Chapter 34: Team Meeting
The day after the Interviews, we're given only one day to prepare for the Arena. After being out of the Arena for almost a week, I feel ready to go back into the Arena and get it over with. Unfortunately for the others, they have a far smaller window of freedom. A selfish part of me hopes that at least that'll give me a small advantage, especially over Decimus and Scarlett, who only have two nights of rest before we re-enter the Arena.
Early in the day, Cressa gathers us all in the District 4 common room. I sit across from Mac, whose face is marked with newly forming scars. He offers me a curt nod as I sit. Next to him sits Juniper, his mentor from District 7. Next to Juniper, to my excitement, is Ruth Bradstreet. She's sitting next to her mentor, Athena Hamilton from District 2.
Somehow, the room seems empty without Florence or Luna. I half-expected Jordinia and Penny to be here since they mentored Luna and Florence and have been working with Cressa and the others, but they're both absent - while Jordinia is going to make a full recovery from her incident a few days ago, the other District 11 mentors are forcing her to rest for the remainder of the Games, and Penny decided to stay out as well.
"We only have today to prepare for the Games," Cressa tells everyone, "so we need to take advantage of this time. Does anyone have any ideas of where to start?"
"We should start with Ruth," Athena suggests from the end of the table. "With the Games looming over us, it's important to decide who is aligning with who."
Naturally, everyone's eyes turn to me. I'm the one who requested for Ruth to join us despite her unpopularity.
"I'm the one who made the request, obviously," I begin. "We joined forces in the Arena by necessity, but Ruth has proved herself to be an important asset. I know that we can trust her, and we'll need that in the Arena."
Ruth gives me a small smile before turning her focus to Mac, who speaks next.
"I completely understand your motives, Soren," he says quietly. "It is important to look at the entire situation, though. We're not entering the Arena with a full field of tributes. There are only ten of us left. Having four out of the ten tributes in one alliance makes us the automatic targets. I don't think Ruth is valuable enough to warrant that risk."
"We'll be targets no matter what," I fire back, "especially with Daphne and I so close together. I'm sure Ruth will work to protect us from the others-" I glance at Ruth, who nods in confirmation - "rather than betraying us."
"Soren's right," Ruth says, speaking up for the first time. "I don't have the skills necessary to stay alive alone in the Arena, and I'm sure I wouldn't be a threat to any of you. I owe my life to Soren in more ways than one. I would be more than happy to help you all in the Arena. I hope you'll look past any previous impressions I've made when making your decisions. This is a life-or-death decision."
"I'm with Soren," Daphne says, her eyes darting around the table as she speaks. "If Soren trusts you, Ruth, then I do too."
"I guess that's settled, then," Mac says. He doesn't look annoyed, but he's always been hard to read. "I'm outnumbered."
"Perfect," Roman says, butting in. "Now that everything's decided, let's talk about strategy. There's a forty percent chance that one of you four will be the Victor, and we need to be as prepared as possible to ensure that that happens."
"Well, right from the start, we need to be careful," Mac suggests. "We should avoid the Bloodbath. We could easily be killed. There are so few of us that the Games won't last long anyway, so we won't need many supplies."
Surprisingly, it's Ruth that speaks next. "What if we didn't?" She asks quietly. We all turn to her. "There are only ten of us in there, and the four of us are working together already. I don't think Isaac is a threat, and I doubt Harley and Larkin are looking for trouble. I think that if there are only ten tributes, it means the Games will be more drawn out and will last longer. Knowing the Gamemakers, the Bloodbath will have supplies we need to last that long."
"Ruth's right," Juniper says. "Realistically, the biggest threat for your group is Marcus, Decimus, and Scarlett. The three of them will definitely be at the Bloodbath, and it may be a perfect chance to get ahead while you're all gathered together."
Athena nods her head in agreement, and I actually find myself agreeing with Ruth's plan as well. Despite her young age, she seems to know what she's talking about; I think it's worth the risk to attend the Bloodbath. We'll suffer a lot more in the long run if we don't.