Chapter 11
"It's time my darlings." Aries says bringing the tributes from their rooms.
"Time for last minute questions." Zayden says.
"I don't have any. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time." Aden says.
Aries starts ushering them to the elevators
"Annie hold up." Finnick says as the others head to the elevators.
"What?" She asks.
"It's not polite to eavesdrop." Finnick says.
Annie looks taken aback by his obverstation last night.
"I didn't do anything wrong, overhearing information isn't breaking the rules." Annie says pulling at her ponytail.
"I guess not." Finnick says.
"From what it sounded like you were breaking rules." Annie says.
"That's my business to worry about so I'm guessing you went over everything you learned about mountains terrain."
"Plants and the environment might have crossed my mind." Annie says with a sly smile.
"Good, you can't tell anyone what you heard though." Finnick warns.
"I'm not going to tell anyone, besides I don't think that would be the best outcome for both of us." Annie says.
"You're correct." He says and smiles. He can tell she is nervous and she would be a fool not to be. Being overconfident is not always a good thing. "Do you have any last minute questions?" Finnick asks.
"Not really, have any last minute advice?" She asks.
"Trust your instincts. If you feel like you should run then run. If you feel you should hide then hide. If you aren't sure if something is safe to eat then don't eat it. Most importantly never show fear you want people to believe you are strong even if you are scared shitless." Finnick says.
Annie nods.
"Annie we can't wait any longer!" Aries shouts from the elevator.
"I have some advice for you Finnick."
"What's that?" He asks surprised.
"You should also trust your instincts. If you feel like I need a parachute then sent it to me if I the have the money. I don't particularly want any of my money going to the government. Besides even if it is small it could save my life, right." Annie says.
Finnick smirks.
"I'll spend your money wisely even if that means every last dime." He says.
"Good." Annie says.
"You're excellent at hiding fear." Finnick says.
She nods.
"If I die can you tell my parents something." Annie asks suddenly serious.
"That you love them-"
"No, they already know that. I want you to tell them I'm sorry." Annie says.
Finnick looks at her confused.
"Don't worry they'll understand." Annie says.
"Annie Cresta come here now!" Aries shouts this time.
"Better go. Good luck." Finnick says.
"Don't let me die in there." Annie says and walks towards the elevators.
"I don't intend to." Finnick says to himself softly.
Finnick looks out the window and sees the big countdown clock in the square, it now reads 1 hour 57 minutes and 20 seconds.
"Let's get this party started." Finnick says sadly to himself.
He heads to the elevator and presses the basement level.
When the doors open it is chaos like always. Mentors putting new sponsor slips into machines to ensure their tributes have all their money that was Zayden's job this morning. Capitol guards and the lowest people on the totem pole for game making and the twelve conference rooms made of crystal clear glass.
Finnick can see from here that Lena is already in District 4's room
Finnick heads into the room and looks around, he sees five monitors hanging on the walls.
This is the room where mentors sit to view and help their tributes. Mentors don't have to stay in the room but they can keep a better watch on their own tributes because they have multiple video feeds. Each district has their own feed. They can also always tell where the tributes are from their tracker. There is also the live feed, a topical map of the arena, and money accounts for each tribute.
"Welcome to the fish bowl." Lena says as she turns her swivel chair to the entrance to look at Finnick. She could see his reflection in the shiny glass.
The mentors from 4 call the rooms fish bowls because all the walls are made of glass. Maybe it is so you can see what all the other mentors are doing or maybe it was the cheapest material to use.
"Yeah." Finnick says and looks towards Lena. She labeled each monitor with a sticky note.
Live feed. Annie. Aden. Arena map. Sponsor money.
"You're here earlier than normal." Finnick says and sits in his chair.
"This seemed more preferable than talking to potential clients." Lena says.
"They're just sponsors." Finnick says.
"Not according to the President." Lena says
Zayden walks in.
"You finish with their money?" Finnick asks.
"Yes, but not all the donations from 4 have arrived" Zayden says and grabs a chair.
"What are we looking at money wise then?" Lena asks.
"Aden is just shy of one million. Annie has 752,000.." Zayden says.
"Why is there such a big gap?" Lena asks.
"You were supposed to go looking more for her last night and you didn't." Zayden says annoyed.
"Doesn't matter now, more will probably come in if they survive long enough." Finnick says.
"Well, we should use it wisely. I did look at the booklet of what can be purchased." Lena says and hands the binder to Finnick.
"You circled a lot of food." Finnick says.
"There isn't a lot of food if it is a rocky terrain, same goes for water." Lena says.
"They could get it at the cornucopia." Zayden says.
"If there's some available." Finnick says.
"A decent amount of rope too." Zayden says.
"That's for Annie in case there isn't anything for her. I think that will be her best weapon she said she was good at setting traps." Lena says.
"Annie says we should spend every last coin because she doesn't want to die." Finnick says.
"Spending too much too quickly can also get her killed." Zayden says.
"I'm just saying it was like her last request." Finnick says.
"We'll still use it wisely and if she manages to live longer than Aden then she gets even more money." Zayden says.
Once a tribute from the same district dies the other tribute automatically gets the rest of their sponsor money.
"You check the boards?" Finnick asks referring to the betting boards.
"Same as last night we'll check again after the slaughter." Zayden says.
Bloodbath, massacre, slaughter Finnick has heard all these words used to describe the first bloody battle of the game. He doesn't care what people call it, it is still all the same. Although, he prefers using the word bloodbath.
Lena nods.
"Mags coming down?" Finnick asks.
"Not today at least." Zayden says
Finnick nods.
Now that there are more mentors in 4 Mags doesn't always come to the fishbowl. The room isn't very big and being an older woman she doesn't move very quickly and could easily get in the way. She does have a tablet with the same information and there is a phone in the room where Mags can call down if she has an idea.
"Alright." Lena says.
Twenty minutes. A voice says on a loud speaker.
The monitors start to light up and show the Capitol symbol.
"You think they'll put the arena map up soon?" Lena asks.
"They always do at the ten minute mark." Zayden says and checks to see if all the keyboards are hooked up.
"We taking shifts or what?" Finnick asks they can't all be asleep at the same time.
Zayden tosses Finnick a bottle of pills.
"Serious? energy pills." Finnick says.
"They do work, but we should come up with a sleep schedule." Zayden says.
"Yeah and so does coffee, but they won't give us a fresh brain if we don't sleep." Finnick says.
"Don't give me the late night shifts." Lena says and they look at her with confusion and annoyance. "What? Last time that happened they both died."
"We'll figure it out as we go, let's just get through the first night." Zayden says and they nod.
"Ten minutes." The loud speaker says.
The monitor labeled arena lights up and they get to see the map and the platforms the tributes will come from.
"Caesar was right." Lena says.
If you had to explain this arena in one word it would be rock. It is what the arena is made up of, the only green shown in the arena is a few edible plants. There is what looks like dead grass coming from some crevasses in the ground. The crevasses are big enough that you could hide in them, but if there was an earthquake or rock slide you would get crushed to death. However, the most notable thing in the arena is the big dam located about a mile behind the cornucopia.
"No grass." Finnick says surprised.
"It's almost all rock except for two canyons, one on the north and one on the south side. It looks like that is the only source of water." Zayden says looking at the map.
"What about edible items?" Lena asks.
Zayden pushes her out of the way and presses some buttons to see what plants are in the arena.
"Not much, most of the edible plants are near the canyons but they could eat the dead grass as well. There are also animals that are accessible all over the arena."
"What kind?" Finnick asks
"Rabbits, lizards, bugs." Zayden says.
"Bugs… gross." Lena says and sticks out her tongue.
"If you are starving it would do the trick." Finnick says.
Lena nods.
"Five minutes." The voice says and the rest of the monitors turn on.
"They got their trackers." Lena says noting how they can see their heart rate on the screen. "Interesting outfits." Lena says looking at their pictures.
"What are they wearing?" Zayden asks looking at their sponsor money.
"Combat boots, army pants, white t-shirt, and a thin grey windbreaker."
"At least they are wearing neutral colors they will be able to hide easily." Finnick says.
Lena shrugs and rolls closer to the live feed.
"They're starting to rise." Lena says.
"One minute." The voice says as more tributes start to rise. "Thirty...twenty-nine... twenty-eight…"
"Annie doesn't look scared." Lena says.
Finnick's eyes flicker to her screen and Lena is right.
"And Aden looks overly confident." Finnick says.
"Five… four… three… two… one"
The bell signals and tributes start running, some get sucked in to the cornucopia while others run for the hills to get lost in the rocky terrain.
"She's a slow runner." Zayden comments watching Annie run to meet up with the careers. She managed to grab a pack on the way although it is a bright yellow color. The packs are made to stand out.
"Took you long enough." Aden says annoyed. He has fresh blood on him from killing the young boy from eight.
"Well, I'm here now." Annie says and tucks the knife she picked up and puts it in her back belt loop concealing it from the others.
"Smart hiding it from the others." Lena comments.
"Let's check out the rations before we make a game plan." The girl from 1 says.
"Someone is still alive in the clearing." Finnick says.
"Where?" Lena says and Finnick points. The person is only feet from their platform.
"They put a dead body on top of them for camouflage." Zayden says.
"Why, they are obviously going to have a hard time getting away." Lena says.
"The careers will leave eventually even with only the guard they could probably get away." Finnick says.
Annie, Aden, and the rest of the pack split up the food and survival supplies evenly. The only thing they fought about was weapons. Annie already had one knife that she grabbed during the bloodbath. She was given another though and convinced them to give her the leftover rope that was tying crates together. She can easily make a trap from the leftovers.
"Okay who is going to guard when we go off looking for tributes?" The boy from 2 asks.
"Annie will, she doesn't like the idea of killing." Aden says.
Annie rolls her eyes.
"Sure I'll guard." Annie says.
"She could use this opportunity to run away." Finnick says.
"If she were to run away she should wait until a few cannons go off." Zayden says.
"Please, she isn't going to run off any time soon. She doesn't have the guts to do it." Lena says.
Once it gets dark and the other careers have left, Annie stays behind to guard. It doesn't take long for the tribute who was hiding in the clearing to run over to where she is. The young boy probably thought they all left.
"He's got a knife." Lena says. "If she fucking dies on the first night-"
"Shut up Lena." Both Zayden and Finnick say.
Annie notices the boy riffling around the stuff and comes into view. The boy looks frightened but doesn't run, he charges her with a knife he found. Annie is quicker and throws a knife at him. The first one goes in his left leg and the second hits his chest killing him in a few moments.
"Interesting." Lena says.
"It was self defense." Finnick points out.
"I just didn't think she would be able to do it." Lena says.
"If she didn't the careers would've questioned where some of the supplies went and go after her." Zayden says.
"Not necessarily, but we won't know for now." Finnick says.
Annie takes the knives from the young boy's dead body and wipes the blood off on her jacket. She sits back down on one of the crates and looks up at the starless sky when the Capitol anthem starts to play.
"14 players left after day one." Annie says softly to herself.
"Yes fourten players left. Okay can I take a sleep break now?" Lena asks.
"Come back in five hours so someone else can get a break." Zayden says.
"Fine." She says and stands up to leave.
Finnick and Zayden watch the live feed which is showing the girl from District 7 who has been tracking a younger tribute for the past few hours. Apparently she wants what is in his pack because instead of fighting in the cornocipia she ran away.
"What is she doing?" Zayden asks getting closer to the screen.
"Probably about to kill the tribute she has been tracking for the past two hours." Finnick says confused.
"Not her, Annie." Zayden says.
Finnick turns to her screen and sees her placing long strands of rope around the supplies and on the rope are random items that when moved will make a loud noise.
"It's a security system. If someone taps the ropes the supplies will drag and signal that someone or something is near by." Finnick says.
"She's smart." Zayden says.
"You're tone is implying that she is too smart." Finnick states.
Zayden shrugs.
"She should probably run off by tomorrow she seems to be more equipped than we thought. She could probably survive by herself for awhile. Besides, this is a small arena it probably won't take long before it is in the single digits."
"Maybe I-"
Before Finnick can finish his sentence the arena makes a loud booming sound and starts shaking. The traps Annie set up are clanking loudly. The live feed shows a tribute being crushed to death by a rock slide.
The careers get small pebbles falling on them and receive small cuts. A drop of blood rolls off Aden's finger and onto the dry ground as soon as it does a loud howl echoes and a giant creature that looks half wolf half lion comes from the shadows.
"Mutts." Finnick says.
"Attracted to blood." Zayden says.
He points to the rock slide and sees two beasts are there licking the blood off the rocks.
"They're coming for them then."
"Should we send some bandages?" Zayden asks.
Finnick looks up to see what the mentors in 2 and 1 will do.
"District 2 is sending something." Finnick says quietly.
They both wait until the parachute drops, it is bandages with alcohol wipes and all four of them share.
"Do you think they only come out at night?" Zayden asks.
Finnick shrugs.
"Do you think the earthquakes only happen at night?" Finnick asks and Zayden shrugs.
Despite the bandages the careers were given a mutt is still coming for them.
"Is Annie bleeding?" Finnick asks.
"Doesn't look like it, besides she has all the supplies there for her to use." Zayden says and looks at her curiously.
"What?" Finnick asks.
"Look what she's doing." Zayden says.
"What, she's just putting things in her pants." Finnick asks confused.
"Yes, almost everything that was in the bright yellow bag." Zayden says.
"Army pants have lots of pockets Zayden, it's easy to store lots of things in them." Finnick says.
"Exactly, but why does she need all of them in her pockets when she has plenty of space at camp." Zayden says.
"She's preparing to run." Finnick says.
"It appears so." Zayden says.
"The weight from her pockets might slow her down." Finnick says.
"I agree, but the rest of the bags are bright colored." Zayden says.
"Then let's send her something." Finnick says.
"You want to send her a dark bag on the first night?" Zayden says surprised.
"She wants us to use all of her money and she won't be able to run fast with everything in her pockets."
"The careers will notice the dark bag... that means she has to run away before they come back." Zayden says.
"You said she was smart she'll figure it out." Finnick says.
Zayden sghs.
"My instincts are screaming for me to do this." Finnick says.
"Fine I guess... although if anyone asks this was your decision and yours alone." Zayden says not approving of this method.
"Agreed." Finnick says and sends her a dark bag on the cheaper side.
The parachute lands almost directly in her hands.
She opens it and a smirk appears on her face. She takes the things out of her pockets and into the bag. She undoes her security system and puts as much as she can into the bag. She looks around before she runs away in the direction of the dam.
A/N: Hello all! Next chapter will have small I repeat SMALL snippets in Annie's POV.
