Finnick and Annie

Victory Ceremony and Interview

I woke up in a white room. Everything was white; there were no windows or even a door. I tried to sit up, but I was strapped to a bed. I didn't even struggle. My body was sore; everything hurt. I wanted to look at myself, I needed to check on my wounds, and then I remembered I was in the Capitol and that they had already taken care of all of them.

I sighed and lay on the bed, trying very hard to not think of the arena. I thought of home instead, and how I'd be there soon. I thought of my parents, and how happy they would be to see me again. I'd get a fancy house in the Victor's Village and I'd live there next to Mags and the other victors. My mother would finally get a nice, large kitchen, and my father would be able to stop working so much and spend more time with my mother.

I thought of Annie and how happy she'd be to see me. That is, if she didn't hate me. If she'd seen me on TV she wouldn't like what I'd become. I'd have to move further away from her, so she wouldn't be able to visit me as often. Victors were never forced to go back to school, but I kind of wanted to. I never liked going to class very much, but I loved being with my friends, and honestly, I just wanted my life to go back to normal.

I heard a beeping sound, and an avox walked into the room. He pressed a button and my bed folded until I was sitting up.

"Can you please unstrap me? I'm not going to run away," I said. He hesitated but released my head and arms. He left the room for a second and wheeled in a food cart. He set a tray on my lap and grabbed a spoon. He was about to feed me some soup, but I took the spoon from him.

"I can do it," I said. He stood by my bed until I was done. "Thank you." He looked at me, smiled and then left.

He must have told her that I was awake, because a few minutes after the avox left my room, Mags rushed in. She sat on the edge of my bed and hugged me, and despite my aching muscles, I hugged her back with all my strength.

"Finnick, Honey, you did it," she cried. I nodded and held on to her and then, for the first time in days, I started to cry. I had been holding back because I didn't want to whole country to see my weakness, but I didn't care that Mags saw me, because I knew she understood.

"It's alright, Sweetie," she whispered soothingly and rubbed my back. "Finnick, I know what you're going through," she said, "I've been there, but I promise it gets better. You're alive and you get to see your family again."

"I killed nine children, Mags," I choked out.

"If you hadn't, they would have killed you," she said.

"No... they wouldn't have. A lot of them were even more lost and defenseless than I was!"

"Remember when you asked me if it was worth it? Killing to win? I said you would have to answer that on your own. Well, Finnick, right now you feel guilty and it's perfectly understandable, but once you get to go back home, you get to see your family and you help your district with extra food. You'll spend the rest of your life trying to make up for what you did, and though the guilt never goes away, you can still make a difference."

I thought of Serena, and how she was willing to kill and die to help her family. I would make sure that girl lived. I had to do it for Serena, and for myself. I wasn't a bad person; I'd just done a lot of bad things.

"They've fixed you up, Finnick. Tomorrow you'll be ready for the Victory Ceremony, and then you'll have your last interview with Caesar and we'll head back home, okay? You just need to be strong for a little bit longer." She kissed my forehead, and then pressed a button on the side of my bed. An avox came in and Mags left. He handed me a pill and a glass of water, and I took it. I fell asleep in a matter of seconds, and I didn't wake until the next day.