𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇 | Finnick Odair

𝐯𝐢𝐢𝐢. nothing was gonna stop me

The training centre was massive, it was filled with weapons that sparked a sick kind of excitement in Genevieve.

They were instructed to stand in a circle around one of the instructors who talked through all the different stations. Genevieve glanced round curiously as the instructor began to speak. "In two weeks, twenty three of you will be dead. One of you will be alive. Who that is depends on how well you pay attention over the next four days, particularly to what I'm about to say. First, no fighting with the other tributes. You'll have plenty of time for that in the Arena. There are four compulsory exercises, and then the rest will be individual training. My advice is don't ignore survival skills. Everybody wants to grab a sword, but most of you will die from natural causes. Ten percent from infection, twenty percent from dehydration. Exposure can kill as easily as a knife."

As soon as the instructor had finished talking about all the ways they could die, the blonde grabbed a medium sized knife with a sharp blade and a thick, wooden handle.

One of the trainers walked over. "Stand on the marker on the floor, angle your body to the side, and throw with force from your upper body, not just your hand." Genevieve rolled her eyes and ignored the instructor. She had trained with knives for years, she didn't need anyone messing this up for her by giving her faulty advice.

She inhaled sharply, before throwing the knife. It rang through the air, before landing straight in the middle of the bullseye. The instructor cocked an eyebrow in surprise before walking away to help another tribute. Genevieve continued throwing knives for a while longer, experimenting with different blades and sizes, not stopping until she had hit the bullseye on every target at least three times.

Remembering what Haven had said about survival skills, she decided she was satisfied and went over to the knot tying station. Another tribute was already sitting there, a red head with the number 5 on her shirt. The girl looked up from rope she was fussing with and went deathly pale.

Genevieve snarled at her and she scampered off quickly, leaving her unfinished knot behind. Genevieve almost laughed out loud as she surveyed the scene, the knot was so pathetic it fell apart easily and most definitely couldn't hold anything of any value in the games. As she sat down she noticed another male tribute was sitting at the knot tying station, Genevieve glanced at him and her eyes widened as she realised he was from district one.

Deciding against speaking to him Genevieve began working silently on her knots, it came quite naturally to her since she had grown up in district four.

"Hello." The boy said snapping her out of her knot-tying trance.

"Hi" the blonde responded in a somewhat bored tone. "I'm Rex, and that girl over there by the climbing station is my partner Seraphina." He said, pointing to the girl she and Caspian had watched at the tribute parade. "My name's Genevieve." She replied not looking up from her knot. "The boy wrestling that trainer over there is my partner, Caspian." Rex nodded looking over to Caspian and sizing him up and Genevieve could practically see the cogs turning in his brain about potential alliances. "I'm sure we'll get to know each other better before the interviews." He mused glancing around the room once again.

Genevieve simply nodded and grabbed another thick piece of rope, she had finished with her first knot and she had now begun tying the second piece of rope into an intricate knot that was more for artistry than anything else. "How'd you do that?" Rex asked gruffly, throwing his battered piece of rope on the ground.

"I'm from District 4, I've been tying ropes since I was practically a baby." Genevieve laughed lightly. "Here I'll show you how to do a simple knot." Rex nodded somberly as she demonstrated the different steps to him. She didn't feel the need to keep any information about knot tying to herself because when it came down to it she would always be faster and more accurate. After all the games would be more fun if the other tributes actually posed a challenge.

"You try", she said, handing the District one boy a new piece of rope. After a few minutes of intense struggling and a lot of cursing, Rex managed to make a basic knot. "See, not that hard right?" She said sweetly, scanning the room looking for the station she should visit next.

"Yeah, maybe for you. I prefer weights" Rex said, scowling. Their conversation was ended abruptly by one of the trainers yelling that it was time for lunch. Genevieve finished another knot in record time before walking over to find Caspian. The two walked into the cafeteria, sitting down together away from the other tributes. "So, what'd you think?" Genevieve asked, careful to keep her voice to a whisper. "A lot of them shouldn't be a problem. The pair from 7 and the boy from 5 look somewhat threatening, but I'm not at all worried about the rest. One of the district 3 tributes nearly decapitated herself trying to use an axe. The career pack is ok this year too." Caspian responded, stabbing a piece of broccoli viciously. Genevieve looked behind her shoulder and saw the four tributes from Districts 1 and 2 eating together, laughing about something. "They look weak. We can take them. The boy from one can't even tie a knot."

Caspian raised an eyebrow. "I think he would rather train with weapons. To be quite honest he doesn't look like the rope tying type."

After lunch, the tributes returned to the training center. Caspian went to practice with the trident, scaring off the tiny girl from District 9 who could barely lift the thing off the ground.

Genevieve drifted around, starting by practising with a bow and arrow, then making a fire, before ending up at the katanas. She picked up a shiny gold katana with a sharp tip. She asked the instructor to turn on the simulation for her before stepping into the chamber. Within a few seconds, the room came to life, and strange orange pixelated figures shaped like humans began charging at her from every side. Adrenaline started coursing through her veins and she sprung into action. She'd been itching to practise properly ever since they got to the capital. She thrust her katana into the figure coming straight at her, exploding it into a million orange pieces.

Quickly turning around, Genevieve hacked the head off of another figure, and then drove the blade into the heart of the next one. She continued demolishing each orange hologram until the simulation clicked off and the girl snapped back into reality. Genevieve exited the room, dropping the katana on the floor and dusting her hands.

Caspian walked over from the station next to her. "How'd it go in there." Genevieve realized that the room must not be visible from the outside when the simulation was running. "It was good. You should try it, although I doubt you'll be as good as me." She joked halfheartedly. Caspian scowled and glanced up at the clock. "Looks like we're out of time, guess it'll have to wait until tomorrow. And I think I'd have done much better."