The Career (Finnick Odair/OC)

6

Yeah, having fun dying. I took a shaky breath when I looked back up into those excited eyes of hers. "I-I don't have a token".

I don't know why I said that. If I'm being honest I didn't even have a token in my first games. But suddenly it felt important to have one. I felt like I needed something from home in there with me. Even if I might only be in there for less than hour. 

Her eyes lit up a little more and she took off one of her rings and put it on my finger. I admired it, the craftmaship. A golden band wrapped around a rather obnoxtious white diamond. I could tell by the clarity it was real but that wasn't what made me start to tear up....I'd know the work of my mother's fingers anywhere.

Mavis giggled beside me. "It's a Watts original! The gamemakers won't mind either because its from your District".

I sniffed before nearly dropping my act completely. It was perfect. A little piece of home, literally worth its weight in gold. I breathed out "Thank you". 

She giggled. "Oh, its nothing to be able to tell everyone that Velvet Watts is wearing a ring I gave her in the game of all games!"

Annnd.... just like that she's ruined the moment.

"Fifteen seconds to launch"

I gulped and felt Mavis place her hand on my lower back, more so pushing me into the pod.  A clear door instantly encased me making it seem as if all the oxygen had gone stale. I turned around from Mavis' excited grin before closing my eyes and rising my head up in anticpation. I heard the increased humming before I felt an inflax of hot air.

With a deep breath I opened my eyes to find myself stranded in water, a jungle sourrounding us from every direction. The beach and a jungle. That's our terrian.

My eye's instantly snapped straight a head to find a weird metal hut in the middle of the ocean, piles and piles of weapons infront of it. The Cornecopia....

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the Sevety-Fifth Hunger Games!... and may the odds be every in your favour".

"10, 9.."

What? Ten seconds? I hadn't even observed everything yet! I wasn't trained to start within ten seconds. Fuck..Fucking shit!

"3, 2, 1... Bang."

I was in the water as soon as I heard it. I had one shot of making it, and the only way I can do that is with a machete in my hand. I had learned swimming at the acedemy so I wasn't concerned about drowning. After the dam breaking in my games I was probably one of the strongest swimmers here since I had expirecne with currents. 

So water wasn't putting me on edge. No, my concern is that I hadn't checked who was beside me.If it was a Career then I'm fine. If it wasn't, then I better pray I'm the faster swimmer. 

Oh, and I hadn't even checked out the whole arena. Like the spikes running along  the water! It completely skipped my notice. I could see figures running ontop of the water out the corner of my eye. I'd be too slow if I started running now though. 

My only choice is to swim the whole way there. Which is fine, I was out swimming most of the runners anyways. I guess the fact that I'm young, mixed with all those runs with Cashmere had turned the odds back into my favour. Still, I didn't like doing things with only half the information. Especially a blood bath in the hunger games.

With one final stroke I clamped my hand roughly on the rock and pulled myself up. I whiped my head around, satified to be the first here. I've got this, I just need to find a ma-

Shit. In less than a second my feet had been kicked from undernath me and I looked up dazed into a pair of sea green eyes. 

Fuck.