My eyes swung open;it was like my nightmare became a reality. My arms slung over the side of my decaying wooden bed and my head entwined with worn out blue sheets,exactly like the way I was lay in the arena except vines tangled my head and a knife was strewn beside me smothered in my blood,I was slowly bleeding to death from the main arteries in my neck I'm panting and searching for breath when I realise it wasn't real. I look out of the window to see tiny white particles of snow falling into heaps on the ground,I feel my eyes glisten and happiness in my stomach,something I haven't felt since my mother,father and brother died maybe my family have come back as the particles to protect me and wish me luck. I pluck myself up off my bed like I would pluck a turkey or a gosling from the forbidden Forrest near my house,I slide a chiffon white dress with a gold collar over my shoulders and let it fall to my knees and I slip on my gold and black leather shoes with buttons I have these shoes because of my aunty and uncle who kindly took me in after the death of my family; they traded 5 turkey's and all the bread they had to the peacekeepers in exchange for a black and gold vintage sewing machine,so I could make these now ripping shoes. There is no way we could afford any new clothes,I live in district 4,a district lay on the edge on panem,we produce seafood for the Capitol,even though we are not the poorest,it is hard to get a decent meal and there are no shops to buy clothes so if you can't sew then you are stuck with the clothes that are handed down to you.I then flick my hair to behind my shoulders and I start to braid the front and sides of my hair intricately and the rest of my red hair just falls into pin curls,my natural style.
I glide through the hallway into the kitchen where my aunt is making breakfast I grab a roll off the side,peck her on the check and quickly slip through the door before she can object,I wanted to see finnick before the bell tolls for all the district to stand outside In front of a stage where a colourful lady from the Capitol decides whether your going to live or die,we don't have many victors here in four except from the careers that train until they are 18 so they can volunteer and hopefully secure a place as a victor.
There he is I see him sat on the beach with his bronze hair being blown around by the breeze coming off the dull sea now polluted by factories from the other districts. "Careful you might ruin your best clothes" he seems startled by my voice but also glad that the voice belonged to me,he gives a half smile and then pats the ground next to him,I'm guessing that gesture was for me to sit. For a 14 year old he looked a lot older and a lot wiser but still beautiful,his golden skin,his golden hair and his bold green eyes,if we were in district 12 I would of made some pun about how I struck lucky finding a piece of gold in a pile of cole but we are not and I don't think that the joke would have any effect on him anyway. I stare intently at the side of his face and I can see the despair in his eyes "everything is going to be okay you know" I don't know why I said this,because I don't know,I don't know who is going to get reaped,I don't know who is going to have a victor,I just lied to my bestfriend.
Finally he speaks up "I can't stop thinking of Annie" annie is finnicks sister who won the games 2 years ago however whilst she was in the arena she saw her bestfriend get killed which sent her crazy and 6 months after she got home she hung herself,I don't know wether it was an act of defiance or an act of love,did she want to be with her bestfriend in heaven? There was a moment of silence and then it came to me "Finnick you see this snow?" I look around remembering how I thought that my family was amongst the tiny particles looking out for me. "Annie could be here with you looking up to you,making sure your keeping strong" he looks around at the snow lay at the edges of the sand "maybe your right,thanks" he kisses me on the forehead and stands up dusting the sand off his blue pants "you ready" the bell tolls and I take his hand as we walk to the square where potentially our lives could change forever.
As we draw closer peace keepers dressed in white shove us into lines,my fingers separate from finnicks and we each nod our heads to one another,I'm shuffling forward and I know what's coming next,of course I know what's coming this is my third reaping,a needle impales my finger tip and the blood that seeps out is smothered on a piece of yellow paper,they scan the blood and my name appears in green letters on the monitor screen. We are pushed into lines parted by our age,12 at the front,18 at the back. My green eyes dart back and forth as I try and find finnick on the other side but I can't, before I can take a second look around the microphone sounds and a women who goes by the name of ocelia dressed in a full pink dress and sparkling gold heels is standing on stage excited and ready for the reaping, "welcome,welcome,welcome to the reaping of the 65th hunger games! As always ladies first" I can feel my heart thumping in my ears and what makes it worse is that I can't find finnick to throw me a charming smile to calm me down just like every other year,I watch her hand intensely as it flys back and forward,then finally she plucks one out just like I did with my self when I got out of bed this morning. The paper is unfolded and my heart is beating so loud that I couldn't hear the name that she read out, all I could hear was finnicks voice shouting no,I look around and all eyes are on me,some with tears some with no expression at all, what is going on? Then I hear it.
"Orchid Rivendell"
My body is numb,how could this happen, I only have my name in 6 times,people who have taken tesarrie have their name in more than 20 times, there's some kind of pressure on my back and arms,it's peacekeepers;they are driving me forward down a path of rubble up to the stage where I watch the tears flow from other tributes eyes,I never thought people would be watching mine, I look out over to the boys side desperately trying to find some comfort from a face that just with a glance your heart melts,he's not there,I can feel my eyebrows creasing that's when I realise,the person who I've been looking for,the person who I care about so much is stood next to me,tears flowing from his eyes as he looks at me with the same look that I'm feeling overcome my face,two bestfriends forced to fight against eachother,how am I going to do this. I feel finnicks hand reach mine and he shakes it but I am in to much shock to realise. I stare out at my aunty and uncle who are crying,they are probably reminiscing about my mother,who was 14 and won,"this is fate" I whisper to myself,then I realise who would want this kind of fate,it isn't an honour to be chosen,it is a punishment for not living in the Capitol. After I catch Ocelias last sentence "and may the odds be ever in your favour" I kick the microphone off the stage and start to scream and before I can carry on with my epidemic finnicks hands are restraining myne ,only for a little while because I feel the warmth ripped off me and cold tugging me into the justice building before I do anymore damage.
I am dragged into a beautiful train carriage filled with food and drink that I have never tasted in my life,my anger sinks and my sadness grows,how could I act out like that when finnick was stood on his own force to think about Annie and her bestfriend that went in together. Finnick! "Where is he" I say softly to Ocelia "he's just in the other carriage talking to tanner" "who's that?" I demand "he is your mentor sweetheart,just calm down and enjoy the ride" Ocelia sounds so calm in her very British accent it starts to soothe me down until the words 'enjoy the ride' register in my head,before I can say anything hurtful to her I storm out the carriage in search of finnick,I find him sitting on a golden leather sofa listening to a man who was extremely muscly but had a soothing voice just like finnicks,he must of won the games before I was born because he doesn't look at all familiar,blue eyes,dark hair,he doesn't even look like he is from district 4 but of course he is otherwise he wouldn't be a loud to be our mentor. "You must be tanner" I blurt out which catches the attention of both the boys,finnicks eyes are red from crying, I run over and wrap my arms around him and whisper into his shoulder "I'm sorry,I'm so sorry" that's when I notice a tear trickling down his back.
We both sit down and listen to tanner about how to find shelter and what food we should eat to stay healthy and alive,the word alive makes me shudder in fear,I think finnick notices this and he gently lets one arm slip around my shoulders and pull me in closer,how can he be this strong,how can anybody be strong in the games? For me it seems merely impossible for me not to cry. 2 hours pass and Ocelia shouts us into the siting room,we gladly follow orders and step through the carriage doors. "We have visitors" next to Ocelia a man quite scrawny holding a bottle of clear liquid staggers towards finnick to shake his hand, maybe it's water I think but then that idea quickly erases out of my mind when I see him stumble across me to the bar and pour more into a flask,I see Ocelia roll her eyes and tut. "Everybody this is Haymitch" what is he doing here,doesn't he have tributes to mentor from 12? Haymitch is the only surviving victor from district 12,he won in a quarter quell,a quarter quell is when the Capitol mix up the games and show that they still own us,for Haymitch this meant fighting against double the tributes,normally there is 24 to fight but for Haymitch it was 48. "So where's your tributes" I ask looking directly at his yellow eyes. "There in district 12,that's where we are going now sweetheart" Haymitch is talking to me like I am stupid,ugh why does he have to act so patronising even when he is not saying anything his eyes still scream sarcasm. Ocelia cherps up during the stare out between me and Haymitch "you see orchid we are dropping Haymitch off at district 12 because he stayed in the Capitol for a couple of months,the tributes from 12 will ride along in the same train but 5 carriages away so there will be no interruptions for you too" "good" I snap as I turn on my heel,grab finnicks hand and walk to the training room.
The last thing I want is to be mixing and making friends with people whom I may actually have to kill in in the games.
Inside the shiny silver room there is dummies and targets with knives,spears and a bow above the bow are 4 silvers arrows perched on 4 little stands neatly in a row. If this is the training room on the train what will it be like when we get to the Capitol?
Day 2:
The train slowly descends into a dark tunnel,I'm guessing this is the place where we will meet 2 of the opposing tributes. Finnick wipes the condensation off the window and peers out of it,after a minute or two after the darkness has cleared he turns to me and nods with anticipation. We arnt aloud into the district and we can't really hear much of the reaping,all I can hear is the classical music that has been playing non stop since we got on this train it is quietly playing from Ocelias room;I roll my eyes,don't these people know that electricity is a privilege and that it should be rationed not left on for nobody to hear it's sweet noise. The only time we get electricity in 4 is when the games are on and occasionally through the summer when the interviews are on,finnick sees my expression and makes a slight curl on the right side of his lips and lets out a giggle. I guess it's a different world here,everything is available 24/7,yesterday I yearned for some homemade turkey soup like the one my aunt made every Saturday and all I had to do was speak into a bendy metal pipe and it arrived in a matter of seconds.
After about 2 hours of waiting I can hear commotion going on about 5 carriages down so me and finnick run onto the platform to see what is happening,it appears that the boy from 12's brother or father is trying to stop the boy who looks about 12 getting on the train,he is punching peacekeepers and Haymitch whilst Ocelia stands back quietly, "I'm guessing she doesn't want her wig to get crooked" it take some time for finnick to register what I am saying but then as we watch the fight continue he bursts into hysterical laughter
I guess he just got the joke.
15 minutes has passed before the man is wacked over the head with one of the peacekeepers guns and the boy is dragged into the carriage,by this point me and finnick were inside watching from the window, "your gonna go home you know" I'm surprised by how much confidence is in his voice,I place a finger on his lips to tell him to be quiet but it doesn't work "you can hunt,you watched the careers train so you know combat,you know how to heal wounds and your beautiful so there's no doubt about you getting sponsors "
The word beautiful takes me by surprise but I know he doesn't mean the way I want him to..wait what am I saying finnick is my bestfriend. I quickly shake my head and come bak to reality
"Finnick...shh,I have no chance of winning but I promise you will go home to see your family" why do I keep doing this,what if he does die in the arena,I just made a promise again that I can not keep! The words keep playing around in my head which makes me dizzy, "I'm going to lie down" finnick kisses me on the forehead as he does everytime he senses that I'm down and walks me to my room.
The silken sheets make me shiver but then I sink into the mattress and my whole body relaxes into a hypnotic state as I fall asleep,for once no worries are running through my mind,I feel,I feel peaceful.
My eyes blink open and slowly I see the sunrise seeping through the cream blinds of the widow staring straight at my bed,Ocelia is fumbling around in the hallway,I roll my eyes and turn my head to rest sideways suddenly a breeze flickers the strands of my hair not tangled in the knot that is weighing down my head,it's Ocelia as bright and as perky as ever "come on orchid chop chop" Ocelia claps her hands twice "it's parade day!" slowly I come to my senses and let one leg step out of my bed then the other follows about 30 seconds after. The shower is like little drops of heaven smouldering my body with warmth I never want to get out. I throw my wet hair into a pony and dart downstairs,I'm 15 minutes late but nobody seems to notice,the blue glass table is spread with colourful and exotic food,fruits I've never seen before;greener than green vegetables and pink and orange drinks with bubbles rising to the top of the thin tall glasses;it looks beautiful!
I don't hesitate to sit down next to finnick and tuck into small browned pancakes smothered in sticky syrup it's one of the best things I have ever eaten but the rich taste and sweetness makes me feel sick,an attempt to stop the nausea I gulp down a glass of fizzy water which helps but makes my stomach rumbles not with hunger but with fullness.
The parade.
I am lay on a now crinkled blue bed staring at the ceiling thinking of Finnick and what the strange bright species of human are going to do to me. They smother me in a glossy brown glue with sticks to my hairs,then they cover me in cotton strips and rip them off me causing a pain I've never felt before and I never want to experience again,relief finally takes over my burning skin as they spread a cold cream all over me;finally some comfort. A girl with eyebrows modified to stick out takes my hand and leads me to a basin where she hoses me down,exfoliates my skin and plucks my eyebrows. I feel so clean and fresh, I travel a finger up my arm and feeling nothing but silk which reminds me of home; me finnick and Annie were sat on the beach, the sun was beaming down on us and the sea waves were crashing further up the sand than usual which slightly wet our feet. We stayed there all day the three of us laughing and joking eating the chocolate cake that finnicks mother and father bought him for his birthday. Once the sun whent down we all got blankets from our houses and huddled together all the blankets where a light blue silk,which everyone got from the Capitol because one of the careers became a victor a couple of years ago.
A hand grabs me that's when I come back to reality; ocelia is standing there smiling "come along orchid I need to introduce you to your stylist, talis".
We walk through a small single door guarded by peacekeepers,I sit on a bed,the room is so quiet all I can hear is just a faint ringing in my ears,that's when the door opens a man with short blue hair and a blue tint to his skin steps in "hi orchid,I have so many ideas to make you look desirable!" Surprisingly he has an American accent not the horrific modified accent that most Capitol residents have. "Follow me" he directs me to an open door and follows me inside,stood facing the door is a huge mirror with lights surrounding it and a long elegant cape smothered in different colours of blue was hanging off the side of it. Talis then pulls out a beautiful dark blue top which crosses over at the neck and a pair of blue hotpants. I slide the hotpants on,they are a bit revealing but I have never been one for self consciousness,I then put the top and cape on, I feel so fierce. Stylists come and sit me down on a revolving black chair,they play with my hair and face for about 2 hours,as they are in my face doing my eye makeup I am wondering who are these species of human so out tuned with the reality of the world,I get really angry but I stay collected because I don't want to make any enemies when I am trying to make friends. In a dark tunnel the chariot stood attached to a black horse,I walk towards the horse and stroke my hand down its main and smile slightly. I catch my reflection in the gleaming metal that surrounds the chariot,my hair is in a braid across my forehead and hanging over my shoulder,my eyes are smothered in glitter and outlined in black eyeliner that wings out at the sides,then diamantés outline my lower lash line. "Come along orchid hop up" I snap out of my trance and grab ocelias hand which helps me up into the chariot, I look to the side and finnick is dressed in just a net and nothing more; I knew they would do something revealing seen as though he is probably the most handsome tribute they have had,it's hard to contain my laughs. The chariot pulls out of the tunnel suddenly and I almost fall off but I keep my balance. I turn my head to finnick and smile at him,somehow the nerves that were tying my stomach in knots have gone,but then guilt seeps it's way into my stomach because I know that he could die in the arena. The chariot pulls out into the crowd of people obviously cheering the careers,I look around seeing the strange clothes and colours lay upon the Capitol species,I don't get why they have to be so colourful,is it to show us that they are better than us. Just as that moment when I feel anger build up inside me the cape starts swaying uncontrollably I look behind me at the same time as finnick and I get splashed in the face with water,waves of water are splashing to the bottom of the cape leaving a trail of dark blue water,obviously artificial,then finnicks net dissolves away leaving just his golden skin on show for the Capitol to gasp and scream his name, we nod at the crowd and wave and smile,we have them on our side,let's just hope tanner can keep them there once we are in the games.
Before I know it we are at the end of the road and the chariots are lined in semi circles behind a tall balcony with the panem seal engraved on to it. A booming voice echos through the runway "welcome tributes,we welcome you for the 65th hunger games and as always may be the odds be ever in your favour" the whole crowd cheers like they are programmed to be the capitols puppets,everything is so fake here,I need to get out.
The chariot takes off once more and the cheers fade as we are cascaded into darkness,I look at finnick with one eyebrow raised "what's going on" I ask "don't ask me" he replied whilst letting out a laugh. It felt like a few minutes before the chariot started to descend deeper and deeper into the futuristic building that we were accompanying. The doors slid open which revealed a smiling ocelia,she helped me out of the chariot and gave me a hug without any warning "you two were amazing!" She goes over to finnick hands him a blanket and hugs him too "yeah all thanks to talis" I give a gracious smile towards him. Ocelia grabs both of our hands and walks us too a 6ft metallic door "now you two,you need to keep your combat training to a minimum,you don't want to show the careers your strengths" finnick turns to me then ocelia "what if we were to become part of the career pack,I mean we live in a career district?" My stomach sinks,I can't act like a career,I despise them and anyway I haven't trained one day in my life! Ocelia looks at me and let's an approving noise slip from her mouth "see how things go on" and with that the door opens.
Me and finnick walk inside the huge room side by side and slowly paying close attention to the careers, "how can we get them to trust us finnick?" "Just act as though you are one of them,make yourself look tough and fierce" i nod and we walk over to them.
The careers are practising one to one combat,watching them smack and punch and dodge the trainer makes me feel so intimidated and small. The two girls give me a look,probably to ask me what am I doing there,this is going to be very hard to convince them I'm on their side. I search for Finnick and he is leant on a table holding a knife and twisting it around,he's stood with the careers laughing and joking. I stand there breathing in and out trying to get my confidence up,I walk towards the two career girls and smile "oh my god look at 10" I laugh as I point at the tributes from 10 the careers look over at them and start laughing because the boy just fell off the bars. They smile at me with an evil glint in their eye and wave me to walk with them. Finnick joins my side "how's it going" he grabs my hand as we walk towards the bars "I don't know I think they want us,it's just the way the girl from one looked at me" "don't worry orchid just don't believe anything they say,however we have to stick with them to stay alive" both of us turn our head forward and walk faster across the gleaming marble floor. I watch as aureilia from district 2 works her way across the metal bars with such elegance and grace with her long curly red pony sweeping on her back. Next it was my turn I placed one foot on the step and reached my arm upwards and grabbed the cool metal which sent shivers down my arm ,I hoist myself up and glide through the first 6 but as I grabbed the seventh a burning sensation spread through my arm and I could feel sweat forming on my forehead. I focused on a brick facing me on the wall and moved my arms in a rhythm until I reached the end and dropped off because I was the last one to cross the bars the rest of the pack where walking towards the archery section, I started to follow them like a little puppy;I don't know how long I can go on like this,it's pathetic,I stop in the middle of the floor and start to consider my options,should I get out of this deathly commitment to the careers or stay with them. My eyes focus on finnick;he is staring at me and mouths "what's wrong" just after looking over his shoulder to see if the careers are watching,I know he doesn't trust them but he is doing everything it takes to stay alive,shaking my head I say "nothing" and carry on walking.
There are 6 bows lay neatly in a row we each pick up a bow and a sheath of arrows,I sling them onto (my back, I hover the bow over my torso and face and place a longt shiny arrow on it,together as a pack we pull the string back to our noses and fire consecutively at the targets;finnick hits the dummy's head,Aurelia hits a short distance from the heart;Zeth (the other boy from 2) hits the heart,the two from district 1 hit just outside of the heart,and I hit the head,looks like me and finnick have something else in common,we all smile at eachother then look around at the other tributes who all have their heads down I look sympathetically at the boy from 10 as I remember how I got the girls to laugh at him. For the next three days we trained at all the different types of weaponry stations like knives,spears and archery and over time my bond with the careers became stronger which was strange for me,I normally hate the careers,however behind the shell of anger and evil is normal human beings just trying to stay alive like the rest of us. On the last day me and finnick wanted to be at the survival skills station but the careers didn't so we split up into two groups and they walked over to combat and we walked over to a small island on the edge of the training centre surrounded by artificial dark green trees and sand. We both greeted the trainer and he looked confused maybe because he never thought 'careers' would try survival skills on the last day. We sat down and listened to all his instructions on how to make snares and the types of food that is good to eat in the arena and the food that could potentially kill us in seconds. The last thing that the trainer mentions is fire,he tells us that it can save our life but kill us at the same time,if the arena was like the Ice age we would need fire to stay alive but the other tributes may find us because of the smoke. He pulls up a long tree trunk and he tells us to chip a hole in it with a knife,and then he got a long twig which fit it nicely and told me to put my palms around it and move my hands downwards whilst moving them,nothing happened for 5 minutes and my hands were starting to burn because of the friction and the muscles in my forearms were gasping for air,finnick saw the frustration in my face and placed his hands over mine and told me to move faster,feeling his warm breath travel down my back sent shivers through me,I had to endure this for at least 3 minutes before smoke started to form and rise up into the air and sparks flew from the log setting it alight. We watched the orange flames dance around eachother they remind me of aureilias eyes full of anger that's when the trainer came and extinguished them,the flames were separated by the Capitol just like me and finnick.
The bell tolls and straight away finnick is stood up towering over me he reaches out his muscular arm and pulls me to my feet. I stop in fear remembering that I'm going to be stood in front of the head gamemakers showing them how I can kill, finnick traces his steps backwards until his lips reach my ear "don't show them fear orchid,they will prey on it" the words echo around my head until I feel like I'm going to faint but finnicks hand which is entwined with mine keeps me up right. We walk to the cafeteria side by side with our allies and adopt a table for all 6 of us and start to eat thick grey porridge, ocelia comes to visit us and explains that the gruel gives us energy and strength so we have to eat it all up. The taste was better than it looked but after eating lamb dinners and chocolate cake it was quite a step down,like I was back at home.
Arriva from district 1 stands up swishes her hair and smiles, how long have I been day dreaming about home,I missed the loud auto tuned voice which requested for her to go to her presentation. She looked so confident walking off how does she do it?
Time passes and the two from district 3 who were extremely smart and sly and I picked some of the strategies up in the training centre. "Orchid rivendell please report to your individual assessment" I choked on my breath and my heart doubled it's speed,I stood up and turned to finnick and he stood up with me and grabbed both of my hands so I was facing him "be confident and think like a career" he smiled at me then planted a kiss on my forehead. I nodded and turned to the gate I took a deep breath in and exhaled shakily,I bit my lip and stepped into the huge metallic room where a sheet of electricity separated me from the Capitol creatures. The gamemakers seemed focused probably because we are the careers "orchid rivendell district 4" I looked them straight in the eye whilst I pick up a couple of spears "proceed miss rivendell" the dummies in front of me are set up in a v shape; one behind eachother,the simulation starts and all the dummies fall flat to the ground, the one at the front shoots up first and I throw one of the spears with all the strength in my body and it hit the charcoal grey target right in the heart then two more pop up and I throw two spears at the same time and they both hit the head three more prop up so I turn to my side and pick up three knives my body now is full of anger and slice the knives through the air hitting the dummies hearts one by one. The simulation ends and I stand up breathing heavily,I look up at the gamemakers who are looking more than impressed,I then walk to the survival skills area and they look confused,they are giving me the same look the trainer did. I start making snares and trapping imaginary animals and I start a fire. I atand up and brush the sand off my pants and the gamemakers dismiss me and I say thank you and walk out. This time the corridor doesn't lead me back to the cafeteria but to our room where ocelia and tanner were sat. "Hello sweetie how did it go" "well in think my anger played a part in most of it,I shown them my weaponry skills and survival skills" "oh well done orchid" ocelia replies then tanners deep voice bounces off the walls in the dining hall "let's hope it paid off in your score" I laugh and place myself on a chair and wait for finnick. It is about an hour before he turns up, he isn't wearing his training outfit instead he is stood there in dark blue denim jeans and a shirt. I tilt my head and he laughs and points his index at his golden hair witch is wet and curly "you swam?" "Yeah didn't you see the pool in the corner?" "There was no pool" it seems like the Capitol is favouring him,I hope they are. After eating some strawberries dipped in chocolate and talking about strategies we walk over to a green satin couch and ocelia turns the tv on, finnick looks at me and winks that's when two modified voices catch both of our attention it's ceaser flickerman and Claudius templesmith "hello everybody,who's excited to hear the training scores,I know I am" ceaser let's out a loud laugh and starts to read off an a4 piece of paper,the first three districts pass by quickly and all the careers managed to get a ten no surprise there. "Now for district 4 orchid rivendell; she received a training score of 10" ocelia squeaks and pats me on the knee and talis and tanner raise a glass of blue liquid "finnick odair! Also district 4 received a score of..." Ceaser looks straight into the camera lense and raises his eyebrows "11 wow" him and Claudius look at eachother and smile the stylists and ocelia and tanner run over to finnick and shake his hand and congratulate him,he turns to me and holds his hand out,instead of shaking it I wink and we both burst into hysterical laughter,the Capitol is changing me into a mini finnick.
After dinner we decide to go to bed early because the interviews are tomorrow and we want to look our best. Walking up the corridor we talk about how we are going to act and what image we want to portray, "I think I'm going to portray myself as shy but not weak" I say "yeah I think that will be a good image for sponsers" his voice has become raspy and tired,he steps forward so his forehead is pressed against mine "how do you think I'll do at being sexy and arrogant" he whispers whilst giving a half smile, I swallow and look him straight in the eye "good" my voice comes out nervous,this is the only time his lips have looked desirable, I start to choke on my breath and he laughs "night orchid sweet dreams" and he pulls away and goes into his bedroom leaving me stunned and confused "night" I whisper even though he can't hear me. I grab the door handle and open it whilst reliving the moment of finnicks lips so close to mine,why has this affected me so much? I slide into the silk covers and fall asleep.
The next morning I am awoken by ocelia chirping like a mockingjay fluttering around my room opening my curtains and letting in sunlight which blinds me temporarily "rise and shine orchid we have a lot of work to do before your interview tonight" my feet are on the floor before my brain even registers I'm guessing I agree with her,I walk into the bathroom and the shower is running,the blonde haired Avox must have done it,I turn to look in the mirror and my reflection takes my breath away, my eyes are bloodshot,underneath my eyes are thick purple bags which scream deprivation but my cheeks look fuller than when I was in 4 probably because I have been binge eating since I got here. I step inside the shower and let the warm water take over me, it is the quickest shower I have had since I got here,I think it's because I really want to see finnick again. I shove my wet hair up into a bun and throw on some jeans and a blue chiffon top and head downstairs. Finnick isn't at the breakfast table yet so I sit in my regular chair and tuck into a bowl of hot porridge with blueberries dotted around the bowl in concentric circles; whilst I am eating a breeze creeps up behind me ,it makes me shiver so I turn around and of course the only person that has an effect on me is there;finnick. After breakfast ocelia tells me to go to my bedroom and finnick to go sit in the living room with tanner. "Let's begin with walking" ocelia sings, "walking?" I raise one eyebrow at her "in heels dear" she laughs and pulls out a pair of beautiful 6 inch heels smothered in diamonds,I slip them onto my feet and stand up,my calves feel tense and the height makes me dizzy but I start to walk anyway,after about 8 steps I begin to get the hang of it and to prove this to ocelia I spin around and kick my left foot up behind me we both laugh and she says "ok now for posture" I sit down on a chair next to the window which is draped in beautiful cream curtains and ocelia pulls and cracks my back and shoulders until I feel my head lifting and my back becoming straight "beautiful,now make sure you sit like that at the interview" "hey look at you,you look like a little princess" a teasing voice comes from the door "shut up finnick,what do you want?" "Tanners ready to see you" I stand up,push past him and flick my hair in his face "what was that for" he says raising his arms and laughing "I'm being a career" then tanner guides me to the sitting room,we sit on the same sofa that we sat on when we were watching the scores being read out "we are going to practice your interview orchid and see which personality fits you best" I look at tanner with my bottom lip stuck out "I know it's going to be a long day" he says laughing. "So what look do you want to try out first?" I think about what i told finnick and then I have an idea "what if I surprise everyone?"
"What do you mean?" "I mean I was going to go for the nervous route because I watched the parade back and I looked scared out of my wits!" "So you want to be bold?" "Exactly" we both look at eachother with a twinkle in our eye and I stand up to find finnick. He's in his room with ocelia,what could they possibly be doing,I can't imagine him trying to walk in heels,I giggle to myself and peep through the tiny crack between the door and frame,he's stood there in a blue suit looking at him self in the mirror, he starts to sing a lullaby that he used to sing to his baby brother back at home, I watch as he stares into his own eyes in the reflection and tears form, one spills from the right tear duct,now weeping he goes and perches himself on the bed and I creep in sitting next to him with my head on his shoulders,I feel guilty about laughing. Ocelia wiggles in from the bathroom and mouths something to me and points to the door,I nod and with that she's gone. Finnick hasn't lifted his head out of his hands for about 5 minutes so I kneel down on the floor so my head is online with his and kiss him on the forehead,he lifts up and reveals puffy red eyes and a forced smile "come here" I wrap my arms around him "it's going to be okay" I whisper "I just miss home so much,I mean I may never see it again" I kneel back down now looking into his eyes "yes you are going to see it again" this time I do not regret letting him get his hopes up because im going to do whatever it takes to keep him alive,even if that means my own death.
I stand up and finnick takes my lead still letting tears fall down his cheeks. We enter the sitting room where ocelia and tanner are eating some sort of green liquid,it looks revolting but we sit down anyway and gulp down the slime politely "what is this ocelia?" "Celery soup" "mm" I fake and finish off the thick bread smothered in butter which was sprawled out on a silver plate,the way the bread is lay sends flashbacks streaming through my head of my dream that i had the day of the reaping,now that dream is slowly becoming a reality. A few hours pass and Finnick isn't talking,he is just watching the tv and shivering occasionally. Tanner takes us down to the stylist quarters and ocelia takes finnick into a room and I'll follow tanner into another. "So what have you got me this time?" I laugh,a smile forms onto his face and without speaking he opens up a cupboard and a beautiful turquoise tutu dress hung from the rail,I pick up the soft material and caress it like I would if I had a piece of gold, "so you like it?" "Are you kidding it's beautiful!" I reply. I eagerly throw the dress over my shoulders and quickly get into the heels that ocelia made me walk in this morning. A stylist lies me down and let's my hair fall into a white porcelain basin and starts to wet it,then a strange thick liquid is smothering my hair and the strong fumes start to burn my eyes,after about 10 minutes of rubbing in the liquid the water trickles from my scalp rinsing it away,then my hair is wrapped and placed under a silver contraption which gives off heat ,sitting underneath this monstrosity I start to think,think about home,think about Annie and finnick,the day of the reaping,my aunt and uncle and how I hate the Capitol for putting me through this,however it's to late to react now,I need all the help I can get from these hideous fake people!
The thoughts are quickly erased from my head as the heat is taken away and the tight foil around my head is loosened,I watch as my hair falls down onto my shoulders,I take a strand and roll it between my fingers, my hair has become a deep royal blue colour with hints of turquoise glitter running through it "very patriotic" I tell tanner and the stylist and surprise surprise they are hysterical with laughter,more fakery.
My face is painted,with blue eyeshadow dusted over my eyes and false eyelashes which flick out at the ends. The makeover doesn't even have an effect on me I'm that nervous,I have to portray a girl I have never met before;how am I going to do this!
I meet up with finnick in a long corridor and he looks beautiful,his golden hair is natural and messy as usual but his face seems brighter and his eyes look more blue than green,he is wearing the royal blue suit that he tried on before and his shoes are just standard black and polished. The careers turn to us and smile after they gave a threatening look to district 3,finnick flicks his head up and nods and I flash a smile back, "I feel like they are on to us finnick!" I whisper "just calm down,why would they not wants us as allies?" He jokes and with that the girl from district one is strutting into the stage,slowly one by one the line becomes shorter and before I know it my left foot is resting on the first step leading up to the stage,I watch the monitor and ceaser is holding up a girls hand and shouting Chelsea shaw,her dark blonde hair shimmers in the stage lights and she waves with her right hand,the only hand that she has free. An Avox appears behind me and puts pressure on my back,finnick squeezes my hand and I walk up the steps watching as ceaser reminisces over the first 6 tributes. "And now district 4s very own queen of the sea orchid rivendell!" The crowd roars uncontrollably and I step out of the shadows onto an orange lit stage, I smile and wave as I try and imitate the walk aurilia did when she came on stage. "So orchid,your a career?" "Yes ceaser I am and I think it's a great honour to be part of group of people who want to bring pride to their district" "so I'm guessing that your trying to help 4" "of course,I don't want my friends to miss out on luxuries,I have to at least try" "and you will,this is a very stunning dress,tanner is very talented" "not as talented as you ceaser" I let out a laugh and the crowd laughs with me "well I don't know about that" he answers. "So are you ready for the games?" "I am more than ready!" I growl "oh ceaser I have to show you something" "go ahead he points a flat palm to centre stage and I stare at tanner in the crowd,he puts his thumb up and then uses his index finger to show a twirling motion,my feet move as one and before I know it artificial waves of water are flowin over the dress,pulling the material down to my ankles and staining it a dark blue the same colour as my hair, I turn my head to ceaser to see that he is stood up and cheering with the crowd "fantastic fantastic" the timer buzzes and the crowd arws "I'll be back" I shout and they cheer once more,then ceaser points to the exit on stage and I walk over to it still waving until I'm off stage. Ocelia is the first one to greet me and for the first time in 10 minutes I can feel my body again,it is trembling and my knees almost buckle underneath me as I hug her. "You looked stunning up there orchid" "thank you" for once I am starting to warm to two of the Capitol creatures and they are clueless and idiotic but so kind and generous. Once all my congratulatory hugs and kisses on the cheek are over finnick walks off,I didn't even get to watch him be sexy. This disappoints me
He meets me offstage and lifts me up in the air in mid hug, "you did amazing"he says to me letting my feet find the marble floor "I didn't get to watch you" "it's fine" he laughs giving me one last hug before we walk to the elevator which flys us to the 4th floor. The glass doors fly open and we go straight to the sofa and tanner turns on the futuristic tv, arriva is sat on the velvet couch in mid conversation,her short black hair was pinned up into a bun shaped like a flower and her red dress blended in and flowed over onto the black shiny stage,she was so confident and her smile made the whole crowd gasp in amazement,her stylist did an amazing job however behind the makeup and contacts there was a hint of evil that glittered in her eye everytime she looked at ceaser. "So there are two new additions to the career alliance,how is that going?" Ceaser asks her leaning in "it's going really good ceaser we are going to stick together until the end" she looks straight into the camera now "I don't think they will ever cross us;but if they do then watch out" the crowd is silent for a couple of seconds then she turns and let's out a little laugh, "arriva from district one" he screams out to the audience as he lifts he right arm in the air. I stand up but I need my arms for support and I try to walk to my bedroom but I only make it to the shared bathroom,the first door on the corridor,I grab the door frame to keep me upright and push open the door and step inside,attempting to lock it but after trying a couple if times I give up and lean my hands on the sink in front of a cylinder mirror, I start to splash my face with cold water and I watch as the makeup washes down the drain. I stare at my reflection in the mirror and my pupils are two times as wide and black and blue lines streak my cheek. My breathing quickens and I start to go dizzy,reality has caught up to me behind all the beautiful decorations and the fakery that the stylists plaster our faces in,they are preparing us for death,they have seemed to brainwash us and turn us into students where we follow their idiotic ways,the anger builds in my stomach and punch the mirror repeatedly,I look down at my knuckles and there is glass impaled in them and blood stains the white porcelain bowl.
My screams must of echoed through the whole building because finnick and tanner burst through the door to see what's wrong,my eyes start to leak tears and let them leave their mark on my cheek as I slide down the cool tiles until I'm just hunched over on the floor,my inside shake with anger and my hands are balled up into fists,I look up at the face that brings peace back into my mind but all the comfort in his eyes is now suffocated with be wilderness and fear. "I'm sorry" I cry repeatedly and he comes and wraps his arm around me and I adjust myself so I could rest my head on his lap then he ran his fingers through my hair,I must have fallen asleep because once I slowly emerge out of the peaceful slumber all i can see is darkness and finnicks golden eyes with glow with the moonlight, "how long have you sat here for?" I ask croakily "about 2 hours;not long" "what time is it?" "I have no idea but tanner an ocelia are asleep";I fidget my way to a sitting position and finnick circles his head "you could of gone to bed you know" "orchid I'm never going to leave you alone when your in such distress" his words melt my heart and I think he sees this in my eyes so he breaths heavily through his nose which sound like a laugh and smiles "come on lets get you to bed"
My bedroom is dimly lit and my bed covers are still creased,it seems the poor blonde Avox hasn't been in here. I tuck myself under the silk and finnick sits in the sofa chair and let's the Capitol party lights enhance his beautiful green eyes;I watch him until my eye lids become heavy and let me fall into a nightmarish sleep.
I'm walking along the coast in district 4 and Annie and my family are being uncovered by a grey fog;my brother trin reaches out his hand and smiles,his bone structure has become solid and he has grown a couple of inches,he looks so grown up! I reach out and take his hand;without warning my world spirals out of control and I rise from puffy white clouds into a land overlooked by a pink sky,there was no sound and nobody there, my steps are light as I approach a floating light in the atmosphere,each step distorted the light into a shape,only when I got closer could I see the lights true colours,a golden blade spinning in the air,the blade then stops spinning and is pointing straight at my heart,the blade drives forwards piercing my delicate skin like a piece of paper and blood spreads like wildfire over the pure white dress I was wearing and with that I was back in the arena,the place I fear most,encased in vines and dead. I awake screaming; thrashing my arms around and panting heavily. A weight sinks down on the side of the mattress and guides my head to its chest in a strong hug,my pulse slows down like I was on morphling and my arms stop trembling as I swirl my finger in finnicks palm replicating the knots that we made in the training centre. "This is our last night before the games you need to get some sleep" I look up into his eyes "I'll have plenty of time for sleeping;when I'm dead" his words strike my stomach and I feel sick at the thought;a tear travels off the edge of my face and onto his palm,I feel his hand grasp under my chin and pull me closer to his face,his thumb slides across my face wiping the remains of my sorrows away,I am about to speak when he presses his lips against mine,his warm skin reminds me of the fire we built in the training centre and how beautiful it looked dancing;I close my eyes and sink into his lips,I melt away forgetting all the fear I feel,he pulls away slowly,and we stare into eachothers eyes wondering what had happened, he rises and moves swiftly to the door before hesitatingly opening it "for good luck" he says in a hoarse voice;the door closes. I swallow hard and run my finger down my lips,my face is tense with shock and my body started to tremble again. I wrap myself in the sheets and bury my head into the feather filled pillow for one last time,I know I am going to die in that arena but not until I know finnick will come out as victor.
Instead of ocelia waking me up,the sunlight does,I'm guessing it has only just come up so I lie with my head perched slightly on the headboard and reminisce about last nights events;we will probably never speak about it again,I certainly don't want it to effect the relationship we have so I think it is best that it is in the past and anyway there has been a lot of tension between us lately and it must of all built up so he had to release it somehow. It only seems like 5 minutes I have been thinking but the Avox comes in a draws me a bath and lays out a pair of black combat pants and a green tshirt. I revel in my bath water and I start to flick my feet making little splashes which soak the floor,I use a lavender scented soap and I lather my body with it's sickly scent,the hairs on my body still haven't grown back which is very strange even for the Capitol! The door floats open and the Avox is stood there holding the corners of a towel in each hand,I step leaving the residue to drip on the floor and I wrap myself into the warm fibres "thank you" i say as she turns and walks out. Once I am dry I slip on the arena outfit and think about what it will be like,it defiantly isn't tropic or desert because the outfits would be thin,it must be some kind of Forrest,however the pants arnt the thick heavy material because my legs were still damp when I slid them up my legs and the material seems to have absorbed it. I tightly plait my hair at the sides until they reach the back of my head and I tie an elastic band around the rest of my hair leaving it to fall in a naturally wavy dark brown ponytail which seemed to still have streaks of blue running through it.
When I am downstairs breakfast is already waiting for me and they have doubled the portion size,I eat as much as I can,two bowls of thick steaming porridge,a few slices of mango,banana and oranges,toasted bread butter and jam,two pancakes and a few glasses of water,better eat whilst I can,ocelia has her eyes fixed on me as I lean up from my feast and tanner seems astonished "how can I tiny thing like you fit all that in?" He asks "there's more to me than meets the eye" I joke,I wait to hear a mocking laugh but there is nothing,I look around the room confused "where's finnick?" "He's down with his stylist getting prepared" "I want to go down too" I demand and without any attempt of arguing with me tanner stands up from the table and gestures his hand towards the lift. Ocelia comes and stands with us in the lift and starts to cry I hug her just to give her some comfort,it was a short ride down into the deepest parts of the building and I say bye to ocelia giving her a hug and she presses something in my hand. I only up my palm to see a broach with the words engraved across the gold circle 'keep your head up' I look up ready to mouth the words thank you to her but she is gone. All my focus turns to tanner as I fix the broach onto my cotton tshirt, "I'm guessing Forrest" "yeah me too,but the clothes absorbed water and dried out immediately?" Tanner tilts his head and squints his eyes "water" "what?" Now my head is tilted "there will be water!" He's now smiling "they must of liked you! The arena is at your advantage,your from district 4" "or maybe it's at finnicks advantage,he did swim for them at the training centre" he shakes his head and smiles, "remember orchid,don't go into the blood bath" I nod and bit my lip, he picks up a jacket and holds it in the air for me to slip my arms in "30 seconds till launch" an auto tuned voice booms through the room,my stomach sinks and my body starts to shake,I try to speak but nothing comes out;tanner shakes his head and pulls me in for an embrace,I start to walk to the tube and once I step in the glass walks bond themselves together forming a see through prison,fear strikes my eyes and I look at tanner as he nods. The platform rises slowly up into blinding sunlight,I can't see anything and all I hear is the sound of metal clinking,the view becomes clear,behind me a thick pine Forrest that goes uphill,I turn my head which reveals that the Forrest runs for miles around the arena,then on my thin shoes I feel cold surround them,I look down and small waves are crashing on to my podium,along side me runs about a 12 inch thick peace of metal that goes all the way to the cornucopia and around it is glistening blue water. The timer counts down from 60 and I breath in and out numerous times whilst taking in the other tributes,the careers are opposite me because the podiums are dotted in a circle, 40 seconds left. Next to me is the girl from 7 I recognise her from when we watched the scores,she got a ten like me. Her body was thin but she had muscles and her shimmering long brown hair fell down her back In a braid,the way she stood shown integrity, I watched her for a while until she noticed me and even though she looked angry by her body language her innocent features and golden,green eyes showed fear. 10 seconds were left and I haven't even bothered to look for finnick,I feel guilt rise in my stomach but I quickly erase and stand ready to dive. 5,4,3,2,1 a loud boom goes off and I leap into the waters below me.
The water is freezing and I can feel goosebumps form all over my body,after about 20 seconds of swimming as fast as I can my arms and legs start to tire and my abdomen starts to burn It's only a short distance until i reach the cornucopia,my head emerges and I hoist myself up onto the island rock,only the top half of my body is out when a vibration sends the trees crazy and the waves in the water to become huge,I turn my head to see the girl from 7 struggling,the waves flew over her head holding her captive for a couple of seconds,in my mind I'm telling myself to leave her,she's just going to be more competition, however without really knowing I jump onto the island and I'm running towards her section; I leap into the water and grab her by the waist,the extra weight makes my head go under a couple of times but it's nothing I can't handle. Once we are at shore I throw her over the edge and I start to climb out when a second vibration rips through the floor,the metal bars that ran through each section are now expanding one by one, I try and try to conjure some type of energy to lift me out of the water but nothing works,I look to see if 7 was bothered by what was happening to me but she was coughing out water still lay down. The metal got closer and closer that's when the ice cold wave hit me and took me prisoner,my head slams under the water and the gap closes I'm trapped like a fish in a barrel. I'm running out of time,I look around frantically for a way out and at least three of the sections were closed off,I started to swim left where the careers podiums were on the other side,there it was my way out i kick my legs with all my strength and I float up to the surface letting my head emerge,I grab the golden cornucopia and I'm out.
Still startled and out of breath I run for the mouth and the pack is there,holding all kinds of weapons,I pick up a stray knife and a few daggers. "Come on let's get off this island before another one of us gets killed" Aurelia glares at me with her orange eyes like it was my fault "who's dead?" I say trying not to get choked up because finnick isn't stood with them. "Kale from 1,the girl from 7 got him" my heart stopped,them scared eyes are eyes of a killer. "Right let's move" the voice behind me makes me jump,I squint at the figure sliding past me,it's finnick,I sigh with relief and we walk across the metal sheets into the Forrest.
The trees that were placed in the muddy ground were very tall and there was very few branches on the lower parts. The sun suddenly became lower scorching the jungle below,maybe it was to dry our cold soggy clothes.
After a few hours of walking I suggest we stop but arriva refuses and carries on walking; however when she turns around to see that we have abandoned her she quietly slips back into the crowd. Whilst the boy from 2 and arriva went to find water me,finnick and Aurelia sit under the only shade around. I roll my now dry pants up to my knees to try and cool me but nothing seems to work.
After dumping a pile of wood in the middle of our camp finnick comes and sits next to me. All day we have avoided eye contact and we haven't really spoke unless he was telling us a plan. My chest tightens and I swallow hard;this is ridiculous he's my best friend,one kiss doesn't mean anything,does it?
"How you holding up" he turns his head to me and smiles "I'm okay I'm just really dehydr-" he cuts me off "I'm talking about last night" the knots in my chest tighten even more "err" I can not get anything out of my mouth,it's physically impossible,it takes a couple of strange noises from my throat before I finally emerge a word "good" "just good? Orchid it was just a moment of weakness,it doesn't mean anything and it won't change anything in our relationship" the knots until and I feel my shoulders relax "is that okay?" "Sure it is why wouldn't it be" I laugh nervously;silence.
The firewood has been sat in middle for about 10 minutes now so I grab a rock with a pointy edge that was at my side and I walk over to the wood. I pick up one of the larger sticks and cut a hole about 2 centimetres deep and i imitate my memory's of the training centre,sparks fly from it whilst a cloud of smoke rises into the open air. The fire spreads through the group of sticks heating my face,once the heat becomes unbearable and my eyes sting I back away and place myself back under the shade.
The sunlight is dimming and I can feel my eyelids closing,I try to resist the urge to sleep because the careers could kill me whilst I am unconscious but finally the need becomes greater and I give in,flowing into darkness where peace awaits.
My eyes fly open and the sunlight blurs my vision, everyone is lay on the ground encased in dreams,I feel a bit of jealousy grow inside me,why can't I still be asleep,why did I have to wake up at the crack of dawn. I prop my back up against a thick tree trunk and sit silently for hours watching the birds fly into a tree directly In front of me,I watch clouds form different shapes and float peacefully in the blue sky. I snap out of my trance when I hear the slightet movement,it's the ring leader Aurelia;I sigh,I hate her,she thinks she can can tell us what to do but I smile,got to act for the cameras.
"Come on get up!" There she goes again,ordering everyone around,I laugh sarcastically "you got a problem 4?" She is stood over me glaring "the names orchid" I instantly regret saying this because as soon as I have her fist comes crashing into my face causing me to fall backwards,my anger boils up and as she tries to throw another punch I throw my self out of the way and she hits a pile of leaves,I kick my leg up which hits her stomach and she steps back a little bit. Before she can get me arriva grabs her and holds her back,it's surprising,she is smaller than Aurelia but a lot stronger;she pulls out of the grasp and she just stares at me holding her abdomen,I stare back breathing heavily still on the floor.
I feel my pupils contract and the rage flows out of my body. My panting slows down and I come back to reality, Aurelia turns around tells everybody to follow her,I shake my head and try to get up a hand touches mine and I flinch "it's me don't worry" I'm acting like I've just nearly been killed I need to suck it up ,finnick helps me up and we follow the pack pathetically.
In the distance a huge silver hovercraft lifts a boy up from the trees,his blonde hair flickers in the breeze and one of his arms flop over the metal hand that holds him. I shiver at the thought of death and the cold crawls up my back,I shake my head and carry on walking carefully stepping over hills of mud and tree roots. "We're hunting" arriva says and the rest laugh but me and finnick smile not getting the joke,I have never felt more out of place than I do now. We trudge along in mud until Aurelia picks up the pace and starts to jog and we follow,we come to a clearing where the little boy from 12 sits cooking some food, his eyes widen and a tear escapes him,he must know there's nothing he can do against six people;I give him a sympathetic look before his head is sliced off which arrivals huge knife. My eyes close almost as if I'm sending my sorrows to him,arriva turns around with blood splattered on her top,everyone starts to laugh,my anger now enters my body again;they think this is so game,they're as sick as the Capitol!
We carry on in a straight line passing the helpless boys grave,I stomp out his small fire and avoid eye contact with his deceased body "you okay 4" I turn to give the person a glare but it's finnick with a smile carved on his face;I push a smile forward and purse my lips together, I walk and finnicks hand joins mine wrapping his fingers around mine,his warm skin comforts me and makes me forget what has just happened for a little while.
We reach a clearing and there is a large lake surrounded by vines,the vines make my legs weak. I watch Zain from district 2 walk over to the lake and splash his face with the water then slurps some,something about the colour doesn't look right,it's too blue;like the colour of the water that came off my outfit in the parade, finnick detaches his hand from mine and goes to drink some but I grab his backpack and pull him back to my side,he raises an eyebrow at me "do you want me to dehydrate or something?" "Look!" I point over at zain who is lay on the floor struggling to breathe and Aurelia and arriva are stood around him with horrified faces,i can't look and I turn to face a tree,it's horrific he hasn't done anything to me yet I didn't warn him about the water;the sunlight reflects off something pinned to my top hidden by my black jacket; it's the broach ocelia gave me 'head up' I repeat to myself and slowly my guilt wares down.
A gust of wind crushes us as we stare at the body,still but not peaceful;we move quickly out of the way and the hovercrafts arm takes him away.
I do not grieve when we walk,I didn't know him and we never tried to make any kind of friendship but arriva does,her head is down and her body shakes with sadness,if I tell them about me knowing that the lakewas poisoned they would probably try to kill me,I'm a tag along,a fake;I'm nothing like a career,I don't want to kill anyone. I stare at finnicks arms muscles as he walks,contracting with each step,his fists a shut tight and his left arm twitches slowly. I feel my eyebrows forming a crease and my lips becoming straight;what's wrong with him?
I sweep through the wet grass and shudder at how it tickles my bare calves;a rumble echos through the Forrest and pushes heavy rain over us cutting my vision in half a high pitch scream comes from the front of the pack and rings in my ears,it's too dark to see but I pannick and run forward,pinpricks of light deep through the trees illuminating arrivas body which is crumpled on the floor,her neck is scratched in many different places,blood drips over my shoes and smothers the visible side of her body,Aurelia carries on walking and jumps over a fallen tree branch, "bitch" she turns around and her firery eyes search for me through the dark "what did you just say?" She raises her voice and straightens her back so she stands up taller I retaliate by straightening my posture with her leaving arrivas body to drown in the muddy puddles which are forming fast. "I called you a bitch" she bites her lip and tenses her fist making her knuckles turn a very pale white. Before she can speak I add "your friend has just been murdered by what can only be described as a mutt and you walk off not even feeling a little bit of sorrow!" Her eyes burn holes in me "because it's a game!" Her face is straight with no emotion but her eyes show anger she gestures towards where arrivas body lay but it is not longer there how could we have not noticed the hovercraft? I turn my focus back to Aurelia who is aiming her fist towards my face but my reflexs have become a lot faster since the games have been going on;I bring y elbow up which crashes into her face forcing her to the ground, mud splashes all over me and falls over her face mixing which the blood pouring from her nose.