CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE!

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

ROSALIE HAS NEVER FELT AS PANICKED AS SHE IS NOW, desperately running towards the calls of her younger brother. He sounds so pained, so desperate, so much so that she can literally feel her heart shattering in her chest. Katniss is already so far ahead of her, Rosalie can barely see her in the distance any more. Prim's screeches have been drowned out by Carter, it's as if the girl's voice isn't ever filling the air.

"Carter! Carter where are you?" Rosalie yells, her eyes stinging as tears begin to flow down the sides of her face. "C! Please, answer me,"

The panic continues to rise, the blood pumping through her body so quickly that she can feel it in her ears. It's as if the world around her is a giant blur, the girl unable to distinguish one place from the next as she searches for her brother.

"Carter!"

She wonders what sort of sick satisfaction the Capitol are getting from this, Snow probably has that wicked grin on his face as he sips on his expensive wine, the deep red colour tainting his lips, and toasts to his wicked schemes.

This is despicable, and she can't help but have the thought in the back of her mind — maybe he knows about their planned rebellion. Maybe he's managed to unearth all the evidence and is now looking to torture all of those involved. It would make sense.

Then again, he doesn't ever really need motivation for his cruelty. Snow is a terrible person, and this only further shows that.

Carter's screams are still echoing in her ears, but then they change. The yells of her younger brother morph into that of her older one. It terrifies her to the core, she's running on pure adrenaline, hoping to find them both without them being in any sort of pain.

"Ash! Asher!"

The girl's screeches echo louder than those of her brother's, but she can't even hear them. Her entire focus is on finding her siblings — nothing else even comes remotely close to mattering in this moment.

Rosalie pushes through the foliage and eventually finds herself in a rather large clearing, trees in every direction as she spins trying to figure where to go. It's almost as if the voices are getting louder, but the brunette can not even be sure that is truly the case. Her mind is scrambled at this moment, it's not working properly as it works on processing all her emotions.

"Rose!"

"ROSE!"

"Rose!"

Rosalie openly sobs, clutching at her chest as she hopelessly tries to decipher where shrieks are coming from. Her forehead is almost throbbing in unison with her erratic heart, operating excessively. She's never felt anything like this before — not when she took the life of her District Parter as he struggled in his final moments nor when the only ally she'd managed to gain had been cruelly taken in the middle of her sentence. This is just so much more personal, her brothers whom she loves dearly could be on the verge of death and she can't stop it.

The shouts of her name are still ringing in her ears, however, they begin to morph slightly as she raises her hand and tries to block the sound. It's hardly effective, barely muffling any calls and when a hand gently grasps her elbow, she cannot even move to defend herself.

It's almost as if she can only comprehend one thing, and that is that this is a hand of comfort and not harm. The skin of their palm brushes up against a missing section of her outfit, a part that had been split when she'd taken her tumble earlier, her dread instantly fading into the need for consolation.

There's a few things in life she knows for certain, and one of them is that Finnick Odair possesses the ability to rip her from delusion and bring her back to reality.

"You need to help me find them, Finn. You need to help me find my brothers," Rosalie cries, opening her eyes and grabbing his biceps in her hands tightly to convey her need.

"It's not real, Rose. They're just Jabberjays, they're not real. It's okay, they're safe," Finnick responds, carefully maneuvering her so she can lean against him.

"They mimic. They mimic,"

The phrase falls from her lips several more times. Katniss stumbles in on the scene of the two of them, seemingly figured out the puzzle as well. It, however, doesn't make the noises any less haunting. Finnick holds Rosalie tightly and gestures for Katniss to follow after him, needing to get the brunette well away from the tormenting birds.

They follow, the Capitol more than likely enjoying every second of the sadistic events. Rosalie has her left ear resting against Finnick's chest, trying to focus on the sound of his steady heartbeat as his free hand gently lays over her ear. The idea that Carter and Asher being hurt isn't easy for him either, he's known them for as long as he's known Rose — he loves them like they're family.

Katniss is growing increasingly distressed as she moves ahead of them, and when she reaches out for Peeta she can't even touch him. An invisible barrier, much like the force field earlier, keeps them separated and leaves the trio to endure deep despair.

It feels like hours later when the birds disperse and the eery silence of the arena returns. Rosalie is still clutching onto Finnick as if her life depended on it and Katniss has now moved to seek comfort from Peeta.

The others looks as if they don't know how to approach the situation, Johanna's eyes resting on a shaking Rosalie as she tries to calm down.

"The whole country loves your sister. If they tortured her or did anything to her, forget the Districts, there would be riots in the damn Capitol,"

Johanna's words are directed to the girl from District Twelve, but it's quite evident she has nothing like that for Rose. The people in the Capitol know of her brothers, of course they do, but the yells and cries of family members are normal on reaping day. Carter sobbing wouldn't have been anything out of the ordinary for the Capitol to see, they more than likely turned a blind eye to it — they always do.

The District Four pairing relocate to the beach, wanting to stare out at the small waves that remind them of home. She still hasn't spoken, but she also hasn't made any effort to move away from him. His arm remains around her, and she happily accepts any and all comfort he's willing to offer.

Rosalie can hardly believe that this is her reality. Hours earlier either of them could have died, been ripped away from the other. She can almost guarantee she would have shut down, like she's seen so many tributes do before, and there would've been no pulling her back in.

For almost her entire life, the only person who has been able to do that had been him. He was the constant in her life, the one person who she could seek out for anything and he'd follow along with that teasing grin. Never had she had any doubt in him, and she sincerely trusts him with her life.

Finnick Odair is the epitome of happiness to her —trust, care and love all bundled up in one person.

Love.

Rosalie looks up, searching out his gaze which she grabs almost instantly, Finnick looking down into her eyes. "I love you,"

Finnick's face lights up at the sound of the words, his lips tilting up into one of the most beautiful smiles she's ever seen. "And I love you too,"

Their lips connect softly, and it's as if the whole world around her fades into nothingness. The other tributes are mere specks of paint in her picture perfect moment, everything revolving around the one person that she cherishes more than herself. Whilst she may have coined the nickname sunshine for the better part of two decades, she truly believes he is the light at the end of a truly dark tunnel.

And once they make it to the end of that tunnel, they will finally be able to have true happiness.

NOTE!

Thank you so much for reading! We're so close to finishing Catching Fire! Hope to see you next time :)