Okay, here is the next chapter! You can start to see a little bit of a change in Tate, and you get to meet some of the tributes that she'll have to face. MissFiyeraba I Hope you like this chapter! *Don't forget to hit that little review button*
The Peacekeepers opened the door of the elaborate Towne Hall room again. One grabs me by my arm.
"You don't have to grab me, I already have to go." I shot back at him. I could almost hear him growl at my response, I didn't care. I was already leaving everything I knew, my home, my family, my friends; I was not about to be manhandled by Peacekeepers. I was thrown together with Bryson again. His eyes were a little puffy, but he appeared collected.
We were shuffled into cars and taken to the train that would transport us to the Capitol and Training Center. Watching my district go by, I felt myself letting go of my family. I had to, in order to save them and to save myself. I had never seen a train before. It was long, sleek and very polished.
"Bryson, this is your room here on the left. And Tatum this is yours here on the right. Help yourselves to anything in your cabins; everything belongs to you in them. You have an hour before we have a meeting to discuss everything and meet your mentors and trainers." Eloise told her. My room was down the hallways. I sat there in my cabin, watching out the window as the ocean and the rivers slip away. I felt like I was losing a little bit of myself. I closed my eyes for a second. Bryson and I were called for a meeting.
I met Eloise out in the hall. Bryson had changed into a pair of brown pants and a black long sleeved shirt, whereas I was still in my dress from the reaping. It was a piece of home and I wanted to hold onto it for as long as I could. I saw Gage enter the hallway behind us. I crept back so I could talk to him. This is the first time that we were in close proximities since my name was called.
"Tate, I think that-"
"I don't want you to be my mentor." I blurted out, cutting him off.
"I want you to train me still but, I just don't think I can do it, if you're my mentor." I explained.
"And had you let me finish, I was suggesting someone else be your mentor."
"Oh, good. Glad we're on the same page." I was surprised but pleased.
Our eccentric guide showed us to a room with a set of tables. Food was laid out everywhere and the room was basically packed with people: Avoxs, past victors, trainers, and other random people from the Capitol. I was pushed into sitting between Eloise and an older victor, whose name I had forgotten. Bryson sat across from me.
"So, let's start off. What are your skills? What weapons are you trained to use?" Eloise asked. It seemed so wrong those questions coming from something the Capitol had made and dolled up.
"I'm good with tridents. I can make really good traps with nets, spears, hooks." Bryson stated.
"Very good. And what about you, Tate?"
"She's deadly with a trident." Gage spilled. I looked at him, eyes wide with rage. Everyone in our district knew how to handle a trident, hello we're water people. Having him expose my best skill I had an urge to punch him. Eloise looked at Gage, confused.
"Gage trained me a couple times." I said, brushing it off.
"Oh, so you're her trainer?" She asked, with an excited smile.
"I wouldn't call it that. He really trains my sisters, the twins, Bianca and Lela. They have the biggest crush on him, it's adorable really. They've let me train with them a couple of times, that's all." I made up the lie. I guess it was sufficient enough because no one asked for any more detail. I can't have Gage mess this up for me. I'm already going to have a target on my back; I don't need all of them placed there.
"What other skills are you good with?" the question seemed a bit twisted but I kept going.
"I'm a strong swimmer. Gage pointed out I'm good with a trident, but really, who isn't in 4?" I said, jokingly. I could see the Capitol cronies were hitting up this charm oozing out of me.
"I'm good with rope, and I think I'm pretty good with knives." I concluded.
"Great! You both have good skills." Eloise said, clapping her hands together. Bryson and I stared at each other over her weird outburst. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Since we are closer than others to the Capitol, it won't take us as long as other Districts to get there. We'll only be on this train for a little bit. Then, we will arrive at the Training Center. You will meet your prep teams, get beautified, and start training, interviews and then the Games. How exciting this all must be for the two of you." Eloise said, obviously excited. There was an orange colored curl shaking from her head. I really had to suppress the urge to rip it out of her head. 'Save it for the Games' I told myself.
Food was brought out on plates. It looked and smelled amazing. Once it hit my lips, it tasted even better. Even though I wasn't hungry, I knew I had to put on a little weight. There are no guarantees in the Games. As much as the Careers are usually allied, they may see me as some kind of threat and I would need to flee. I ate everything on my plate, all four courses, and felt like throwing up afterwards.
"Bryson, I'm going to be your Mentor. I'm Cordelia." Said a red-head. She was in her late thirties but she had fierceness about her that no one could mistake. She had won the games eighteen years ago. If she was going to be anyone's mentor I wanted her to be mine. I was jealous and I was trying to hide it.
"Tate, I'm going to be your mentor." He said. It was the guy next to me. His long, blackhair was overgrown, but he seemed like he was in shape, but I wasn't sure. I don't remember his name, I don't even remember how long ago he had won his games. He honestly, didn't look like much. He wasn't cocky or a Capitol pet like Gage, and he didn't have that fire behind his eyes like Cordelia. I wasn't sure how I felt about him.
"I'm Damien." He said. I shook his hand.
"Tate, your great-grandfather was in the Games." Eloise said, surprised.
"Um, yes." I said.
"And he won, how perfect!"
"I don't really see how that affects me." I said slightly confused.
"You come from a family of Victors!" She said, squealing again. Crap, I was never going to get the target off my back thanks to this team.
"I never met him. He died before I was born." I told them.
"Pity," Someone else replied. They chatted on about absurd things and I tuned them out. I could feel a pair of eyes on me. I thought it was Gage's but when I looked up, I saw Damien studying me. Eloise took us to another area where we watched the footage of the other reapings that had gone on today we started with 12 and went backwards.
District 12 there was a tiny girl, who looked like the wind may blow her over. Unless she had a hidden set of skills, there was no way she would make it past the bloodbath. I wanted to stop myself from thinking these things but I was now a part of this Game, I had to think like this if I want to come back home. The boy from 12 had probably spent years in a coal mine already. He looked like he had been scrubbed clean but I guessed coal dust wasn't that easy to just wipe away.
District 11, two malnourished teens were picked. I've never seen kids that looked so fragile before.
"It seems a little odd to me, that seeing as how they are from a district that focuses on agriculture, they don't seem fed at all." I noted, to no one in particular. Damien seemed surprised by my words. Gage kept his eyes focused on the television screen.
"They must come from poor families." Eloise said.
The boy from 10 was a complete shock. He looked like he should be from 2 or 3. He was unusually tall and muscular. Watching him on stage, I knew he was a force to be reckoned with, he wasn't just a physical threat, but he seemed smart as well. His name was Fury, how fitting. Everyone looked so pleased when his name had been called. He was probably their best shot to not go hungry for a year. The girl was a redhead and seemed in total shock her name had been called. I completely understand, sweetheart.
No one really stood out to me until District 6. The girl, I think her name was Tulip or some other flower name. She had wild eyes, it looked like she was putting on an act but her eyes revealed that she was already playing the game. I knew those eyes because I was doing the same thing. I took a mental note of her. 6 is known for being morphling addicts, everyone immediately wrote them off, but I wanted to keep my eye on this flower girl.
The two from 5 seemed surprised to be called. But the brown, curly-haired boy seemed so excited to be called. He actually tripped up the stairs. Everyone laughed at him. Could he be playing dumb, trying to undermine us all?
Next, we got to our district. I'm surprised my mouth wasn't hanging open, in shock from the announcement that had been read.
"It's like you didn't even hear me, Tate." Eloise said.
"I didn't. That's Angela, we were in school together. She had to tell me that you were calling my name." I told her. You see the blank stare rush off my face and instead it is filled with something else. I could see myself calculating the risks and trying to figure out how I should act.
"Dear, you look beautiful. That dress was perfect for you." Eloise said.
"It's my sister's." Eloise confirmed what I thought. I looked like a pretty girl; the dress downplayed the muscles in my arms and legs. Even when I went to the stage, I appeared almost grateful to be chosen. I bated my eyelashes and smiled. Good, maybe I won't seem like a huge threat. Bryson was called next. He came sauntering up the steps, powerful.
"The two of you look fabulous together. You'll have no trouble getting sponsors." She said.
District 3 was up next. The two called seemed wildly intelligent. The boy was around my age, he had very short blonde hair. The girl had piercing blue eyes and a ribbon holding her black hair back. I think the girl was acting more intelligent than what she really is. I saw their tiny, delicate fingers. There was no way they had ever welded a weapon before. You can't count them out though, most people from 3 are some type of engineering geniuses.
The two pairs from 2 and 1 were something else altogether. Everyone knows that 2 is favored by the Capitol. The boy's name was Leo. I was surprised that he wasn't as big as previous male tributes from 2. He was really muscular but not the same as the guy from 10 or even 1. Something was behind his eyes, like he had a secret. It was intriguing, and I'm sure that is exactly what possible sponsors thought as well. The girl from his district was strong, obviously well fed. She had her game-face on. Her name was Onyx, like the stone. Her hair had been died black with little flickers of color thrown in. I rolled my eyes.
Next, came the pair from 1. The boy from there must have been six feet tall, all muscle. He was made for this. I knew from the moment I saw the girl, when she stepped out of the crowd was going to be a pain in the ass. She had tinsel or something shiny in her hair that made it shimmer. She had a real anger behind her eyes. Glitter and Gunner. Seriously? Those were their names? I shook my head.
"That's all we have for tonight, it's been a big day. Both of you should get some rest." Eloise told us before scampering off. Bryson and I were left there with our mentors. Cordelia shuffled him off, probably to see what he could do in the training room. Even though we weren't allowed to 'train' 4 had always had a car to train on, we wanted our victors, at least one of them to come home. That's what Gage had told me. Whoever decided to be his trainers followed them out. There was silence. The people from the Capitol drank more and eventually went away.