Beau Peterson's POV (D1M, 18)
The train takes off almost immediately after Cervelt and I step on. I stumble over to a seat and sit down. The comfy leather is even nicer than the furniture I have at home, and I notice Cervelt trying to hide her pleasure as she sits down as well.
She brings her hands up to the table that separates our seats and leans forward, looking me in the eye.
"Beau." She addresses me curtly, her voice level and showing no emotion. "Let's get down to business, shall we?"
"Yeah. Did you have something in mind to talk about?" I raise a brow, trying not to let my nervousness seep out into my features.
Cervelt sighs lightly. "How do I put this lightly? Hm..." She seems to ponder moment before giving up.
"I'll just put it bluntly— you're trash. You can't fight or dodge, and you can't even run well for fuck sake! You'll be absolutely useless. I don't know how the trainers couldn't manage to improve your performance and I don't know why you were chosen, but I would advise dropping out of the Career pack right now. You'll just get in our way." Her gaze has sharpened, turning into a glare to show me that she isn't messing around.
"Leave the Career pack?!" The escort gasps. "How preposterous!"
"She's right," says a gruff voice. My head swivels to the corner of the room, where a tall man with short, black hair stands, leaning against the wall with a bottle of wine in his hand. I'm pretty sure he's Jewel Lee, one of our mentors. "Are you crazy? He can't just leave. He'll die without an alliance. Plus, there'll be plenty of opportunities to hone his skills in the Capitol." He speaks as if I'm not there.
I nod and open my mouth to speak, but Cervelt cuts me off, glaring at Jewel.
"Fine. One chance, Beau, one chance. If you mess up, you'll be dead in a heartbeat." She crosses her arms and leans back. "We can discuss general strategy with the rest of the Careers."
Cervelt stands up abruptly and turns to leave the room. "Speaking of which, I'm going to see who our allies are," she says, walking away.
"Good," Jewel says, seemingly satisfied. He turns to me. "Look, kid. You better get some useful skills in that training Arena. Do you know how bad it will be if we have a weak Career on our side?" His glare sharpens. "You're walking a thin line. Be careful."
I swallow hard and nod, scurrying off to the car that holds my bedroom. I open the sliding door and step in, closing it behind me. I gape as I look around— a comfy-looking bed, closet full of clothes and bathroom, complete with a shower, awaits me. I decide to lay on my bed for now, starting to drift off.
Wake me up for dinner...
Asher' s POV (D8M, 17)
Me and Silk sit in silence on a couch in front of a television, watching the Reapings intently. I smile when I see the boy from Seven volunteer for his brother, but it's quickly replaced by a sympathetic frown as his sister is Reaped. I shudder.
"Seven is in almost the same situation as us," Silk says, her voice shaky. "I feel so bad for them. Do you think they'll be good allies? The boy looks strong."
Silk is thinking about potential allies already? I had completely forgotten that's what we were watching the Reapings for. I shake my head.
"I agree, but he'll probably be too attached to his sister. She looks weak, she probably won't survive the first day. She'll die in the bloodbath if she's lucky." I grimace at the thought.
"Oh... I guess you're right." Silk looks up at me. "Can we make friends at least, at training?"
I blink in surprise. "Of course. I advise not to get too attached, though. They may not last long." I turn back to the television once more, skipping past our own Reaping, unable to bear watching it.
Nine isn't particularly memorable, so I watch boredly until Ten comes along. The boy seems like he could handle some Arena trauma probably not afraid to fight. The girl looks confident and bold.
"They would both be good allies," I point out. Silk nods in agreement.
We've decided to ask one of the Sixes to join our alliance, as well as the Tens, now. Eleven and Twelve don't seem to have any memorable tributes, nor do the other non-Career districts. I suppose we'll figure out everyone's true strengths at training.
"I'm going to go to my room," I decide. "I need some rest."
"Okay," Silk mumbles, hugging be before I get up to go.
"We'll discuss part of the strategy over dinner!" Our mentor, Nova, calls.
"Okay!" I call back, before reaching my bedroom.
I sit on the bed, savoring how comfortable it is, before turning to look out the window. I can see the landscape of Eight whizzing by, and put my hand on the window longingly.
I jump back as the scene suddenly changes to a beachy climate. What the—?
I tap the window again. Then again. Then again. It displays a new picture every time. I'm half glad to have gotten rid of the original, because it was painful to look at.
District Eight, will I ever see you again?
Briar's POV (D10T, 16)
Me and Robin eat lunch at a long table in one of the train cars. There's all kinds of delicious foods— pastries, cranberry, soups and more— and I'm stuffing my face with it like I've never eaten before.
Robin lets out an occasional sigh, but otherwise nobody speaks.
Finally, our escort breaks the silence, letting out an exasperated huff.
"I am getting tired of this!" She says, looking pointedly at me. "You've got to learn some manners, young lady!"
I put down my cutlery suddenly, cringing. "Ugh, God, do you have to call me that?"
The escort rolls her eyes. "I'm calling you young lady because I'm telling you off!"
I shake my head. "No— you've got it wrong. Why does nobody understand that? I'm not a lady. Or a girl, for that matter," I huff, growing increasingly frustrated.
Robin looks up, about to speak, but Auburn, one of our mentors cuts him off. Her voice has a panicked edge to it.
"What do you mean you're not a girl? You were Reaped as our District's female tribute, and you better not tell me that somehow you tricked the mayor into putting your name in the wrong bowl!" She glares at me.
"Chill, Auburn! Goddamn, do I have to explain this right now? My name isn't in the wrong bowl, technically. I'm just... not a girl. Or a boy." I shrug. "Call me what you'd like, just not either of those."
Robin frowns thoughtfully. "That's neat. I've never known anyone like that before."
Our other mentor, Leo, nods. "Just as long as the Reaping wasn't rigged."
The escort tries starting a sentence multiple times, failing horribly, before sitting back down, looking absolutely bewildered. I go back to eating promptly after that.
"Are you two going to try and make some allies at training?" Leo asks.
"It would be a good idea," Auburn pitches in.
"I'm not too big on the idea of alliance," I say simply, before glancing at Robin. "I'm perfectly fine with allying with Robin, though."
Robin nods. "I would gladly ally with you, Briar, but I think we should be open to bigger alliances. Strength in numbers, as the Careers typically say."
I shudder. The Careers. I'll have to get past them to win the Games, and they will not be easy opponents. I'm not looking forward to facing them in battle, assuming they're still alive and in my way.
Assuming I'm still alive, a small voice in the back of my head adds. I dismiss it— of course I'll still be alive. I'll come back a Victor, no matter what.
"You should try and find more allies," Auburn advises. "I won because I was part of a large alliance, and we managed to defeat most of the Careers. You'll have to split up eventually, and it can be risky, but allies are good in the short run."
"Fine," I say. "If we find anyone strong and they come to us first, I guess we could team up."
Robin smiles, the first time I've seen him show proper emotion since the Reaping. "Perfect," he says. "It's a plan, then."
Sparks Ashlock's POV (D3F, 17)
Oh. My. God. I think I'm going to go insane.
Rusty has been shaking and crying ever since we stepped foot on the train. Shut up, kid! You're 14, grow up! I will him in my head, and he only calms down when we sit down to watch the other Reapings.
We took some food with us to eat at the television rather than at the table, and I press the on button before Rusty can break into tears again.
Other than the Careers, there isn't anyone that catches my eye. No unique tributes this time. There are some that seem strong or capable, maybe the pair from Ten and Six, Five looks decent but I can't see enough in them to want to ally immediately yet.
I almost chuckle to myself when I see the sniveling idiot who is the boy from Twelve. I can tell he won't make it past the bloodbath.
"Hey, Sparks?"
I look over to Rusty. His voice is shaky, and it's the first time he's addressed me directly.
"What?"
"Uh..." He looks down awkwardly, feet shuffling. "You'll, um... ally with me, right? I don't really want to die, and—"
"Are you serious?!" I blurt out before he can finish. "If I ally with you, it would be certain death. Find someone else, if you can."
"O-oh." Rusty tenses up, and he looks like he's about to cry again.
"Hey, how about you go talk to our mentors about possible strategies, huh? I'll hang out in my room," I suggest. I hate saying too many words, but it's worth it to make Rusty leave me alone.
"Okay." Rusty stands up and wipes his eyes before rushing over to the next train car.
I sigh contently at the lack of his presence. I walk over to my bedroom and change my clothes, picking out a dark button-up shirt and a long blue skirt, flopping on the bed. I try to get in a comfortable position, accidentally hitting the window. Suddenly, the landscape outside changes, and I look at it in wonder.
I tap it a few more times, fascinated. How does this work? It's so cool!
The one thing I'm envious of the Capitol for is their amazing technology. If I knew how to work it, and had access, I could make some amazing contraptions. It's quite possibly the one thought that can make me happy here.
I mess around with the window for a while longer, before laying back down. It's not particularly late, but I close my eyes anyways. All I can think is how exhausted I am as I drift off into a dreamless sleep.