Chapter 2
The entire train ride to the Capitol I develop a plan to keep Lana alive. Eventually it comes down to manpower. As long as I have a few trustworthy alliances, then I can keep myself alive long enough to keep Lana away from harm. Darren would obviously be a part of my alliance. His heart was more pure and honest than anyone's. He can be trusted easily, and after four days in the training center he might be able to develop a few skills that could prove quite useful. Collin will help surely, but I know in the end if it comes down to just Lana, myself, Collin, and Clare, we'd be as good as gone. That didn't matter as much as having a friend in the arena; however, so he will become a part of the alliance as well. Clare will undoubtedly follow Collin's lead, and I have a decent friendship with her. That makes three people who can help me. As for Charlotte, I am a bit unsure. She's bound to be a good fighter, but the look in her eyes screams deception. During the train ride I attempt to tell Lana about my plan for allies, but she avoids me at every turn. She makes it particularly clear she doesn't want to see me when she picks the farthest train cabin from mine to bunk in.
When we arrive in the Capitol all six of us are separated and taken to private rooms to be prepped for the Chariot ride. To be made "presentable". Can't expose the true conditions we live in now can we? My prep team spends some time tweezing the hairs of my eyebrows to make them more streamlined, and is surprised at the lack of facial hair I boast. They complement my boyish looks, saying it makes their job of grooming me much easier. Thanks, I guess.
My stylist dresses me in an…interesting green suit that looks as if it's made of pine needles to remind the Capitol citizens that my district is known for lumber. I try to pair up with Lana for the parade, but she ignores me and pairs with Darren instead. All six of us are in matching pine tree outfits, with the girls wearing flowing gowns of pine needles rather than suit jackets. At some point during the tribute parade, I decide to enlist Charlotte anyways. She may not be easily trusted, but to be completely honest, I don't trust anyone in the arena other than Lana.
In the Capitol training center I get my first good look at the other tributes. All six tributes from District 1 are huge. It seemed almost every single one of them volunteered. Nothing out of the ordinary there. On the contrary District 9's tributes are some of the smallest tributes I have ever seen. Three scrawny twelve year old boys, one small thirteen year old girl covered in acne, and two other fourteen year old girls. That hardly seemed fair, but I was prepared to kill every single one of them to keep Lana safe. District 5 had a pretty wide variety of tributes. Two fit looking eighteen year old boys who seemed gifted with spears, one small fourteen year old girl who just wanted to go home, a stocky sixteen year old boy who had surprising talent with an axe, a mousy seventeen year old girl who was extremely agile, and a fifteen year old girl who didn't seem to know what to do with herself.
I wake up on the first day of training and immediately get to work. I don't have much time and I will have to convince all four of them to join me in an alliance. As soon as we begin training I take my time deciding which station to choose. I see Lana has gone to an archery station and I realize I can't tell her my plan yet. My best fighting skill in the arena is going to be my use of a bow and arrows. Besides it'll take some tricky wording, explaining it all. I can't hint to her that I'm doing this to protect her. She'd never allow that. So instead of following her to the archery station I head over to a station involving shelter knowledge, where Darren is attempting to distinguish a potentially dangerous rock formation with a sturdy one.
"Hey Darren," I say in as friendly a voice as I can muster.
"Hi Adam," He says rather distantly. It seems he is trying to relinquish any emotional ties before the Games start. Smart move, but I need him to be my partner.
"I think the one on the right is more stable. The one to the left looks too damp. It might give more easily than the other." I explain. The training center instructor nods and Darren seems impressed. This is my chance.
"Darren, I was thinking. During the Games survival is obviously going to be difficult, so I thought it would be more sensible for you, me, and a couple other people from our district to form an alliance."
"Well why would we? I mean, there's only one victor Adam. An alliance seems kind of pointless." He says quietly. Darren then begins to pick through some tent gear to see how it can be assembled.
"It wouldn't be pointless. Every year a Career pack alliance is formed, and almost every year one of the Careers wins." I clarify.
"Well that's true, I guess. Who's in the alliance?" Darren asks.
"Well hopefully Collin, Clare, and Charlotte, but I know for sure Lana will be. Only people from our district."
Darren takes a second to think about it and nods his head.
"Alright, I'm in."
"Great! Thank you so much Darren. We'll meet up at lunch break and go over strategies for the Games." I enthusiastically take in all the information I can while at the shelter station and move on to a plant recognition station. I can hunt well, but I have virtually no knowledge of edible plants and berries. I spend an hour at this station and decide that it's time I try and convince Collin to join the alliance.
I walk the length of the training center and find him at the sword training station. Rather than jump in I decide to watch from a distance and observe his skills. After fifteen minutes of some instruction five dummies are set up in a circle around Collin, each about ten feet away. He is instructed to "kill" three specified dummies and leave the other two untouched. He grasps his sword instinctively and waits for the whistle.
When the instructor gives him the go ahead, Collin instantly sprints to the first dummy and decapitates it. He spins around and shoulder-rolls towards the second marked dummy and slashes it across the chest, directly over the heart. He then sprints back across the circle to the final dummy and stabs it through the throat. He'd be the perfect partner in the arena, but I'm also worried. If he can kill this well with a sword, what happens when the alliance inevitably ends?
I can't worry about that though. If I did I'd enter the arena alone and have no help in protecting Lana. Of course this might be a better route for my own safety, but I'm willing to take the risk when it comes to saving her life. I slowly approach Collin at the station as the destroyed dummies are being collected.
"Impressive." Compliments might be the best way to go.
"Thanks." He says dismissively. I guess they weren't.
"Collin, I have a proposal."
He looks up at me suspiciously.
"What?" He asks.
"Last year, that girl from District 2 won. And she survived the bloodbath along with the remaining tributes because she formed an alliance with districts One and Four. So I think that if you and I form an alliance with Lana, Darren, Clare, and Charlotte we all stand better chances of winning this thing."
He seems to consider what I say for a little while and picks up his sword. I take a step back, but then take two steps forward. I want him to think I trust him completely. If he doesn't think that then he may not want to join the alliance. He turns around and decapitates another dummy and seemingly ignores me.
"Collin?"
"Okay I'll join," He says. I sigh with relief, "but I don't want Charlotte in the alliance."
"What? Why?"
"I don't trust her, especially not around Clare. They don't know each other well and don't seem to like each other much. In the arena that would endanger Clare."
"I'll have to think about it Collin."
"Alright, but I'm just saying, if Charlotte is a part of the alliance, me and Clare won't be."
I walk away fairly certain that I should drop Charlotte from the alliance. It only makes sense. Without Charlotte the alliance will have five people, but with her it will only have four. I decide to make sure it's the right decision and walk over to the knife-throwing station at the other end of the Training Center. Charlotte is at the front of the line to a target range. In front of her is a small chrome table covered with various sizes and types of throwing knives. She waits for the instructors whistle, picks up a small sharp knife, and throws it towards a target at least thirty feet away. It hits the target directly in the center. She immediately picks up a large serrated knife and throws it at a closer target. It too hits dead in the center. She then picks two knives up and simultaneously throws them at two separate targets. Both hit squarely in the middle. This complicates things a bit.
I find Lana at the camouflage station attempting to disguise herself in a field of flowers with little success. Several other Careers appear to be attempting the same feat. It's a bit unusual for Careers to leave one of the weapon's stations, but maybe they saw the Games where that Peeta Mellark boy was able to stay hidden from other tributes by disguising himself as mud and leaves. It was pretty impressive once you think of the skill behind it, but I don't see why they would need to disguise themselves. Each of them is a perfect killing machine, conditioned to fight from the moment they could walk.
"Lana we need to talk about something." I say in a hushed voice, attempting to not alert the Careers near us that I have a game plan. I gently grab her hand and pull her to a more secluded area. The knot tying station is pretty abandoned right now. We both squat down and take up a piece of rope and begin tying a simple bow knot.
"Okay what is it?" She says harshly.
"Are you mad at me?" I ask innocently.
"Well obviously. I can't believe you volunteered for this. What's wrong with you? Do
you just want to kill people or something?" She accuses. I'm hurt by this, but she does have a valid point. Why would I volunteer for this? Well to save her life. But, again, I can't tell her that. She wouldn't let me risk my life for her. I'll have to remain ambiguous.
"No, of course not, but I've got my reasons. I'll tell you about them later. For now I just wanted to let you know, that we have allies." I say calmly.
"Why did you get us allies? Who are they?!"
"Calm down. It's only people from our district, but we've got a problem. Collin and Clare won't join if Charlotte does and I can't decide if Charlotte's knife-throwing skills are more valuable than Collin's skill with a sword."
"I don't like this idea of allies Adam. Think of how easily they could turn around and slit our throats in our sleep." She urges. While this is correct, she's forgetting one thing.
"They need our help, just as much as we need theirs. They won't turn on us until it gets down to the last couple of tributes. By then we'll both be long gone. Snuck off together like we always do."
"Well if that's the case, I say you pick Collin and Clare. It's more people for the group, and we already have two long distance weapons. Darren has gotten pretty good with a spear. He's been at that station for a few hours now, and we have you with your bow. We need someone to be able to take down an opponent up close." She explains.
"What would I do without you?" I say admiringly. I've got to say, she's brilliant most of the time. Now is no exception.
Just then we are instructed to go to lunch. I gather my allies at one table and we begin to discuss our plan in the arena. I can't help but feel sorry for Charlotte. She's off in a corner of the room with a hurt expression on her face, probably wondering why she wasn't asked to join the alliance of District 7. She's too proud to come over and try to join herself though. It seems she'd rather die on her own terms in the arena than have to join an alliance to stay alive, but something tells me she'll be a precarious adversary in the Games.
Over the next few days we train as hard as we can. Darren becomes proficient with spears and shelter. I know my knowledge of hunting and the bow should be enough of an asset to the team, but I learn how to use a knife well in combat and memorize almost every bit of plant knowledge I can. Collin masters the sword and basic scavenging. Clare becomes handy with short blades and tree climbing. Lana also becomes adept with spears as Darren does and goes through some endurance training. We're as ready for the Games as you can get in the few days we're given.
During my private training session where the head Gamemakers will give me a score from one to twelve, I immediately head for an intricately designed golden bow. I'm the first person enter the training center for my private session in my district so I seem to have the attention of the Gamemakers. I run over to a series of dummies and pull a golden arrow back to my eye. One after another the dummies are struck by my arrows in their hearts, skulls, and torso. They seem impressed, but just to spice things up a bit I take a serrated knife from one of the stations and saw off the heads of every dummy. I thought this would show the Gamemakers my viciousness. My ability to kill without mercy, but it only frightens them terribly. At the end of the day when the scores are announced they give me a meager five out of twelve. I guess I went too far. Bunch of spineless Capitol folk. Lana receives a seven, and Darren receives a six. We're not doing so well. Clare receives a score of five like me and Collin receives a ten. I see I've made a good choice bringing him into the fold, but his boasting after the announcement irks me. This isn't a game like the name suggests. This is life or death. Charlotte's score surprises me most of all. A perfect twelve. She simply nods her head and returns to her quarters. Maybe I should rethink this alliance. No what am I thinking. Charlotte can't be trusted. She'd turn around and slit all our throats in a heartbeat. Collin and Clare are the way to go. We then prepare for our interviews separately.
I do terrible during my interview. Usually I'm very outgoing and charismatic, but the sight of neon colors and a screaming crowd makes me stumble over my own words and I develop a nervous stutter that makes me appear to be a bumbling idiot. I definitely didn't win over any sponsors between this interview and my horrible training score. Lana, on the other hand, is perfect. She wears a dark green gown that reminds me of the pine needles from back home. She is energetic and sharp as a tack the entire time. At least she gained our alliance some sponsors. Hopefully.
That night I managed to get a few hours of sleep and woke early the following morning. My arena uniform was laid out for me at the door to my room. This year's was fairly simple. A form-fitted long-sleeved maroon colored shirt, and matching sleeveless nylon jacket with black skin tight spandex pants, an empty black utility belt, and ankle high black leather boots. It looks like I am ready to run a marathon, but this is the uniform I would die in. I dress myself and head to the roof to be transported to the arena.
In the hovercraft I'm restrained by five strong Peacekeepers as they put the tracking chip into my arm. I hate needles. So much in fact, I kicked the nurse who attempted to stick the needle into my forearm. Not on purpose of course, it was a reflex. Sort of.
Once I had arrived to my small private room with my stylist she exchanges a few comforting words, but remains oblivious to the complete horror of the situation. I step into the tube to be taken into the arena and wait for the plate to rise. I begin to shake uncontrollably. Fear is setting in. This is it. The bloodbath at the Cornucopia is about to begin. I have a mission. Protect Lana at all costs.
The plate begins to rise.
Don't panic and grab a bow. Don't go all the way into the mouth of the Cornucopia, but grab something useful. Don't go for the obvious route. Be unpredictable, but stay smart about my decisions. I can do this!
I'm blinded by the sun as I'm pushed out of the tube and into the arena. For a moment I can't see or make sense of anything.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let the One-Hundredth Hunger Games begin!" Echoes the voice of Claudius Templesmith, the official Hunger Games announcer.
Sixty seconds left before I can leave my plate. As my eyes adjust I can see the tributes are all equidistant from the gold horn shaped Cornucopia in a crescent shape, all facing the mouth. Further investigation shows we're all on a small grassy island, maybe fifty yards wide and it's completely spherical. The island has a deep and wide river surrounding it with what looks like a strong current. It would be suicide to try and swim across. So how do we cross it? Then I see the small boulders that appear every twenty yards or so all the way around the island that offer safe passage across the river. They seem slippery though. One misplaced foot and I could slip and crack my head open on the rocks or become victim to one of the other tributes. Beyond the river is a dense forest. No pine trees in sight, just light colored trees with big leaves and vines. Shame. Some pines might have made this whole experience a bit more bearable. The Cornucopia is filled with everything imaginable for survival in the arena and I spot a pearl white colored wooden bow with a matching set of arrows directly in the mouth of the Cornucopia. Too risky to grab that. I'll have to grab another weapon. Then an idea occurs to me. The Gamemakers haven't always placed weapons near the Cornucopia. Sometimes as a playful trick they have placed them behind the tributes or even at random places in the arena to create some entertaining confusion. When I turn around I see nothing. No daggers in the river and no maces behind my pedestal. Then I spot it. A jet black bow with a quiver of arrows perched fifteen feet up in a tree across the river. I can get it if I climb fast enough. I can do this. Just then the gong rings and I'm so unprepared I fall flat on my face while attempting to leap off my plate.
