Yes, welcome to the 70th Hunger Games. This is it. Annie and Chris are in the games. She has been torn from what she knows as relative safety and her loving Finnick's arms and now she must go head to head with twenty-three other tributes. The games will test friendships and loyalties, courage and reveal what kind of person someone really is. So here goes, break a leg Annie, and let the 70th Hunger Games begin!
Chapter Eleven
I wake with a start and sit up. I glance around but everything is how it was when i fell asleep last night. Chris lies just to the side of where I previously lay, his hand still clasped tightly around mine. I smile slightly and feel my shoulders relax. I lean back against the cold wall of the cornucopia and watch him sleep. He looks so peaceful compared to Finnick. Right now Finnick would be squeezing me tighter and tighter as he fought against his nightmares, desperate to escape.
I wonder how he is coping right now. Is he thinking of me? Knowing Finn he'll sit up, gasping for breath, silently begging for my soothing voice to calm him down.
But he won't hear it. I turn my attention back to Chris. I softly stroke his face and lie down beside him again. He opens his eyes and smiles. "Hay."
"Hay," I reply.
"You're cold," he frowns, sitting up to grab my jacket.
"I'm fine. You've kept my hands warm," I smile.
"You warmed my heart," he says, and I blush. I look away and bite my lip before looking back. Is it for the camera's or is it the impossible? Does he really mean it?
I shake my head. Of course he doesn't. He knows I'm taken and to tell a woman who's pregnant with someone else's child is wrong. Chris is rarely wrong.
"Can we go for a walk? I love the lake," I say. I don't want to stay here. Marla looks even more ugly in sleep than she does when she's awake.
He stands, pulling me to my feet, grabbing his sword and insisting I wear my jacket. I roll my eyes, smiling fondly and doing as I'm told. I guess Chris is more than like Finnick than I thought. For one thing they both tell me what to do. Finnick is because he battles for control, something he desperately craves, a sense of security. Chris is because he gets protective, as all big brothers do. Do I mind? Not at all. I think maybe it makes me love them more.
By the lake I heave a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. I turn to Chris. He sits down, bathing his feet in the shallows, looking across the horizon as the sun rises. When he feels my gaze he turns to look at me. He tilts his head. "Go on. Say it. What you thinking?"
I sigh, my smile fading. "How are we going to do this?"
"What do you mean?" he asks.
"Win. Don't get me wrong, Chris, I love my grandmother but I can't win without you," I say.
"Neither can I," he says in a quiet voice.
"So what are we going to do?"
"You're going to win," he says.
I look at him in horror. "Not alone."
"Yes alone. When we first came to the capital, may plan was to make you win because I loved you. Now, I have other motivations too. You're going to win this Annie, no question about it," he says, and I see the determination Finnick warned me of. There is no fighting it. I have to accept it.
I go quiet, turning my head to the lake, looking out at the first lot of sun that the morning brings. I look back, breaking the silence. "Try," I say. "For me."
He looks back at me, a small smile growing on his lips. "For you I'd do anything." Then he leans over and kisses my cheek.
I know the camera's are on us now. I know by the way the crowd went berserk in the interviews that the capital loves a bit of romance. They'll all be feasting on this. I pray silently that Dekklan and Mr Rif have been warned that this is all part of a plan. Then when we reveal about the baby they won't get to shocked, excited, sad. Whatever a person can feel is a situation like theirs. I wonder for a moment how Finnick feels to watch this. Is it as hard for him as it is for me to be here? I have no doubt of that. But I remember what he said to me before he left me before the games. "Do whatever it takes to survive. I don't care what that means. Chris is willing and you must be too. I love you." Do whatever it takes. So I will.
"Stay by me for as long as possible then," I say.
"Don't doubt it," he says.
"Oi, you two. Get over here now," yells Marla from the cornucopia.
I look at Chris who smiles slightly. "Come on. We wouldn't want to keep her highness waiting would we."
"Don't let her hear that," I warn but I except the hand he holds out to me. It sends shivers down my spine. His warm touch creates sparks I've never felt before.
At the cornucopia I begin to pull away but he doesn't let go. He nods at me. Holding my hand won't make them turn on us. They already knew there was something there from the interviews. Now they'll see us as we fight back. We might be fighting the tributes but Chris and I will fight the capital as well.
"Look at you two soppy love birds. Just get in here. I want my breakfast," Marla says.
"Someone build a fire. I'm going hunting again," Tiger growls, stretching his arms and pulling himself to his feet.
Marla stands too. She looks at me and smirks. "Think you can handle this one, 4, or do I have to do it for you?"
I smile sweetly at here. "I'll try my very best," I say.
"Only because you'll have your boyfriend to hold your hand through it," she says and then grabbing her axe she heads towards the woods, Tiger and Butch close behind her.
"Mind if I stay?" Vine asks.
Chris looks at me and I look at him. Of course we mind. You're the enemy. But what can I do? Say no and she'll kill us. So instead I shake my head and stand to gather some wood.
It's cold this morning. I have goose bumps all over and my fingers feel like blocks of ice. My nose is red and my cheeks have no feeling but I can't help but smile. It's nice on this field. If I could forget the images of the blood bath and the idea of the Hunger Games and this place could actually make me happy, but as Chris said, something as beautiful as this is bound to be deadly.
As I walk I watch the clouds of air raising like the capitals train every time I breathe. By the trees I find wood for the fire, but I don't dare to venture in. Instead I head on the the lake and look for drift wood. After my arms are full I head back and pile it up.
"How do we light it without flint or stone?" I ask.
Vine shakes her head and Chris's shoulders drupe. I sit down next to Chris. "Great, so we have little food and no fire. And it's so cold."
Chris grins slyly and wraps his arms around me. "I'll warm you up," he grins and plants a kiss on my forehead.
At that moment a clunk comes from the roof. "What was that?" Vine asks.
"Let's go see," Chris grins. Outside we stare at a silver Parashoot, which landed right in the centre of the cornucopia.
I fold my arms. "How do we get to it?" I ask.
Vine looks at me. "You're the lightest. We'll give you a leg up."
I'm about to agree when Chris gives an abrupt "No." I turn to look at him questioningly. "You know why not. Not in your condition," he says. I nod. I hadn't even thought of that.
Vine raises an eyebrow but doesn't ask. "Alright. Me then. I'm heavier but I'll have to do."
Chris nods and so we help her up. She scrabbles noisily over the cornucopia until she reaches the Parashoot. She opens it up and gasps with delight. "Flint and stone," she calls down. She stuffs them in her pockets and turns to slide down.
She lands in front of us with a thump. She hands them to Chris who immediately gets to work with them. Inside she turns to me. "How did you know that would work?" she asks.
"What?" I ask.
"The whole 'I'll keep you warm' thing. You knew it would get us sponsors," Vine says.
I shake my head. "I had no idea."
She nods and looks away, back to me and my stomach and then back away again. Maybe she's worked it out already. I don't mind if she has.
I turn to face Chris. He lets out an exclamation as the log bursts into flames. I smile at him encouragingly. "Now all we need is something tasty to cook on it," he says.
My heart sinks. We haven't eaten in two days. If they don't bring something home, I have no idea how much longer my baby will last.
"If they don't?" I ask.
"Easy. You and I'll go hunting," Chris says as happily as he can. I'm not convinced.
We sit around the fire, warming our fingers and as much else we can without getting too close to the flames.
I think about Grandma. Is it hard for her to watch this? She explained years ago what she does once the tributes are in the arena. "I have a desk with a phone for sponsors and a keypad of possible gifts to send. Then there's a small screen that follows the tribute the entire time. Finnick has one too." This time they're not joint in mentoring. They aren't having one child each. It's Finnick as captain and Grandma as vice-captain. Does that make them a team the way Chris and I are? Will they share a desk, possible even take turns? Somehow the idea that they are both there for me is comforting and knowing that Finnick will support my grandma helps a lot too. It's also made me realise. Not only will I die, but I'll die right in front of both of their eyes, breaking their hearts there and then. It makes the urge to stay alive much stronger.
I feel small kicks inside my stomach and smile. 'It's okay baby, we'll get you food,' I think quietly. Chris looks at me and I smile at him. He raises an eyebrow at my stomach and then grins. He knows what just happened. I just hope that Finnick does too.
Does my baby know the danger we're in? Does it know the importance of this time? I just can't tell.
I hear yells of happiness and look up, my eyes widening at the view. Marla and Tiger and Butch are walking back over the grass with a deer being carried between them. And it trails a river of blood from its neck behind it. I swallow hard and look away. Marla has sliced the head clean off with her axe!
Chris looks nervous for a second before composing himself. Vine looks at me and I see a green colour wash over her face. We're both wondering if letting Marla have an axe in these games is a great idea.
"Fantastic. Just what I wanted for breakfast. Let's get it cooking," Chris says, jumping up, an expression of pure glee on his face. At least that's what it seems to them. I can see that behind his smile he's as petrified of the axe as me.
Marla grins as she bumps the deer down and looks at our fire. "Who make that then four? Vine or that boyfriend of yours?"
"Annie did. She got us a Para shoot of flint and stone too. She's more valuable than you seem to think," Vine says quickly.
I look at her. She shoots me a small smile and I decide maybe she's not so bad. I know this could all be a trick to get me to trust her, but to go against Marla means placing herself in danger. She wouldn't do that unless she really meant it, right?
"Whatever. I'm hungry. Someone cook the deer," Marla says.
"Annie?" Butch asks.
"What?" I say, expecting the worst.
"I saw you go to the station about preparing meat," Tiger says.
I glance at the beheaded deer and hid my grimace behind a laugh. "I don't think I'm the person for the job…" I begin.
"Why not?" Marla asks, leaning against the cornucopia wall and swinging the axe back and forth in front of her like a clock on countdown towards the moment I get beheaded just like the deer.
I gulp. "Well, to start with I don't have a knife," I say.
"That's easily solvable. Catch," She says, grinning with delight.
A knife comes spinning through the air towards me, perfectly in line with my face, and it's too late for me to more. A hand intercepts the knife, catching the knife perfectly. Immediately blood begins pouring out of Chris's hand. I gasp as the cuts come into view. He throws it up in the air, catching it by the handle and slamming it down into the deer.
"Anyone who tries to hurt Annie again will end up like the deer," he says coldly. Then he takes my hand - the stream of his blood warms my fingers - and pulls me away to the lake.
By the river he sits down and dips his hand in the water. He skips of his shirt and passes it to me. I rip up a strip to clean the cut with. Luckily for Chris I take it from the rim, and since its long already it doesn't show too much.
"It's deep. Luckily I went to the first aid station of the training centre. Problem is, we have no bandages and the cut it deep." I let his hand drop and look into his eyes. "You're in trouble with Marla now."
"Good. Better me than you," he says sourly.
"You're throwing away your chances of winning," I say quietly. He may have told me otherwise, but unlike him, I haven't given up yet.
"We've discussed it Annie. You're going to win. I'll miss you. I just wish I'd had a chance to see what we could be," he leans over and kisses me, one hand on my belly. I know he does this for show. The kiss is reminding the audience that he's going to die for his girlfriend, even though it all a lie. He's dieing for me and my baby, not because he's my boyfriend, but because he loves me anyway. I am pregnant. But it's not his child and I'm not his girlfriend. And by the look in his eyes he knows it.
I find myself wondering for the first time if, had Finnick not become victor, I would have fallen for Chris. If this would be his baby and not Finnicks. He's always been the sibling I never had, but had he have had no opposition, no setbacks would we be together? Would we even be here now?
Then again, it was through Chris that I met Finnick. I as Chris's tag along sister, and Finnick was the kid that was rejected. Girls threw themselves at him, boys were scared of him. Only Chris was kind to him. I don't know why. They have hardly anything in common. Similarly neither do Chris and I. Maybe it's the fishing lessons they both went to, their only common interest. Then when Finnick began hanging around with Chris, me of course there too, I began to see him less as an enemy, out to steal Chris, and more as my friend too. Suddenly, one day, when Chris was ill, Finnick and i hung out alone. It was then that he first kissed me, and then that he told me the truth about what he did in the Capital. For the first time, he told the story of his hunger games. We'd been together since.
Maybe Chris hadn't expected it to last this long. Didn't want to interfere but was waiting for his moment. And this is as good a moment as he'll ever get.
In all fairness, he could easily win this thing. He has a family, friends, so why is he so set on saving me? Had I have been his brother, would that have changed things? I am beginning to doubt it.
I look from my belly to him. "The truth. As the Chris I knew from home, not the Chris these games have made you, do you love me?"
He answers yes, but it's his eyes I watch. "With all my heart," they say and its then I see it for the first time, like clearing fog. He means it. My heart breaks. It's not that I love him. Only a little. Never enough for me to leave Finnick, but I now know why he wants me to win. My eyes fill with tears.
"But Annie. You are... amazing. There are a million boys back home who will offer you their entire hearts. Choose one wisely, knowing who I'd choose for you. I want you to move on, to be happy. Remember me always, but move on, okay?" he adds. I know what he means. He's talking about Finnick. He's saying that if there was another boy he would ever loose me too, he'd what's it to be Finn. He wants me to move on, go back to normal, remember him, but forget all this confusion. He wants me happy. And he wants the baby happy too.
"Then let me love you like never before until death do we part," I say, and kiss him. That must be hard on Finnick, watching that. But I had to say it. For the first time I will love him until he dies for me. I will be his girlfriend because that would be his dieing wish.
"Daddy loves you," he whispers, reminding me that I love Finnick, that I shouldn't cheat, but for what Chris is doing for Finnick, he would want me to do this for Chris.
So I whisper, "I know," and I kiss him again. Placing his hand on my cheek, he gives in to the temptation and kisses me back.