Hitch smiled in satisfaction.

As he'd expected, his training score was high – a nine. Predictably so, as every year all the Careers snagged the highest scores. He'd thrown axes left, right, and every other direction he could think of, and since he was only the second to be seen by the Gamemakers, they'd been fresh enough to appreciate his talent. There would almost certainly be axes at the Cornucopia this year.

When he'd first thought about the training scores a few days ago, he'd determined that he'd just stick around to see his score and not pay attention to any of the rest. But that was before he'd made a few allies – well, just one, but that was good enough for the moment – and now he was interested in what Troy's score was. And Tully's. Despite his discomfort over being refused, he still felt an interest in how District 12's male tribute fared.

And, perhaps, he'd see some other tribute that he could enlist to be on his side. One that could fill in the missing link he still couldn't put a finger on. He settled deeper into the plush cushions of the couch he and his district partner, Ruby, sat on and watched names, faces, and numbers flash onto the huge screen directly in front of him.

Troy was given a nine, same as him, and Hitch smiled again. He'd made a good choice. Of course, even if Troy's score had been lower, he wouldn't have kicked him off the team. Tributes had been known to hold back their talents as part of their strategy, and Hitch sensed that Troy was clever enough to try and pull something like that off. Obviously he hadn't, but all the same, it was nice to have a smart guy like that on your team.

Then, District 3's male tribute, Moffitt, came on the screen.

And Hitch sat up and took notice.

An eleven.

An eleven.

How on earth did he get that?

District 3 was one of the poorer districts. They almost always did terribly in the Games, almost as badly as District 12. It was unheard of for a District 3 tribute to get such a high score – a fact that was proven when the girl from District 3 got a two – and Hitch was wild with curiosity over how he'd pulled it off. And that's when he realized what was missing.

He and Troy, as Careers, were both expert fighters.

He still hadn't given up on getting Tully to join his team, with meant practical know-how.

But, a partner from District 3 would mean technical knowledge and probably some strategy as well. How to outsmart your opponents, electrical traps, and perhaps even how to use the all-too-obvious force field to your advantage.

Less than two days before the Games was a late stage in which to add on another ally, but Hitch was sure he could pull it off. Since when had anything been impossible for him?

:::::

A seven.

Dietrich nodded a little to himself.

It was a good score. Not top-notch, but good all the same. If the interview tomorrow afternoon went well, the audience would certainly be watching him, waiting to see the skills that gave him that score of seven. They expected to be entertained by the higher ranking tributes, even more than the others.

He was determined not to disappoint them.

:::::

Tully stared at his hands.

Livia was calling out the different tributes' scores in that excited, high-pitched voice of hers, so Tully didn't even bother to look at the screen. District 12 was right at the bottom of the list, and there was no use in getting excited. All he'd done for the Gamemakers was throw a few knives, and several of them hadn't even hit the target.

Not from want of trying, but from lack of experience.

With an ache that was almost physical, he thought back to his neat row of slingshots at home. He could pick off a bird at fifty yards with one of them, but there had been no slingshots in the training centre. They were probably thought too basic and not exciting enough. If they'd been thought of at all. Still, maybe it was better that way. None of the other tributes knew of his deadly aim, and they probably thought he'd be a pushover.

I've got no sponsors. It's all up to me.

That thought weighed on him harder than anything else. He'd refused the help of that Career from District 1. He had no mentor that could pull together some sponsors. And he'd already determined that the first thing he'd do was put as much distance between him and Livia as possible. There was something in her eyes that made him shudder.

So, it was up to him, maybe some knives, and whatever kind of slingshot he could pull together.

"Eight! I got an eight!" Livia shrieked with delight.

"Congratulations," Tully said, his voice dull.

She ignored him. Every since he'd refused her offer of alliance, she'd kept an icy, controlled distance from him. In some ways he was glad, but it also meant he couldn't keep as close an eye on her as he'd wanted. There'd been a time when he'd wanted to trust her, if for no other reason than that she was from back home. But there were certain times where you couldn't afford to trust anyone, and the Hunger Games was one of those times.

He sighed and looked up.

Tully Pettigrew. District 12. Four.

The words and numbers flashed across the screen, glowing cold white. Tully looked back down at his hands. His thumbs rubbed together in a hurried pattern and he clenched them together tightly to stop the nervous action. If Livia saw it...

Four.

No, there was no hope of sponsors.