Preparation- Part 2

The Everdeens launched into a group hug. Lexi just wished for this moment to never end, that she didn't have to think about what lay ahead. However, before long, officials came in to lead her to a train. In the car, she came face to face with Ren, who was already seated.

"Hi, Lexi." He smiled weakly, offering her a place next to him. Even though they were about to experience terrors beyond imagination, he was still cute as ever. "Looks like this is really happening, huh? I just can't wrap my mind around it. You realize that we have to kill people?"

She sat down and sighed, irritated. Just because she liked him, didn't mean that she approved of depressing topics. "Yeah. Do me a favor: Can we not talk about that anymore?"

Ren nodded. "Had to get it out of my system, though. Anyways… You look very pretty today."

Being a girl, Lexi had to blush at his words. He was without a doubt the best thing about heading to the Capitol to die.

A man strolled into their car just then, a man that Lexi recognized immediately.

"Ace!" she cried happily.

Ace Watkins was a tall, burly man in his thirties, with dark brown hair that was highlighted by several gray hairs. He just so happened to be Lexi's next-door neighbor, and he used to come over weekly to hang out with her dad. She preferred to think of him as an honorary uncle because he would always talk to her and let her vent to him on a bad day. He'd also been a great encouragement to Lexi, inspiring her to do what she'd always dreamed of: auditioning for the school plays. She'd played a henchman to a fairytale villain, an annoying party-goer, and, her most treasured accomplishment, a deaf girl. That last play had brought the audience to tears. Then Panem was born, and every extracurricular activity came to a screeching halt. No time for fantasies anymore. Nobody cared about that now, with people barely getting by financially. Acting was her former life.

Lexi gave Ace a quick hug. He didn't look happy at all. It was only then that she remembered: the fun and games were over. Timidly, she asked him, "Why are you here?"

He breathed harshly. "Well, Lexi, Ren… I'm going to be your District mentor for the Hunger Games."

Great, Lexi wondered sardonically. Now we need someone to coach us on survival. Are they trying to turn this into the Olympics?

Ace sat down and continued what he was saying. "So, we'll be at the Capitol in about twenty-four hours. When we get there, the training starts. You'll move between some stations that will teach you how to make traps, how to aim and shoot… " He didn't need to finish the sentence for Lexi to know what aiming and shooting led to. "After a few days, you'll appear before judges and show them what you can do. Then they'll rate you with a number."

Yup. They want us to be Olympic champions.

Ace seemed to be all out of words now. He must have told them all that he knew so far. Next, they watched a video of the other tributes being called.

Only some of her competitors stood out to her. District 2 called up a muscular boy by the name of Ian, and an equally muscular, dark-skinned girl named McKenna. They appeared confident, as if they'd been preparing for the Games. Like it was a sport! In District 5, the boy tribute, Dakota, gave the impression of being a younger version of Toby, with the same haircut, the same shade of hair, even the same facial structure. Lexi may have to kill at least one person, but she hoped with everything inside her that she wouldn't be the cause of his death. She was subjected to another pang of familiarity when the girl tribute was called. Her name was Natalie, and for some inexplicable reason, she reminded Lexi of her late friend Nikki.

From District 9, there was a girl named Skye, who was probably a year or two older than Lexi. She stood at the front of the audience with wavy blonde hair and a look that screamed "prissy". Lexi want to vomit at the sight. She doubted that Skye would last even a minute in the Hunger Games! The boy tribute, looking to be only thirteen years old, was called Blaine, and the way he carried himself made Lexi wonder if he was somewhat mentally impaired. Her heart went out to him immediately.

The rest of the train ride went by peacefully enough, but there was an unspoken tension among the tributes and their mentor. When they finally reached the Capitol, Ace stood up and led them out of the train.

"Welcome to the Capitol," he announced, gesturing to the shining metropolis before them. Lexi hadn't been to a city in quite some time, since the Capitol was currently the only one in existence, and most modes of transportation were gone. It was easy to forget what she was here for when she stared in awe at the dozens of brand new skyscrapers that looked down on her.

They walked for a few blocks, surrounded by people who must have had too much plastic surgery, until Ace halted them at one of the smaller buildings. On its glass doors, the emblem of Panem was etched, along with the words, "May the odds be ever in your favor." Inside, they took an elevator two floors down to a wide gymnasium. It wasn't like any gym Lexi had seen before, though; it hosted guns, knives, traps, slingshots, and bows with arrows, all located at separate stations. There was an instructor at each post, but the tributes were all gathered in a cluster at the front, waiting for their cue to begin.

"See you later," Ace said regretfully, waving them goodbye. Then he turned to leave, to go do whatever the mentors were supposed to do next. Lexi and Ren exchanged nervous glances as they walked over to face the other tributes.

When all of them were accounted for, a stern-looking man came to the front. Using a deep voice, he told them, "In the arena, you'll come across many unknown perils, and we wanted to help you in any way possible. That's why you'll be here for a few days; to determine what mode of defense serves you best. Feel free to take as much time as possible in each station, but we highly encourage that you explore all of them. I can see how antsy some of you are-" (here, Ian and McKenna grinned at each other mischievously) "-so I'll just leave you to it. May the odds be ever in your favor!" There was an immediate scramble for the nearest weapons. On a whim, Lexi decided to check out the archery booth, where a healthy looking, middle-aged woman waved to her eagerly.

"All right, my first student of the day!" she cheered. "I'm Liz." Liz showed Lexi to the nearest bow. Apprehensively, Lexi picked it up, along with an arrow. She'd never touched a bow in her life. Toby did the hunting for the family's food, and he'd promised to teach Lexi after she turned sixteen. But with this bow in her hands, she already felt a wave of empowerment, like it was made for her.

"How do I get the arrow on here?" she asked Liz.

Her instructor kneeled down to pick up her own arrow and touched the small notch at the flat end of it. "You're going to attach this part to the middle of your bowstring. Make sure you hear a snapping sound." Liz grabbed her bow to demonstrate, after which Lexi repeated the act. "Good. Now, position yourself accordingly. Place the three middle fingers of your right hand on the string, and grip your whole left hand around the bow." Lexi did as she was told.

"The last step," Liz instructed, "is to pull the string back towards your right ear, but obviously, not close enough to hurt it. Aim at the target, then… you let the arrow fly!"

Lexi zeroed in on the bullseye, narrowing her eyes in concentration. With great care, she brought the string to her ear and released her arrow from the bow.

Phwack.

It landed smack dab in the middle of the archery board, echoing throughout the gymnasium's walls. Instantly, she could feel dozens of eyes glaring at her. Who could blame them? She was just as stunned about this feat as they were. It's not every day that a complete novice of archery makes their target on the first shot.

Looks like Lexi Everdeen just found her weapon of choice, she thought with a jolt of optimism. I may survive the Hunger Games after all.