"So," Lucas says brightly. "Your training went so well yesterday, but I think it's time to branch out."

I glare at him. Okay, I'm not particularly skilled with a knife. Or a sword. Or a bow. But I really can't take his smirking demeanor.

"Got any bright ideas?"

"Several actually, but they might be regarded as treason."

I stare at him. He's speaking in a light tone, but this is the first time I've ever seen him show any animosity towards the Capitol.

"Joking," he says, but his dark eyes are serious. I swallow and glance around the training center to make sure no one heard. Everyone is too focused on their tasks, methodically slashing and hurling and studying in a desperate effort to stay alive.

I nod at him cautiously and follow him over to a new station. He thrusts a wooden staff into my hands. "Try this."

I grip the staff, feeling the way the gnarls and cracks of the wood fit into my hands. Hefting it experimentally, I find it has a nice weight. As someone who's spent her life cutting grain in the fields, my shoulders are used to swinging objects.

Lucas stands back while I twirl the staff and slam it into the nearest dummy. I shift my weight, experimenting with the best stance.

"Any advice?" I call.

"Nope," Lucas says cheerfully. "I've never used a staff before."

I make a rude gesture in his direction, and then focus my attention of the staff. It's a weapon of power and grace.

I like it.

As the day wears on, I realize that we haven't made any more progress with our little alliance. So I put down the staff, my shoulders shaking with exertion, and nab Henry, who is with Helio again.

"What?" he hisses as I pull him away from his idol.

"Henry," I tell him. "We need a strategy. And you have to remember that only one team can win."

He looks at me mutinously, a common expression for him, then sighs. I wave Wren over from the edible plants station, and we head over to where Helio is swinging the sword with a vengeance.

Helio looks up and sighs when he sees us gathered around him, dwarfish next to him.

"What now?"

Henry and Wren stare at me. "We need a strategy," I say, bouncing on my toes.

Wren's eyes flash with nervousness. "For the Cornucopia?"

"We stick with our partner," Helio says shortly. "If we both make it, we can meet up later."

"What about weapons and supplies?" Henry asks.

Helio swings the sword from hand to hand, his shoulder muscles rippling. "Oldest ones get weapons and supplies." He looks at me and I nod.

We stand around awkwardly until Helio clears his throat. "Better prepare for the evaluations."

"Right. Come on, Henry," I say.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

My name is called. It sounds so foreign and wrong, oozing from the Capitol loudspeaker.

"Oriole Whittaker!" A mutation of my name. Mama always sang my name when she woke me up. "Oriole!" she'd trill. "It's time for the harvest, birdy."

Time for the harvest, I think. Time to show them what I've got.

Henry flashes me a thumbs up, and Wren, sitting a few seats down, grins. I walk, as quickly as I can to the room.

The Gamemakers are lined up on a balcony. I fantasize about throwing something at them, maybe a knife, but reconsider.

"You may begin," one of them says. They're bored now. All the Careers have gone through. I scan the weapons piled up. I don't want to do too well and make myself a target. I just want to get enough sponsors and be able to slide out of the Bloodbath.

I spot a staff, lying under a bag of knives. The ridges and whorls of the wood soothe me. I pick it up and twirl it, then slam it into the dummy. Its head falls off and I feel a sharp surge of satisfaction. I run, and then use my staff to pole vault, suspending myself weightless in the air for one blissful moment, and then land on the other side of my decapitated foe. I turn to the next dummy. This one's gripping a wooden sword and is programmed by the Capitol to fight. It swings, slower than an actual human would, towards my face. I duck instinctively and twist one end of my staff towards its hands. The sword clatters on the floor. In the next instant, I slam the other end into its face. It doesn't dodge fast enough and falls, slowly, to the ground with a thud.

I'm panting too hard, coated with sweat and fear. One more trick, I think. I hurl my staff like a spear at one more dummy, grateful for my strong shoulder muscles. My aim isn't perfect, but it's enough to make the dummy wobble. I swing around to face the Gamemakers. Two of them are dozing. Again, hot anger ripples through me, but I squash it down.

"Thanks for watching!" I say cheerily. One violet-haired man startles awake. I give a jaunty wave and then sweep from the room.