READ FIRST: The first part is back at the Capitol with Finnick and Annie watching the Games
Finnick's POV
Annie is asleep next to me as we lounge on the loveseat in out suite, watching the Games. The bloodbath is over, and she must have worn herself out yelling at the television screen. She has done that every year. That's why no one likes to watch the Games with her.
Except me of course. I stroke her soft red hair as I watch the aftermath of the bloodbath. The Careers are collecting supplies, which isn't very interesting, so they panel over to the little nine year old boy from District 5. I'm surprised he made it past the bloodbath, unlike his sister. She wasn't able to operate her gear correctly so the male tribute from District 1, Garnet I believe, did her in pretty quickly. The old man from 8 didn't last long. No surprise, but there is another grandfather in the arena who survived as well, District 7 I think. Johanna Mason must be boasting about how both of her tributes are still alive.
The District 5 boy, Scurry, pulls himself into one of the numerous caves the Gamemakers constructed and is sifting through his tiny bag with barely anything to call supplies.
With lack of excitement, the television panels to both tributes from District 12. They seem to be sticking together. The boy, who I think is around 20, is guiding his 14-year old sister into their own air pocketed cave.
"You alright, Rue?" he asks, taking his mask off. "Conserve air. Take your mask off."
The girl, Rue, does and whips her blond hair around. It's in a loose ponytail that falls down between the oxygen tanks on her back. She has her mother's eyes; that's for sure: Gray, and fierce.
"Did you grab anything, Cinna?" she asks, pulling her backpack over to her side as she sits against the dimly glowing wall. I nearly laugh out loud at her brother's name. Her parents aren't very creative with names. They named their son after their Games stylist? He must be proud to have a Capitol name. I smirk, but when Annie stirs on my shoulder, I calm my sense to laugh. The siblings go through their supplies and the television panels again to Mako.
Mako!
"Annie, Annie!" I shake her gently, but not gentle enough because she jumps up wildly and looks around through her matted bangs. "Annie, calm down. Look at the TV. It's Mako. They're showing Mako."
I pull her trembling body close to mine as she stares blankly at the television. Mako pulls himself up onto the cave floor, rips his mask off, and throws his backpack out of the way of the water. A few moments of catching his breath and he is inspecting his surroundings and supplies. I'm relieved to see he has a good bit of junk with him. He even has a shark prod, but he doesn't seem to know what it is.
What are they teaching in our schools anyway? Some District 4 boy he is. When I was four I learned what a shark prod was and he's fiddling with it like it's a new eating utensil. Did all Annie and I teach him just go in one ear and then fly out the other once he dove into the arena?
Maybe so…
"He seems to be doing…fine," Annie mumbles, picking at her fingernails. I gently smack her hand.
"Stop that, Annie," I softly scold her. She lays her head back on my shoulder and watches as the Games continue. They panel back to the Careers. They've already found a campsite and have begun looking through their treasure trove of supplies.
"Heh, Ariel has a harpoon gun," I say aloud. "This should be interesting."
ALRIGHT, back to the Games
Ariel's POV
We find a fairly large airpocket with a cave-like land structure and set up camp. The walls are lined with tiny stones that glow faintly, and the ceiling has a large hole in it, probably for smoke, but then again the only wood we have are the handles for spears and swords.
"So what supplies do we have," asks Garnet as he removes his mask and opens both of his personal backpacks. He pulls out a sleeping bag, two bottles of water, and matches. The other bag has crackers, some kind of ointment, and what looks like to be a pack of dynamite but I recognize them as the underwater flares that fishermen use back in District 4 when they go into underwater caves.
Well, we're in the right place to have them.
"I have dried fruit, a watch, a blade sharpener, some fishing hooks, and a pair of weird shoes," says Sapphire, sifting through her large bag. Aid puts aside her knives and pulls mostly water and food from her bags, but she also pulls out a pair of flippers. Scalpel has about half a dozen different spear head, but they all look like they are designed for fishing.
But that doesn't matter when you're looking to kill someone.
Finally, I search my bag and find a small tank of oxygen, probably worth about 15 minutes at the most. There's also a pair of goggles, a towel, and a large bottle of water. All of the previous supplies collectively are about a fourth of what we all collected at the Cornucopia after the bloodbath. This was just our personal stashes. We have tons of food, a tent, and numerous weapons. I have the only harpoon gun though, which I am clinging to for dear life.
The Capitol Anthem plays and the pictures of the dead tributes come and go through the light of the gems projected into the center of the cave, but I stop paying attention after it shows the girl from 6. Mako is alive, and that's all that matters.
"Wow," says Aid after the lights die down. "Both of 12 are still alive. That's a surprise."
"Well hey, the 74th year, both of 12 won," Sapphire points out.
"So messed up," says Scalpel. I sit up against the wall, and organize my bag in silence, while the rest of the careers contemplate the indignity of the "Star-crossed lovers" winning that year.
"We need to conserve what water we have," I finally say. Everyone looks at me like I'm stupid.
"Why, we have plenty of it," Sapphire says arrogantly.
"Look around," I say, motioning to the water lapping up the shore of the cave. "All of this is salt water. If you drink it, you'll be even more dehydrated. So just take enough to wet your throat for now until we find a way to get fresh water, if there is any."
There is silence for a moment, and then everyone slowly takes a sip from their own bottles. I take a small sip and swish it around my mouth and throat. It is a good relief from the salt water that is rolling off of my hair into my mouth.
"Let's rest up," says Garnet. "I'll take the first watch."
"No!" I snap; all eyes are on me. "I-I should take the first watch. I exerted the least amount of energy swimming. You guys should rest up, and I'll keep watch."
Hesitantly, everyone agrees. They set up the tent, which in retrospect is a waste because we are sheltered enough, and it's humid and warm enough as it is. But each to his own, so I don't protest.
Once everyone is asleep, I start to think about Mako, almost as if I can't think about him while everyone is awake; as it if is a taboo or something. What could he be doing right now?
Honestly, I struggle to stay awake, but I am just too nervous to let Garnet watch over me. Being the only adult in the group, he has some sort of vibe about him that makes me trust him, and be wary of his actions at the same time. Maybe Mako was right about him. Maybe-
"Hey, Fishy."
I look up to see Scalpel climbing out of the tent. Great, I have a nickname…
"Shift's over," he says quietly. "You can go to sleep now."
I nod and crawl over to the side of the tent, not inside. I grab a sleeping bag from the supplies, but I only lie on top of it. It's too warm to need extra warmth. I prop my backpack underneath my head and make sure my oxygen tank is properly off my back and next to me before I relax. Surprisingly, I sleep soundly as Scalpel watches, but when I randomly wake up and see Garnet keeping watch, I don't fall back asleep again until Aid takes his place. Then, I'm out like a rock.
It is almost an instant that I wake back up to the sound of Garnet's voice.
"Wake up, Ariel," he says. "We're going hunting."
A/N: Although I only got 3 votes on my poll about adding small tidbits on Finnick's POV, I still got a unanimous YES, so that's what I did. I have a new poll up. Who's your favorite Tribute and/or Career? (since Mako's not a career) Thanks for sticking with me this far! I'm actually almost done with the rough draft of the entire story right now. I'm just revising the chapters as I type them up. See you the next chapter!