Drowning// Finnick Odair

The Reaping

Mable's POV 

My eyes shot open and they directed towards my father sleeping on the reclined chair next to me. My chest felt bruised and ached. I placed a hand on it and flinched when I put a bit of pressure on it. I could still smell the salt on my skin from the ocean. It reminded me that all of that really did happen.

I was finally at peace away from my sick perverted father and away from my fears that have haunted me for so many years. I wished that fucking Finnick Odair didn't drag me out of that water. I got up and walked towards the bathroom. It was barely a bathroom. It had two buckets one for piss and shit and the other for baths. I looked at myself in the mirror. The mirror was dirty and cracked. I've never cleaned it because why would I really wanna look at myself. If I did I would end up dissecting everything on my face and my body that I thought needed to be changed. I looked sick and malnourished. I brushed my hands through my hair trying to tame the salty curls I currently have from the waves. 

The nerves in my stomach fluttered when I realized it was reaping day. My name was in the glass bowl three times this year. I took a deep breath and tried to shut all thoughts of potentially being sentenced to death in the hunger games today. 

The Hunger Games would be going on its sixty sixth year. I never got why the capitol people were so invested in it. It was almost a weeklong celebration every year for them. It was arranging funerals and comforting the families in the districts when their son or daughter gets dropped off in a wooden box or in my case if I'm not claimed thrown in a unmarked grave to spend the rest of my days. 

Reaping was in an hour. Anger surged through me when I realized I wouldn't have to go through this if Finnick didn't save me. I would be at peace and not horribly killed by getting my throat slit or stabbed thirty times in my chest and back while the other tributes screamed around me with the same fate. 

It wasn't the hunger games that made me want to commit it was one of the reasons but it wasn't the sole reason to my decision because it was unlikely for my name to be picked out of the hundreds of other girls. In all honesty my life was terrible. I haven't been happy in a very long time. People in the district avoid me. I honestly prefer it. They don't speak to me and I don't speak to them. I've been told people think I'm mute because they've never heard me speak before. 

My father wouldn't miss me if I had died last night. He might miss me when his manly urges started to build but other than that no. No one would miss me and I knew that so I was ready to go and let the ocean become my resting place. I knew it would take care of me. 

I walked out and looked at my father still asleep in his chair. I was wearing one of my mothers nicer dresses from a long time ago. It was a good length running down to my knees covering most of my hungry body. It was a soft aquamarine color. There was lacing on the shoulders and the waist was tailored to fit my mother so it didn't fit around very well. I left my ocean curls in and the freckles on my face from spending so much time in the water at the beach and fishing for dinner seemed to come out more with the lighter color of the dress.

 My father wasn't always so mean he was actually an okay father until my mother passed from a public hanging due to her selling herself to peace keepers. We needed the money desperately. My father had wanted me to sell myself but my mother and I refused to do it. An eleven year old selling themself would not look good and then I could potentially be taken away and put in a different home away from my family. 

A long and loud horn sound erupted through the district. My stomach dropped. My third year as a player in this game run by the capital. I looked towards my father who still slept in his chair and I had a sudden urge to walk over and stab him in the neck. I could tell the peacekeepers that it was just a warm up for me before I enter the games. I turned towards the door of our home and walked out going towards the center of the district. 

Children walked all around me. Some of the twelve year olds were crying. I couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry and annoyed at them. It was their first year they were in the bowl one time while the rest of us were in it multiple times increasing our odds. A twelve year old had gotten picked a couple times before but it was unlikely it happened every couple years in district four. 

I filed into line behind another fourteen year old. Her heart was put up and her arms crossed. She was terrified I could tell. I felt the complete same as her. I watched as two peacekeepers pricked my finger checking me in and I walked towards the group of fourteen year old girls. Some of them held hands in fact all of them held hands in the line I was in except for my own hands. They had completely skipped over me. 

A few minutes passed and It was eerily quiet. You could only hear the shuffle of feet on the gravel along with a cough or two every couple minutes. I knew that as soon as the escort for district four began to speak it meant that the cameras were on and the capital was watching. 

I felt my heart beat pick up when a man tapped the microphone. His voice was very deep and he wore a neon green leather outfit. It was completely tailored to his body. He even wore matching sun glasses. His hair was massive it stuck up at least a foot in what looked to be spikes. His shoes gave him an extra two feet. They were like his leather outfit neon green but had incredibly large platforms. He had dark skin that was completely smooth. He didn't have a single blemish on him. 

"Hello everybody my name is Dimitri!" He yelled into the microphone causing a couple girls around me to jump and I swear I heard a twelve year old in the front scream at how loud he was. "Oh this microphone is very testy I'm sorry honey!" he said into the mic and nodded down at the twelve year old who had screamed.

"Okay so let's kick this off shall we?" Dimitri yelled once again and began to read through some note cards. He explained why the hunger games is held every year explaining that it's a beautiful way to connect all of the districts together and I rolled my eyes at that. Killing each other is a great way to connect us all. 

I looked onto the stage seeing past winners. Finnick Odair sits in a chair smiling for the cameras like the star he is. I feel myself tighten my fist at the sight of him wanting to punch him once again. His cheek looked swollen and bruised and I smiled to myself as he touched it and flinched when he did. 

He looked out towards us and I caught his eye. He held my gaze for a few moments and nodded his head. I immediately looked away from him and back towards Dimitri. 

"Now who should I do first boys or girls?" Dimitri asks us and the entire district stays silent waiting for him to make the decision. "tough crowd I think I'll shake it up and do boys first!" He then carefully walks over barely able to walk in his insane platform shoes. 

He reaches down into the bowl smiling widely with the camera on him. He plucks a card from the bowl and looks at the paper for a moment but doesn't open it. He then burst out laughing and throws the piece of paper back into the bowl. "Did I get ya?" he calls towards the camera and I assume he's addressing the capitol crowd. 

"Alright it's for real this time!" he then says and plucks another card from the bowl. He walks back towards the microphone and opens the card. "Angus Birch!" he yells excitedly. I see a strong tanned boy step forward and smiled like he was happy to be there. I knew I had heard the name Angus Birch before in school and I think it was because he was insanely popular and everybody loved him. 

Dimitri shook the eighteen year olds hand and then walked back towards the microphone. "Alright girls are you ready?" he asked and then walked towards the bowl. He stuck his neon green nails into the bowl and dug around for what felt like minutes he laughed as he did it trying to build the anticipation. He wanted this reaping to be entertaining and was trying all he could do to get more viewers to tune in. 

He then picked a card on top of the bowl. He walked back towards the microphone and opened the piece of paper. "Okay are you girls ready?" He yelled and smiled widely. 

"Our female tribute is Mable Alcott!" He then clapped his hands excited and my stomach dropped and my breath got caught. My first thought was "I fucking hate Finnick Odair even more" 

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Let me know how you felt about it!! Love ya!