Annaleigh St. Cloud (17) - District 1

Horden Tanase (17) - District 4

As the other careers have left, Annaleigh and Horden have a short and random conversation. They talk as they head to the fifth floor.

Annaleigh starts, "Ever wonder why buffalo wings are called such?"

"I don't think buffalo have wings!"

"Exactly!"

As the elevator doors open, they enter and Annaleigh presses the 5 button.

"Aren't they just like chicken wings?" says Horden. "But with sauce!"

The elevator doors are closing, but someone presses the button from the outside. Annaleigh and Horden notice the boy from Ten entering. He glares at them before and after pressing the 11 button.

Annaleigh says, "Yeah. It's just weird they call it that way."

Upon reaching the fifth floor, they see a big guy with light blue hair walking on a conveyor belt while wearing a virtual reality headset. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" He runs while on the conveyor belt, and he realizes that someone is calling his attention, from the headset.

"Oh, sorry I didn't notice. My name is Doctor Michael Hologram, and I am the inventor of this room. You may or may not know me as the CEO of Vizarre Smart Rooms."

"What can we do here?" asks Annaleigh.

"You have the option to pick between agility, stealth, stamina, and navigation. We also have the one-hour bundle to test out all four."

"Let's do it," Horden tells Annaleigh.

Ciara Graceanne Westley (15) - District 5

Arlenna Winnie Scott (13) - District 10

They exit the building when nobody is noticing them. They find a shuttle with an avox on the driver's seat.

Ciara recites, "Take Tiny Tammy to the tarmac to train truthfully."

The avox reacts in a surprised manner. Ciara and Arlenna ride the shuttle, and the avox starts driving.

"It's working?" reacts Arlenna.

"Let's find out," Ciara replies.

At some point, the avox drives off-road, and they enter a secret tunnel.

"This is interesting," Ciara comments.


Alistair looks at the screen showing a shuttle traveling to the secret tunnel. "Interesting how they found it very early. At least our efforts are not wasted."

Celestina says, "They will have a significant advantage over the other tributes."

"Indeed. Now, shall we check what everybody else is doing?"

"Okay sir. Some of them have just returned to where they were before lunch."

"Who are they?"

"Filament and Thomas are continuing with swords; Poppy, Owen, and Susie are still working on their shelters; and Kobe went back to the ropes."

"How about those who tried out other stations?"

Celestina points her finger to various screens again.

Rufus is walking around looking for books in the library, while Dante is seated somewhere hidden reading a book.
Orion, Macy, and Corinna are taught by the trainer how to make fire.
Lainey is studying about edibles.
Argentum, Jeanne, Tira, and Chip are learning how to cook food caught in the wild.
Brenna and Kylie are on opposite sides of the room learning how to use nunchuks.
Argentum and Annaleigh are jogging in the simulation room.
Ingeo is using a dagger, while Dorian is watching nearby.

"I thought we only have one pair of nunchuks?" Alistair asks.

"I'm not sure what exactly happened. I guess Leilah found another pair, or maybe the old one was still there."

"I guess that doesn't matter, but what is Mister Belcorn doing?"

"I notice he's been going around the building more often than training. I guess he's observing others."

"Well, that's not a bad strategy, but he better show us something decent later on. Anyway, just tell me if you need a sub."

"Yes sir."

Alistair exits the room. At the control room where most of the gamemakers are, a gamemaker approaches Alistair.

"Yes Cassine?"

"Sir, remember the bedtime stuff you told Brenda and I to buy?"

"Oh yeah. They said they'll deliver it today?"

"It just got here."

"Let me see."

They proceed to the common room. Alistair checks to see seven travel blankets in different colors, seven sleeping bags, three tents, and a travel pillow.

"This is all good." Alistair signed the necessary papers to pay and receive the bedtime materials. When the delivery people left, Alistair asks Cassine, "What else are we missing?"

"Mister Histolion's stuff."

"When is he dropping by?"

"He said today, but he didn't specify a time."

"I guess let's just wait and see."


Meanwhile with the stylists and stunters, they have finally finished.

"Hooray!" says Lucius. "Took so long, but it's finally perfect."

"Let's eat," says a stylist.

"I'm hungry," says another.

"Meeting's over," says Halizeia. "Thanks for helping everyone!"


Susie Ye (17) - District 7

Poppy Sennett (15) - District 11

Owen Lee Bai (14) - District 11

Upon finishing their shelter, they move one level up to the camouflage station. They see Kobe glaring at them from the ropes station.

"Yay we're going to paint!" Poppy exclaims.

I have a bad feeling about this, Susie thinks.

"Why do you have to be so nervous with everything?" says Kevin. Susie can imagine his eyes rolling.

Owen thinks, Here is where I'll execute the first part of my plan. Mwahahaha! This will be SO FUN!

Ciara Graceanne Westley (15) - District 5

Arlenna Winnie Scott (13) - District 10

The avox parks the shuttle. Both Ciara and Arlenna find themselves in an unfamiliar place.

"Tarmac? Tarmac." Ciara realizes. "This place is cool."

Arlenna thinks, Shouldn't we be training?

They explored a bit. They found stations to their surprise. There are stations for pattern recognition, sorting, locks, explosives, ice skating, farming, paragliding, zero-gravity, fishing, raft-making, canoeing, and diving.

Ciara comments, "Cool, huh."

"Do you think this place is special?"

"I don't know. Do you think we'll need any of these skills in the games?"

"I'm not sure."

"Wanna play the sorting thingy?" Ciara points at an arcade machine nearby.

"I guess I'll play whatever is beside it." With that, Arlenna checks out the pattern recognition machine.

Ciara moves to the sorting machine. I wonder where we could use these skills in the games.

Argentum Montgomery (17) - District 1

Jeanne Maxima (18) - District 4

Tira Hyde (16) - District 3

Chip Tablet (13) - District 3

At the cooking station, Argentum burned the meat he is cooking.

"Babe, too much," Jeanne says.

"You can help me cook."

"You can do it, babe." What Argentum or the other tributes do not know is Jeanne's fear of fire. It's not too big of a fear, but she doesn't wanna get too near it.

On the other hand, Chip and Tira successfully cook the meat given to them.

"We did it!" Tira says as she raises a hand for a high five. She whispers, "Chip, Chip!"

Chip high fives with Tira.

"Yay! Where can we go to now?"

"Have you tried making traps?" asks the trainer.

"Nope," replies Tira.

"It's a good idea to try out that place. Trap making can be important."

"That's a good idea! Chip, let's go. Thank you Miss Pestle."

"No problem, and feel free to call me Jilin."

"Thanks Jilin, see you around!"

"My pleasure, see you around too!"

Filament Harmon-Fierro (14) - District 5

Thomas Barnaby (18) - District 6

At the hand-to-hand combat station, Filly and Thomas watch the twin trainers demonstrating it.

"See?" says Density.

Gravity continues, "Not too hard, but not too easy."

"Why don't you two give it a try?"

Susie Ye (17) - District 7

Poppy Sennett (15) - District 11

Owen Lee Bai (14) - District 11

Susie is facing the corner thinking, or at least that's what it looks like.

"You bet my sorry ass I or you will kill them first, or else they will kill you," Kevin says.

Susie cowers in fear and in silence. While Kevin torments her more, Owen and Poppy are exchanging words.

"Can you repeat that?" Poppy says softly.

Owen clears his throat, then says softly, "Susie hates you. She probably hates me too, but she hates you more. Look at her." They turn around and see Susie's head facing and leaning on the corner of the room. "She probably hates everyone."

"Should we ask her to leave our alliance?"

"We can't do that now that she's in." That spoils my plan, kid. "Let's just wait and see if she turns against us at the bloodbath."

"Okay."

Owen goes back to painting himself, and Poppy thinks of the possibilities of Susie's unknown plans. She holds her tears from sliding down her cheeks. Shake it off. It's okay. Susie probably just needs some help from her home life. As she wipes them off, she goes back to painting herself as well.

Macy Roe (12) - District 9

Corinna Pickett (15) - District 12

Orion Fleming (15) - District 7

At the fire-making station, Corinna and Macy are struggling with making fire. The same can be said for Orion.

"Smoke! Smoke." Macy lets go, since she is afraid of fire.

"We were almost there!" Corinna says.

"It's okay. We can try again."

Tira Hyde (16) - District 3

Chip Tablet (13) - District 3

"Miss Tilde?" calls Tira.

"Tide will do. Yes?"

"What traps do you think will be necessary in the games?"

"Well, I'm not sure what the arena is, but Head Gamemaker Alistair is fond of indoor arenas with some parts of it outdoors."

"Do you know how to make a trap in a room?"

"Oh yeah, I can teach you that. It's gonna be like playing pranks on others, except this is no joke. It's a prank that should give you an advantage over your victim. The said victim can be immobilized or attacked with traps. Have you played pranks on others before?"

"Not much."

Chip looks up. He analyzes the discussion on pranks.

"Okay, so to start, you need to have materials or resources if you want to play pranks on others."

Ciara Graceanne Westley (15) - District 5

Arlenna Winnie Scott (13) - District 10

Ciara and Arlenna are now on the locks station. Although there is no trainer on the station, the goal is to unlock the tarpaulin covering the board by unlocking several chests and solving the riddles in them.

Arlenna opens a chest and gives the card from the inside to Ciara. Ciara reads aloud, "The northeastern key is a three-digit number combination. The first and last digits are the same. The middle digit is greater than the first or the last, but it is less than the first and the last combined. When added together, the three digits should sum up to eleven."

Arlenna steps on a stool to reach the combination lock on the upper right corner of the board. She tries out 1-9-1, followed by 2-7-2. She tries 3-5-3, and it unlocks.

"Good job!" Ciara comments. What's her full name again? Ah, yes.

Arlenna brings down a card that was tucked from the inside of the upper right corner of the tarpaulin.

"What's that, Winnie?"

Winnie!? "It's another card." Two can play that game. "I found it tucked inside up there." Graceanne? Too long, but I think it should do. "Where do you think the lock is, Gracie?"

"Gracie!?"

"You started it." The two look at each other like they're challenging one another.

"Alright, Winnie. Have you read what's on the card?"

"It says 'I am the tiger.' Nothing else written aside from that, Gracie."

"Hmmm... why don't you help me think, Winnie?" She rolls her eyes sarcastically.

"Why not, Gracie?" She rolls her eyes slightly too.

Dorian Belcorn (18) - District 9

Macy Roe (12) - District 9

Corinna Pickett (15) - District 12

Orion Fleming (15) - District 7

Dorian arrived a few minutes ago. With some help and guidance from Jilin, Dorian helps Macy and Corinna start a fire successfully.

"Yay!" says Corinna.

"We did it! We did it!" Macy says in a singsong tone while dancing a bit.

I did it! Dorian rolls his eyes. He leaves again, leaving the two girls to themselves once more.

"Let's go to the clinic and learn medical stuff," Corinna suggests.

"Okay, but doesn't that start at three o'clock?"

"I guess so."

As Macy and Corinna leave the fire-making station, Orion perseveres with making his fire. He watched what Dorian did, but he doesn't understand what he is doing wrong.

Brenna O'Hare (18) - District 2

After trying out the nunchuks, Brenna tried using the whip and the claw. Now, she's putting the gauntlet back in its place to get the boomerang. She throws it and attempts to catch it. She fails to, but the trainer catches it.

Leilah throws the boomerang with force from one end of the room. She successfully catches it when it reaches back to her. She gives the boomerang back to Brenna. She throws it once more, and Leilah catches it again. Leilah shakes her head. She then shows Brenna the right way to throw the boomerang, as well as how to catch it. She gives it back to Brenna once more.

Susie Ye (17) - District 7

Poppy Sennett (15) - District 11

Owen Lee Bai (14) - District 11

While Poppy is at the washroom, Owen approaches Susie.

"Poppy doesn't like you. She was considering that you leave the alliance."

Susie looks at Owen in a frozen manner.

Kevin says, "HAHAHA! What did I tell you?"

"I... I..." Susie stammers. Get it together, Susie. "I..."

"It's okay. I'm keeping you in our alliance whether Poppy likes it or not." Owen then gives Susie a bright smile. "Are you okay?"

"Uh... I..."

"It's okay. Don't tell Poppy I told you this."

Susie nods nervously. "O-Okay."

Owen goes back to camouflaging himself, then Poppy returns from the washroom. Susie eyes Poppy with disbelief, and Poppy notices this. Is something wrong with her?

Kevin says, "if I were you, I'd kill both of them before I get out of the bloodbath. Oh wait, you're not gonna listen to me, so I'll kill them myself. Mwahahahaha!"

Susie shivers, then turns her head back to the corner. Owen notices this and approaches Poppy.

Owen whispers, "Susie was wondering if you went to the washroom to plot something against her. I told her to just calm down because you simply went to the washroom. Isn't that right?"

Poppy nods, then replies softly. "Yes. I just went to the washroom quickly and now I'm back."

"See? I'll tell her later she has nothing to worry about." Owen gives her a very bright smile, and Poppy returns the favor.

Meanwhile, Kylie arrives at the camouflage station from the ninth floor.

Tira Hyde (16) - District 3

Chip Tablet (13) - District 3

"I'm not that good with pranks, but I hope you learned something!"

"Yes we did, right Chip?" Tira snaps her fingers in front of Chip. Chip nods shortly after. "See? Thanks Tide!"

"May the odds be ever in your favor! Where are you headed to?"

"I guess we can check out the clinic. We missed the earlier session."

"Oh alright."

"See you around!"

"See ya!"

Kobe Bridger (13) - District 10

At the dagger station, he slashes a dummy's cheek.

"Well done, well done!" says Cholrus, the trainer.

Kobe leaves with satisfaction. He knows he hasn't done enough, but being able to inflict pain on others is probably a good enough revenge. The pain he has been through, caused by poverty, is probably harder to scheme for revenge. He's satisfied with the dagger at least, for now.

Annaleigh St. Cloud (17) - District 1

Horden Tanase (17) - District 4

At the library, Annaleigh and Horden return books about careers to the shelves.

"It's almost three," reminds Horden.

"I'm aware," replies Annaleigh as she opens the door and leaves the library with Horden.

Macy Roe (12) - District 9

Corinna Pickett (15) - District 12

From the cafeteria, Macy and Corinna finish eating their snacks.

"Let's go?" says Corinna.

"Okay. That was a nice break."

"I wonder who else we'll meet there."

"I'm excited!"

Corinna presses the elevator button for the doors to open. She and Macy see Annaleigh and Horden inside.

Annaleigh St. Cloud (17) - District 1

Horden Tanase (17) - District 4

"You forgot to press twelve!" Annaleigh says.

"I forgot, sorry." Horden presses the close button this time after the girls enter.

As the door closes, Macy turns to the careers.

"Hi, I'm Macy! This is my new friend Corinna."

"Hello!" Corinna waves to them.

Annaleigh and Horden look at each other, having the same thought in mind.

"Annaleigh. I'm from One." She reaches her hand out to shake it with the girls'.

"Horden, from Four." He does the same. "Are you heading to the clinic too?"

"Yup!" replies Macy.

The elevator reaches the twelfth floor. Filly, Thomas, Kobe, Tira, Chip, and the doctor are there. Orion also arrives from the staircase.

Tira Hyde (16) - District 3

Chip Tablet (13) - District 3

Filament Harmon-Fierro (14) - District 5

Thomas Barnaby (18) - District 6

Kobe Bridger (13) - District 10

Orion Fleming (15) - District 7

"We're just about to start. Please, have a seat. I am Doctor Ishi, and there's a lot of us this time. Only three people came for the morning session." Doctor Ishi counts how many tributes are present. "There's ten of you this time. Can you group yourselves by pairs?"

Annaleigh and Horden high five. Filly and Thomas bump fists. Corinna and Macy hug with cheers. Tira is snapping her fingers in front of Chip, then he nods.

"Is there anybody who doesn't have a pair?" Two people raise their hands. "You, kindly come here and sit with him."

Orion moves to Kobe's table, and Kobe glares at him.

What the fuck!? Kobe continues to glare at Orion. Orion just waves with a smile.

"Who knew I'd see you again?" Orion says in a friendly manner.

Kobe says softly, "Stay the fuck away from me."

"You're going to need your partners for most of the session, so stick with your partners at all times."

"Awww... I can't stay away from you," Orion reasons to Kobe.

"Fine!" Kobe says softly but angrily.

Dante Blackwell (14) - District 12

Dante is at the archery station. His arrows are either out of target or on the outer rings. A few arrows are at the bullseye thanks to the trainer. Dante shoots another arrow, aiming for the center like anyone else would. As he releases, the arrow flies, then lands, on the outer ring.

Troffy Helios shakes her head. "There's not even wind here. Let me show you once more." Troffy takes her shiny pink bow. She picks up an arrow from the floor, pulls it back, then releases it. The arrow lands on the bullseye once more. "I swear this is easy."

Dante looks at the unsatisfied trainer. She twirls her curly shiny pink and silver hair. "You know, I'm honestly not sure if being a trainer here or being a trainer in the academies at home is worse. You better raise your game, kid. Nobody wins with pure luck. You need some skill at least."

The only thing Dante wants to do right now is just give up on archery. There are probably other stations with more patient trainers. Dante thinks Troffy is just one of those careers that were never picked to go to the games.

"What are you waiting for?" Troffy taps her foot repeatedly on the floor.

This is not worth it. Dante returns the bow back on its shelf.

"Quitting so soon? Gosh, I'd rather train a career here. Where are they!? Only two came here this morning. OMG, this is boring. Why did I sign up for this?" She rambles further, but that's no longer relevant, especially to Dante as he leaves.

Susie Ye (17) - District 7

Poppy Sennett (15) - District 11

Owen Lee Bai (14) - District 11

Ingeo Olefin (14) - District 8

At the edibles station, the three who have been allied made a new friend, or at least Owen has. They have a small chat while Poppy and Susie are focused on the station.

"So what do you at home?" Owen asks.

"I... I like reading. I help my parents sometimes."

"I see. I wish I still have parents."

"Why?"

"They died from an accident." Owen sniffs dramatically. He thinks of them deep from his heart, and he lets out a few tears, for sympathy. "They were gone a long time ago."

"I'm sorry."

Owen notices that they're quite a distance away from the other two now. He still sniffs some more, and says the next several words in a softer voice. "Anyway, thanks for joining us. I was so worried that my two allies would betray me."

"Why?" Ingeo is surprised. He tries to lower his voice to Owen's level.

"Because they've been acting weird after lunch. I don't know why."

"Maybe they're just thinking of home too."

"Maybe. I don't really know. Maybe I'm just paranoid. Maybe they're really not comfortable staying with me." Owen notices a tension between the two as they identify the same plant and debate whether it's poisonous or not.

"We can stay with them first. After the bloodbath, we let both of them leave if they want to." Ingeo thinks it's a good idea to share their goods first before they split up, if ever they will.

"Okay." It's working. Mwahahaha! "Thanks for the comfort, Ingeo."

"Thanks too, Owen."

Dorian Belcorn (18) - District 9

Dorian throws some knives at the throwing knife station.

"Not like that!" says Pulsar Galaxy, the throwing knives trainer. "It's like this." He throws a throwing knife and it hits a dummy square in its chest.

Dorian pays only a little attention to that. He's aware that the careers nearby are paying attention to him too, so he's just acting weak to stay away from being marked off as a threat. In fact, he never wanted to be trying out throwing knives in the first place. He's just here to observe the couple. He can find some weaknesses from both of them now that he's that near to them.

Dorian throws another throwing knife. It hits the dummy's foot.

"Not bad, not bad."

Argentum Montgomery (17) - District 1

Jeanne Maxima (18) - District 4

"Babe, let's do this again."

"The chakram again!?"

"Babe, do you get to play with these at home?"

"No."

"Then again. This is fun."

"Okay."

Tira Hyde (16) - District 3

Chip Tablet (13) - District 3

Filament Harmon-Fierro (14) - District 5

Thomas Barnaby (18) - District 6

Kobe Bridger (13) - District 10

Orion Fleming (15) - District 7

Annaleigh St. Cloud (17) - District 1

Horden Tanase (17) - District 4

Macy Roe (12) - District 9

Corinna Pickett (15) - District 12

"The iodine can kill bacteria and fungi, but don't drink the water right away." Doctor Ishi puts the iodine down to her table. "If you're done wrapping the bandage on your partner, remove it like how your partner did it earlier."

"Yay this is easy!" Macy says excitedly as she removes Corinna's bandage.

Too easy. Horden removes the bandage from Arlenna.

"Chip, focus," says Tira. Chip slowly finishes putting the bandage on Tira's arm.

"I've seen nurses do this so many times already." Thomas successfully removes the bandage from Filly's leg.

Orion realizes that he's almost near the end.

"Hurry up!" Kobe says. "We're gonna fall behind."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, come on!"

With that Kobe quickly removes the bandage until the end.

"YOUCH! OW! What the fuck!?"

Orion giggles. "You told me to hurry."

"Did it hurt like THAT when I removed your bandage?"

"No."

"Then why the fuck did I get a surprise!?"

"Because you're my partner!" Orion smiles brightly as he shows Kobe the end of the big bandage, which has a small adhesive bandage attached to it.

"What the fuck!?" This kid is fucking smart! I hate him! "I hate you!"

Orion just smiles like usual.

"I hate you!" Kobe repeats. Grrr...

Susie Ye (17) - District 7

Poppy Sennett (15) - District 11

Owen Lee Bai (14) - District 11

Ingeo Olefin (14) - District 8

As the four of them study edible meat, Owen notices Susie and Poppy not talking to each other. This is working. Mwahahaha!

Poppy tries to focus on studying edible meat without looking at Susie.

Susie is cowering in fear, about to break down in tears.

"Your sister? She's pathetic. Yeah sure, she's the only sister you had, but who killed her? Right."

Susie turns around from the rest of them.

"Are you okay, Susie?" Owen asks.

Susie doesn't respond for a while, since Kevin carried her away.

"But hey, at least you can kill! I can't wait until you'll be allowed to kill your allies, one by one!"

"Susie?" Owen repeats.

"I-I'll just g-go to the wa-ashroom." Susie walks away from them in tears. She tries to hide it, but her voice is shaking.

"I wonder what happened to her," Ingeo says.

"She's been acting weird, like I said," Owen reasons out. "Let's get back to where we were, shall we?"

Rufus Cornelii (12) - District 2

Rufus drops the rope as he finishes exploring what he can do with it. he moves to the wire station nearby.

"Welcome to the wires station!" Vilnius Heilong greets. "What do you want to learn about it?"

Rufus pauses to think, then continues with, "Everything."

The trainer from the rope station makes a facial expression with a nod that only Vilnius sees.

"Alright then. Shall we start with the history?"

No response.

"So wires were used to kill people in public, as a punishment. It was a long long time ago. It's not really a weapon used in combat, but it's something called the garrote. The prisoner takes a seat, and the wire would be placed... here." Vilnius motions it based on his imagination. "Most people think you suffocate the person with the garrote; but really, you break the prisoner's neck by twisting the wire tighter and tighter, until it breaks their spine." Vilnius looks at Rufus, emotionless. From the far back, he can see the same trainer from the rope station telling him that Rufus is really like that, in sign language.

"Okay! I hope you learned something. So let's see..." Vilnius gives Rufus a wire so he can try out what he can do with it by himself.

Lainey Sash (18) - District 6

"Hope you learned something!" says Coach Gen from the swimming pool.

"Definitely did. Thank you!"

"My pleasure. I heard you volunteered. Why is that so again?"

"Someone way younger than me got reaped, and I thought volunteering was the selfless and right thing to do. Someone else volunteered for me when I was twelve."

"Oh wow. Tough luck. At least it's not just the careers who are always winning."

"The careers aren't usually happy about that change."

"Oh yeah. A lot of things have changed ever since the games was on its centennial. I don't think they teach that in school. You can check out the library for more information."

"I'll think about it. Thanks again, coach!"

"Sure sure. May the odds be ever in you favor!"

Ciara Graceanne Westley (15) - District 5

Arlenna Winnie Scott (13) - District 10

"And that's how fishin' works, girls," Polu says.

"How much water will there be in the arena?" Ciara asks.

"I can't tell, and I also wasn't told. All I know is that there will be water, so fishing skills may come in handy when you need food."

"Alright then. Thanks anyway."

"Thanks!" Arlenna follows up.

The pair leaves the fishing station.

"Now what?" Ciara asks, wondering what to do next. "Oh I know! I want to try paragliding. I wanted to do that at home, but we don't have paragliders. What do you think, Winnie?"

Paragliding!? Doesn't that involve flying? "Uh..."

"Come on! Let's give it a try."

"Maybe I'll stay here and..."

"Oh no no no! Why don't you wanna try it out?"

"I'm... uh... afraid of heights."

"It's nothing!" But hey, I'm biased. You're talking to a rock climber, Winnie! "What's wrong with heights?"

"It's... a long way down."

"That's nothing! Come on, just give it a try. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You might as well try it while you still can."

Uh... I won't die from that right? I mean, I'll probably be dead too in a few days. "Ugh, okay Gracie."

"Yay, let's go!" AAAHHHHH! I'm so excited for this!

Tira Hyde (16) - District 3

Chip Tablet (13) - District 3

Filament Harmon-Fierro (14) - District 5

Thomas Barnaby (18) - District 6

Kobe Bridger (13) - District 10

Orion Fleming (15) - District 7

Annaleigh St. Cloud (17) - District 1

Horden Tanase (17) - District 4

Macy Roe (12) - District 9

Corinna Pickett (15) - District 12

"I know you won't remember everything I just said," Doctor Ishi says. "So pay attention to the colors of the bottles."

"They're all in the same color," says Annaleigh.

"Yeah, but there is a blue line beside the barcode," Horden says.

"Yup, that's the color. The colors will help you remember some, most, or all of what you need to remember." Doctor Ishi checks her watch. "Oh look, it's already time. If you have any questions, I'll be here until the training center closes. Hope you all learned something!"

With that, some of the tributes left immediately, while others thanked Doctor Ishi, or asked her a few questions regarding what was just discussed.

Kobe Bridger (13) - District 10

Orion Fleming (15) - District 7

The two proceed to the knives station.

"Stop following me! Fuck off!" Kobe says.

Orion says, "I'm here to learn how to use knives too."

"Oh really?" Kobe does an eye roll.

Tira Hyde (16) - District 3

Chip Tablet (13) - District 3

Filament Harmon-Fierro (14) - District 5

Thomas Barnaby (18) - District 6

Macy Roe (12) - District 9

Corinna Pickett (15) - District 12

"I'm Macy!"

"And I'm Corinna."

"My name is Filament but you can call me Filly!"

"Thomas."

"This is Chip, and I'm Tira. Nice to meet you all!"

"Where should we go next?" Corinna asks.

"How about the kitchen, where we can chat?" Filly suggests.

"We just ate," Macy responds.

"We can talk further at the endurance rooms," Tira inputs.

"Yeah, that's a great place to chat," Thomas agrees.

With that, they all move to the fourth floor.

Argentum Montgomery (17) - District 1

Jeanne Maxima (18) - District 4

As they arrive on the fourth floor, Jeanne points to a station. "Babe, let's check out one of these rooms."

"Do you wanna be hot, or do you wanna be cool?"

"I don't wanna be cool. I wanna be cold! We're careers! We need to be cold!"

"Okay babe."

As they enter the cool endurance room, the other group arrives on the fourth floor. They see the two careers enter one room, so they enter the other.

Kylie Ford (16) - District 6

Kylie has been training all day without an ally. She's been considering having an ally, but she doesn't want too many allies. Based on her observations though, most tributes already have alliances. It's probably too late to get an ally. She's also too nervous to ask the other individuals who still don't have allies. Will she get an ally?

As she builds her shelter with the trainer's guidance, she notices something shaky between the group of four. She did not really consider joining them, and especially not now as she notices a weird tension between its members.

Susie Ye (17) - District 7

Poppy Sennett (15) - District 11

Owen Lee Bai (14) - District 11

Ingeo Olefin (14) - District 8

"I got ninety-six correctly," Ingeo says as he finished the edibles-inedibles quiz.

"I got sixty-three only," says Owen. But, I answered some of them wrong on purpose, because I'm not stupid and gullible.

"I got eighty-seven, yay!" Poppy shows her results to her allies, except Susie, since she's still not finished.

Susie stares at her quiz, at the screen, trying to remember what she studied. Oh wait, did she?

"You've gotta be kidding me. That's inedible!"

Susie selects inedible and gets it incorrectly.

"The next one sure is inedible," Kevin says sarcastically.

Susie selects edible, and gets it incorrectly.

"Lol."

Susie pauses and stares at the screen. What's the point of learning this anyway?

Ciara Graceanne Westley (15) - District 5

Arlenna Winnie Scott (13) - District 10

At the top of a cliff, the instructor finishes explaining the basics of paragliding. Ciara seems very excited, while Arlenna is very worried.

Harbin says, "That's all you need to know about paragliding. Any questions?"

Arlenna raises her hand, "Sir, you said that accidents can..."

"Winnie! Stop worrying. It's not gonna get you anywhere."

"You don't have to worry about it, kid," Harbin says. "Most of the accidents occur due to wind conditions. The gamemakers have control over that. Just keep in mind what I said earlier, and you'll be fine."

"I'm ready to go!" Ciara says.

"The wind is ready too. What coincidence!" Harbin says.

"I'M READY!" Ciara sets her paraglide up, and Harbin is surprised she got it in one try. As Ciara's paraglide is already up and ready, all she had to do was run off to the cliff. Arlenna watches uncomfortably as Ciara screams with excitement. "AHHH! I NEVER THOUGHT I'D BE ABLE TO DO THIS!"

"Are you ready?" Harbin asks Arlenna. She thinks hesitantly, unable to answer before Harbin continues, "I can help you paraglide, if that will help."

"I'm afraid of heights."

"Oh, I see. Your friend must have convinced you to come here with her, right?"

Arlenna nods.

"Why not try something new and face your fears?"

Arlenna thinks again, not knowing what to say.

"It's okay if you don't want to. I get it."

Arlenna nods slowly. She decides to watch Ciara enjoying from the distance.

Lainey Sash (18) - District 8

At a dark fortress, Lainey hides by a corner. She sees a cyclops guarding the next wall, but it walks in a certain pattern. She also tries to find another way to reach the goal. Eventually, she slowly sneaks past the cyclops and finds herself at a balcony of the fortress. She finds a path on her left.

I didn't expect virtual reality to be this fun and engaging, and I get to train my stealth at the same time!

She slowly walks to the path, descending to the lower level of the fortress. From the perspective of the real world, the elevated and modifiable ground has a way down to the "lower level" of the fortress. Lainey finds herself in a clearing, and she looks in her surroundings to find a dragon flying on the other side of the fortress.

That means I can't go there.

She finds out that the clearing is a dead end but with a switch. From the real world perspective, she pushes the lever then the ground moves as if she's being lowered to a lower level of the fortress. Lainey reaches an enclosed dungeon as the ceiling closes above her. She sees laser traps ahead, but the portal to the next course is visible.

Doctor Hologram tells his staff, "She knows what she's doing so far, but there are minor mistakes she could have avoided. Like..."

"Like running after the knight?"

"Yeah. She could have hid herself in that opening. It was an obvious hideout. At least, she has better odds than the other outer district kids when it comes to overall skills."

Annaleigh St. Cloud (17) - District 1

Horden Tanase (17) - District 4

After Doctor Ishi's seminar, the career pair started learning martial arts under the Psi twins. After all, neither of them got to learn that in the academies at their respective districts.

Gravity starts, "This is how you kick high."

"And this is how you block!" Density ends.

"Now go."

"And try it out!"

Horden kicks high and Annaleigh backs off.

"Wait," she says. "Like this?"

"That brings us to our next point!" says Density.

"There are several ways to block," continues Gravity.

"Like this!"

"And like this."

"Also like this!"

"And also like this."

Horden says, "Can we take it slowly from here."

"No problem," says Gravity.

"I can even tell you why!" Density confidently adds.

Susie Ye (17) - District 7

Poppy Sennett (15) - District 11

Owen Lee Bai (14) - District 11

Ingeo Olefin (14) - District 8

"You make fire like this." Jilin rubs the wood to make the fire. Eventually, she got it. "See? Easy peasy."

Poppy and Ingeo are seated in front, while Owen is at the back with Susie. While Susie is not looking, Owen taps Poppy's back. She turns around and makes eye contact with Susie.

What do you want? Poppy glares at Susie.

Susie, confused, blinks her eyes. What?

"She's gonna kill you, so you gotta get to her first," Kevin says.

Owen taps Susie's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Susie looks at Owen, processing the situation. She nods, but in a nervous manner. When can this be over?

Tira Hyde (16) - District 3

Chip Tablet (13) - District 3

Filament Harmon-Fierro (14) - District 5

Thomas Barnaby (18) - District 6

Macy Roe (12) - District 9

Corinna Pickett (15) - District 12

As they switch endurance rooms with the career pair, they find out that they prefer heat endurance over the cool one.

"I-Is it g-gonna be th-this c-cold in the arena?" Macy asks while shivering.

"It could be," Thomas replies.

Argentum Montgomery (17) - District 1

Jeanne Maxima (18) - District 4

"Babe, it's hot in here," says Jeanne as she fans herself with her bare hands. I want him to take his shirt off.

"Well, it's the hot room."

"Do you wanna check the pool later?"

"Sure! I'm down to try it out." On second thought, I'm not a big fan of open water.

Dante Blackwell (14) - District 12

Dante stays in the kitchen after leaving the traps station. He doesn't know where to go and doesn't know what to do. He stays in the kitchen to get some snacks, just to fill his stomach.

Where should I go next?

Ciara Graceanne Westley (15) - District 5

Arlenna Winnie Scott (13) - District 10

"Oh my gosh, Winnie. You should have at least tried!"

"Gracie, I don't like heights."

"Okay fine, but if we come to a point that we have to paraglide away from danger, it's do or DIE! Got it?"

"Mmhm." Arlenna nods.

"What's this?" Ciara sees a trainer in full pink holding an oar.

Akalaiza Lima says, "Welcome to the canoeing station! Wanna give it a try?"

"You better not be afraid of water, Winnie."

"No I'm not."

"Good! Let's try it out."

Kobe Bridger (13) - District 10

Orion Fleming (15) - District 7

While Orion and Kobe are listening to the trainer explain what can be done with a knife, Kobe finds an unusual dagger nearby. He plays with it, then smiles maliciously. He looks at Kobe, listening attentively. Orion is already close enough. He looks at Kobe's open foot and smiles maliciously.

Cholrus Caravan says, "Now this is part of defense, but make sure..."

"AHHH!" Kobe screams. He watches the dagger on his shoe, courtesy of Orion. He can only think of the pain on his right foot. "WHAT THE FUCK!?" He looks at his shoe longer, and Orion's hand is still on the dagger. He lifts it up and the plastic blade of the dagger comes out from the inside of the toy due to gravity. Orion pushes the plastic blade back in and pulls it out, then smiles like usual.

IT WAS A FAKE DAGGER! WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK! Kobe looks enraged. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ABOUT!?"

"Oh! You found it. I was playing pranks on my fellow trainers, especially the newbies." Cholrus gets the fake dagger from Orion. "Thanks by the way. Don't worry kid, your foot is okay."

Kobe looks at his shoe again and sees nothing wrong with it. It's as if a magician returned it in perfect condition after destroying it. He takes off his shoe to make sure. There's no blood on his foot. That was a joke!? It was a prank!? What the fuck!?

Orion smiles semi-guiltily.

"Look kid! If you're just gonna kill me with a fake dagger, get the fuck out!"

"It was a good joke," Orion says.

"NO IT WASN'T!"

Cholrus nods slightly as he watches the two fight. They don't see him nod, however. He agrees it was a good joke at least. "Okay guys. Time to calm down and get back from where we were. Is that okay?"

Kobe glares at the trainer. Orion gives him a thumbs up.

"Okay then. Where were we?"

Brenna O'Hare (18) - District 2

She arrives at the fifth floor and sees the inventor giving the results to the girl from Eight.

Lainey Sash (18) - District 8

"Thank you for coming and we hope to see you again!" Doctor Hologram reaches a hand out for a shake.

Lainey shakes it. "Thank you." She walks to the elevator. Maybe I should check out the shelter station. As she nears the elevator, she makes eye contact with the girl from Two. Her cold and neutral look sends a shiver down her spine. She presses the up button outside the elevator as she watches the girl from Two approach the inventor.

Brenna thinks the girl from Eight is strong. She volunteered after all. Should I mark her off as a threat? I guess it's too early to tell, but I have to watch out for her.

"Hi! My name is Doctor Michael Hologram."

Tira Hyde (16) - District 3

Chip Tablet (13) - District 3

Filament Harmon-Fierro (14) - District 5

Thomas Barnaby (18) - District 6

Macy Roe (12) - District 9

Corinna Pickett (15) - District 12

After the endurance rooms, they proceed to the library.

"Where should we stay?" Macy asks aloud.

"Shhh!" Fancie the librarian looks at them.

"We should stay there." Tira points at a table with six seats nearby. "We should also find books that might help us in the games."

"Okay," agrees Filly.

Thomas points out, "Isn't that the escort from Four?"

She notices them immediately, because they were loud enough. She waves to them, and Filly, Macy, Thomas, and Tira wave back.

"I'm tired," Chip whispers to Tira.

"Okay, just stay here and rest," Tira replies. Is it just me, or do I feel like a mom or big sister to Chip?

Rufus Cornelii (12) - District 2

He's been at the twelfth floor for quite some time now, learning about poisons. He thinks it's important to have an unexpected skill to take advantage of his fellow careers later on. This might be the best weapon to use against them. The games aren't always about fighting hard. Sometimes, it's about fighting smart.

Sierra Tosca says, "This one is oxalic acid. A really small portion can kill someone immediately, although I don't think you'll find this anywhere in the arena. Actually, you won't find poison in the arena, and nobody usually sponsors poison. Well, rare cases only, but really rare."

Rufus nods as he understands this. Okay. Maybe I'll need a Plan B.

Kylie Ford (16) - District 6

Kylie listens to Tide as she teaches her how to make traps for hunting, for food.

"It's not hard. Why don't you give it a try?"

Dante Blackwell (14) - District 12

Kobe Bridger (13) - District 10

Dante listens to Cholrus explaining to him the different ways to use a knife, while Kobe is staying there trying to understand by himself what he can do with a knife. While Dante is not interested in allies, Kobe doesn't have so many choices for allies. He's still thinking whom he should ally with. Should I ask my mentor? Do I need to ask him?

Argentum Montgomery (17) - District 1

Jeanne Maxima (18) - District 4

"My my, I didn't know you swim so well."

"Well duh! I'm from Four, babe."

"I can't swim so well."

"Well, babe, we won't know until you dip your ass here!"

"Haha!"

"What's funny? The only water you've touched is shower water. Come and join me." Jeanne seductively uses one finger to call Argentum and join her in the pool. She follows it with a flirty wink.

"Alright, alright." Before Argentum could jump to the pool reluctantly, Jeanne gets up and pushes him. She then jumps on him, sticking her four limbs on him like he's her teddy bear. Argentum panics a bit, "Babe! Babe!"

"It's nothing, babe."

He tickles her stomach, then she follows. Coach Gen awkwardly watches them from her lifeguard post.

Ciara Graceanne Westley (15) - District 5

Arlenna Winnie Scott (13) - District 10

Lima tells them, "Well girls, hope you had fun canoeing. It's already closing time. Please come back tomorrow if you wish."

"Closing time!?" reacts Ciara.

"I'm tired too," Arlenna says.

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to come back."

With that, Ciara and Arlenna take the shuttle back to the training center.


Alistair and Celestina watch the runners leave the Secret Tarmac.

Alistair comments, "Well, those two have a neat advantage, but not all tributes who have discovered the tarmac made it far."

"We'll just have to see how they'll fare, sir."

"Precisely. Can we check on everyone else?"

Celestina points on various screens again. They show the following:
Lainey is building a shelter from scratch.
Tira, Chip, Filly, Thomas, Macy, and Corinna are at the library with books, but most of them are chatting.
Kobe is sitting still near the knife station, while Dante is still trying to learn knife tricks from the trainer.
Poppy, Owen, Ingeo, and Susie are at the fire station trying to make fire out of wood pieces.
Annaleigh and Horden are training with each other with spears.
Rufus is still experimenting on poisons.
Kylie is learning how to make traps.
Dorian is properly showing the trainer his actual skills with throwing knives.
Jeanne and Argentum are swimming and flirting at the pool.
Orion is being taught how to work with a wire.
Brenna is about to start the third of four courses in the simulation room.

On Alistair's hand is a sheet of paper with the updated alliances:

Alliances:

Careers - Argentum, Annaleigh, Brenna, Rufus, Jeanne, Horden

Big Happy Family - Tira, Chip, Thomas, Filly, Macy, Corinna (Tira and Chip haven't met Dorian to have an official agreement.)

Big Boy and the Happy Kids - Dorian, Thomas, Filly, Macy, Corinna

Gracie and Winnie - Ciara, Arlenna

Sketchier - Susie, Owen, Poppy, Ingeo

Loners:

Kylie

Orion

Lainey

Kobe

Dante

"It's just an hour and a half, then we can call it a day," Alistair says.

"I thought Mister Histolion is coming?"

"Oh. You're right."

It's not the end of the day yet. It's just the beginning of the night.


AN:

First update of the year, and I finally got this out! I didn't have writing constipation. I just didn't have enough motivation to write. I also didn't have as much time on the past 2 months. Took a while to get this out, but thanks for understanding! :)

The writing style here is still the same as last chapter's. The objective is to show everything, but it gets tiring at times. Not sure if this writing style is working here, but I can imagine it working better when we get to the arena. Let me know what you think of the writing style. I don't plan on changing it anymore for consistency's sake, although I'm pretty poor with consistency tbh. :/

I'd like to hear your comments about this chapter, like every other chapter I've written. Suggestions for improvement are welcome. Suggestions on what you wanna see on the Capitol nights are also welcome. Predictions are welcome too. There will still be a bit of training next chapter, since this chapter ends at 5:30 PM but the training center closes at 7 PM.

This is a late holiday gift, but ShunKazamis-Girl has made a blog for the story! :D To check it out, just go here: cards-of-mortality-140th. weebly. com

Next update will most likely be next month. I have a 4-week break from April to May, and I hope to pump out update after update by then.

That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and the blog! :)