EPOV
My hands become clammy with a sudden rush of sweat and my heart is roaring through my chest. My mouth is dry and my tongue runs against the roof of my mouth like sandpaper, even though my last drink was only a few hours ago and that was a whole jug of energy drink. I close my eyes and try to calm down my erratic breathing, but just see sparkly lights. I open my eyes quickly and just stare at the force field, searching for the weakness spot. I find it and stare at its comforting rippling motion. It seems to hypnotise me and fill me with confidence and the energy drink seems to run in my blood again. I flex and stretch my muscles, then turn to face the shelf of knives. I choose a light, medium sized knife to warm myself up. My hold on the knife activates a trapdoor that opens to reveal a dummy; I pull back my arm and throw as hard as I can. It's a headshot. I quickly glance over to the red-headed Gamemaker and see that she has a satisfied expression on her face as she is scribbling notes onto a sheet of paper. I grit my teeth and walk back over to the shelf, this time I need a harder knife to throw.
I pick up a heavier knife with an intricately cut blade that shines in the light as I examine it, again, a dummy appears, so I lift my arm back to throw. But I'm stunned; the dummy suddenly pulls away from its stationary spot and charges right towards me. My mind is a wild frazzle as I decide what to do. I glare at the red-headed Gamemaker, who has a now interested expression. I guess this is a new change to the assessment. The dummy is about 25 metres away now. I see the battleaxe shelf a few metres away and grab the meanest looking one I can. The dummy is just coming behind me, so I whirl round and the battleaxe makes contact with the dummy's torso, which slices neatly in half and falls to the floor with a hard thud. I wipe my forehead with my sleeve and smile triumphantly at the Gamemakers, who are all in deep discussion. I have a few more minutes left, so I choose my best skill, bombs.
I get some explosive wire and a metal object appears in the middle of the hall. I walk over and twist and turn the wire around the object, you have to get it just right because the metal is the strongest there is, and it's made from diamonds. This metal has certain weak points, like the rippling force field to my right; you need to get the wire in the right places for there to even be an explosion, because it needs to be able to react with the metal. I take the detonator and quickly stride back to the corner of the hall and brace myself for the explosion as I hit the button. To my pleasure and satisfaction, the metal object explodes into tiny shards that chink and flash as the scatter along the polished floor, leaving scratches. The red-headed Gamemaker is shaking her head in disbelief, that was a complex explosion, and this the first she's seen of my bomb skills. I have basically no time left, so I calculate my chances of getting a twelve, they seem moderately likely. But then I think of Shay and his muscled arms and my hope is whisked away. The Gamemakers finish their scribbling and notes, then look back up at me with calm eyes.
"Thank you, Miss Tianer. You may go now. You will be receiving your score in the arena whilst you are on the launch pads. Tomorrow you will be parading to the dispatch centre, where you will be sent off to the arena. Good luck." a different raven-black haired woman said with a smile that showed diamond encrusted teeth. A shudder went through my body as I imagined the procedure she must have gone through for her teeth and I turned to quickly exit the door, feeling a wave of nausea.
"Wait." an older Gamemaker called. I stopped in my tracks and slowly turned around, trying to avoid looking at the black-haired woman's teeth.
"Yes?" I gulped.
"Can you bring Xeno in please? District Three male?" he asked, though it sounded like an order. I quickly nodded and raced out of the door, glad I could rest until tomorrow.