Chapter 4
Today is the day. It took hours of staring at the empty ceiling for me to finally slink out of bed & into the cold house. When I came out though, I was surprised to smell a wonderful breakfast cooking. Bacon & frying potatoes taunted my growling stomach as I entered, shocked to see Annie hard at work. After standing in the doorway gawking at her for a minute, she looks over her shoulder & smiles. "Hey sleepy head! I decided to cook some breakfast." I rub my eyes & look again. She was still standing in front of the large stove. I didn't even know she knew how to turn it on, let alone cook. She was always running around the District on average days- buying supplies, swimming, exercising, weaving, those sorts of things, but I have never seen her pick up a pan before.
"Uh, where did you learn to cook?" I questioned, unsure if I should risk eating it in case she had absolutely no idea what she was doing.
"Oh Trinity showed me, I've been getting up early every morning with her so I could learn new recipes." She grinned & placed the food on our large kitchen table, which was frankly much too big for only the two of us. Trinity was our kind & ambitious house maid who had the house spotless by the time I wake up & is out the door around 2 in the afternoon. We absolutely adore her, though I'm not sure she feels the same about us considering we were so lazy & forgetful. I shrugged & sat down to eat the sizzling bacon & hash browns.
It's been weeks since I've actually paid any attention to anything but my own wedding: picking out food, tables, plates, & invitations, I feel like I haven't even been in the real world until today. I've been a mess all week dreading this very day. Today is the day of the 75th Annual Hunger Games. As if that wasn't enough for me to deal with, in only 2 days I'll be walking down the aisle to the face my dreaded future. Nightmares keep me with little sleep, & when I wake up they're a reality. My wedding, the Hunger Games, they're all haunting me both when I awaken & when I slumber. At least Annie found a way to occupy herself.
Eventually 9 o'clock came around, & Annie & I sat in front of our television like we did each year. There was a flash & the TV glowed to life. First was a slide show of each victor's picture & information. Outside I could hear the loud booming from the giant television in the square. Everyone stood to watch if they don't own one like we do. You wouldn't believe how thankful I am not to be one of those people, not again, watching in horror while having everyone around stop to stare as I break down sobbing. That has happened too many times already. After 24 painstaking faces lingered fresh in mind, the arena was on the screen. The camera circled around scanning mountains, an ocean, & a deep, tangled jungle. Just like the one from my nightmares. In the ocean is a circle of floating discs, 24 of them, each with a victor standing tall. I felt Annie's cold hand grasp onto mine, & I held on tight. I knew how hard this was for her- not only being reminded of the ocean in the Games once again, but watching Finnick fight. But this was good, the odds were in his favor, obviously he was the best swimmer since he grew up here, in District 4. With that said, he was the first one off to dive in the deep sea. He was fast, but Katniss dove in almost just as quick. He swam with force, but she swam with grace, catching up to him close. How could that even be possible? She's from District 12! The camera scans around the circle to all the other victors looking rather pathetic, who haven't even jumped in yet. Skimming back showed Finnick & Katniss at the Gold Cornucopia which is surrounded by a strip of sandy beach that lead off into the unknown jungle. They both scavenge for weapons, & I notice that there isn't any food. Just after I say that Katniss happens to whisper the same, you can see the worry wrinkles her forehead. In the Hunger Games food can be just as vital as weapons, if not then possibly more. Who knew what was safe to eat & what not to eat? It seems that every year someone dies from eating something poisonous, like last year when a red headed girl foolishly ate the poisonous berries, & Katniss cleverly used them later as a weapon against the Capital.
I hear a gasp of delight from shaking Annie as Finnick swiftly grabs a trident off of the top of the pile, holding it up to shine in the sun. With only that weapon he could win the whole Game. It was definitely his strongest resource other than swimming. Only moments after we see a shining bow in Katniss' hand & a bundle of arrows slung over her shoulder. The small hope in me dies as I realize she could take him out faster with a bow then him with his trident. They must have planted everyone's favorable weapon in the pile so they each had a winning shot.
Finnick's next move was more shocking to me than if he had killed her on the spot- he joined her as an ally. He then swam out & grabbed Peeta, who apparently doesn't know how to swim; & Mags, which I was grateful to see, but realize is risky move. She would only slow him down & surely be dead without the first day or two, which I hate saying. Still, Finnick slung her thin body onto his back & hauled her to shore, just as he had Peeta only minutes ago. But why would Finnick protect Mags & possibly risk his life? Katniss could have shot him down right then if she wanted to- & you know she definitely thought about it. He could always team up with Johanna, the smarter alliance, or just stick with Katniss, hoping she won't turn against him so early in the Games. It would have been so easy for him to just leave her, or even wait for her to float to the shore. But for some reason I knew he wouldn't. He would take care of Mags. Suddenly I knew the reason why- why he would risk his own chance of life for Mags, because of the same reason I would. Because she saved Annie.