We Stood Strong

Chapter 42 Training

Chapter 42 [Finnick's P.O.V.]

Buried deep into the depths of district thirteen, they built an artificial Capitol block. Spending so much of my life in the Capitol, I could testify that it was almost identical to an average block of Capitol residency. Well, except that the sky was a warehouse ceiling. But despite that, it represented everything I hated from my Capitol days, visiting woman to woman. This is where some of the last bits of training for the Capitol Mission would happen.

Less than two weeks until we left for the Capitol. Amazing.

And I haven't told Annie a thing.

In "the Block" we are divided into groups of eight to complete missions as a group. I was put in a group with six district thirteen natives and Gale. When we first entered the block, it was empty as if we were the last survivors of a zombie apocalypse. From some hidden speakers, a woman's voice spoke, "Assume your positions."

We all looked down the street, searching for a place to hide. "Ten, nine, eight," the woman began counting down. A native from district thirteen lead us to the side of a building. By the time we reached it, the countdown was down to two. "Two, one." A bell rang, reminding me of the gong of the hunger games.

As soon as the bell finished ringing, a voice, supposedly our squad's leader, came from some small object, like the newspaper stand in front of us. He told us to reach the condo complex up and across the street, search each floor, and get to the roof, then wait for more instructions. Sounds simple, right?

Two peacekeepers were marching down the sidewalk on the other side of the street, guns in hand. They weren't real guns, of course. When shot, an invisible laser would shoot and if it hit any part of someone's body, their clothing would vibrate as if they had been shot. We shot the two peacekeepers down, then waited for a moment, before beginning to cross the street. Sending ourselves out in groups of two, we begin to cross the street. As soon as the second pair runs past, a large man and a woman, the girl stops on her toes.

"I've just stepped on a land mine," she gasps. Every soldier holds their breath, hoping it isn't true. A minute into our mission and we might already be done.

Beside me, Gale says, "Watch the buildings for snipers."

I nod and turn my gun towards the rooftops. Gale tells the two from the other side of the street to do the same. They raise their guns to the other buildings.

Approaching the woman on the land mine, Gale asks, "How much do you weigh?"

"140, with the equipment," she replied.

"Okay, we need to find something close to that weight. You two," Gale pointed to the two soldiers beside me. "Go into that building," he pointed behind us, "and find the heaviest thing you can find." They disappeared into the building. We stood there, exposed, my gun aimed at the skyline, or ceiling.

A white flash of clothing popped up from my left on a building. Spinning my gun to face him, I shoot, and the peacekeeper falls. Frozen in place, the man beside the woman on the land mine says, "I've been shot."

Staying where he is, Gale asks, "Where?" The man points to the upper arm on his right. "I don't think that means you're dead. But you wouldn't be able to use it."

"What do I do with it," the man asks.

"Put it behind your back?" I suggest.

Gale blows air out of his nose as if it was meant to be a laugh, "Yeah, I guess you put your arm behind your back."

The man does this, and seconds later, the two soldiers come out with sacks across their shoulders. "We're lucky that's a grocery store right over there," one of them says.