Annie

I wake up, screaming.

Every night.

But I can't scream, because the water fills my lungs. Water that used to be my friend.

My home.

It taunts me.

I'm drowning.

Always drowning.

The lights. The cannon. The screams.

The smell of blood.

I clap my hands to my ears, but I still hear the screams.

Is it me, or is it them?

I can't be sure.

The water touches my chin.

My chest.

It burns my lungs from the outside in.

This water isn't cool, like the ocean.

It boils with the blood of the dead.

And it drowns me.

I scream until my throat feels raw, one voice in a river of screams.

Is it them, or is it me?

I'm still not sure.

Then hands are on my hands.

They pull my arms away, and I can hear again.

Only one scream.

Me.

"Annie, Annie, it's okay! I'm here. They can't hurt you, I'm here. It's me. I love you."

I hear the voice over the noise in my throat.

My eyes open.

Sea green orbs blink back at me. Beautiful, like real water. Like my ocean.

The only colour that keeps me afloat.

I stop screaming.

"Finnick?" I say.

"It's me, Annie. I love you," he murmurs.

And with his words, he tows me back to shore.

I'm safe.

Until I fall asleep, and the drowning starts again.