Chapter 3
The ride to the train station from the Justice Building is short, punctuated by Evelyn's sniffling and Wendy babbling about the wonders of the Capitol. When we'd first exited the Justice Building, our hyperactive escort explained that since there is twice the amount of tributes this year, two cars will be provided. Wendy, Evelyn, and I went in one while Konrad, Adam, and Haymitch in another. I would've gladly traded with one of the male tributes had I known Wendy would talk as much as she did as something tells me our mentor isn't much of a talker himself.
All throughout District 12, Konrad has a reputation for being a heavy drunk, only ever interacting with the local liquor provider. Fortunately, he somehow manages to stay sober long enough during the Games to try and help his tributes. Although admittedly his assistance is of little reassurance seeing how he hasn't been able to bring home a victor as he so bluntly pointed out.
Our car arrives at the station first and is immediately encircled on all sides by cameras and reporters. Wendy leads us out and we are forced to stand in front of the train while cameras eagerly snap our photo. We remain there for a couple of minutes before a car not unlike the one we were in pulls up near the train tracks. Half the reporters and cameras instantly swarm the car as Konrad steps out followed by our fellow District 12 tributes. Wendy promptly calls them over where we are all forced to tolerate several more minutes in front of the unwanted public. After what feels like a millennium, Wendy finally gives the okay and we file into the train where the door closes behind us silently. The train moves without so much as a jolt.
"Right, I'm sure you'd all like to see your rooms. If you'll follow me, I'd be happy to escort you there," Wendy says with a bright smile on her unnaturally white face. She strides down the train carriage and into the next, where there are six doors; three on either side of the carriage. "Our gallant gentlemen with occupy the rooms on the right side of the compartment while our lovely ladies will occupy the left side. Konrad and I will be taking these two rooms." Our escort says, gesturing to the two doors closest to where we stand. "Adam and Maysilee will vacate the next two rooms down and finally Haymitch and Evelyn will take the last two down the corridor." As she finishes talking, the closest door on our right opens. Konrad stands by the doorframe, hands shoved in the pocket of his trousers. Casually leaning against said door, his penetrating grey eyes scrutinises each tribute forcibly taken under his wings this year.
"Congratulations," he says neutrally, "Twice the amount of tributes this year; twice the chances of winning; or, more likely, twice the amount of deaths on my hands. I suggest you take advantage of all this luxury around you." He gestures around as if we aren't already aware of how luxurious this Capitol train is. "This trip will last less than a day. We'll be at the Capitol tomorrow after breakfast. At which point you'll be placed in the hands of your prep team and stylist. They're there to make you look presentable for the night's opening ceremonies, so try not to resist them too much. I assure you, you will not like what they'll do to you at all but try to behave." With that said Konrad steps back from the door before closing it again.
"You heard your mentor. Enjoy everything this train has to offer until we reach the Capitol. In your rooms you shall find a draw full of garments which you are free to change into at your leisure. Supper will be in an hour," Wendy adds before disappearing into her own room.
Adam, Haymitch, and even little Evelyn walk to their respective rooms. I walk into mine and am surprised by how big it is. There is a bathroom through another door in one corner of the room and a huge soft looking bed in another by the window. After lingering in that room for awhile feeling the softness of the bed, testing the water temperature in the bathroom, and browsing through the draw Wendy mentioned, I decide to go exploring the entire train, wandering into the next carriage. This one appears to be the dining area where a massive table with six chairs surrounding it takes up the majority of the space. True to her word, the table is being set up for dinner by several Capitol attendants and looks to be ready soon. Not wanting to get in their way, I move along. The next compartment is what appears to be the viewing room; with a wide flat screen television hanging on the wall, a large cushiony couch, and an arm chair on either side of it. Between the couches and television is a coffee table with a remote control placed on its glass surface. Sitting on the couch I idly test buttons on the remote until the sound of a door opening causes me to look away from a scene of a previous game - where a girl gouges out an enemy's eye before thrusting a dagger in his heart - and look over my shoulder.
"That eager to start the Games are we, Blondie?" Konrad Stark asks with a mildly amused expression on his thin and stubbled face.
"Perhaps I am. What's it to you?"
"There's plenty of time for gore later. Griffin wanted me to find you, is all. Supper is about to start." Turning off the television, I follow Konrad into the dining area.
"There you are, Maysilee. I was wondering where you went off to. Take a seat," Wendy says upon seeing me. Konrad takes the chair at the head of the table, our escort at the other end. Heeding Wendy's command, I take the only empty seat left. Dinner is served in courses of rich food consisting of tomato soup, Caesar salad, roast geese stuffed with mushrooms and onion with a side of mashed potatoes, lemon cakes, and freshly baked apple pie.
"Let's begin with introductions, shall we? Start with name and then what it is you're good at. Keeping in mind that you don't have to share anything you don't want to while in the presence of the others." Konrad suggests as Capitol attendants bring out the roast geese. He points a dinner knife at Adam. "You can start us off. Go." Adam is stunned momentarily before answering.
"It's Adam Finch. I'm decent with a pick axe, I guess. Snares prove to be a bit of a challenge for me most of the time but I know the basics of it." Apart from the sound of his voice, the only other sound that can be heard is the clatter of cutlery on plate.
It takes me a moment to register that it is only the sound of the two adults and my knife and fork. The other tributes are attacking their food with their hands, causing Wendy to purse her lips.
Konrad nods in approval at Adam before pointing at Haymitch. "You, go."
"I'm practiced with knives and am trained at tracking animals. Trapping comes easily enough to me."
Our mentor quickly swallows a mouthful of food. "And what's your name, boy?"
Haymitch snorts. "You expect us to believe you care enough to want to know our names?"
"What you believe is of none of my concern. Now I seem to recall asking your name," Konrad replies coolly after regarding Haymitch with a curious expression.
"Haymitch. Haymitch Abernathy," he finally relents, albeit grudgingly.
"Well now that that's settled, you, go." Konrad's knife is pointed at me.
"Maysilee. Maysilee Donner."
"And...?" Konrad prompts before bringing food to his mouth.
"And that's it. I can't do anything useful."
Adam laughs contemptuously. "Not unless you consider braiding hair and picking flowers life-saving skills."
Suddenly feeling irritated, I wrack my brain for any skill I possess to prove that I'm not entirely useless.
"Agility; I came second in running during sports activities for the female syndicate," I say triumphantly. "Granted it was only the female syndicate for our year level," I amend, momentarily gesturing towards Haymitch before addressing Konrad with a sudden burst of confidence. "I also have limited knowledge on esculent plants and their healing properties."
Again, he nods. "That's a start. Never underestimate yourself. Other people surely will, and there is your advantage. You're small and lithe enough that others are not like to bother you or see you as a threat." The Capitol attendants are clearing the table and bringing out dessert as Konrad stares at his last tribute. "And last but certainly not least, you, little one. Any special talents you'd like to share with us?" Our mentor says in placid tones at the sight of Evelyn's apprehensive demeanour.
The little tribute pokes at her lemon cake before mumbling, "No, I don't. No special talents at all." Adam clears his throat after a few minutes of silence. "You nearly always won at hide-and-seek back at the community home, didn't you? Think of this as another game but with people you've never played with before." She's an orphan, I realise with shock.
"Adam is right, child. You are even smaller than Maysilee here." Konrad jerks his chin in my direction briefly. "What I've said to her also applies to you. Only you get an even bigger advantage. You have an edge that no one else has." Evelyn brightens at his statement and eats her lemon cake with new enthusiasm.
After everyone has eaten all we can, Wendy tells us it's time to watch the recap of the reapings which had been stretched throughout the day. This was done so a person may supposedly see the entire thing live, but it's only the people in the Capitol who are able to do that; considering they don't need to attend any reapings themselves.
We move to the room with the television and watch as each tribute from each district is called up one by one. As to be expected, the volunteers mainly come from Districts 1, 2 and 4; all monstrously huge. The sight of an enormous blonde girl from District 1 causes Evelyn to whimper. A rather arrogant-looking boy from District 2 flashes a smirk towards the camera. The boys from District 7 look so similar there's no denying they are brothers. There is an overwhelming amount of tributes this year.
Finally the familiar shabby stage and buildings slashed with banners appears. The district itself seems to be covered in a layer of coal dust and emit a sense of gloom. Evelyn is called to the stage where I too take my place after prying myself gently from Jasmine and Meredith. Adam's name is drawn and Haymitch not long afterwards. We all shake hands and then the anthem is played. The commentators sound relieved that the recaps are finally over too as they thank their audience for tuning in and bid them a good night. With that the programme ends.
"So what do you think of the competition?" Konrad turns towards his tributes.
"The girl from District 1 is scary," Evelyn confesses in a timorous tone.
"You need not worry about her, sweetling. We've already agreed that she won't bother you," Wendy consoles the little girl almost condescendingly. "Well I think that's enough excitement for one day. Why don't we call it a night, hmm?" She leads us two carriages away, informs us that she will wake us for breakfast, before bidding us sweet dreams and scuttling back to her bedroom.
Quickly changing into something more comfortable, I climb under the blankets, hoping not to be plagued by any nightmares.
Dawn is breaking when several raps on the door rouses me. Then Wendy says breakfast will be served shortly. I shrug into a shirt and warm jacket with a fur-lined hood before slipping on trousers and shoes. Lastly I find my pin.
Only Konrad and Wendy are in the dinning carriage, sitting in their usual seats. As soon as I resume my own an Avox serves an enormous plate of pancakes, sausages, scrambled eggs, and toast smeared with jam. Set in the centre of the table is also a huge bowl of fruits and a basket of rolls. Several jugs filled with different coloured liquids are placed between bowl and basket. Wendy explains what each jug holds, pointing to each in turn. I help myself to a glass of orange juice having never had any before. "You never said what you thought of your competitors, Maysilee," Konrad observes.
The toast is halfway to my mouth and so I lower it before answering. "The Careers look arrogant, pretentious, well fed, and prepared as ever." I shrug nonchalantly. "But that's only to be expected. They train their entire lives, don't they? Their whole lives have been leading up to this moment."
The Career Tributes, or simply the Careers, in question are those tributes from Districts 1, 2, and 4. At least that's what they're referred to back in Twleve. More often than not, the victor comes from one of those districts.
"Even I can't speak for what those district kids do prior to being reaped. Nevertheless you are better off assuming they are training even as we speak," Konrad admits.
"Even though it technically violates rules regarding training before one reaching the Capitol," I state.
"Yes, even though it technically violates rules regarding training before one reaching the Capitol." He concedes, smiling, as I take a bite of toast. "You don't appear terrified out of your mind. Tell me, what do you think your chances of winning are?"
"And just how will you gaining that information benefit either one of us?" I shoot back after a swallow of toast.
"Knowledge can be a powerful thing," Konrad says simply. "Be that as it may, I'm still here to give you advice and keep you alive for as long as possible. You seem like an intelligent person. Allow me to give you advice to mull over. Trust no one. Share your plans with anybody and you're indisputably setting yourself up for betrayal." He spears a sausage with his fork before taking a bite.
I consider his words. "So you're implying that forming an alliance is the worst possible strategy."
"Not so much; no. Just as I've said. Trust no one."
I frown at him. "Now you're just contradicting yourself. You can't have an alliance without trust."
"She has you there." Haymitch is repressing a smile as he assumes his seat, before taking a bite of toast. He's in the same black shoes, trousers, mildly dirty white shirt, and suspenders as the day before.
"So the two who aren't even supposed to be here are the first to arrive, are they?" Konrad muses. That never occurred to me. If it weren't for the Quell, neither of us would even be here. Haymitch doesn't like that thought anymore than I do. His jaw clenches.
I try to steer the topic elsewhere. "So have you got any more advice?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Konrad pushes back strands of brown hair from in his eyes. "Know your opponents. You're smart and observant. Know their strengths and weaknesses, their way of thinking. Then you'll be able to predict their next move."
Adam and Evelyn enter the dining carriage then. While we eat, Wendy informs us on what we will expect upon entering the Capitol. "Because there is twice the amount of contestants this year, there are not nearly enough stylists or prep teams. As such, there will be two stylists and their assistants; four in total. You will each be assigned one of these four main stylists. Your prep teams will consist of three people as is the usual custom. The only difference is that they will be a mixture of experienced workers and those in training. They've been mixed together making it even, so you shouldn't be able to discern at all who are experienced and who are still in training."
Suddenly darkness fills the train. The carriage itself would have been completely dark had it not been for the crystal chandeliers. Evelyn's eyes go wide.
"Don't be afraid, Evelyn. It's just the tunnel," Adam offers.
The little girl snaps her head in his direction. "Tunnel?" she echoes.
Adam nods. "Sure. You remember the weekly history of Panem lectures, don't you?"
"Of course," Evelyn nods slowly, "the Capitol is protected by the mountains, which forms a natural barrier between it and the eastern districts."
"That's right," Konrad adds, "it's virtually impossible to enter the city from the east besides through this tunnel and it was predominantly due to this geographic advantage that the Capitol emerged triumphant from the war. The rebels had little choice save for scaling the mountains, meaning they were apt to being easy target for the Capitol's air forces."
It was around this time that sudden light reappeared in the compartment and the train begins to slow its pace. Evelyn shuffles about, peeks out a window, and then gasps in awe. Curiosity getting the rest of us, we follow Evelyn and are met with the most incredible sight we've ever witnessed in our short lives. Transparent buildings glisten and stretch up high in the sky, while flashy bright cars whisk about in wide paved streets. People similar to Wendy in style sport painted faces, multicoloured hair, and absurd looking clothes of feathers, leather, cotton, wool, chains, and things even a daughter of a merchant from District 12 could not begin to name. The strange looking people crowd the sterile-clean streets and call excitedly as they see a tribute train making its way through the city. Adam and Haymitch quickly lose interest and settle back to their breakfast. Within several minutes the train stops at the station, blocking us from view of those eagerly awaiting our deaths. Wendy and Konrad lead us to the front of the train. I step off the first and last train I'm ever like to ride.