Here's the second part of the train rides! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Train Rides Pt. 2

Kaiden Marsden, 18, D4 Male

Maria spent the entire car ride to the train station glaring. At me, Beaufort, literally anyone that looked her way.

"You're not going to win any sponsors if you're always glaring like that, Maria," Beaufort said seriously.

"I'm allowed to glare when nobody's looking," she snapped. "We're not getting any sponsors right now, are we?"

"Well, no, but you just shouldn't get used to it," he said timidly. He looked afraid of her, and for good reason. If looks could kill, we'd all be dead. "I just want the best for my two tributes!"

"I won't," she retorted. "The second I get off that train, I will be the perfect princess that you desire."

"Sounds wonderful!" Beaufort exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. Our escort was even dumber than I thought. "So, Maria, in all the time I've been an escort-"

"Don't say it," she growled. I smiled, earning a glare from Maria. The vehicle stopped and the door swung open.

"Nobody's ever volunteered for themself," Beaufort said, then he jumped out of the vehicle and waited outside.

"Don't do anything stupid," I said.

"I won't," she said. "But it's fun freaking him out."

"I'm sure that it is, but I wouldn't do it anymore," I said seriously. "He is from the Capitol, so we don't want him spreading any rumors about you."

"Is he even allowed to talk about us?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't take any chances."

"Is everything okay in here?" Beaufort asked, sticking his head back into the car.

"Yep," I said quickly.

"Well, we should be going now!" he said excitedly. "We are on a schedule!"

Maria glared at him so I gave her a quick glance, hoping to convey that she needed to cool down. She saw me and looked away from Beaufort.

"Sounds great," I said.

We jumped out of the vehicle and walked the short distance to the train. There were cameras following us, no doubt broadcasting to the Capitol. I waved at it, hoping to gain some sponsors.

The inside of the train was extremely nice, and I know that both me and Maria were blown away by it, but we kept our surprise off of our faces. Beaufort did not succeed, even though he'd been on the tribute trains before.

"Isn't this amazing?" he gushed. "The Capitol really has outdone themselves this year. These are completely new trains!"

"Wow," Maria said, giving a fake smile.

"That's the attitude we want!" he said, believing the smile was real. "Now, your mentors want to talk to you!"

This was what I was looking forward to. Getting to talk strategy with someone who had won the Games. I was especially excited to talk with the male mentor Archer. Ever since he had won the Games, I had looked up to him. He was an amazing archer, which was an unusual skill for someone from District 4. I had a feeling he mastered it because of his name.

The female mentor was also amazing. Tyne Amber was older, but she was still super strong. During her Games, she wasn't part of the Career pack, choosing to only work with her district partner. The risk paid off, and now she was one of the more popular Victors, known for her fearlessness. I had always admired that she was brave enough to stay away from the Careers, choosing to go against the norm.

We walked into what I assumed was the dining car, where Archer and Tyne were talking softly to each other. Archer had dark brown hair, was average height, freckles across his nose, pale skin, and had piercing blue eyes, while Tyne had long blond hair that was beginning to grey, tanned skin, and brown eyes. Archer didn't look like the average District 4 citizen, but he was just as respected.

"I have brought your tributes!" Beaufort exclaimed.

"Wonderful," Archer said, clasping his hands together. "Why don't you two sit down, and we'll get started."

The two of us sat down in separate chairs across from the Victors.

"We could do introductions, but I'm sure you already know who we are, and we know a good amount about the two of you," Tyne said.

"You do?" I asked.

"Your strengths, weaknesses. Anything you might have shown during training. Nothing personal. I've found that getting too close to your tributes makes everything worse when they don't come back," Tyne said.

"That does make sense," Maria said, nodding in agreement.

We sat there for a while, talking about different strategies. Tyne did feel that if we didn't like the other Careers, we shouldn't work with them at all. Archer said that we should stay with them anyway. But ultimately, it was up to us. And I was pretty sure that both Maria and I would stay with the Careers. Neither of us would want to deviate from what was expected of us, as Careers.

Fate Falcy, 15, D5 Female

Boris was creepy. That was pretty much all I had learned during the drive to the train station. That, and Rowan knew who I was. He knew that my parents were from the Capitol, and even though I was born and raised in the Districts, they considered me a Capitol citizen. He didn't say anything, but he kept shooting me glancing, like he expected me to get up and protest that I was reaped.

But I refused to. If I wasn't able to return home, then maybe losing one of their own would knock some sense into them. Even though I had never even been to the Capitol. This was my first time. I couldn't help but be sort of excited. My parents talked about it whenever they got the chance. Telling us how beautiful it was, with the huge buildings and perfectly maintained roads. They were always telling us how beautiful all of the parks and gardens were. Even though they hadn't been in over twenty years, they talked like they had been the day before. I assumed that they knew all about it because they kept in contact with friends still living in the Capitol.

"We're here!" Rowan said happily. We walked through the nearly empty train station, escorted by a crowd of Peacekeepers.

The next thing I knew, I was sitting down across from Hertz, the only living Victor from our district. He had won before I was born, and he was starting to age. His hair was almost completely grey, and he was still somewhat slim. His eyes were a dull brown, and he was clearly drunk.

"Congratulations!" he slurred. "You're both going to die."

"I wouldn't count on that," Boris growled, standing up and stalking over towards Hertz.

"Whoa there," Hertz said, laughing. "We've got a feisty one this year."

"I wouldn't say feisty," Boris said, stopped right in front of him. "But I do expect you to tell me how to win the Games."

"You want to know how?" Hertz asked. "Don't let someone kill you. That's how you'll win."

"Tell me the actual way!" Boris yelled, grabbing Hertz's throat and lifting him off the chair.

"Put me down!" he wheezed, trying to take a breath but not succeeding. Rowan quietly slipped out of the room, obviously not wanting to get in Boris's path. I'd do the same if I was in his shoes. But I stayed put, watching Boris slowly choke the life out of a Victor of the Hunger Games. That was something I never thought I'd see.

"Boris, put him down," I said softly. He didn't do anything to acknowledge me, so I spoke louder. "Boris you need to put him down!"

He looked over his shoulder, his face contorted in anger, but he made no move to place him back on the chair.

"Think about what would happen if you killed our mentor! You'd be sent to jail, or you might even be killed. Please, just put him down!"

"I don't take orders from little girls," he snarled, and started to squeeze harder. I heard the door open, and I turned, seeing three Peacekeepers run in, guns raised, with Rowan close behind. The lead Peacekeeper shot Boris in the back, causing him to collapse.

"Did you kill him?" I asked quietly.

"No," Rowan said. "He's just stunned. We'll keep him in a secure room until we arrive at the Capitol. I'll have to let his stylist know that he isn't safe to be around, and that some changes will have to be made to his preparation room."

"Well, at least you started your career off with a bang," I said, smiling. Behind him, Hertz was on a stretcher, being carried out of the room. Already, uglepurple marks in the shape of a hand were forming. Even though he wouldn't be the best mentor, I still felt bad for him. No one should be choked to death.

"Yes, I most certainly did," he said, smiling. By then the room had been emptied of all people, minus the two of us. "I'm sorry that you were reaped. I wish that I could change it."

"Me too," I said.

"How are your parents?" he asked.

"Completely insane. Me getting reaped pushed them over the edge."

"That's why the President gave them their special job, apparently," he said. "They had gone completely insane and people were done with them. And that's saying a lot, considering the Capitol's standards on crazy."

"I see," I said. "So their job is completely useless?"

"Pretty much," he said. "Or at least that's what the rumors are. But they still are considered Capitol citizens, and so are you. Even though you've never been there. But there isn't anything we can do about you getting reaped. That is irreversible."

Arlo Vale, 14, D6 Male

"So, Arlo," Ashlee started. "My sister says she knows you."

"Who's your sister?" I asked.

"Kally," she said.

"Yeah, I do know her," I said. "Not too well, but she definitely seems nice."

"She is," Ashlee said. I looked up at her and she looked away shyly. Her sister was definitely a lot more outgoing than she was. Kally was always volunteering to help, or talking with her friends. But she was always nice to me. She always laughed at my jokes, even when they weren't funny. But I wasn't feeling funny, and I didn't think I would ever again. Getting reaped took everything funny away from me.

"Oh that's wonderful!" Gliese gushed. "A teen romance!"

"I never said anything about rom-" I started.

"But it will gain you sponsors. People love the idea of a young man fighting to get back to someone he loves."

"But I don't even love her like that. The only person in this car that loves Kally is Ashlee."

"That may be true, except the Capitol won't know that," Gliese said, completely set on her idea. "They're going to love you two!"

Once we got to the train station, Ashlee and I quickly walked towards the train, eager to get away from Gliese.

"I'm not going to listen to what Gliese says," I said once we were in the train.

"It's okay if you do," Ashlee said. "She's right. It will get you sponsors. And it'll help us in the Games."

"Us?" I asked, smiling.

"I mean if you don't mind," she said, tripping over her words.

"It's fine," I said. "And when we get to the Capitol, we can find some other allies. I'll do the talking, of course."

"Okay," she said, looking relieved that she wouldn't have to introduce herself. "That sounds good."

By now we were in what I assumed was the dining car. Our mentor, Wren, was sitting at the table, picking at some of the food laid out. She was average height, with shoulder length black hair, green eyes, and a spray of freckles across her nose. When she saw the two of us, she stopped eating and stood up to greet us. She smiled sadly. She probably knew, just by looking at us there wasn't much of a chance that we'd win.

"So you two are the two new tributes from our District," she said.

"Yeah," I answered.

"I'm sorry that you got reaped," she said. "But there isn't much we can do about that. Why don't you two sit down and we can talk about the Games. See if we can come up with any good strategies to help you win."

"You two are in good hands," Gliese said.

If you've made it this far, thanks! School is starting soon, so I'm to update as much as I can this weekend, then update every Saturday or Sunday. I hope that you stick with my updating speed, no matter how slow it might be at times. Please leave a review if you can. Thanks!

Sponsor System: My sponsor system is pretty easy. All you have to do is answer a few questions, and for each one you get correct, you get ten points. I keep a tally of everyone's points on my profile page, and once the Games start, you can PM me with and item and who you want it to go to, and that tribute will get it in the next chapter!

Q1: How do Archer and Tyne disagree about the Career pack?

Q2: What happens with Fate's mentor?

Q3: What is Gliese's plan for Arlo?