Sol Mikkelson, 19
District Four Mentor
Competitor in the First Events
As soon as the interviews ended, Sol and Ariel ran to the District Four floor to meet their competitors there. The transport taking the competitors to Thirteen for the formal Opening Ceremonies was leaving in just over an hour, giving the mentors a little bit of time to give their competitors last-minute advice before losing contact until after the Events were over. As far as Sol could tell, there wouldn't even be an opportunity to sponsor them like in the Games; within 75 minutes, Marilyn and Augustus would be on their own among the other competitors, only really able to trust each other. Sol remembered the nervous feeling he had the year before when he realized that he was on his own, without those who were supposed to be there to help him through the process of the Events. At least Marilyn and Augustus had each other; Sol had been out in the Arena all on his own.
Just moments after Sol's elevator reached the District Four floor, the other elevator's doors opened and Marilyn and Augustus flew out of them, attacking their mentors with questions and concerns. Sol watched as Ariel calmly held up a hand. "Guys," she said, "we don't have much time. Let's do this productively. Go change into your outfits for transport, make sure your suitcases are packed, and then come back with your suitcases so you have time to eat dinner before you go. Remember that clothing will be provided for you, so don't pack any clothing that you didn't bring with you. Got it? Good. Go! We have limited time."
Marilyn and Augustus scurried off to their rooms; within minutes, both were back in the common room, wearing a District Four blue shirt, black track pants, and their district number in their chosen color on their sleeves and on their back. They each had their blue suitcase, which had been tagged with a luggage tag in their color. The two competitors placed their suitcases neatly by the elevators before joining the rest of their team at the dining table. "All right. Now, one of you tell me, what are your worries?"
"I mean, it's the same for both of us. We don't know what to do about the Career pack thing," Marilyn explained. "I don't know how we get out of this mess unscathed."
"You mean without being targeted?" Sol clarified.
"Exactly. If the alliance had actually remained a secret, we could have actually gone somewhere with it. Now Pax just basically painted a giant target on all of our backs."
"Well, I don't think what Pax said is exactly what's painting a target on your backs," Sol asserted. "Let's be real; you two are trained Careers. In a competition based around daily eliminations, anyone who claims they weren't going to target Careers if they had the chance is lying to themself. The only way you could say that the alliance helps is that it might, might deter outright targeting the Careers, because you're making four enemies at the same time instead of one. But no matter what, if you're an outer district competitor, you're going to aim for a district that has traditional success if you can. That's just the way these Events are bound to go, and anyone who had any semblance of logic in their brains could see that."
"That being said," Ariel jumped in, "you are in possibly the best position when it comes to this alliance. District Four has slowly been pushed out of the primary Career pack over the past few Games, which means that the other competitors might not think about you two as part of the Careers in the same way that they will think about the competitors from One or Two, or even from the Capitol, as Careers. Especially because Pax didn't name you guys tonight, I don't see you guys being the primary target of the outer districts. Furthermore, you two arguably make up the strongest pair in the Career Pack."
"You think?" Augustus blurted out.
"I absolutely think. You both have consistent training for almost as long as any Games tribute could possibly have before entering the Games, minus just a year or two. And from what Sol and I can tell, the two of you are rather compatible. Think about those two facts alone in comparison to the other teams. Mettius and Titania have a baseline communication barrier because Mettius is deaf. My guess is that neither of them has any form of Games training; Titania has circus training, but I don't know enough about that to know exactly how that might come in handy for the Events. Both Paxes have been training for a long time, but Pax I. has pretty low strength for a girl her age. And, between us, I don't think Pax A. is the sharpest crayon in the box. So they're each like half of what you need for a Career. Then there's Two. Mack is just young, so he has somewhat little training, and while Noel may be strong, they were kicked out of the Academy for their anger issues. It feels like a somewhat mismatched and volatile team."
"Now, Games training is not the most useful for the Events," Sol rebutted.
"But I think Pax and Noel think in the context of Games training," Ariel asserted. "And if they think that Games training is equal to Events success, no matter how misguided that may be, they'd be foolish to get rid of you two. You just need to prove to them that you can do the things they need you to do in competitions and then stay under the radar. If you manage not to make enemies on either side, you should skate by for a long time."
Suddenly, a voice broadcasted through the training center. "Attention, competitors. Please make your way to the roof so that we can prepare for the transport process."
"That was quick," Ariel remarked. "How do you feel?"
"As good as I'm going to," Augustus admitted. Marilyn nodded in agreement.
"That's as good as any of us can hope for," mused Sol. "Now, let's do this."
Sol and Ariel said their last goodbyes to their competitors before the pair were ushered off by their stylists, who would escort them to Thirteen and remain there as supervision until competition began in two days' time. Once Marilyn and Augustus were in the elevator and the doors were all the way closed, Sol and Ariel turned to each other. "How do you feel?" Ariel asked.
"Well, it's out of our hands now," Sol said.
"Mostly. But we can still rally votes for them. To Games Headquarters we go!"
Sol and Ariel went back to their rooms to grab their own belongings, then took the elevator down to the lobby. As he got in the car that would take him to Games Headquarters, Sol couldn't help but feel that he was in for an emotionally draining yet life-changing two weeks.
He had no idea how right he was.
Berk Delano, 12
District Nine
When the elevator doors opened, Berk and Nova stuck close to their stylists as they maneuvered through the crowd of people doing last-minute preparations for the transport. Men and women in black and Capitol purple hustled around, bringing boxes and bags from place to place and loading them onto the various waiting hovercrafts. It was rather overwhelming, so both Berk and Nova were happy to have their stylists with them to help them navigate through the crowds. Eventually, the four arrived at one of the larger hovercrafts with a big letter C on the side. The two stylists each took something out of their pockets and showed them to a woman, who took a wand out of her pocket and waved it around each of the District Nine team members. When she finished, she wrote something down on her clipboard and led the District Nine team up a ramp into a comfortable common space, in which a number of competitors were already milling around.
"Welcome to your hovercraft!" the woman said. "This is the third of three hovercrafts taking competitors to the Capitol. The first is for the competitors from the Capitol through District Four, the second for Five through Eight, and the third for Nine through Thirteen. You'll be spending the night on the craft, and it should land at some point while you're asleep. Before we continue, if you need anything from your suitcase, please take it out now, because we'll be stowing the suitcases for the trip." Berk, Nova, and their stylists took out a number of items from their suitcases, then closed them and gave them to another Capitol official, who whisked them away.
The woman continued, "The bottom level here is for competitors and the top level is for stylists. Around the common room are snack and drink stations as well as emergency phones, and there are a number of single-stall bathrooms. The colored doors here indicate sleeping compartments; just look for your color on the door. Stylists, if you'll follow me, I'll take you upstairs; competitors, you are to remain down here unless there is an emergency to give the stylists some privacy. Enjoy your flight!" The woman whisked the two District Nine stylists away, leaving Berk and Nova alone downstairs.
"Wow, they really trust us without supervision," remarked Nova.
"My guess is there are cameras," Berk replied.
"That would make sense." Nova yawned. "I'm feeling kind of tired. I think I'm going to go to sleep."
"That sounds like a good idea." Berk and Nova looked around until they spotted their compartments, a tealish-blueish door next to a primary blue door on the eastern wall of the craft. "Good night, Nova," he said, giving Nova a shy wave.
"Good night, Berk."
Berk brought his suitcase into his compartment and looked around. It was a small compartment, with a bed, a small nightstand with a small toiletry bag and a lamp, a TV screen, and a small dresser. He opened a drawer of the dresser to find two complete outfits waiting for him, a pair of pajamas and a uniform of some sort, presumably for the next morning. "What a waste," Berk remarked. "I just put this outfit on." Still, he couldn't deny that the fuzzy blue pajamas looked rather warm and comfortable. He took off his clothes and put on the provided set of pajamas, which were just as warm and cozy as they looked. Then, he grabbed the toiletry bag and went to look for a bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face.
As soon as he left his room, Berk had a feeling something wasn't right. He stopped for a second and listened, picking up on the sound of crying coming from Nova's room. Without missing a beat, Berk burst into Nova's room, finding the girl curled up in tears on her bed. "Nova! What's wrong?"
"I… I…" stuttered Nova through her tears. "Small space… too small…"
Instinctively, Berk helped Nova off of her bed and brought her into the common space, which was at least somewhat bigger. He helped her lie down on the couch, then ran back into her room to get Nova a pillow and blanket. When he came back out, a pair of competitors in mint green shirts had come to Nova's side. As the shorter girl looked on nervously, the taller girl was carefully stroking Nova's hair, speaking softly to her and helping her calm down. It comforted Berk that he didn't hear loud sobs anymore. In fact, he couldn't hear any crying at all; if Nova was still crying, it was now nothing more than whimpers. "Here, Nova."
The older girl turned around. "Oh, this looks perfect," she said, taking the blanket and pillow from Berk and using them to turn the couch Nova was lying on into a bed. "Thank you for bringing them to her."
"Is she OK?"
"I think she will be. She's stopped crying, but she's very shaken up. Let's leave her be for a bit." Mina moved over to another couch and took a seat, motioning for Berk to sit next to her. "What's your name?" she asked.
"I'm Berk, and that's Nova," Berk replied. "We're from Nine. Though you could probably tell that from our shirts," he added, almost as an afterthought.
"I'm Mina," replied the older girl, "and this is Cam. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too. Did you know Nova before the Events started?"
"A little bit. My dad works for her dad."
"That's a nice coincidence," Mina remarked.
"It is."
Berk and Mina continued to make small talk, with Cam breaking in occasionally, until Nova rubbed her eyes and sat up. As soon as Berk saw her, he exclaimed, "Nova! How are you?"
"I'm OK," Nova replied quietly. "I have claustrophobia. So when I closed the door to change into my pj's, the small space of my room scared me. Normally it's not this bad…"
Mina moved over to Nova's side and began to rub her back. "That must have been really scary."
"It was."
"And it's OK to be scared. You're not home right now, so everything is even more scary."
"That makes sense, I think."
"I'm glad you're feeling better, Nova," Berk said, sitting next to each other. "And thank you, Mina, for your help."
"Of course. We'll let you guys sit for a bit. Come on, Cam." Mina and Cam went into a compartment with a bright yellow door and closed it behind them.
For a while, Berk and Nova just sat together, comforted by the other's presence. Berk was just happy to know that his partner was feeling better. Berk knew that he would have no success in the Events without Nova at her best, so he wanted to keep her comfortable and feeling safe. After some time, they began to make small talk that slowly turned into strategy talk.
"How do you feel about the Career alliance?" Berk asked.
"Not surprised, but a little nervous. I had been thinking, though, that it might be good to form an alliance of our own. It gives us some more protection, especially considering how young we are."
"Hm. That's not a bad idea. Who would you suggest?"
Berk looked towards the bright yellow door. "I mean, I think we both know which team would be most likely to form an alliance with us."
Sigmund Roost, 14
District Six
Sigmund had been mad before. He occasionally got mad at his father for abandoning him and his mother and sister when he was younger, leading to his mother's death. He got mad at Penelope sometimes in the way that all children get mad at those who raise them. And as much as he loved them and truly believed that they were collectively the best thing to happen to him and his sister, Sigmund sometimes got a little mad at her husband and her children for forcing Penelope to constantly split her attention between the four of them. These were natural emotions; everyone got mad now and again, especially when one's "normal" had been changing almost constantly for four years.
But this. This was a different kind of mad. This mad felt like a burning sensation bubbling up in Sigmund's stomach, a fire lit under him that threatened to burn up and up and up and consume everything around him. This was beyond madness. It was even beyond anger.
This was fury.
"Sigmund, what's wrong?" asked Ella quietly, as the two waited to board an elevator to take them up to their floor.
"Nothing," Sigmund grumbled. "I'm OK."
"No, you're not," Ella replied. "I can tell. What's making you mad?"
"Nergh," Sigmund grumbled again, refusing to look Ella in the eyes. "I'm fine."
The elevator arrived and opened its doors for Ella and Sigmund, who entered and pushed the button for the District Six floor. Once it arrived on the District Six floor, Ella pulled Sigmund to her room and shut the door behind her. "Look. If we are to be partners, I need to make sure that you're OK so that we can perform well together. What is making you upset?"
"I'm just mad at Noel. No, not mad – more than mad. Almost furious! I can't help but think that Noel formed this alliance just to get back at me, to explicitly target me."
"That's a little bit of an extreme statement, don't you think?"
"I mean, maybe. And Noel also has explicitly said that my sister was the worst thing to happen to them and refused to come to Penelope and Jade's wedding because of how disastrous it was for them. You and I both know how much the Events can impact our lives and how much better our lives and our families' lives could be if we win. I can't shake the idea that Noel formed a Career alliance just to get back at me, with the express goal of taking me out."
Ella nodded. "Yeah, I can understand where your feelings are coming from. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't also mad about the Career pack situation, though for very different reasons. I don't understand why Noel had to take the Events and turn them into the Games. I don't completely understand why we even need alliances in these Events in the first place, honestly."
"I kind of understand the point of alliances in theory," admitted Sigmund. "It's a layer of protection against elimination. If you have allies, they won't send you into the elimination challenge for at least some time. Obviously you can't control the popularity part – people will like you or they won't – but an alliance provides at least a little bit of protection."
"Aha. OK, I understand that. But there's no reason that they had to form this particular alliance. They can't even really use the argument that they were looking to ally with the strongest teams, considering that they left out the pair from Thirteen. It's a blatant attempt to bring Games culture into the Events, and it infuriates me that this is happening."
Sigmund and Ella were startled by a knock on the door. "I got it," asserted Ella. She made her way over to the door and opened it a crack. "Hi, Ventus. What's up?"
"Is everything OK in there?"
"Yeah. We're just…" Ella looked to Sigmund, who shrugged and then gave a nod. "We're frustrated with the Career situation."
"Ah. Well, I need you to go grab your suitcases. We have to board the hovercrafts."
As Sigmund went back to his room and packed his suitcase, he felt a little germ of an idea sprout up in his head. It was a little bit risky, sure, but it might be a way to level the playing field. After all, the Career alliance would only be aided by the outer district competitors picking each other off. While his plan wouldn't totally eliminate the Career threat, and it wouldn't guarantee that the outer district competitors would keep each other in, it might neutralize the threat a little bit. And even neutralizing a little bit might be enough to knock the Careers off of their high horse. He just needed a few other teams to buy in, too.
Sigmund knew he had to be really careful, though. If he didn't watch his actions, he would become just as much of an authoritarian as he knew Noel could be. And the last thing Sigmund wanted was to turn into Noel.
Once his suitcase was packed, he went back into the common area with Ella and the rest of the District Six team to eat dinner. Dinner was a quiet affair; much like the last night before the Games, there really wasn't much that anyone could say about the Events. It was much nicer to sit and listen to Panama describe the adventures they dreamed of having in places that sounded so fantastical that there was no way they could exist. Giant pyramids taller than the Training Center? An entire city underwater? A forest that contained hundreds, maybe thousands of different kinds of plants and animals? Impossible. Finally, it was time to go up to the roof for the transport to Thirteen. Before leaving, Sigmund and Ella took a few minutes to say goodbye to their mentors. Sigmund gave Nell a hug first, then turned to his own mentor, Ventus. "Any last advice?"
Ventus pulled Sigmund into a hug and whispered into his ear, "If I were you, I would watch how you react to this. It's totally natural to feel upset by something like this. But reacting violently doesn't really help all that much. Don't let yourselves get distracted by this. OK?"
"OK," Sigmund replied.
Ventus pulled out, placed his hands on Sigmund's shoulders, and looked him in the eyes "You've got this, no question. I believe in you."
With that, Sigmund and Ella said one more goodbye, then took their suitcases and followed their stylists to the elevator. Once the doors closed, Sigmund moved a few steps closer to Ella. "If there was a way to level the playing field against the Career alliance, would you do it?" he asked, speaking quietly so that the stylists couldn't hear.
"Anything to take those Careers down a peg."
A small smile crept onto Sigmund's face. "Well, I have a plan."
OK so if we're going purely chronologically Sigmund's section here goes before Berk's but I really wanted to end the chapter with Sigmund so this is what we've got. What did you all think? Was the advice of the District Four mentors good? What do you think will change Sol's life? Do you think Berk and Nova will be able to find an alliance? And what is Sigmund's plan?
As we get even closer to the Events, remember that reviews are going to play a role in the participation component of the Events! Even if you don't have a competitor in the story! So you might want to start catching up on reviews now if you're behind. And substantive reviews may be better…
I'll see you all next week for the second part of the transport! We'll hear from Jack, Darcy, and President Emerald then.
See you soon,
Goldie031
