Chapter 11

Trees blur around on either side of me, green and brown, until eventually they are morphed into one ugly grey strip. My boots slap across the wet soil, sending sprays of mud onto my face and eyes. The forest is becoming less and less visible. There are muffled shouts behind me, but I can't make out their words. I turn once, just my head, only for a moment. I need to see where they are. Four blazing blue, narrowed eyes meet mine, sparkling, they're laughing. Then the ground falls out from under me, and I land with a sickening crack. I'm not sure how I know for certain that the crumpled, bloody figure now lying motionless beneath me is him. Is Fry, but it is. I scream, though the sound gets lost in the rising laughter as the hunters approach. Besides, everyone may hear my cries, but no one is listening.

I bolt upright in bed and feel the thin silky material of the sheets cocooning my now drenched in sweat, legs. My eyes dart around the room while my breathing begins to slow. 'What the hell had just happened?'

I reach down and peel the sheets away from myself, before rolling off the bed and wobbling to my feet, its so hot... My eyes slowly begin to adjust to the darkness, and I can make out the shapes in the oversize room. I hadn't forgotten where I am, but for some reason the more I think about it, the heavier the weight in my chest feels. 'I need air.'

I feel my way to the door and push it open to see small lights on floor of the hall illuminating it from both sides. The large rooms I pass feel strangely empty in the dark. Finally, after what feels like a mile walk I find the doors to the balcony, the glow of the city seeps over the rail and spreads around my feet. I collapse onto a chair and suck in deep gasps of breathe before fading into another hazy dream...

"Dicen." "Dicen!" Someone shakes my arm, I groan. "blondie, blondie, blondie."

Finally with a sound of protest I open my eyes to the bright glare of the sun. Skader smiles "Good, I thought you might be dead, you really are pale aren't you" He pokes my cheek. "Its like I can see through your skin..."

"Oh goodness! There you are Dicen I was worried you had disappeared" Beatilce looks around the balcony "Well this is a...nice place to sleep isn't it? Hmm...Okay well you should really come in for breakfast so you'll have time to dress for training, I'll go wake Fry. Morning Skader" She nods to him and disappears through the doorway, Skader shoots me a lopsided grin.

"Shall we weirdo? Or do you prefer to stay out here, get some color..." I make a face and stand, wondering exactly how I got out here in the first place.

Frari and Taris are already at the table, though the clones are absent, apparently they don't actually stay here like their head stylists, but had only accompanied us for dinner last night in celebration of the chariot rides apparent success.

I sink into one of the leather encased seats across from Taris. "You look positively disheveled Dicen, did I not tell you to get as much sleep as possible? Are you trying to make my job difficult? Hmm?" He shakes his head disapprovingly, its like every time he talks, his strange capitol accent grinds into my bones.

"Sorry" I mumble, in an automatic habit to be as polite as possible, though he doesn't seem to notice...much less care.

Beatilce, Rassa and an annoyed looking Fry walk in, and much to my disappointment, as tired as Fry looks his hair is still perfectly in place and aside from the slight red circles around his eyes his face bare no signs of sleep, or lack of for that matter. I hear Ara's voice in my mind, from just about every morning when she watches him walk into class and I watch her face slack in a dreamy yearning "He just doesn't have a bad day does he? I mean look at him! Its hardly fair to be so ungodly gorgeous...while the rest of us normal people sit here sulking in our ugliness." I would always roll my eyes in response, but I'm beginning to see her point...

Once every one is settled at the table, a double set of side doors swings open and a lanky boy with golden brown hair that falls messily over his eyes enters, his gaze remains fixed on the ground as he makes his way to the table with the two large silver trays balanced on his arms. He carefully places the trays in front of us, but no one but Rassa and I seem to notice. She nods conspicuously at him, and offers a small grateful smile, he nods in return, meeting her gaze for a split second. I frown, and raise my eyebrows at her questioningly, she only shakes her head and mouthes the word 'later.'

Skader tells us a bit more about what to expect in the training room, and what we should focus on. I nod in agreement to his words, but Fry seems to be tuning him out completely, with his eyes never leaving his plate.

After we're done eating, Taris herds me back to my room, babbling about the uniform design, he dials in training uniform on the wall panel in the bathroom and out pops a black stretchy material shirt with maroon and silver stripes down the arms and a small number 3 on the shoulders and mid back, along with matching stretchy pants and leather boots. After I dress he winds my hair into a loose bun and brushes black mascara on my eyes, telling me it makes them look more intense. "Is all this really necessary?" I ask, in an uncharacteristically whiny tone.

"Of course, don't you want to make a good first impression Dicen?"

"Huh? Wait, I get that we need to make good impressions for sponsors...but the tributes? Why the hell would I want to impress people who want me dead...?"

Taris winks "They only think they'll want you dead now, but just wait until those guy tributes get a good look at how innocent and cute you are! Before you know it you'll have a line of guys willing to jump in front of an arrow for you."

I stare at him "You can't be seri..." I stop short, realizing its no good and shake my head mournfully, " Do all the stylist go through this much work for training? Or are you just super high maintenance?" I meant it as a kind of jab, but Taris smiles.

"I suppose they probably don't, but they should..." the topic drops.

I stare at the digital clock on the wall, feeling adrenaline pumping through my vanes as the numbers increase. I have to repeatedly tell myself this is only training, not the arena. 'No, not the arena...yet.'

"Alright, well I'm off. Beatilce said to meet her at the elevator at ten, so she can walk you and Fry to training. Don't be late!" Taris chirps as he sashays out the door, leaving me alone to my nerves. I collapse onto the bed with a huff and let my mind wander to my family. They'll all be up by now. Bolt and Tact sprinting to school, leaving as late as possible, Mayla on her way to meet Burnan (assuming that she's able...no of course she is) and dad having been at work for at least three hours now.

Normally I'd be at school by now, sitting with Dekus as we wait for Ara to get back from the woods, as its her day to check the traps we'd set at the cabin. Mine would be tomorrow, though I suppose under the current circumstances it with be Dekus...unless of course he had to take the day before last after the Reapings, seeing as it would have been my turn then, and Ara took yesterday...meaning Dekus would have taken today. My mind works its way through all the possibilities of their situation in a lame attempt at distracting myself from my own as sit waiting for the clock numbers to rise to ten so I can face the people that will be trying to kill me soon enough.

Ten o'clock comes too soon. I walk down to the elevators, clenching and unclenching my fists the whole way, trying to get the tingling sensation to stop, but it doesn't help much. Fry and I get there at about the same time, Beatilce smiles at us "Well don't you two look fierce today. You know I love that they've started dressing you all in matching uniforms for training, I didn't think I would...but it really has turned out well hasn't it?" She doesn't seem to be waiting for a response, so I stay silent, Fry mumbles some sort of snarky reply under his breathe but its too quiet for me to understand.

The training room itself is below ground, five stories down from our living area. We ride down in near silence, the only sound is Beatilce's fidgeting as she searches for something to say, clearly uncomfortable. I enjoy silence.

I let out a sharp burst of breathe I haven't realized I'd been holding when the elevator doors slide open, revealing a large warehouse type room with various weapon stations and what I'd guess to be obstacle courses. A large circle of tributes is beginning to form in the center of the room and I realize we're one of the last groups to show, though much to Beatilce's obvious relief not the very last, the District 11 tributes only just arrived as well. I watch as the male tributes eyes slowly scan the room, and then land on me. I chill runs down my spine and I quickly drop my gaze to my boots, feeling my cheeks blush a bright red.

Fry walks ahead of me looking tired as he joins the circle, I follow hesitantly. A tall women enters the circle then, and tells us her name is Atala. Just as Skader had said, she explains the rules first, 'no fighting other tributes, there are assisants on hand if we wish to practice' 'we are free to rome around the stations as we please' 'some stations are there to practice combative skills, where as others teach general survival skills, hunting, gathering etc.' My eyes find the general survival stations right away, remembering Skader's clear instructions to do so.

She begins going over the different stations in more detail and I begin to zone out. I'd been trying my best to ignore the group of people surrounding me, trying to blend into the scenory and escape anyones attention, just as Skader and Rassa advised us to do, but now I lift my gaze to the other tributes faces, keeping my head tilted toward the ground in case someone glances back at me.

My eyes find the District 10 girl first, a small red head whose likely no more than thirteen. She has round dark eyes and thin lips as well as a wide face and small curved nose. I can feel a frown creese my cheeks, 'how can they throw such a small, frail looking girl into and arena with...' my eyes shift over to the place where the careers are gathered, straight across from my own spot 'them, and expect it to be fair?' I scan the rest of the circle. I'm short, I've always been well aware of that, and not exactly strong considering yesterday was the first day for as long as I can remember that I've actually consumed three full 'meals,' But I've never felt inadequate because of this, not until now that is. Everyone in the room (aside from the District 10 girl, and maybe the district 8 boy) towers above me, making me feel nearly as frail as fire head looks.

'Dicen! You can win alright? You're smart! Just..." My dads last words to me ring through my head. "You're smart Dicen" I am smart when it comes to somethings, but so what? I'm smart enough to know that intellegance will get me no where against people who are not only twice my size, but know how to fight, have been doing it their whole lives. So I'm smart, but no math equation I know will save me when the careers have me pinned to the ground with a knife at my throat. Not one.