Chapter 3

We all cram into the crystal-walled elevator, my prep team chatting excitedly with Keld's. Roni's smile is so big that she looks as though she's on the brink of insanity. Mags presses the button with a 4 on it and the elevator shoots up from the ground. I stumble, and someone's fingers lock around my wrist to keep me from falling. Looking down, I see that the hand belongs to Finnick. Instead of pulling away, I interlock my fingers with his, giving them a gentle squeeze before dropping my hand back down to my side.

The elevator stops at our district floor and I'm the last to step out. Roni leads Keld and me to our separate quarters, where we'll be staying until the Games start.

We stop at a door that's labeled G. Tribute. "Here's your room!" Roni trills. "Make yourself comfortable!" I thank her and then open the door. As I pull it shut behind me, I decide that maybe she's not so bad after all.

I fumble for the light switch in the dark. When I finally locate it, I'm taken aback by how huge my room is. It's at least three times as large as my train car and has more buttons than I have fingers to push. In the center is a huge bed littered with feathery pillows and blankets made of a silken fabric. The bathroom itself is as big as my room back in District 4. You have to climb a step to reach the bathtub, which is large enough for me to swim a full circle in. All sorts of buttons and knobs line the wall next to it, and they all produce a different type of soap or something to that effect.

The closet produces any outfit I want it to. For now, I pick a pair of comfortable blue jeans and a deep purple tunic.

I exit my room and pace the hallway outside until I stumble upon Mags. "There you are! I was just coming to get you," she says. Mags is a kind, intelligent woman with silvery hair that falls past her shoulders in graceful waves and warm green eyes that seem to be smiling, but she is not someone that you want to be angry with you. "Come on, it's time for dinner."

Mags leads me down the hall and to an open room with a long table in the center. The far wall is made of glass and has a wonderful view of the city. The only available seat is next to Keld Bramson, and I reluctantly take it.

A girl with wavy blonde hair dressed in white appears with a bottle of some sort of alchohol. I open my mouth to ask her what it is, but then I remember Finnick telling me about these silent people. Avoxes, people who are considered traitors to the Capitol, spend their lives as servants. Their tongues are cut out, rendering them unable to speak.

I look down in my lap and twist my fingers uncomfortably. When Finnick first told me about Avoxes, I had nightmares about having my tongue slowly cut out of my mouth for weeks. I don't know how the Capitol people can stand to look at them, knowing that something so barbaric had been done to them.

The girl finishes filling everyone's glass and stops at my side, holding the bottle with a questioning look on her face. "No, thank you. Can I just have some water?" I ask. The girl nods and gives a small bow before leaving the dining room.

"So, you two obviously do outstanding in front of crowds," says Finnick, "but how good are your survival skills?" The Avox girl returns and fills my glass with water. "Thanks," I say, taking a small sip from the glass. "I'm good with a spear," says Keld through mouthfuls of food. Finnick nods in approval, and then looks at me for my answer. "Ummm…" I begin, unsure of what to say. I've been dreading this part ever since my name was pulled out of the reaping bowl. "I can't really do anything," I say softly. Mags purses her lips together. "We'll have to see what we can do about that," she says.

The rest of dinner is spent in virtual silence, with only the clink of silverware against plates filling the air. Keld finishes and excuses himself from the table, and soon after he leaves I do the same.

I don't bother changing into pajamas once I'm in my room. I simply kick off my shoes and climb into bed, feeling frustrated but not knowing why. I don't fall asleep until at least three in the morning, but when I do all I have are nightmares of running through a forest until I trip and get twisted in a net of vines, and then Finnick spears me in the stomach with his trident.

I wake up to a frantic knocking on my door. Roni Salinas tells me it's time to get up. I look out the window. The sun is hanging lazily in the sky and a fine mist covers the city. It can't be much later than 8:30, which means I only got five hours of sleep. I grumble to myself about sleep deprivation as I pull on the outfit that has been laid out for me; black pants that are smooth to the touch, and a blue shirt with sleeves that stop just before my elbow. A white number 4 is written on the back and on my left sleeve. The boots are made of black leather and are easy to walk around in. I put my hair in a low ponytail and then I realize that my stomach is growling furiously.

I walk into the dining room and am pleased to find that the table is covered with food. Keld, whose outfit matches mine, is loading his plate with scrambled eggs and strips of bacon. Finnick and Mags are drinking coffee again, and Roni is taking dainty bites of toast. I sit down and start out by eating a plateful of eggs. I figure that I might as well put on a bit of weight before the Games start.

I eat four grapefruits and twice as many eggs as Keld before Roni announces that it's time to go downstairs to begin our training. My stomach feels as little uneasy as we follow her out of the dining room and enter the elevator. She presses a button and we zoom down to the training area. The doors open and reveal a huge gymnasium with all kinds of weapons and survival stations. About half of the other tributes are already standing in a circle around a tall woman with a nametag pinned to her chest that says in bold writing HELLO, MY NAME IS ATALA.

Keld and I join the circle and wait impatiently for the other tributes to arrive. The last to join us are the pair from District 12, their skinny figures even more prominent in the skin-tight training outfits. Atala begins explaining the training to us. We can visit any of the stations we'd like, provided we don't practice on other tributes. She starts to blabber about each of the stations and I assess my fellow tributes. I'm built much like the other girls, maybe with less muscle, but nearly all of the boys have me beat in both height and demeanor. The boy from District one has sandy blonde hair that is cropped close to his scalp. He's attractive enough, with defined features and sparkling brown eyes. I notice that his gaze is fixated on me, and a smile plays on the corners of his lips. I shift my eyes downward and don't look up until Atala lets us begin.

I head directly for knife throwing, not even acknowledging Keld. I remember that smaller girls like myself in previous Hunger Games had a knack for this skill, so I figure that it's a good place to start. The trainer demonstrates how to hold the knife, and stresses that the trick is that it's all in the wrist. He focuses on a target, flicks his wrist, and the knife spins in the air until it lands right in the center of the target. He walks over and pulls the knife from the target and hands it to me. I wrap my hand around the handle, aim, and flick my wrist just as the trainer did. The knife clatters to the floor half a foot from the target. "Oh, don't worry. That wasn't so bad for your first time! You're just too far to the right," the trainer assures me, handing me another knife. It takes me a few dozen throws before I get the hang of it. The girl tribute from District 3 goes straight for a jagged knife and gets in position about ten feet from one of the three dummies at the station. She throws the knife and it lodges itself right between the eyes. She looks back at me with a smirk, clearly waiting for me to throw. I frown and pluck my knife from the target and move over to a dummy. I furrow my brows in concentration and hold the knife as the trainer instructed, then throw it. To my surprise, it leaves my hand with a bit of a spin on it and gets stuck in the dummy's neck. The girl's mouth drops in awe. I smile widely and leave the station, hoping that she doesn't figure out that I was actually aiming for the heart.

I spend the rest of the morning learning about survival skills, rather than focusing on weapons. A woman with mud smeared over her skin teaches me about camouflage. I learn a few basic snares, some for animals, others for humans. I skip the fishing station and am just being taught about edible plants when Atala calls us together for lunch.

I fill my plate with various foods from the carts around the room when someone taps my shoulder. I turn around and see Keld. "What do you want?" I ask a little too harshly. "A few of the other tributes invited me to sit with them, and they said that you could come too if you'd like," he explains, jabbing his thumb over to a table crammed with tributes from Districts 1 through 3. Of course. These are what other districts often refer to as the Careers. Tributes from the first four Districts are generally better fed and a bit more skilled in the arts of weaponry than the rest of Panem. Usually they team up, and the victor is more than likely going to be one of them. But why would they want me?

After pondering it for a while, I nod. "Okay, sure," I say. Keld leads me to the table and motions for me to sit in the seat next to him. On my right is the girl that I met at knife throwing. She flips her wavy blonde hair over her shoulders and makes a point to scoot her chair a few inches away from mine. "Everyone, this is Annie, my district partner," Keld announces. "Ah, Annie. I thought that was your name," says the boy from District 1. "I'm Marcus, and this is Ruby. She's from District 1, too." The girl next to him smiles weakly. Her brown hair falls in ringlets down to her waist, and her eyes are the color of a clear afternoon sky.

I do a quick survey of the table. The boy from two has curly black hair that stops just above his brows. His district partner, who tells me her name is Athena, has a pointed face and highly arched brows that give her an elven appearance. A well-built boy from District 3 introduces himself as Brandon and the girl from the knife throwing station as Piper.

As I stuff myself, the table is filled with chatter about strategies and gossip about other tributes. Atala claps her hands together and tells us to get back to work. I get up and leave before one of them can ask me to train with them.

I cross the gymnasium and attend a lesson on shelter. I construct myself a small lean-to from branches, mud, and leaves that's just big enough for me to curl up in and be safe from rain and detection of other tributes. Satisfied, I leave the station and decide to try out some weapons again. I look around and settle on sword fighting. There are always a couple of swords in the arena.

I can barely lift the shortest sword, let alone swing it. I have little luck with the dummy, sure, I can slash its stomach open, which would make anyone bleed to death, but I'm so sluggish that a real human would be able to dodge my attack. To my dismay, Marcus joins my side and decapitates the dummy with ease. He slashes at the dummy, handling the sword perfectly, and strikes up a conversation. "So, Annie. Listen. Me and a few of the other tributes have been talking, and we want you to be our ally," he says casually.

I stop studying his movements and instead study his face. He doesn't seem to be bluffing. "Why me?" I ask. Marcus stops slaughtering the dummy and lifts his fingers to my face and I resist the temptation to flinch as he tucks a loose piece of hair behind my ear, just as Finnick has so many times before. "With those looks, you'll be getting all kinds of sponsors. We could use someone that will have… outside resources," he says, his voice now dropped down to a whisper. I press my lips together and look at my feet, then back up at Marcus, whose face holds a questioning expression. I shy away from his hand and cross my arms. I hold out my sword and he takes it from me. "I'll think about it," I say, and then I leave before he can respond.

I scan the gym and spot Keld at spear throwing. I consider joining him, but think better of it and instead go to fishing. The trainer lifts her brows when she sees the four on my arm, but shrugs and teaches me how to make a fishing spear, which I copy flawlessly. When Atala announces that it's time to go back up to our district floors, I pick up Keld from spear throwing and we cram into the elevator with the tributes from Districts 2 and 3. The doors close behind the District 3 tributes and I immediately turn to Keld. "Do they seriously want us for allies?" I ask. Keld shrugs. "I don't know. They say they do, but I'm not quite sure. Marcus was impressed by my spear throwing, and he didn't really say anything about you, other than he wanted you to tag along," Keld explains. The elevator opens and we step out into the floor, where our mentors await us, stopping the conversation short.

Finnick asks us seemingly endless questions. What we did, who watched us, who did we sit with at lunch. Luckily Keld answers everything for me as I stare at the floor in silence. When Finnick realizes he's not going to get anything else out of us, he sighs and leaves us alone, reminding us that dinner is at six o' clock.

"Are you going to join them?" I ask. "I'm not sure," Keld responds. I bite my lip. Already I'm breaking the promise I made to myself that I'd ignore him. "I'm not like my brother," says Keld, as though he can read my mind. "I'm not the kind of person that goes back on their word. When I say that you can trust me, I mean it," he says quickly. We stop walking and I find that we're in front of the door to my room. "Do you? Trust me, I mean," asks Keld.

Slowly, I nod my head. Relief floods over Keld's face. "Good, because I trust you," he says, and then he leaves to his own room and shuts the door.

I stand in the hall for a while, resisting the urge to bang my head against the wall. I've just bought myself a ticket to death. What was I thinking? Of course I don't trust him! How could I?

The thought occurs to me that he hasn't given me any reason not to. He's been nice enough, and his act on the chariot definitely earned me some popularity points. But the image of Elena's mangled body being lifted into the hovercraft, Rolf's axe still sticking out of her chest, keeps making an appearance.

I slip into my room and shed my clothing onto the floor. I fill the bathtub with warm water and add in oil with a light floral scent. The tension in my muscles eases immediately as I lower myself into the water. I scrub my skin until it's raw then shampoo and condition my hair. I leave the bath feeling much calmer than before, and I walk out into my room and program the closet to produce an outfit to wear to dinner. A long, light blue skirt with lace at the bottom that resembles one I have at home. A simple white cotton shirt. Comfortable sandals. I take a look in the mirror. The conditioner has left my hair much straighter than normal, and dark circles are beginning to form beneath my eyes. I look nothing like the Annie I know.

The digital clock on the wall tells me that dinner is in ten minutes. I make my way to the dining room and for once, I'm the first to arrive. The blonde haired Avox from last night is lighting a candle in the middle. "Do I need to wait for the others or can I just start eating?" I ask. She nods and bows before leaving me to myself.

I put a large helping of mashed potatoes and a piece of steak on my plate. I drown the potatoes in gravy and start eating. Roni walks in as I'm chewing on a crescent roll. "So, how did your first day go?" she asks as she fills a bowl with beef stew. I shrug and sip at my orange juice.

Mags enters the room, with Finnick trailing behind her. The four of us eat in silence until Keld shows up. As soon as he sits down, Mags begins talking. "We've worked out a system for you two. Keld, I'll be coaching you, and Finnick will be coaching Annie, and that's final," she says sternly, although neither of us has even thought of objecting. "Now, tell me, in detail, what did you do today?"

Keld, it turns out, spent the whole day learning about weapons. He dedicated much of the afternoon to spear throwing, and the trainer was thoroughly impressed with him. While Mags inquires him about his interactions with other tributes, Finnick starts talking to me. "What'd you do?" he asks. I explain to him in detail about my knife throwing, right down to the shock on Piper's face. When I tell him that I went to the edible plants station, he asks me to name a few, which I am able to do with little complications.

"And lunch? Who'd you sit with?" asks Finnick. "Keld and I sat with the tributes from Districts 1, 2, and 3. That girl from the knife throwing station, Piper, she moved away from me when I sat down. I think she has it out for me," I say. "Probably," Finnick confirms. "You should probably keep out of her way." He pauses to take a slice of chocolate cake that an Avox has just set on the table. "Anything else big happen?" he asks.

"Marcus, the guy from one, he said that he and some of the other tributes wanted me and Keld their allies. He came over when I was trying out swords, which didn't go well, by the way." Finnick stops mid-bite. "What did you say?" he asks through his mouthful of cake. "I told him that I'll think about it," I say. He nods and wipes his mouth with his napkin. "Was he good with swords?" he asks. "Very," I reply. Finnick leans back in his chair and chews on his lip as he thinks. "You should join him. From what you've told me, that group seems like they can keep you safe for a while," he says. He looks at Keld and then back at me. I nod in understanding. Anything else we say will have to be in private.

I finish eating and bid everyone goodnight. As I leave, I hear Finnick excusing himself as well. He enters the hallway and we walk to my room in silence. "Are you sure you being in here won't make things worse?" I whisper. He shakes his head. "This isn't personal, it's a tribute and mentor thing," he replies, closing the door behind him.

I sit down on the edge of my bed and Finnick paces the room. "Keld will be joining them, that's for sure. If he doesn't, they'll just take him out because he's a definite threat to them." He stops pacing and sits down next to me. "You either have to join them or hide from them," he says. "Marcus touched me," I say. Finnick springs up. "He what?" he practically hisses. "No, not like that!" I exclaim. "He just touched my face. Said that with my looks, I'll be getting lots of sponsors," I say. Finnick sighs in relief and sits next to me again. "Good, because I would've killed him had he… you know," says Finnick.

We're quiet for a minute or two. "Should I still be their allies?" I ask. Finnick nods. "If Keld goes with them, then yes. I have a feeling that he'll turn out to be like Rolf," he says. My eyes widen in horror. "Not the killing you part, the protecting you part. If it gets down to it you might have to take him out, but I truly believe that he'll be much more of a gentleman than his brother," he finishes.

When Finnick leaves, I change into whatever pajamas that my closet gets for me. I crawl into bed, and as I fall asleep I think that I'd rather Keld kill me a thousand times over before I would lose my humanity and kill him.