7/27/14

Chapter 1: The Choice

I narrowly dodge a punch from my opponent, sending her falling onto the ground. She springs up and lunges at me again, but I lunge at her at the same time. I'm a lot bigger than she is, so I end up pinning her to the ground. I smirk as she tries to escape. At this rate, I'll be a victor in no time.

"And the winner of the last spar of the day is Finnick Odair!" Arthur, one of the victors/trainers shouts excitedly.

Okay, maybe I should have mentioned that I have to volunteer first. But hey, I'm getting closer every day, aren't I?

I get up and offer my hand to the sandy-haired girl I recently defeated. She refuses the help and gets up on her own.

"I'll beat you next time," she says, her hazel eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Oh we'll see about that Attina," I smirk.

Attina laughs and shakes her head, "You just got lucky this time."

"Says you," I roll my eyes. Attina rustles my hair and I shove her arm off. She laughs again as I pretend to pout. "You messed up my hair!"

"Sorry Finn," She laughs.

"Oh stop flirting," Penelope, one of the other trainees, says as she passes us. She's an unlikely trainee too, because when she was 5 a shark ripped one of her arms off. I know, it's strange that she'd even think about going into the Games, but she doesn't want her missing arm to hold her back. She's a pretty cool girl, I have to admit.

"Hey, we weren't flirting!" I exclaim dramatically.

"Yeah, can't a girl's best friend be a guy anymore?" Attina asks.

Penelope sighs and grabs her bag, "You know society today. We assume things, don't we? I'm outta here. I'll see you two tomorrow."

"See you too," Attina says as I lead her away from the sparring mat.

"Come on, let's find Caspian," I say. Caspian is our other best friend. He's practically guaranteed a spot in the 70th Hunger Games. He's always been at the top of his rank, and he's incredibly strong for our age. Somehow it doesn't surprise me that he wasn't sparring today, instead using his time to perfect his already professional usage of a sword. I personally prefer tridents, and Attina is the better with spears than anyone else in her current rank (although I must admit it's mostly trident users such as myself).

Attina and I plan to use our high rankings to our advantage. She'll volunteer for the 68th Hunger Games when she's 17, I'll volunteer for the 69th Games when I'm 18, and then Caspian, who was born after Reaping Day, will volunteer for the 70th Games when he's 18. If everything goes according to the plan, Attina's little sister will volunteer for the 71st Games. Then, District 4 will have 4 victors in a row. It's an ingenious plan really, even though the trainers doubt it'll work. The only District that's ever had two victors in a row is District 3. The four of us will be more than glad to beat that record, no matter how impossible Kai claims it is.

When we're nearing the elevator, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around and see Triton, the head trainer at the academy. He isn't a victor, but he is Arthur's uncle, so I suppose it counts for something.

"Odair, can I talk to you?"

"Um, sure?" I say with a shrug.

"Meet me in my office," He says before leaving.

Attina waits for him to leave before she announces, "Man I hate that guy."

"Well that was random," I say, giving her a strange glance.

"Well it's true," she shrugs. "I just don't."

"Perfectly understandable," I say. "You can go find Casper. I, unfortunately, have a meeting with Mr. grumpy gills."

"You've been watching too many pre-dark days movies," Attina laughs.

"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. Hey, are we still meeting at your house tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll meet you there," Attina says.

"Awesome. See you then," I say as we go our separate ways. I climb the stairs all the way to the 14th floor because it's good exercise. The 14th floor is where all the offices are. There's a rather nice view from such a high place, but it's pretty dangerous to be so high up during a storm. That's one disadvantage of our training center. I knock on Triton's office and he yells at me to come in.

Marina, Caspian's older sister, is sitting across from Triton when I arrive. With her jet black hair and ice blue eyes, it's obvious that they're siblings. Unlike Caspian, however, she's more brains than brawl. Her strengths lie in edible plants and making shelters more than sword fighting, although she's better at it than I'll ever be. She's 18 too, and one of the top contenders for the spot of volunteer. She's already promised that she'll be my mentor if something happens to Attina, which I'm grateful for. Even though I don't want to think about my best friend dying, it's better to be safe than sorry.

"Odair, please take a seat next to Miss Eric."

I take a seat next to Marina, who looks generally surprised.

"I think both of you have figured out why I want you in here, right?" Triton says grumpily.

"No sir, I haven't," I say, glancing at Marina.

"I think I have some pretty good guesses," Marina says, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

"I want you to volunteer, idiots," he grumbles. This takes both of us by surprise.

"Me? I'd be honored!" Marina says happily. I'm too shocked to even speak. Me? Volunteer? This guy must be out of his mind! I'm only 14, my name's only been in there twice, and he wants me to volunteer? "Wait… you want Finnick to volunteer too?"

"I've been thinking about it," Triton says. "Yes, yes I do. It would be a shock to the Capitol, and I know you're ready Odair."

"I don't know if I could do it if he'll be in there with me," Marina says nervously.

"Well tough luck, if it's not you then it's Penelope," Triton grumbles. I know that Marina will volunteer without hesitation now. Marina thinks of Penelope as a little sister, and she'd do anything to keep her out of the Games. Marina worries about her enough training, let alone going into the Games.

"But what about me?" I ask. "What if I don't want to go in?"

"Then it's Zale," Triton says.

I know in that moment that I have to volunteer. Zale and Marina have a strong rivalry, and I know he'd do anything to kill her once they get into that arena. Besides, if I go in with Marina we could protect each other, and the likelihood of both of us reaching the final two is slim.

"Fine," I sigh. "I'll do it."

"Finnick…" Marina says, a painful look of concern slowly filling her eyes.

"No, I have to," I look up at Triton and say with a heavy heart, "I'll volunteer."

I slowly feel the weight of my decision sink in, but I know I have no other choice. Little do I know that my life is about to change more than I could ever imagine.

…..

I know, I know, I didn't say anything about writing Finnick's Games, let alone posting it. But I did. I've wanted to write another story besides The Manipulation Games for a while, but until now I haven't had the motivation to do so.

Also, if you've noticed how the title matches my other story, yes, it was intentional. I've decided that I'm going with that theme for most of my HG fanfics. If anyone remembers Penelope from Manipulation Games (if you don't, then she's the girl who killed Johanna's ally), then good for you.

Quote of the day! (yes, I'm doing those for this fic too)

"I'm sorry, I don't speak monkey. Would you like a banana?" –A Series of Unfortunate Events, Count Olaf.

May the odds be ever in your favor,

Spectrobes Princess