we should camp here tonight, I mean, we have fresh water, and Peeta needs his rest.” He suggested, sipping his water.

“I think that’s a fairly good idea.” Katniss nodded in agreement.

“I’ll take first watch.” Finnick told the group, beginning to get set up before a female voice was stopping him.

“There’s no way in hell I’m letting I’m letting you do that.” Katniss replied. Finnick may have saved Peeta's life, but that didn't automatically mean that he trusted the man.

Finnick could only chuckle as he held up his wrist, showing her the bracelet Haymitch had given him earlier. “What makes you think I would kill you?”

“We’re in the Hunger Games, Finnick. Every kill is fair play.” She snorted as though it was obvious. And to her it was. Alliances only lasted for so long until you had to start killing one another in order to survive.

“I won’t kill you, I promise. Feel free to stay up with me, but if you do stay up, I’ll wake you up in about four hours.” Finnick sighed, rolling his eyes at the girl. She was much too feisty for Finnick and he much rather preferred Ansel's soft personality. The boy's heart ached as he thought of his love.

Katniss groaned as she laid down a few feet away from Finnick and next to Peeta, too exhausted to argue back. Finnick watched silently as they laid together, his throat clenching up once again.

He couldn’t help but think that Ansel had been killed. The small boy was weak, and everyone knew it. Especially Brutus, who just so happened to be the strongest of the careers. And if he had died, it would have been painful. Knowing Brutus, he would have made him suffer. But if Ansel was alive, he was more than likely hurt and being nursed back to health by Johanna, who Finnick had explicitly instructed to watch over him.

Finnick  watched the sky as the hours creeped by. Every so often he would shift his glance over to where his allies laid, making sure that they were safe. And when four hours finally passed, he gently shook Katniss’s shoulder, signalling to her that it would be her turn to take watch over the group. She awoke with a groan, but nodded silently once she realized what he was asking.

Finnick laid on his side once Katniss had rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and soon drifted off to sleep. But that didn’t last long, because he was quickly woken up by a screaming Katniss, and he quickly understood why.

A green fog was quietly slipping into the scene, and whenever it touched skin, it burned. He hurriedly had Mags jump onto his back, and then began to run. The fog was easily quicker than them however. Soon enough, they were all doubled over coughing in pain, and Katniss could no longer support Peeta.  

Mags silently slid away from Finnick’s back, and left a soft kiss against his cheek. “Mags…” He began, beginning to understand what she was doing. “Mags, no!” He screamed, watching as the elderly woman who had once mentored him disappeared into the fog. The cannon went off almost immediately.

Finnick didn’t have time to react, he could only grab Peeta and run. But they couldn’t run forever, because they soon collapsed next to a small pond, unable to continue. He thought that was it. That they would die. So the man closed his eyes, and prepared for the cold kiss of death to take him.

Luckily for him, that never happened. Because soon enough, Katniss was telling him to go to the water. Finnick silently crawled towards the water and let Katniss and Peeta pour fresh water over his blistered skin. It hurt at first, but he eventually realized that it was helping. He laid on the jungle floor for a few minutes, taking in deep breaths as he processed his former friend’s death.

But once again, he was interrupted by Katniss. “Finnick… grab your trident. Quietly.” She told him, her voice hushed in anxiety. Finnick raised an eyebrow in confusion, but did as told. And as soon as he did, he realized why. Baboons were slowly surrounding the group, and they looked deadly. They began to attack, one by one. Their screeches were loud in Finnick’s ears as he began to fight them off, killing them off quicker than they were coming at him. Eventually, he found his way to the beach, but he didn’t realize what had happened to the sudden District Six tribute, who he never saw coming.

Finnick groaned as he collapsed on to the soft sand. He laid on his back, staring up at the sky where the sun had just begun to rise. The man ignored Katniss cleaning up the deceased District Six morphling before setting her free into the ocean where a hovercraft would appear to retrieve her body. The District Four boy nearly broke down due to everything that had just occurred within the past few hours. He was now able to process Mags’ death and a small tear ran down his cheek as he remembered the woman who he considered a second mother. However, not wanting to appear weak in front of his younger peers, the man quickly wiped away the tear before sitting up.

Finnick watched the sea as the water kissed the beach in waves. He had grown up around the water and being around something so familiar made him feel comfortable and safe - even if he was in a deadly competition. The blond haired boy sighed softly as he remembered how much Ansel adored the sea and all that it contained. Finnick could still remember how the boy's face had lit up when he had come across a large body of water for the first time. It had illuminated his face and shown just how truly beautiful Ansel was. Finnick desperately hoped that his lover was still alive and that they'd be able to make it out of the horrible Hunger Games. If only he had known only part of that statement would be true.

━━

AUTHORS NOTE (ANGIE) : hey guys so we're so sorry for not updating in a while - we were hit with busy lives and writers block. But we hope to get back on schedule, starting with this chapter! (Which was written by -diggorys)

What do you guys think of this chapter? Of Finnick's thoughts of Ansel? How are you hoping their reunion will go? Let us know and we hope you enjoyed this chapter!