꧁ ꧂
The girl from 1 eyes me like a fresh slice of expensive meat.
She looks the type to frequently sink her teeth into raw meat just for the hell of it. My only comfort is knowing that cannibalism is silently forbidden and quite frowned upon in the Games. She gives me a knowing smile and I don't think she cares about that cannibalism rule. I imagine blood running down her chin and staining the tight white top she's wearing; I give myself a small shake and focus on our training instructor.
"Alright, you'll have four days of training before your assessments in front of the Gamemakers. You will all have full access to all areas and stations, your mentors should have given you some instructions on where they would like you to go." Haymitch had told us this morning to focus on practicing survival skills, fires, identifying plants, cleaning prey, rather than the offensive stations. "Most of you will have little to no experience with many of these weapons and there's no point in trying to hone a skill now." Our training supervisor, Chiron, scans the crowd, his gaze often resting on the youngest and smallest of the pack – and he seems to be spending a lot of time staring at me. I look around the group for myself, this is the first time we're all reallytogether. No costumes or get ups. I can tell that I'm at an immediate disadvantage. The only person around my age is the boy that I'm pretty sure is from 4, and we're the youngest people here. The others have a year to three years of growth on me and most of them have a few inches on me. A sweat-inducing amount have 50 to 100 pounds on me.
"Most of you won't even die of hand-to-hand combat, so don't disregard the survival stations." I expect Chiron to give us a Capitol smile, but he's gravely serious. In fact, he's probably the tamest Capitol person I've met, simply dressed, a deeper, gravelly voice instead of the cheery higher pitch that others prefer. His broad shoulders and bulky build hint at a past life of strength but bound to a wheelchair, he doesn't radiate danger. His scruffy beard and sparkly eyes don't install much fear either. "Begin."
I thought I'd stick with Aspen, but when I approach, he darts off like I reek of disease. I watch the cloth 12 pinned to his back flap as he walks away, shoulders hunched by his ears. I huff and make my way to the plant identification station. I work through the memory tests and read up on the plants I've never seen before. The mushrooms native to districts 10 and 11, the edible roots of 1's invasive silver-leafed weed. I visit a few other stations, including the instructor stationed at the knot tying spot, who hadn't seen anyone else come near his booth. Turns out Kamnar, the instructor, knows about more than just knots, although he doesn't hesitate to share his abundant knot-knowledge with me. I chat with him warily about his life and his hobbies – tying knots and cooking. I promise him to try out his family recipes one day. When we're called for lunch, I head into the dining hall to see Aspen sitting at a table with a mishmash of other tributes, the girl from 7, I think her name is Juniper, 8's boy – Rove – and a few others I can't name.
I don't give him the satisfaction of rejecting me and make my way to an abandoned table against the far wall. I spend my lunch leaning against the wall, tossing things that look like grapes but taste like popcorn up and catching them in my mouth. After lunch I do another rotation of skills, plants, knots, fire, camouflage, before the end of our first training day.
꧁ ꧂
My knee bumps against Kamnar's as I re-tie my clove hitch. I wrap the rope over the log, form an X, and tuck the loose end through the crossed lines, pulling tight. Kamnar looks over at my work.
"Very nice, Annabeth. I think I've taught you all you need to know." He looks at me, we both know I learnt everything at least two days ago.
"Why don't you show me the Impossible knot again, mine's never as tight as yours," He gives me an exasperated sigh and slowly ties his two lengths of rope together. He watches over my shoulder as I try and attempt the knot again. I wasn't lying before; I can never get it as tight as he can.
"You know, they're not that dangerous." I look up and follow his line of sight. He's watching some tributes over by the targets who are throwing knives with alarming strength and accuracy. We're not supposed to have any prior training and if I had years of assassin training under my belt – I'd be a little more discreet. As we watch, a couple of the Careers get into a fight about something, and they quickly draw their swords and begin hacking away at each other before they're pulled apart by a few other instructors. "They swing their shiny swords and hunt down the weakest of the bunch to get their kill counts up," Kamnar's eyes harden with contempt, "they have no respect for other skills. Without the cornucopia, I'm sure they'd starve in a couple days." He looks back at me again.
"You will not starve Annabeth; you know how to live."
I tilt my head and consider him. He's right, I do know how to live. But I don't know if I want to. I go to ask him what he thinks I should do, but remember that, although we may have spent time together the last few days, but he is still a Capitol Boy, born and raised. He won't understand my reasons and I don't need him repeating my plans to Haymitch or Milos. I'm saved from answering as a small group approaches - Aspen, both tributes from 4, Rove, and Juniper.
"What do you want?" I ask them, my eyes on Aspen.
"Children of 4 do not need to learn the art of knots." Kamnar adds randomly, his occasional poetics are part of his Capitol charm.
"Chiron offered to run a game for us, a survival activity," Juniper says, wringing her hands.
"And we need an even number of players per team," Aspen adds on. They want me to join them.
"You should go, Annabeth," Kamnar whispers loudly in my ear, his damp breath condensing on my cheek, "have some fun."
"I'll only do it if I get to lead a team."
I can hear Chiron's wheelchair buzzing as he zips around, attaching sensors and lightweight goggles around our heads. We stand, blind, as we wait for the game to begin. I squint my eyes in the glasses as light starts to illuminate the small space. A glowing orb as bright as the sun rises behind the podium Chiron is parked on. I quickly evaluate the arena around us, we're on a flat patch of grass surrounded by smooth rolling hills dotted with tall trees, across a wide river that takes up most of the map, it's much larger than the actual room we're in. I can see the other team of three, the two from 4 led by Aspen. I'm immediately at a disadvantage, not only is the map dissected by a river foaming white with its quick current, but I've also been stuck leading the two weakest players of the group. What I wouldn't give to swap Juniper who jumps at every sound with the laser-focused girl from 4.
"Leaders," Chiron's voice is amplified, echoing around the arena, "prepare your teams for the battle commencing in 30 minutes. The aim of the game is to steal your opposing team's token, either a red or blue flag, and bring it back to your starting point before your own token is taken. No real physical harm is to be brought to your opponents, maiming by hand or without the use of a weapon is strictly prohibited and should you break this rule, your team will immediately be disqualified. All items are allowed. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," the response comes up from both teams, significantly quieter from my side. I doubt I'll have to restrict Juniper and Rove from maiming anyone, at least I have that advantage.
I drag my team over to our blue flag, a matching shade to the blue of our hair, a much-needed reminder that this is all a simulation. Aspen's team all have heads of muted but still potent red, the shade of fresh blood, while my team is dyed the threatening shade of wild blueberries. I look over to try and guess what their plans are, but a foggy wall has been materialized between us. It must have appeared when my back was turned for a split-second.
"Can either of you swim?" They both shake their heads; Rove looks like he might throw up. "Okay, that's okay…what can you do?"
"I can…climb trees?" Juniper offers.
"Yes, that's good. Rove?"
"I can make clothes?"
"Great," I wince. I sit back on my heels and consider our options. One thing from Chiron's opening still bugs me, all items are allowed. What could that mean? I twist a lock of bright blue hair around my finger. This is all a simulation, I remind myself. The soft grass, the sound of the river, it's all in my head. I form a theory and hold out my palm.
"Apple." I whisper, desperately imagining a bright red apple on my palm.
Sure enough, my hand dips with the surprisingly realistic weight of a ripe apple. I smile and look at Rove and Juniper.
As time ticks on the opaque divider between the other team and us starts to clear. I'd wager we've used half of our time. 15 minutes left. Rove sits cross-legged at the base of a tree, furiously sewing together a stretch of green fabric, as focused and confident as I've ever seen him. He calls into existence another green swath of cotton without looking up. We had tried to magic the completed product into our palms, but it seems that it isn't that easy. I see a flash of blue as Juniper jumps from one tree to the next, a trail of rope tied around her waist and trailing behind her. I direct her as she places the rope and I check in with Rove and his progress. The wall goes from ashy to blurry and I urge my teammates to focus. The plan isn't full proof, by far, but in the end, it should come down to me. I imagine an unstrung bow and the string to accompany it. I then spend a few minutes creating arrows, shaft, feather, point, until I have imagined enough for a quiver. I'm good enough with a bow to hopefully scare our teammates, but not reveal my main weapon of choice before my evaluation. I yell at Rove to finish his part and at Juniper to stay alert. I test the limits of the arena by attempting to summon a lit match. Surprisingly, it complies, and I toss the match onto the fuel-doused logs situated in a circle around the island where the blue flag had appeared. A wall of unnaturally tall fire erupts as I turn my back to the river.
The door goes clear and then disappears. The girl from 4 shoots froward in the water and jumps onto the riverbank on our side. I smile in relief and triumph. I had based this plan on the assurance that Aspen would be on the offensive, he's too angry and sure in my incapability to lead a team. My bowstring already drawn; I shoot at the girl. I had been watching her blurry shape for the last few minutes and had positioned myself behind a tree, poised to shoot. I don't know what the sharp-looking arrows will do to her, but I fire a few more rounds before I pause to check the damage. The arrows are sticking awkwardly out her abdomen, arms, and one is lodged in her throat. No blood drips from her wounds though, the arrows look like props. We blink at each other for a bit until she moves forward, slower and more awkward than normal, but not as if she had been struck with four arrows. She jogs forward and I quickly load the bow and aim it at her heart. I release the string and a prayer to the computers running this. The arrow sticks out straight over her heart and she falls to her knees before disappearing. One second, she was there, the next nothing was.
I turn my focus back to the river as Aspen calls giant rocks into his outstretched palms, but before it can land in his hands, he swings his palms out of the way and the boulder lands heavily in the river. He drops the last one in his path as I let an arrow fly. It's slightly off its mark, shooting towards Aspen's shoulder instead of his heart. My aim is irrelevant, it seems, because it never makes hits any mark. Something leaps up from the water, snagging the arrow and dragging it back down like a frog's tongue shooting from its mouth to snatch a fly out of the air. The boy from 4 climbs out of the water, perfectly dry, pulling the arrow from his net and breaking it in half before sacrificing it back to the river. He looks at me and I swear I can see his smile from here. He heads towards me, pulling a trident from some kind of holster on his back. Of course. The net and trident; a classic combination for the tributes of 4. At least I've learned something in this 'training' exercise, I thought Finnick would have trained his tributes better than to reveal their weapons of choice before the games.
I try to fall the boy with as many arrows as I can shoot. A couple make their mark but appear to do nothing to hinder his performance. Using the bow is practically my only option. I can't reveal my other skills now, it was risky even letting myself do this. He's climbing the hill I'm on now and he lifts his trident like a javelin. I dash behind the tree and feel the thump as the trident digs itself into the bark. If I can't fight him with any of my weapons, I have to hide, or run. I turn around the look for a scalable part of the tree, but all the branches start too high up. Only Juniper would be able to reach them. I need to hide then. I wish Rove could sew me a camouflage blanket like he did for our flag, I wish I could curl up under a fluffy green sheet and the boy would walk right past me. I need to be invisible.
Maybe I need to test the limits of the game even further.
I start to form my escape plan, and my escape item, when the boy rounds the tree and is bearing down on me with a new trident. I summon a handful of coal dust and blow it into his eyes, I know firsthand how irritating that stuff can be, hopefully that counts as the use of weapon and Chiron won't disqualify us. I start to run away but, unfortunately, I catch the attention of Aspen who is climbing up the hill towards the wall of fire still burning bright. He changes directions and runs towards me. I hold out my hands and waste precious seconds to stand still and scrunch my eyes shut, I need complete focus. I even say what I want allowed.
"Invisibility hat," I whisper. I hesitantly open my eyes when I feel something weighing down my hands and see a dark blue cap in my palms. I put it on my head and pray that it's working as Aspen comes within a few yards of me. He slows down and his head swivels around the playing field. The boy from 4 makes his way down the hill, swiping blackness from his eyes. I try to step lightly and breathe shallowly as they convene near me. I walk backwards, towards the river, and watch as they shrug off my disappearance, possibly assuming I died and disappeared, and make their way towards my flag. I jump from boulder to boulder until I reach the other side of the river. I hear indignant yells and pivot to face my half of the board again. Aspen and his companion have walked right into our trap. They appear to have doused the fire with buckets of water, but when they had stepped into the empty circle to find the flag missing, Juniper's trap goes off and they hang suspended in a small net made of steel rope.
I allow myself only one more moment to look at them struggle in the net before I turn and make my way to their side of the river, summoning rocks and wood to build a bridge as I cross.
Aspen appears to be very confident in his team's attacking skills, their flag left unguarded. Not taking any chances, I summon and toss small pebbles around before I take a step or touch anything, in case they set their own traps. Nothing reacts, however, and I grab the red sheet, quickly tucking it under my shirt so it is included in my bubble of invisibility. The boys have sawn their way out of the net as I make my way back, and they're looking around for our flag. I see them point at the tree where Rove's green covering is obscuring the flag and they start to make their way over there. Blue balls drop from the tree, half the time missing completely, but the other half of the time they land effectively on the boys' heads. One rolls to a stop at my feet as I near our flag's starting point. A bright blue apple. I smile at Juniper's ingenuity and patriotism and jump over the smoldering logs into the island of sand where our flag was. Nothing changes though and I frantically pull the flag out from under my shirt. I can see my arms holding it up, but they're fuzzy and occasionally transparent. Maybe I have to be visible to everyone before we win? The boy throws his trident again and it buries itself in Juniper's abdomen. No blood spills out, she doesn't even appear to be in pain, she just disappears. I whip off my hat and throw it at the boys' heads. They turn around in shock, but I see the anger passing over Aspen's face and something like begrudging pride in the other boy's. Everything goes black again and a line of text appears across my vision.
Congratulations Team Blue, you win.
I pull off my goggles and blink at the change of scenery. We're still in the blank training room. Juniper, Rove, and 4's girl are sitting on a bench next to Chiron's wheelchair. Rove must have been eliminated without me seeing. I look at my hands and am surprised to see that there really is a red flag scrunched up in my fists. Chiron glides over to me, his wheelchair only making a small hum.
"Well done, Annabeth."
I can't help it; I'm happy. Even though Aspen definitely hates me, and I shouldn't have tried so hard in training. Even though I just destroyed all the walls I had in place to keep me hidden from the Gamemakers, my cheeks hurt with the weight of a barely contained smile. I like winning. Sure, Rove and Juniper were helpful, and I probably couldn't have done it without them, I know I secured that win for the team. I won. Maybe I can keep winning.
A/N: okay this is my favorite chapter I've written and I think I've written up to chapter 9 (?) anyways I just really like the blend of pjo and hg in this