Fall Away

The lights dimmed suddenly, electricity cutting out through the entire studio, and the audience erupted in screams and squeals. I stared up towards Finnick in the darkness, waiting for my eyes to adjust, but before I could see anything his arms were around me, pulling me close to him as he pressed a kiss into my hair.
"Shh, just stay with me," he whispered, easing my worries as the panic around me grew wilder. Finnick released me from his embrace only to take my hand in his, squeezing it tight and starting to pull me off the stage. I was amazed at his sight -- I still couldn't see anything in the darkness, so I simply followed his lead blindly, trusting him as he towed me down the stairs and across what I could only assume was the stage.
He finally pulled me out through a door backstage that lead to the halls, which were still lit with the bright fluorescents. I saw a few of the other tributes running down the halls ahead of us and I sighed with relief knowing that at least some of the others had gotten out safely. But Finnick didn't release my hand; he held it tighter as he broke out into a run, leaving me to try to keep up with him in my spiky shoes.
"I don't get it, why are we running?" I said, feeling uneasy.
"Just follow me, I'll explain when it's safe," Finnick replied breathlessly, pulling me over to one of the small hidden stairwells rather than the elevator. Up and up and up we went, from one of the deep below-ground floors to the tributes' suites, but Finnick kept pulling me up past our floor.
"Wait, Finnick, our room's down here," I said, stopping to shoot him a confused look.
Finnick looked back at me, an intangible sadness on his face, and suddenly it clicked. Of course it wasn't safe; our room was the first place they'd look for us. Them. The Peacekeepers, working on Snow's order. There's only one person in all of Panem who could have Caesar Flickerman's annual Tribute special shut down on command like that, meaning the order to cut everything out must have come directly from Snow himself. He'd seen us -- he'd seen us all. We all said what we knew would make the Capitol mad, and Snow wouldn't stand for that, but Adri and I had crossed a line. We'd admitted to Snow pulling the strings behind the scenes, making everyone work for him, turning our lives into entertainment. Adri and I would be prime targets now. I knew Peeta and Katniss were surely right behind me on Snow's list, but I hoped for their sake that Snow would leave them alone. I wasn't sure if Katniss was really pregnant or if Peeta had just made that up, but I didn't want them to have to deal with this, just in case.
"Okay. Okay, yeah, let's keep going," I said, pausing only a moment longer to kick my shoes off and scoop them up in my hands before Finnick and I were off again. I ran until my lungs burned and my legs ached, until I felt like I would collapse if I kept going a moment longer, and when my strength began to falter, Finnick was there to pull me forward. We got as high as the twelfth floor, where Peeta and Katniss were staying, and then up one more set of stairs to the roof, which I didn't even know was accessible.
Finnick and I both collapsed to the ground, tumbling together into a mess of twisted tired arms and legs as we hit the concrete. I barely felt the impact, my muscles too sore to register anything other than the sweet relief of respite. I glanced up to survey our surroundings only to see the rooftop lined with rows upon rows of white porcelain pots, all housing lush green plants that spilled out beautifully from their soil.
"A rooftop garden?" I demanded incredulously, letting out a breathless laugh as I tried to balance speaking with catching my breath.
Finnick grinned. "Not what you expected?"
"Not exactly," I admitted, letting my head fall onto my arms as I let every muscle in my body just rest for a few minutes. I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of my heartbeat in my ears mix in with the traffic noise coming from off the street and the sound of Finnick breathing next to me, and for a second it was too easy to forget about the danger coming after us, if not tonight then tomorrow morning when we entered the arena.
Just as I'd started to believe that maybe we'd be okay the door launched open, and five Peacekeepers burst through in full armour. I tried to climb to my feet but my body was already so exhausted, my legs gave out underneath me and my arms wobbled as I tried to push myself up. Finnick was quicker than me, no doubt in much better shape, and in a split second he was on his feet, holding a hand out to me to help me up. I reached out to grab it, but just as my fingers brushed against his palm I felt a hand lock around my ankle, yanking me back.
I cried out, feeling the skin scrape off my knees, but I barely had any time to think about it before two sets of hands reached out for me, locking around each of my shoulders and pulling me roughly to my feet. I cried out, the soft joints of my shoulders not able to hold all of my weight like that, but the sound of my pain only seemed to encourage the Peacekeepers. While the two at my side held me up, another came in front of me, smirking devilishly before lunging forward, fist connecting with my jaw. My teeth clashed against my tongue and bottom lip, and I tasted the blood just when I felt it spilling out over my chin.
"Winnie!" Finnick cried, and I felt him at my side, hands trying to dig underneath those of the Peacekeeper in a desperate attempt to get me out, but it was useless, there were too many Peacekeepers. One of the others immediately pulled out his stun prod, and I whirled my head over my shoulder just in time to see Finnick collapse to the ground, shoulders heaving as he tried to steady himself despite the electric current running through his body. I could already tell the prod was on its highest setting, and I tried to scream out Finnick's name but I couldn't find my own voice.
The Peacekeeper in front of me didn't seem to be finished, though; he lurched at me again, planting a punch in my chest, making my ribs scream and the air rush out of my lungs. "You sure you're a grown woman? Because I didn't feel anything there but bones," he said, placing his hand over the mark he'd just punched, making my stomach turn. I could feel his eyes on my face, a twisted fire in them as he felt my breast, watching to see how I reacted.
"You bastard, I swear I'll kill you, I'll kill you myself!" Finnick growled, scrambling to try to climb to his feet again, but the Peacekeeper closest to him hit him again with the stun prod, adding a swift kick to the ribs to keep him down, and I heard Finnick cry out in pain though his face was plastered against the concrete.
I opened my mouth to try to say something -- anything -- but all that came out was a weak sob. "Please," I gasped, though I wasn't sure if I'd actually managed to say it out loud, wishing he'd just take his hands off me.
"Snow said to bring her directly to him," said one of the Peacekeepers, a disapproving look on his face as he reached forward and pushed the other man's hand off my chest.
"He said to get her at all costs. Who's to say she didn't put up a bit of a fight, and we had to use brute force to get hold of her?" the other Peacekeeper snapped, but much to my relief he didn't try to touch me again.
"We've got her now, and you've had your fun. Let's just bring her down now," said the first Peacekeeper.
The one in front of me paused, a thoughtful look on his face, before sinking a punch deep into my cheek, making me see stars and nearly choke on the blood still rushing into my mouth from my split lip and tongue. "There, now she's ready."
"Winnie!" Finnick cried out hoarsely, eyes never leaving me as the Peacekeepers started to tow me back toward the stairwell, and though I could see his arms struggling to push himself up off the ground, I knew it was useless; two of the Peacekeepers stayed behind to watch him, stun prods at the ready.
I tried to call back to him, to tell him I'd be okay, to apologize, to say anything I could to reassure him, but once again the only thing past my lips was nothing but a useless whimper. It didn't help when I realized what I had to do now.
I had to face President Snow.