Hey sonia62, Michael is already there. But it will take a while for him to reveal himself.

Chapter 2

Rath was standing in the training room and prepared everything for the new recruits. For four years he was doing that and every time he felt like he was bringing the pigs to the slaughterhouse. Every year he lost two people to this awful game; two lives that were over before it had even begun and he couldn´t do anything against it.

He knew what the chosen had to endure; seven years ago he went through the same thing. He was one of the youngest to win the Fighting Games. He had only been thirteen when he got picked out and had been thrown in the arena fighting for his life.

It wasn´t just the physical aspect of the fighting that was a struggle for most of the participants, it was the psychical that was weighting them down. You can learn to survive in a battle, that´s no big deal. But what they don´t teach is the guilt that is telling you everyday for the rest of your life that you took someone´s life.

Even though you know it was in self-defense, you still feel guilty for killing those people, good or bad didn´t matter. You mourned every lost life; remembered every face you stared at before they died and heard every last breath they had done. Some days it was better; some days you were able to forget for a few moments what you have done; but most days it was all he could think about.

" Dude, you´re always so freaking early. Can´t you sleep like the rest of us?".

Rath glanced up at the voice and he smiled at the person walking towards him. She had won the game two years ago and even though he caught a look of sadness in her eyes here and there, she was one of the few that wasn´t so messed up like the rest of them. " Only the early bird gets the worm Isabel".

Isabel pulled her long blonde mane into a ponytail and tried to stifle a yawn. She thought that she should be used to getting up before dawn, but no matter how many time flew by, she was still bone-tired in the morning. " It´s too freaking early for your wisecracks, oh great one".

" Get your cute little behind in gear and be useful. The recruits should be here any minute", Rath shook his head at her. She was one of the few people he trusted completely and she was the only one who really knew who he was. But she was also a real pain in his butt.

Isabel grinned at his command and gave him a small salute before disappearing in the equipment storage room.

Rath had to repress the laugh that wanted to erupt from him when he heard footsteps coming closer. Putting on his instructor face, he scanned the area to make sure everything was set for the first lesson and then turned to the door. As soon as he saw the first two entering, he knew that it would be a long day. " Nice of you to join me. I hope you got enough sleep; because I won´t be doing any exceptions".

" Great; just what I want first thing in the morning; a lecture from Mr. Wannabe Badass", Maria hadn´t gotten enough rest the night before, because the two youngest had been scared to fall asleep and she had spent hours telling them a story until their eyes closed. Now she was sleep deprived and slightly cranky.

Rath groaned in annoyance. The first day and he was already close to strangle someone; that was a first one for him. It usually took a week or more to tick him off. But this blonde one was really starting to test his patience; which he didn´t have enough of. " Okay guys; I think we need a few rules. One, you´re always on time and don´t try to feed me any bullshit. Two you do what I say without running a commentary in the background", which he empathized with a hard stare in Maria´s direction. " And third, I know what I´m doing and if you have a problem with my methods, you´re free to butt out of the training session; but don´t expect any sympathy from me when you go into the arena unprepared".

Everyone nodded at his words and then they simultaneously turned to Maria; waiting for any witty comeback from her. As soon as she noticed the attention, she glared at everyone. " What?".

" Alright; if that´s settled I want you to run a few rounds outside for warm up", Rath clapped his hands in amusement. This was always the fun part; seeing their endurance during the twenty laps he would let them do. He was curios how far the mouthy blonde would come or how long it would take her to give up.

Liz looked a little frightened at the prospect of exercise; she wasn´t really good with anything physical and her stamina was really bad. Aside from walking from booth to booth and carrying a tray, she wasn´t doing anything that would qualify as keeping in shape. " How long do we have to run?".

Rath had to keep his mirth back when he saw the fearful expression from the tributes. " Until I say you can stop".

" Don´t worry; I will carry you when you´re not able to carry on alone", Max offered shyly; the tips of his ears turning slightly red.

Maria rolled her eyes at the two before she took the hands of Mason and Zoey to guide them outside. She had decided last night to keep them under her wing during this whole stay and she would stick to it, even though it was just a little run. " Come on you two. We´ll show our instructor what we are made of".

Rath watched them go and he was stunned about her change of character. The day before she had acted like a snobby girl that was used to get what she wanted or didn´t care about anyone else but herself. But this side of her was intrigued and noteworthy. Maybe he should keep an eye on her to make sure she wasn´t playing them all.

" So I see you have already found your next victim".

Rath didn´t even flinch when he heard the voice; Isabel was stealthy like that, but he was always on guard and could hear a squirrel farting from ten miles. " Yeah there´s always one smartass in the bunch. This time however it´s a girl".

Isabel eyed him really hard and for the first time she saw something that she hadn´t seen in him. Usually he had two expression; bored or angry. Either he was indifferent to everything or he was pissed off, but what she saw was confusion. " A beautiful girl?".

" What?", Rath turned to her and gave her one of his famous –are you kidding me- look. He didn´t think like that about the chosen; even though Maria had the most amazing green eyes and the most kissable lips he had ever seen, not to mention her killer body. " I don´t acknowledge the appearance".

Isabel grinned at his slightly flustered state and nodded. " Liar", she called when she went towards the outside trainings ground.

Rath instantly followed after her and protested loudly about her statement. Girls like Maria were so not his type; he wasn´t so into high maintenance chicks that just cared about their looks and what clothes they would wear to what occasion. He liked his women more down to earth.

" Looks like you´re protesting too much", Isabel was glad to see that someone else aside from her was getting under his skin. It was about time that he was shedding the armor around his heart and start living again.

Rath glared at her while he thought about her statement; wondering what she was smoking these days. There was no way that he was attracted to the bubblehead; especially not so fast. He didn't do the whole romance thing and he didn´t believe in love at first sight. It was all just bogus and just something to keep the women entertained. " Think whatever you want; I´m not into her or anyone".

Isabel smiled at him; knowing better what was really going on. But she knew that the more she pushed, the more he would deny it, so she chose to be the smart one and didn´t say anything. Turning to the little group, her eyes instantly went to the blonde one, looking like she had a rough night. " Alright folks, my name is Isabel and I´m the other instructor. If you have any questions or problems you can always come to me. Contrary to my partner I believe in positive reinforcement. So if you need any help just ask me".

" You´re only make them weak; they have to learn not to depend on others. Don´t listen to her, she´s had too much hits to the head", Rath was like always in awe how Isabel could still hold onto her humanity after all she had been through. She was bitchy and could be commanding, but underneath all that was a pretty nice person. Contrary to him; which was confirmed when he turned his attention to the group and started barking. " What are you waiting for? A written invitation? Start running!".

Immediately everyone got in gear; even the mouthy one. Isabel was impressed how fast they were gone just with a little bit steel in the voice. " You know, someday we´re swapping places. I´m the bad cop and you´re the good cop".

Rath glanced at her like she just grew a second head and was spitting fire from her nostrils; like he would ever be that sensitive. He was okay with the way his life was going at this point. No attachment meant no one to worry about, which meant the aliens had nothing to hold over his head like they did with most of the victors from the games. " Oh Isabel; always so optimistic that I will change".

" Believe me, one day I will be the one to tell you, I told you so", Isabel patted his arm before she went to stand at a better place. She wanted to have a front seat when the first one was calling it quits and Rath was starting one of his angry fits about not giving up.

One the running track

Maria was moving at a moderate pace, knowing that it wouldn´t do her any good to begin too fast. She wanted to save her energy for the last round. The older boy from their district was leading the little group with quick strides, closely followed by Max and Liz, who seemed to be intended to keep close to him in case her legs would give up on her. She and the two little ones were the tail light. The crisp morning air was like remedy for her sleep deprived body and she tried to enjoy the cool breeze against her heating skin.

She had always loved to run a few rounds at home to keep her head clear and to keep herself from lashing out in violence against one of the peacekeepers. Her father had give her the advice to try exercise for her anger instead of raving and ranting at things that she couldn´t change.

Thinking about her father brought her back to her family and she wondered how they had endured the first night without her. Did they miss her as much as she missed them? Had her mother even gotten a few hours of shuteye at all? Had her father tried to calm her down and told her that everything would be alright? Had Theo stopped feeling guilty? So many questions in her head and she had no way of knowing it. They weren´t supposed to have contact with their families until the last Selection of the two candidates for the games.

" How long do we still have to endure this torture", Liz was sounding breathless and she looked like she wouldn´t make it much longer.

Meanwhile Max didn´t appear like it was a strain for him. He was used to any kind of exercise and this felt like one of his morning jogs. He could go one forever if he had to. " I believe until the firsts drops from exhaustion".

Liz was relieved; it wouldn´t take that long at all, because she was sure that she would fall over any second now. All this running was giving her cramps and she wasn´t used to that kind of cramps. It was feeling like all nerves in her legs were getting pulled out of her flesh and it wasn´t pleasant at all. " Thank god".

" What….", Max wasn´t even able to finish his sentence when Liz just keeled over and she was beating on her right leg; her face twisted in pain. Ignoring his first instinct to keep going before their instructor would be blowing up at him for giving in; he stopped and went to her side to help her.

Maria gave them both a sympathetic look while she ran past; the two youngest hot on her trail; even though it appeared like it wouldn´t stay like that for any longer. Their feet weren´t used to that kind of training and it was getting harder and harder to ignore the pain. Josh the other contestant seemed to have no trouble at all with the task and was running without a care in the world.

Rath watched over the rest; even though he had spared a quick glance at the two eliminated chosen at the sidelines. He had quickly discarded them both as unfit for the arena; the girl was too weak and probably grew up in a safe environment; she would have no real chance against anyone else. The guy was fit and seemed to be strong, but his caring nature would get him killed really fast.

Turning his gaze to the other four, he was stunned when he saw the blonde was still holding on. She seemed to slow down to keep the two little ones at her sides. She was eyeing them every few seconds, not even making an attempt to catch up to the other one. He was puzzled over her; at first he had thought she was a snob and a bitch; then she was being so caring with the two youngest and now he saw her determination to not give up. She was like an enigma for him and he usually was an expert of people and could really read them in seconds.

" So you don´t have the hots for the girl, he?".

Rath was tempted to stomp his foot and roll his eyes and scream; but it would just lead to Isabel thinking she was right and that wasn´t the case. He didn´t have the hots for anyone. He was just slightly intrigued with the girl; wondering if she was playing a game or if she was really like that. " Izzy; shut up".

Isabel grinned in amusement. He was so easy to tick off and she loved to tease him. He was usually so antisocial and it was nice to see that he was human after all. " I love it when you talk dirty to me", before he could reply she was walking away from him.

" One day girl; one day I´m gonna blast your ass to kingdom come".

Maria was so focused on keeping an eye on the little ones that she almost missed Josh, who was lying in her way. He had just dropped right on the spot; his shirt drenched in his sweat and his breathe labored. Jumping over his frame, she realized there were just her and the two tykes in the game.

Suddenly Zoey stopped and tears were streaming down her face. " My feet hurt" and with that she went to the sideline to Max and Liz, where she slumped down.

" It looks like it´s just the two of us now", Maria smiled at the boy while she took his hand. She had a soft spot for him, because he was reminding her so much about her little brother. She wanted him to toughen up just in case he would get chosen and was intended to pull him through all this.

Mason shook his head at her. He was so tired and he wanted to just rest his feet. For once in his life, he wanted to go to bed and stay there without any complaints. He missed his family and his home and he just wanted to go home. " I can´t any longer".

Maria´s heart went out to him and she saw the same sadness in his face the last time she had glimpsed at Theo. Making a quick decision; she made a hasty break and pulled the little cookie on her back. " Hold on tight onto me", then she continued her run.

" She´s good", Isabel hadn´t heard Rath approach her, but she knew he was there.

Rath was in awe of her. Even with the added weight of the little body on her back she was still running lap for lap. He wondered how long she would endure; probably as long as he didn´t say otherwise, just to spite him. She wanted to prove something to him and just for that he wanted to let her go on until the sun would be going down or until she would give up freely. " It´s the first day; I wouldn´t interpret too much into it".

Isabel shook her head at his grumpiness. She was used to his prickly character by now, but she also knew that it was just a front most of the time. She saw deep sadness in his gaze sometimes and she wondered how much he was holding back to appear so cold. " Whatever you say", stepping closer to the running track, she motioned for the girl to finally stop. " Well done people. Your first assignment is over. We´ll meet in ten minutes in the mess hall for breakfast".

" You´re too nice. They will never respect you", Rath whispered to her when he passed her on the way inside.

Isabel rolled her eyes at his back. " That´s the reason why I have you", she hollered over her shoulder while she waited for the last chosen to come closer. As soon as the blonde slightly limped towards her, she fell in step with her. " You´re Maria right? The girl volunteering for her brother?"

Maria was tempted to reply something snappish. What was with these people? What she had done wasn´t that special or unusual; not to people with a heart. Everyone else in her place would have done it for their sibling. But all they saw in her was the person taking the place of her younger brother. " Yep, that's me".

" What you´ve done was very brave and pretty foolish, too", Isabel saw the video about the Selection in the Roswell District and she had a healthy respect for the girl. No one else had ever done something to selfless in all the years of the Fighting Games.

Maria secured her grip on Mason, who was still hanging on her back like a spider monkey and chuckled slightly at the words. Her Father had said something quite similar and it was reminding her about her family a bit. He was always scolding her for being reckless and too emotional. How was she to know that it would one day get in her in this mess? " Isabel, wasn´t it?", seeing the nod, she continued. " Do you have siblings?".

The other girl was shaking her head. Her parents hadn´t been able to conceive after her and the only relative she had, had been her cousin Pam. " No".

" Then you don´t know how it feels to watch the worst happening to the one person you love more than anything. I would do the same again for anyone I care about; that´s the kind of person I am".

Isabel admired the girl for her honesty and her feisty character. No wonder Rath couldn´t keep his eyes away from her. She was curious how long it would take him to give up his pretense of not being affected from the blonde one and give into his feelings. " It´s cool. I think it´s good that there are still people out there, who care about others. It´s not so common these days anymore", with that said she turned around and walked away.

Maria gave the girl a strange look before she followed everyone else into the mess hall, where all of the chosen were already seated and dug in their breakfast. Putting Mason on the ground, she took a tray for him and one for herself. " So big guy, what do you want?".

" Pancakes?".

Maria scanned the rest of food lying around and spotted one single pancake. Even though she wanted one herself, she went towards it and put it on Mason´s plate. That would probably not make his day, but at least it would get a smile on his face. " Okay, what else? Fruit?".

Mason scrunched his face up and it made him look even more adorable. " No fruit. Syrup. Maybe some scrambled eggs".

" Would you consider some fruit if I promise you a surprise?", Maria scooped some eggs on both of their plates and some bacon for her. She didn´t need to watch what she was eating with all the training they would do the next weeks.

Mason seemed to consider her offer for quite a while before he decided that he could trust her. " How much fruit? And what is the surprise?".

Maria smiled down at him. He was so much like her little brother it was scary. Theo hadn´t been so eager about healthy food either and it took a lot of persuasiveness in her side to take a few bites just to please their mother. " A few berries with your pancake. You can even dip them into syrup. And I´m not telling you the surprise".

" You´re not playing fair", Mason whined, but he couldn´t fight the excitement of a surprise. " Okay, I´ll eat some fruit".

Maria glanced down at their overfilled plates and then snatched two chocolate muffins; one for the little tyke and one for her. Thankfully Mason was not tall enough to see what she had put on their trays and so he already started to search for a place to sit. Maria instantly saw the unmistakable heads of Max and Liz. " Hey Mason, follow me".

Mason dutifully marched after her; his little feet dragging him at a slower pace and he had to jog to keep up with the longer legs of Maria. He was stunned that she was still able to walk after the miles she ran and with him as an extra weight on her back. She was like a superhero or something.

" So people, what did I miss?", Maria sat down after she made sure her surrogate brother was already seated and digging into his breakfast. She glanced at the other at the table and it was like they were all staring at her like she turned into an alien. " What?".

Max was the only one able to form a coherent thought after their run this morning. " How can you still walk? Shouldn't you be a little more wasted?".

Maria just shrugged her shoulders; it wasn´t her first time running over a long distance and it wasn´t like she had done a lot more straining. She had always liked the physical stuff, because it was something she could do without being afraid of doing any damage or break anything; well nothing important that was. " I´m just gifted that way; besides I´m used to the exercise. My best friend Alex is one of the fastest runners. I had to keep up with him".

" Oh yeah I think I know that guy. Sorta geekish and not much of a fighter", Josh spoke for the first time.

Maria turned her gaze on the other boy and for the first time she really looked at him. There was something familiar about him; not much of the appearance, but the voice. She had heard it before and she strained her brain to remember him. " Yes; how do you know him?".

Josh smirked at her; like he was thinking about something amusing and it was creepy as hell. Not that the guy appeared like a crazy person, but something at the way he stared at someone was a little bit on the strange side. " Just fleetingly from passing in school. You know he´s easy to overlook"

" Oh I get it; you´re one of the jackasses with no brain who always pushes him in his lockers. No wonder I couldn´t remember you, because I only notice people with more than two brain cells", Maria countered with a fake smile on her face.

Max and Liz instantly snickered, which Max tried to cover with a cough when he saw the deadly glare shot at him from Josh. Zoe and Mason were too busy with eating that they didn´t register the conversation between the Teens.

Josh hated to feel like the butt of a joke and when he realized the others were hiding their amusement he turned to Maria, who was still giving him that deceitful expression. Before he however could lift his hand to wipe that grin off of her face, her hand shot out and she put a knife right between his middle and ring finger. A quiet scream escaped him when he saw how close she had been to his skin. " What the hell? You could have hurt me!".

" If I would have wanted that, I would have done it", Maria stood up with her empty tray and went so close to him that he could see the gold fleck in her vivid green eyes. Even through the words were spoken quietly, the meaning behind it was very loud. " Consider this a warning. If you cross me or try to hurt anyone I care about, I will put the knife in your fucking body next time".

Rath was just finished with eating when he saw the strange exchange at the table where his protégées were sitting. His gaze was focused on the Maria girl and he wondered what her deal was. She had been so sweet with the little guy and her smile had been so beautiful; making her glow like the sun. Then he saw her demeanor change; the expression on her face didn´t match the language her body spoke. For a moment he thought it would get ugly and he had to step in. When he saw the tiny movement from the guy, he was sure that it was time to get in-between to prevent anyone from getting hurt and he was sure that it wouldn´t be Maria either. And then he witnessed her putting a knife in the table and for a tiny second he had stopped breathing, because he had been sure that she finally done it and injured the guy. But at closer looking he realized there was no blood and no gaping wound; just a shocked boy and I very pissed of female.

" Oh man, she will give us a run for our money", Isabel had watched the whole thing as well and she was getting the feeling that she finally found some new best friend.

Rath watched the girl walking away, acting like nothing had happened and he knew that he had to keep a closer eye to her. He just didn´t know if it was to protect her or to protect the others from her.