Cashmere struts around the train like she owns it. This girl has enough arrogance in her that you would think she was a victor. She isn't yet but she will be in the arena next week and with the help of myself, who won last year and became a mentor this year, and with the fact that she grew up training for this she will probably win.
I volunteered when I was 18, like most careers do. Cashmere, 2 years younger than me, volunteered this year at 17. She always feels the need to be better than me and what better way to show that than by winning the games while being a year younger than I was when I won.
Technically, I am supposed to be mentoring the male tribute while the most recent female victor, Silk, mentors the female tribute but Silk has drunk herself into a stupor already even though we have only been on the train for an hour.
Cashmere sits down on the chair in front of me and smiles. "Hello brother." she says and I just nod in greeting. "Aren't you supposed to be mentoring me?" She asks.
"Where is the other one?" I ask, referencing the male tribute whose name I didn't bother to learn.
"You mean John?" She scoffs, "What a ridiculous name. He has decided that he is too good to be mentored and has gone to his room."
"Well it's his funeral." I say and her smile widens. "So let's get down to business" I add.
"First off, on the first day you are going to want to go to the cornucopia, it is a good opportunity to get weapons and also to kill off some of your fellow tributes. I am sure that you and the other careers will form an alliance, but as time goes on you will need to separate yourself from them, or eliminate them, if they have not been eliminated by others already, which rarely happens." All of a sudden, the train comes to a start and Cashmere looks up from examining her nails which she was doing while I was talking.
"Does this mean we are in the capitol?" She asks and I nod. She excitedly jumps up and goes to look out the window. "That didn't take very long."
I get up from my chair and cross the room to look out the window. There are plenty of capitol people waiting outside. When they see me standing by cashmere they start to cheer. Me mentoring my sister, of course these people would love that.
—-
The next few days fly by as a mess of me mentoring Cashmere and being ignored by John. The tribute parade where they are dressed in stupid outfits. Cashmere talking about her training and how it is going, talking about how weak the other tributes look, about how easy this will be. Cashmere getting a 10 as a score and John getting a 9, which you think would knock him off of his high horse but instead he just gets angry and locks himself in his room more often. Whatever, you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped. Cashmere plays it deadly in her interview. They ask her what it is like to be mentored by me and she just says "Well, it means i'm going to win."
The next day it is time for cashmere to go into the arena. they let us escort our tributes to a certain point and although Silk should be taking Cashmere I ask her to trade with me. As we ride up on the elevator to get to the roof where the tributes will be picked up she turns to me and says "Any last advice, brother?" to which I respond, "Don't die, sister, our parents would be very upset." She throws her head back in laughter, "You don't need to worry about me, you taught me everything I need to know."
—-
The arena is like a desert, which means no water. Of course this doesn't bother Cashmere because like I suggested she and the other careers took over the cornucopia. Well, the other careers minus John who apparently thought it would be a better idea to run off alone. In the cornucopia there is plenty of water and there are 8 tributes dead on day one.
By the second day the careers have started hunting the other tributes and are very successful, killing 3. There are only 13 left.
Day three comes and the other tributes are starting to feel the dehydration. Leading them to the cornucopia. Some of them offer an alliance for water some of them try to sneak in and take it. Both are killed on site. Day 3 ends and 5 faces flash up on screen. Only 8 tributes left.
I think the capitol has realized the error in their arena because on the 4th day, there is rain falling from the sky in the arena. This angers my sister, who was having fun killing the ones who came looking for water from them, but delights everyone else. No one dead on day 4.
Day 5 rolls around and it has stopped raining but it takes 2-3 days to die of dehydration and it seems that no one will be doing that for a while now. My sister wants more dead but the other careers would rather sunbathe and bask in their glory, so my sister sets off on her own muttering "Idiots." under her breath. She only finds one other tribute and she ends his life slowly, taking her anger at the others out on him. The canon goes off and cashmere smiles. At the end of day 5 there are 7 tributes left. And this is looking to be one of the shortest games ever.
Day 6 and Cashmere has to force the others to hunt for more tributes. They kill only one and Cashmere kills the male from 2 in his sleep. The female wakes and tries to put up a fight but cashmere quickly ends her life too. At the end of day 6, there are 4 people left. Both of district ones tributes are alive.
Day 7 comes and the gamemakers are trying to push the tributes closer together. Cashmere stays at the cornucopia and waits for them to come to her. She kills two of the tributes in the morning. 2 people remain. In the middle of the day Cashmere is lounging on the ground a few feet from the mouth of the cornucopia when John comes around the side of it. "Let's finish this shall we?" he asks, smiling and Cashmere smiles back at him. "Gladly." She says. Cashmere has no weapon but neither does John and so she grabs a sword and a few smaller knives from the cornucopia. Cashmere has always liked close range weapons. And then she gestures for John to grab a weapon as well. He raises an eye brow at her and she smirks "Better to have a fair fight, I think the people will enjoy it more." Up until now Cashmere has had no injuries but in the last fight she gets some cuts on her legs and a deep looking one on her arm. John does much worse and everytime her blade connects with his skin she smiles. She cuts off his hand that was holding the weapon and when, on reflex, he goes to reach for his wound to stop the blood she drives her sword into his heart. He falls to the ground and she kicks him in the side. "Not so cocky now, are we?" she laughs, then positions herself above him and drives the sword into his throat. The canon goes and my sister throws her hands up in the air. She has won the hunger games.