AN: Hej! Another year, another chapter. BobSaysHelloFromNL now spends most of her time in England, so hopefully there aren't a lot of British words that slipped through the cracks in this chapter.
And just-make-it-a-good-one-eh has changed her name and decided to learn the legendary language of Ikea. Probably bc of her youtubers smh (Watch more youtube BobSaysHelloFromNL) (I spend half my days on youtube but I watch different people. Mostly americans sadly)(eew mostly americans?)(Yeah just kinda happened).
If at any point in the story you want to find some closure (maybe you got tired of waiting), just read the following:
Poseidon created a huge tsunami wiping out everyone except for Finnick and Percy.
The End!
Disclaimer: Probably not canon or fanon, and not ours except for the barely-there plot.
Chapter XIV: Tides, tuna. Nice.
Finnick's P.O.V.
With the newly acquired trident safely in my hand, Percy and I decided it would be best to leave the forest behind us for a while and head for the Cornucopia. Hopefully we wouldn't find any careers waiting for us, weapons at the ready. If we were exceptionally lucky (ha, as if), there might even be some leftover resources there. At the very least we were hoping it would provide us with a good view point of our surroundings.
"Who knows, maybe Tracey might have had the same idea," Percy said optimistically. He was refusing to believe that she might be lying dead in the forest somewhere. Or eaten by the pigs. Or burned to ashes.
I did not really share in his optimism, but as long as we hadn't seen her name in the death announcements, there was still hope. We'd just have to wait till tonight to find out. That is, if we don't meet back up with her before then.
"What do you think President Snow has in store for us next?" I bring up, hoping to divert Percy's mind. "Fire-spewing crabs? Actual dragons? Flesh-eating bacteria?"
Percy grinned. "Or a giant winged snake. Or an exploding rhino!"
I laughed. "Do you think he's listening in on our brainstorming session?"
"If so, he should be paying us! We're creative geniuses! Imagine if we were the gamemakers. The next hunger games could be underwater! And it could have a Disney's The Little Mermaid theme with singing lobsters?
"Percy, you do realise everyone would die within five minutes? Also, I don't know what you're talking about."
Percy gasped dramatically and almost stumbled in his walking. "The future doesn't have Disney?"
"Uhm, no. I don't think so. Is it.. Some kind of gameshow?."
"No it's like children's entertainment, except it's not just for children. It's not, I swear. Don't look at me like that! Disney movies are ageless. And some of the tv shows can be really good as well. Not all, but some."
I just stared at him. It was sometimes easy to forget that Percy came from a different period of time. 'Can you tell me more about where you're from? About the past. What was it like to be free?'
Percy turned to me with a sympathetic look on his face. 'Honestly, I did not have the most enjoyable childhood in the 'real' world. But I suppose it could have been worse. I went to school and I had a mother who loved me. And once I learned about the gods, I made new friends and went on adventures. Not really because I wanted to, but they did make me into the person I am today so it was all worth it. Oh and not to mention that at least the world is still standing because of it. I hope that doesn't sound too cliched or even worse: braggy.'
'You were an only child?'
He nodded. 'Yeah. Well, actually, not really. I have many half-siblings, including… your father. But maybe let's not think too much about that. Godly sides of the family don't count if you ask me.'
I frowned. From my limited knowledge on Greek mythology, that seemed wise. My mind was already hurting as it was. 'Alright, yeah forget about it.'
'Cool, I won't even mention the animal side of the family,' Percy joked. Or was he joking? I probably don't wanna know. Thankfully, we'd already made it to the Cornucopia.
"This place seems deserted," I observed, out loud again. I was half expecting some careers to jump out of the giant metal construction, just to spite me. But they didn't. "Could it be, are the tides finally turning? Is Fortuna gonna be with us?"
"Ha, I see what you did there," Percy said. "Tides, tuna. Nice."
It took me a moment but then I got it. "Yes, so let's go get us prepared before the next wave hits."
"Shore." Percy grinned. We climbed into the Cornucopia. To our surprise, we found some fruits and vegetables lying in a corner. Children and their aversion to healthy foods, we reasoned. Upon closer inspection, the vegetables all turned out to be cucumbers. At least they'd be easy to eat, although they were mostly water. Good thing that we both liked water.
Buried in the small sack of cucumbers was a little matchbox.
"Cucumbers and matches?" I said. "Odd combination."
Percy frowned, deep in thought. "I dunno, sounds familiar to me. I think Annabeth likes Cucumbers and matches. Or something that sounds like it. Cucumbers in batches?"
I shrugged it off as yet another peculiarity of Percy's time. "Let's just take it all with us, who knows."
"Alright, but I don't think we'll be needing any help with starting fires. It seems to be a fan favourite to see their candidates burn."
We put the food and matchbox in our backpack and exited the Cornucopia again.
"Whale I'll be damned," I said, remarking on the grey clouds that had suddenly formed. "I don't think the president liked our puns."
"Yeah, the sky definitely seemed bluer just moments ago," Percy said, the look on his face almost as grim as the sky. "I have a bad feeling about this."
A rumbling sound could be heard in the distance. "Where do you think it's coming from?" I asked Percy.
He shrugged and started climbing the Cornucopia.
"Percy, get off immediately!" I exclaimed.
"I was just trying to get a better view of the arena!" he complained.
"Aren't you supposed to be scared of thunder? Why then would you stand on top of the only metal construction in the whole arena?"
"Well if you put it like that, yeah maybe you're right." He rubbed his head sheepishly.
Lightning flashed. A few seconds later the sound came.
"I think it came from over there," Percy said, roughly pointing back at where we'd come from.
"Okay, so judging from the Cornucopia, I think that's East? So let's head West."
We made a run for it. I slightly envied Percy for having a shrinkable weapon, running with a trident was not the most comfortable experience. Also, my mind supplied, it was like a make-shift lightning rod. Despite our effort to get away from the storm, the rain soon started pouring down on us.
"Is there even a safe place anywhere in the arena? It's either a forest filled with trees, a field with only slightly less trees, the cornucopia or the wet riverside," Percy shouted over the noise.
In between heaving breaths, I responded: "It's just a matter of finding the least bad option. And frankly, I don't know which one that is. And at the moment, the storm should be right above the river so let's not go there. Just keep running and we'll see."
The trees stood sporadically scattered across the field we were in. Up ahead and all around us was the thick forest, and behind us lay the worst of the storm and the Cornucopia.
"Maybe we should head into the forest so the odds are less likely that it will hit the tree we're directly under?" Percy suggested. He seemed at a loss. "Is that what hiding in plain sight means?"
"Does it work like that?" My mind wasn't functioning at its best right now, under pursuit of an artificially created thunderstorm. I wouldn't be surprised if Snow had made the gamemakers conjure it up especially for us. "Maybe we shouldn't have taunted the president."
"What did you just say about the president?" Percy shouted over the wind.
"I said-"
"Were you calling him a clotpole?"
"A what now?"
"I thought that's what you said!"
"Percy, why are we even shouting at each other!?" 'When we can also communicate like this.'
'Oh, yeah. Much better. Forest then?'
'We're almost there anyway.'
As we got closer to the treeline, lightning struck a tall tree in the field we'd just passed. It caught fire and swayed dangerously in the wind.
'Get out of here before it falls!' I mentally screamed at Percy. And so the decision was made to go into the forest.
It was dark, what with the clouds blocking most of the light and the treetops blocking most of what was left. Then a sudden flash blinded us, followed immediately by the roaring thunder. The storm had caught up with us.
A movement to the left of us caught my eye. Whatever it was, it was moving in the opposite direction.
The wind roared, singing through the trees. Branches were slapping against each other, falling to the ground to the left and to the right. A loud creak reached our ears, followed by human screams.
I risked a glance behind me, and saw that the treetops had caught on fire. Percy pulled me by my sleeve. 'No time to waste, Finnick.' I turned back and we continued traipsing a way through the darkness and the trees. It was no longer just the lightning we were running from.
A cannon shot rang out, almost indistinguishable from the thunder that followed. Another cannon.
I looked back over my shoulder again. That was the moment I tripped. 'Finnick!' Percy's voice exclaimed in my head. His hands were on my shoulder, pulling me back up again.
Another flash, another boom. Again it sounded as if it came from right above us, but there was no exact way to tell through the heavy blanket of leaves. A loose branch smacked into my face. I pushed it away using the trident and tried to carry on. But then it appeared to be stuck.
'Percy, wait.' I gritted my teeth, pulling the trident back with all of my weight. It worked! My back hit against the trunk of a tree, but I caught myself. The trident was free.
The next lightning bolt made such a noise it left my ears ringing, and I was even having trouble hearing Percy in my head.
'Finnick, get away from there! Fire!'
Disoriented, I searched for him. The forest suddenly seemed a lot brighter and warmer. His worried face appeared right in front of me. 'Finnick, your head's bleeding!'
'No it isn't' I sluggishly thought back, my hand came up to feel the back of my head. It came back wet, but it was raining, wasn't it? Everything was wet. Except, everything was also on fire.
More thunder… thundered? No it rumbled. And lightning flashed. Shouldn't it be the other way round? Percy was pulling at my arm and I stumbled towards him. He kept moving away and pulling me with him.
The forest was red and gold and black. My clothes were sticky, was it rain or sweat? The fire was nice and warm. And everywhere.
'Finnick. Finnick!' Percy was calling me. 'We're surrounded.'
I tried to think, but my head hurt. The forest was a mess, fallen trees and burning trees all around us. The trees seemed to be creeping in on us. Or rather, the fire. The trees were on fire. And then we were on fire.
The fire was hot and comforting on my skin. I felt Percy squeeze my hand, also comforting. I looked up at him and he was glowing. A warm golden glow, all around him. I stared at him. His eyes were lit with a flickering seagreen fire. I cupped his cheek. 'Percy, you're on fire.'
He put his hand over mine. 'So are you. But it doesn't hurt at all. We're not burning.'
A new voice joined our conversation. It sounded kind and motherly. 'I would never allow either of you to be harmed in any of my hearths. You carry my blessing now, use it to get out of here.'
'Hestia!' Percy's eyes widened in realisation. 'How are you here?'
The image of a smile appeared in my mind. 'What is a forest fire, if not a big campfire?'
And then she was gone. And then it went black for me.
AN: So there it is! Another yearly update. Bye!
