CHAPTER XX. TRAIN RIDES PART III
"What joy to fully know and feel the bond of true friendship."
-Jaye L. Knight
SAFFRON "SAF" ALDENIZ (17) - DISTRICT 9 FEMALE
Saf wasn't quite sure of what she was supposed to think about her District Partner Alarico. On one hand, he seemed to be nice enough, and he physically looked like he could be a serious competitor in the arena, but on the other, the kid couldn't shut up about his boyfriend.
"And then Atticus told me in the train station that I have to do whatever it takes in the arena to win and come back home to him," He blabbered away to their Mentor Androcles who looked just as annoyed as Saf was, "He even said that I could cheat on him if I want, but I could never do that to him"
If Saf heard the name Atticus one more time she was going to dunk Alarico's stupid head into the bowl of gazpacho he was eating. She had no idea how disgusting love could be, though maybe that was because she had recently fallen out of it. It was definitely disgusting how open he was about his sex life, especially because that was something that Saf had never done in either of her previous relationships. To Saf, sex wasn't the best way to connect to someone, and she saw women as too ethereal to touch, so she just never did it. Nothing was more intimate than sitting under the stars with a pretty girl and playing with her hair while giving her soft kisses and discussing how the world could be. Somehow even Rey understood that.
It was nice though, the fact Alarico had two mothers. If only that were true for Saf because maybe then she wouldn't be forced to the streets and then she'd never meet Rey and none of that craziness would have had to happen. His poor mothers deserved a much better son and it was a shame they were stuck with a freak. Alarico even said that he was initially raised by a dog which sounded like utter and complete bullshit, probably because it was exactly that. At least his mothers gave her hope that one day she'd be able to settle down with a nice girl herself and start a family of her own. That is, if she made it out of the arena.
"I'm going to go take a nap," Saf lied so she would be able to get out of conversing with Alarico because she simply had had enough of him.
Luckily, Androcles understood and pointed her in the direction of the sleeping quarters so she could finally catch a break from the mayhem. She went the way he told her where he saw a room full of what appeared to be pajamas, and beds lining the walls. All was fine and dandy until somebody tapped her, not making a sound.
"Rey?" Saf recognized the girl instantly, her brown hair a bit shorter now but her eyes still having the same twinkle.
She didn't respond. Instead, Rey opened her mouth so that Saf could peer inside, and what she saw answered the question she had which was why exactly Rey was there. Rey no longer had a tongue and inside her mouth was simply her straight white teeth, and a gaping hole. It was somewhat horrific but at least it let Saf know that Rey was indeed alive, only she had now been turned into an Avox.
"Is it because you ran away?" Saf had to ask the question even though she knew the answer.
Rey nodded.
"I told you so!" Saf couldn't help but yell, hopefully the other car didn't hear her, "Sorry, but I just, I knew it was a bad idea."
Rey nodded before making a thumbs down with her hand.
Saf was unsure as to what she was to do. She couldn't believe that she was face to face with Rey again, when she had presumed she was dead, though death was probably better than not being able to talk, at least for Rey, since she spoke quite a bit. At least she knew that she was right, and that hopping the fence was the worst idea imaginable. That was definitely reassuring.
Rey ran to the small table next to one of the beds which had a notepad and a pen on it. She quickly wrote something before sprinting back to Saf to show her what the sheet of paper she was holding said.
"I love you."
Saf wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to make of that. She didn't think she loved Rey anymore. She didn't think so. Rey hurt her, and Saf knew that, but somehow seeing her again made her so tempted to just grab her face and kiss her. Nobody would have to know. She couldn't. She knew she couldn't. If she did, there was no way she'd be able to recover. Saf had come so far with getting over Rey, and if she did it she'd be back at square one.
"I'm so sorry," Saf tried not to cry while she crumpled up the note and dropped it on the ground, watching it roll on the floor.
Saf looked up and saw Rey, also watching the ball of paper, but crying at the same time. Saf had never seen Rey cry before, so it was an odd sight, and it didn't really feel right so she ran out of the room and back into the car with Alarico who was still yapping, and Androcles who was still sighing deeply.
"You're back?" Androcles looked at Saf with confusion, "Weren't you supposed to be taking a nap right now?"
"Suddenly, I'm not tired." That was the only explanation Saf could think of.
"Well then come back and talk with us," Androcles pulled back the chair next to him.
Saf sat in the chair as Alarico continued his chatter. It was just as graphic, maybe even moreso, but suddenly Saf didn't mind. It was bad, but the thought of seeing Rey again was worse. Anything was better than having to look at that girl again, or at least almost anything.
ALABASTOR CONTRERAS (12) - DISTRICT 10 MALE
Alabastor was not used to people being friendly to him, so when his District Partner Piper offered him a hug as he stepped on the train, he didn't really know what to do. He'd never been hugged before, and truthfully he never thought he would be considering his father wasn't much of a hugger, so Alabastor just sort of stood there while Piper wrapped her arms around him.
"I saw you try to run away at the Reaping and I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you," Piper seemed way too cheery and like she expected Alabastor to be the same way, but at least now he knew why she was hugging him, "My sister is around your age, so I know how scared you must be."
"This is nothing," Alabastor spoke his truth, since nothing could possibly be worse than the torture his father had put him through over the years, that was just a fact, "I'm somewhat excited to get away now that I think about it."
"Why do you say that?" Piper said with a concerned look on her face, their Mentor Olive turning around and doing the same.
Alabastor thought about whether or not he should divulge his trauma to the girl he had just met, especially since there was a chance she could kill him, but she seemed rather fragile, and like somebody that Alabastor could easily manipulate and even kill herself, so maybe emotionally guilting her with his trauma wouldn't be the worst idea in the world.
"Well my mom died and now my father emotionally abuses me and calls me gay even though I'm not because he doesn't like the fact he's gay himself or something," Alabastor said this all completely nonchalantly which even he admitted was somewhat deeply concerning, "So maybe a circumstance where I might die won't be too bad."
Alabastor had definitely spoken too much based on the reactions of Piper and Olive, who both had no idea what they were supposed to respond to that, but they did ask him what could possibly be worse than the Hunger Games, so he had to answer.
"What?" Alabastor stared at them, still shrouded in silence, "You asked."
"I know, I know," Piper stammered over her words, "It's just, wow, you've been through a lot, little guy."
"I'm not little!" Alabastor crossed his arms in frustration since they were the same height.
"Sorry, sorry," Piper was still flustered, "I'm just, I'm sorry you had to deal with all of that."
"Don't apologize," Alabastor sighed, "You had nothing to do with it."
People apologizing for Alabastor's trauma once he revealed it was probably his biggest pet peeve. He just didn't really get why people felt the need to apologize to him for something they had no part in. Maybe it was because it made them feel like better people, but on the other hand, Alabastor had met many people, and they were all the same. They were scum. Jealous, selfish, scum who only wanted to be kind to him so they could mask the fact that they were awful.
"Is there anything I can do to support you?" Olive spoke a lot more quietly than Piper, which was somewhat relieving, "Of course I can always just do nothing, but if you ever get scared of anything, you can always talk to me and I'll do my best to listen."
That was another thing that frustrated Alabastor. They always assumed that he got scared all the time. How could anything possibly be scarier than his father knocking on his door and saying that he was going to kill him if he didn't change what he was wearing to school?
"I'll pass, but thanks," As Alabastor spoke, Olive nodded his head in understanding.
Piper however had not given up on trying to get to know Alabastor, and kept asking questions about his mother and the rest of his home life. It was somewhat endearing but equally annoying as hell.
"Hi," Alabastor interrupted Piper in the middle of one of her rambles where she was saying that her mother didn't really like her so she "knew what it was like," even though she didn't, "I know that you're speaking to me with good intentions, but I would really appreciate it if you stopped because I've already shared more than what I'm comfortable sharing."
Piper paused and looked around. Alabastor was crying, which he did usually in private but always when he had let someone down. He usually let everyone down, so it was good that he let Piper down early, especially since they were going to be spending a lot more time together in the upcoming days.
"I'm sorry," Piper procured a tissue from her pocket, offering it to Alabastor who declined, "I just really didn't know what to say."
"You're allowed to say nothing, you know," Alabastor rolled his eyes.
Oftentimes people were unaware of the fact that shutting up was always an option when they didn't know what to say. Somehow Piper hadn't realized that talking was unnecessary at times, but she quickly learned her lesson after Alabastor was finished speaking.
"I"m sorry," Piper apologized way too much and it was beginning to give Alabastor a headache, "You'll be okay, I hope you know that."
He wouldn't be. There was no possible outcome that ended with Alabastor "being okay" and surviving the Hunger Games. He was going to be up against people who knew what they were doing since they had trained for it their entire life, and he wasn't even a teenager yet. Alabastor wondered if there was even a point in trying since he was destined to fail miserably. Maybe though, just maybe he would try. He could probably convince Piper into being his ally, and maybe he could even rack up a few more. Alabastor knew he had to go back to his roots of being a master manipulator if he wanted to make it back alive, and that was exactly what he was going to do.
PITH PLASTID (15) - DISTRICT 11 MALE
Was the train ride supposed to be entertaining? For some reason, Pith always had that impression, but in his case, literally nothing had happened. The most interesting thing was his Mentor Ashby, and not because she was a particularly fascinating person, but because she rode around on an electric scooter which was something Pith had never seen before.
"Excuse me, ma'am," Pith tried his best to be polite, "If it's alright with you, may I ask why you have that scooter?"
"Oh you're allowed to ask," Ashby started to laugh, wiping the dust off the handles of her scooter with a rag, "I lost my leg in the Hunger Games, and now I use this since prosthetics didn't work for me."
"Oh my!" Pith gasped, putting his hand over his mouth.
Was that offensive? Maybe. Pith honestly had no idea what he was supposed to say to that. Was losing limbs in the Hunger Games a normal thing? Was he going to lose a limb if he made it out alive? Geez, he really should have paid better attention to the Games in previous years because these were all questions he should have known the answer to.
"It's… not that big of a deal," Ashby awkwardly stuttered, "At least I'm not dead."
Right. At least she's not dead. That was the priority of the Games, right. At least she wasn't dead, though Pith hoped that if he somehow made it out of the arena alive, he'd take both his legs with him. Ashby did look somewhat normal for an amputee though. While one leg was well, it was a normal leg, the other had what was kind of like a giant sock covering what looked like a stump. The gas and breaks of the vehicle appeared to be controlled by two handlebars. All in all, it was a pretty sick ride.
"Congratulations on not being dead," Pith finally decided to speak.
Luckily he didn't have time for Ashby to be either weirded out or offended by his response because they both heard the door swing open and watched as Dephra, Pith's District Partner walked into the room. Dephra immediately went to take a nap when they boarded the train, so Pith was excited to possibly get to know her.
"Is there any food here?" Dephra yawned, eyeing everything in the room.
"Sorry but we already ate everything here while you were asleep," Ashby delivered what Pith assumed would be devastating news for her.
It was true. They had just ate an hour ago and boy oh boy, the food was amazingly delicious. It was breaded pork chops and spaghetti, both food that Pith had never consumed before. Usually his mother made him grits or chile since it was easy to make enough that would serve the entire family, so this fancy food was certainly a treat. If the rest of the food he ate in the Capitol was just as good, maybe he wouldn't mind dying at the end. The tomatoes used in the pasta sauce were so vibrantly flavorful, he couldn't even believe it. His family did grow tomatoes, and lots of other vegetables, but somehow this was way WAY better than what he was used to.
"Are you kidding me?" Dephra was indeed alarmed by the news, just as Pith suspected.
"Literally why would I joke about that?" Ashby's bluntness was something that Pith admired.
"Aren't you guys supposed to have lots of food since you're rich?" Dephra stomped her feet against the ground.
"We ate it all." Asby said matter-of-factly, "I'm sorry."
What happened next was somewhat pathetic. Dephra sat on the couch and began to sob into one of the pillows. It wasn't like Pith could do anything though since he didn't really have food either.
"Can I talk to somebody about this when we get to the Capitol? This is just awful!" Dephra's pouting suddenly cause Pith to reach his breaking point.
"Do you really think they give a damn about the amount of food on trains in the Capitol?" Pith raised his voice, ever so slightly, "These are people that don't mind if most of us die. What we eat before we do is the least of their concerns."
The room was silent.
"What he said," Ashby was incredibly frustrated.
Judging by her appearance, Pith would have thought that his Partner was as nice and well mannered as he was. She had an innocent looking face with big green eyes, and just looked very much like somebody who wouldn't have a hissy fit about food on the literal highway to hell.
"You guys are the absolute worst!" Dephra was practically yelling and Pith honestly felt embarrassed for her because if she was like this in the Capitol, she'd be dead before the Games even started.
"We're not, but okay," Ashby chuckled, oddly amused by the bullshit that was coming out of Dephra's mouth.
Dephra got up from the couch and stormed back into the sleeping car which honestly did not upset Pith at all.
"She's a lot," Pith whispered to Ashby just in case Dephra could somehow hear him.
"No shit," She laughed in response, "Thanks for knocking some sense into her."
"I just hope she doesn't kill me for it," Pith suddenly realized that that was a proper concern that he should be having and maybe shouldn't try to upset people.
"She won't," Ashby patted him on the back, "I'd be surprised if she lasted half an hour in the Games."
"What about me?" Pith was genuinely curious what she thought his odds were.
"As long as you do what I did and run away as fast as you can during the bloodbath, I think you'll be fine," Pith was shocked to hear Ashby give good advice considering she had been so harsh just moments ago, "The Games aren't about killing the most people Pith, they're about surviving on your own for as long as possible."
Survival huh? Pith could get good at that.
ETTA WISEMAN (15) - DISTRICT 12 FEMALE
Dennis Fling was quite possibly the worst person that Etta had ever met, and that was a lot coming from somebody that was used to being bullied for literally doing nothing but read a lot.
"You assholes don't stand half a chance," First impressions were worth a lot in the Games Etta assumed, and that was the first thing she heard Dennis say.
As much as it hurt, Etta had a sinking feeling he was right but that didn't mean she wanted to hear it from the person who was supposed to be ensuring that she didn't die. It was no wonder District 12 didn't have a Victor within Etta's lifetime if they were all being mentored by that fool. Maybe they would be able to, had he actually helped them.
"Can you offer us any tips for survival?" Etta made the mistake of trying to get advice from him, even after that introduction, "I'd like to go home, if possible."
"Not possible!" Dennis laughed, taking a swig of whatever was in the flask in front of him, "You're not supposed to win this."
"Not if you don't help us," Etta continued to egg him on.
"Well, I won't!" Denis threw his hands in the air like a primadonna, "Sorry!"
Etta had the feeling Dennis wasn't sorry. It was disgusting, how her and her District Partner Morgan meant absolutely nothing to him. Maybe it was because he hadn't experienced the Games himself, but Etta really hoped all the other Mentors weren't like him. Not that it mattered, since it wasn't like Etta could just randomly approach another Mentor and ask them to help her. They probably had their hands full since they had two tributes of their own to look after.
"Don't bug him Etta," Her District Partner Morgan grabbed her shoulder, "Clearly he isn't going to help us so I don't know why you're trying."
Etta had to try. It was simply in her nature to try her hardest at every little thing she did since it was the only way things got done. She was the queen of being committed, reading with the lights off even when she wasn't supposed to, and Etta was committed to winning, or at least getting far in The Hunger Games.
"You're the worst!" Etta immediately regretted what she said to Dennis as those words prompted him to get out of his seat and curl his hand into a fist, "Please don't!"
Why was he to listen to her though? She had just told him he was the worst, and even though she was right, he was miserable, it still wasn't a nice thing of her to say.
"I won't punch you," Dennis sat down again, "You'll die in the arena anyways."
Finally Etta realized that enough was enough, so she walked over to the other side of the car, where Morgan had also wandered.
"It was smart of you to avoid him," Morgan laughed, "I'd heard horrible things about that guy but I didn't know they were true."
Ah, so this guy Dennis did have a reputation for being a total sack of shit. That was redeeming for some reason. At least Etta wasn't the only one.
"How were you so calm when he spoke?" Etta was amazed by Morgan's calm composure even when they were being screamed at.
"My mom died and not much could be worse than that," He spoke in a monotone.
"No way!" It was embarrassing for Etta to be this excited, "My mom also died! Well, she died before I could know her but still."
"Honestly, it's probably better that way," Morgan sighed, "My older sister died in the Games, and I'm next. I feel so awful for my dad."
"You don't have to die," Etta was suddenly depressed with the certainty in Morgan's voice, "Somebody has to win, you know."
"Yeah, and it's not going to be me," Etta couldn't help but wonder if Dennis' hate speech had gotten to Morgan's head.
"Did Dennis make you think that?" She whispered so he wouldn't hear that she had said his name.
"I'm a realist," Morgan sighed, "I know what happens in the arena and we're not winning."
Well that was disappointing. It appeared that little Morgan was somehow just as depressing as Dennis, only in a different way. She thought possibly she could ally with him but it appeared he had his heart set on dying, and she didn't need that toxic energy with her in the arena.
"I appreciate your input but I don't plan on dying so soon," Etta put her hands on her hips, a rare moment of confidence for her, "I wish you the best of luck in also not dying."
"Whatever," Morgan rolled his eyes.
Etta couldn't believe that she was the only person on the train who didn't think she was about to die. That was simply a horrible mindset for such a large group of people to have and it was almost embarrassing that such a negative opinion had become so popular. She wasn't going to let it hurt her though. She simply could not let that happen, not only for the sake of her father but for her own sake as well. Etta didn't understand why some people were so eager to die they didn't even think about possibly living. How hard could it be though? All she had to do was run into the Cornucopia, get anything that could help her live on her own, and then she'd be safe for as long as possible. Hopefully she could figure out how to use a weapon, and luckily she had three whole days to figure that out. Everything was going to be fine if Etta believed it would be.
And with that, we are officially in the Capitol! Wow I cannot believe that less than a month after I posted my first prologue, we are already here. It's probably because I literally have nothing else to do but feed you all that good good content. Actually though, I start school sometime next week (I'm not sure the actual date honestly, so I should probably figure that out), so updates may be less frequent though I'll still try to aim for at least 4-5 chapters per week because school's entirely online so it won't be too demanding. I also have to do the whole "apply to college thing" but as you can see here, I produce quality content very quickly so that also won't be too hard.
So, now that we're in the Capitol, obviously the next thing that needs to happen is the Parades, and not going to lie, I am very unoriginal in the costumes department but I made a Pinterest board and I am trying my best to not let y'all down, but if you bully me I understand and I support you. I plan on taking my time with the Pre-Games process, since it's lowkey my favorite part and I'm already dreading killing all your babies, so the bloodbath won't be until chapter 32 or 33, and before that, each tribute will have two POV's outside of their intro as well as a blurb before they are launched into the arena. The more attached you are to these kiddos, the more devastating it will be when I kill most of them. Hopefully we'll be in the arena by early September, and my goal is to finish this whole SYOT by early October.
Also, my friend Joseph has a SYOT called Justice that needs submissions so you should check it out. Fun fact about Joseph, he was the first person to ever accept one of my Tributes back 2015, even though the Tribute was god-awful and died in the bloodbath which he deserved because… yikes. Anyways, his pen name is Josephm611 and he is super talented so you should send some tributes his way!
Last but not least for this behemoth of an author's note, the meme contest is officially over and the winner is mykindleisawesome because her meme legitimately made me spit out my water and cry. You can check out her winning entry as well as all the other entries at aperfectunion . weebly meme-contest but yanno, delete the spaces. She has won any sponsor gift within reason during the arena, which will be fun. As you know, I don't do a sponsor point system, so I'll be doing another contest which will be announced in the next chapter.
Sorry this note became so long but once again thank you for consuming this content and I hope you're all having an amazing day despite the world being a not-so-amazing place.
Best,
Lindsay