CHAPTER 10 RAVEN
I hear nothing but my blood rushing in my ears. Everything is blurred and hazy, as if the world is wrapped tightly in cotton. I hear talking all around me, people yelling and the occasional flash of a camera, but I am too astounded to care. A hand is placed on my back and I am ushered forward into a sleek, silver train. The doors slam shut and the voices die down. I try my hardest to snap out of this trance I seem to be in. It helps when the red haired escort speaks.
"You okay?"
Immediately after that question, she scoffs and adds, "No, never mind. You're not."
She's different. She lacks the upbeat attitude and peppiness of other escorts I've seen on television.
"Go on. Sit," she commands, and I slowly, hesitantly take my place on the soft, cushiony couch next to the girl tribute.
"I'll get the mentor," the escort says, and she leaves the compartment, her red ponytail swinging about. The girl, Monnie, and I just sit there silently. I take a moment to take a better look at her. She has long, golden blonde hair that reaches past her shoulders and District Three's grey eyes. She's not too tall for her age, and I am only a little bit shorter.
I try to find some kind of conversation starter. "So, um, there can be more than one winner this year... So, um, maybe we could work together?" I wonder how she'll respond.
"Sure." She says it firmly but warmly, and yet she doesn't even look at me. I don't know what to do in this kind of situation, so I sink further into the cushions.
In a couple of minutes our escort returns, followed by a thin young woman with black hair and grey eyes. The escort leans up against one of the windows in the compartment as our mentor sits down across from us. I remember her; she must've won only a couple of years ago. I place her age to be somewhere between twenty and twenty-two. She sits down and looks at us. When she speaks, her voice is thin, but deep. "Hi, my name is Kai and I'll be your mentor for the Games."
Suddenly I recognize her. She won the 96th Hunger Games, when I was eight years old. She was the only victor from District Three that ever won during my lifetime. I try to remember how she won the Games. She had stayed idle for most of it and survived until the final two. Unable to bring herself to kill the remaining Career, she trapped him in a deep hole and fed him parts of her food supply every day. After three days the Gamemakers sent in muttations to finish him off and crowned her victor. She hadn't won of talent or fighting skill; she was just likable enough to be chosen to be spared by the Gamemakers. She's the greatest mentor I could have asked for.
"Now, I know what you're thinking," says Kai. "I'll be no help to you in the games, will I? And I agree with you, it's just that Three has just me as a living victor." I realize it's true. The only Games other than Kai's that I've ever seen have ended in a Career winning. Usually Two or One, occasionally Four.
"So what advice do you have for me—us?" Monnie asks, and I get a little uncomfortable by her use of the word "me."
Kai seems to sense it too because she goes on quickly. "It's a special year, you two know that already. Multiple victors are allowed. Now, I don't know the specific rules yet, I assume we'll all find out when we arrive in the Capitol. The best thing you can do in this kind of situation is be likable. You can form large alliances and you can all survive. And you have to make sure the Capitol loves you. It's the only way I survived."
I raise an eyebrow. "But I thought you just hid and managed everything on your own?"
"Oh, I did," explains Kai. "But when it came down to me and that Career Tribute, and I trapped him in the hole, I only survived because the Sponsors liked me. You see, after three days of me keeping him alive, the Gamemakers held a poll amongst the Sponsors to see who would get targeted by the muttations. And, from the looks of it, I was a lot more popular in the Capitol."
It's obviously an uncomfortable situation for Kai, because she stands up. "It's getting late. The two of you should take showers and just go to bed. Tomorrow morning we'll watch the Reaping tape, and we should be in the Capitol by evening. Good night." She leaves the compartment. Monnie follows her and I am left alone with the red-haired escort.
"Go," she says. "Go on."
I get up to leave, but the woman's mysterious character makes me stay. I don't know how to start asking her who she is, so I ask, "We're going to be seeing a lot of each other for the next few days, so I might as well get to know your name..."
She looks into my eyes for the first time. Her eyes are pitch black and I feel like I'm looking into an infinite tunnel. She doesn't look scary or disturbing, though. No matter how black those eyes are, I know she's on my side.
"Just call me Red," she says, and leaves the compartment.