When the 74th Hunger Games rolled around, we were finally allowed to go home. Of course, we went home once over the winter for a month, but other than that, Katniss and I had been trapped in the Capitol for a year.

So I returned to District 4, and Caspian was waiting for me at my house. He pulled me into a tight hug.

Pulling away, he looked me up and down before saying, "You look awful."

I grinned, setting my bags down. "Well I feel great. I get to come home finally after a few hard months, my relationship is thriving, and it seems that Snow isn't openly trying to make my life miserable."

"This is the longest he's made you stay in the Capitol," Caspian protested. "I'm pretty sure he is."

"Yeah, but no one's 'coincidentally' died in years,"

Caspian winced. He didn't mean for me to notice, but I did. The smile fell from my face.

We stared at each other for a few seconds, before I finally spoke, realizing he wasn't going to offer up the information freely. "What happened?"

He shrugged. "Someone died."

"Who?" I asked, praying it wasn't one of my brothers. I figured I would get a phone call if it was, but still...

"Dell."

I left Caspian and my bags in the middle of my living room and took off in the direction of her house. My mom and Killian were there, packing up a few boxes, and Solomon was talking to Britt quietly at the table where Dell used to have us drink tea with her. Well, not me. I was rarely invited to those occasions. I walked past my family and into the living room. Dell's chair in the corner was empty, a sure sign of her departure from the world of the living.

My mom entered the room to disturb my peace a few seconds later. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was cold, and hurt more than I thought it would. Killian, Solomon, and Britt trailed in behind her. When Killian tried to step too close to me, Mom put her arm out, trying to "protect" him from me.

I shrugged, my Capitol mask going up as a defense mechanism. "I don't know, just seeing for myself that the old lady finally kicked the bucket," Caspian joined them. "And apparently, she did. She's dead!"

Solomon stared at me, shocked that I would go so far as to say something like that. "Finnick-"

"Get out, Finnick," My dear mother interrupted. "You aren't welcome in our home."

I raised an eyebrow. "But it's not your home, is it?" I said in a low voice, the humor leaving my system as her cruel words seeped in, hurting far more than I would admit. "This was Dell's home. Your home is about three miles away, a little shack on the beach. Everyone knows that once a Victor dies, the family is evicted."

I sat down on the coffee table, something Dell would never allow. "Now I came here fully prepared to offer an alternative to poverty, since none of you are used to it. Not one of you would last a week as an average District 4 fisherman.

"I was going to offer to let you come live with me, if you can handle all my evening habits of not going to bed until one in the morning, and waking up at the crack of dawn. Oh, and of course you would have to be comfortable with sharing a house with a homicidal rage monster," I said pointedly to my mother. "But if you're okay with all that, then you're welcome to live with me. At least, until your very presence annoys me and I kick you out of my house and disown you as my family, like what you did to me."

After I finished my passive-aggressive speech, I stood up, ruffled Killian's hair, grinned at Solomon, and offered to walk Britt back home.

It was only about an hour later, as I got ready for the reaping, that Caspian and Solomon appeared at my front door. I hugged Solomon, since I didn't get the chance to properly greet him at Dell's house. "Are you moving in with me?" I asked.

Solomon grinned and nodded, setting a duffle bag on the ground. "Mom has been driving me insane," he admitted. "If she chooses to move in, too, I might go crazy."

I laughed. "What's she doing now?"

Caspian answers for him. "Did you guys get in a fight or something? She's been dragging your name through the mud for a bit now, but it's getting worse."

I rolled my eyes. "A long time ago. She hasn't moved on yet. I just told her it wasn't fair of her to completely wipe Dad out of our lives the way she did. That's not fair to Killian. He probably hasn't heard anything about dad at all, and he was so little when he died..."

Caspian smiled softly. "That wasn't fair. Especially not to you."

I finished tying my tie. "You can take whichever room you want, Sol. Caspian can show you which ones are taken. With any luck, I'll be back in a few weeks."

"And without luck?" Solomon asked.

"Could be months. Who knows, really?" I hugged them each one last time, then picked up my bag and started walking to the train station. I needed to drop off my stuff on the train, then make my way back to the square before the reaping. On my way over, I ran into Killian, who was on his way back into the Victor's Village.

"Finnick," He said, nodding his head in my direction.

"I'm on my way out, Killian," I told him. He stopped and looked at me.

"Already?"

I nodded. "Did you want to talk?"

He shrugged and sat down on the porch steps of Dell's old house.

"I know that Mom's been telling you all sorts of monstrosities about me," I started, slowly.

Killian shrugged. "It's pretty much the same things over and over again. You enjoyed killing in the arena, which is why you had such a high body count, and you're in favor of the Hunger Games, and you're a womanizer... all that."

I sighed. "Yeah I figured. Thanks for sugar coating it."

He snorted. "No problem."

"None of that is... strictly accurate." I told him, thinking through my words as I spoke them. "I didn't want to kill anyone, but the Hunger Games... they change you. I had no choice when I killed my first tribute, and after that, I was just so desperate to get home that I was willing to do anything. I know it's hard to understand... No one ever does, and I can't expect you to. That's not fair of me."

"But I should at least try," He countered.

I shrugged. "If you like."

"What about everything you say in the Capitol? And all the women?"

I sighed. "I can't tell you too much about that, but I absolutely hate the Capitol and everything about it. If I could, I would leave as soon as the Hunger Games ended and only go back on Reaping day."

"So why don't you?" Killian asked.

"I'm not allowed to. I can't give you any more information, but I just can't go home."

"Oh," he said.

Killian was already dressed for the Reaping in a white button down and black pants, so he offered to walk me to the train, since he had the time.

When we arrived at the square for the Reaping, I gave him one last hug, then we both found our places for the ceremony.

The mayor, our escort, and the other Victors slowly found their way to the stage. We sat in order of our victories, so Mags was all the way on one end as the oldest living Victor, and Britt sat directly to my left as the most recent.

The escort was new to District 4. She had been promoted from her previous position in District 8, after her tribute had made it to second place in the 73rd Hunger Games, or so I'd been told. But she was equally as obnoxious as all our other escorts, so I tried to tune her out her annoying speech.

I tended to ignore the names she pulled, since usually someone would take their place. So I didn't remember the female name that was spoken into the microphone. Then, as usual, one designated eighteen-year-old loudly volunteered and was brought to the front.

She was pretty, with dark hair and brown eyes. She would probably join the careers, as my tributes tend to do.

And then we moved onto the boys. I fully intended to once again ignore the name picked. I heard my escort speak, and it hit my ears but didn't sink in. I felt Britt take my hand in her own, and watched as every single Victor down the line turned to stare at me. And then her words caught up with my brain.

Killian Odair. That's what she said. I stood up, making my way to the edge of the stage, so I could watch my fourteen-year-old brother make his way towards us. He had climbed up three of the four steps when I finally heard a man's voice volunteer, and I could breathe again.

I reclaimed my seat and watched my brother's savior take his spot on stage. A tall, gangly boy, about sixteen.

Britt grabbed my hand again. "Are you alright?" She whispered.

I nodded. "Just shaken up." I found Killian in the crowd again and felt myself relaxing. He was fine. He was going to be okay.

As soon as the ceremony ended, we were rushed to the train while our tributes were taken into the Justice Building. Britt would be accompanying me again this year, which was good. She was an easy person to work with, and as far as I was concerned, she would soon be my sister anyway.

When our tributes finally arrived at the train, I shook the male tribute's hand. "Thank you," I said to him sincerely. "Thank you so much for saving my brother."

"No offense," He said. "But I was going to volunteer anyway."

I smiled. "I know. And I'm sorry that you did, but I'm glad you managed to save an innocent life. What's your name?"

"You didn't hear it during the ceremony?"

"I don't pay attention to the ceremony."

"I'm Adam," He said.

I turned to the girl, standing by the door, absentmindedly fidgeting with her necklace. "And what's your name?"

"Korah," She introduced.

"Great. Nice to meet you both. I'm Finnick Odair, and I'll -" I winked "- see you at dinner." I said. There was too much on my mind for me to focus on making pleasant conversation, so I walked away to take a long, hot shower.

We had a quiet meal. This year's tributes weren't much for asking questions, so Britt had to do most of the talking. I was still a bit shaken up from the Reaping to talk too much.

We moved into a different car, where we always watched the recaps.

It started with District 1, as always. Their tributes were both very pretty and able-bodied, but I doubted they would be winners. District 2, on the other hand, looked as though either one of their tributes could win. There was a monstrous boy, Cato, and a petite but vicious looking girl, Clove. All four of those tributes were volunteers. District 3, as always, was forgettable. Both tributes were reaped and would probably be dead by the first night.

Then it was District 4. I watched everyone turn to stare at me on-screen as my brother's name was called. The camera first zoomed in on Killian's face, and then it found me just in time for the name to catch up with me. The panic that flashed across my eyes, and how I jumped out of my chair, terrified that no one would volunteer to save him.

Districts 5 through 10 all flew by. Most of those tributes would die in the bloodbath, I knew. District 11 presented a tiny twelve year old girl, who reminded me a lot of Katniss in her first games, and a tall, foreboding eighteen year old boy.

The next morning, our train pulled into the station, a crowd of Capitolites greeting us. Our tributes were rushed away, and Britt and I were escorted to the training center. I pushed the numbers 4 and 12 in the elevator. Britt got off the elevator first, leaving just me there. I hoped Katniss had already arrived at the Capitol, but I couldn't be sure. She was a little bit farther away, but her Reaping took place earlier than mine. The elevator doors dinged open, and Katniss was sitting at the table with Peeta and Effie.

"No Haymitch?" I asked, crossing the room to stand next to her.

Katniss shrugged. "We're giving him the year off. This is his twenty-third year mentoring, and we figured he could use a break."

I nodded, and she stared at me. "What?" I finally asked.

She opened her mouth and began cautiously. "Are you... alright? You know... with the Reaping?"

I smiled. "I'm fine. It just scared me a bit. But now I know how you felt when Prim was reaped."

"Did you do something? To piss off Snow?"

I shrugged. "Not that I know of. I honestly think it was just a coincidence."

"Is your brother alright?" Peeta asked.

"I haven't gotten the chance to talk to him. Plus, I don't even know how to contact him. He could be at my house, or my mom's house, or literally anywhere."

"He's not with Dell?" Katniss asked.

"Dell's dead," I said flatly. "She died two days ago, and my family has been evicted from her house."

"Oh no," Katniss said, taking my hand. "Are they okay?" I appreciated how she didn't apologize. She knew, as terrible as it sounded, I didn't care much for Dell.

"I felt obligated to welcome them into my house. Caspian and Solomon took me up on my offer... I don't know about Killian and Mom. But I don't think either of them would last as common fishermen, so it won't be long before they move in."

"If you ever need a break from them, you're welcome to visit 12," Katniss invited.

I snorted. "I'll probably make it a week living under the same roof as my mother. Please expect my company sometime mid-August."

Peeta chuckled, then Effie squealed obnoxiously. "Portia! So glad to see you!" I turned, and saw Portia standing in the doorway. Peeta's stylist. "I assume you're here to collect my two Victors?"

"Yes, Cinna and the prep teams are waiting." Portia responded with a smile. I always liked the DIstrict 12 stylists. They were much more down to earth than some of the others, and it was a breath of fresh air after dealing with people like Effie all the time. Portia turned to me. "Finnick, Adonia is also waiting. She says she has time to get to you before your tributes."

I joined the District 12 Victors in the elevator down to the basement level, where Beauty Base Zero was located. I was swept away by Adonia, and taken into a small office type room, the desk covered in different products.

"Why are we here today?" I asked her. She never got me ready in her office.

She gestured for me to sit in the desk chair, and started with my hair. "I wanted to talk to you, and I had Beetee check for bugs just this afternoon, so I'd say this is the safest place."

"What are we talking about?" I asked.

Adonia smiled. "Oh, nothing much. Rebellion, uprising, District 13."

I nodded, trying to mask the fact that I knew way too much about all of the above.

"Have you seen the footage?" She asked, lowering her voice.

"What footage?" I matched her tone.

"District 8. District 5. The uprisings all over the country. Katniss inspired the people."

"I know that but-"

"They're ready to make a move, Finnick. People have been disappearing, District citizens and peacekeepers alike."

"They're probably dying," I told her.

She shook her head. "Some of them are. Most of them are just the peacekeepers dying in the revolutions. But people are making an exodus to the ruins of District 13. They... I believe that there is a whole civilization there, underground. Snow doesn't want us to know but..."

I spun around in my chair to face her. "Please be careful, Adonia."

"I'm leaving." Her voice was even softer now. "Titania and I... We're leaving in January. We're making our way north to District 13."

I shook my head. "That's too far. You'll never make it on foot."

"We're not going by foot." She told me. "We're taking the train up the District 8, under the false pretense that we're getting a victor ready for their appearance on the Victory tour. Zahra has agreed to assist us. Then we're walking from there. It's far, and it will take a while, but I think we can do it."

"Please be careful," I repeated softly.

She wrapped me in her arms. "This will be the last time I will get to be your stylist." She pulled away to look at me. "So don't start crying and ruin your makeup."