The Hunger Games: Camden Shepard

Chapter 3

I woke up early. Nightmares haunted me every time I closed my eyes now. The stress of the Games. I went to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of a hot, sweet liquid that warmed my hands and comforted me. I wandered around the giant suite sipping my drink and looking out of the giant windows. I had changed out of my dress into a pair of leggings and an oversized sweater that hung off my shoulder. As I walked past one of the windows I noticed a crowd of people waving below me. I realized that they could probably see me standing in front of the windows and I waved back. It was a bit surreal seeing people excitedly wave at me. I tool another sip of my drink and stared out across the Captiol.
"Odd, isn't it?" Finnick had appeared silently behind me. I didn't turn around, but simply kept staring. I was vaguely aware of the fact that I felt self conscious about what I looked like. I ran a hand through my messy hair, trying to shake out the knots. Finnick chuckled and walked up next to me, his hands clasped behind his back.
"What do you think?" He asked, looking out over the city.
"I hate it." I replied. Finnick nodded.
"It grows on you." He mused. I gaped at him.
"Like algae, maybe. Or some other disgusting weed that sucks the light out of life around it." Anger caused my voice to rise. Finnick chuckled in amusement. He popped a sugar cube in his mouth.
"Fair enough." He said, twisting the cube with his tongue.
"Where did you get that?" I asked him, watching his face as he sucked on the cube. His green eyes stared out of the window and I let my eyes wandered over his face. It was a hard face, handsome, with chiseled features. He had messy, dirty blonde hair, that somehow made him look even more handsome. I ran my eyes across his straight nose. I found myself tracing his lips with my eyes, the smooth skin that I impulsively found myself wanting to touch. My eyes followed his strong jaw line until I reached his eyes again and realized he was staring at me. An amused, curious grin curved his lips and tugged the corners of his eyes. I let myself meet his gaze without faltering. He held my intense look for a moment and then stared back out of the window, the grin still lingering on his lips.
"I stole it from the bag on your chariot." He said. I stuck out my hand. Finnick grinned and put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the bag if sugar cubes.
"It's a bad habit of mine." He allowed, "I've got a bad sweet tooth. Of course, anyone who was from Four would get a sweet tooth living in the Captiol for long enough." I took out one and popped it in my mouth, the sweet treat melting on my tongue. Finnick waved to the people below and they snapped even more pictures. I walked over to the couch and dropped down, out of the sight of the Captiol onlookers. Finnick left the window and sat next to me. I pulled my legs up beneath me and slowly sipped my drink.
"Hot chocolate." He said, pointing to my cup. "One of my favorites." His green eyes brightened. I liked seeing him happy. It made me feel as if everything might be okay. It made me feel almost comfortable. The same way I felt around Charlie. I dropped my eyes from Finnick and slowly took a sip from my hot chocolate. I avoided his curious gaze as I stood up and emptied my mug into the sink and slowly walked back across the floor and into my room. Charlie. It seemed that every time I thought about him reality came crashing back down on me. My chest felt as if there was something heavy pushing on it as I stood in the center of my room, looking at the unfamiliar surroundings. I felt for my necklace, feeling Charlie's hand desperately pushing it into mine as the Peacekeepers took him away from me. I ran a hand through my unkempt hair and got my fingers stuck in its knotted mess. I decided to take a shower. I stood under the warm water and thought about Charlie. Wishing he would come in and tell me that I needed to hurry. Pick on me for being slow. Wait for me outside my hut. Take me to the beach to fish. Just be with me.
I stayed in the shower for almost an hour, letting the hot water run down my body and missing Charlie. I heard a knock on the door and, because my mind was so fixated on my best friend, my heart raced in anticipation. I peeked my head around the corner shower curtain. Catrina's face greeted mine.
"It's time for training." She informed me. My face must have given away my disappointment because Catrina backed out of my room. I pulled a towel down from the wall and dried myself off. I put my hair in a machine that automatically dried it off and I twisted it up into a ponytail. When I came out of the bathroom there were clothes waiting for me on the bed. I put them on and went to the elevator. Jack was waiting for me.
"Ready to go, Cam?" He asked. I nodded at him and we boarded the elevator together. We were some of the first tributes to arrive, so we got to pick our first station. Jack picked first and we started with the spears. As we practiced, Jack and I talked. He fished for his family. His siblings kept him busy. After his sister, the youngest of the group, was born, his father left. He felt ashamed that he was crippled and he couldn't take care of his family. Not wanting to be another mouth to feed, he had left them all. Jack wasn't the oldest, he had two older brothers, but the older two had moved out and had families of their own. Besides himself, Jack took care of three younger brothers and his youngest sister. His sister was almost two now, still not big enough to help around the house. Jack's younger brothers were Aldo, a five year old, Dom, an independent twelve year old, and Remy, fourteen years old and fiercely rebellious. Jack had a hard enough time collecting food for his family, but with all his mothers attention devoted to Jena, his sister, it fell to Jack to try and keep Remy in line.
I listened to Jack talk about his family, nodding occasionally, but mainly watching him throw the spears. He was deadly accurate, every throw hitting the target exactly where he aimed. It wasn't only his precision that I watched, but his speed. His body expertly moved to heave the spear as fast as he could throw it, a talent only perfected by constantly spear fishing in Four.
We threw knives, neither of us was a stranger to knives. Charlie had taught me how to use a knife with precision when cleaning fish, and Jack's father had taught him as well, before he left. I didn't touch the tridents, not wanting to give away a valuable clue to my skills before it was absolutely necessary.
The second day of training I worked with the swords. Jack and I practiced with each other taking notes from the instructor. We both managed to gain some insight into sword fighting, though neither of us could compare to the Careers. We spent all day training with the swords. Charlie had already taught me how to build a fire to cook the fish I caught, and I could identify plants fairly easily, so I ignored those stations. I looked over the snares, and found that most would work by weaving a fishing net and dropping it off a tree or digging a hole with a spear at the bottom to catch larger animals. Halfway through the second day a girl came up to Jack and I. She was the youngest tribute, only twelve. She had been watching us for some time, but mainly keeping to herself and staying as far away from the male tribute from her district as possible. I barely paid attention to her. It was sad that she was only twelve, but it did happen sometimes. The death of the twelve year olds was always tragic and not something I wanted to be involved with.
Jack pointed her out to me before I realized she was coming over. She was the female tribute from Ten. I lowered my sword as she approached, she had a look of curiousity on her face, but remained silent until she was right next to me. She gave me a scared smile.
"I'm Layla." She said, sticking out her small hand. She was very small. Much smaller than most twelve year olds. I smiled at her and shook her hand warmly. Jack stayed behind me.
"I'm Camden," I told her, "but you can call me Cam." I whispered. I could feel Jack glaring at me, his eyes digging into my back. We had talked about having allies and decided that they would only weigh us down. I kept smiling at her.
"What's wrong, Layla?" I asked softly. Jack walked to my side, his hand still on the sword, puffing out his chest defensively. Layla glanced at Jack, clearly intimidated. I stood to my full height and turned to him.
"She's twelve, Jack. Maybe calm down a bit." My voice was harsh and my eyes dug into him. Jack blinked at me, then lowered his sword. Layla relaxed slightly, but still shifted uneasily. She took a nervous glance behind her.
"I've been watching you, and you seem nice, almost like I can trust you." she began, then she shifted nervously. I put my hand on her shoulder.
"What is it?" I asked. She looked at me, her brown eyes were intense with fear and intelligence, so deeply colored they looked almost like amber.
"It's Shilo." She whispered. Shilo was the male tribute from Ten. "He said he's going to kill me first." Tears welled in her eyes. I looked at Jack. I could see how uncomfortable he was, shifting the information with his gut feeling to stay out of the situation. I stared across the room at Shilo. He was sixteen years old, tall, and fit. I glanced back at Jack. I didn't want to deal with the death of Layla, death was something that was hard for me to overcome. I grieved well after the death of my parents, and though it eventually made me stronger, dealing with death was not something I was good at. Of course, if I could prevent it... No I couldn't think like that, these were the Games, there was no way to prevent death.
"I don't think we can help y-" I began. Jack cut me off.
"We can help." He said. I turned to face him. His face was solemn, unchanging. A look of relief washed over Layla's face. I gave Jack a hard look, the same look he'd given me when I'd started taking to Layla. He grabbed my arm roughly and dragged me to the side. I gasped in surprise. His voice was a whisper.
"She's twelve, Cam. All I can see is Dom or Remy being thrown in here and needing help and not being able to get it." I glanced at my feet. "She has a family, too, Cam." He whispered, shaking my arm. Anger surged through me. Anger about the unfairness of the Games. Anger at the people who forced me into this. Anger that anyone would dare terrorize a twelve year old girl. Anger that anyone would tear her away from her family or me away from my family. From Charlie. My eyes darted up to his, understanding passed between us. I turned to Layla.
"He won't get to you. I promise." I told her.
The third day in the training center all tributes were to showcase their talents for the Gamemakers to judge. I hadn't handled the Capitol tridents yet, but I wasn't too worried. I didn't want the other tributes realizing my affinity for the weapon and taking one to spite me in the arena. I figured that it was better for them not to know.
I waited for my turn to impress the Gamemakers. I needed a good score. I had trained hard with the swords and daggers, and I had won over most of the Capitol with my opening ceremony, but the Gamemakers would be harder to impress. I didn't have to wait very long. Jack had gone in first, giving my hand a quick squeeze for luck before slipping through the door. Layla, the twelve year old from Ten, walked over and sat next to me.
"Shilo told me he was going to kill me again." She whispered. I turned around. The giant boy from Ten was grinning sadistically from the corner. I glared at him and was about to stand up and confront him when my name was called.
"Stay here." I told Layla, then I walked through the doors and into the training room. Without hesitation I walked straight over to the trident and took my position in the middle of the stage. I casually bounced the weapon in my hand getting a feeling for its weight and smiled at the Gamemakers. There was a target set up almost fifty feet away. In a single, quick movement I heaved the trident. It struck the bullseye with dead accuracy. The Gamemakers shifted in their chairs, nodding to each other. I grabbed a sword from the wall and quickly disembowled one of the training dummies. The daggers and throwing knives were on a table and I went after those next, each one hitting a target with fatal precision. After ten minutes of running back and forth through the various weapons I had chosen a man came in and told me my time was up. I bowed. I had done everything I could for my score. I had done my best for me, but what about for Layla. I was going to give a message. With a final surge of energy I slammed the trident I was holding down into the ground. It stuck in the cement, cracks spread out from the tips with the power I had used. It was a message for Shilo. It had been a violent effort and some of the judges shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. I bowed and walked back to the elevator doors. The man that had been accompanying me walked back into the waiting room. He had been holding the door closed so no one would see the trident, sticking definitively in concrete, trying to be forced out of the ground by a few training coaches. They were removing my message to Shilo. I walked over, grabbed the handle out of his hand, and threw open the doors, revealing my trident. The tributes all stared at the trident and then, frightened, they looked at me. I kept my eyes on Shilo. When he finally looked at me his grin had disappeared.
"You're first." I said. Then I turned and walked into the elevator.
Lea, Jack, and Finnick were waiting for me. I quickly told them what had happened. Lea immediately jumped at me, snapping that I was being irrational and silly. She yelled at me about putting myself in harm's way. Jack stood with his arms crossed, nodding slowly. Once Lea finished her speech Jack walked up and pulled me into a hug.
"I don't care that you've put us in harms way." He said slowly, "I care that you were able to stick a trident into the ground to threaten a tribute twice your size." He gave me an impish, wild smile. "You are impressive and I'm just glad I'm on your side." With that he went to the living room to wait for the scores. Lea huffed and walked out behind Jack, as was her usual fashion. Finnick stood alone with me. I was glad for his company. His presence allowed me to simply think about something other than my death for a while. He had given me advice about what to do in the arena, not to go for the Cornicopia, find water, the normal stuff. He'd also given me advice about trident techniques, it had been his preferred weapon, too. I'd gotten to see a rare side of Finnick in the small amount of time we'd talked. He had gone from my mentor to my friend, a dangerous move for him to make, but a comfort for me.
Finnick held open his arms and I let myself move into them, let him comfort me. He ran his hand over my hair and rested his chin on my head.
"You did well." He said. I nodded into his chest. He put his finger under my chin and tipped my face up to him. I blinked at him. Very slowly he leaned forward and kissed my forehead.
"I will get you out of this arena, Cam. I swear to you, you will live." He promised, then he went to the television. The scores had begun playing. Jack came back from his room and dropped into a plush chair. Lea stood stifly next to Catrina who had appeared silently. Catrina had made herself as scarce as possible, probably trying not to get attached to Jack or me. Even after the Games were over for her, she was still trying to keep herself from getting hurt. Finnick and I joined them, standing behind the couch. The two Careers from One scored 10s. The boy from Two scored a 9, and the girl scored a 7. The boy from Three scored a 4, and the girl scored a 6. Then it was our turn. Jack went first. A bright number 9 flashed across the screen. Lea beamed and congratulated him, throwing in a quick comment about how hard work without threats paid off. Jack rolled his eyes, but was still smiling. Then it was my turn. My heart pounded as my face appeared on the screen and then... A 10 glowed at me from the screen. I sat in shock. Lea's mouth dropped open. Jack's smile fell slightly. Finnick beamed and pulled me into his arms, swinging me through the air and laughing. I laughed, too, because what else was there to do? I had done it. I could win. I could see Charlie again. Then Finnick put me down, and before I realized what was happening he had cupped my face in his hands and was kissing me. On the lips.
"Finnick!" Cried Lea, putting her hands on her hips. Finnick released me, a look of shock on his face, mirroring my own. A pang of regret and sadness rushed through me as I realized what I had become to Finnick. I wasn't just a tribute, sentenced to a sure death. I wasn't just a friend he wanted to save. No, I was something much more dangerous.
"Finnick." I said gently. He pulled his hands back and stood straight and still. Jack had stood, his arms crossed. Finnick looked at me, horror in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered. Then he went quickly into his room and closed the door. Catrina, who had been silently standing in the corner of the room emerged from her spot and followed Finnick, knocking softly, then entering. I dropped my head, tears welling in my eyes. The rush I'd felt from the training center and the scores suddenly dissapeared, sending me spiraling into sadness. I ran into my room and shut the door. I looked around, searching for some place to seek solace. I could find no where to go, so I simply sank to the ground, my back to the wall, my knees pulled up to my chin. Silent tears streaked down my cheeks. I couldn't die now. I couldn't die because I had to live for Charlie. I couldn't die because I hd to live for Finnick. I had to live for them. I cried, pressed against my door, until I fell asleep.