Five

Annie Cresta emerges from the arena as a victor two and a half weeks later.

By emerges, I mean that one of the crew of the hovercraft descends the ladder and physically attaches her to it and holds on to her until they reach the craft. Once on board, that crewmember and a medical staffer carry her to an examination table and prop her up on it, strapping her in place so her limp body doesn't slide off and onto the floor. She stares vacantly at the ceiling while people poke at her and speak to her.

The people of Panem don't get to see footage of this.

The mentors do get to see footage of this.

I don't want to see footage this.

Muscida puts her arm around my waist and sighs as we watch the scene play out on the giant screen in the Mentoring Center. I think she sees what I see - that there is nothing there. Annie is gone.

Some of the other mentors stop to congratulate us, and I breathe a sigh of relief when Muscida talks to them and I don't have to. I'm more relieved when it's Haymitch, Chaff, Seeder, and Cecelia who approach me.

The women both kiss my cheeks and slip out of the room without a word but Haymitch and Chaff hang back and each offer me a flask.

I take a drink from both, wincing after each and handing the flasks back to their rightful owners.

"I can't say we have much experience with this whole mentoring a victor thing," Chaff offers as Haymitch empties his flask, "but you know where to find us if you need anything."

I shake their hands and thank them before I turn back to Muscida. "What do we do now?"

"Go to the hospital," she says grimly. "They'll take her there and we, or rather you as her mentor of record, have to sign for any treatment she needs to be given that isn't absolutely necessary to keep her alive. We'll check on Mags too."

Calpurnia arrives then and ushers us into a waiting car. She's not bubbling with excitement and I know it's because she has no idea how she can manipulate the situation which is obviously so dire. The three of us are silent as we arrive at the hospital. The driver parks at the public entrance, making sure we'll be seen by the horde of press and public waiting outside the doors. I plaster on my Capitol smile, try to convince myself to be convincing enough that they believe I'm thrilled that Annie won, and get out of the car.

My name is shouted more times than I can comprehend and I babble to the closest cameras how happy I am that I was able to mentor Annie to victory. I assure them all she'll be just fine in no time, a lie I tell with alarming ease, and push through them into the hospital.

Muscida is standing by the bank of elevators with Head Gamemaker Truscott. "Only one of us can see Annie and it should probably be you as her mentor. I'll go, if you want. Or I'll go see Mags."

I want to see Mags. I want to hide from Annie. I want to go home.

Mags will be upset if I go see her first. Annie deserves better than me hiding from her. I can't go home.

"I'll go to Annie," I say finally, realizing Gamemaker Truscott is giving me an odd look. "Tell Mags I'll see her soon?"

She gives me a hug and promises that she will.

Truscott, whose wife I have slept with twice, and I get on an elevator together and he jabs the button for the top floor. "From what I've been told, she's doing fairly well. They didn't need to do any life-saving things other than to hook her up to fluids to ease her dehydration."

He's avoiding the most important thing - that her mind is obviously broken - but I know he doesn't care about anything that doesn't make her less pretty for the cameras so I keep my irritation to myself. All he can do is hurt her more than he already has. And I hope I can get him distracted so I can see her on my own.

Distracting him is not hard. Three neon green haired nurses immediately vie for his attention and the get it. I take the opportunity to approach a purple haired doctor who treated me after my Games and after one brutal encounter with the Undersecretary of Food Distribution. Sexta Finch is one of two people in the Capitol I actually like.

"I'm in charge of her, Finnick," she says in a whisper as soon as she sees me, "and I have to tell you it's bad. I'm not supposed to say that to you or to anyone not authorized by Truscott but you need to know it. Come on."

I follow her into a room. I don't understand why there aren't any guards outside the door, not until I see that Annie is strapped to the bed so fully that she couldn't move if she tried. My eyes lock on the bloody bandages on her wrists and the mostly dried blood on her face. "She was in water," I say, not sure why I'm whispering. "She wasn't scratched."

"She did it to herself." She adjusts one of the tubes going into Annie's arm and turns to face me. "We didn't have her restrained while we examined her fully and she started clawing at herself before we could stop her. She's sedated now but I have to bring her out of that soon to be evaluated by President Snow, or whoever he sends in his place, and Gamemaker Truscott."

I fight a shiver at the memory of President Snow looming over my bed just after I won. I find a little strength in the fact that I remember Mags being there, holding my hand the entire time. I don't know if Annie will even realize I'm there but I need to be for her what Mags was for me. "Can I stay, Sexta?"

"Of course. I'll be in the room the entire time too."

With that settled, she adjusts another line going into Annie.

With Sexta's nod of permission, I release the restraints on her right arm and link my fingers with hers. Then I watch as her green eyes, once so bright and full of life, flicker open to reveal an emptiness that scares me. I think I'd rather see terror in her eyes.

"It's the sedation," Sexta says softly, "the emptiness is from the sedation. The terror will come soon. Hold on to her, talk to her. If she was comfortable around you before, she'll be comfortable around you now."

I use my foot to hook a stool and pull it close to her bed. She will be able to look at me if she doesn't want to look at whoever comes. "Annie, listen to my voice. You're safe now. There's nothing to be afraid of now." I don't know if she's listening to me, or even just hearing me, but I need to say it. "I know it seems like there is everything to be afraid of but I promise that you are safe right now where you are. I hope you can hear me, Annie. I hope you know I would never lie to you."

She squeezes my hand but she doesn't let go so whatever she's thinking, it isn't that she's afraid of me. She turns her head and blinks over and over and over. "Finnick," she whispers through clenched teeth. "Finnick?"

"I'm here, Annie." I lift her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles, not daring to do anything more when I don't know who might be watching. "I'm here."

Tears drip down the sides of her faces as she looks at me, finally focusing - and I see the terror in her eyes. "Don't leave me," she rasps. "Please."

I squeeze her hand again. "I won't leave, Annie. I won't leave you."

"Still mentoring even after the Games are over. Excellent work, Mr. Odair." President Snow stands at the foot of Annie's bed and Gamemaker Truscott is behind him. He nods at me. "They tell me her mind is damaged. She will still do her interview with Mr. Flickerman on schedule and she will be crowned by me on schedule. It will be up to you whether she remains here for treatment or return to District Four. The Victory Tour will be on schedule, so you may want to consider that."

It takes me a minute to realize he's waiting for my answer. It's an easy answer to give.

"I'm taking her home. Mags too. I'll take them home to District Four."

He nods, seeming to have expected that. "Good luck to you, then." And then he disappears again.