Dead in the Water | An Odesta Fanfic

Chapter Four

At breakfast the next morning, there was a nervous fluttering in Annie's stomach as she attempted to force down some food. She tried to encourage Kai to do the same, but she could see his hands shaking as he picked up his knife and fork and knew that he felt the same. It was the first morning of training, the first real interaction they would have with the other tributes and the first test of their skills before the games. Finnick hadn't shown up to breakfast that morning, but Bay and Luna had been giving them a constant stream of tips in between bites.

"Don't rush to the weapons stations right away." Bay warned them. "All the Career tributes will be doing that. Don't be intimidated – they're just trying to show off. Try and start with some simpler tasks first. Save your real talents for the personal training session with the gamemakers. You don't want everyone knowing your secrets before you step into the arena."

​"But don't hide your talents so much that no one wants to be allies with you." Luna said. "You've got to make some friends before the games. It's harder when you're on the run."

​"I don't know if friends is quite the right word –" started Annie, but Bay interrupted her.

​"Luna is right. Try and start some conversations. Scope out the competition. Come up with a list of allies you might want to make and we'll discuss it later."

​"And don't forget about survival skills!" said Luna.

Bay nodded. "Especially if your strategy is going to be to stay hidden. Nature will be your biggest enemy out there."

Annie was trying to keep this flood of information in her head as she and Kai stood waiting for the elevator. Luna was still scrambling behind them to collect her things and escort them downstairs.

The elevator doors opened to reveal Finnick on the other side. When he found both of the tributes in front of him, a smile spread across his face. Annie couldn't quite describe his smiles as pleasant, but they were never particularly threatening either. They were just crooked, and slipped onto his face far too easily to be real.

"You missed breakfast." She greeted him.

"Did you miss me?"

Luna nearly collided with Kai as she came hurrying out of the apartment. "We're going to be late!" she called. She hurried Finnick out of the elevator when she saw him. "It's nearly ten o'clock, we need to go!"

Finnick slipped out of the elevator and out of their way. "Enjoy training."

Annie felt Kai's hand wrap around hers as the elevator began its descent into the basement. Luna was still chatting on, although it seemed more out of nerves than a real attempt at advice. So Annie closed her eyes, focused on steadying her breathing, and held Kai's hand tightly in hers.

The training center was a large room, filled with racks of weapons and individual stations for training in survival skills. It was only just ten o'clock when they arrived, but the room was already full of tributes, dressed in their training uniforms and hesitating to meet each other's eyes. Luna dropped them off with a wish of good luck and Annie kept her hand in Kai's as they approached the center of the room. There was a woman in full training gear there, waving them all in to gather around her.

​They must have been the last tributes to arrive, for as they joined, she introduced herself as Atala, the head trainer, and began to explain the rules of the training center. It was most of the same advice that Annie had heard from Bay and Luna – don't overlook the survival skills, don't fight the other tributes, and so on. Annie scanned the room as Atala spoke, finding her last opportunity to inspect the other tributes before they could make their opinion of her.