Thanks for showing an interest in this story! This is the prequel to my story, Can't Buy Me Love. If you have any interest in checking that story out, check out my profile. For whatever reason, I can't figure out how to get the link to show up in here. In case you're wondering about the M rating, this story will feature a lot of f-bombs, sexual discussion and violence. I really hope you like this story. If you do, please let me know!
CHAPTER ONE
"And may the odds be ever in your favor!" my girlfriend, Coral, snots sarcastically as the two of us make our trek toward the Justice Building for the 65th Hunger Games reaping.
I grab her hand and say, "Coral, shut up, you don't want anyone to hear you, do you?"
She shrugs. "I'm just nervous, Finn."
"I know," I reply, feeling butterflies appear in my stomach for the first time that day. Reaping day, the worst day of the year by far, you know, that day every year where your name is placed into a large glass bowl and some strange looking Capitolite comes and pulls one name out. You sit there and pray that it won't be you, but sadly, one male and one female from the district will be chosen to fight to the death in just a few short days. I'm only fourteen so, thanks to having parents who own the most successful restaurant in District 4, my name is only in there three times – one for each year since I became eligible for the reaping at age twelve. Coral, who is also fourteen, also has her name on three slips of paper. Unfortunately, for the less fortunate residents, their names are entered many more times – in exchange for receiving extra rations of food, which the poor people of the district desperately need.
The only saving grace for many of those poor people is that District 4 is known as a "Career District" where several of us train daily in hand-to-hand combat and with weapons. Then, many of the seventeen and eighteen year olds consider volunteering. Unlike Districts 1 and 2 where it's almost a one hundred percent guarantee that both tributes for the annual Games will be volunteers, it's more hit or miss here. Last year, for example, we had a boy volunteer but not a girl; he lasted until the final eight when those from Districts 1 and 2 turned on him while she was killed days earlier as she had not been training for the Games. I personally think it has a lot to do with our last victor, Carlyle Hawkins, who won the 59th Games at seventeen. Since his Games were the first one I distinctly remember watching in detail, I know that he was considered a huge threat and for whatever reason, his reputation has been passed onto all of the other tributes of our district – therefore ensuring the other districts view us as huge threats, too.
As for if there will be any volunteers this year, there's talk of a few of the girls considering volunteering but it's been pretty quiet amongst the boys. I train at the center, but no way would I ever consider volunteering; I'd just be signing my death warrant. I only train as a precaution. My parents signed me up for lessons when it became apparent that volunteers weren't guaranteed and I could be reaped any year from age twelve to eighteen and at fourteen, I have a long ways to go before I'll finally be ineligible to be reaped.
Coral is one of my classmates – I've known her since we first started school when we were five. I had always thought she was cute, well since I took an interest in the opposite sex, that is, and six months ago I finally got the courage to ask her out. She smiled brightly when she said, "Yes," which was a gigantic relief. Like me, she trains at the center and also like me, she is quite skilled at many of the weapons, but also like me, she has no interest in going into the Games, hence her sarcastic use of the most famous line that all of the Capitol escorts use right before they pull names out of the reaping bowls.
Finally, Coral and I arrive at the town square in front of the District 4 Justice Building. We enter a long line to sign in; wouldn't want an eligible person to try to hide out and avoid the reaping, would they? Actually, if you're of the reaping age and you miss out on the ceremony, you can be seriously punished, so you can be sure that every parent makes sure their children are out there on time.
Once we finish signing in, we make our ways to the fourteen year olds sections – she turns towards the girls' section and finds some of her friends while I turn the other way and seek out some of my own friends. They greet me jovially; I try to return their enthusiastic replies, but I fail miserably. This day always brings about a lot of anxiety from me. What if I am reaped and no one volunteers for me? I don't stand a chance in the Games; no one under the age of fifteen has ever won in 64 previous editions.
Finally, our mayor takes his place on the stage and goes into the boring speech about The Dark Days, blah blah blah, the Capitol obliterated District 13 in the rebellion – the result of the failed rebellion being these oh so wonderful Games.
After he finishes his painfully dull speech, our Capitol escort, named Tellie Finial, a strange looking woman who has herself done up head to toe in deep purple, including her face, stands up at the podium to announce the actual reaping. The deep purple all over her makes her look like someone dumped a bucket of purple paint on her from one of the district's traditions called a Color Run, where many people run through a set course and periodically are blasted by various colors of paint, the goal actually being to get as covered in colors as possible while running as fast as one can. It's actually pretty fun; Coral convinced me to participate in the one this year which was held just a couple of months ago. Both of us ended up looking like we had every color of the rainbow on us, which caused us to laugh loudly as we ran toward the sea to wash off, which is the place where I'm truly at home.
Well, anyway, Tellie says the famous, "May the odds be ever in your favor," line, and then walks toward the girls' reaping ball and then says the also famous line, "Ladies first." She reaches into the ball, swirls her hand around for a while and finally pulls out the piece of paper and reads off in a clear voice, "Kesley Marsh!"
A girl stumbles forward from the thirteen year old section and trudges toward the stage. Finally, she makes her way up the stage and next to Tellie who grins at her as though being selected to compete in the Hunger Games is some huge honor. Kesley looks like she's going to be sick as Tellie follows protocol by asking if there will be any volunteers.
"I volunteer as tribute!" a loud voice calls out a few seconds later; I turn around and see someone confidently stride out of the eighteen year old section, who I recognize as someone I train at the same center as, named Lillie.
"Oh, excellent, a volunteer for District 4!" Tellie says excitedly beaming like this is the best thing that could have ever happened. Next, she asks Lillie to introduce herself as I squint in the sunlight and wonder why someone as popular as her would volunteer. She announces her name as Lillie Trellis. For whatever reason, I wish I knew her better, though of course we've barely spoken, thanks to me being far too young to garner much attention from someone as popular as her. Plus, she's one of the most beautiful girls in District 4.
Her friends cheer loudly for her when Tellie presents her to the crowd; bringing about a gigantic smile from Lillie. She must truly believe she can win the Games to have volunteered.
I'd hate to go against her, I think, because with her huge support here and the fact that she's popular and beautiful, she won't have to even try to get sponsors. She definitely will be in the contenders for winning, just based off those facts alone.
"Now for the boys!" Tellie calls out as Lillie waves to the crowd.
Not me, not me, not me, I don't care who it is, just don't let it be me, I think as she reaches into the bowl on the boys' side of the stage, swirls her hand around for some time just as she did with the girls and finally pulls out a slip of paper.
"Finnick Odair!" she calls out.
I gasp. No, she can't have said my name; I heard her wrong! I think, but then the group near me shrinks back so that I can make my way to the stage and I realize that there's nothing I can do except hope that someone volunteers to take my place.
As I glance at the girls' section, I look to see if I can spot Coral's face, but she's lost in the massive group of other fourteen year olds. I head toward the stage as confidently as I can, aware that I'm on camera for the whole Capitol and the rest of the country I live in, Panem, to watch, and if there isn't a volunteer, I need to look as strong as possible, since I'm at a huge disadvantage because of my age.
I finally walk up the stairs to get on the stage and head towards Tellie, then stand next to her and she once again calls out for volunteers. Instead of one announcing they volunteer, all I hear is the breeze off the sea whistling through the town square. She waits a few seconds longer and then finally says, "Your male tribute, Finnick Odair, everyone!" She holds up my arm and I hear my friends cheer for me.
I look for my family in the crowd but am unable to spot them, either. Somewhere, my mom, dad and older sister Cayley are trying to hide how distressed they are that I'm being sent off to the Hunger Games.
After being presented, we're ushered inside the Justice Building and I wait alone for my family and friends to show up. Immediately, my parents and Cayley rush in and my mom and Cayley swallow me up in a hug.
"You can do it, you know, Finn," Cayley tells me. "You're strong! You've been training for this for years. They'll underestimate you. Just align with the other careers and get rid of them before they can turn on you. Try to stick with Lillie; she'll be a valuable asset to have. See you in three weeks or so, ok, little brother?"
I hug her back tightly. "Thanks Cay, I'll do what I can."
Mom says, "You better, Finnick. You better. I love you, son."
Then, Dad gives me a tight hug as well and says, "I am very proud of you, son and I know you absolutely can do this. Do whatever you can to gain sponsors and we'll be waiting for you."
I nod and my mom hands me a few twine bands made of various colors and tells me to wear them into the arena, and then they're ushered out of the room; next Coral and my friends come in, all hurriedly wishing me good luck, since they're all very limited for how long they can spend in this room. Coral gives me a huge kiss on my lips as my friends cheer.
"Never forget that one, Finn," she says. "I'll see you soon, ok, babe?"
I hate it when she calls me babe, but seeing as this could be the last time I ever see her, I decide against giving her a hard time for saying it and instead echo what I said to my family that I'll do what I can to see her again.
A minute later, they're sent away and I sit in the stuffy room, staring at the bands from my mom and finally, I shove them on my wrist as I await the peacekeepers to come and take me toward the train so that I can make the journey to the Capitol. Not much later, two of them escort me toward a sleek, expensive car. A few people in the district own cars but they're old and in rough shape; this one is anything but. I get inside along with Lillie and inwardly marvel at the smooth journey from the Justice Building to the train station.
Finally, we arrive at the train station and are escorted onto the train; several minutes later, the train takes off for the two day journey toward the Capitol. The Capitol, I wonder what it's like in person. Of course, I've never actually been there; we're not allowed to travel to other districts or the Capitol unless there's a specific reason for it, such as the Hunger Games, or occasionally, the mayor will journey to another district.
Lillie and I sit at a table next to each other as the train begins its journey toward the Capitol; I think of asking her what her rationale was for volunteering but find myself unable to speak. She really is insanely beautiful looking; she has this long blonde hair that looks like how I imagine the mermaids in our legends of the sea looked. Trying not to stare at her, I can still make out what an amazing body she has; no fourteen year old girl has such features. You can't tell while she's sitting but she's incredibly tall too – 5 feet 11 inches, which feels as though it towers over my 5 feet 7 inch frame. Still, for a fourteen year old boy, I'm pretty tall. I find I'm unable to take my eyes off her. She has some gorgeous dark green dress on that is likely expensive; surely Cayley would like it, after all.
"Hey, Finnick, isn't it?" Lillie says, then, as she arches one of her eyebrows. I nod in response, still unable to find my voice. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lillie. You look familiar. Where have I seen you before?"
I open my mouth to tell her when the door to our car opens and our two mentors stride toward us. They're Mags Willow, this old lady who won some Games towards the beginning and Xander Fishell, a wrinkly man who won, what, the 35th Games or so. He'd be under fifty though, wouldn't he? Why does he look so old, then? I can't be bothered to concern myself with this, however. I should know the history of our district's victors; it's talked about enough in our history class at school, but to be honest, whenever the teachers start prattling on and on about the Hunger Games, I have a tendency to tune out.
Mags and Xander sit across from us and ask each of us to explain what we're good at. Unsurprisingly, Lillie is good at basically everything, except for strength, apparently. "I didn't do as much weight training as I should have," she says apologetically.
Mags gives her a warm smile reminiscent of my grandmother and says, "No problem, Lillie, we'll work on that. In the meantime, we'll focus on all of the weapons you consider yourself to be a standout in and see if we can find one or two that you excel at the most; it's good to be an all-around talent, but you're more likely to become a victor if you're particularly good with something. How about you, Finnick?"
She and Xander turn to face me as does Lillie for that matter. I look down at the table, which is made of some sort of wood I've never seen in District 4 and shrug. "Um, I'm pretty good at various weapons, myself. I can tie knots well enough. I've made some nets periodically for my parents before they go out fishing for their restaurant."
"Promising for a fourteen year old," Xander says flatly.
Great, thanks, you're supposed to help me stand a better chance of winning these Games, not make me feel worse because I'm at a disadvantage, I think bitterly.
Mags' eyes slide over to him and she says kindly, "I think it's promising for any age, Finnick. Clearly, you have talent. Have you done any formal training?" I nod. "Well, that will be a huge advantage." I roll my eyes; all of the other careers do formal training; I'll still be way behind them. "No, really, it will. Is there a weapon you feel most at home with?"
I shrug. "I guess…the spear or a trident. I've gone out numerous times with my parents on their fishing trips; I've used both the spear and trident in training, as well." I glance over at Lillie who's smiling at me.
"Yeah, that's where I know you from," she says, then, "the training center. You've got a brunette girlfriend, right? That mouthy girl who's barely over five feet tall?"
"Who? Oh yeah, Coral. Is she really that mouthy?" I ask.
Lillie nods and snickers. "You should hear some of the stuff she says in the changing room. Such braggy shit about how she's the best in her year at knife throwing and no other girl even three years older than her can throw a spear farther than her. She also likes to brag about how gorgeous her boyfriend is. I always wondered what poor…uh, I mean, nice boy she was dating but I guess that's you."
Poor? I think. "Oh yeah, she's well proud of how talented she is at knife and spear throwing. What's so poor about me though?"
"Nothing," she says hurriedly. "She just brags about dating 'her boyfriend' a lot, as though it makes her a much better person than someone who isn't dating anyone. She's just got a lot of maturing to do, is all."
Xander clears his throat. "Anyway, you two, let's get back to the topic of the day, which is your reaping. I think we have a lot to work with for you two as long as you can stay focused and not think too much about boy or girlfriends back home. If you get too distracted, you'll never go home to see them again." He gives us both hard stares.
I mutter, "It's unlikely I'll go home again, anyway."
"Finnick, don't talk like that," Mags says gently. "Confidence is a must for you to have if you want to become a victor. Acting as though you don't have a chance is the last thing you should do."
"Yeah," Lillie says perkily, "you'll be fine, kid." Kid? Did she really just call me kid? "You're good looking enough; your skills with weapons give you plenty of chances at winning. Don't discount yourself." She gives me a sideways smile and then, oddly enough, a little wink, as though we just shared some inside joke. Too bad she never let me know what the joke was.
"Thanks, Lillie. But, don't call me kid, ok?" I reply and then turn toward the window; I frown at the glass as we speed past the land between districts.
"Sorry, Finnick," she says and laughs. "I call everyone 'kid' though; I've even called my own boyfriend 'kid' before. If you really hate it though, I won't call you it."
I face her as our food arrives. I'm saved from having to respond from her comments and help myself to something hot and covered in gravy. It's called turkey, an animal I learned about in school, but have never had. The gravy makes the flavors…what term have my parents used to describe food in the past…oh yeah, dance on my tongue. I help myself to more.
"Try this!" Lillie says gleefully as she plops something on my plate. It's some sort of spicy rice dish. I can't help it; I eat it so fast that I barely recall swallowing.
"Honestly, you'd think neither of you had seen food before," Xander says in a huff.
"Stop it, Xander," Mags scolds. "They've never had this kind of food before." She turns towards us and says, "It is good, isn't it?" She helps herself to a large portion of something she tells us is a spicy tomato soup. Apparently, it tastes good with salted crackers, judging by her crushing a bunch of them into her bowl full of the soup.
"Mmmmm," she says, slurping a little bit and once she finishes, she smacks her lips together in obvious satisfaction, which makes me laugh. Somehow, I expected an old woman like her to be really refined and proper; instead she's so much like my grandmother, I half expect her to say she's best friends with her.
Dinner carries on; once it's finished, we head toward another car where Xander suggests in a gruff tone that we watch the reapings, which have finally concluded – they're filmed throughout the day so that if you were so inclined, you could watch every one of them. However, the only people who do that are those from the Capitol who think the Games are the greatest form of entertainment.
Mags nods and says that we need to see who poses the biggest threats for Lillie and me, so we all sit down on a comfy sofa as our Capitol escort, Tellie, finally joins us.
"Sorry, what'd I miss?" she says in an airy voice.
"Just dinner," Xander says, glaring at her; she shrugs and says she had something important to attend to in another car.
"Probably means she had to schedule another skin dying job," Lillie mutters to me under her breath; I stifle a laugh and instead exchange a smirk with her as we sit back and watch each reaping in order from District 1 to District 12.
District 1's reaping has about five female volunteers – the four not selected sulk on their way back toward the crowd as though they've been told no one will give them anything for their birthdays. The one chosen to go into the Games, Amethyst (a name that makes me laugh – District 1 has the most ridiculous names), is a muscular eighteen year old who looks quite tall. She has this long blonde hair and the dress she's wearing reveals how much cleavage she has. Lillie rolls her eyes at her and says, "Typical vain District 1 girl."
The males also have several interested in volunteering. The one chosen is a seventeen year old named Hematite (which is a name possibly worse than Amethyst), who absolutely towers over everyone else. His shirt doesn't have any sleeves, so it's easy to see how well muscled he is. I'm suddenly concerned about him stepping on me and crushing me like a bug. His hair falls to his shoulders in curls and Lillie says, "He's just a vain. Never mind him, Finnick. He's too full of himself to really do well, unless he gets good allies – he'll make them do everything in that case."
District 2's volunteers are intimidating to say in the least. The girl, a seventeen year old named Dallyn, glares at the camera when she's introduced to the crowd and then cracks her knuckles, looking like she wants to crack some skulls as soon as possible. She looks like she's taller than me, unless the District 2 Capitol escort is just short. The boy, an eighteen year old named Cruize, almost gets in a fight with the other potential volunteers when he thinks he won't get a chance to go into the Games as this is his last chance. He's got close cropped hair and massive muscles. His gigantic hands look like they could wrap around my neck and snap it with little effort. Even Lillie looks taken aback with his ferociousness.
"Well, of course Districts 1 and 2 are always going to be the biggest threats," Mags says a matter-of-factly. "Let's see what the other districts have to offer."
District 3 offers a young girl and a boy who looks about my age; both look close to tears when their names are called. We watch our reaping; Lillie looks every bit the appealing volunteer the Capitol loves. The commentators even remark how beautiful she is and that beauty is quite a valuable asset. They just wonder if there's more to her than her looks but figure if she volunteered that she's one to watch. Lillie rolls her eyes at their comments. I'm relieved that I don't look terrified standing on the stage waiting for a volunteer never to come, but it's clear I don't look happy to be there, either. My mouth is a straight line unlike Lillie whose is a beaming grin.
District 5 is immediately discounted, however, I look at the petite sixteen year old blonde girl, who has a smirk on her face and I say that there's more to her than meets the eye. Mags nods and says that this district is known for having secretly talented tributes so I'm likely correct. No one thinks much of either of the young tributes from District 6 or the girl from 7, while I think the boy looks more intimidating. Lillie nods and points out that he's likely good with an ax since their district is the one that supplies the Capitol with lumber. He's also pretty tall looking and sort of muscular. District 8 looks like no threat, nor do 9 or 10. The tributes from 11 are both thirteen and positively tiny. It's a well-known fact that those from the outlying districts don't tend to eat well; they're probably both malnourished. I feel uneasy with this knowledge, knowing that if they last past the bloodbath, it'd be nothing short of a miracle, and I decide that I won't be responsible for their deaths. If I kill, it'll be because I have no choice; it's my life or theirs.
Finally, we watch those from District 12 be reaped. They're older looking, both olive skinned and likely malnourished, judging from their toothpick elbows. They look miserable as they stand on the stage. The only living victor from the district attempts to walk toward their Capitol escort when he's announced, but walks so crookedly that he ends up stumbling into the Justice Building.
"Oh Haymitch," Mags says softly and she shakes her head as Xander turns off the video screen.
"Doesn't look like as quite a strong group as in the past," Lillie points out as she crosses her legs and sits forward.
"No, it looks like a weaker field, except for the usual threats of 1 and 2," Mags agrees and suggests we get on off to our sleeping quarters; we have an early day tomorrow preparing for how we'll be received in the Capitol when we arrive in the late afternoon. Lillie and I nod and follow Xander toward the car where our rooms are.
He leaves us alone once he points out that our rooms are next to each other. I nod again and raise my arm to open my door when Lillie says, "Hey Finnick?" I turn to face her and she continues, "See you tomorrow." She smiles and teasingly punches my shoulder. "Sleep well and don't let the bed bugs bite!"
I frown. "Bed bugs?"
She laughs. "As if a Capitol designed bed would have them. But you know, in ancient times, many beds were infested in them. Don't worry about that, though. It's just an expression."
"Got it, Lillie. Don't uh, let the bed bugs bite you, either, then."
She laughs as she steps into her room. I think she says, "You're alright, kid," but then the door closes behind her; I step into my room and let the door close behind me.
I make my way to the bed and lay down, wondering what my family and friends are doing. Are they crying? Is Cayley comforting my mom? Is Coral running around trying to raise money from the district to sponsor me? Do they really believe I can win? I sure wish I believed in my ability to win, but the realist in me knows that I don't stand a chance. That boy from 2, Cruize, will kill me without hesitation.
And, if I'm honest, I can't see ever being able to kill someone like Lillie, but since she volunteered I wonder if she'd have no problem with joking with me and then putting a knife in my back to win.
Knowing I'll never be able to stab someone in the back like that makes me feel completely hopeless – I'll never see my family and friends again.
Well, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Please review, follow and favorite!