The Masonry Academy for Conditioning Intellectuals Guide to Becoming a Tribute
There's an insecure part of me that comes out of me, I get nervous. I don't know why, I wish I could overcome it because it gives me an anxiety feeling.-Fred Durst
:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:District 2 of Panem:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
Katniss's POV
You'd think I'd be ecstatic today. My best friend of most of my life has volunteered to be a tribute in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, he is tied as one of the top scorers in training, and it appears that his sponsor numbers are through the roof. Everyone seems jealous that I know a tribute so well; they put me right up there with his family when looking for someone to ask about him. And I am excited in a way, a bubbling anxiety that also makes me almost giddy, knowing tributes so personally that are currently on the screen I'm watching in the town square right up front behind the Hawthornes, enraptured by the countdown since we (the audience) had a thorough look at the arena in the last hour, the same as it is revealed to the mentors in their Mentor Room. I have a front seat, it's my best friend, and I am happy for him.
I'm also sixteen years old and I'm fairly certain in the last ten minutes I've been close to dying from a heart attack at least a half dozen times.
The first I'm certain was just nervousness, because it came in the last twenty seconds or so of the countdown. I know it's not really rational or fair to have Gale on the screen the entire time, but every time the camera went away from him I had a mini panic attack. The first time he was on the screen was about twelve seconds into the countdown, and he seemed to be taking in the arena first. They didn't stay on him for long but that one was alright, because I knew what he was doing. I also knew that he'd be pleased with the arena that he was placed in. Aside from the wheat field or whatever it is, the large lake near the cornucopia when the alliance should make their camp and the best of all, the forest similar to ours here at home can only help him. The second time they viewed him was at six on the countdown, and he was aiming right for the heart of the cornucopia as far as I can tell, straight to the beautiful Gamemaker sent bow and arrow set gleaming silver in the sunlight that had to be meant for him and him alone. There's not always a bow in the arena but there is now, and I get a small sense of pride when I realize that it's because of my father and mostly me that he's so good with one. But then I panicked when I realized that this is real, and anything can happen on his way to that bow.
He sprinted for it as soon as the gong rang as far as I could tell from the aerial view of what was in about thirty seconds going to begin the bloodbath, and even as who I think is Clove and Slone, the guy from District 4, pick up the nearest weapons to them, Clove undoubtedly knives and Slone I think a dagger of some sort as they begin the bloodbath. Clove ends up with the first kill of the Games; it's one of the boys I don't really recognize that was stooping down for a backpack and ended up with a knife to the spinal cord just like Clove would have been aiming for, falling to the ground in a crumbling slowly forming pool of his own blood.
Finally the screen flits to Gale, who is nearing the Cornucopia just as Marvel does, and I breathe a sigh of relief as Marvel covers him for just a second so that he can put the quiver on his back and nock an arrow, aiming quickly for a target. This is when my second heart attack comes, when some sort of large rock comes flying at him and only misses him by a few inches from his side. He seems surprised by it to me but as far as I can tell everyone else thinks that he's not fazed by it, and he turns around to find Thresh with another rock in hand (where the hell did he get those? Just picked them off from the ground somewhere?), aiming. And Gale hesitates to shoot him, just watching him with his arrow nocked for a second. What the hell are you doing?! Shoot him you dumb boy!
I glare daggers at him from the screen but he doesn't listen to the threats I'm sending him, and stands there. I can't decide if I'm angrier or panicked over this development, but soon I'm relieved. Because Havana, the damn girl that he kissed just last night has distracted Thresh for just a second and Gale gets away. Still don't know why he's not killing Thresh who is undoubtedly one of the biggest opponents in the Games, but maybe he feels that someone else will get him. It…just doesn't sit right with me though. And it's frustrating as hell that I don't have a freaking clue what he's playing at. But I can't go yelling at him here in the middle of the District square, so I resort to biting my lip and crossing my arms over my chest, allowing my fingernails to dig into my skin as I watch in a forced silence.
The bloodbath continues, sometimes a tribute getting a supply or knife, but a lot of the time it seems that they are either becoming a victim of the bloodbath or going to be very soon. One of the girls from a district, I think ten, is stupid enough to lunge as she thinks a spear from Marvel's hands is about to hit her and she crawls for supplies only to fall over in a gasping pain as the spear that didn't leave Marvel's hands impales her body, right in her stomach near where her ribs would start. Marvel jogs over keeping away of his surroundings and pulls the now bloodied spear out of her, apparently deciding that she's good as dead and moves on.
The next screen is one that I almost freeze for a second, because it's a boy with an arrow in his neck, shining silver as he chokes and tumbles over with the backpack that was in his hands landing on top of him and then rolling off. I don't think that there's more than one bow in that arena, which means this is Gale's. His first kill I'd assume since they usually show all of them, or at least try to. I don't get a very good look at the kid before they go to Gale's face which has a bit of a small smirk on it as he loads another arrow from his relatively safe position at the opening of the cornucopia, but I know the kid had reddish hair. There's only two districts I know of that produce kids with red hair, four and five, and since it's not exactly the smartest move to kill off someone in your own alliance in the bloodbath, I'm going to go ahead and assume that it's the District 5 boy.
They span off Gale again and I want to yell at the screens to go back to him because I really need to see him for whatever reason, but I know I'm being irrational. There are…were twenty three other tributes to look at too and this is the bloodbath after all, so they have to try and catch everything. I really should not be panicking though because if he's not on the screen, there's a ninety eight percent chance that he's totally fine. They wouldn't want to miss any of the 'action' or 'blood' after all.
And that does calm me down for at least two minutes as they show everyone else, Glimmer sort of half chasing a girl with a knife in hand or Havana puncturing someone with a spear. And then they come back to Gale, who still has his arrow nocked, now in the direction of where Slone is fighting one of the bigger tributes, I think the one from District 7. He's hesitating to shoot though, clearly not wanting to hit Slone on accident. He's amazing with a bow but his accuracy nor aim is as good as mine, so that I understand. What I don't understand is when he lets out a cry of pain because I'm looking at Slone and not him, and the camera goes to a full body shot of him to find a knife embedded in his calf.
And so commences the third, fourth, and fifth heart attacks of the last few minutes. I want to cry out for him like Hazelle and Posy are doing, I want to yell advice to him though I know he can't hear it like Rory's doing. Instead, I can't breathe, just staring in a panic that has gripped me in it's cold, numb hands. Calm down Katniss, it's not fatal. It's just his leg, but now I myself want to kill the person that did this to him.
The tribute is on the ground by his feet with a wound in her stomach that's bleeding out even as she keeps her hand on it. I don't recognize the tribute, but it appears that whoever wounded her left her be to die. Well she's got some drive to make a difference in this game even as she's in the process of dying, because I can see from the blood trail that she dragged herself over about five feet just to stab Gale in the leg, the only place she could reach. I can't believe he didn't see or hear or even sense her coming. Idiot, I want to strangle you. Now you're hurt the first day.
Gale looks down to the tribute dying at his feet and then his knife wound, wincing a little as he pulls it out of his leg and sets down his bow for a second, crouching down (though that must hurt his wound terribly) and the girl gives him desperate eyes, clearly pleading for death. Ah so this was her game. She wants the suffering to end. Well she didn't have to hurt him to do that!
He takes one look at her desperate cry and nods almost, taking the knife as she closes her eyes. He slits her throat easily, almost like it's butter and stands up trying not to show his pain, tucking the knife in his belt bloodied and all and picking up his nocked bow again like nothing happened. The screen goes off him again but I'm not convinced that he's alright, and I wish it was feasible for him to go wash it off or even better treat it right now, but I know he can't. Even with a superior weapon and a relatively safe place to stand, he got hurt. And this is the bloodbath.
If I think I'm having heart attacks now, I know it's nothing compared to what could happen later. Maybe my mom is right though I can't believe I'm thinking it. It really, really sucks to have my best friend in the Hunger Games sometimes.
"Alright kids, back to school." Marc insists after the bloodbath is over and the screens have gone to analyzing the last hour and a half, giddy with excitement over the kills. Ten kills in the bloodbath. Not bad at all. The ten cannons going off signaled to the tributes that the bloodbath is over, but also to the audience that it's back to work. Normally I'd not protest this because while I'm not a huge fan of school I'm not a huge fan of getting in trouble for missing it either, but I didn't catch all the information I need for this bloodbath. Granted I could try and watch it later, but I have a few hours of training right after class when they would be showing this stuff again before the mandatory broadcasting tonight.
"Aw but why?" Rory protests for me, kicking the ground at his feet. In a way he's similar to me I'd imagine in not wanting to miss anything on his brother, but I'm not going to be a baby about it. Besides, while they treat me like family, Hazelle and Marc are not my parents.
"Because you have to go to school young man. Your brother will be on later, I promise." Marc exclaims with that dad look in his eyes 'do what I say or you're in big trouble'. Rory mumbles something under his breath but sighs and nods meekly, giving in to his parents' wishes.
I fall in step with them even though I don't go to the same school as the Hawthornes but it's on my way there for most of the walk, catching up to Rory.
"Hey think of it this way. You're going to be the most popular kid at school today." I try and make him feel better. He looks up at me and grins, thinking of how he's going to love basking in the spotlight. And while I guess that could apply to me as well, I don't really care for the spotlight at the moment. All I want is to ditch the Hawthornes and go to school, get my attendance in class just so I can sneak out from my seat in the back of the room while she's not looking and go somewhere to watch the recap of the bloodbath. It's not the best plan but I don't have a ton of other options if I don't want to get in big trouble with the peacekeepers for skipping school.
"Yeah, I guess so." He tries to reply bitterly, but I can tell its failing. While he may want to watch the attention will easily get him through the next few hours of school. Besides, Rory is only thirteen years old. What more could he wish for at that age when it comes to the Hunger Games?
He catches up to his brother and sister and starts talking excitedly about the bloodbath while I stay a step behind them, lost in my own world. When it comes to the point where I will have to part with them they wave goodbye and walk off. Well…all but Hazelle. Crap, should have seen this coming. I really do walk right into the fire sometimes.
"Would you like to come over later to watch the broadcast? I was going to ask your mother later too." She questions me, and I think it over for a second before I nod.
"Sure." I give her a half smile, though I really don't want to. My family was pretty good about not questioning my irrational behavior last night aside from the knowing almost smirk on my mother's face that was gracing her face every time I got a peek at it from my brooding spot on the couch, but something tells me Hazelle will not just let something like that slide. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if my mother already told her. And if I were to do it again if say, Gale goes and kisses one of those girls in the freaking arena…well, I'm in trouble for my behavior and not in the go to jail because you skipped school kind of way.
"Good." She smiles, and comes up to me, putting her hands on my shoulders. I avoid her gaze for a moment but then I realize that I'm not going to get away until I face her, and brave myself to look up. Her expression is one of understanding and almost…compassion. Oh great, this is exactly what I didn't want to face.
She takes one of her hands off my shoulder and it comes comfortingly to my cheek, and even if I could talk I don't think I would. Her small smile graces her face and her head shakes gently, sighing almost inaudibly.
"I don't know what my boy is doing, but please remember something." She tells me, and my breath catches in my throat. "No matter what he says or does, he's doing it to come back to us. To come back to you."
But…I…what? Come back to me? What is that supposed to mean? Did he tell her his plans? Did he tell her before he left that he was going to ask me to kiss him? Or does she think I did it, or wanted to, or…I've really got to stop looking panicked and guilty, because it's only aiding Hazelle's theory whatever that is.
"I…" I try to speak, but can't seem to. She seems to understand and gives me a warm smile in return to my baffledness.
"I know dear." She says before letting my cheek go. "I'll see you later."
Well if it wasn't my intention to go to class late, it's certainly going to happen now. Because I'm frozen in place, replaying everything over and over. Gale, kissing Havana and Glimmer's flirting with him yesterday resulting in me fleeting the living room for the woods. The bloodbath today where Gale killed two tributes, not bad at all considering only ten died. And this conversation with Hazelle, her expression and words repeating themselves louder and louder in my head, screaming at me to get something. But all I can really think is she knows what?
Eventually I sigh and start running for the school building about a half mile away, hoping I can at least not be too late for school. This is going to be a long, long Games.
Gale's POV
"How many kills did you get?" Clove questions me as I'm sitting on the ground by the lake wrapping up my calf with the first medical pack I could find. God, why didn't I see that girl coming? Stupid of me, really. And I call myself a hunter. Ha, what an idiot I am. A hunter couldn't figure out a dying girl was limping towards him with the intention to stab him. Granted, I have a feeling it was just to get my attention so that I would take her pain away, but there are less harmful ways to do that.
"Two." I tell her, because it's the truth. I did harm a third, I think the boy from District 6, but it was just to help out Havana as she took him down herself. Just to give her an edge because it wasn't fair for me to take all the kills though I could have done it. Part of my strategy to make up for the really shitty things I plan on doing later I suppose. Clove tries to see if I'm lying and when she's satisfied I'm not, she nods.
"Three." She replies proudly, glancing down and her eyes asking the question all five of them have been wanting to ask since the bloodbath ended and we gathered. I'll tell her eventually, but for now I decide it can wait. The rest are gathering supplies and weapons right now but I had to take care of this right away since it happened maybe two hours ago. Most of the blood had stopped pouring out but I knew from Mrs. Everdeen that keeping a wound open and exposed for too long no matter how small could end fatally if it got an infection. So I cleaned it out right away with the water at the lake when it looked safe enough and put medicine on it, now finishing wrapping it up in gauze.
"So that's five for the two of us. Who got the other half?" I question her instead of answering, knowing she's been going around asking. I don't know why it's so important for her to know other than sheer curiosity, but it's Clove. She could always try to see if someone could prove their worth out of this I suppose.
"Marvel got two, Havana and Glimmer each got one." She informs me, seeming bitter about something. "Slone almost got the District 7 boy but he got away with just a wound in his arm with the help of some other guy. I think Thresh ended up killing the last one."
Oh the District 7 boy. The one I was trying to help when that girl stabbed me. I feel bad that I couldn't help Slone but as far as I can tell he didn't get too hurt by that fight at least. Besides, he's only fifteen and while it was only a boy from Seven, I think the kid is eighteen like me. A three year age difference can certainly prove a challenge, even if you are the more skilled tribute. And Thresh killed the last tribute? I guess it would make sense training score wise, but I had though that Thresh wasn't going to play that game. I assumed that he was going to go hide somewhere for most of the Games and only kill the necessary amount of tributes as his strategy. Oh well, guess you learn something new every day.
"Where'd Thresh go?" I question her, knowing that if he ran then he has supplies and a weapon. I wasn't really paying too much attention, but I did see that he had a rather large pack and a scythe in his hand. I have no clue why he didn't use the scythe on me, but he's probably wondering the same about why I didn't immediately shoot him with my nocked arrow. All part of the strategy for me, I don't know about him. I'm making up for things I'm going to do in the future by acting like I'm playing a fair game. When in reality…my game is anything but fair.
"I didn't see, but Havana swears that he went to the grain field and disappeared in there." She tells me and I shrug.
"Makes sense I guess." I comment. District 11, agriculture. I'd even bet that he knows some of those grains in there, maybe even the ones that are edible. And his name is Thresh for god's sake. If that isn't a sign that someone in his family if not himself worked in a grain field at some point, I don't know what is.
"Yeah." She nods, looking around to some kind of commotion. "Hey, what's that?"
I glance to where she's pointing and find all eyes of our alliance trained on a bush where a dark, scared head is popping out, almost visibly shaking from here. Shit, almost forgot about him. Now I remember that I told him to stay close to us until the bloodbath is over, but he should have known to not show his face until I was up and going about.
I awkwardly get up and shout to my alliance who are quickly gathering their weapons in the obvious intent to kill him. No, I can't have this! I need that kid!
"Wait, wait, stop!" I tell them, forcing myself not to wince as I walk. God that fucking hurts. I'm going to need to find something to help with that if I'm going to be any help in chasing down tributes. But I can't have anyone else knowing that I'm in pain. "He's with me."
"He's what?" Marvel questions me with a suspicious look, everyone else seeming dumbstruck by this. I know this isn't really conventional, but hopefully they can just listen for one second and realize what a great idea it is. Well, until I decide it's a terrible idea anyway.
"Three here is here because I asked him to be." I start with, finding a scared but very relieved District 3 boy and five questioning 'this better be good' faces all on me. "He can keep our supplies safe."
"You think he's just going to…what? Be our guard?" Clove questions me, utterly confused. Ha, she probably thinks this is some sort of mind game like the one she started. Well guess what Clove, it's not. It's an actual strategy that I came up with (…well, okay, mostly 3 came up with but I saw the merits of it), not a mind game. Well, in the literal sense.
"Well sort of, but I think he should explain." I tell her, gesturing for the boy to explain his plan. But I still find Marvel's spear and a few daggers in his direction that are scaring the crap out the kid and sigh. "Put the weapons down so he can explain." I order while trying to not make it sound like an order. While I am for all intents and purposes the leader of this pack, I'm well aware from past games that a hard ass leader usually gets the bad end of the stick because the rest of the alliance takes them out eventually. And I have no room in my plan for that to happen. Besides, can't they see that they're scaring the boy into silence? It's not like he's going to get very far if he tries running away at this point anyway. He's practically at our mercy.
A few more glares go to the boy but in a moment the weapons hesitantly go down, and the boy gives me a look as if almost asking for permission and I give it to him with a nod.
"I know how to protect the supplies." He begins, quite clearly nervous as he fumbles with his jacket. Then it all sort of spills out as he tells his plan almost in one breath, quickly as if this could be his last chance to live. "I can get the mines that are around the plates to work again, I learned back home a similar method in school. All we have to do is dig them up and put all the supplies in a pile and I'll make a sort of maze out of the supplies and turn the mines back on so that you can leave them there and go off and hunt tributes without anyone being able to take the supplies. If they do then they'll be killed and not all the supplies will be lost because it will be in a maze so they won't get all the supplies."
He takes a breath and looks around sort of hopeful, the glares almost softening as the rest of the alliance thinks. I almost hold my breath too but I know that a word from me might convince them further.
"If we don't have to guard then it frees up a lot of our time." I tell them, letting that sink in. More free time, less guards, more hunting of tributes. And the faster we do that, the faster I can win this thing and go home.
There's silence that follows, but eventually Havana speaks up. "Fine. Let's get to work, kid."
I give her a winning smile as the rest of the alliance grumbles in acquiescence, and she blushes as she smiles back. Well didn't see that benefit of kissing her last night that she'd go with whatever I say. I glance to Glimmer and find her boiling mad again but only see her glare at Havana before half stomping off behind the rest of the alliance where Havana has sort of taken charge of this mission of sorts. Perfect.
I smile to myself at how well this is going so far and take a step in their direction with the intention to help and let myself wince a little at the burning pain beneath the gauze. It's getting better but I know it's still going to hurt like a bitch. But aside from that, the Games seem to be going my way for the most part so far.
Game on.