To Reach for Victory
Chapter 4
Disclaimer: This work of fan-fiction is not intended for personal profit. All characters utilized herein which are not creations of myself belong to Suzanne Collins.
I don't know how the reporters and people with television cameras managed to all crowd near the car that'll take me and Adria to the train, but it's a new experience to have a person get that close and not be either your lover or your opponent. I'm just hoping my Success Mask hasn't revealed anything to other tributes who'll be watching this. They'll be watching us, looking for any exploitable weaknesses later in the Games.
The train itself is like a shining, gleaming metal bullet. Adria and I get out of the car, not acknowledging each other except for the slightest of looks as we mount the platform, then turn to face the cameras in front of the entrance into the train.
After several flashes and incoherent babbling by the reporters for their cameras, they stampede off and we enter the train itself. It's even nicer than the Justice Building's interior. Rhea rushes up to us in the corridor, excitedly babbling about snacks and a meeting in a bit. She shows us to our rooms, which are next to each other. Mine's got DISTRICT 2, MALE on a visiplate attached to the door.
Rhea chirps, "Just go inside and get comfortable! I'll come back to get you in a while. Oh, and I'll reprogram that so it has your name on it."
She smiles at each of us then scurries off. The train begins accelerating. I shift my stance against the slight push to the rear.
We're not really supposed to know the details of what goes on between tributes and mentors, but there's enough Victors in District Two the information seems to get around the CEC almost as fast as the wind.
I look at Adria, who regards me coolly. She walks up to me and says, "Allies for now?"
I nod. "Sure. That's how it works, right?"
She's got the slightest of smiles on her face. "Then I'll expect you to be fighting back to back with me at the Cornucopia."
I nod firmly and reach for the door to my room. I say, "Brutus and Lyme will probably have more to say to us later. See you then?"
She shrugs. Adria knows the score and so do I.
There's no longer a slight push towards the rear, so I know the train's now at a steady speed. I enter my room and am impressed. My bedroom has a fairly stiff bed, a chair and desk, and a few other odds and ends. But this room is definitely a step up. If I had this room I'd end up sleeping in all the time and missing CEC training sessions.
I try the bed and it's very comfortable; as I sit on it, I sink down into the mattress. I lay on it experimentally for a while, and it's like being in a cocoon when I pull the sheets up over me.
If I stay there I'll fall asleep, so I quickly jump out of bed and explore the rest of the room.
The closet has clothes that are roughly in my size. I'm dressed in a clean white shirt and my best slacks, but my mentors will likely make me change into these Capitol clothes.
The bathroom has the fanciest shower stall I've ever seen. There's several buttons in the stall and I have no idea why you'd need them. I can shower in less than ten minutes with basic shampoo and a bar of soap, and shaving is easy. Lather up a bar of soap, rub it over my face, then put some hot water in a shaving mug and dip the razor in every now and then to wash the stubble and soap off the blade.
I fleetingly wonder if there's an automatic shaving device in that bathroom too.
A knock at the door alerts me to Rhea's presence. She's got Adria with her, and we make our way further down the corridor into a large dining room with a round table in the middle. Brutus and Lyme are seated on the side closer to the window showing the hills and mountains passing by.
Adria and I sit next to each other in two of the three remaining chairs, and Rhea takes the last one.
There's a television mounted against the wall facing the front of the train, so it looks like we'll get right down to business. Right about now, Tarsus and I would be avidly watching the reapings, wondering who the District Two people should watch out for. Janus would sometimes join us, too.
So it looks like as we eat, we'll be evaluating the other tributes.
Lyme says, "You both are settled in?"
Adria and I nod, murmuring approval of the rooms.
"Okay. We'll eat; Rhea has arranged for some food, both District Two and Capitol—"
Rhea breaks in, excitedly saying, "You'll love the sushi. It's to die for, honestly!"
Lyme continues with a deadpan expression. "You'll want to eat. Not too much, but definitely eat. You won't have much food in the Games and there's no point telling you to starve yourselves. So fill up and forget the CEC diet restrictions. Meanwhile, we'll watch the Reapings. Don't worry about details. We'll watch them again after we eat. Just get general impressions for now – who the tributes are, and whether any of them really stand out as potential threats. If you see anyone who catches your eye, let us know for when we watch the second time."
Brutus says, "Speaking of time. This train doesn't need to go as fast as the one from District Twelve, but we're still a much shorter distance away from the Capitol. We'll be in here for about eight hours. Enough time to eat, review the Reapings, and for you two to get a short nap."
Adria's frowning. "A nap? Seriously?"
Rhea babbles, "Why, of course! You'll be landing late at night tonight, and we'll put you up in the Training Center. Then you'll be up at the crack of dawn to get down to the Remake Center for your stylists!"
I mutter, "Okay, if that's how it works."
Lyme nods and says, "It is. Remember, we're your mentors. Do what we tell you or pay the consequences. If you disobey, we will send you nothing in the Arena. No sponsor gifts. Not even an empty parcel. Do you both understand me?"
Brutus puts it bluntly. "You have to follow our instructions. If you do, we'll take care of you. Every step of the way."
Adria and I look at each other, then look at our mentors. We nod in unison, accepting our roles.
Rhea wraps this up by bouncing over to the television, then calling for the servants to bring in food. None of them speak a word as they set up a buffet against the far wall. Meanwhile, the Reaping for District Two happens to be replaying. The reporter says, "And as you all can see, District Two's got a couple of rocklike tributes this year! Watch as Aurelius Decker fearlessly volunteers, marching up to the stage!"
Rocklike? These Capitol people love their silly descriptions.
But it's kind of fascinating to see me stalk up to the reaping balls like this vid of a panther I saw once, when I was assigned to watch a nature show about animals so I could study what kinds of muttations might be in the Hunger Games.
Adria's similarly interested in her image on the screen as she walks, straight-backed, amid the reporter's breathless commentary: "And here comes Adria Adrastea, who's practically ready to get in the Arena already!"
Adria and I look at each other with stunned expressions. I'm pretty sure they weren't quite this weirdly overenthusiastic about our tributes during the previous Reapings.
Brutus and Lyme are busy with their plates at the buffet table, and Rhea's not even paying attention to us. I shake my head briefly and get out of my chair, and Adria takes that as her cue to get food as well.
I dubiously examine what looks like a can amidst several others in a bowl of ice, and Rhea, upon seeing this, starts twittering about it. "Oh! Fizzy-cola! I love it, really! I've heard you get it in District Two. Now, why don't you try the sushi? Here, take the cucumber rolls and some soya sauce."
Before I can protest, I'm loaded down with six of these "rolls". They have slices of cucumber in the middle, with what looks like rice wrapped around them, and this green stuff holds it all together. I vaguely recall something called seaweed that they supposedly have in District Four. The "soya sauce" is this brown liquid that, I'm assured, tastes very salty. It comes in a little container.
I look longingly at the thick ham sandwiches and promise myself to get something more normal on the next trip back to the buffet.
At the table, I see Adria has a slice of hot roast beef with steam rising off it, and mashed potatoes. She's got a can of the Fizzy-cola, as well.
Rhea demonstrates the way you open the can, and I take a tentative sip. It's… bizarre. It's like extremely sweet, fizzy water with molasses in it.
Capitol people drink this stuff? And we have it in my District?
Mom probably banned this stuff from our house from day one. No wonder I didn't know you could get it.
The cucumber things taste strange. The soya sauce, which I dip them into, makes them taste salty as I also taste the blandness of the seaweed and the familiar cucumber taste. I've occasionally had rice, but only by itself. It's just really… odd, eating these things.
My attention on the food means I'm barely noticing the other Reapings, I catch flashes of the girl from District One, who's really beautiful. The set of her jaw tells me she could be a formidable Career, though. Then I notice District Six's boy, who's a scrawny guy this year. He's dressed in a shabby grey shirt and worn-out denims.
I get my chance at normal food as I grab a ham sandwich plus a slice of roast beef, some vegetables and mashed potatoes. I continue sipping my drink and working on my food as my eye catches a tall boy from District Nine who looks unafraid at his Reaping. I look at Lyme, catching her eye and nodding at the television.
As I swallow the last of my food, I briefly notice the boy and girl from District Twelve shaking hands. They're maybe thirteen years old, and even from where the camera is, I can tell they're shaking nervously.
They shouldn't even try to go into the bloodbath. I could kill them in a second.
Rhea surveys us and says, "All finished? Good! Dessert coming up!"
She bustles out to get the servants, and Brutus shoves his plate toward the center of the table. He says, "All right. We'll review the Reapings district by district. Now, for starters, have you two discussed what you'll do?"
I nod. "We've decided to be allies already."
Lyme says, "So you will want to be coached together, then, for Training before the Games?"
Adria replies, "Yes. I don't see any reason to claim Aurelius and I could hide anything from each other. We've been through the same skill training. We've done all the same things. The only difference between us will be what our strengths are."
"Sensible. Then we'll mentor you both, as well. More typically, I would mentor the girl and Brutus would mentor the boy, but we'll ignore that this time."
Rhea's back. She says, "They're not quite ready yet. Something about the frozen ice-cream cakes." She waves her hand in dismissal. "I'll go get it brought in later."
Brutus says, "Rhea, would you mind getting us something to write with?"
She happily brings out some paper and a pen, and Brutus starts out by writing in clear block letters, "DISTRICT ONE".
She picks up on this and sets the television to repeat the Reapings from another channel that puts the names of each tribute as a subtitle below a still picture of them from the ceremony. I've seen this before, too.
/\/\/\
After we're done, Brutus's list looks like this:
District One
Bell Drossen (female) – likely Career, will use beauty to advantage
Peer Faust (male) – likely Career, appears strong
District Three
Callie Edwards (female) – no obvious strengths or weaknesses
Ethan Cross (male) – looks almost eighteen, likely to know explosives
District Four
Sevan Odell (female) – likely Career, will certainly be able to swim
Chevis Bannon (male) – likely Career, will likely be able to swim
District Five
Emily Thomas (female) – extremely nervous at Reaping
Daniel Schreck (male) – a young boy, nearly fainted at Reaping
District Six
Diana Burton (female) – calm, poised, possible Career pack?
Derek Tyras (male) – no obvious strengths or weaknesses
District Seven
Faith Demoss (female) – no obvious strengths or weaknesses
Nicholas Jackson (male) – seems strong, did not seem upset at Reaping
District Eight
Serena Allen (female) – seems fit and quick on her feet, accidentally tripped but recovered in time
Dusty Rhodes (male) – looks sixteen, intelligent
District Nine
Angela Palmer (female) – somewhat small and nervous
Augustus Rockwell (male) – tall, looks eighteen, did not seem afraid at his Reaping… could bring him into the Career pack?
District Ten
Rachel Perry (female) – no obvious strengths or weaknesses
Oriel Wilson (male) – no obvious strengths or weaknesses
District Eleven
Alaray Lewison (female) – no obvious strengths or weaknesses
Joren Sanderson (male) – somewhat tall, possibly also Career pack if skilled with weapons?
District Twelve
Cadence Willow (female) – extremely nervous at Reaping
Azure Sage (male) – also extremely nervous at Reaping
/\/\/\
Brutus pokes his pen at the list and says, "Adria, you said you think Diana Burton from Six might be someone to pay attention to, and Aurelius, you pointed out Augustus Rockwell from Nine.
"I also want you two to watch out for District Three. Most people don't pay enough attention to them. The boy looks old enough to know how to handle explosives. And you have a ready-made supply of explosives at the Arena. So if you don't pull him into your Career pack, do not let him get near the Cornucopia."
Lyme chimes in, saying, "Most of the others – especially the younger-looking ones – will either run well away from the bloodbath or they will die at the bloodbath. You two need to be extremely aware of everything happening when you run into the Cornucopia area to get your weapons. You've been taught about this in your analysis of old Hunger Games, but I'm telling you again because you'll be responsible for dispatching all the ones foolish enough to try and slip through the bloodbath. Understood?"
Rhea seems rather bored of this, and suddenly realizes something. "My goodness! I need to go and call ahead about your rooms at the Training Center!"
She bustles out with a bag that I didn't see before. It must have the stuff she brought with her to District Two.
Brutus sprints up and checks the door, making sure nobody's listening.
He says, "Another thing. The audience likes it when it looks like tributes have mixed it up before the Games even start. This will be a bit of misdirection, a bit of a mind game. The other tributes will be wondering if the killing machines from District Two have had a falling-out or if they're going to work together. That uncertainty will keep them from figuring out what you'll really do until the moment the bloodbath starts."
I'm frankly surprised. "You want Adria and me to fight? Here?"
Brutus nods. "Hand to hand. Do some damage. Not to the room, though. Lyme and I will slip out to get the desserts brought in, since it looks like Rhea forgot. We'll take our time getting back and it'll look like you two had an argument."
I stand up, the adrenalin flowing. Adria's standing too, grinning. We move to the clear space by the television while Brutus and Lyme exit the room. I say, "So what should we blame this on? The truth? 'Cause I want to win, you know."
Adria lifts her eyebrows in a sardonic expression. "So do I, even if it'll mean going through you."
My fist snaps out, just missing her jaw as she ducks it. She grabs my arm, showing her strength as she just about manages to twist it behind my back, but I'm still heavier and a bit stronger. I shake loose from the hold, then grab her arm, hooking my foot in front of hers and yanking, hard.
Adria goes flying to the floor, only to lithely snap back to her feet. I make a note of those fast reflexes for later.
I jab my hand toward her stomach, which glances off as she shifts backward. It's not enough to do any real damage, and she quickly gets her revenge with a series of jabs to my upper body, which I dodge as I end up almost against the wall.
Going on the offensive, I try a roundhouse kick, which she manages to just dodge, then feints with a punch to my face from my left, only for me to catch a backhand to my temple from my right which is strong enough to snap my head back.
I clench my teeth and shake my head, then wait, anticipating her next move.
Her right foot snaps out, and just as quickly, I grab it, twisting sharply to force her to move with it or risk a bone being dislocated or broken. As Adria hits the floor heavily, I snap a kick to her thigh, more than enough to bruise, but not to break the bone. She cries out, and as she's glaring daggers at me, Brutus, Lyme and Rhea burst in the room.
Author Notes: Thanks go to SkyWriter9 for the beta work and helping with the names. :)
