A/N- Sorry for the lack of update yesterday. Here's an extra long one to make up for it.

Chapter Fourteen- The Good Samaritan

After a rich lunch that I barely touch, the Tributes are called one at a time back to the Training Room starting, of course, with District 1.

While we wait I watch the others milling around. This is a perfect time to establish an alliance. With the exception of the Interviews, it's the last time we'll all be together before the start of the Game.

The Careers are in a group, District 4, District 2 and the girl from District 1 while the boy from 1 is in his session. Red is with them but he doesn't look like he belongs. I wonder if he actually is a Career. He volunteered at the Reaping but he doesn't look at all as comfortable here as the others. He doesn't have the same bravado.

Abe goes over to them, I've seen him socialising with them at the weapons stations in the Training room but they don't welcome him warmly. Being an outsider as I am, I can see all the sideways glances, the rolling of eyes, the shared smiles. They don't like him either.

This is where his and Finnick's strategies differed. Everyone loved Finnick, no one likes Abe.

Amethyst from District 1 is called.

What am I going to do? Throw that spear like I joked? Make a trap? Make a hammock?

"Thought about what you're going to do yet?" a voice says behind me. I jump and spin round.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." It's Red. "And I'm not trying to suss you out, I'm just making conversation." He blushes. He is kind of cute I guess. He's got the sea-green eyes that many from District 4 have only his have a tiny fleck of hazel in them.

"Are you nervous?" I ask.

"About the Training Scores? No, I'm just going to work my way around until they tell me to stop. Just show what I can do, it's the best I can do." He sits on a padded silver chair and pats the one next to him.

"I meant about the Game," I say.

"Oh…" His voice drops. "Yes."

"Me too," I admit.

Red looks around to make sure there's no one in hearing distance.

"They keep trying to get me to join them."

"The other Careers?"

"Yeah, except I'm not a Career. They think I am, Mary is so she's been helping me."

I frown, so someone else is pretending to be someone they're not.

"But you volunteered…"

"Did you not see the boy that was reaped? He didn't have a chance! At least I've got some experience with weapons and I'm relatively healthy. I just didn't feel right letting him hobble up onto the stage when I know I could do better than him."

My heart sinks. I respect him now. I can't kill him, and if I can't kill him then that means someone else has to or I won't win. Damn this is complicated.

Granite from 2 is called.

"That's very brave," I finally whisper.

"I'd do it again," and he lifts his chin defiantly.

"I know." I put my hand on top of his like The Escort did to reassure me. I hope it helps him more than it helped me.

"Do you regret anything?" All of a sudden his eyes are looking deep into mine. Does he know?

"No." It's the closest I have come to admitting my strategy and he doesn't balk.

"I didn't think so."

Damn, damn, damn. What am I doing? Why am I confessing that everything so far has been part of my plan? Why am I letting him become a friend?

Chantal from 2 is called.

"So…" Red clears his throat. "Did you want to…umm…team up inside?"

"I can't." I shake my head. "Sorry." Now I genuinely do want to hide behind my hair.

"No…ok that's fine." He looks disappointed.

"I just don't want to get you…in trouble." Killed. By my hands.

"No, no I understand. I just thought I might be able to help you."

Just like he did with the limping boy at the Reaping. He's just a Good Samaritan, can't help coming to someone's rescue. What a shame he's in this situation. What a waste of an amazing human being.

Then Absalom comes over. His Career 'friends' have all gone through the private sessions so he's on his own. He sits opposite Red and I. I sigh but I think only Red hears it.

The boy from 3 goes in.

"What's your plan then?" Abe asks Red.

"Bit of everything," he replies. "You?"

"Yeah same. Might focus on swords though, I've done enough with the axe during the Training Sessions so I want to show them I can do other stuff too. See what I feel like when I get in there."

This panics me. If he doesn't touch the axe then there's no guarantee that there'll be one in the Cornucopia at the beginning of the Game. He was the only one that showed any sort of talent with it, if he doesn't show off now the Gamemakers might not think it's a relevant weapon.

I make my decision. I need to do something with the axe and it needs to be mildly impressive. Not too good, I still don't want a high score but I have to make sure the Gamemakers think that with an axe I might stay alive a bit longer so they can tease me into the bloodbath with the promise of one.

The other Tributes are called in one at a time and Red and I don't get anymore time alone together. I wish him luck and want to throw my arms around him but I stay in my seat squeezing my hands together.

Abe continues talking at me about all the wonderful things he can do with throwing knives, swords, spears, bows, but I just let it wash over me until he gets called too.

I relish the peace and before I know it it's my turn.

"Johanna Mason?" Before I go I take one more look around the others waiting. District 11 are whispering to each other, District 12 are still picking through some lunch and the others are either pacing the room or sitting still wringing their hands.

I take a deep breath and push through the doors back into the Training Room.

The Gamemakers are up on their balcony passing around giant gold plates piled with food. There's a sound of glasses clinking together and a general atmosphere of merriment. I'm not sure how much time I have so I stand in the middle, right in front of them and say timidly,

"Umm…Johanna from District 7. Johanna Mason I mean…from District 7."

One of them, an enormously fat man, waves me on.

As tempting as it is, I don't immediately go to the axe. I hook up a hammock between the Spear Station and the climbing section of the obstacle course. To demonstrate its strength, I climb into it…and fall straight to the floor. I'd left out one valuable knot, which had weakened it and bumped my tailbone hard. I hadn't meant to do this and it startles me.

Ego bruised, I head to the Axe Station. A couple of Gamemakers have big grins hidden behind bejewelled hands.

I pick up the biggest, just to gauge its weight, and then exaggerate my effort to lift it. I use it to chop some logs and then put it back.

Out of the corner of my eye I see that I still have the attention of a few Gamemakers, so I pick up the second to smallest. It looks about the same size as my axe at home. I toss it between my hands. I feels good to have one in my hands again and I think about throwing the axe at the Gamemakers just to make them pay for underestimating me. Instead with a big groan I throw it at the accompanying target. It misses the center of the target but it clips the edge and sticks. Enough to show I can throw an axe at a target, but not necessarily kill it. That should do it. I go to the Snares Station and work there until I am told that my time is up.

The Scores will be broadcast on the television in the evening so I go straight up to the 7th Floor to feign rest until then. I don't want to see Abe. I don't want to hear about how well his session went. I don't want to bump into The Escort.

When the elevator stops and I open the door I pray that the living area is empty. It isn't. I brace myself for the inevitable question:

"How did it go dear?" Egor asks. He and Blight are sharing a newspaper.

I shrug.

"What did you do?" Blight lowers the paper.

"Some traps, bruised my back," I murmur, and I am embarrassed by this injury. It's the first one I've sustained that I haven't meant to.

"Oh dear. We'll be lucky if we get you to the arena in one piece won't we?" Egor chuckles and tries to continue reading over Blight's shoulder.

"Do you want to put some ice on it?" Blight gestures to a bucket of ice by the dining table.

I nod. It would be a good idea.

"Here." He passes the newspaper over to Egor who laughs at something in it. He really has no clue what is going on around him anymore.

Blight picks up a napkin and folds it over a few ice shavings.

"Let me see."

I lift up the back of my training top and hear him breathe in sharply.

"Is it bad?"

"It's…pretty bad."

I wince as he presses the napkin to the small of my back.

"You don't have another tub of magic cream to get rid of this do you?" I grimace.

"Afraid not. This one just needs time."

"Unfortunately my days are numbered." I take the napkin off Blight and hold it myself. When I turn back around I see that he looks sad.

"I meant, I don't have the time to let it heal," I say quietly. "I didn't mean…"

"Yeah…go rest. I'd say I'll come get you at dinnertime but you won't be coming for dinner will you? So I'll come get you when the Scores are up."

I thank him and go to my room. As I pass Abe's room I can hear his voice and The Escort, I think Gaia might be in there too. They must be prepping for the Interviews already.

I shut my door and hope they won't be coming to bother me next.

Over the past three training days, I've been spending my time in my room trying to refine my fitness. If Gaia and The Escort came in they'd definitely notice that all my furniture has been moved around, not sure how I'd explain that. I've been doing laps around the room. I've been practicing snares and traps with whatever ribbons or drawstrings I can rip off the clothes in the wardrobe. There's a gap between the bottom of my wardrobe and the floor so I've pried up the boards and hidden food in there. I've climbed every piece of furniture more than 3 feet high. Once in the middle of the night I even lifted my bed, propped it up against the wall and tried to climb that. The slats underneath were not strong enough though and now the mattress sags a little more than it used to.

I get on with my 'Bedroom Training' as well as my back will allow until I hear a soft knock on the door.

I jump onto the bed and throw the covers over me.

"Yes?" I hope whoever it is doesn't wonder why I'm out of breath.

"It's time," comes Blight's voice. He doesn't come in.

I put on my trusty robe and head out to the living area.

Everyone is on the sofas. Abe is squashed between Gaia and The Escort. There is a space next to Egor but I choose to sit on my own in an armchair.

Claudius Templesmith, the announcer of the Hunger Games, starts the broadcast by explaining when the scores were given and what they mean. Media photos of all of us are played on a loop with his voice over the top.

"Earlier today the Tributes displayed their talents for the Gamemakers in a private session. It is the only opportunity the Tributes have to demonstrate all their capabilities in an environment where the other Tributes and Mentors cannot witness so I'm sure we'll have plenty of surprises tonight. We can all remember in previous years when we've had surprise high scores from Tributes that we'd written off can't we? Now the scores are out of 12 and a high score gives a taste of how impressive the skills were so it also helps Sponsors chose who to donate their hard-earned money to. I think we're ready with the scores now are we? Yes we are here we go, let's start with District 1 shall we?"

A picture of Jasper in his Training Outfit appears next to a list of his statistics.

"Jasper Webber from District 1…" His statistics show that he is 15 years old, a volunteer, 5ft 6in tall. Then a big 9 appears next to his statistics.

"9! What an impressive score. Let's see if his District partner can equal or better that: Amethyst Rose from District 1…10!"

I'm not bothered what everyone else gets. Abe, on the other hand, is drinking it all in.

Red gets a 10 as well and I'm really pleased for him. Mary gets an 8, I bet she's a bit sore about that, especially as she's been helping Red act like a Career.

Districts 3, 5 and 6 get various mixtures of 4, 5, and 6.

"Absalom Hawes from District 7…" Abe leans forward in earnest. "8!" HA!

He flops backwards with an audible groan.

"8 is fine, we can do things with an 8. Don't worry!" The Escort immediately reassures him. She and Gaia fawn over him as he sulks and they almost miss my score. They would have if Blight hadn't 'shushed' them.

"Johanna Mason, also from District 7…" I hold my breath and close my eyes. Please be low, please. "…3." Claudius sounds sad but I have to cover my face to stop the smile cracking my face open.

Yes!