Just Fall into the Ocean
A/N: Ok, I will say this again. WARNING THIS CONTAINS MOCKINGJAY SPOILERS! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ MOCKINGJAY DO NOT READ THIS! Ok! With that out of the way, this is the summary. This is a one shot of Finnick's POV during his death. I was struck hard when he died in the sewer, and I think out of everyone killed in Mockingjay, he should've been spared (along with Prim). But since he wasn't, here is a one shot of his death in his own POV.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, or Mockingjay and I do not own Finnick Odair or any of the other characters!
I grumble as I feel Pollux nudge me and looking down at me in a way that says it's time to get up. Since he's an Avox, he obviously can't tell me. I sigh as I sit up, rubbing my head with my hand. I feel exhausted and the fatigue is setting in. What if we don't make it out alive? What if the Capitol wins?
But then I go back to thinking about Annie. Annie in her beautiful dress and our wedding ceremony just days before. Annie with her red hair and green eyes that shine with love when she sees me. Annie, the girl who I've tried to help ever since she went mad in her Games. I love her, and she loves me, as long as I keep that in mind everything will be alright.
It's suddenly, then, that I hear a hissing. I freeze as I look around, trying to detect where it is. The others have noticed it too and Katniss hushes us as she tries to figure out what they're saying. It's one word, a single word, and it's a name.
"Katniss."
They keep chanting it and we all desperately try to figure out who it is. I try and remind myself of Annie as my heart beats frantically in my chest. Then I see Katniss' gaze go to Peeta and I follow. He's chanting the same thing.
"Katniss!" He suddenly sits up and whips his head towards her, not noticing the arrow she has aimed at his head, "Katniss! Get out of here!"
"Why?" She asks, "What's making that sound?"
"I don't know. Only that it has to kill you," Peeta explains, rushed, "Run! Get out! Go!"
She soon relaxes her bow as she looks at all of us. I have no idea what we're going to do except run. We don't even know what the hell is chasing us! But after all this, we're not going to stop.
"Whatever it is," She tells us, "It's after me. It might be a good time to split up."
"But we're your guard," Jackson argues.
"And your crew," Cressida adds.
"I'm not leaving you," Gale says stubbornly.
She takes us in and she tells me to give one of my guns to Castor. I hand it to him and he nods as I try to explain to him how to use it. I've never handled a gun in my life either until I came to 13. Well, whatever's coming towards us is gonna get a shit load of bullets.
We leave the room soon with everyone having some kind of weapon. I grip my trident in my other hand as if holding on to dear life. This thing might save my life, and I thank Beetee for designing it. When he gave it to me, I was still mentally crazy because of what they could be doing to Annie. She's safe now, and she always will be, I have to believe in that.
When we run out the hissing becomes much more distinct as we travel through the sewers. The Capitol probably released them underground, figuring we were down here. Well, they were right, weren't they?
Pollux leads us through the sewers, leading us away from the hissing sound. Hopefully we can reach Snow's Mansion before the mutts get on us, then we can just trap them down there. We suddenly hear a strange screaming, like animals.
"Avoxes," Peeta explains, "That's what Darius sounded like when they tortured him."
"The mutts must have found them," Cressida murmurs.
"So they're not just after Katniss," Leeg 1 says.
"They'll probably kill anyone. It's just that they won't stop until they get to her," Gale points out.
"Let me go on alone. Lead them off. I'll transfer the Holo to Jackson. The rest of you can finish the mission," Katniss tells us, almost desperate.
"No one's going to agree to that!" Jackson exasperates.
I look behind me and I hear the hissing growing louder. We need to leave, soon. Katniss will have to go with us, we can't leave her. Not only because she's the Mockingjay, but because she's a valuable asset to the team. But we can't keep arguing, we have to move.
"We're wasting time!" I tell them, trying to get them to start moving.
"Listen," Peeta whispers.
The screams have ended and the hissing is growing louder and louder. We definitely need to move. Katniss nudges Pollux and we start to run. Suddenly, Katniss starts gagging and I smell a very strong scent, almost like roses, but not in a good way.
"Masks on!" Jackson orders us.
But the scent is harmless, only Katniss is having a bad reaction. I don't bother in asking why, this isn't a time for questions. We screw the masks and keep running, trying to get away from the hissing and scent. We go into an underground roadway which is clear from the Capitol congestion. Katniss sends an explosive arrow towards a pod, killing dozens of rats in the process.
We sprint towards the next intersection and I see something labeled the Meat Grinder below us. Katniss shouts a warning to us as we skirt around the corner. I suddenly see a shaft of golden light flicker in front of us. Gale sends in two arrows which fall uselessly inside. I have no idea what this is, but when Messalla runs in, his body freezes in spot and then Katniss starts running towards it and him.
"Katniss!" I cry, pulling her arm to stop her.
She freezes as we all watch him. His flesh starts to melt off of him and soon he's just a muddle of bones and burnt flesh. There's nothing to do for him now, and Peeta says the same thing.
"Can't help him!" He starts shoving us in a different direction, away from the golden shaft, "Can't!"
We start running towards the next intersection. When we get there, suddenly a spray of gunfire brings down bunches of plaster. I try to get out of the way of the bullets as a sea of Peacekeepers come towards us. The Meat Grinder pod blocks our way and they definitely outnumber us, but we need to fight.
But as they come closer and as I shoot my bullets, I realize these aren't Peacekeepers. Horror rises through me as I realize what they are. Mutts. They climb over the real Peacekeepers and rip off their heads. They look like half-lizards and half-human. I stare, mortified, but then go back to shooting another round of bullets.
"This way!" Katniss screams as she leads us away from them.
I follow, desperate to get out and away. I remind myself of Annie again and again, trying to get rid of all the horrors I have seen in only, say, a half an hour. I want to get back to her, I want to get back to her and then settle down back in District 4. I want to raise a family and watch them grow. Is it possible that will never happen?
Katniss says something to Pollux which I can't hear. Suddenly we're going in a different direction and I figure that we're going to go above ground. It's the only safe way, and maybe after that there is some chance we will all survive. We run through the main sewer as we move quickly, trying to get away from the mutts.
"Wait!" Katniss exclaims, "Where are Jackson and Leeg One?"
"They stayed at the Grinder to hold the mutts back," Homes explains.
"What?" She suddenly lunges for the bridge, as if thinking she can save them.
"Don't waste their lives, Katniss," Homes tells her, "It's too late for them. Look!"
Shit. I look back and see the mutts are gaining on us. We have to leave, now.
"Stand back!" Gale shouts as he lets out an explosive arrow. It rips the far side of the bride from the foundation, the rest sinking into the murky water just as the mutts reach it.
I shoot a round of bullets before using my trident. I release it as it goes soaring through, piercing one mutt. I press a button on the lower handle and the other half comes back and connects to the lower half. We back up as we try to get to the ladder, but it's then I realize that there's no hope.
The mutts are getting closer and I shout at Katniss to run, just run. I will never see Annie again, we will not build a family, I will never see District 4 again, but I have accepted it. I will fight to keep them off, so that the others will get to Snow's Mansion. They have to kill Snow, and if my life is worth the risk, then so be it.
I fight with strength and courage, already accepting my fate. I release some bullets as Homes is next to me. I try to aim my gun at the mutt behind him, but it's already too late. The mutt rips his head clean off as Homes' body lies on the ground, lifeless.
Is this my end now? Will I be dying in a sewer as the mutts take me on, ripping off my head? I have already accepted it, I am ready to die. But the mutts aren't done with me, and I'm not done with them.
I fire my last bullets until my gun is empty. Now it's up to me and my trident, the weapon that got me home from the Games. But it will not get me home this time, maybe it will get me to a safer place, away from here. Perhaps in that meadow, the same meadow that Katniss sang about to that little girl.
But instead of that song, I think of another. Another song as I fight these treacherous monsters from the Capitol. It's this song that I think of, as I cry out in pain from the mutts. It's this song that makes me feel safe, back to when I sang it to Annie after her Games.
The sea is where we love
The sea is where we breathe
The sea is where we live
Underneath the green-blue sea
Don't think about your troubles
Don't think about your woes
You'll be safe
Underneath the green-blue sea
Remember those you love
And hold them close to you
As you travel down
Underneath the green-blue sea.
Don't be scared for fate shall care
All for you and the ones you left
The last few lyrics ring inside of me as my head is yanked back and everything starts to fade and I'm falling, falling away from life…
Just fall into the ocean
Underneath the green-blue sea.