Training Day Two:
Eudora Bayard, 17;
District Seven Female
Trying to use an axe just isn't worth it. I'm not able to use it properly and every time that I miss a swing or do something idiotic, Chantell yells at me. It's not my fault that an axe is either too heavy or just doesn't fit my strong suit. Sure, I'm from Seven, well, initially from Nine, but ever since dad got a job offer alongside the President in Seven, we moved, but that doesn't mean that I'm automatically like their lumberjack tributes.
Moving to Seven was kind of different for me. I never stood out back in Nine, but in Seven, people actually started noticing me. Even the boys, if I might add. But, of course, that meant that I had to spend some time with the President's daughter. She was very controlling and I remember everyone being scared of her. She would ruin anyone's life and abused that power of her being the President's daughter.
It was actually quite fun in Seven. It was nothing like Nine at all. Nine was just a place where I was an outcast and nobody ever really saw me. I guess I just didn't fit in, but when I got to Seven, all of that changed. Moving to Seven was one of the best things to happen to my family and I. Sucks that I died and now I'm back. I promise this time I won't die as pathetically as I did last time. Maybe I can even win!
As I try to swing the axe again, Chantell just continues to yell at me. ''You're doing it wrong! Pick it up with two hands! Control where you swing! Don't let the axe dictate where you move, you control it! COME ON, EUDORA!''
I turn around and face Chantell. Dropping the axe, I smack my foot against it and push it across the room where Orion walks up with Relmo and picks it up. He smiles at us and holds the axe like he's professional with it. From what I've seen him do, I might as well say that he is. I remember on the train rides when we were talking to each other he told me about him moving from Four to Seven. I guess that's why he's so good, but that doesn't explain the nice personality. I would think that he would be vindictive and very irritated.
''Come on, Eudora!'' Chantell looks straight at me, her eyes looking deep into my soul. She's angry and I feel as though any moment now she'll hit me. She grabs the axe from Orion's hand and starts swinging at Relmo, who dodges the attacks perfectly. ''Why can't you do it like this?!''
She continues swinging one handed, then two handed, and then all sorts of combos that look extremely difficult to carry out. Relmo holds up the axe with one hand and flips it out of her hand. He smiles at me, looks towards Orion, and then whispers in his ear. They're all huddled up and talking about something, but I'm left out of the conversation.
''Listen,'' Chantell sighs. She peaks her head up and stares right at me. I have a bad feeling that I know what she's gonna say, and I don't want to do it. I just don't. ''You and Orion are gonna spar, you got that?''
''No!'' I say in an assertive tone, looking at all three of them—Orion, Chantell, and Relmo—back and forth as I turn my head. ''I don't want to get hurt, especially after seeing what Orion did to that trainer yesterday. Orion is obviously trained and prepared, but I'm not. I still need help with my weapon skills and you're pressuring me and forcing me to use a weapon that I can't!''
They all look at me, and for a moment, I think Chantell's about to slap me. Relmo looks at her and sighs. ''So, what can you use?'' he asks. If only he was my mentor instead of Chantell. Orion definitely got the better mentor. At least he's calm and doesn't scream at me for making mistakes. ''How about we try out a sickle?''
He hands me a sickle. It's smooth and soft against my hand, but holding it is difficult for me. Chantell gives me the signal to start attacking, so I go ahead and try. She tells me to come straight at her and that's exactly what I do. Running straight towards her, I swing the sickle towards her. My aim is terrible with this weapon; that allows her to dodge swiftly and easily.
It's like I'm a madman, swinging anywhere that I see fit. This just isn't my weapon, and knowing this, I know that I won't be going for it during the bloodbath. I just need a small weapon to use. A knife! Something like that would work perfectly with me, but my mentor won't let me choose my own weapon. Maybe they're not her strong suit, but not everyone agrees with her choice of weapon.
Giving it one more effort, I continue running at Chantell. Through the corner of my eye, I see Orion and Relmo standing, both crossing their arms. I think I finally have the chance of using this weapon, but as soon as I raise it the weight starts to carry on my shoulders and I drop it. Chantell uses this to her advantage and elbows me in the stomach, making me fall on my knees and lying on the ground. She picks up the sickle and puts the handle of it pressed against my temple.
''Come on, kid! Why are you doing this to yourself?'' she asks. Her voice just got deep for a second and she's staring right at me with her pupils shrinking as she continues to ridicule me. I bite my bottom lip and close my eyes as I breath slowly and relax. ''I know that you can do it, but you're just not trying hard enough! Why won't you try?!''
''I am trying,'' I answer her, my tone calm and soft. I don't want to give her attitude or anything, and I won't. I know that she's trying to help me, but she needs to listen to what I have to say. If I can't use something as large as an axe or a sickle, a knife or a dagger is what suits me much better. ''I obviously can't use an axe or a sickle. Please, just let me choose my own weapon and I'll show you how much better I can do.''
Everyone turns their heads to one another. I hear chuckling in the background and I lift my head up to see Orion smiling at me. We look right at each other for a brief moment until he walks over to Chantell and opens up his mouth. ''Come on! Let the girl choose her own weapon. It would be better for us all, and you could learn to teach something different that might benefit your future tributes.''
She finally comes to her senses and lets me get up and choose my own weapon. I walk around the Training Center, looking at all the other tributes practicing for the games that are shortly coming up. I walk over towards the knives and daggers rack.
The boy from One stands there leaning against the racks. He catches my eye and sees me coming over there so he tosses two daggers towards me. I jump back a little, catching one in my hand and the other one falling on the ground. He lets out a light chuckle as he waits for a screen pop up, telling him to start his practice.
A red light appears over multiple figures, which draws my attention into what's going on. One starts throwing knives like it's nothing, hitting the figures right in the heart every time. He throws two knives at the same time at one figure; one of them hitting the heart, the other one hitting the throat. I watch, eyes widened and mouth gaped as he continues to flick his wrist like it's nothing.
He messes up once out of fifty times and that was when he hit the chest instead of the heart. After the practice is over, he looks back at me and smiles. Multiple knives come flying towards me but none of them hit me. They all land right next to my feet and surround me, making a circle somehow. This guy...
''Hey,'' he says smiling. The look on his face seems like he's a fun and loving guy, but I don't know if you can ever trust a career. He could be playing all friendly with me now, but when we enter that arena, I could be his first target. I relax myself and breathe. There's nothing to be intimidated from. ''I'm Hero.''
''Eudora,'' I say unwillingly. That just came out of my mouth randomly. I never meant to tell him my name. Maybe he's just-
''Whoa!'' I yell, jumping back from my spot as a knife almost lands in my foot. Hero continues moving towards me and throwing knives all over the place. I continue to back up and eventually just move away from the boy. Staying around would just hurt my well-being.
''Sorry!'' he yells from behind, sending a knife flying past my face. To my surprise, Orion catches the knife thrown by Hero and sends it flying right back. I turn around to see Hero chuckling and winking over towards us, the knife in his hands and only a bit of blood dripping, but he's got it caught perfectly in his hands.
I hold up the two daggers and stare Orion, who stares out our mentors, who stare at each other. They don't even bother to look back towards Orion and I. We just stare back and forth, looking awkwardly as they don't realize that we're both still here. ''Uh-hem!'' I cough, placing my fist over my mouth, finally catching the attention of both our mentors.
''Oh, um, yeah.'' Chantell finally realizes. She scratches the back of her head as she stares at us, trying to remember what she was gonna say. We all stay in the exact same position that we're standing in for quite some time while we wait for Chantell. The noise of metal clashing together makes me turn around.
I watch as the boy from Two swings a mace at his mentor's head, almost hitting him and drawing a bit of blood. His mentor swings a machete right at him, and instead of ducking, the boy grabs the machete head-on and rips it out of his mentors hand. Now with two weapons, he attacks swiftly and smoothly, drawing more and more blood as he swings.
His mentor obviously isn't trying, but it's still impressive. It's crazy to see kids being able to just attack and kill without hesitation. It's been going on for years, and even after death it's still here. That's quite shocking, to be honest. I would've expected another rebellion sooner, but maybe it just won't happen. I'm honestly not surprised that the Capitol is still in charge.
''Okay, just go,'' says Chantell in a demanding tone. ''We don't have all day. After you two spar, we're gonna be pushing you past your limits and force you to do much more than what we already taught you. Now go!''
Orion doesn't hesitate a bit and just rushes at me. With an axe poised in his possession, he swings violently and almost recklessly, but it works for him. Just thinking about how he'll interact with others in the arena scares me. It's just how easily he swings and knows what to do. Almost as if he's been doing this for his entire life.
His axe continues to get closer and closer to my face by the second. I'm not sure what to do at this point besides continue to dodge. If I try to go on the offensive attack, he'll most likely be able to slam that axe right into my neck. It's very likely that he knows exactly what I'm going to do. If he's been practicing against experienced people, what do you think he can predict about me?
He brings his axe back and places it behind him. His left hand reaches up to hit me in the face and I have no time to block it, but he just stops and smiles at me. Is he really that nice? He won't even bother to actually attack me. My head turns towards our mentors who tell him to go on, but he doesn't. What is with him? Does he really want to be my ally that badly or is he just acting nice?
I don't understand what's up with Orion; I've never been able to understand him. Clutching the two daggers, I swing one at his neck and the other at his stomach. Looks like he's letting me go on offense this time and him on defense.
My daggers almost hit him until he brings up his axe in abnormal speed, blocking both of my daggers and getting one stuck inside of the axe blade. He rips it out and tosses it right to me. I catch it and start thinking. Orion always knows what I'm going to do, even if I don't say it out loud, which I wouldn't. Let me do something that he wouldn't expect.
I run straight at him and throw one dagger straight towards his head. He smiles at me. ''Too predictable,'' he says. My eyes widen in shock. What the hell?! With quick thinking, I drop to the floor and slide under his legs. He didn't expect that from the look on his face. I quickly use this time to get up and wrap my left arm around his neck, my dagger pressing against it, but barely.
''Good stuff,'' Orion smiles at me. I hear some applause coming from behind me and see our mentors clapping. Somehow, I feel as though Orion wasn't trying. He just stood there and patiently waited for me to do what I was gonna do. Even my mentors probably know this. He definitely wasn't trying, and he let me have this win. I don't know who he is or what training he's done, but this guy's good.
He quickly disarms the daggers from my hand and flips me over his shoulder. I land on my back and stare up at him as he throws them up into the air and smiles. He catches the daggers and then places them right beside my head as he tries to help me get up.
''No,'' I say smiling at him. The smile is fake, though. I don't understand how all of these tributes died first. The careers are better than the ones that were originally in my games. Some of the outer District tributes are amazing at weaponry; and Orion surpasses any other District Seven tribute that I've ever seen in my life.
I just don't get it.
There are way too many threats in these games, and even though I have a strong feeling that I won't make it out of the arena alive this time, I know that I won't go down so pathetic this time. The group of tributes that we have this year are just so different. Some are good, others are bad. Some are just... I don't even know.
Either way, I better watch my back. Some people just can't be trusted.
Lark McGlacen, 17;
District Nine Male
I bet they're waiting for me right now, but I woke up late because neither of my mentors decided to wake me up. I heard Lilac yelling to herself earlier this morning, but I didn't decide to go downstairs to see what was happening. Although I do care, I was just in a deep sleep. Last night I had an amazing dream that mom was still with me, Zinnia was never abused, and dad was sober all the time. Just thinking about those times back then brings back so many horrible memories.
That day when dad came home and saw mom giving birth. That day when I was the only one in the house with my mom and didn't know what to do. Being the seven-year-old boy that I was, I had no idea what to do. All I did was run around the room, looking scared as I saw my mom push Zinnia out. I almost fainted for Christ's sake.
When dad came home and heard Zinnia crying, saw mom dead on the floor, and me screaming at the top of my lungs, that's when everything came tumbling down. Like my father, neither of my mentors decided to wake me up whenever I needed to. At least they didn't abuse Zinnia, unlike my dad.
He always blamed mom's death on her and I. I just couldn't take it. Especially after that one night when I got home from school, after staying late to finish up a project, and saw dad kicking Zinnia as she lied on the floor. Watching him torture her and just abuse her with so much force made me snap. I didn't understand why.
There was nothing that I could do besides kick him out of the house. I wasn't going to kill him, but having him live on the streets for a week was the only solution that I found fitting enough to a man who did something so cruel. Some drinkers are suicidal, some are abusive, others are hilarious. My father fit in the abusive category, and that's not something that I'm proud of.
Letting out a deep sigh, I jump out of my bed and hurry up. Brushing my teeth, taking a quick shower and then putting on the same pair of training clothes that I wore yesterday. I need to hurry up before we end the day. There are still tons of hours, but-
But I can just take my time and calm down. The Training Center doesn't close until nine at night, and it's only one right now. Man, I sure did sleep in. Maybe I should hurry up. Not all of the stations stay open for long, so I do need to eat and then leave. As I sit down at the table, I see my escort just sitting there and fixing up her nails or something.
She catches my eye and waves kindly at me. I return the wave as I finish up my French toast and run out of the room. I wait for the elevator to go down to the training floor and when it finally does, I rush into the Training Center where I see every tribute doing something productive. Some are learning how to make fires, others are learning what and what not to eat. Then there are some who are just going at each other and barking obscenities.
Glad to know that everyone's getting along well.
I turn my head to see Julio throwing knives at dummies. He's not perfect with them, but he's really good. I jog over towards him and smile as I greet him. Julio continues throwing knives over and over again, but then stops and wipes the sweat from his forehead. After many knives are thrown, he begins to grow frustrated, but I don't know what to say to accompany him.
Julio says nothing and just points towards the right of me. I gulp and just nod my head. I guess he doesn't want anyone near him or bothering him at a time like this. I don't want to make him more angry than he already is, so I'll just go and get some practice. As I'm running towards the axe rack, I spot my mentors talking to Zahra.
Watching as they talk and give her advice makes me think. Why did they leave without me? Why wasn't I woken up by them? I'm just curious as to why they didn't fill me in on this. I guess they woke up early and just didn't have time to be bothered. Maybe they thought she needed it more than me, but I'm not that skilled. That's my problem.
An axe comes hurdling my way and past my face. I continue to stand still, looking straight forward and seeing Challis jogging towards me with a second axe in his hand. He punches my shoulder and smiles at me, telling me to go grab an axe and fight him with it. I kind of shake my head, not wanting to spar with him right now, but he insists that I do.
Once I grab a weird looking axe from one of the racks, Challis runs straight at me. He swings his first axe right at my neck, forcing to do the only logical thing: duck. That was an unexpected move from him. I never expected him to aim for the throat, especially not this early on in the battle. I guess he's the type to go in for the quick kill. At least his victims won't have to suffer through all of this.
He continues to pressure me backwards as his axe hits mine with full force. It's almost as if I can't do anything, but I can. I just have to wait for the perfect moment to make my move, and then it'll be game over from then on. ''Come on! Don't let me do this to you when our alliance splits up!''
''How do you know it's gonna split up?'' I ask, my eyes narrowed down to his axe to see where he's gonna hit next. He doesn't even answer my question before swinging his axe again. What's with this guy? He's so reckless and just jumps into the fight! This just makes it hard for me to attack him myself. I just need to find his blind spot and then go straight at it.
''Well, one of us has to die sooner or later, right?'' Challis asks, his tone strict and angered. ''I don't want it to come down between you and I, so why don't you say we kill Julio?''
Don't do it, don't trust him, get away from him! My mind begs me to forget all about this guy. But he's in our alliance! But then again, he wants to take out Julio! Why? Julio invited him and I to the alliance, and he's our go-to guy. Why should we take him out if he's such a good guy? It just wouldn't be fair to him. Having him dying and knowing that an ally stabbed him in the back would just be disrespectful.
I can't.
''Come on!'' Challis shouts at me, his axe swinging right at my chest. I jump back to avoid getting scratched and just stare at him. My body is frozen, just because of what he said. Kill our own ally? Challis, what? ''You know he's a threat to us! If we don't take him out soon, he'll kill us as soon as he gets the chance!''
Not knowing what to say, I just charge at him. My axe swings right at his neck, just like he did to me, and then I slowly bring it down towards his chest. He raises up his weapon to block mine, and through the metal clashing, sparks start to fly throughout the Training Center. Everyone turns their eyes towards the two of us and a couple of trainers straight running towards us. They probably think that we're pissed at each other and fighting. The fighting part is true, but pissed? No. Disappointed? Yes.
Our axes just keep colliding and now he seems to be struggling. I'm leaning over him with my axe, pushing his down and he's almost touching the floor with his back. He lets out a light chuckle and a devious smile crosses his face. What's he planning? I-I don't get it. Everyone surrounds us, but no-one does anything besides stare at us.
''You know, you should use your weapon wisely—and sometimes even your fists—before deciding where you're gonna attack. But just don't hesitate, like what you're doing right now.'' he laughs, his tone all devious and junk. Sometimes he just freaks me out, and I've only known him for a day and a half. ''Come on, Lark! Why won't you talk?!''
His unsuspecting fist flies into my stomach, twisting it in and out. I feel like throwing up until he brings his elbows down onto my back. My axe drops from my right hand and all I hear is mumbling and Challis groaning as he continues to hit me. I thought this was just a regular spar, not a full on fight. He's taking this way too far.
My vision starts to blur a little when a knee hits my nose; and it draws blood, spilling on the ground. He picks my head up by my chin as he kneels on the floor and stares at me. ''Come on,'' he whispers in my ear. ''If you don't help me take out Julio, either he'll kill you or I'll kill you.''
My eyes widen at his comment. I-Is he serious? What's with him?! He wasn't like this yesterday when we all got along perfectly. We turned into such good friends in a matter of minutes, and now he's threatening to kill me if I don't agree to take out Julio! This just isn't right. It can't be right. Anything that has to do with back-stabbing isn't right, or called for.
My fist flies up and hits Challis in the mouth, sending him back a couple of feet. I quickly pick up my axe and slam it against his as he tries to pick it up from the floor. My left leg comes flying up and hits him across the cheek, making him stumble back a little and landing on his back. I kick his axe towards him, trying to give him a fair match, but he honestly doesn't deserve a fair fight if he's planning on killing Julio.
He picks up his axe and quickly gets up. My left fist hits him in the face as soon as he's on his two feet. He coughs a little bit, and I feel bad doing this because he went through the same thing yesterday. This guy just loves fighting, doesn't he? He just can't control himself from getting into them.
He finally catches himself and wipes the blood off of his upper lip. I chuck my axe straight at him. Swirling through the air, it spins across his cheek and cuts a scratch to his ear. He stands there looking stiff and scared, reaching his arm up to touch the scratch. As soon as he does, he lets out a cry of pain and anger.
I run straight at him and send my fist flying into his mouth. He falls to the floor, holding onto his jaw and almost starts tearing up. I sigh heavily and pant a little as people surround me and start cheering me on, and pushing me to the side. It's almost like I've actually won the games or something. I'm getting praise and everyone is just cheering for me.
''You were great!'' says a trainer placing his hand on my shoulder. Others are complimenting me, too. A smile crosses my face and I'm glad that they thought I was good, but no. I don't need it. I don't like the crowds of people looking at me and cheering me on. It's just no for me. I don't want the spotlight on me. Please, go back to Challis!
''You did awesome!''
''I never expected something like that out of him.''
''He's pretty damn good!''
No, no, no, no, no, no, no. They're gonna kill you, a thought appears into my mind. You're a threat. They saw what you did, and now they want to kill you in the arena. Kill a bloody mess out of you. Rip your head off, eat your intestines, chop off your limbs. They want to hurt you now.
NO, NO, NO! This is so stressful! Challis looks up at me with stern eyes and looks me up and down. Is he gonna target me now? Is he gonna break up this alliance at the cornucopia and kill me?! I just have this strange feeling my gut that I'm gonna get hurt. I don't know what it is, but it just doesn't feel right.
''What was that?!'' he asks furiously, slamming his fist down on the ground. He continues to look at me, gritting his teeth. My body starts to tremble and my temperature is decreasing by the second. It's so cold now and I-I don't know what to say. ''When did you know what to do?''
''B-By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity – another person's, I mean.'' my body shakes. A couple of trainers start nodding their heads at me and smile. I hear a couple of them whispering about how I know what I'm talking about and such. Challis just puts on an angry expression, clutching his axe. He slams it into the floor and uses it as support to pick himself up.
He just walks away without saying another word. I feel afraid. Terrified, even. What's going on through his mind at the moment? Is he planning on killing me after all? I don't even feel comfortable in my own skin right now. Still trembling, I look around the circle of people who continue to clap for me.
No. Please, stop. I don't want this praise. It's not for me. I can't take all of this in. This is so stressful! Kill, kill, kill! That's what they're gonna do to you, the thought of that makes me want to rip my hair out of my head. I feel like I'm going crazy!
''What the fuck is he talking about with adversity?'' a familiar voice says. Everyone turns their gaze to the left and we all see the little boy from Three standing there with his arms crossed. ''That was nothing but luck. You obviously had the upper hand because he was distracted, and you ain't shit, either.''
''Tell it to him like it is,'' another voice shouts out. The voice of the ignorant boy from Twelve. ''Carter, be my ally, bitch.''
These two... It's almost as if they were brought back together by destiny. They're both ignorant, annoying, selfish little.. I'm calm. I don't like saying things like that, but it's true whenever you talk about the two of them.
''Who are you calling a bitch? Bitch.''
''Just come over here!''
''I'm gonna shove a knife in that guys throat,'' he whispers to himself. Everybody removes their gaze from the two boys and then back at me. An arm touches my shoulder and I look up to see Zane squeezing it and smiling at me. He gives me a thumbs up and tells me how well-known I've made myself.
NO! That's just what I didn't want to do! Make myself known! I don't want to be know by anyone here! They'll all just come after me in the arena, and I don't want them to! I want to go home, not be taken out by a group of tributes or mutts again! That's not what I want! Home is what I want! Life is what I want, not death!
And death always comes during the Hunger Games. Especially when you make yourself known. That's why all the outer District children get targeted by the careers. Even some careers turn their backs on each other and get killed at the bloodbath. I just hope they don't notice me as much as the others. Please, don't. Please, please, please, don't notice.
It's almost as if they all read my mind. I look up, my eyes staring straight at all six of them. One of them gives me an immature smile, the other one stares at me with crazed eyes, one blows a kiss at me, the other rolls his eyes, one girl just doesn't seem like she cares, and the youngest of the group just stands staring at me.
A hand grabs my arm and pulls my frozen body away. I look at Julio, who smiles at me, and I start to stutter. What should I tell him? Should I let him know that Challis intends on killing him? That he intends on killing us? What do I do, what do I do?! Tell him, tell him, tell him! TELL HIM, NOW!
''Good job back there,'' he smiles at me. ''Looks like you and Challis are getting to know each other well. Just don't draw too much attention to yourself or else, you know... You'll be attacked in the arena.''
''Julio, I-I,'' I begin to stutter, my body shaking. I'm so cold. I don't feel right! What if Challis overhears what I'm saying? What if Julio doesn't believe me and thinks that I'm trying to split the alliance up? Then he'll come after me in the bloodbath!
Just tell him! I'm afraid! I'm afraid of what he'll think of me when I tell him about Challis! That's even if I tell him about Challis! No! Suck it up and just tell him. Come on, you can do this. It's not that hard. Just tell him that you don't trust Challis and that he tried to manipulate you into killing Julio. Just. Tell. Him.
''Julio,'' I cough up, my hands are shaking from the pressure that I feel. ''I don't think that we should trust Challis. When him and I were sparring over there, he told me that him and I should—''
''You and me should what?'' Challis's voice echoes through my ears, sending chills down my spine. I begin to shake. Oh, no. Did he hear that whole conversation? Was he just standing there and listening? What will he do when the arena comes? My mind is blank and my body is starting to move involuntarily.
I run out of the Training Center, my body feeling numb. I'll never be able to tell Julio. Never. I just hope nothing bad happens in the arena. Please, please, let us be safe.
Quartz Fields, 16;
District Eleven Male
After that entire round up with the two from Six and Nine, everyone went back to their training areas. I watch as Brysia and Conly both fight with each other. He's doing his best to help her out, and I think it's actually working. She seems to have the upper hand on him, but then again, he's not trying his hardest. None of the mentors try their hardest when training with the tributes.
Conly catches my eye and smiles at me. He continues swinging his sickle a Brysia, who blocks it perfectly with a dagger. In just a day, she's learned how to properly use a dagger, and she's skilled with it. Isn't it good to see someone from you District doing well? Sure, it is. But the only thing better than seeing them succeed is seeing them draw blood!
The metal from both of their weapons continue to grind against each other. Conly's sickle scratches Brysia's arm just a little, and the smallest drip of blood falls from her biceps. Oh, yes! Blood, there's so little of it, but it's enough to make me grin.
It's enough to make me want to get on the floor and sample it. I just want to see more. More of it would be perfect! Please, please, get more of that beautiful, slippery red liquid from her skin. I just want to see that shiny silver sickle enter her skin once more. Just one more time, for me! For me, please!
Looking at it just makes me so happy. But looking at that blood brings back so many horrible memories. Memories of my dad. Memories of mom! Memories of everything terrible that happened to me when I was still alive. The things that shaped me into the person that I am today.
Dad was always abusive, hitting whoever the hell he wanted without a care in the world. Those are one of the consequences of someone being a heavy alcoholic. Dad just didn't give a damn whenever he hurt others. He would always come home with the blood stains of other people on his shirt. Stabbing them, punching them, hitting their faces on the trees around us.
He would just do whatever he could to hurt someone. Hell, he'd even go as far as torturing a little boy. It was right outside of our home, too. The boy was just walking home from a hard day in the fields when my dad just swooped him up and repeatedly hit the boy, finally knocking him out unconscious.
Even mom was hurt by dad. She was such a sweet and loving person, but whenever my father got his hands on her, it was good as over. I couldn't do anything, because I'd just get knocked out unconscious, just like that other boy.
When you see your mom get a mallet slammed onto her head and she just falls to the floor, not moving, not breathing; and not alive, it really puts a toll on you. Especially when your dad looks up at you, smearing the blood from her head all over the walls, floor, and even on himself.
It's just not right.
You can never go back after you've seen something so disgusting. So I ran way and lived with my grandmother. I've never been able to sleep well ever since. Well, not until I died, of course. But now they reanimated me. I'm brought back to life just to fight in these games again. The only thing that I look forward to in these games is all the blood that comes out of the body of these tributes.
Just imagine it! Sitting on top of a tribute as you repeatedly stab them in various places. You don't have to end it quickly; just slowly outline the edge of their body with the knife, then it'll last lounger, instead of just plunging the knife into their throats. I don't want them to die quickly. I want to see them squirm, suffer, and cry for help!
I'll be excited if I see that. Just thinking about it makes me happy. I want to kill them with my bare hands. Choking them, pinching their nostrils, clawing at their skin. There are so many various ways to kill them. You just gotta think about it. How many ways can you think of to kill another tribute- um, human being with your own too hands?
Let's see here. The ways that I can think of killing someone else with my bare hands are: choking them, shoving my fist down their throat, pinching their nostrils shut and holding down their mouth, stomping on their neck repeatedly, clawing at their skin until they lose too much blood, putting them in a choke hold, putting my fist through their chest, pressure pointing one area of their body for an entire-
''Quartz!'' the sound of Cythrie's voice snaps me out of my thoughts. I look up at my mentor and he's yelling at me to run over towards him. I listen to what he tells me and start making my way towards him. We've been practicing with hand-to-hand combat for the past day. He's a great trainer, and fighting with him is just so fun. I just wish that I could draw blood from my mentor.
I stare back at Conly and Brysia, both continuing to fight with weapons. Brysia gets the upper hand on Conly for a quickly moment and slices the dagger across his chest. He chuckles at her, nodding his head and giving her the green light to continue. They both run at each other. Conly jumps over Brysia's dagger while she just looks up into the air with widened eyes.
''Focus, Brysia!'' Conly yells, kicking his foot across her face. She looks back at him, her eyes narrowed to the right. She looks dizzy for a moment and Conly's fooled by her faking. He falls for her little trick and gets a dagger shoved into his protective armor. Conly stumbles back a little and smiles down at Brysia. As he removes the dagger from his chest, he high-fives her and starts to lose focus.
The first thing that he does is walk over to the District Four tributes, where he starts talking to the female Victor. This guy... He starts flirting or something as she chuckles but pushes him away and then the District One Victor goes over there. They both start flirting with her while Brysia is just standing there with her arms crossed. She scoffs as she looks towards Cythrie and I.
I guess her a devious smile and blow into the air. She looks at me surprisingly and starts writing in that small book of hers again. What's so special about that book? What does she put inside of it? Maybe she keeps tabs of others inside of it, but I don't see why she would want to do that. It's weird, and creepy.
After stretching, Cythrie and I start again. He tells me to run straight at him as he holds up a machete. My eyes widen. He clutches the machete tightly and slowly walks towards me. I feel like taking a couple of steps back, but I can't move. Why am I frozen? The posture that he's in just goes to show you how ready he is.
''B-But,'' I stutter. Sweat rolls down the side of my face as Cythrie runs straight at me. He's only about twelve feet away, too! Shit! ''I don't have a weapon!''
''You don't need a weapon, remember?'' he reminds me, swinging his machete right at my chest. If I don't back up now, it'll end up buried in my chest. ''You told me that your weapons are your fists, so show me what you can do with them.''
Brysia stares and continues to write in her book as I dodge the machete. The swinging metal is a scary sight. One hit with that thing and I'll bleed out. Bleeding out wouldn't be too bad, if it weren't my blood. The way he swings it is so accurate. He's almost hit me once, and I'm pretty sure he would've if he weren't hesitant.
If the two of us were actually in the games right now, I'd be dead. He swings it from the top of his head down to my chest, but I quickly move away and grab the blade of the machete with the grip of my right hand. I pull the machete out of Cythrie's hand, making him smile at me.
Agh! I drop the machete from my hand and do my best to stop the bleeding. Instead of ignoring it, I brush it against my shirt and run straight at Cythrie. My fist swings up towards his face, but he easily blocks it by grabbing it with his own hand. My eyes widen as he crushes my fist with a small squeeze that sends cracks going down my arm. My mouth gapes open and I fall to my knees.
He pulls me closer towards him and then pushes me all the way into the machete racks. My head collides with the blade of a machete, but instead of stabbing into it, it just impacts my head and gives me a small lump. My exact response to the impact is to rub my head with my arm, which is exactly what I do.
He runs straight at me with his fists in the air. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! I brace myself for the impact until I hear the loud footsteps getting closer and closer. He finally makes his way right in front of me, so I roll to the left on the floor. Cythrie's fist goes straight into the machete racks and without a sign of ripped flesh, he starts bleeding instantly.
It pours on the floor and all I can do is smile a crooked smile. Can you imagine that happening in the arena? Oh, I just can't wait to enter it! Just thinking about all the blood that's gonna be smeared all over the floor; the blood that will be escaping from the cuts on the body of the tributes; the blood that I'll have a chance to produce by puncturing another tribute's body.
You know how overwhelming that would be? I just can't wait for it to happen. God, I'm gonna have so much fun with this. Just looking at that blood makes me want to fight more. Quickly picking myself up, I run straight towards Cythrie. My fists are clutched together and I swing right at him. Look at him, dodging my attacks and all, almost as if I was nothing more than a mere tribute with no experience at all.
But I'm not.
I've seen death. I've seen torture. Things like that aren't anything to me. After all, I did come from such a terrible environment. Anything that the games brings, I'll be ready for them. Seeing your own mother's head smashed into her body by a mallet doesn't leave you the same. All this blood that I've been craving has been brought to me for a reason.
Punch after punch, my fists collide into Cythrie's elbows. The small drops of blood drip from his wrist, and I just can't get enough of it. Why am I so happy? I can't help but feel so excited every time that I see that beautiful liquid. Just looking at that color makes me so happy. I'm not sure how I'm going to survive if I don't get some of that on my hands soon.
He's had defense training, you can just tell; he's constantly blocking my attacks and sending them back my way. I never thought that someone would be so good without a knife in their arsenal, but he's different. Is this what a Victor is like? That shocks me because you never expect a Victor to be an expert. Besides the career Victors, at least.
Honestly, I wouldn't expect some smart-ass from Three knowing how to perfectly throw a knife and being able to predict your every move. Hell, let alone a District Eleven Victor. We have one of the lower Victor percent ratios, but we're making our way back to the top. Well, at least I think we are. Especially after me. Winning won't be too difficult. I just have a gut feeling.
There are two choices that I can choose from now that I have the upper hand: either continue to attack with my fists or pick up that machete and draw more blood. I like drawing blood, so I think I'm gonna go with the machete. As he continues to block, I quickly sweep down and pick up a machete.
Swinging it wildly, I aim to hit the shoulder, then the neck, then the stomach, then the chest; after that the legs, then the arms, and finally I'll shove it right into the head! Slowly and painfully. That's how I intend on killing in these games. Sure, I'm not much of a weapon user, but if I see fit, I'll go ahead and pick one up.
The machete is light, but for some reason I can't use it. Every time I swing it up in the air it just drops from my hand. It's almost as if I can't use it at all. Cythrie smiles at me as we've just discovered my weakness: weaponry.
Shoot! Finally managing to pick up the machete, I swing right at Cythrie. He grabs the machete, exactly like I did, and pulls me towards him. Without warning, he lifts my body into the air and slams me down on the ground. ''Come on, Quartz!'' he looks at me, his eyes narrowed on the machete. ''You know that you're not a weapon user. Why even try?!''
''B-B—''
''Quartz!'' he shouts at me. I can hear his breathing calm down and so does mine. My chin sits on the cold floor. It's freezing here, but it doesn't bother me much. I've been through way worse things than this, trust me. ''Get up and let's go again. You can do this''
As I pick myself up, I spot Conly and Brysia staring at me. Conly points at me as I wipe the sweat away from my forehead and start to breathe roughly again. He starts smiling as he talks to Brysia. I try my best to calm down and listen to what they're saying. What I hear definitely isn't what I expected, but what they say is true. I really am handsome, aren't I?
''Isn't he cute, Brysia?'' Conly asks Brysia. This makes me put on a weird expression. ''Come on, you can't lie. Look at that face. Wouldn't you want to ally with someone as gorgeous as him?''
''Huh?'' she asks as she puts on a sharp expression. She shakes her head, but then she looks back at me. I turn my head quickly and pretend as if I can't hear them. Low-key, I'm staring at them through my peripheral vision.
''I mean, isn't the kid hot?'' Conly asks. Alright, now it's just getting weird. What's wrong with this guy? He's such a different Victor from all the other ones. Instead of being serious, he's all about jokes and goofing around, always talking about how hot someone is. He's just so damn weird. ''I mean, no homo, though.''
Oh, yeah. That makes it much better.
''Yeah,'' she says. ''He really is quite a beauty, and he has such a sweet, good-tempered face, and such a fine, intelligent eye – what do you say we call him Black Beauty?'' The both of them start to chuckle at her response and I can't even help let out a light chuckle, too. They high-five and then she starts writing in her book again. ''Too bad I'm not looking for anyone right now. I'm focused on winning, you feel?''
I roll my eyes and run straight at Cythrie. That machete rushes right towards me, my fist smacking against it and drawing more blood. Blood! Yes! Much more of it! Even though it hurts, even though it drags a pain throughout my entire body, it feels amazing! It makes me want to murder everyone in this damn Training Center. I want to stand on top of all of their bodies piled on top of one another with me holding a flag and shoving it through the skull of a career.
Career blood is the best blood, isn't it? The one that I want is the boy from Two. He's as bloodthirsty as I am. If not, even more! I just want to shove my hand through his forehead and rip his brain right out of it. After that, I'll go on to my next biggest threat: the boy from One. After him, the girl from Two. Then so on and on, I'll kill them all one by one.
Everyone's gonna be mine. I'll save the most fun tributes for last: Orion, Carter and the boy from Twelve. You know how fun it would be to kill those three tributes? Oh, God! This makes me want to hurt everyone! My fists continue to hit the machete and I have the upper hand, once again. I finally knock it out of Cythrie's grip, but just for a while until he regains it.
As he swings it, I roll to the left and kick his knee. He stumbles a bit, giving me the opportunity to strike. I've got the chance. I've finally got it! Blood, blood, blood, blood! Get it, get it, get it! My fist raises into the air, almost crashing down against Cythrie's face. I want to do it, I really do, but something's stopping me.
Something from my past pops into my mind. The face of my mother and the scene with her and dad. The mallet repeatedly crashes against her skull, just taunting me as she looks up with widened eyes. I can't do anything to save her, and that's what caused me to never see her again. I was so weak! So useless! So stupid! If I was smart, I would've grabbed a knife and slammed it into his neck, drawing the blood and smearing it all over the floor.
If only I did that.
The depression comes back and hits me head-on. Cythrie takes this as a chance to grab me by the back of my neck and slams my head down onto his knee. A crack is heard from my nose and blood just shoots out. He holds me up by my hair and pins the machete right on the tip of my forehead.
I see the blood drip down from my forehead onto the machete. Hmm. If only it was the other way around and I was the mentor. I would've ended it for the pitiful tribute. Now what? Do I just lie here and let myself be defeated, once again? First it was my dad, then it was the games, now my own mentor!
When will I ever be able to stand up for myself?! WHEN?! It's almost as if all this training has done nothing for me. Wanting to kill isn't working, and neither is trying. Every time that I go in for the kill, I always end up getting killed. Is this how it's gonna be from now on? The first time was a fluke, and now I'll have it happening again?!
When is anything gonna get better?!
A/N: Heyy! So, over the break, I decided to write this. Well, actually, all of it today because yesterday was Thanksgiving, which I wish you all had a wonderful day, and I was definitely not gonna write on Thanksgiving. Wednesday was just a lazy day with no school, so I took that time off ;3 Totally worth it. At least I got this chapter out soon. I enjoyed writing these three POVs.
I don't know why, but I feel as if I'm not doing well with the action scenes. Please tell me if you like them, because I feel as though I'm very repetitive and that bothers the crap out of me. Almost makes me want to rip my curly hair out of my scalp. But I won't! I need that beauty of hair. So... Let me know what you guys thought of the tributes and their interactions with each other!
Also, congrats to Wizard, Brooke, Music, Abby, and Cloe for getting the sponsor points. 1000 To you all. ^^ Hopefully you enjoy them, because now I gotta raise up the sponsor prices with all these thousands that you guys have. If anyone gets up to 10,000 sponsor points, I'll serve you the victory of you tribute on a silver platter. No joke(psyche).
And to Caleb, with 500... You disappoint me so much, Caleb... Like, what's wrong with you, fam? Speaking of Caleb, you should totally check out his new SYOT: At Wits End. It's the 17th games and it'd be awesome if you all checked it out. Anyway, if I missed anyone, please let me know, because I'm not sure. I think that's everyone but if I missed you, PM me and let me know and I'll get those up. I'm so happy that only a handful of tributes who need POVs remain. Because of this, I'm curious as to whether you guys want another Training Day or not.
Also, I made some new additions to the site! If you forgot it, it's on my profile. ^^ I added a sponsor area where you can earn sponsor points. Just click on the links and then PM me telling me that you did, and what you reaction was. I'll definitely give them to you guys. You know, just being generous here and handing out thousands of sponsor points.
Also, thank you guys for 168 reviews in such a short amount of chapters. I was surprised seeing that many—even though that's barely anything compared to other stories—and I was really happy. Yes, please continue feeding me reviews. I love them so much and they make me incredibly happy. You guys are just absolutely amazing! :) Now, let's get onto the questions!
Honestly, did the fights get boring and repetitive? I feel as though they did. Please let me know.
Do you guys want a Training Day three? I wasn't really planning on one, but if you guys want another one, I'll sure as hell write one down.
I haven't asked this in a while, but anything you think I can do to make this better? Anything at all would seriously help.
Which tribute her was your most liked?(another one I haven't asked in a while) And what did you like about them so much?
That's all for now! No chapter related questions that happened to the tributes today. Anyways, I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter. There's not much to say today besides I hope you all have a wonderful day. Happy Black Friday! Try not to get trampled by all of the customers if you guys plan on going out. Besides that, I'll try to get the next chapter up quickly, depending on what it is. Thanks for reading, see you all later. Bye! ^^