Disclaim: I don't owe the Hunger Games
A/N A series of one-shots based on scenes from the Mockingjay book. I will follow Finnick's rope and the POV being one the person possessing the rope at that time. Thank you to amg06113 for reading through my work, and a hug thanks to Defying Expectations for wonderful feedback!
Prologue
"A rope?" Finnick asks, holding the thin rope up before his eyes. It's short. Not even half a meter.
"Rightly observed, Mr. Odair." Dr. Aurelius glances at Finnick from the other side of the table.
"And what am I supposed to do with it? Not hang myself – it's too short. If you wanted that, you should have given me a longer one." But maybe that's exactly what was intended, that he should not be able to.
Finnick plays with the rope. It's soft against his hands, not rough like the ones he's used to working with back in District 4. Surely not a hemp rope. He's not actually sure what it's made of. Carefully he lets the rope drift between his fingers, observing its movements as it drops to the table before him.
The last time he held a rope must have been in the Training Center before the Games. He remember Katniss's stiff body and the tension in her neck when he came up behind her to help with the knot she was struggling with. The memory almost brings a smile to his face, but just almost. Maybe he will never smile again. Oh, stop being so damned melodramatic.
It feels like half a decade ago since that day in the Capitol, but it can't have been more than three or four weeks. But he can't tell exactly. Since arriving District 13, he has lost all sense of time.
He tears his gaze away from the rope, now laying in a coil in front of him, and up to meet Dr. Aurelius steady eyes.
"I heard you are good with knots," Dr. Aurelius says, leaning back in his chair.
"Oh no, it seems like you know my every secret." The sarcasm drips thick in his words, but Dr. Aurelius seems to make a point of not noticing.
"I would suggest using it as part of your treatment," he says matter-of-factly.
"You're saying I'm going to tie knots?" Finnick answers in disbelief.
"Yes, I am."
This new form of treatment Dr. Aurelius have devised sounds meaningless to Finnick. He doesn't see the point of his treatment with Dr. Aurelius. Never had. But as long as he does what he is told, they let him be. And that is exactly what he wants them to do.
After they told him Annie was taken by the Capitol, his world fell apart. He lay in a District 13 hospital bed for a week. They gave him a bracelet that said he was mentally unstable. Like that wasn't obvious.
He didn't move. He didn't eat. He didn't do anything.
It felt like he was drowning in helplessness. He tried desperately to find something to hold on to. The smallest of hopes. The slightest prospect that everything would be fine. Even the tiniest sign that it was all a misunderstanding or a bad dream, that in reality she had been safe all along. But there was nothing to cling to. There was nothing he could do but let the darkness swallow him whole.
Most of the time he slept. Trying to escape the horror of the world around him. But usually, sleeping wasn't any better.
Nightmares haunted him. The children he killed came back, fresh blood pouring from their open wounds. Mutts chased him through the woods; he ran and ran until he was out of breath and he could feel the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.
And he saw Annie. Annie being taken away from him. Peacekeepers surrounding her and grabbing her with violent hands. President Snow forcing her into a waiting car. Annie being swallowed by thick fog; he would stumble around for hours calling her name in vain. Every dream a new one, but the outcome was always the same. She was gone. He fought as if his life depended on it. If he only could reach her… He screamed until his throat was raw.
Usually he woke floundering in the bed. Sheets draped around him, making him fight even harder to get loose. Time after time, when he first awoke, he tried to comfort himself with the thought that it was not real, that Annie was safe – but time after time, as consciousness settled in, he realized that it wasn't a dream at all.
Slowly, Finnick picks up the rope, as if it is a poisonous snake ready to attack him.
Even slower, he ties a simple square knot. He has done it thousands of times; his hands move without him even thinking about what he's doing.
This is stupid, he thinks. But at least it's something he can do without thought.
"Okay! Whatever…" His hands have already loosened up the first knot and now start to work on a more advanced knot. His fingers know what to do. Over, under, through the loop and back. Tighten.
He gives the finished knot one approving look before untangling it and starting a new one.
"That will be all, Mr. Odair. You're free to go." Dr. Aurelius watches Finnick go with a bemused expression. Finnick only vaguely registers it while moving towards the door. His hands still work the rope.
A/N It's short, but it's just the prologue. I have told myself a thousand times I'm not going to write two stories at the time, but here I am doing exactly that. I'm afraid to say my other story is prioritized if I don't have enough time.
I will love to hear what you think. I'm used to write in first person, but tried this one in third. Maybe I will change that (at least when I reach Peeta I think I will write in first person). I don't know yet how many scenes I will be writing or how long they will be. Wishes, input, constructive criticism - everything received with thanks!
Thank you for reading!