Hi, everybody, sorry this chapter is so long, but SOME PEOPLE *cough, cough* MIA! thought my last one was short and suckish. (Ok, when I typed suckish, one of the spelling suggestions was suckfish. I think I'm gonna start saying that.) Hope you like it!

Chapter Seven: Training

Glimmer

"What the hell? District Thirteen?" Clove screeched.

"But it was blown up!" I cried.

"Dr. Samuel nodded grimly. "Yes, it was blown up, but all of the saved tributes are living underneath the surface."

"Why haven't we heard of this before?" Marvel asked.

"Think about it," Dr. Samuel explained. "If the districts found out that we were saving tributes, they wouldn't be as angry at the Capital for the Games, That might be good, but obviously we can't save all the tributes- we wouldn't be able to save one that was stabbed in the heart, for example. Then the people of Panem would be mad if their kid wasn't saved. So we would have a whole new problem on our hands. Even you, Marvel, we didn't think we'd be able to save you, since you were shot in the neck."

I squeezed Marvel's hand. I didn't think I would be able to live with myself if I survived and he didn't.

"So, what's going to happen to us?" Marvel asked. "Are we going to District Thirteen?"

Dr. Samuel nodded. "Yes, eventually you will be going to live in Thirteen. But first you will be specially trained."

"For what? Are we gonna get to kick some more ass?" Cato asked, looking excited.

Dr. Samuel smiled. "The tributes living in District Thirteen are a sort of…army for the Capital. We bring in a special trainers that are experts in each district. They will teach each of you fighting techniques from every district. You will live in District Thirteen under the radar until you are needed."

Well alright then.

Clove

"Clove! Are you ready yet?" Glimmer yelled through my door.

I groaned and covered my head with the pillow. "What? I just woke up!"

I heard Glimmer sigh. "Clove! We have to be down in training in two minutes!"

I sat up. "Why didn't you wake me up?" I threw my covers off and opened the door for Glimmer. She was standing there in shorts and a tank top with an annoyed look on her face.

"You said you were just gonna meet us down there! You told me I didn't have to wake you up! Anyway, hurry up and get dressed." Glimmer walked off, her curly blonde ponytail swinging. "One minute!" she called as she turned the corner.

I slammed the door and dug through the drawers, pulling out the first outfit I could find. I was about to leave when my stomach rumbled. I opened the mini fridge in my room and shoved some crackers and squirted whipped cream into my mouth, and washed it down with a long drink from a bottle of lemonade. Yum.

I sprinted down the hall and jumped into the elevator. I put my hair into a messy bun as the elevator descended into the basement of the building.

Glimmer

I checked the clock on the wall for about the billionth time that morning. It's a good thing the trainers weren't here yet-Clove was late. She probably went back to bed after I went up there, the lazy lard.

Just when I thought she couldn't be any later, Clove burst through the gym door.

"Finally!" I cried as she came over.

She crossed her arms and glared at me. "Well I wouldn't have been late if someone had woken me up!"

I threw up my hands in exasperation. "You told me not to wake you up!"

Thankfully, the door opened. A woman walked in. She had bright blue eyes and straight brown hair.

"Hi!" she said, waving at us. "I'm Allie Samuel, the head trainer."

Clove frowned next to me. "Wait," she said slowly. "Are you related to Dr. Samuel?"

Allie nodded. "Yep! He's my husband!" she held out her hand to shake Clove's but Clove frowned and looked down.

"You must be Glimmer!" she said, turning toward me. "You're from One, right?"

When I nodded Allie smiled. "I used to live in One, too. But after my Games, I moved to the Capital and became a trainer."

"You won a Games?" Clove asked, impressed.

"No. When I was only thirteen years old, I was reaped for the Games. I was one of the saved tributes. They saved a lot that year. I got second place. You've probably heard of the victor: Finnick Odair, District Four." Allie responded.

"I thought there were going to twelve trainers," Marvel said as he and Cato came over to us.

Right on cue, the door opened. More people came in. "Here they are now!" Allie chirped. "Ok, I'll introduce you by district. Trainers, this is Marvel and Glimmer from District One, and Cato and Clove from Two." A trainer with long brown waves stepped forward.

"Hi, guys! I'm Mia, the trainer from District Two." She turned towards Cato and Clove. "I'm so excited to meet you two! I love that this year I get to train two kids from Two this year!"

While Clove chatted with Mia, Allie introduced us to some of the other trainers. There was Izabelle from Seven, who could swing an ax so perfectly it should be illegal. And then Gabby from Eleven and Claire from Twelve.

"Ok, everyone, can I have your attention, please!" All eyes were trained on Allie. "You will be trained by each trainer separately, and they will teach you the secrets and powers of their districts. For your final test, you will be sent into 12 different rooms that look like the twelve different districts. You will need to know each district like the back of your hand in case you are needed to fight there. Ok! Cato, why don't you go with Izabelle? Glimmer, go with Claire, and Clove, go with Gabby. Marvel, you'll come with me."

"But why would I need to learn about District One if I've lived there for seventeen years already?" Marvel asked, confused.

"You might've lived there your whole life, but do you know everything about it? Do you know it back and forth, left and right? District One is big, Marvel. You've only lived in part of it. There's still more to learn." Allie explained. She took Marvel to a sectioned-off part of the room. The sign hanging above it had a big 1 on it. Clove followed Gabby to Eleven's section, and Cato went to Seven's section.

"Hey, Glimmer! Are you coming or what?" Claire was waiting for me by District Twelve's section.

"So what are your strengths?" Claire asked when I got there.

"Well," I said. "I'm pretty good with a bow and arrow, I guess."

Claire snorted. "I saw you attempt to shoot an arrow in the Games, Glimmer. And let me tell you: it wasn't just a fail- it was a colonial fail."

I sighed. Everyone said that to me. "Usually I'm good with a bow and arrow!" I protested. "I'm not spectacular, but I'm not bad at it. I just panicked! If you were in an arena surrounded with a bunch of people who wanted to kill you, wouldn't you probably miss too?"

Claire chuckled. "I have been in arena, Glimmer. But I didn't miss. I never miss." She suddenly grabbed a bow off a rack of weapons and pulled an arrow out of her pocket. She aimed the arrow, and sent it flying. A few seconds later I heard the thud of the arrow hitting a straw dummy all the way across the room. Claire lowered her bow and tossed it on the floor, looking pleased with herself.

"Wow," I said, impressed. "You really don't miss. Which Games did you win?"

Claire's face stiffened. "I didn't win," she said, a sullen look on her face. "I almost did, though. Actually, I lost to Allie over there. I got third place. They saved me here."

"Wait, if you got third place to Allie, was she the one that tried to kill you?" I asked, surprised. Allie and Claire seemed to have gotten along fine.

"No, she wasn't. Allie and I were allies." Claire explained. "Actually, I was in the Games with Mia, Izabelle and Gabby, too. Allie got second place; me third, Mia fourth, and Izabelle and Gabby got fifth; they died at exactly the same time. We were all saved here. Sometime maybe I'll show you the recording of our Games." Claire shouldered her bow and held another one out to me. "But now, we need to get down to business. Show me what ya got. Aim for that dummy suspended from the ceiling. Hit it in its stomach. Go."

I drew back my arm and sent the arrow flying. It hit the dummy, only a few inches off my target.

"Nice," Claire said, nodding in approval. "You need a little bit of work on aiming, but still, you're pretty good. Now, how are you with foils?"

For the next hour Claire taught me how to fence. She was really good- even better than archery. At the end of the session, I was exhausted.

"Great job, Glimmer," Claire said to me, swiping her blonde bangs damp with sweat off to the side.

Clove

How did I get stuck with this trainer? I thought miserably. Training had been a nightmare. Allie pared me with Gabby from District Eleven. Sure, she swung through trees like nobody's business, but she was such a loser. She talked my fucking ear off!

At first, she seemed really cool! She told me about her life in the Games, and showed me some techniques for swinging through trees quickly without being seen through the branches.

But then, she started telling me about her life back in District Eleven. The first thing that convinced me that she was a loser was the first thing she told me.

Gabby lived in a school bus.

Then, when I was showing off my wicked cool knife skills, two new losers popped out of a tree. Gabby introduced them as Cullen and Victor, her friends. The first, Victor, smelled really bad and was fat. Cullen kept asking stupid questions. I threw a knife at them and told them to smell my pants. They thought I was serious.

Once, Gabby's nerd friends left, it started to be pretty fun. Gabby and I made a game of who could swing through trees the fastest. When she won, Gabby pulled out a trombone and started playing a victory song. Oh, great. It just got miserable again.