Puzzle Pieces • Finnick Odair

C H A P T E R 8

Breath in. Breathe out. Repeat.

An exercise Mags taught the young girl for when she felt a panic attack coming on.

As she sat in the quiet room full of tributes waiting to be called, her leg absentmindedly started to shake, the heel of her foot tapping against the floor in an uneven rhythm. This was your starting point. Get a bad score, you look weak. And looking weak makes you an easy target. You do not want to enter the arena with a target on your head. Stay strong. Her brothers words echoed throughout her head. She has to stay strong, do well, score high and she'll be okay.

To her right, Dale Connor is sat twirling his thumbs, anxiously picking at the skin surrounding his bitten nails.

'District 4, Dale Connors. Report for individual assessment.'

His head shot up. His hands shook. His fearful eyes met those calm blue ones of Jessica as she smiled at him, squeezing his hand, reassuring him that he'll do great. He walks towards the doors passing the female from 3 who wears a smug smile shoving him roughly in the shoulder as she passes.

He stumbles slightly but catches himself as he reaches the door. It slides closed behind him.

Silence.

After 10 minutes the voice speaks again.

'District 4, Jessica Miller. Report for individual assessment.'

Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.

She walks towards the doors, head held high, shoulders back, breathing controlled, appearing as strong as possible.

On her way in, she passes Dale, who looks pleased, still anxious and on edge, but he's not crying.

She heads over to the weapons station before grabbing a knife belt, tying it securely around her waist, and steps back, standing on the 'X' marked spot.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Aim. Fire.

As the knife slips from her grip, approaching the closest body target at an alarmingly fast speed as it hits the dummies 'heart' she reaches for another knife and prepares to throw it.

She notices none of the sponsors are watching so she whistles for their attention, trying to find patience to put up with such arrogant people. Once they are all watching, she throws another, this time at the one furthest away, hitting her intended spot perfectly as the blade lands between where the eyes would be.

She picked up a pair of twin blades, shorter than a sword meaning they wouldn't drag when attached to her dagger belt, they were lightweight enough for her to carry with somewhat ease but strong enough that they could most likely cut through bone.

She turned on the holograms, to the hardest settings, and worked for approximately 4 minutes before all the 'people' were dead. She excited the ring, discarding of her weapons, before giving her 'observers' a mocking salute, "thank you so much for your time," she spoke, sarcasm dripping through her tone like it was in her very blood.

She leaves the room, passing the district 5 male, with a smile on her face, clearly pleased with the accuracy of her throws, precision and reflexes with her combat and the reaction she had earned. Some impressed, some amused and some unreadable. I guess she'll soon find out.