Private Training Sessions (Part Two)

Ciera Dawson (D7 F 17)

"Ciera Dawson." I walk into the training room, trying to hide the fact that I'm sweating and trembling all over. As I step through the doorway, I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. When I tell myself that I'm ready, I grab a slingshot, and look around for some ammo. The great thing about slingshots is you can use a whole variety of objects as ammunition. That will help during the Games, since I'll have plenty of rocks, acorns, or nuts in the arena to shoot at attacking tributes or animals.

I find a few small rocks at the shelter building station, and place them in my pocket. I walk over to the shooting range and stand behind the line. Placing the first rock in the sling, I pull it back, and release it. The rock hits somewhere between the stomach and the chest, and thuds to the ground. I load my second rock on the slingshot. This time, the rock hits the target's head. My third rock hits the dummy's left arm, which is a slight setback, but I counteract it by hitting it directly in the heart with my fourth rock. The fifth rock hits the chest. Since I still have some time left, I decide to showcase my second skill; axe throwing. I grab an axe, and take a few steps back. I run up to the line and release the axe. It sails towards the dummy and hits it in the chest. In fact, it hits it so hard, the dummy falls to the ground. I guess the Gamemakers decide they've seen enough, because they dismiss me.

I drum my fingers on the arm of the couch, impatiently awaiting my score. Kat has gotten a six which will help out our alliance a lot. I just hope I can match her score. Finally, I see a picture of my face on the screen. "Ciera Dawson, with a score of seven." Excellent! A seven will certainly get me some sponsors.

Jorge Mosley (D7 M 15)

"Jorge Mosley." I walk into the training room, sweating from head to toe. This training session may determine my life or death. If I get a good score, I'll get sponsors. If I have sponsors, they'll be able to send me that water when I'm dehydrated. They'll be able to send me a blanket when I'm freezing in the cold. They'll be able to send me food when there's absolutely nothing in my stomach. So, I need to get a high score to obtain those sponsors.

I walk over to the fire-building station and start igniting a fire with a piece of flint. I progress to two sticks, and some other unusual objects. I hope I'm making a good enough impression on the Gamemakers. Since I still have about five minutes left, I decide to scale the climbing wall. I make it to the top in about thirty seconds less than my previous time. I climb down, and the Gamemakers dismiss me.

The scores have been pretty high so far. I'm hoping to continue that trend, though I don't expect anything over seven. Eventually, my name and score are announced. "Jorge Mosley, with a score of five." Crap! I'm not going to get any sponsors with a five.

Lynette Shultz (D8 F 14)

"Lynette Shultz." I tremble as I walk towards the door to the training room. I need to do well in these sessions; for myself and for Noel. I'm kind of winging my training session because I don't have any astounding talents, but I'll see how it goes. Maybe I'll get lucky.

I walk inside, over to the ropes course. Noel and I spent tons of time dangling from here, and I can tell I've gained some arm strength. I climb up and swing around a little bit. My arms burn from the past three days, but I keep going. I'll have two whole days to rest; tomorrow and the day of the interviews. In a few minutes, though, my arms get too sore to continue, so I jump to the ground. Now where should I go? I decide on the berry station. Noel and I spent a lot of time here as well. I quickly sort all thirty berries into edible and inedible columns. When I'm done, I turn to the Gamemakers, and they dismiss me.

I hope I did well enough for a mediocre score. Although I don't expect anything more than a five or a six, I know I'll get over a two or a three. Noel got a five, so I hope to match her score. "Lynette Shultz, with a score of five." Well, a five is about what I expected. I'm not too disappointed.

Jonas Cooke (D8 M 16)

"Jonas Cooke." As I step through the door to the training room, I can tell the Gamemakers are already starting to loose interest in the tributes. Only about half of them are looking at me. Though, I expect it's worse for District Eleven and District Twelve.

I walk over to the sword rack, and grab the one that felt the most balanced in my hand during training. I grab one of the sword-fighting dummies and set it to level five. I've seen some of the careers work at levels as high as eight, but I'm not quite ready for that yet. I turn on the dummy, and stand in attacking position. The dummy attacks first, lunging at my stomach. Now the dummies' swords aren't sharp enough to kill, or seriously injure, but they will leave a nice bruise. I block the dummy's lunge, and counteract it with one of my own. He easily blocks it. For the next ten minutes or so, we continue like this; jabbing and blocking each other's swipes. I manage to get him in the left arm, but It's far from a fatal shot. At last, I bury my sword in the dummy's chest. He falls to the ground, and I claim my victory.

I try to calm my nerves as I sit on the fancy chair; waiting for my score to be announced. I'm hoping for something over a six. At last, my face appears on the screen. "Jonas Cooke, with a score of six." A six is on the lower end of what I expected, but it might get me some sponsors; as long as I impress them at the interviews.

Carmen Sylvester (D9 F 17)

"Carmen Sylvester." I walk into the training room, trying to look confident. The truth is, I'm super nervous, but I want to try to look composed for the Gamemakers. Since I have had previous training, I think I can really impress these Gamemakers.

I nearly jog over to the spear rack and pick up my favorite spear. I take a step back, and launch it at the target. It hits the dummy right on the x on it's chest. I retrieve it and throw it again. It hits the x on the head next. For the remainder of the session, I alternate; hitting the chest and then hitting the head. I miss the x only two times, but they're both close shots. When the Gamemakers tell me my time is up, it takes me by surprise. I was focusing so hard on my spear that I lost track of time. I put the spear back on the rack and walk out of the room.

As I sit on the couch on the ninth floor, I hope my score will be in the 'career range.' That will get Roland and I sponsors, and we need those, coming from District Nine. At last, I see my picture on the screen. "Carmen Sylvester, with a score of ten." Wow! A ten will definitely get me sponsors!

Roland Fringe (D9 M 18)

"Roland Fringe." I head into the training room, ready to show the Gamemakers what I can do. I'm sure Carmen impressed them, so I want to do the same. If we both score above about seven, we'll have boatloads of sponsors begging our mentors to take their money.

I immediately grab a sickle. I've had plenty of experience with these in District Eleven's grain fields, and they're used as weapons by many tributes; primarily Districts Nine and Eleven. A sickle is a weapon with a curved blade connected to a handle. They're used to harvest grain in District Nine, and are usually among the weapons in the cornucopia.

I grab one a dummy and drag it out to the center of the training room. I get straight to work; slashing it in kill spots and reducing it to a pile of ripped fabric. I drag out another dummy, and mutilate this one as well. Two dummies later, the Gamemakers dismiss me.

I can't believe that Carmen got a ten. She looks very excited about it. This will be great for our alliance. I just hope I got a good score as well. Cameron's face disappears on the television screen, and mine takes her place. "Roland Fringe with a score of eight." Yes! It isn't a ten like Carmen's, but coming from no previous training, an eight is brilliant.

Savannah Troy (D10 F 12)

"Savannah Troy." I hop out of my seat. During my session, I'm hoping to prove to the Gamemakers that twelve-year-old girls shouldn't be overlooked. No one under fourteen has ever won the Games, but there's a first time for everything.

As I walk into the training room, my eyes immediately lock on the rack of throwing knives. I haven't touched them since day one because I didn't want anyone else to know I can throw them decently. I grab a knife and line up behind the target. I take aim and fire. The knife hits the x on the chest of the target. It isn't a direct shot, but it's a good one, nevertheless. I shoot another at the target, this time, hitting the center of the x. I glance up at the Gamemakers. Half of them look mildly impressed, as the other half chow down on food. I throw another knife, and it hits the dummy's head, about an inch over the x. My fourth shot misses the x on the chest by a hair. My fifth shot hits the direct center of the x on the head. The target is staring to get cluttered, so I retrieve the five knives and throw them again. My third one is the only direct hit, but the others miss by two inches or less. I look at the Gamemakers, and they tell me I'm dismissed.

I'm very excited to see my score. I'm hoping for it to be above average, so that I can obtain some sponsors. Finally, my score is announced. "Savannah Troy, with a score of six." A six? Darn it. I was hoping for at least a seven.

Levi Dwight (D10 M 18)

"Levi Dwight." I head over to the training room door, and walk inside the training room. The Gamemakers should be impressed by my skills. I plan to showcase my two best weapons: axes and throwing knives. They'll be impressed that I'm good with two weapons rather than just one.

I decide to go with throwing knives first. I grab a few, stand behind the line, and chuck them all at the target. None of them miss, but they aren't all kill shots. Next, I grab an axe, and throw it at the target about seven or eight times. Once again, they all hit the target, but a few aren't kill shots. I look up at the Gamemakers, and realize that only a few of them are paying attention. Those idiots! One of the Gamemakers that is paying attention to me dismisses me, leaving me wondering if I impressed some of them.

I sit on the couch, nervous to see my score. It might be just me, but the scores seem unnaturally high this year. I hope that won't hurt my odds in the Games. My ally, Geoffrey, only got a six. I expected more from him. Finally, my face replaces Savannah's on the screen. "Levi Dwight, with a score of six." What?! I deserved a eight or more.

Piper Hagen (D11 F 14)

"Piper Hagen." As I walk into the training room, I can feel the three remaining tributes' eyes on the back of my head. As I walk into the room, I can tell the Gamemakers aren't particularly interested in me. I clear my throat to alert them of my presence. It works a little bit, but a third of the Gamemakers are still focused only on the food.

I put the Gamemakers out of my mind as I grab a blow gun and load it with a few darts. The past few training days have made me realize something: I need to have a weapon, just in case. Although I'm not too keen on killing people, if it's necessary, I might consider it. I turned out to be okay with a blow gun. Since it requires no upper body strength, it's really the weapon for me.

I step behind the line and take aim. I take a deep breath, and give a sharp blow. The dart sails towards the target and hits the chest of the dummy. It isn't quite on the x, but it's a close enough shot. My second dart is a bit better, and hits the edge of the x. My third shot is the best; finally striking the center of the x. I look up to see if any of the Gamemakers caught my perfect shot. It turns out that only half of them are watching. Oh well. Maybe if I shoot a little bit more, they'll take notice. Over the next ten minutes, I keep shooting my blow gun, increasing in accuracy as my session continues. I glance up at the Gamemakers from time to time, and I can tell that more are watching as the session goes on. Hopefully that's a good sign. When my fifteen minutes is up, one of the Gamemakers dismisses me.

I doubt I'm going to get a good score. The Gamemakers were barely watching me, and my shooting was far from perfect. When I see my face appear on the screen, I cross my fingers. "Piper Hagen, with a score of seven." I let out a sigh of relief. I'm perfectly happy with a seven.

Thurmond Richard (D11 M 16)

"Thurmond Richard." As I walk towards the door, I push my glasses up against my face. They keep sliding down from all my sweat. I walk into the room, feeling particularly unconfident. I know I have no chance of getting anything over a five.

I immediately head towards the edible berries station. I quickly sort out the thirty berries into edible and inedible columns. I check my score and find, to my dismay, that I mixed two up. Stupid nerves! Because of that mistake, I now know that the only way to impress the Gamemakers now is to show off some weaponry skill. Although I'm nowhere close to as good as the careers, maybe I'll get a lucky shot. I grab a throwing knife, and stand in front of the human-shaped target. As I release my knife, I aim for the chest. When my knife lands, however, it's nowhere close to the chest. The knife misses the target completely, landing about two inches away from the left knee. One of the Gamemakers decides he's seen enough, and sends me on my way.

I'm hopeless. After my berries mishap and my throwing knife fiasco, I doubt I'll get anything higher than a two. When my face flashes onto the screen, I prepare for the worst. "Thurmond Richard, with a score of three." I three was generous. I deserved a one or a two.

Violet Copley (D12 F 16)

"Violet Copley." Hooray. Time to make a fool of myself. I walk into the training room, pretty uncertain of what I'm going to do. I don't have any great talents. I guess I'll just have to wing it.

I walk over to the poisonous berry station. I was somewhat proficient at this station. I sort the thirty berries into the two categories: edible and inedible. When I check my score, I see that I got them all right. I look up at the Gamemakers to see if any were impressed by that. To my dismay, I discover only two Gamemakers are watching me. Darn it! What should I do now? I still have half of my session left. I decide to show them my shelter-building skills. I walk over to the station, and start assembling some wood together. However, I'm only three quarters of the way done when my time runs out. As I walk away from the training room, I wonder if I'll actually get a score above a one.

It takes forever for Tristan Honeybee to get to District Twelve. I hate being last. Well, technically Eli's last, but second to last is just as bad. After what seems like hours, Tristan gets to District Twelve. "Violet Copley, with a score of three." Stupid Gamemakers! They didn't pay attention to me at all! Good thing I have two skilled allies, or I'd be in trouble.

Eli Phillis (D12 M 16)

"Eli Phillis." Finally! I hate being last. I've heard stories that the Gamemakers don't pay attention to the last few tributes because they get bored. Hopefully, they're not true. I know I'm not going to get an excellent score, but if the Gamemakers don't even watch me, my score will be the lowest of them all.

As I walk in, I discover my suspicions are right. Absolutely none of the Gamemakers are watching me. I fight the urge to shout at them, and resolve to clearing my throat. It gets the attention of the few of them. "I'm starting." I say loudly. A few more heads turn my way. I hope they'll stay that way.

I grab a sword and get straight to work. Setting a dummy to level six, I step back and hear it buzz to life. I attack first, but the dummy easily dodges it. I thrust my sword again, but he's still too quick for me. I'll just have to catch him off guard. The dummy starts counter-attacking. I dodge his first two swipes, but the third one catches me in the knee. I ignore the slight pain, and fight back strongly. I manage to get the dummy in the arm, but it's obviously no killing swipe. The dummy gives me an injury to match his; right on the arm. Maybe setting it to level six wasn't such a grand idea. The dummy knocks me off of my feet, and advances towards me, his sword held high. As the dummy attacks, I thrust my sword upwards as a last attempt to kill him. I end up getting lucky; the sword hits the dummy right in the chest. He gives a short "bleep" and falls to the ground. Yes! The Gamemakers dismiss me, and I walk out the door wondering if I did well enough.

Hopefully, the Gamemakers will reward me with a good score. Although I got hurt twice, I did end up defeating the dummy; even if it was a lucky shot. "And last, but not least, Eli Phillis, with a score of five." Darn it! I think I deserved a better score than that.

Scores:

Gemma Hound: 11

Smoky Wills: 9

Lexiana Porter: 10

Mars Poole: 10

Jillian Perry: 7

Alfred Jarrod: 4

Seabrook Gloss: 10

Hull Weast: 9

Noel Jackson: 5

Geoffrey Williams: 6

Kat Stanley: 6

Troy Ross: 7

Ciera Dawson: 7

Jorge Mosley: 5

Lynette Shultz: 5

Jonas Cooke: 6

Carmen Sylvester: 10

Roland Fringe: 8

Savannah Troy: 6

Levi Dwight: 6

Piper Hagen: 7

Thurmond Richard: 3

Violet Copley: 3

Eli Phillis: 5

Since I still have no votes on my poll, I have decided that every tribute who gets two or more votes WILL survive the bloodbath. Any tribute who doesn't get any votes (with the exception of the careers) WILL PROBABLY die in the bloodbath. Please vote to save your favorite characters. You can vote for up to three tributes. :-)