You Asked For This - Finnick Odair

Run

"You deserved the chance to be a child."
— Unknown

...

Finnick asked a lot of questions about what they deemed the "tree rat," trying to figure out where it found the water. Katniss didn't remember seeing anything helpful, it just seemed to be snuffling around the tree for insects to eat.

The conversation trailed off as the pale moon rose. They knew what was coming and positioned themselves in a way that they could see the sky.

Cora discreetly linked her pinky with Finnick's, scared that she might see Johanna's picture. Both of them were nervous to see the picture of people that they'd known for years. It would be so much different than strangers.

The first picture was of the man from District 5 that Finnick had killed. Cora's grip on Finnick's pinky tightened to comfort him. She knew he didn't regret his actions, but she also knew that those actions didn't come without a little guilt. Finnick hadn't killed anyone in ten years. Cora was angry that Snow had forced him back into it.

Everyone from Districts 1-4 were still alive. The Careers, Wiress and Beetee, and (of course) Cora and Finnick. After the man from 5, came the morphling from 6. Cora refused to recall their names, turning off her emotions. She couldn't afford to grieve anyone.

She tensed her muscles, preparing herself to see Johanna (the one person she couldn't avoid grieving). But the tributes from 8 showed up instead. Cora felt Finnick breathe out a sigh of relief from next to her, he had been scared for Johanna too.

Both from 9, the woman from 10, and then the woman from 11. Cora thought about how Peeta's picture was almost displayed, feeling grateful that he was okay now. Then, the Capitol seal flashed and the music died. The sky was left dark except for the moon.

After about a minute, a parachute arrived and landed before them. No one reached for it.

"Whose is it, do you think?" Katniss finally asked.

"No telling," said Finnick. "Why don't we let Peeta claim it, since he died today?"

Peeta untied the cord and flattened out the circle of silk to reveal a strange, hollow piece of metal.

"What is it?" Katniss asked.

No one knew. They passed it from hand to hand, taking turns examining it. It could have been anything.

Peeta blew on one end to see if it made a sound. It didn't. Finnick slid his pinky into it, testing it out as a weapon. Useless. Cora tried sawing it against the mats she made to see if it could be used as a knife. It kind of worked, but it clearly wasn't the intended use.

"Can you fish with it?" Katniss asked Finnick and Cora.

"Not if we actually want to catch anything," Cora said.

Katniss took it and rolled it back and forth on her palm. After a while, she frustratedly jammed one end into the dirt. "I give up. Maybe if we hook up with Beetee or Wiress they can figure it out."

Peeta comfortingly rubbed Katniss's shoulders and she relaxed into him.

Cora tried to think of anything that might be helpful, but ended up with nothing. Mags and Haymitch would've had to have teamed up to send them the metal thing, so it had to be good. But what use was a good thing if no one knew what to do with it?

Suddenly, Katniss bolted upright. "A spile!" she exclaimed.

"What?" asked Finnick and Cora at the same time. Neither of them had ever heard that word in their lives.