Heart of Gold • Finnick Odair

-41-

Finnick plants his trident into the sand before going to sit in the sea and being shortly followed by Rosalie who lies her hands in his lap for him to hold. He takes her hand and gently traces patterns on her palm, desperate to do something with his hands but was without his rope.

"Everything will be okay, I promise," Finnick kisses her softly in reply to her reassuring words as the waves crash gently into their joined hands. He sighs, resting his head against hers.

"I didn't know they were a thing until the quell. At the interviews, I figured it was faked?"

Johanna scoffs at Katniss' question, "they've been in love for years. They just didn't figure it out 'til it was too late. They depend on each other, love's weird. Cruel, in a way. Sneaking up on you when it's inconvenient."

Beetee announces that he has a plan so Johanna calls the two over.

"Where do the Careers feel safest? The jungle?" Beetee asks as they all crowd around him.

"The jungle's a nightmare," stated Johanna in an irritated fashion.

"Probably here on the beach," Peeta added, looking to Beetee for confirmation.

"Then why are they not here?" Beetee asked, sounding much like a teacher teaching his clueless students.

"Because we are," Rosalie contributes, trying to digest Beetee's words. For them to have the best chance of survival and escaping, she wanted to have a thorough understanding of the plan.

Johanna adds smugly, in a much more childish fashion, "we claimed it."

"And if we left, they would come," Beetee further explained, ignoring the tongue Johanna pulls at Rosalie who just rolls her eyes with a soft grin.

"Or stay hidden in the tree line," Finnick thought out loud, his arm tight around Rosalie as if afraid to let her go, which he was.

"Which in just over four hours will be soaked with water from the 10:00 wave. And what happens at midnight?" As Rosalie's mind wanders, she thinks about how Beetee would actually make a rather good teacher...

"Lighting strikes that tree," Katniss speaks for this first time, snapping Rose out of her thoughts.

"Here's what I propose. We leave the beach at dusk. We head to the lighting tree. That should draw them back to the beach. Prior to midnight we then run this wire from the tree to the water. Anyone in the water or on the damp sand will be electrocuted." Beetee finally explained the plan.

"How do we know the wire's not gonna burn up?" Johanna inquires.

"Because I invented it," Beetee replied calmly and confidently, "I assure you, it won't burn up."

There's a moment of silence as the group think the plan over, processing the information.

"Well, it's better than hunting them down," Johanna says uncharacteristically calmly. Slightly nerve wracking to be completely honest...

Finnick and Rosalie exchange a glance and he nods with a slight shrug as if to say 'why not?'.

"If Beetee thinks it can work, I say we try," Rosalie agrees.

"Yeah, why not?" Katniss speaks. "If it fails, no harm done anyway, right?"

"Alright, I say we try it," Peeta agrees.

"So what can we do to help?" Finnick asks Beetee as he tightens his grasp on his trident.

"Keep me alive for the next six hours. That would be extremely helpful."

And the group do just that. The allies spilt up to cover a wider perimeter of ground. Johanna sits with Beetee on the sand by the trees equipped with her axe whilst Finnick and Rosalie sit in the shallow ocean to their left whilst Peeta and Katniss sit on the sand close to the water on the right.

Unbeknownst to the others, Katniss was trying to convince Peeta that they should leave but the latter had argued against it. There's no way Katniss would leave Peeta and go off on her own so she reluctantly agreed to stick to the plan. As the star-crossed lovers kiss on one side of the beach, Finnick sits in the water with one hand firmly on his trident and the other wrapped around Rosalie whilst she rests her head on his shoulder.

He places a gentle kiss atop her head, lingering for a moment, before pulling away. He stared out to the ocean, glancing down at his love every so often to check she was still safe in his arms.

Johanna watched her two best friends wrapped up in each other's embrace and couldn't help but think how ruined one would be if the other didn't make it.

Finnick knew the plan would soon be in full motion, but there was no telling what would happen. Would they both get out to safety in District 13, or would the rescue mission go south? Would they even be able to get the ever-so-stubborn Girl on Fire out or will her pride be the downfall of the rebellion he wanted so desperately.

He wanted, no, he needed a rebellion. If he and Rosalie truly wanted a happy life together where they could live safely, Snow needed to be eliminated. For as long as that man is still breathing, the pair will never be able to feel safe. And after everything they've been through, didn't they deserve their own happy ending?