CHAPTER 2

The sunset displayed beautiful colors of pink and orange in the sky that Finnick felt nothing but melancholy in remembering the sunsets he shared with Annie in the seas of District 4. If only he knew sooner, he would stop her from volunteering for an eleven year old girl. She has been nothing but good. But her goodness wasn't reciprocated. Finnick gave his all and sponsored her all throughout the Games. Thomas, Annie's partner, a young boy that he was, promised Finnick the night before the Games that he will let her live. And he did. But the consequence was much more painful than what Finnick expected. Annie was trying to save Thomas as well.

When Annie was attacked by a Career, Thomas, without hesitation, defended her and got himself killed. Annie witnessed everything and Thomas' beheading tortured her until she didn't know herself anymore. It became the sole reason why Finnick wanted the Capitol destroyed—for taking a good woman's sanity away from her.

From taking her away from me. Finnick thought as he gripped his trident tighter, wanting nothing more at the moment but to behead President Snow the way the Career beheaded Thomas.

Haymitch looked calm but weary on his seat and was sometimes eying Finnick. But it didn't bother him. He knew Haymitch will do in the best of his abilities to make this rescue mission a success. He owed him that. But in the corner of his eyes, Finnick saw how Katniss sat rigid and was staring intently outside, clearly lost in her own thoughts of Peeta, of Gale, of Prim...

But they were the least of Finnick's worries. He knew that the chopper ride towards the Capitol was most unnerving for the rest of the mockingjays. They didn't have the slightest idea if that ride under the setting sun would be the last time they could see the District 13 horizon and the comfort and safety it offered them. But they cannot go back. They cannot go back until they save the three people who mattered most—who can give hope to their dying and suffering Districts. Peeta and Annie motivated Finnick and Katniss—two of the mockigjays' most talented Victors, and not to mention Johanna who was as respectable.

They cannot go back now. Finnick thought. Not when they were about to bring justice to their world.

Everyone sat in silence for a few more minutes until the captain of the chopper said they're about to land somewhere a hundred meters away from the Capitol walls. They moved swiftly and silently and watched as the chopper flew away, the captain giving them the salute. He will not be back for another two hours. The mockingjays only had two hours to save Annie, Peeta and Johanna. Their destination was still a question mark. But they started to move, not wanting to waste precious time.

If the Capitol was the richest and most beautiful of all the Districts, its outside walls were the dirtiest and the most unkempt. The lack of surveillance around the outside walls of the Capitol was possibly the biggest error President Snow ever had. He never thought of the inevitable rebellion. He never cared about what's outside the walls of his Capitol for as long as everything inside was perfect. Going inside the Capitol would be easy, Finnick knew that, but going out would be the challenge. And with President Snow, they didn't know what they are going to face.

Still, despite the easy way in, the mockingjays didn't want to risk their position. They used hand signals to communicate and other times whispered coded words to each other. Haymitch led them down the sewer, their way to get inside the Capitol. A mockingjay spy working for the Capitol sent them the map of the sewage system. If they followed it right, an opening can lead them right underneath the prison chambers. Finnick wished in all of his might that Haymitch was sober at the moment.

They travelled silently, indifferent with their dirty surroundings. Only a few were allowed to switch on their flashlights because the mockingjays didn't know how many water holes were directly above the pipes they were in. Finnick didn't know how many minutes they wasted walking inside the murky pipes, but Haymitch halted and pointed directly above him. Finnick moved closer to Haymitch and saw a passage way covered by a metal screen.

"This is it." Haymitch whistled.

"Are you sure?" Finnick asked him.

"Look for yourself." Haymitch handed him the map which Finnick ignored. He started to climb the ladder but Katniss pulled him back.

"What?" Finnick hoarsely shouted at her.

"Take it easy." Katniss whispered. "You don't know what's up there. We might get into the wrong room."

"Wherever you go, Katniss, this sewer leads you inside the Capitol. And believe me, they are not taking it easy with their hostages." Finnick pulled his shirt from Katniss's grip and started to climb the ladder again. He heard the others follow his lead. When he was almost at the top and about to remove the screen, he motioned them to stop.

"Shh."

"What?" Finnick heard Haymitch from down below.

And before Finnick could reply, he was over powered by men talking above them. Finnick could even hear their heavy footsteps.

"President Snow, that Peeta boy still refuses to speak."

Finnick heard Katniss gasped.

"Oh, well. I expected that. He's in league with the fire girl. But what about the others?" President Snow asked.

"Johanna is still unconscious from her last beating, but still I doubt she would want to speak up if she awakened. And the other, sir, that Victor from District 4, Annie Cresta, she is... uhm... rather difficult, you see... She has gone mad since her Hunger Games victory and all she does is scream—with or without the beating."

Finnick wanted to bolt out of the sewage but Katniss had his leg firmly on her hand. She mouthed, Wait!

"She's actually a waste, sir. She's a lovely girl. Pretty faced, to tell you the truth. But I still haven't got the slightest idea how Odair can put up with her with all the screaming."

Finnick's jaw tightened in anger.

"Ahh, well... The boy's a self-sacrificing hero. It's what makes him attract the girls of Panem. He'll dispose of her soon..."

And then the voice and the footsteps started to fade away. Finnick inhaled deeply to gather up his senses. He cannot make a single mistake tonight or it could cost Annie's life. Finnick and the others waited for a few more minutes, supported by the ladder, when Haymitch finally said that they should get a move on before somebody else from the Capitol does.

Finnick unscrewed the screen and gently slid it open then silently climbed the heavily oil lamp-lighted corridor of the prison chambers. Finnick thought that the chambers looked exactly the same as the sewage below except for its lights, although he thought, it smelled just as awful. But instead of bars, as Finnick expected, there were heavy oakwood doors with small openings—where Finnick noticed, white and ghostly eyes pried behind the darkened room.

"We have to move fast." Finnick said to the rest of them. "Before these prisoners get a chance to get us in trouble."

The mockingjays nodded in agreement and went on their separate ways. Finnick wasted no time looking for Annie. Two men went with him and both carried guns and rifles apiece. The three of them were only two corridors away from their escape route when they heard footsteps and growls headed at their direction.

"The boss said we strap her back to her cell bed. She's still unconscious but when she wakes up, she'll fight back." One of the Capitol guards said.

Finnick and the other mockingjays hid behind the columns of the chamber as the party walked away with Johanna's body in a stretcher. When they were cleared, Finnick ordered the two mockingjays to follow the party, retrieve Johanna's body and return to the sewer. They complained and said that it was not part of the plan.

"Listen to me." Finnick said with authority, "I don't care what the plan is because the purpose of this mission is to rescue mockingjays and one of them, Johanna, just slipped under our noses. Believe me, it's better that we save a hostage apart from ours than not to be able to deliver even just one of them back to District 13!"

With hesitant nods, the two mockingjays ran after the party. And it didn't take long before Finnick heard terrible screams and gunshots. He knew his mockingjays took the Capitol guards by surprise. They might not even had enough time to reach for their own weapons. But to be sure, Finnick ran back to the corridor of their escape route and saw the end of a stretcher being pulled down back at the sewer. Johanna was safe.

But Finnick knew that early success meant early trouble. And he got his instincts right again when the prisoners started howling and rattling because of the earlier gunshots that echoed all throughout the chambers. It was no wonder that Finnick could hear footsteps and whistling and even smashing, as the guards try to stop the prisoners.

But Finnick also knew that the prisoners will now be able to tell the guards about them—the trespassers—and that will definitely lessen their two hours to about 30 minutes. Finnick just hoped that Katniss finds her way to her Peeta just as he was now running towards the end of the corridor where an oakwood door's lock was blasted by the mockingjay's gunshots and a brown haired girl was curved in a small ball, weeping and uttering his name. Annie.

Finnick started to run as fast as he could because he knew he was already running for his life, for his salvation, for his Annie. He heard scrambling and running behind him and he didn't need to look back to know that the guards were already after him. But he was just so close. So close to Annie that all he had to do was scoop her up and run back to their escape route. But the noise came nearer and nearer and before he could even reach Annie, who was just a few feet away, strong hands pulled him back and his face collided with a sickening punch.

Finnick staggered on the floor and his nose was bleeding. There were five Capitol officers surrounding him, batons in their hands. Their hungry look was all Finnick needed to know that they came after him—not to put him into prison like Annie—but to kill him, destroy him and his whole being into pieces where not even his admirers from the Capitol could remember his name.

As Finnick tried to reach for his trident, another guard grabbed him by the collar and pinned him to the wall. They started to punch and kick him in all parts of his body and were enjoying their time in doing so. But he knew he cannot give up. They were just feet away from Annie and the last thing he would want to do is to put the guards' attention to Annie's wide open cell door. Finnick grunted louder to overpower Annie's murmurings and pretended that he was getting weaker and weaker. The guards taunted and mocked him and Finnick heard one guard say that President Snow was on his way to see the famous Finnick Odair himself, breaking and entering. How the Capitol would love that.

But Finnick didn't want to see President Snow. He didn't want to be mocked and taunted and laughed at. When Finnick thought that the guards were distracted by their own amusement, he took the chance and pulled out his trident and stabbed the guard holding him straight into his chest. The guard looked back at him with utmost surprise. His grip weakened and Finnick felt himself falling back on the floor. But he didn't waste time. He pushed the wounded guard aside the started killing the others one by one.

He stabbed them in their bodies, in their chests; cut off an arm and injured their legs... anything to make the horrible feeling inside him go away. Finnick was letting his anger out on the helpless guards and their broken batons. He only noticed then that the prisoners in the surrounding cells were cheering him on, supporting him as he slaughtered the Capitol guards. He didn't care if their blood were spitting out and stained his clothes and covered his hands. He didn't care. The Capitol asked for this and this was what Finnick Odair will give them.

Then as if it was not enough for him, Finnick went back to the guard who first held him. He was still alive but deeply wounded. Finnick rolled him on his back. His anger rose and built up more hate as the guard spat on him—the last of what the guard's strength could give. Finnick put his trident aside and knelt beside the guard and started punching him until the guard lay unmoving. Finnick didn't notice but the prisoners cheering halted, they all stood aghast in their prison cells wondering what on the land of Panem had President Snow did to this pretty boy to make him rage like an animal. Finnick didn't care. In all the years that the Capitol manipulated his life, Annie's life, this was what they deserved, to see their men falling down one by one.

Still, he continued to punch the dead guard, ignoring the exhaustion of his body and the nauseating smell of blood now all over him. Because if Finnick was honest to himself, it might be the last time he could get back at the Capitol this way. Because he knew, deep in his heart he knew, the Capitol was ready to strike back—stronger and crueller than what the mockingjays could do.

Then, to Finnick's surprise, small thin hands he knew so well grabbed his arm and held it back. Annie was looking straight at him; her soft brown eyes were an expression of worry. Then and there, Finnick felt—even just for that flicker of a moment—Annie knew who he was.

He silently watched as she ripped a small piece of cloth from her dress and used it to wipe his bloodied face. She was looking so concerned yet so calm that Finnick didn't want to lose sight of every movement she made. Finnick was thankful because it was as if time slowed itself away to give them another cherished memory to keep before reality can hinder them again.

"Stop," She spoke softly to him. "They're dead, Thomas. You made them go away."

Finnick winced.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop the Career by myself. But she was just so strong." She smiled and continued wiping his face. "You're brother Tyler will be proud of you. And I know Finnick will be too."

"Annie..." Finnick grabbed her hands and gripped them.

"Thomas," Then she started crying. "Thomas I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you. Thomas, I'm sorry that you have to suffer for me. Thomas...." Annie started sobbing. Finnick wrapped his arms around her and that was the only time it sank unto him. He had her right in his arms. Annie was safe.

Then time held back its promise and led them back to reality. One of the prisoners shouted,

"Pretty boy, run! They're coming!"

And Finnick knew he was right. And just when he was about to stand up, President Snow and a number of guards appeared in the corner with heavy strides. Finnick did not waste time and immediately grabbed Annie's arm and ran away, swearing in the name of Mags, of Katniss, of the Mockingjays... he would never lose sight of her ever again.

What do you think? :))