Barracuda 'Arra' Bannister, 18
District Four Male
They barge into his room at 9:00 am, knocking frantically on his door as if the apocalypse were nigh. Still half asleep, Barracuda drags his body to the door, unlocking it and finally peeking to see who is there.
'Good Morning, Barracuda. My name is Elissa Hagarty and I'm here to pick you up for the procedure.' Facing him is a tall and skinny woman, probably in her mid-thirties. She has a clean-cut bob that sits ever so perfectly on her head. She looks at him in anticipation as she buttons up her pantsuit.
'What… procedure?' the words take a while to form. As a matter of fact, everything is taking a while to process in Barracuda's mind right now.
'The Injections, silly,' she says with a smile as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 'We have a packed schedule today so please do hurry.' Elissa glances at her watch, raising her eyebrows.
Right. That essence thingy, he still knew very little about. Barracuda shuts the door, quickly grabbing his training suit and putting it on. It's a simple dark-grey fitted t-shirt with a scale-like pattern and some basic sweatpants to go along with it. On the back of the shirt, his name and District are embroidered.
He runs back to the door, opening it to see Elissa complaining to two peacekeepers standing behind her. Once she sees Barracuda awaiting her at the door her demeanor changes. 'Alrighty! Let's get going, shall we?.'
Barracuda wouldn't be able to describe the way they took to the lab. Everything looks so similar in the training center. It's like they didn't even bother to make it look a little bit more pleasant and less bland, in general. They, together with the two peacekeepers, enter a room with a large glass frame that shows the inside of another room; a more modern looking one, that is filled with strange tools and machinery that Barracuda has never seen or heard of before. In the middle of the room sits a bed and if Barracuda had to guess, that's where he's ending up.
'So, what you see here, beyond that window, is the testing lab. This is where we will inject you with the essence. I will be waiting here, in the observatory, taking notes of the changes in your body. As you can see I am accompanied by other scientists who will be assisting me.' Barracuda peeks to the left, seeing four other people, dressed in lab coats, sitting behind their computers and typing their hearts out. 'All the other tributes are going through the same procedure as you are if that makes you feel any better. Anyway, although I am in charge of you, the head scientist is Professor Myriad Dane who is also the inventor of the essence. He will be overseeing the project as a whole and step in if there are any issues.' The way Elissa talks, makes it seem like all her words are protocol.
After Elissa finishes explaining all the details of the procedure, Barracuda is told to strip down to his underwear. Just the thought that everyone will be watching him as he exposes himself sends a small shiver across his body. Nevertheless, Barracuda takes off his training suit and steps inside the lab.
'Mic-check.' Elissa's voice pipes into the room through voice transmitters attached to the ceiling. 'Please lie down on the bed.' Barracuda follows the instructions and sets himself on the cold and stiff bed. They didn't even bother to offer him a pillow for his neck or a blanket to cover him from the air-conditioning. 'Now, all you need to do is stay completely still and not panic. The less you move, the faster we can finish the procedure.'
Barracuda takes a deep breath and shuts his eyes waiting for whatever is about to puncture his skin. He hears a few clicking sounds along with multiple things moving above his head from the ceiling. His curiosity forces him to tear his eyes open and once he does, he regrets it immediately. Tentacle-like structures scan his body with a blue light and between all the robotic arms, Barracuda spots a few arms with syringes attached to the tips causing Barracuda to swallow as he becomes increasingly nervous. He never liked visiting the dentist or the hospital in general. He hated the way everyone was so stoic and robotic and he hated the chemical smell that filled the rooms and reminded him of death.
'I can sense your heart rate increasing. Please just stay calm. It'll be over before you know it. Would you like someone to step in and hold your hand?' her tone sounded almost sarcastic and condescending. 'Barracuda? Do you hear me?' she asks.
'I'm fine, thank you.'
'Alrighty.'
He closes his eyes again and thinks of the ocean. Once the needles puncture his skin and dig into his flesh, he suppresses the pain and fear with an image of his uncle, Croaker. He thinks of the good times he had with him when they used to wake up very early in the morning to go fishing before everyone else got there. He thinks of the times when they'd go to the fish market together and Croaker would teach him about different species which would usually annoy the vendors as he grabbed the products and showed them to his nephew. But during these times they never cared what other people thought of them. They were just happy spending time together.
'And… we're done!' That was fast. It really wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. 'You can get dressed again and come join us in the observatory,' Elissa says through the intercom.
Once he sits across Elissa, he understands that this is a defining moment. He could end up with an ability that is really strong which would give him the control that he seeks or he could end up with an incredibly weak ability where he'd rather just rely on his actual physical skills. He begins to sweat a little which Elissa notices immediately. She responds with a simple smirk. He doesn't understand this woman. Does she find pleasure in detecting his vulnerability?
'The results are in.' Oh god. 'You have quite an interesting ability actually…' What does that even mean? 'It's nothing over the top but it should be effective enough…' Can she just get to the point already? 'You have the ability to survive without food. Your body doesn't need food to produce energy, allowing you to live without food. However, you do still need to drink water as an essential resource.'
Although a bit underwhelmed, Barracuda soon realizes how useful his ability actually is. He won't have to train to use it since it is a passive ability and while everyone struggles to find food, all Barracuda needs is water and he'll be fine. He could find a source of water and simply outlast everyone else but that would be a boring and non-career like strategy so he'll have to pass on that one.
At 12:00 all the tributes gather in the main hall of the training center. Cynthio Fontana stands on an elevated plateau with a fierce-looking woman to his right and an older-looking man with a lab coat standing to his left.
'Welcome! I hope all of you are as excited about this Quell as I am because it really is something special, isn't it? Now that the injection process is over and all of you are aware of your abilities I will let you know that you are not obliged to share your secret with the rest of the tributes. Only the audience will know the complete truth so it is up to you if you want to share your knowledge of your power with others or not.'
Barracuda scans the tributes around him. For the first time, he realizes that each and every one of these 23 other kids has their own little secret and that this year the Games won't be as simple and predictable as usual. The outlying District could so easily band together and, with their unknown abilities, take down the careers one by one. He couldn't let that happen.
'The first three days, counting today, are training days. You'll have time to train on your survival skills, become familiar with a weapon or two, and, most importantly, understand and control your ability. You are not by any means allowed to use your ability on other tributes during your stay in the Capitol and the consequences will be grave if you do so. There are special private training chambers where you can have some alone time to train on your power. The fourth day is the tribute assessment day and will probably be the most exhausting day for you. In the morning there will be individual matchups that will be monitored by Himeko Nakamura.' Cynthio gestures to the woman to his right. 'She will be the one to assign combat scores to each of you but more on that when the time comes. Later in the day, you will be scored on the control of your ability. This process will be monitored by Professor Myriad Dane who is also the inventor of the essence.' Cynthio gestures to the man to his left. 'And, finally, at sunset you'll be tested on your survival knowledge by me. Again, there will be more on that when the time comes. The average of your three scores will equal your total individual score. The fifth day is your free day where you can enjoy your stay at the Capitol and succumb to the luxuries that we have to offer. And, finally, on the sixth day, you will find out about your tribute scores during your interview… and then the games can commence.' he gives them a nod before stepping away from the platform and exits the training hall, escorted by three peacekeepers.
As everyone starts to explore the stations and become familiar with their new environment, Raja gestures for the careers to gather up. Barracuda is the first to join her, followed by his District partner. Once everyone gathers around Raja, she begins to speak. 'I think, especially given this year's twist, that we should elect someone as the leader of the pack. It would provide a lot more order and, to make it just, the leader would be chosen by a vote. Is everyone in agreement?' she asks firmly. Dimitris shrugs, followed by a nod, Zo exchanges a look with Barracuda both nodding in agreement, and Nastya ties her hair into a ponytail in silence. Barracuda can never tell if she's even interested in anything that's happening around her, given the girl's usually bored facial expressions.
'Can everyone receive votes?' Goud asks.
'I'm glad you ask, Goud. I think we should use a nomination process to pick who Is being voted for. You can also nominate yourself if you want to. And that brings me to my nomination…' Raja floats towards Barracuda, placing a hand on his shoulder. 'I nominate Barracuda.' Arra's eyes widen in shock. Immediately he masks his surprise and retreats into his more tough and confident nature. He has to play the role. 'I, personally, think Barracuda is the most well rounded of us all and would be able to take input from all of us and make the best decisions for our alliance.'
'Sure, why not. I'm not going to be the one to judge anyone's leadership skills, to be honest,' Dimitris chuckles.
'Would anyone else like to nominate someone?' Raja asks.
Goud steps into the middle of the circle. 'I'd like to nominate myself.'
'You?' Raja points at him in a condescending manner, clearly confused. 'I don't mean to be impolite but I don't think that you are fit to lead a group.'
'But I-'
'I mean, sure, you can nominate yourself. I'm just expressing an opinion which doesn't reflect everyone else's,' Raja interrupts Goud. 'So, anyone else volunteer?' she looks around but no one steps up. 'Alright then, raise your hand if you vote for Goud.' Barracuda, unable to vote, feels an ounce of pity for the boy. He was put in a position where it would seem unruly to vote for him.
'No one? OK then. So that makes Barracuda our group leader. Congratulations!' she rubs his arm in excitement. Why exactly she picked him remains unclear but all Barracuda knows is that if they want him to be a leader then he'll be one. Apparently they see something in him that he doesn't see in himself and he won't let them down. He'd rather die. Next to him, he can hear Goud muttering something to himself and, as Barracuda is about to turn to the boy and give him a pep talk, he disappears.
Phoenix Adler, 16
District Seven Female
Cygnus lifts his axe and brings it down forcefully on one of the trees, decorating the forest. The trunk of this one was especially thick. Every time the axe hit against the base of the tree, Cygnus would grunt, clenching his teeth.
Phoenix looks over to her twin brother, immediately noticing his body covered by a layer of sweat and grease. 'Cygnus, come take a break. You'll collapse if you continue exhausting yourself like that.' He embeds the axe into the tree and joins his sister.
'Here, take this.' Phoenix offers Cygnus a triangularly shaped sandwich. 'It's with ham, tomatoes, and goat cheese.'
Cygnus looks up at his sister in confusion. 'Did you make them?'
'I bought them…'
'But, Phoenix, we can't-'
'Please just eat it, Cygnus. I know we're scarce on money but I got an extra-large tip yesterday from one of the lumberjacks for helping them out and you've been working so hard lately. You deserve it, brother… you really do.' her eyes fall to the floor as Cygnus envelops her in a hug and kisses her on the forehead.
'Thank you,' he whispers. He takes a big bite of the sandwich and shoves the rest of it into his mouth before swallowing the first chunk.
'Slow down or you'll choke!' Phoenix laughs, patting her brother on the back as he coughs with a big smile on his face. He's the only one in her life that manages to make her feel safe. Ever since their parents died during the great lumber mill fire, it's just been the two of them. After being transported to the community home, it was survival of the fittest from there. They had to work for every penny, live in a home filled with ruthless children who will use any opportunity to steal from you, and - the things that affected them the most - they had to live without their parents. Not one of them wanted to show the other any sign of grief because both of them knew that they needed to stay strong to get through this and neither wanted the other to carry that weight of moving on alone.
And yet it never felt that way. Cygnus was always the one who took the beatings for her when she didn't listen to the headmistress because her head was up in the clouds. He'd never complain and it always made Phoenix feel so guilty.
'Cygnus…' she starts.
'Yeah?'
'One day, when we have enough money and have moved into our own place, I'll return.' she forms a fist with her right hand and holds it close to her chest.
'Where to?' he stuffs his mouth with another sandwich.
'To the community home. I'll make it better. There will be toys for all the children, daily excursions, fresh food, and they'll all be happy. I swear it. They'll all be happy…' her expression turns solemn as these last words fade away. For some reason, her brother isn't answering. She doesn't dare look at his face. He probably thinks that her idea is ridiculous and she wouldn't blame him.
'And I'll help you.' Cygnus gives her a thumbs up and winks. Tears fill her eyes as her lips lift into a smile. Phoenix throws her arms around her brother and squeezes him, causing him to choke.
'Oh sorry!' she laughs. At that moment she was happy. Because she knew that no matter what happens, no matter where she ends up, she'll always have her brother by her side.
Phoenix looks around in confusion. One second ago she was still in her bed, dreaming of the forests back in Seven, smelling the fresh autumn leaves as the wind gently caresses her cheeks. And now she's in a training center and needs to prepare herself for a battle to the death where she'll very likely have to shed someone else's blood. There was no way in hell she was going to follow through with that. Throw away all her morals, all her dignity to please an audience of conniving vultures?
Ever since they injected that substance into her body, Phoenix has been seeing threads of color around people. Professor Harleton told her that her ability was aura sensing, whatever that meant. She still doesn't quite understand the full extent of her abilities. Phoenix is just crossing her fingers that it is a bit more than simply seeing threads of color around other people.
She remembers Harleton saying something else, something along the lines of her body reacting differently to the injection causing her to have two abilities as opposed to one. Her other ability is 'blood healing'. Well, that's the word he used to describe it. Apparently she can heal other people's wounds with her own blood. She much prefers this ability over her other because there was an actual point to it.
And yet something is still bugging her about those strings. She wants to understand them because, who knows, maybe they'll end up being her saving grace in a dire situation. Phoenix soon comes to the realization that not every tribute has the same color of strings surrounding them. The girl from Three is surrounded by yellow strings, while the boy from One has red strings. At the far end of the training hall, she sees the boy from Eleven with blue strings, covering the surface of his body.
Out of nowhere, the boy from Two brushes past her, hitting her shoulder which almost knocks phoenix over. 'Oh- excuse me!' he waves his hands apologetically.
'It's fine.' she offers him a smile which, to her surprise, he returns before walking away. And then she sees them. The strings that follow him. They're purple. Instinctively, Phoenix raises her hands to examine them better and miraculously the strings start gravitating towards her. She gasps in surprise as they twist and turn in her hands until they form a blurry image. She sees a boy, his face scarred with fear, surrounded by five larger figures. However, Phoenix can't decipher the facial features of the shadows. She raises her head to take a proper look at the career boy, noting the similarities between him and the boy in her hands.
They're the same person.
Before she can take a closer look at the formations, the strings fade away, leaving a pair of empty palms behind. 'Darn it.' she bites the inside of her lower lip in frustration. So there's definitely more to her aura sensing ability than she thought. It might take some time but she has three days to experiment so it shouldn't really take all too long before she's got the hang of it.
Phoenix's thoughts wander back to the train ride and her encounter with Leven, the District Five female. She can still picture it, the way the girl cried on her lap, pouring her soul out to Phoenix. She knew it was the right thing to do, to sooth Leven's pain. Even if it angered Noor. If Phoenix hadn't been there, then the girl would have had to suffer alone and there was no chance Phoenix was going to let that happen. She knows all too well how keeping things to yourself can affect you mentally.
Over at the archery section, Phoenix manages to spot Leven, handling her bow and arrow rather awkwardly. Happily she strolls towards her new friend. 'Hey!' Phoenix shouts causing Leven to get startled and drop her bow and arrow. She makes some kind of groaning sound as she picks the weapon up again. Leven doesn't even bother facing Phoenix before getting back to shooting her arrow which ends up missing the mark completely.
'Are you feeling any better, Leven?' Phoenix gets closer to the girl. 'You know… after the train ride.' she places a hand on Leven's back. In a split second, Leven slaps Phoenix's hand away and stumbles back, putting some distance between the two.
'What do you want?' she hisses. Phenix observes her eyes. They have a kind of darkness in them, a darkness that she couldn't see before. The strings start to form around Leven's body but they're not just one color. They're a mixture of red and purple strings and this time, Phoenix can't get them to form in her hands.
'I wanted to know how you were doing…'
'Why?'
'Because back then on the train you-'
'So? Does that mean we're friends now? I don't think so. As far as I'm concerned, you're my enemy and I'm going to have to kill you,' Leven explains bluntly.
Phoenix, taken aback by Leven's response, simply stares at the girl blankly, not knowing what to say next.
'I…' she starts.
'Save it. You're wasting both my time and yours, so how about you start focusing on yourself because if we meet in the arena and you don't know how to defend yourself that wouldn't be a fair fight, now would it?' Leven pulls the arrow back and lets it soar, this time actually hitting the target. She gives Phoenix one last deadly stare which clearly signifies that she wants to be left alone.
Phoenix feels an empty pit form in her stomach and it hurts. It feels like her intestines are forming knots. She turns away from Leven and hurries to the girl's bathroom where she locks herself in one of the stalls, throwing her body to the ground. With one hand she keeps her mouth shut because no one can hear her cry, as the tears start pouring down her face. All the emotions resurface. All her anxieties, all her worries, all her insecurities, they all force themselves out of that very pit and more than ever does she wish that Cygnus was here by her side. She misses him and it hurts just thinking of her brother because they've never been apart for this long.
Between her desperate gasps for air, Phoenix barely misses the pounding sound coming from the boy's bathroom. Her sobs disappear as she pays closer attention to the other noise. She can hear faint cries between each crashing sound. Phoenix wipes the tears away and makes her way to the boy's bathroom, carefully sliding the door open and making sure that no one's paying attention. There she sees a boy, The one from Eleven, hitting his fists against the mirror, his eyes welling up with tears. Immediately Phoenix detects the bulletproof mirror stained with blood along with his hands which is enough to trigger her to take action. She runs towards the boy, wrapping her arms around him and pinning him to the ground. At first Phoenix is surprised by how strong she actually is, but soon comes to the realization that the boy isn't even trying to fight her, instead, he covers his face with his bloody hands and continues to cry.
'Hey, it's OK.' she lifts him up a bit and lets him lean against her. He turns his face towards her shoulder and continues crying there, rubbing all the blood against her uniform, but she doesn't mind at all. Phoenix runs her hand through the boy's messy hair before her eyes fall on the blood that's still flowing from his fists.
'Wait one second... I'll be right back, I promise.' she dashes out of the boys' bathroom and grabs the closest knife she can find in her vicinity. A few of the careers take notice and stare at her like she's manic and she wouldn't blame them to be honest. She gets to her knees, next to the boy, who's stopped crying now, and holds up her knife.
'W-what are you doing?' he stutters.
'Just trust me.' Phoenix takes a deep breath and slices the palm of her hand causing the boy to flinch a little. She groans in pain until, finally, she sets the blade aside and picks up the boy's hand. She lets the blood from her hands flow into his wounds and, miraculously, the cuts on his knuckles start to close up as the blood dries out.
'How did you do that?!' a flicker of yellow threads forms around his very strong blue aura.
'It's my special ability,' she tells him with a smile.
'Thank you.' he hugs her. This was the first time in a very long while that someone hugged Phoenix. Before, it's always been her who calmed others down like with Leven and the very boy who is embracing her right now. There's a little warmth that Phoenix can feel now.
'I'm Urid Dondarron, by the way.'
'It's nice to meet you Urid, I'm Phoenix. Phoenix Adler'
'Is there any chance you'd like to ally with me, Phoenix?'
'I'd love nothing more.'
Colin Kurz, 16
District Six Male
The possibility to see into the future. Now that is indeed a useful ability. Colin hasn't managed to build up the courage to actually use his power yet. What if he sees something he isn't all too pleased about? What if he's better off just sticking to the present? But that means that his ability would go to waste…
Colin gives himself a gentle slap across the face. This is not the time to start overthinking every single outcome, every single detail. He has to start preparing for the Games no matter the cost and Colin is aware, more than anyone else, that he certainly doesn't have the physical capabilities to keep up with a career or someone like Dirk or Aditya. Heck, just that thought alone causes him to snicker a little. Self-pity? Perhaps.
However, Colin's also aware of the fact that he has another tool in his toolbox. One that should surely make up for his lack of physical prowess. His beautiful brain.
And he intends on using his intellect to its maximum capacity.
'Alright, Colin. Focus.' he leans against one of the metallic walls in the training center and closes his eyes, followed by a couple of deep breaths. He turns his mind off completely until the noises of the other tributes around him are nothing but a blur of convoluted sounds. And, finally, even those sounds evaporate until there's nothing but blackness around Colin.
He opens his eyes. Still black. Complete oblivion.
What is he doing wrong? Why won't his ability work? Colin, about to switch back to the present, notices a small light flickering to his right. It's not just a light, it's a sign... but he can't read what's written on it. All of a sudden more lights start to flash in a variety of different colors that leave Colin in a haze of confusion.
As more lights begin to flicker, Colin becomes more aware of his spatial positioning and once his eyes turn to his feet, he finally understands his location. Colin is in the arena and he's not just anywhere in the arena. He's where it all begins. Moments before the bloodbath.
And there's only one thing on Colin's mind. Who is standing next to him on either side? It's still too dark to make up really anything but as far as he's concerned there's only one tribute with a smooth, bare scalp and that's Alpha. However, the tribute to his left is a bit harder to decipher. They have a very broad frame so they're probably male.
Slowly, Colin can feel his body being torn back to the present but he doesn't want to leave, not before he's figured out which tribute is standing to his left. As the arena begins to light up further, Colin can put together more facial details until it hits him.
Barracuda.
And then Colin is greeted with a buzzing headache back in the present. He gasps with shock causing the boy from Five to raises his eyebrows at him before turning his attention back to the trap construction in front of him.
Not the most ideal side effect of his power because his head is pounding like crazy. Colin makes his way to the bathroom and splashes some water on his face. Once he turns the sink off, he hears faint sobs coming from the bathroom stalls. Pathetic. If someone can't keep their emotions under control during such a crucial time then that isn't his problem.
Alright, so there are two things he learned. One, the arena is very dark. Two, he is surrounded by Barracuda and Alpha which certainly isn't the most ideal positioning given the fact that there is a murderous career standing right next to him.
So how does he make use of the two? And then it clicks.
He slides the bathroom door open, leaving the crying boy behind, and makes his way to the very person that is standing to his left. The very person that is most likely to end his life in the bloodbath.
'Colin, right?' another voice comes from behind him. Colin turns around to see Alpha Mail. This might be even more perfect than he could have wished for. He puts up his friendliest smile and responds.
'Yeah, that's me. You're Alpha, right? I just loved your reapings. You have so much courage and I respect that.'
'Oh, thank you, darling. I had to do it for the people, you know? Our District hasn't had a victor in ages.' he places the palm of his hand on his scalp in an overly dramatic fashion. 'It truly is demoralizing… I just had to restore the hope. For them.'
Oh boy. He was going to be a handful. But if Colin needs to feed that guy's ego to win him over then sure, he'll play along.
'I completely understand that. I-I don't know… I just wish I had so much integrity and courage like you do. Is there a way you could teach me?' Colin laughs a bit but leaves a hint of sadness and despair at the end that should signify his true discontent.
'I'm glad you ask!' he shouts exuberantly. 'I'm actually here to ask if you would like to ally with me. I've been observing you and I really do think that you are worthy of my time. You know what they say… intelligent people think the same. My mother, the great Queen Bea, once told me that.'
If Alpha wants to believe that these great minds think alike then let him think that. Colin barely had to move a finger and he's already got one of his two targets down.
'Yes! I'd totally ally with you,' Colin squeals with faux-excitement.
'Alright, see you around, my scholar…' Alpha winks at him before drifting off, leaving Colin to his other mission. The harder one. He needs to get on the career's side which might be more impossible than it sounds but Colin has an idea and his ideas tend to work.
He scans the room to find the District Four male and catches him vigorously throwing hatchets at a target, a few feet away from him. Colin approaches the career boy carefully and before he can open his mouth, Barracuda throws one last hatchet with very impressive force and faces the, in comparison, frail and weak Colin.
'Yeah?' he asks with his deep voice.
'I want to join your pack.' It's a risky approach but it might work.
'Here.' Barracuda hands Colin one of the hatchets. This is the first time Colin held am actual hatchet in his hands and he's surprised by the weight of the weapon. 'I want you to throw it at the target. Go.'
'But I-'
'Just do it.'
Colin holds the weapon with his right hand and stretches his arm to the far back. He's never thrown a weapon and he sure as hell won't land a hit now. But he also knows that there's no point in fighting the career. He swings his arm forward like a catapult, propelling the hatchet rapidly causing it to twist and turn in the air until it falls flat on the surface of the target and bounces off of it pathetically.
Barracuda scoffs which makes Colin's blood boil, however, he mustn't let his anger get the best of him.
'So you can't use a basic weapon… what can you do?'
This is the question Colin was waiting for. 'Listen, I know I'm not the most physical, as you could probably tell, but I make up for it with my mind. I can build any trap you want me to build, you name it. I can brew any position, you want me to make. I… I can also see into the future.' He was hoping to make the reveal of his ability a bit more impactful but he was running out of things to say so better now than never.
Barracuda squeezes his chin between his thumb and his index finger and stares at the boy in silence. 'Fine. Tell me something about the arena.'
'I only took a peek once so far but what I saw was actually quite interesting. The arena is completely dark at first but as the countdown starts, the arena begins to light up slowly. Also, I'll be standing to your right.'
'And how do I know you're not lying to me?' The career boy furrows his eyebrows.
'I'm not an idiot. I wouldn't risk lying to a career if my goal is to join you. Also, the moment we enter the battlefield and you don't find a completely dark arena and me, standing to your right, you can kill me with your bare hands. You...you have my word.' Colin isn't actually as nervous as he's letting on. Careers like to think that they're the ones in charge. They have typical alpha personalities and Colin needs to make sure to behave like a beta in order to fit in.
'That's a fair point. Will you be loyal to me though?' Barracuda takes a step closer, placing his big hands on Colin's shoulders.
'Only to you... whenever you want to find out about your fate, just let me know and I'll take a look at the future for you.' Obviously what he sees would mainly be concerning his own position but Colin will make up a few things if he has to.
'As a matter of fact, I have intel that might interest you,' Colin begins. He's about to get his hands very dirty but it must be done.
'And what would that be?'
'Well, I've been invited by the District Three male, Alpha, to join an anti-career alliance. He's been going around asking various people. I turned it down and I don't think anyone else has accepted it yet. I mean, the guy's a nutjob…'
'Oh, he certainly is if he thinks he can take us down so easily.' Barracuda cracks his knuckles and a thick blood vessel reveals itself on his forehead. The career is about to walk in Alpha's direction but Colin intervenes.
'Wait! Wouldn't it be smarter if we just killed him in the bloodbath. We can pretend as if we don't know anything to lead him on and then out of nowhere we take him out when the time is right.' Colin consciously starts using the term 'we' to solidify himself as part of the alliance.
'Yeah, I guess you're right…' Barracuda sighs, turning his attention back to Colin who's staring at him with hopeful eyes. 'Fuck it. You can join us.'
'Thank you so much!' Colin claps his hands together in actual excitement this time.
Just as Colin is about to leave to work on some trap building that he promised Barracuda he'd be able to do, two other careers show up, Nastya and Zo. 'What's that all about?' Nastya asks.
Barracuda waves for the District Two boy and the District One girl to join them. Once everyone is gathered he begins and, for the first time, Colin actually feels sweat dripping down his body. 'I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our pack, Colin. He has the ability to see into the future which will definitely come in handy.' Colin smiles awkwardly, not really knowing what to say.
'Would it be possible to perhaps inform us next time before you make such a decision?' Raja asks, not even trying to hide her frustration.
'Guys, if you want me to be the leader you'll have to trust me on a few things,' Barracuda explains to the rest of the career pack while maintaining eye contact with Raja.
'Where's Goud, actually?' Dimitris asks, looking around in confusion.
'Speak of the devil, right?' the District One boy laughs, appearing from behind Dimitris. Colin almost didn't notice her, the girl standing next to Goud. 'On a similar note, I'd like to introduce you to Pamela, our new ally.'
He gestures towards the girl, she waving happily. But all Colin sees are Raja's clenched fists and the wrath that's crystallizing in her eyes.
Dirk Latimer, 18
District Twelve Male
This is not good at all. Why is he starting to sweat? The sticky, moist feeling is absolutely horrendous and makes Dirk want to scrub it off of himself until his skin starts to peel away. And why does it all have to happen after he spoke so blatantly to Diana?
And the worst part is, Dirk was doing such a good job at keeping his composure and it was mainly due to the fact that he accepted it all. He accepted the fact that he was a casualty of the Districts' resistance.
But now that he's standing in the training hall, Dirk has come to the realization that things are moving a lot faster than he actually wants them to and it seems like fear is starting to catch up to him. Perhaps before he shoved it all to the side and just focused on his book which was the exact same thing he'd done his whole life, accepting stuff and not thinking about it.
As Dirk observes the other tributes, he begins to understand that he might be in over his head. Everyone has formed alliances. The careers have introduced two new members into the pack which has become apparently clear by how The District Six boy and the District Nine girl have huddled together with the trained killers.
Dirk has always had an innate ability to be present without anyone noticing. His mother used to say that he's as smooth as the wind. This allows him to notice things that other people might not. For example, it seems to be the case that the District Six boy and the District Nine girl have formed a little alliance of their own within the career pack. Whenever the careers are dispersed, Dirk always catches them having private discussions on the sidelines.
Also interesting is the formation of an alliance, consisting of mostly younger tributes. At first, it was just the pair from Eight and the District Three girl but by now it seems like the District Nine boy and the District Seven boy have joined this little group as well.
By the looks of it the District Seven girl and the District Eleven boy have also established an alliance of sorts. The two are attempting to make fire together, laughing whenever things don't go their way.
And then there's his District partner, Diana. The two of them haven't had the best first encounter. It was clear to Dirk from the start that their ideologies were going to clash and he knew that Diana was a bit of a firecracker and yet now that he sees her bonding with the Eleven girl who stole the show at the Post-Parade Party, there's a hint of regret lingering in the air.
Why is it that she has found someone while he still stands alone in the distance with no one approaching him. Perhaps he's too intimidating. That could be it. Dirk never gives off a good first impression. All his friends back in Twelve have told him that. Apparently, and to his surprise, he comes off as arrogant, dismissive, and generally standoffish. Whenever people told him that a part of him wanted to shovel dirt into their mouths. Why does he have to change? Why can't people just adapt to his personality?
But Dirk has another plan in mind that wouldn't require him to change in favor of others. He needs to get into an alliance with Diana. Seeing her throwing knives and building fires, Dirk knows that she can be a valuable ally. There isn't space for him in the career pack anymore and, honestly, no one else seems compatible enough to work with him.
It has to be Diana and although she hates him, there's someone here she doesn't hate and that someone is going to be Dirk's key to success.
Dirk moves to one of the water dispensers, leaning against the wall until the girl using the machine looks at him.
'Can I help you?' Sev asks with a little bit of spite in her voice. Their last and also first encounter wasn't that pleasant. Maybe everyone is right. Perhaps Dirk really isn't that great at first encounters. But second times the charm.
'I think you can, Severin.' he moves his head in closer. 'Is there a possibility that you are allying with Diana?'
Sev raises her eyebrows in surprise as if having not having anticipated the question. 'Uh- Yeah… she asked me this morning.'
'Oh, well that's great. Very great…' Dirk drifts off, letting his words linger in the air a bit too long and, seeing Sev's expression, his second impression might not be that great either. 'Well, you see… I wanted to ask if…' Why is he taking so long to get the words out? It can't be this hard to be vulnerable for once.
'You want to join our alliance?' she finishes his question correctly causing Dirk to sigh.
'Perhaps?' Great, he can't even bring out a simple 'yes'.
'Forget it.' Sev crosses her arms and turns around, making her way back to Diana.
'Wait, wait!' Dirk jumps up in front of her. He didn't intend on using his advantage against the District Eleven girl at all but by the looks of it, there's no other way and he was expecting that it would come down to this.
'You wouldn't want anyone finding out about that little stunt you pulled during the Post-Parade party now would you?' That's the only leverage he has. He laid it all out on the table. As a matter of fact, Dirk isn't even sure how much the Capitol would care that she stole a wallet, even more so given the fact that Severin has become rather popular among the audience, but as long as she doesn't know that, it should be fine.
'You wouldn't…' she contracts her jaw muscles, staring at Dirk intensively.
'Oh, trust me, right now I would. Unless, obviously, you convince Diana to let me into your alliance.' Dirk smiles brightly, showing his perfect white teeth.
He's not an idiot. He can see how much Sev wants to slit his throat since the girl doesn't even try hiding her emotions. She really is a strange one. At first, Dirk mistook Sev to be a gentle soul but it seems like he has awoken something in her. Something that she doesn't like to show other people.
Severin looks left and right before turning her attention back to him. 'Fine. Agreed.' before Dirk can respond, she struts away.
To end the day and clear his mind, Dirk makes his way to one of the private chambers where he can practice on his ability to control the wind. He can see how it matches his characteristics and he's actually quite happy with it.
The private chamber is surprisingly dimly lit. There's a lot of free space to move and the walls are made of pure obsidian. There's a calmness taking over the room to it and it feels good being alone for a while without distractions. At the far end of the chamber, there are four dummies lined up in a row and Dirk wastes no time testing his new gift.
He pushes his right arm forward with immense strength, causing a gust of air to shoot out from the palm of his hand in the direction of one of the dummies. Once the air attack hits its target, the dummy is ripped apart completely and smashed against the wall behind it.
Dirk can't help but muster a smile as he holds the palm of his hand in front of his face. This power offers him endless possibilities and with a bit of practice, Dirk should be able to harness his ability with perfection.
He faces the dummies again and notices how a new one has respawned, taking the broken one's place. Dirk makes a slashing motion with his right arm from top to bottom and in a split second the new dummy is cut in half cleanly, the two halves falling apart and landing on opposite sides.
Dirk runs towards the dummies and laughs once he sees the effect of his inner strength. These perfect slices could not even be achieved with the sharpest of swords.
Maybe he won't need Diana after all. Maybe, once he joins their alliance and realizes how weak they are in comparison to him, he'll just cut them loose and go solo.
He'll tear the arena apart in his, quite literal, storm of rage if that is what it takes to win.
ALLIANCES:
The Careers (but with superpowers!): Raja (D1F), Goud (D1M), Nastya (D2F), Dimitris (D2M), Zo (D4F), Barracuda (D4M), Colin (D6M), Pamela (D9F)
Federation of the Beans: Voxel (D3F), Morse (D7M), Hilda (D8F), Mune (D8M), Johar (D9M)
A Master and his Scholar: Alpha (D3M), Colin (D6M)
Healing: Phoenix (D7F), Urid (D11M)
Pending: Sev (D11F), Diana (D12F)
Loners: Leven (D5F), Pavlov (D5M), Cecilia (D6F), Fayette (D10F), Aditya (D10M)
I'm sorry. I went a little bit overboard with this chapter and I didn't intend on the word count being this high for a normal training chapter and I'll make sure it won't happen again because it took me way too long to get this chapter out xD
I think it has become very clear that everyone in this game has their own little agenda and no one is going to shy away from stabbing others in the back and doing whatever it takes to get by. Just the way we like it, right?
I'm actually watching Avatar the Last Airbender clips for Dirk's power to get some inspiration and the threads used for Phoenix's power originates from the emotions of the Pixar movie Inside Out xD
But, anyway, in the next chapter, there will be more shady stuff happening so look forward to that lol. It'll be the second day of training and things will only start picking up so fasten your seatbelts, everyone.
Please review as I greatly appreciate it and I love reading what all of you have to say!
Goodbye and see you all soon, hopefully!
