L O C K E D- Finnick Odair

THREE



《'°•~Chapter Four~•°'》
Training

"Time to get up, dear! Up! Up! Up!"

I'm awoken early the next morning by Valentina. There's an outfit hung on my closet door that I'm meant to wear to the training today. I pull on the tight clothes and leave my pajamas on the floor. I don't do much with my hair other than tying it back.

I go out to the dining room to meet everyone for breakfast, and finnick is already sitting, spreading marmalade on a piece of toast.

"Morning," he greets sarcastically before he takes a bite of bread. I raise my eyebrows at him in response as I take a seat next to him. "They have salmon."

Salmon was a commonly hunted fish in District Four. I had never been able to afford it until after I had won my games. Fishing was obviously a big part of the district, and it's how most people survived. Before my father died, he was a fisherman and would sell his findings to keep us alive.

"They know just how to make us feel right at home, don't they?" I joke.

"And," he says, stabbing a piece of fruit with his fork. "It's all free here."

Food was definitely one of the Capitol's perks. Maybe the only perk. Plates and plates of food scatter the table with anything you could ever want. Just this ammount could feed all of District Four.

As I scarf down a plate of eggs and strawberries, Valentina watches. She tried to hide her discomfort with my table manners as she politely sips on her coffee.

"Emmeline, Finnick," she sets down her cup. "This training will be different than your previous games. Don't worry about what the gamemakers think. Find allies."

I glance at Finnick, remembering our conversation from last night.

Stay alive. Protect Katniss and Peeta.

"For heaven's sake, half-ass the individual training. They'll know you from previous years," she says. I wonder if she knows about the escape, despite her living in the Capitol. Her telling us not to try in training is a little convincing.

I gulp down a sugary glass of juice, and I tell Finnick to hurry up.

We head down to the gymnasium where all the other tributes are. "Allies, Whitlock. Allies," Finnick whispers in my ear as we approach the others.

They let us into the massive training room, where the gamemakers overlook us from a small room as they drink a bubbly liquid out of tall glasses. For a split second, I make eye contact with Heavansbee, and he gives me a reassuring nod.

Finnick definitely wasn't bullshitting me.

Finnick ventures off on his own, and I'm left scanning the area. I see the Beetee guy Finnick told me about, sitting with a woman who I'm guessing is from his district. I decide to conver with them. If he's breaking me out of the arena, I'd hope we'd be on good terms.

They're working on making a fire as I approach them. I sit down quietly in between them. "I'm Emmeline."

"We know who you are," the woman says pleasantly. "Wiress."

"I'm Beetee." He pushes up his glasses when he looks at me, and then I know that he already knows I know. "Any tips?" He asks, referring to the fire.

"No, " I laugh. "I was just hoping I could keep you guys company."

After a few moments, Katniss Everdeen comes up to us. All three of us look up at her. "You should move your hands downward." She demonstrates by rubbing her hands together. "And faster too."

She sits down next to me. Beetee, Wiress, and I all exchange glances at each other. Beetee takes Katniss's advice, and in a matter of seconds, smoke erupts from the wood. Wiress and I gasp in surprise.

"A little brute force -"

"Is always helpful!" Beetee exclaims. "Thank you."

Wiress's eyes travel to the gamemakers' area. My eyes follow hers. "By the corner of the table..."

"Plutarch?" Katniss asks as Beetee lowers his glasses.

"Next to him," Wiress corrects her.

I let out a breath when I see it, a blue glowing surface guarding them. "A forcefield."

"How do you know?" Katniss asks.

"The shimmering," Beetee says as katniss still struggles to see what we're talking about. He gently moves her line of vision. "Top left hand side."

"You see it?"

Katniss's face lights when she notices it. "Looks like glass."

"To seperate us and them," Wiress says as she rolls her eyes.

"Probably my fault," Katniss mumbles. "I shot an arrow at them last year."

"Electromagnetic," Beetee says.

"How can you tell?" I ask.

Wiress giggles at my question as if it's the stupidest thing anyone's ever said. Beetee laughs with her.

"Is it obvious or something?"

They continue to quietly laugh at my ignorance. "They might as well have a sign."

"Look around you," Beetee tells Katniss and I. "All the holograms, the lights. Every now and then they flicker. Why?"

"The force field is taking up too much energy."

"There's always a flaw in the system." They're smart, kind. Good allies. Finnick wanted Katniss and Peeta, and it would be too suspicious if six people teamed up in the arena.

After a little bit, I find Finnick again. He's tying nots of some sort all by himself. He lifts his head up when he sees me and nods in acknowledgment. I stand there stupidly, watching one of the careers throw a spear.

"Don't speak to one and two," he whispers. "We can't trust them." This means they're not in the plan. That doesn't affect me one bit. It's going to be hard to avoid the Career Pack in the arena, for they always hunt everyone else down.

"What about her?" I ask, referring to a younger woman throwing axes. I think her name's Johanna.

"She's fine," he tells me, setting down the rope. "Kind of a bitch, but fine."

I examine the others as Finnick speaks again. "You can't abandon me in there," he puts his hand on my shoulder. "I know you think you can just run off and do it on your own but you can't, okay? You need to stay with me. Please, stay with me."

"I've been doing things on my own for awhile now," I tell him.

His gaze softens. "Whitlock, you're not listening to me."

I stare into his eyes for a few moments. "I won't leave you."

Finnick Odair and I are similar. Too similar. But a difference we have is that I keep my promises.

Chapter 3- 1092 words

'°•~~•°'
-Olivia