This is the reaping! It's really sad. Yeah. You've been warned.

Untitled

"Will you promise me something?" I ask.

Annie looks up at me. "What?"

We're walking across the bridge to Mainland for the reaping. We walk on opposite sides of the bridge without touching. We barely even look at one another. It's always like this before the reaping. We can't risk being caught by the cameras.

"I need you to be strong," I say. "No matter what happens."

She's very quiet as she looks to the water and says, "I'm scared. Nobody will tell me what's going on. But people keep looking at me like I'm going to die."

I stop short. She does, too, and examines her feet. "Look at me." She doesn't. "Look at me." Reluctantly, she does. "I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you. Okay?"

Annie nods and lets her eyes return to her feet.

"Now will you promise me?" I ask.

"I promise."

When we reach the Town Square, the victors are lead into a roped-off area. Annie and Mags are in a square adjacent to the one that holds me, Dodge, and Broadsea. I can tell that Annie's starting to panic, but I can't bring myself to look at her.

"What's happening?" she asks. "Why are we back here? Don't we stand on the steps of the Justice Building?"

Nobody answers.

Dysis, our Capitol escort, walks over to the male reaping ball. She reminds us of the Quarter Quell, grabs a slip of paper, and reads my name. I take my place on the stage and focus on something far in the distance, past all the cameras and the people.

Annie doesn't start screaming until Dysis calls her name.

"No!" she cries. "I can't go back!" It continues like that. And it rips my heart to shreds.

From the corner of my eye, I can see Mags making her way towards the stage while Broadsea and Doge try to calm Annie.

"Volunteer," Mags says. She stands beside me, leaning heavily on her cane.

Annie is crossing into hysterics. I have to clench my jaw and shut my eyes. Every instinct in my body is telling me to go to her. But if I do, I'm putting her in danger. And if I don't . . .

Mags and I are pulled into our respective rooms to say our final farewells.

I'm only alone for a second before the doors to my room fly open and Annie runs in. "Finnick!" She throws herself into my arms and I hold on for all I'm worth. "Why wouldn't you tell me?" she gasps.

"I couldn't tell you, sweetheart," I say. "I'm so sorry. If I told you would've . . ." I don't finish that thought.

"Why didn't we leave?"

We're sitting on the velvet couch. She's holding onto me as tightly as she possibly can, her head tucked under my chin. She's shaking and crying so much I'm surprised she can speak at all.

I decide to lie. "You wouldn't have gone with me."

"Yes, I would!" she shouts. "I would go anywhere with you."

I don't have anything else to say, so I just apologize again and again.

"This was the secret." Annie talks like she can't quite fathom it. "This is what you couldn't protect me from."

"I'm sorry," I say for what must be the millionth time.

"Finnick, what if you don't come back?"

"I'm going to come back," I say forcefully. "All right? I'm going to see you again. There's a plan to get us out of the arena."

"A plan?" Annie repeats.

"Yes. And we get out, someone is going to come and get you. No matter what they say, you do not go with them unless you know them. All right? If you don't know who they are and they try to take you, you run like hell. Got it? You run like hell."

She nods, but I can see her chin quivering and the tears brimming in her eyes.

"Shh, shh, baby. Don't worry." I'm on the verge of tears myself. "Don't worry. I'm going to see you again."

"I love you," she says. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

"I love you, too. And I'll love you until well after I die."

Annie. Annie, Annie, Annie. God, I'm going to miss her. I have no idea what we'll do without each other.

If I die, somebody else will take care of her. But they won't do it correctly. There are days when all Annie can do is curl up in my arms and try to fight the nightmares. And there are other times when the two of us will sit on opposite sides of the bed playing cards with little or no physical contact. And I'm the only when that knows what she needs and when she needs it.

"Please don't go," Annie whispers. Our five minutes are nearly up.

"I won't," I say. "I'm going to stay right here with you."

The doors open and Belisarius comes in with three of his Peacekeepers. Annie and I just hold on tighter. I can't let her go. I can't leave her.

"I love you," I say. She needs to hear it. And I don't know how many more times I'll be able to tell her.

"I love you, too," she says.

"Let her go," Belisarius says. I don't say or do a thing. "I want her on the count of three or I will take her myself. One."

I wrap my arms as tightly around Annie as I can.

"Two."

She squeezes her arms tighter around my neck and wraps her fists around my collar.

"Three."

"I love you," I whisper.

Then they start prying us apart.

We manage to hang on for a while, but they literally start removing our fingers one by one.

Finally, we're separated. Belisarius wraps his arm around Annie's waist and picks her up like a doll. "Finnick! Please! I don't wanna go!" she whimpers. He starts dragging her towards the door.

I try to reach for her, but two of the Peacekeepers grab me and pin me up against the wall. I can't help fighting them. "NO! DON'T TAKE HER!"

Belisarius calmly takes a gun from the third Peacekeeper and presses it to Annie's temple. I don't even breathe. Belisarius smiles. "Good boy." And then – even though Annie's still crying for me – I let him drag her from the room.

Once they're out of sight, the other two Peacekeepers release me. I fall to my knees and concentrate hard on breathing.

I may never see her again. And that is something I simply cannot fathom. I don't want this to be my last memory of her. The only solution is to see her again. Make new memories. So now I guess I really have to come home.

Asper's mother, Jocasta, comes in next. Then there's Dodge. Followed by Widewater. Then Britton. And that's it for my visitors. They all say the same thing – that I'm a good friend, that they're glad to have known me, that they'll look after Annie, and that they want me to come home. I don't say anything in reply.

Then Mags and I are led to the train. I can't even look her in the eye.

As it turns out, Broadsea has volunteered to be our mentor this year. His only words on the matter: "Somebody's gotta keep you alive."

I go straight to my room on the train, lock the door, and burrow under the covers. I don't even bother to watch the reaping.

"Finnick! Please! I don't wanna go!" I know right away that Annie's words are going to haunt me. She's going to haunt me.

Even though I stay under the covers all night, I don't fall asleep.