A/N: I know that it has been almost a year since I last updated and I'm really sorry to those of you who read this story. I'm still developing my skills as a writer so this story is by no means amazing, but I appreciate the support from those of you who don't mind. This chapter is a little choppy, but I was in a rush to get up off my butt and continue this fic. Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions towards the plot since this is still In-Progress. Also, I'm looking for a beta, so tell me if you're at all interested.
A cold realization washed over her as Madge woke up the next morning. The results would be posted today. If her restless sleep was any indication, Madge was extremely nervous. She knew that her lack of certain abilities would lower her rank. She could only hope that she wouldn't be part of the group that was destined to be the laughing stock of the military.
As she got out of bed she glanced over at her sleeping roommate. He clearly slept well due to his activities last night. She scowled in his direction as she made her way to the bathroom.
Her morning routine was relatively the same now, binding her breasts, getting dressed, and attempting to appear as manly as possible. After finishing up, she headed out of the room and went to try and find her way to the dining hall. Her stomach was growling with hunger, no thanks to her nerves yesterday that prevented her from eating.
She wasn't sure what time the test results would be posted, but based on the number of people crowded around the dining hall, she presumed that it must be soon. Obviously everyone was anxiously awaiting the news, it was only 6 o'clock, but apparently, rush hour had begun.
After making her way through the food line Madge went to the nearest table and sat down. The table was occupied by a few young men who were laughing loudly over their meals. Madge tried to sit as inconspicuously as she could at the end of the table. Unfortunately, that plan didn't work out as well as she hoped.
"Hey blondie, get over here" laughed one of the men in her direction. "We don't bite, come on."
Madge sighed and then turned in that direction to meet the gaze of the speaker.
She was almost taken aback by his good looks.
He had bronze wavy hair set atop of his very perfect face which was defined with a strong jaw and charming grin.
She smiled back slightly in return before scooting down the bench to where they were.
"Hi," she said in her deepest man voice. She wasn't afraid, but more at a loss for what to say.
The bronze haired man laughed in response to her and his smile grew wider.
"I'm Finnick, from 4," he said. "This is Gloss, he's from 2, Beetee from 3, and Messalla who has always lived here in district 13." She turned to get a god look at all of the men. They all seemed nice, except for Gloss, who just oozed womanizer. "And who are you?" He asked kindly.
"Mark from 12." She answered. She liked Finnick, he gave off a friendly vibe. Perhaps this experience wouldn't be too bad.
"Oh a 12 recruit huh? I haven't had the pleasure to meet any yet. YOU would be my first. Pleased to meet you." He replied with another teasing smile.
Madge chuckled back in response. "I haven't met anyone from 4 yet, so I must say that the pleasure is all mine."
"Oh such manners." He laughed then before changing the subject. "Have you seen the pool?"
Finnick then went on to describe the large pool that he discovered only a few days ago and how good it is that he found it because he feels like a fish after growing up in 4 and cannot breathe without the opportunity to swim.
To this Madge laughs and decides to open up a little, describing her love for music and how playing the piano is what she herself cannot live without.
After breakfast, Madge said goodbye to Finnick, Gloss, and Messalla, who she had actually bonded with over breakfast, and followed the crowd of men through the large hallways of district 13. She figured that they were all headed to wherever it was she needed to go. How they all seemed so aware and acutely in-turned to the schedule was beyond her. She felt out of the loop is some way. She never had any idea where she was supposed to go.
As they came closer to an even larger hallway, the people started to disperse.
"Last names A-C starting on the far left of the entrance hall," a voice boomed over the speakers located among the walls.
Madge continued down the hallway, and then followed the list of last names in alphabetical order until she came upon 'Last names S-V' somewhere closer to the right. She waited in line patiently with the men whose last names started with a letter within that range.
When she made it to the front she gave the commanding officer her last name.
"Undersee." She stated, despite her brave front, she was a little nervous about what her results would be.
The officer slowly pulled a white card out of the file container in front of him. His eyes scanned over it with unattached ease as his lips began to form words.
"You are to report to station Hawthorne for duty. You scores for the training tests are located on this sheet. Here are the directions and information required. It's located in sector 3, floor 10. Good luck." He nodded his head in dismissal before motioning towards the man behind her.
She looked at the card now placed in her hands. A small map was printed in the front with a red dot indicating where she was (the check in) and a yellow dot marking which sector she needed to be in. She also glanced down at her scores in the process and her heart dropped low into her stomach. Despite having a few good scores for separate stations, her overall score was a 5.
She headed back to her temporary dorm to collect her belongings before heading out to begin her real adventure.
Madge finally made it to sector 3 after many mishaps and several instances in which she was lost. Large grey doors marked the entrance to the sector. As she made her way in, she closed the doors behind her before heading to the iron elevator which would take her down a few levels until she reached her destination.
Sector 3 looked just like every other part of this dull and dreary district, grey. Once she stepped out of the elevator she saw a smaller line of men who seemed to be checking in again, probably for room reservations.
She made her way into the line and stood behind a rather scrawny man who couldn't be any older than 18 or 19. She then took in all the other men, these were the people she would be training with and learn to depend on. None of these men looked very fit, she figured that they all must have gotten bad scores like herself. But that was okay, it meant that there wasn't a very big chance of her getting beaten up by any of these men.
She made her way up the line until she was at the front. The officer standing in front asked for her name and once she replied, gave her the number of her new military dorm and sent her on her way.
Madge made her way down the hallway on her left searching for room number 15; that would be her new living residence. She came upon the door a few minutes later and nocked. Perhaps her roommate was already inside.
The door opened a few seconds later and she was greeted by a stocky man with blonde hair and a slight scruff. He smiled widely at her before gesturing for her to enter. She was confused by his silence but surprised by his kindness. "Thank you," she said. "I'm Mark," she offered her hand in a welcoming shake.
He shook it before turning around and reaching for something on his dresser. It was a notepad. He wrote out 'I'm Pollux, I'm an avox.'
Madge was at a loss for words. She had encountered quite a few avoxes in her time as the Mayor's daughter, however, she never knew quite how to approach them. "I'm so sorry," she settled for. Her voice ringing with genuine truth.
Pollux only shrugged in return.
"How did you get out of the capitol?"
He flipped to a new page of his notepad. 'I left with my brother a few years ago'
"Oh."
Awkward silence filled the room.
Madge smiled tightly before making her way to the unoccupied bed in the left corner and setting her bag down.
"I'm just going to take a nap before we meet our trainer later today." She said with a yawn. Then she asked, "Do you know what time we have to be there?"
Pollux held up three fingers in answer.
"Okay, thank you Pollux, can you get me up then?"
He nodded and smiled before turning back to his suit case and continuing to unpack.
In what seemed like minutes later, Madge was being shaken awake by a strong arms.
She was about to yell at her roommate for waking her up before she remembered that she had requested him to do so, so that they could make it to their opening session in time.
She thanked him instead before slipping on her shoes and heading out the door.
They both made their way in companionable silence to the large iron doors that were marked 'Sector 3 Training Grounds.' She pushed open the doors and together they filed in with the rest of the small group which was facing the opposite direction towards whoever she presumed would be their military leader.
Thankfully, being tall gave her an advantage and she peered through the openings of the men standing in front of her until she met the grey-eyed gaze of the last person she had expected to see, her blue eyes widened in surprise.
It was the man she had bumped into yesterday on her way to testing.
The handsome young man who was still giving her butterflies. His gaze shifted from her and she took the time to release a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
Madge quickly looked to the side to see if Pollux had noticed. That would be an awkward situation to explain. He wasn't facing her direction. He was too busy looking for a way to see up front.
Madge tapped him on the shoulder and pointed him in her direction so that he could see their training leader.
His voice boomed over the small crowed of men, "My name is Gale Hawthorne, and I will be your training leader. This is my first year as such and I hope to be able to show our success to the military leaders during our final group test before heading out on our first mission. I need you all to promise me that this is something we can achieve. Together. Understood?"
Madge and the rest of the men, excluding Pollux chanted back together, "Sir, yes sir!"
"Good," Gale stated. "Now line up for a quick evaluation."
The men scattered in haste and fear to stand up tall in front of their leader.
Gale walked down along the line of men and peered into the eye of each soldier, for what, Madge wasn't sure. He stopped about nine men away from her and loomed over a scrawny young man. "What do you hope to accomplish while you're here?!" He shouted at the man.
"I want to grow strong Sir!" He shouted back.
"Why?!" Yelled back Gale.
At this the man sputtered. He obviously didn't have a response.
"Wrong answer!" Shouted Gale. "We need to be strong so that we can protect our country! Understood?!" He shouted back.
Madge stared at him with admiration. Despite his hard and rough personality. He had fire. He was strong both physically and mentally.
She was so captivated that she didn't realize he had stopped right in front of Pollux, who was two men down from her, and had shouted at him a question. Madge didn't quite catch what it was.
She could only stare back in fear because Pollux was incapable of responding. Gale yelled at him again and lifted his hand in violent warning. Madge could feel her own fire raging beneath the surface of her skin for the treatment that Pollux was soon to receive. Madge stepped forward in line.
"Stop!" She yelled out fiercely. Her eyes glazed with passion. The man that she had previously admired was about the abuse Pollux, who was completely underserving of the punishment. Her respect for him dropped quickly. No one should be treated in such a way.
His gaze fell away from Pollux and his hand lowered as he took in the small scrawny figure that was Madge. His eyes flashed with quick recognition before string over to her in two angry steps.
"You just spoke out against your military officer without permission." He states calmly. Yet his eyes were still stern. "You have bravery," he commented. "Quite admirable." And then, his expression shifted into one of a genuine smirk. And his next words shocked Madge. "It was a test." He spoke loudly. He then broke his gaze with Madge and turned to face the rest of the group.
"Pollux here is an old friend, and unfortunately, he is also an avox. My challenge for you was to build up your fear and then see how you would react to something unfair and unjust, and which men among you would do the right thing, no matter what the consequence was. To see who would step forward with genuine strength."
He then turned towards Madge and declared, "This man here was the only one of you to do so, congratulations soldier…?"
"Mark Undersee," she responded, still in a daze over what happened.
"Soldier Undersee," he restated. "Now, you are all dismissed as of now, but I hope that all of you will go to your dorms tonight and contemplate your actions. Good night men." He then turned away and walked out the smaller pair of doors located to right of the large gym.
Madge looked after him, her feelings and thoughts of this man jumbled and confusing as she thought about how to understand his character.
