In my dreams I'm back at the day Cleo and I got attacked by the wolf. I check the traps, and I hear Cleo screaming for help. I drop the rabbit from the trap and take off back to where I left Cleo, but something's wrong.
Cleo starts to scream louder. "FINNICK! HELP ME!"
Then another voice screams in pain.
"Finnick, Where are you?"
"Mom? Rose?"
Then another voice yells in pain.
"FINNICK!"
"Dad, Hanna? Where are you?"
Suddenly a Peacekeeper tackles me.
"What are you doing?"
The Peacekeeper pulls off their mask, revealing the face of President Snow.
"Game Over, Mr. Mellark."
I jolt awake, causing Cleo to rise.
"Finnick, are you okay?"
I take a deep breath.
"Yeah, I'm okay, I just dreamt that I lost you, I'm okay now that I know you're here."
"Aww, Finnick." Cleo smiles,and kisses me on the cheek. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good."
I press the button on my watch, it flips open revealing the pictures of my family. The Willow Song plays, lulling me back to sleep. This time I sleep dreamlessly.
I wake up a few hours later to the sound of Hestia's voice.
"Finnick, Cleo. You've gotta get up. The hovercraft leaves in half an hour."
Cleo and I get out of bed, Hestia hands us both some clothes to wear, we put them on and Hestia and Armani lead us to the roof of the Remake Center, where a hovercraft waits for us, we walk up the stairs, and are greeted by a man in a white coat holding a syringe.
"Arm." he says.
"What?"
"Give me your arm, Mellark. I have to inject your tracker." he says smugly.
I hold my arm out, he injects the tracker into my arm. The tracker will track my location throughout the Games, they want to have eyes on me at all times.
A female Avox with blue hair leads me to the place where there is a small breakfast set out for us. I eat as much as I can, but the food has no effect on me. My nerves are through the roof, my stomach is already rejecting the food. I've lost Cleo and Armani, they must have gone to a different part of the hovercraft. The blue haired Avox girl leads me to the room where the rest of the male tributes sit with
I sit down next to the window and the tribute from District 5, he doesn't say anything which is okay with me, he taps his foot on the ground, and it makes a pinging sound like metal hitting metal, it's only then that I realize that he's got a metal prosthetic on that foot. I frown at the bad luck of the boy, he's sure to die in the initial bloodbath at the Cornucopia, and turn back to the window. I lose myself in the view from above the city.
The ride only takes twenty minutes before the view outside the window turns black meaning we're close to the arena. The hovercraft lands, and Hestia and I follow an Avox to the Launch Room, what the Capitol calls the place where we prepare for the Games for the final time. In the Districts, we call it the Stockyard, where livestock goes before the slaughter.
Hestia leads me to a table where some clothes are set out for me, a pair of olive green pants, a black t-shirt, a black nylon hooded nylon jacket with orange stripes down the sleeves, and a pair of nylon shoes with rubber soles, perfect for running. The outfit is plenty warm, but not warm enough for the arena to be in a tundra, but the clothes are too warm for it to be a desert.
"Two minutes to launch." says an automated voice.
Hestia pulls me into a hug.
"Good luck Finnick."
"Thank you Hestia."
"Here, you forgot something." Hestia hands me my watch. I'd left on the bed this morning she must've grabbed it.
"Thanks."
"Remember who you're fighting for."
The man in the white coat from the hovercraft comes in, and grabs my arm.
"What are you doing?"
He stabs a needle into my vein. The liquid stings as it runs through my veins.
"The poison."
"Umm, thank you?" I reply
The man scoffs angrily and leaves the room.
"Thirty seconds to launch."
"Finnick, they don't allow me to bet, but if I could, I would definitely bet on you."
A lump forms in my throat, I try to thank her but no words come out.
"Come on, lets get you in the tube."
I step into the glass launch tube. It closes before Hestia gets the chance to give any final encouragement, so instead she gives the three fingered salute from District 12. I do the same salute back to her.
The launch pad starts to move. I look at my reflection in the tube's glass, and say to myself. "I am Finnick Mellark, son of two victors of the Hunger Games, and brother of a third. It is my turn, I will be the Victor of the 100th Hunger Games."
I spend 15 seconds in the tube as it rises, and then the plate pushes me up out of the tube and into the open air, the sunlight blinds me for a few seconds. Then I realize where we are, we're in the City Circle.
'No, It can't be, it's just a replica."
Then I hear the voice of the announcer of the Hunger Games, Gracius Hilton.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Let the 100th Annual Hunger Games begin."
Thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with the story. The Games are about to begin. Be sure to leave reviews and feedback!
