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OCTAVIA THOUGHT SHE WAS HALLUCINATING. The distant sound of Finnick's voice echoed through her head.
"Stay with me," he says.
Octavia's numb body can barely feel his lips pressing against hers, breathing air into her lungs. The darkness around her couldn't keep her from Finnick, though.
She gasps into his mouth, lungs finally catching on to the movement he had been encouraging. Octavia begins coughing up water as Finnick helps her on her side. Once she calms down, she looks at him.
His hair was wet, along with the skin of his cheeks—though that may have been from crying rather than the body of water. Either way, it was clear that he jumped in after her.
He wraps his arms around her, Octavia weakly does the same as he pulls her up into a sitting position.
"You jumped in after me?" She asks—more like demands. Finnick nods.
"Of course I did," he affirms. Octavia shakes her head. She didn't want him risking his life for hers. He knew that, but he didn't care. "You would have done the same," he says.
Octavia tilts her head, knowing that he was right. She looks around to see the rest of the allies, who are gathered at the beach.
"So, besides Brutus and Enobaria, who's left?" Katniss asks. Chaff, Octavia almost says. But he isn't still alive, he is gone. He is dead.
"So, what do we do? We just hunt them down?" Johanna asks.
Then, a scream cries out from within the jungle. It was the scream of a young girl, calling out for Katniss.
"Prim!" She cries out, running toward the sound. Finnick follows. Everyone else shares a quick look before getting up to follow them, too.
"Katniss, you okay?" Finnick asks after Katniss has shot down a single jabber jay.
"Finnick!" Octavia's voice cries out.
"Octavia?" He screams back.
"Finnick, no, it's not her. It's just a jabber jay!"
Octavia hears him call her name in the distance, which makes her run faster. As the mutts begin to swarm Finnick and Katniss, they run back toward the beach, where they can see the rest of their allies standing.
