L O C K E D- Finnick Odair

TWO

《'°•~Chapter Two~•°'》
The Tribute Parade

IM TAKEN OUTSIDE to an area with twelve chariots; one for each district. Soon, we will start our journey through the Capitol, riding these carriages, each one being pulled by two black horses. I find Finnick standing by a chariot, the fourth one from the exit.

"Oh my God," I say as I approach him. His outfit is even worse than mine. He's shirtless, wearing only a matching fishing net held up by a belt. I notice we have the same necklace. I grab the end of the net and let it fall back onto his body. "That's hilarious."

"I guess they really love embracing the whole 'fishing' thing," he laughs and brings his voice to a whisper as Lilac and Finnick's stylist come up to us to give us a last piece of advice.

"Remember," Lilac grabs my arm. "Straight faces. Show them absolutely no emotion. I want you guys to hold hands. You're a team."

A team. Unbelievable.

Lilac nods at me and leaves us to prepare ourselves. "I talked to Everdeen." Finnick tells me.

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. The two victors from last year's Games. This whole Quell thing was probably their fault, but it wasn't fair to blame anyone other than President Snow and the gamemakers.

"We need her and Peeta Mellark as our allies," he says between his teeth.

"We?" I say, petting our horse.

"Yes, Whitlock, we," he says. His eyes widen like he knows something I don't.

"What?" I mutter quickly.

He opens his mouth to speak, but we're interrupted by a Capitol worker informing us that we only have two minutes. Finnick climbs into the chariot before me. He offers his hand to help me in, but I ignore it and climb in myself.

"Emmeline -"

"Let's give a warm welcome to our tributes for this year's Quarter Quell!" Before Caeser Flickerman is even done talking, the cheers are heard from the Capitol people, and the horses begin to move.

Finnick grabs my hand and holds it so tight so I won't be able to let go. I glance quickly at him. His face is like stone. We stare into the distance the whole ride to the center of the Capitol.

The audience goes wild when they see Finnick and I, their favorite sex symbols from District Four.

The drums, the cheers, and the roses being thrown at us are all too much. I never thought I'd have to come here again, but here I am. President Snow stands in his honorary spot, staring down at us disapprovingly. The worst thing he can do to me now is kill me, but he's waiting to do that until I get to the arena.

We ride back to Training Center, where we're greeted by our stylists and Valentina. "You guys were lovely! Absolutely stunning! Stunning!" Valentina says with her high-pitched voice.

"You looked good out there," Finnick leans close to me and whispers in my ear. "Very grumpy."

We're finally taken to our floor, a massive apartment with several living rooms, bedrooms for Finnick and I, and a bathroom in every possible place you could think of. I go straight to my room and peel off the fishing net. I scavenge the drawers for some comfortable clothes and settle on an expensive pair of silk pajamas.

There's a knock at my door. "I'll eat later," I mumble loud enough for the person outside to hear. But it's not Valentina. It's Finnick who enters.

"About the allies," he begins.

"What was that earlier?" I cut him off.

He hunts through my drawers and pulls out a notebook and a pencil. He scribbles words down on them and hands it to me.

We can both survive this. Several other districts can, too, if you just trust me.

I glance up at him, and for the first time ever, he looks scared. He grabs the notebook and quickly writes something else underneath what he just said.

Beetee, from District Three, is going to break us out of the arena. We'll be taken to District Thirteen, where we can hide from the Capitol until we are ready to fight.

I can't believe what I'm reading. He's crazy! District Thirteen was destroyed many years ago. And breaking out of the arena? That's impossible.

I write something on the paper.

District Thirteen doesn't exist.

He grumbles impatiently as he writes again.

That's what I thought. They've been plotting to overrun the Capitol for years, and half the tributes and Plutarch Heavansbee know about it. He told me himself.

The head gamemaker? This is all so hard to believe, but I know deep down that ever since Katniss and Peeta almost ate those berries, the rebellion has been growing.

We need your help.

My help? I look at him and lock eye contact for several seconds. He stares at me with hope. I can either die in this arena or go to District Thirteen and die in war. Both aren't very appealing, but I decide that dying in war is the better option for the sole reason that I'm choosing to die that way, not the Capitol.

What do I have to do?

He writes his response down in the blink of an eye.

Stay alive. Protect Katniss and Peeta. The rebellion can't go on without them.

Stay alive. Protect Katniss and Peeta. Sounds simple enough.

But it was nowhere near that simple.

Chapter 2- 902 words

'°•~~•°'
- Olivia