Callum Gray, District 2

"I am dead and gone and lying in a church grove,

And still I push my barrow all the day."

The Decemberists, Eli, the Barrow Boy

The 10 Rules of Being a Career:

1: Respect those who came before you

Callum Gray was 12 years old when Marshall Thornburg arrived at his door, an enrollment paper in his hand for the Academy, right after Beatrix Carmen won her Games. His family said no. That it was too dangerous, that he would only drive himself crazy, or worse, die in the Games. He ignored them all. All he wanted to do was prove himself to his District, and, even better, to Orion and Marshall. He put his name down on the paper and it changed his life forever.

The Academy was brutal. More brutal than anything he, or anyone else in the Academy, had ever experienced. The students were split into three teams, each one mentored by a Victor. The instructors were ex-peacekeepers who pushed the children enrolled as if they were going into battle against the rebels. No one, however, was more insane than Orion. Callum had the good fortune of being put in the original Career's team, and he would have his students up at dawn, training until dusk, and many a would-be tribute would collapse from the stress or the intense work levels.

One day somewhere around Woof's Victory Tour, Callum found himself faced off against a hulking boy a year older than him named Zacharias. The fight was long, hard, and full of blood and bruises. However, Callum was a master at taking down opponents bigger than him, and Zacharias soon found himself on the ground in a headlock, the blood slowly draining from his head. Orion nodded.

"Finish it," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. Callum looked up at him.

"Sir?"

"You heard me," the powerful Victor said. "End it."

Callum stared at his teacher for a moment, then released him. "No. He's unarmed. That's not a kill, it's a murder."

Orion said nothing, only motioned for the next pair to take the ring. Afterwards, he called Callum into his office. The door wasn't even closed and Orion had already thrown the knife right next to the boy's forehead. Callum jumped.

"Sir, I-"

"You disobey an order from me again, and I won't miss," Orion said with a snarl. "Never, ever disrespect me in front of my students again. Do I make myself absolutely clear?"

Callum nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now fifty laps around the track."

The laps hurt, and the next morning, Callum woke up sore in places he didn't know he had. But the next time he found himself in the ring, his opponent was in the infirmary for two weeks afterwards.

2: Emotions are for weaklings

The 16th Games were bad for District Two. The volunteers were strong, but the boy from One had all the training of Lorelei Jewel herself, not to mention one of the scariest dispositions in Panem. The girl, one of Marshall's best, died with Amethyst spear in her chest, and the boy, king of Orion's ring, five minutes later, his neck snapped in half. Orion's regime tightened, training hours intensified, the war between Marshall, Beatrix, and himself growing only more tense.

The next year, the Capitol decided they wanted an outlier victory, and so a lizard attack takes out the greatest archer in Beatrix's tribe, as well as a monster with a battle axe from Marshall. Orion, furious that he didn't even get a tribute in the Games, began his war once more.

The 18th Games were historic in the Two Academy, in that it was the first year where both tributes were from the same team. Orion's training was paying off.

But not by much. The boy died with his Four counterpart's sword in his chest, and the flood took care of his partner. Nothing seemed to work, with Careers dropping like flies, and Orion slowly descending into insanity. He needed a Victor, and soon.

The 19th Games nearly made him snap. From the beginning, Orion told his tribute, the girl, not to trust the outlier who'd wormed his way into the Careers, that he was a snake and he would betray the alliance as soon as he got the chance. She didn't listen, and his knife took care of her in her sleep just like the other members of the alliance.

Callum watched all of these, he studied each of them, he studied each of the Victors, and by the time his 17th birthday rolled around, he knew 8 different ways to not win the Hunger Games, and 4 ways to do it. But then the volunteers were announced for the 20th Games, and Callum knew he didn't need to study them. The Victor was already decided.

The male tribute for District Two, the pride of Orion's team, was Zacharias Morallo.

The outliers were a strong batch that year, but Zacharias was a beast. Every Career lover in the Capitol sent their money to him, and once the boy from Five was dead in the bloodbath, Callum felt sure that the Games were his.

And then the tiny girl from Five, the one that no one would have ever thought would do anything special, shot a poisoned arrow into his chest, taking out the best chance Two had at a victory since Beatrix.

That night, Callum found himself alone in a bathroom. He didn't know what made the tears start coming, but come they did, hard and fast. Two had been robbed of a Victor, and Callum a friend. It simply wasn't fair. Zacharias could have won, he could have! But some measly outlier knew her poisons and suddenly the Games were hers.

Some thirty minutes later, Callum came to his senses and realized that what he was doing would never end well for him. Anything that made the students seem like anything other than soldiers for a cause, let alone human, was punishable by public beatings. He quickly dried his eyes and hurried out of the room.

One year later, Orion announced to the team that the male contestant for his team would be Callum Gray. The boy nodded, bowed his head, and accepted the honor with humility. In truth, everyone knew it would be him. He could contend with boys years older than him, instructors, and could even last a while against Orion himself. The real problem came when he saw the other choices.

Marcelo from Marshall's team, and Commodus from Beatrix's. The trio were thrown into an arena with only a few swords, and the rest was history. Callum grabbed a blade, swung it up in one fluid motion, and stabbed Commodus in the chest. Marcelo quickly grabbed his own sword, swung it to stop Callum's blade, but the fight was quick and one-sided. Callum emerged from the arena covered in blood, and with a ticket into the Hunger Games to boot.

3: Play to the crowd

From the beginning, the Capitol loved the Careers that year. Having taken their fill of outlier victories, they were all set to watch one of these beautiful, powerful warriors take the crown back to where it belonged. The boy from One was thin and tall, his rapier matching his own physique, elegant and dangerous. His partner was one of the most beautiful the Games had seen, her instant flirting with Callum making them the power couple of the Games that year. Callum's own partner was one of the best spear fighters Beatrix, or anyone, had seen, taking down dummies left and right in training. The Fours were cousins, best of friends, and wickedly smart with knives.

Training quickly established them as the favorites that year. The outliers were a meager bunch that year, none scoring higher than a seven from the boy from Ten. The Careers, on the other hand, all scored either a nine for the Ones and the boy from Four, or a ten for the Twos and the Four girl. The interviews only served to cement this fact, the aging but still hilariously funny Tiberius Blake playing up each of them as vibrant, unique, but highly dangerous members of one of the strongest packs in history. All in all, going into the Games that year, no one knew who would win, but there were six odds-on favorites.

4: The merciful die

From the beginning, the bloodbath was theirs. Within five minutes, seven bodies dotted the ground, with every Career except the girl from One holding a kill. As Callum wrenched his sword out of the body of the girl from Nine, he saw the girl creeping up on the boy from Three. Callum frowned as she, instead of raising her sword, she reached down and pulled the boy to his feet. She quickly whispered a few words to the boy and he sprinted away, clutching his bag for dear life. Callum casually strode over to the girl, lightly tapping her on the shoulder.

"What was that?" he asked. She jumped.

"I- I just- I didn't-"

Callum didn't even bother letting her finish. If she wasn't going to play the Games, he wasn't going to let her. His sword flashed and the first of the all-powerful Careers hit the grass of the orchard Arena.

5: Careers are fundamentally best at killing

13 deaths in the bloodbath. One Career, but Callum wasn't dumb enough to admit to killing his ally. He blamed it on the boy from Ten, whom he'd conveniently killed after the One girl had betrayed the alliance. As the alliance began searching the supplies, only Callum's partner, Anaxia Cobalt, realized something was wrong with her fellow Two. She took a seat next to him at the mouth of the Cornucopia as the sun neared high noon, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Something's wrong. I know it when I see it."

Callum shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing."

She raised her eyebrows, but didn't press it.

Hunting began the next morning. The orchard was big, but uniform, and the Careers quickly split the Arena into sectors, sweeping each before moving on to the next. Callum was partnered with the boy from Four on the first day. Sure enough, that afternoon, a suspicious-looking tree yielded the girl from Six, and with one swing of Callum's sword, her cannon filled the air.

The next three days were filled with what truly made a Career's, well, career: hunting. There were only five outliers still alive at dawn on day three, and all but one would die within the next 72 hours. Only that pesky boy from Three who so unjustifiably survived the bloodbath was left.

However, when Callum awoke on day 6, he saw something that would change the face of the Games that year forever.

The girl from Four's knife plunging into the chest of the boy from One.

6: Never hesitate

The cannon boomed and the other two Careers jumped up like lightning. The boy from Four had undoubtedly been waiting for his cousin to make the first move, but Anaxia, her reflexes like lightning, managed to block his sword with the hilt of his spear before rolling out of the way and jumping to her feet. Callum grabbed his own blade and ran at the Four girl, swinging it up to stop her knife from penetrating his heart. The duel was furious but quick, and a slip up from the girl left his sword in her own chest.

The boy screamed in rage. He grabbed her knives and jumped at Anaxia, swinging furiously, all his training forgotten. He was easy prey.

The boy's body hit the grass and Anaxia turned to her partner. He shook his head.

"There's still one left. When he's dead, then we'll fight."

She nodded. "I understand. See you when he's dead," she said with a small, ironic grin. He nodded in a show of mutual respect and with that, the all powerful Career alliance was over.

7: Trust no one, no matter what

Callum didn't find the boy from Three. A plague of mosquito mutts hit the Arena come day 10. The Capitol had finally gotten bored after the breakup, and as Callum ran for his life from the supersized bugs, he faintly heard a cannon in the distance. There was no way to be sure, at least not until he either saw the face in the sky or ran into one of the two survivors, but somehow, he knew the boy was dead. It was just Anaxia left.

He quickly changed direction as he ran and began heading for the Cornucopia. As he burst into the clearing, he became aware of two things: The mosquitoes were dispersing, and Anaxia was seated in the mouth of the Cornucopia.

As he walked forward, he lowered his sword. She stood, doing the same.

"Just us now, isn't it?" she asked. He nodded.

"As it should be. At least Two gets a Victory, no matter which one of us goes home."

She smiled. "True. You want to say our final goodbyes, or just fight it out?"

He grinned. "It'll be quicker if we just go. Come on." He hefted his sword, and the fight began.

Games enthusiasts for years would call it one of the best finales in the early period of the Games. The pair were evenly matched, sword against spear clashing over and over again, the sound of their blades echoing throughout the Arena. The fury in their eyes only served to heighten the emotional stakes, with many a viewer brought nearly to tears. But only when Callum managed to sink his sword into her stomach did she collapse to the ground.

He lowered his sword as his District partner bled out. She stared up at him, her eyes already glassy. She smiled faintly.

"Will you… sit with me?" she asked, her breath already shuddering. He nodded, taking a seat next to his friend. She reached out a hand and touched his arm.

"Thank- thank you," she said.

"For what?" Callum asked, confused.

"For making it easy," she replied. Callum barely had time to register what she'd said when the white-hot pain of her knife digging into his arm took over his consciousness. He screamed and rolled away, grabbing his sword. He swung the blade blindly at the girl, and just barely registered the cannon before he blacked out.

8: Blaze your own trail

He awoke in the Control Center, Orion at his bedside. The powerful Victor smiled at the sight of his mentee awaking.

"Morning, hibernator," he said with a grin. "How's the arm feel?"

Callum cautiously flexed it, moving it gently around. "It feels… fine. Better than ever!"

Orion nodded. "That's Capitol medicine for you. Gotta love it, right?"

Callum smiled. "Y-yeah. Where's Marshall and Beatrix?"

"They're outside. All of Panem's waiting to meet you."

Callum paused for a moment, the full weight of Orion's words sinking in. He was a Victor. A real Victor. He'd won the Games. The highest honor in all of Panem. So why did he feel so empty?

He didn't mentor his first year. Beatrix's team provided the male tribute, and Callum simply ran backup to the boy. He did very well, until the split when he got stabbed in the chest by the boy from One.

However, the year after that abomination of a Quell, Orion announced that he was retiring from running point on mentoring, and entrusted his team to none other than Callum Gray himself. Callum didn't know why, but suddenly, Callum had a purpose. He hurled his life into training for the Games. He was no Orion, he wasn't that crazy, but the tributes in his training knew to love, trust, and above all, fear him. Callum swore on the day of the commencement ceremony that he would bring home a Victor. He didn't know how long it would take (not long, hopefully) but he was willing to work his students to the core for fifty years if that's what it took for his team to get a Victor.

9: The Capitol is supreme

The Quell announcement had… mixed reactions in the Village.

Some, like Brutus, didn't care. Brutus was what Callum liked to call a 'Career-y Career.' Meaning someone who genuinely enjoyed the Games, even after they were over. Callum and his closest friends, Julius, Marshall, and of course, Orion, were all much more turned off to the spectacle of the Games. Brutus, the animal, was just excited to get a chance at the Arena again. Others, like Beatrix and Julius, were less enthusiastic.

Beatrix felt betrayed. She was the undisputed matriarch of the Victor's Village, especially after Marshall and Orion died and she was the oldest one left. She wanted to volunteer as soon as the Quell was announced, and it took the combined efforts of Desdemona, Lyme, and Enobaria to convince her that volunteering was a mistake. She was quite simply too old.

Julius, on the other hand, never wanted to see the Arena again, nor did he want any of the members of the Village to go through that horror, either. All he wanted was to keep his family, the Victors, safe. Callum didn't agree with many of Julius' political views, but they were of one mind on the Quell twist. The Capitol had betrayed them all. And there was nothing any of them could do about it.

10: When in doubt, go with your gut

Brutus volunteered. No one was surprised. His old team, Marshall and Orion, was dead, so he went with the next best decision, Callum, with Desdemona running backup. And Panem knows he tried, truly tried, to keep the boy Marshall had described as the closest thing to a grizzly bear the Academy had ever seen alive. But when Brutus jumped Chaff, with Mellark hiding in the underbrush behind him, Callum and Des shared a look that said everything. It was over.

No, the real Games began when Stitch, terrified and out of breath, sprinted in with a bag chock-full of weapons screaming about the Peacekeepers coming.

Of the dozen-plus Victors present, more than half instantly jumped to their feet, grabbing weapons and taking defensive positions around the room. The rest, the mentors from One and Two as well as a couple of outliers, just looked around, confused, until the obvious dawned on them and they began grabbing swords and spears as well.

When the fight began, Callum instantly jumped into action. It didn't mater that he was over 70 and even then that was young for some of the Victors there. It didn't matter that he was a Career and virtually untouchable by the Capitol. It didn't matter that the rebel mentors were fighting for an ideal that would probably never even see the light of day in Two. All that mattered were the Peacekeepers and his friends they were shooting at.

Callum didn't know how many of them he managed to cut down. He knew at least a few Victors, David, Wattson, even Beatrix were already dead before the fatal bullet hit him in the chest. Most of it was a blur, really. The last thing he remembered before the darkness closed in was the sight of young Stevie screaming with joy and Desdemona pile-driving a Peacekeeper with a chair. Not a bad way to go out, once you thought about it.

*Sigh of relief*

Ladies and gentlemen, we made it. That was one heck of a chapter. At more than 3,000 words, this officially takes the cake as the longest chapter so far. I, for one, loved how it turned out. This was a great look into the eyes of one of the first products of the new Career system, and the very culture of the Two Academy, as well as Career Culture (patent pending) itself.

It'll probably be a while before I update again as I'm going on a mission trip with my church to the Dominican Republic and won't be able to write. Rest assured I plan on coming up with lots of weird and possibly disturbing ideas to mess with your heads while I'm gone.