Warning F-bomb said below.
Scores
"It's a bit heavy," I lie to the instructor who has no idea what he has gotten himself into.
I've been working with the axes for only thirty seconds and already the instructor is looking distressed. I've pretended the axes were too heavy by dropping them on the ground and this has caused the tributes around me to look my way. The careers would have to eventually look and the only flaw in my plan is that Jaxx knows I'm faking when I say the axe is too heavy. Let's just hope that he has the decency to keep it to himself.
"Here, this is the lightest one we have."the instructor sounds a bit annoyed.
He hands me the axe that must be twice as thin as the ones we use at home and when I hold it with one hand it isn't a struggle at all. If I pretend to suck at holding this axe up then I'm just being pathetic.
"I guess this will work for me." I sound timid and scared that if it doesn't work for me then I've failed. It's kinda fun to pretend to be a baby.
The instructor tells me to try and chop a dummies head off, loud enough for the people behind me to hear. I head over to the dummy, letting the axe make my arm sag a bit, and try to make my mind busy with thoughts of nonsense. Like, what if I mess up? Or, can I really do this? So that I can really get into character. I lift the axe and hold the blade to the dummies neck, as if I'm aiming, and pull it back. The instructor sucks in a breath and I swing it down, slowing it down at the last second when I remember that I can't appear strong. The axe does hit the dummy but in the stomach and only goes halfway through. Perfection.
Some snickers come from behind me and I don't even have to look to know that the careers saw the whole thing. When I look up though, I see that the gamemakers were also watching. Shit, not the attention I wanted. I'll have to be good in the gamemaker session if I want to get that good score because they say that your score is based on all three days of training.
After that, I decide to be a little better by throwing the axe at a dummy so that it hit the dummies chest. That may sound good but the instructor had told me to hit it's head but at least it didn't fall to the ground before reaching the dummy like my original plan had been. No one snickers but I know that they aren't impressed much that I managed to have a 'lucky shot'. After ten more minutes of unsuccessful axe training, I leave.
"What was that?" comments Jaspe, running up from the line. He was suppose to practice with the axe but I guess he couldn't resist teasing me on my bad axe skills.
"I guess the axe isn't my weapon." I shrug and walk towards the camouflage station.
Althea jogs up, also abandoning her place in line, and stands between Jaspe and me. She barely catches the last of Jaspe's comment and says "But your from 7! I heard that you all can chop down a tree before getting into school."
She was right. I chopped down my first tree at the age of four. It was this rather thin tree that was blocking one of the windows outside of the girl's dorm. The day after that problem arose, I managed to get a lumberjack to lend me his axe everyday after his shift and for two hours I'd work on chopping that tree down. It came down on the fourth day and I felt so proud of myself. It really was a shame when the tree fell into the window, breaking it and scaring all of the girls.
"We don't all turn into lumberjacks, Althea." I try to sound casual because I don't want anyone to know about my abilities with the axe. Althea looks me over and just sighs, obviously not wanting to argue with me anymore about my lack of axe skills. I sigh in relief.
Jaspe, Althea, and I decide to stick together for the rest of the day. We work with edible insects which Althea finds disgusting and hurries off to the edible plants while we are finishing up. Since we had made Althea nearly vomit, she got to choose our next station which was fishing.
"Now who has successfully made a hook?" asks the instructor, sounding inexperienced from the lack of tributes. He must be new or people just don't care about fishing.
"I think mine is done." I say uncertainly, mad that I couldn't do this correctly when Jaspe and Althea already think I'm weak from my axe training.
The instructor takes my hook and smiles a bit. He tells me it is almost done and then shows me the last step. At least my hook wasn't majorly messed up. Jaspe and Althea look over at mine and Jaspe eventually gets it but Althea has to have the instructor tell her the rest.
We all learn how to make a fishing pole when it is time for lunch. Jaspe, Althea, and I sit together as usual. Around the cafeteria, I see that people are beginning to sit together and not alone. Alliances are forming rather quickly in these games. Will I stick will Jaspe and Althea? Will I risk having to watch them die or let them kill me? Maybe it would just be better if I went through this alone. All I will see is their faces in the sky, not the bloody death that comes before.
We finish lunch way too soon and I stuff my face with my last biscuit before leaving the room. I can't afford to starve in the arena and if putting on some weight means my survival then I don't care if people call me the 'fat girl' because it'll all be gone within a couple of days, if I live that long.
The last few hours of training goes by in a blur but that's mostly because Jaspe and Althea are going to the stations that I've already went to before we met each other. Before long, Magenta is walking into the training center and taking Jaxx and I into the elevator.
"Jaxx," I greet him but put a lot of venom into my voice. He had joined the careers, the worst thing one from 7 could do. 7 had joined the careers in the past, because of our axe skills, but he has no axe skills so he had went up to them to join.
"No one likes a jealous person, Isis." he puts venom into his voice when he says my name as well. It's not like I was expecting him to smile and give me a hug or some crap like that but he didn't have to say I was jealous.
Careers are the most vile things on this planet and I've yet to see a nice one enter the games. Why? Because the mean ones are always volunteering to die! Now Jaxx has joined them and I bet that Zeke or Magenta encouraged it because both of them think he is a prince. Liam is the only one who thinks I'm better but he might just be doing that because he is my mentor.
"Stop it you two." Magenta snaps because she could see that I was about to yell some foul words at him. He deserved it and the only one who knows that is me! Damn you both!
We reach floor 7 in a matter of seconds and I storm out of it. Magenta calls after me which causes me to run even faster. I don't want to be near these people anymore. It's cruel enough for us to have to kill each other but to make everyone around you act as though this is normal makes me sick. I can't handle this anymore without someone to back me up.
That's why I stop running when I reach the room that belongs to "Liam," I'm breathing heavily from all of the running.
"Hey, kid. What do you want?" he doesn't sound bored to see me. I'd say he was even happy to see me. If I was a mentor and all I did was wait for my tributes to die then I'd probably be happy to do anything too.
"I need direction." I say without thinking. Direction? Why do I need direction? Do I mean strategy?
"Here, sit down." Liam pats his bed and I sit down, happy to rest for a few seconds. "So far, you've done well as a tribute. Your not the favorite yet, though."
"I know that."
"Good, we don't want you to get arrogant. It's not endearing and sponsors will be turned off by you. Just show them all you got in the private session tomorrow. Don't go half-ass and get a 6, I want to be blown away. Jaxx won't have anything but his personality and personality can't get you very far in this game. Isis, you have everything that 7 represents. Just go out there and show them that we are fighters." he smiles and I smile as well even though I'm shaking.
He really expects this much of me? Either he has very high standards or he believes I'm this good. I really hope it is the latter. Liam says that he'll stop being all sappy and asks me about possible alliances.
"District 8," I hesitate before saying. "Both of them." Liam looks neutral. He is probably happy about Jaspe but Althea isn't exactly the best catch. Jaspe won't abandon her though so it would be stupid not to.
"I'll talk to their mentor, we've been buddies for a while. Anyone else?"
"Not really,"
"Ok, well it's time for dinner."
"How do you know?"
"Time for dinner!" chimes in Magenta before losing her happy Capitol voice when she sees me. Mentoring is a place where she doesn't belong and she knows it so she scurries off.
Liam and I walk to dinner together where no one else has arrived yet. She purposely invites me to dinner later then the others! That ugh I don't even have the time!
Liam and I sit down as the others start to walk in one-by-one. Jaxx is the last to arrive and I smile.
"Look who decided to show up." I sneer as the avoxes set down our food. Jaxx's face gets red and he plops down next to Magenta who pats his leg. God, I hate her.
We all eat in silence and it soon gets apparent that it is real. Once Jaxx and I get onto that hovercraft, only one or none of us will come back. It's not possible for Magenta and Liam both to get their way. I'm rooting for Liam's way, personally. Liam is the first to finish eating and he starts talking.
"Isis," I look up from my noodles, "Jaxx," Jaxx does the same as me. "You two are going into the private session tomorrow. No more holding back, Isis. Jaxx.." Liam hesitates, trying to think of something to say. "Just do something useful." he gets up and leaves.
The next morning arrives quickly and I had made sure that my sleep had been long. Magenta had slipped Jaxx some sleeping drugs from the cabinet after dinner so I had done the same. The avox man woke me up early, probably knowing about Magenta wanting me to be late, and gives me freshly cleaned training clothes. I change quickly, eat a quick breakfast, and head down to the training center.
Jaxx and I take a seat next to each other when we reach the room where we will wait until our name is called. Jaxx nods his head at the careers as the last tributes file in, filling the empty seats. One by one, people are called in, their faces ranging from happiness to fear.
After exactly three hours, Jaxx is called in. He seems a bit unsure of himself and a part of me wants to smile. He has gotten this far but when his face appears on the television screen tonight he will see that beauty isn't everything.
"Good luck," Jaspe says from behind me, putting his hand on my shoulder. I jump a bit when he touches me but quickly relax and say.
"Thanks... You too." I reluctantly say, knowing that if he scores higher then me then he'll probably get more sponsors.
"Isis Swift." the robotic voice says over a speaker and I stand up, my legs shaking. How do you prepare for this? You only do it once so it's not like you can practice!
A loud buzzing comes into my ears as I walk towards the doors. It's like a million bugs are swarming towards me and are about to attack. It gets louder and louder as my feet get closer to the door. When my slender fingers wrap around the door handle the bugs go wild and consume every thought in my mind. My hands pull the door open and the whole world goes silent.
The gamemakers are paying mild attention to me but I know that the careers got every bit of the attention when they came out. The head gamemaker sits up straighter in her chair and the others soon follow when I step into the middle of the room.
"Isis Swift, District 7." I say, gulping afterwords because of the utter silence in the room.
I decide to start off strong and grab the two axes sitting against the wall. From the way the axes were tilted sideways I could tell that someone else had already used them.
The gamemakers make small noises behind me, shuffling feet, shifting in their chairs, or a small cough. I must be one of the last tributes that they all will pay attention too because the scores get lower around District 9 or so, depending on the amount of alcohol the avoxes give them.
I go right in front of a dummy and don't hesitate when I chop it in half, a diagonal line cutting through it's abdomen. The gamemakers move in their seats, most of them sitting up straighter. I back up about twenty feet and train my eyes on the dummies head. I chop better with axes then throwing them but I can do it. I line up with a new dummy and take a deep breath. The first axe I throw cuts the dummies head in half and the second makes a gaping hole in the dummies stomach. I leave the axes and head over to the knifes.
Jaspe had told me to flick my wrist so that is what I do. Out of the six knifes I threw, four of them hit the dummies head and the other two flew downwards and hit the dummies neck. It wasn't my best but at least none of them clattered to the floor.
Since, I've only done weapons I decide to go to the fishing station. I'm careful before choosing that station though because if I pick a station I didn't excel in then it won't impress the gamemakers at all, making my score decrease. I manage to make an acceptable fishing pole just when they tell me I've been dismissed.
"T-thank you." I stutter before walking out the door. I didn't know if I should have said that or not but it feels like I should thank them. Not for killing children but for actually paying attention to me.
I make it about five steps out into the hallway when I notice Liam standing next to the elevator, leaning against the glass door. He'd fall backwards if the elevator decided to open.
"Magenta wanted to take Jaxx so I've come to be your 'escort'." Liam sounds bored and I just nod. It wasn't like I expected Magenta to cheer and give me a hug or something. Besides, Liam is way better then that Capitolite.
"How did you do?" asks Liam, genuinely interested. We get onto the elevator and the door shuts.
"I don't know. I guess we'll see tonight." I shrug just as the elevator opens and we enter the room.
Dinner comes quickly and it finishes just as fast. We are all too excited and anxious about the scores to really discuss anything. Jaxx does manage to act cocky saying that the gamemakers couldn't believe their eyes when he walked out. Asshole.
"It's on! Come on Jaxx!" Magenta plops onto the couch, patting beside of her so that Jaxx knows where to sit.
I manage to find a seat next to Liam and Zeke just when the Capitol seal comes on, the anthem playing. It fades away to reveal the face of Caesar Flickerman.
Caesar was the new announcer and he was already a huge hit. He began only a couple of years ago but he acted like he had been doing this for most of his life. Lately, he is being known for his every changing alterations and dyes. This year he is a metallic gold color which made his tan skin look even darker.
Tassel gets a 9 and Poise an 8. Jaxx is grinning happily as he sees that his allies are doing well. Just wait until your face shows up buddy I think. Cimber gets a 10 which makes me cringe inside while little Elvira gets a 10 as well. She really was a career prodigy. Marlene, the beauty from 4, got an 8 which was good but she is obviously not brute strength through and through. District 5 is of average scores and Tuscan from 6 got a 3. Everyone sighs except for the demon Jaxx. Speaking of him, he got the lovely score of 7.
"Ha!" I yell a little too loud but he deserves it.
He shouldn't have acted so cocky but now he has the lowest score of all of the careers. Magenta looks like she is about to cry so I shut up and look at the television.
"Isis Swift with a score of...9." Caesar says.
The reaction is immediate. Liam and I jump up, cheering loudly. A 9! A 9! I got a freaking 9! Jaxx and Magenta storm off, obviously mad that I got a good score. I cheer loudly, obviously way too happy for my own good. Everyone at the home will love this!
Zeke shushes us, obviously not giving a damn about Jaxx.
I notice Jaspe's face on the screen. Jaspe got a 9 as well. Oh my god! We both did so well. My mood is instantly soured though when Althea gets a 4. Poor girl. I sure hope this doesn't crush her too bad. A cry comes from above and I know that she is brokenhearted. A bad score means that they don't think she'll win.
The last person I notice on the screen before going to my room was Finch, the girl from 11. She got a 10. The room goes silent as we all stare at her smirking dark face.
"Fuck," I say, drawing the word out.
"Damn right," Liam and Zeke say at the same time. Looks as though we have some competition because she didn't have people paying attention to her and she got that. Damn, she made my 9 look pathetic.
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Whatever it is, tell me! Oh and thank you so much to my two reviewers, HungerGamesGirl98 and BR2607! Thank you so much, you made my day!
