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When I wake up, I immediately know it's late. The slits of light coming through the window show that it's already afternoon. I take a deep breath and stretch. My body aches so I just groan and turn over. Why does something feel... wrong? I ponder over what happened last night. I remember having a flashback. Finnick in a golden net and-

Wait. If the parade was yesterday, that means... Today is training day. I think I should've been talking about strategies, but maybe Finnick's got it all figured out. I finally get up and fish out a turquoise shirt from one of the drawers. I grab a pair of pants and start walking to the door as I'm buttoning it up.

Seeing the corridor makes me a bit dizzy. I have to lean on the doorway to gain my senses first. I don't know why, it's just that the corridor is overflowing with so many memories. I remember laughing along with Ren after our parade, talking about the Games with him, and then walking again, this time alone, as I'm looking for him. Then... then...

We're running from them, the bloodthirsty Careers chasing after us with axes and swords and maces. I hear a cry of pain. I whip around, looking for Ren. He's on the ground, holding his bloody calf, which has an arrow through it. I scream and drop down next to him.

"GO! Don't let them catch you!"

But I can't let him go. I just can't. I look up in horror at the advancing Careers. They're laughing and pointing at us. They're going to kill me for sure.

I close my eyes and scream for Finnick.

I feel arms wrapping around me, but I don't dare open my eyes. Then I'm settled down in something soft. Maybe it's moss, but it feels like fabric. How can that happen? I finally open my eyes. It takes some time for my eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight. But then I realize I'm not in the arena. It's a room and I'm lying down on a couch, not moss. At the edge of the couch there's Harold, looking at me with concern. You can see the wrinkles etched clearly on his face. I'm still confused, but then I realize where I am. I'm in the Training Center. Finnick's the tribute, not me.

I take a deep breath and try to sit up. But my body aches even more than when I first woke up and I'm barely able to move a limb. I look at my knees, which are grazed and a bit blue. My arms are also a mixed colour of bruises. I must've thrashed around during my flashbacks.

I look up again at Harold and realize he has a black eye. I gasp and immediately start apologizing. He must've carried me here. I ask an Avox for some ice to put on his eye. The Avox, a brunette girl in her 20s, nods and walks away. But I catch a glimpse of her face. Her eyes were full of sorrow and pity. No doubt she thinks it's terrible for a poor, crazy girl to be a mentor. Oh well. It's true.

I lean back again on the couch.

"Does that always happen?"

I jump at the unfamiliar voice, causing myself to wince. It was Harold's voice. I've never heard him talk, so it takes some time for me to adjust.

"Only when something triggers it," I reply after a long pause.

"What triggered it just now?"

"The corridor. It reminded me of Ren," I choke out. I break down for no reason. He pats my back tentatively, as if afraid I might pounce on him. I bury my face in my hands and try not to think of Ren. Of how he helped me so much during training. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing going on between us. But he was a very nice friend. He was always optimistic and he always tried to protect me like a big brother. He even tried to protect me when he was being tortured...

I put my hands over my ears to try to get a grip. I stay there for I don't know how long, but after a while I feel like I'm floating. Then there's a burst of light and I'm there on the beach. I'm sitting down on the soft sand. I look around for Finnick and I yell out his name. Then suddenly I'm in a field of green grass. A park. Wait, no. It's a graveyard. I walk around, wondering why and how I got here. Then I see a blue marble stone. I take a step closer to it. There's a carving of a trident on it.

"In loving memory of Finnick Odair. Tribute, Son, Friend."

The horror of it all is drowning me until I'm gasping for air. I flail my arms around trying to navigate myself in the angry sea, which is foaming up all around me like clouds. I feel myself lifted off and I'm floating again in infinite darkness. But there's no air. I'm choking and I'm thinking it's better to die now anyways, since Finnick is gone.

I sit up straight and look around. I'm sitting on my bed. How did I get here? I guess I had a nightmare, but what about the part with Harold? Was that a dream too? I look down and find myself in a turquoise shirt. The same one I used this morning. So maybe I did talk to Harold. Then I fell asleep crying, and then I had that nightmare with Finnick dying.

Wait. Finnick! Is he back yet?

I run out the door, ignoring my complaining limbs and head straight to the dining room. I stop short. Finnick's there, but there are other people too. I try to make sense of it all, but then I see they've noticed me standing there in the doorway. Finnick opens his mouth to stay something, but I don't hear it because something else happens.

One of them lunges toward me.