Hoo-hoo! It's Friday again, which means Chapter time! I didn't have much to go on in the way of details about Annie's arena, so I just used my imagination with what I had! The next chapter is quite... Sick... But hey, that's next week ;) Or maybe sooner! So here we are, waving Annie off! Hope you guys enjoy this Chapter! Loves and Hugs!
"Annie... It's the games today" I heard Finnick say softly, and my eyes shot open. My heart raced as he leant over a picked up my clothes that Caius had left for the day, and I sat up and looked at them. "I can't do this Finnick" I whispered, looking at the combat trousers and top. "You can, I know you can" he said softly, nuzzling into my neck. "I can't do this without you" I said back, and he sighed unhappily.
"Close your eyes" he said, and I shut them. "Remember the beach at home and the times we spent sitting there together? Whenever you feel like you can't do anything without me, close your eyes. I'll always be there" Finnick whispered, and my eyes filled with tears. "I will" I said, and pulled my top on, standing up and wiggling into my combat trousers.
Finnick waited for me at the foot of the bed, and gripped onto my hand as I pulled on my boots. "You can do this Annie, I love you so much. I'll see you soon" he said as we got to the door. This was where I had to leave him. He pulled my chin up and leant in, his lips touching mine in a desperate last kiss. "I love you Finn" I whispered. "I love you too, Kitten" he whispered back, and I turned and walked off to the hovercraft.
I walked down a long corridor and finally got to the hovercraft which would take us to the arena. I sat down next to Luca, who looked tired and dreadful. He gripped my hand and a woman walked around with a long needle, stabbing it into arms as a light beeped out the end under the skin. "What is that?" I asked as she jabbed me, and she sighed. "Tracker" she said, as if I wasn't listening to what she was saying. I blinked at her and watched as she walked off the craft. The doors shut and I felt a sudden judder.
The lights dimmed and my grip on Luca's hand strengthened. We stopped moments later, and everyone was filed out of the hovercraft. "We meet at the cornucopia" Luca muttered to me, and I nodded and walked off to my room, escorted by two peacekeepers. The door opened and I ran into Caius' arms, burying my head in his shoulder. "Here, put this on. It's thin so it must be a warm climate, and from the boots, rocky too" he said, slipping a coat on over my top. I nodded and blinked as he clipped something around my neck. "For luck" he said, and I touched the seahorse necklace Finnick had given me.
"Thank you" I whispered, and he led me over to the pod in the room. "I'll see you soon, Princess" he said, and I nodded, giving him a kiss on the cheek. The glass doors shut around me, and I started to ascend, the last thing I was able to see being Caius' face, his eyes filling with tears. "Come on Annie" I growled to myself, and I squinted as the sunlight burnt my eyes. I looked around the arena, which was like a huge wood, trees on either side of a narrow stretch of land which held the cornucopia, and a cliff which led to nothing behind the podiums we were standing on, meaning everyone had to move forward, with a huge concrete wall in the corner, which I realised, was a dam overlooking the arena.
"First place to go to" I muttered, and I looked over at the cornucopia, which was full to the brim with weapons and necessities. 5, 4,3,2,1 the countdown suddenly stopped and the gong heard. I flew off the pedestal I was on, and sprinted for the cornucopia, spotting Luca on the other side. I grabbed the nearest bag and headed for Luca. The other Careers were also running for him, and he shook his head and pointed to the forest. "Run Annie!" he shouted, barely audible over the screams and grunts of fellow tributes.
I ran through the forest at the side of the cornucopia, looking back every so often to see where the other tributes were. I could see Luca with the Careers, and exhaled in relief as I continued running. I grunted and fell to the ground as my body collided with another, and I looked up and caught eyes with a timid looking girl from 7. She blinked at me, and shuffled back, so I picked up my bag and continued running away from her. I stopped and gasped when I heard a scream, and looked behind me, my eyes widening in fear.
I looked through the trees, just about catching the last glimpse of the back of the timid girls head, before the boy from two raised his sword and swiped it across her neck, spurting blood onto his face. I gasped, and a strangled cry escaped my lips, my hands clamping immediately against my mouth. "What was that?" the blonde girl from one asked. "I don't know, Silver" her tribute answered, and if I wasn't so shocked I would have snickered at the name. "Well then, Copper, let's go and find out" Silver said.
"Fine... C'mon Oneesius, let's go" Copper said, and the boy from two shook his head. "I need to finish her off first" he said, and my hand clamped harder around my mouth as I realised the girl was still alive. Oneesius pushed his sword through the girls neck until I heard a sickening crunch as it severed her spine and stuck out the back of her neck. He yanked it back and the girl fell to the floor, her canon booming throughout the now silent arena. "Let's go" the girl from 2 urged, and I blinked, stuck to the spot with shock, trauma and fear.
The careers all turned and began to walk in my direction, unaware I was just behind the tree line. I stumbled back, with my bag in my hand, and ran through the fields and into the woods, crashing past trees in an attempt to find somewhere safe to stay. I could hear their footsteps behind me, and I panted for air as I ran faster than before. I saw a river out the corner of my eye, and ran towards it, my foot catching on a tree root sticking out of the ground causing me to fall down a bank and roll into a cave. I caught my breath and huddled into the corner, clutching my bag close to my body.
I sat there for a few hours, waiting to hear for footsteps or the sound of anyone. It was so silent I could hear the blood beating through my veins, and my ears rang as I panted heavily. When I was sure there was no one there, I opened my bag to see what supplied I had. "Matches, a water bottle, crackers and a wire" I muttered, and placed them all back in my bag and drew my knees up to my chest, staring at the floor in front of me. The world around me became dark, and I heard the anthem boom around the arena. I didn't look around or even at the faces. I didn't care.
All I could see was that young, defenceless girl, the look on the boy from 2's face, the blood spraying everywhere. I stared at my feet for ages, the images replaying in my head. I laid my head down on my bag and closed my eyes, drifting into a restless sleep. I woke up to the sound of a canon booming, and a tinkle of a parachute near to where I was. I
hid in the darkness, with my hands over my ears, hoping the boom would fade so I could find my parachute. I lingered for a while, waiting until it was safe to go, and ventured out of the cave in the darkness. I picked up the silver parachute and ran back to my sanctuary, where I opened the box and pulled out a long cut of high quality cooked meat, still hot. I read the note attached to it – 'Annie, you've been asleep for a day and a half. Two kids are gone. It's getting tense here, people are bored. I love you so much Annie, keep alive. Finn'
My heart started to swell at his last sentence, and I nibbled on the meat, keeping it in my bag. I sighed and watched as the arena became light again. "They must want to hurry things along" I muttered, and ventured out of my cave to see what I could find. I heard no footsteps, no one close to me, so I walked over to the edge of the woods and peered through the trees. I heard a crack, a noise I had never heard before, and frowned, looking around to find the location of the noise.
"Hello?" I whispered loud enough for someone close by to hear. A little face popped around from behind a tree, and then hid again, peeping out a few seconds later. "It's okay, I won't hurt you... Are you hungry?" I asked, trying to see who it was. "Yeah" a little voice called back, and the boy from 7 peered around the tree. "I have some food, if you like" I said, and he nodded, looking warily around him. "It's okay. There's no one here but me" I said, and he beckoned me forwards. I hesitated a moment, before walking over to him cautiously.
"We should move on" he whispered, and I frowned. "The careers are coming this way" he said, and I nodded, bending down to fill my water bottle. "Okay, have you got somewhere safe we can go?" I asked, and the boy nodded, pointing up to the dam just a few minutes' walk away from us. "Wow..." I muttered, and we walked through the trees to a series of rocks strategically placed for us to climb up to a ledge big enough for 10 people to sit on. "This is where I have been staying" the boy said, and I looked down at him.
"Ladies first" he said with a smile, and I smirked, climbing the side of the wall to get to the ledge. I checked the ledge first to make sure no one was there, before pulling myself up and sitting away from the edge. "Here" I said, handing the boy some meat as he panted next to me, lying down. "Thank you" he said, and hungrily attacked the food. I smiled and looked around, admiring the view. "You can see everything from up here" I whispered, and the boy nodded next to me. "That's why I chose it" he said, a mouth full of meat. "
I'm Christoff" he said, and I smiled. "Annie" I answered and he nodded, going back to his meat. "What time is it?" I asked, and the boy shrugged his shoulders. "Time passes quickly here, they make the days shorter to get it moving" he said, and I nodded. "Have you seen my partner?" he asked, and I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. "
No" I answered, looking away, my eyes still squeezed shut. I could just about pretend I was sitting with Finnick on the beach, but every time the dream seemed real, a noise brought me back to reality. "We should get some sleep" I said finally, and the boy nodded, resting down on the floor next to me and snuggling into his bag. I sighed and took one last look around, before following in his footsteps.