Training Day Three
Flat


Flat: Lower in pitch by one semitone.


Eddie Hyde, 14
District Three

"Whatcha making?"

Eddie kept his attention focused on the plants in front of him as Fermi slid into a seat beside him. "M-medicine," he answered simply.

Fermi cocked their head. "Sounds boring. What kind of medicine?"

"It's an an-an-antidote f-f-f-for th-this." He held up a berry.

"Or he thinks it is," the trainer beside him muttered. "Been working on that for almost an hour now. You know, kid, you could just not eat the berries in the first place. Then you wouldn't need an antidote."

Eddie shook his head. The trainer didn't understand. Hyde was unpredictable, and as far as Eddie could tell, he wasn't that bright. He wouldn't know which kinds of berries were good to eat just because Eddie knew. But if he did accidentally eat something poisonous, he might have the sense to let Eddie take over long enough to administer an antidote.

Maybe.

But he wasn't going to tell the trainer that. What was the point? The trainer would probably just suggest letting Hyde come out so he could teach him which plants to avoid. But if he let Hyde out now…

Eddie shook the thought from his head. He'd been able to keep Hyde in check ever since the chariot rides. He was doing well. The last thing he needed was for something to stress him out enough for Hyde to break through, but Fermi seemed to have a knack for doing exactly that.

Fermi turned to the trainer. "You don't think it'll work?"

"Probably not."

Fermi turned back to Eddie. "But you're sure it will."

Eddie gave the antidote one last shake. "Y-yes."

Fermi glanced from Eddie to the trainer and back again. Then, without another word, she popped the berry into their mouth. "Wh-what are you d-d-d-doing?" Eddie yelped.

Fermi shrugged. "Testing it."

"But that's poison!" the trainer screeched.

"Yeah, I think you're right about that," Fermi agreed, clutching his throat, gasping for air. "So, want to see if that antidote works?"

Immediately, Eddie handed over the beaker. Fermi drank the contents in one gulp. For a moment, there was silence as they all waited. Slowly, Fermi straightened back up and nodded. "Yeah, I think it works."

"What were you thinking?" the trainer demanded. "You could have died!"

Fermi giggled. "And? That's the whole point of the Games, isn't it? Why would you care if it happens a little bit sooner?" They turned back to Eddie. "For that matter, why do you care? I've done nothing but annoy you since the train ride. Why would you give me the antidote?"

Eddie said nothing. Why had he done it? It was just … well, it was the right thing to do, wasn't it? Just because Fermi was a bit obnoxious didn't mean he wanted her head. But this was the Hunger Games. Fermi was going to have to die eventually if he wanted to live. Eddie looked down. "B-b-because I understand wh-why you d-d-d-did it."


Fermi Schoenberg, 15
District Three

Fermi settled down beside Eddie, chin resting in their hands, waiting. He hadn't expected Eddie to be so talkative, but maybe a few days of training alone had made him restless, desperate for company. "Do tell," Fermi prompted.

"Th-that's h-h-how I ended up w-w-with h-him in th-the f-f-f-first p-place."

"You mean Hyde?"

Eddie nodded. "Th-there w-w-was this g-g-g-girl."

He waited a moment, as if it should have been obvious what he meant by that. Fermi shrugged. "Okay."

"And I w-w-wanted to t-t-t-talk t-to h-h-her."

"Uh-huh."

"B-b-b-but I w-was t-t-too s-scared."

Fermi cocked her head. "Why? Was she a lot bigger than you?"

"N-no."

"Angry at you?"

"N-no, of c-c-course n-not."

Ah. "Pretty?"

"B-b-beautiful. I w-wanted to b-b-be m-more c-c-confident, so I m-made an elixir."

Fermi raised an eyebrow. "An elixir?"

"It's a s-s-serum, r-really, b-b-but elixir s-sounds m-more…"

"Impressive? Exciting? Fantastical?"

Eddie nodded. "B-but it d-d-didn't w-work. I sh-should have t-t-tested it on s-s-something else f-f-first, b-but I w-was im-impatient. J-j-just like y-you."

Fermi giggled. "I think it did work, though. I mean, Hyde is certainly more confident than you. He wouldn't have trouble going up and talking to a girl."

"W-well, yeah, b-b-but—"

"So all that came from a serum."

Eddie nodded. "Unf-f-f-fortunately."

"What'd you put in it?"

Eddie tried to take a step back, but tumbled off his chair instead. "I'm n-n-not t-t-telling y-you. Th-there's n-n-no t-telling what w-would h-h-happen to y-you if y-you used it."

Fermi giggled. "You think I want to use it on myself? No thanks. Oh, and you'd be safe, of course. I don't think it could do anything worse to you than you've already done to yourself. But that still leaves twenty-two other tributes…"

"N-no."

"Oh, come on. Just a little hint."

"N-n-not a ch-chance." Eddie shook his head, but then straightened up and dusted himself off, smirking. "Red and blue."

"What?"

"The chemicals he used. I don't know what they were, exactly, but I know they were red and blue." Hyde cocked his head. "Does that help?"

Fermi shrugged. "Better than nothing. Do you know where he got them?"

"The science lab at school."

"Hmmm," Fermi mused, hoping they were loud enough for the cameras to pick up. "When was this?"

"About a year ago."

Fermi nodded. "Gee, if only I knew what chemicals the thirteen-year-olds in Eddie's school were working with around this time last year. I'm sure there can't be too many of them that were blue and red."

"St-stop it."

Fermi chuckled. "Stop what? I was just thinking out loud."

"You w-w-were t-trying to g-g-give the G-g-g-gamemakers ideas."

"Oh, I don't think they need my help with that," Fermi admitted. "I'm sure they already have plenty of fun things planned. Still, it never hurts to have one more thing to throw into the mix, to give the audience a good show if the opportunity presents itself." She gave Eddie a pat on the back. "I'll make sure to thank Hyde the next time he shows up."


Lucinda Tweed, 15
District Eight

"He's watching us again," Rose whispered as the four of them – Rose, Aloe, Lucinda, and Percy – caught their breaths after finishing the obstacle course. Lucinda glanced over where Rose was pointing. Sure enough, the boy from Five was watching them, looking … well, maybe 'intrigued' was the right word. Certainly not impressed. The four of them weren't exactly a very impressive group.

Technically, they weren't even all a group. Percy had joined them at the dagger station the day before, but he'd made it clear he wasn't looking for a group to work with during the Games – just some company during training. Part of her hoped he would change his mind once the Games started. He seemed like a decent kid, if a bit nervous, and it didn't seem right for him to be alone in the Games.

Of course, the Games always ended with someone being alone. No matter how strong an alliance was, it never lasted forever. Even if it lasted until near the end of the Games, only one person made it out alive. Just one. That meant that all three of the others – all three of these kids – would have to die if she wanted to make it home. It wasn't fair.

"Who cares if he's watching us?" Aloe asked with a shrug. "The more time he spends staring at us, the less time he spends training, right?"

"Maybe," Rose agreed. "But what if he's trying to decide whether we'd make a good target?"

Lucinda shook her head. She couldn't place it, but something in the boy's expression made her think that wasn't what he was doing. She clapped Rose on the shoulder. "I'll be right back." Then, before she could talk herself out of it, she headed over to the boy from Five. "Dario, right?"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"I'm Lucinda. Rose noticed you watching us. Want to come join us?"

"What?"

"Not necessarily join us, I mean. I just thought … well, if you want someone to train with. You looked a bit lonely."

The boy crossed his arms. "Lonely?"

"Yeah. Just a bit. We were planning to try the obstacle course a few more times, so we'll be right over there if you want to give it a try. No pressure. Just … figured I'd offer." She turned and headed back towards the others.

"What were you thinking?" Percy hissed when she got closer. "You saw what he did to his escort. You really think he wants to train with us?"

Lucinda shrugged. "I don't know. It didn't look like anyone else really wanted to train with him, either."

Rose shook her head. "Yeah, because he beat up his escort."

Lucinda nodded. "You're right. It was probably a silly idea. Ready to get back to work?" She nodded towards the obstacle course.

"Ready when you are," Aloe agreed.

"Ready," Percy echoed.

Rose nodded. "Ready."

"Ready," came a voice from behind them.


Dario Baretti, 18
District Five

There was no harm in playing along for a little while, at least. Dario glanced back at the others as they raced through the obstacle course. All of them were falling behind – even more than he'd expected. They were younger than him, smaller than him, scrawny and malnourished. They were just kids, and in a few days he might end up having to kill them.

It shouldn't bother him, he knew. He'd killed before, when Mr. Baretti had given the order. When intimidation or blackmail hadn't worked, and they'd needed to set an example. But this was different. These kids hadn't done anything to him – or to anyone. They'd simply had the bad luck to be reaped – most of them, at least. Most of them didn't want to be here any more than he did. And in a few days, they would have to die.

But maybe he didn't have to be the one to kill them.

It was an unfamiliar thought, really. He'd never had any say in who he went after before. Mr. Baretti gave the orders, and he followed them. It was simple. It was tidy. But now … now he had a choice. A choice about who he would kill, and who he would help.

Well, not help, really. Not permanently, at least. You couldn't help someone forever in the Games. But for a little while … maybe. Yes, maybe that was the right idea. Wade had said something on the train about needing to change the Capitol's image of him, and what could be better for changing his image than working with a group of younger kids who would need protecting? For a little while, at least. Long enough for the Capitol to decide that attacking his escort had been a one-off thing, that they didn't need to make a target – an example– out of him.

He could play that game.

Dario turned around as he reached the end of the obstacle course. One by one, the others slowly joined him, panting and exhausted. The girl who had introduced herself as Lucinda clapped one of the younger girls on the back. "Hey, that was faster than last time. Nice work."

The girl smiled. "Thanks. You, too." Then she looked up at Dario. "You sure blew us out of the water, huh?"

Dario shrugged. "Longer legs." They all knew it was more than that, of course. He was older, yes, but he was also in better shape, because he'd had a better life. As harsh as Mr. Baretti was sometimes, he'd never failed to provide Dario with plenty of food, a warm bed, time to rest – luxuries these four probably didn't have.

Lucinda straightened up a little, still catching her breath. "Dario, this is Rose. And this is Aloe and Percy."

"Rose," Dario repeated.

Rose nodded. "Like the flower."

"I have a sister named Petunia," Dario said quietly. "Like the flower."

Rose smiled. "Neat. I always wanted a sister. Or a brother."

"Me, too," Lucinda agreed. "How about you, Aloe?"

Aloe shrugged. "I've got two older brothers, but they're both married already. It'd be nice to have someone my own age."

"No siblings here, either," Percy chimed in. "It'd be nice, really … having someone."

Lucinda nodded. "Well, like I said, you're welcome to stay with us as long as you want." She turned to Dario. "And so are you, if you'd like. We'd be happy to have you."

Yes. Yes, they probably would. They probably would be happy to have someone looking out for them. And maybe he could – for a little while, at least. Dario felt the toy gun in his pocket. It would be almost like having Petunia there with him. There was no harm in staying with them for a little while. Dario nodded. "Then I'd be happy to join you."


Squirrel Tail, 18
District Nine

"So there's no training tomorrow," Squirrel repeated. "But the Games don't start yet?"

Malachi nodded. "Right. Tomorrow, you'll have a private session with the Gamemakers to show them what you've learned. They'll give us all scores from one to twelve. After that, there's the interviews."

"Are," Elemeno corrected. "There are interviews. 'Is' is singular; 'are' is plural."

"Thanks. There are interviews after that. You'll have a few minutes to answer questions, give the audience a reason to support you."

"Support me? How are they going to support me?"

"There are sponsors during the Games," Malachi answered patiently. "They can send you things – food, water, supplies, extra clothes, even weapons."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why would they want to do that? If twenty-three of us are going to die anyway, why send us things?"

Malachi cocked his head. "You know, I'm not exactly sure how that got started. Elemeno?"

"It was a response to the Career system, actually," Elemeno answered automatically, still pushing his food around his plate.

Squirrel cocked her head. "They wanted to help the Careers? Seems like they've got enough going for them already."

"Actually, it started as a way to help the other tributes," Elemeno corrected. "When the Careers first started volunteering, they won almost every time. They were better prepared, older, stronger, than all of the other tributes. They almost always took control of the cornucopia, which meant they had supplies while the other tributes struggled. So sponsors started sending the non-Careers supplies in order to level the playing field, so to speak."

"So people might sponsor us?" Squirrel asked.

"They might," Elemeno agreed. "Or they might not. Sometimes the Careers get sponsored now. Sometimes it's other tributes. It depends on who the audience likes."

"And what do they like?" Squirrel asked, confused.

Malachi shrugged. "It varies. But in general, they like a good story. They like tributes who are interesting, who do something unexpected. But not something rebellious," he added quickly.

Squirrel shook her head. Things just kept getting more and more confusing. The idea of fighting twenty-three other tributes to the death was bad enough, but they had to train with those other tributes for three days beforehand, learn about them, get to know some of them, and now it turned out that the audience got to play a part, too. "It's just a lot to keep track of," she said quietly. "There are so many rules."

Malachi nodded. "But only a few of those matter once you're in the Games. Tomorrow is about impressing the sponsors. After that, you just do whatever you can to survive. Stick with me and Elemeno, and we'll figure it out together."

Together. But they couldn't win together. That was part of the rules. There was only one winner. Which meant that eventually, they couldn't stick together. They would have to split apart or…

Or kill each other. Squirrel pushed her plate away. Maybe it was a good thing she hadn't gotten to know too many of the other tributes. She couldn't stand the thought of killing either of these two. She just hoped she wouldn't have to.


Whisper Collins, 16
District Ten

Whisper dodged another blow as the trainer swung his sword again. He, Arti, and Ebony were doing a fairly good job of keeping the trainer on his toes, but that was about it. The trainer showed no signs of slowing down, and Whisper could hear the other two breathing heavily, too. The next blow came a little too fast, and Whisper let out a grunt as the flat edge of the blade caught him on the thigh. The trainer hadn't struck him as hard as he could have, but it still stung. If this had been a real fight, he would be dead – or at least seriously incapacitated. Which, in the Games, was as good as dead.

If this was what it was really going to be like in the Games, it was probably a good thing he'd decided to stick with Arti and Ebony. He'd thought about going it alone, but when Arti had offered to work with him on the train, he'd figured working with one other person wouldn't be so bad. By the time Ebony had joined them, it had been a bit late to try to find anyone else. So it was either stay with these two or go it alone. And if training was proving anything, it was that going it alone wasn't such a great idea.

At least at the start. If working with the other two got to be too much, he could always leave later. Alliances always broke up eventually during the Games. But having someone to work with at the start, to help gather supplies and find food … well, that was probably a good idea.

Probably.

The trainer took a step back as Arti and Whisper helped Ebony to her feet. "Maybe you should go back to fighting each other," the trainer suggested.

Arti shook her head stubbornly. "We've been doing that since yesterday. We need to learn how to fight as a team if we're going to be able to fight some of the stronger tributes."

Or we could just not fight the stronger ones, Whisper thought. But he didn't say it. Arti had a point. No matter how much they might try to avoid the Careers or some of the other groups, that was no guarantee. Chances were good that they would eventually have to fight someone who was stronger than them. Picking and choosing their fights would only work for so long; eventually, all of the other tributes would have to die.

And if he wanted to go home, Arti and Ebony would also have to die. Whisper stretched his arms and picked up his sword again. Just because they would have to die didn't necessarily mean he would have to kill them. He would just have to make sure he left before it got to that point – kill or be killed. He would just have to make sure someone else killed them. At least that would be a little better.


Corin Palmer, 14
District Four

At least she was getting better. Corin forced a smile as Sebastian helped her up again. They'd spent a good part of the last three days sparring with various weapons, trying to make sure she had a feel for anything she might have to handle in the arena. The Careers usually got their pick of the weapons that were available, but there was no telling whether the Gamemakers might decide to switch things up by only putting certain types of weapons in the cornucopia. It didn't happen very often, but it wasn't out of the question, so it was best to be prepared for anything.

And after three days of training, she was about as prepared as she was going to get. Sebastian clapped her on the back as the whistle blew for the end of training. "That was good. You're getting a lot better at this."

Corin straightened her outfit as the pair of them headed for the elevator. "You mean that?"

"Yeah. You're a fast learner, and you've got quite a knack. Honestly, given a couple years of training, you could've been a full-fledged Career."

Corin bit her lip. He'd meant it as a compliment, of course. At least, he probably had. But that just made it even more of a reminder of just how unprepared she really was. No matter how much of a 'knack' he thought she had, three days of training just couldn't compete with the years that Sebastian and Octavia had.

Still, at least they seemed to be the only ones who were properly trained. She'd been watching the others when she got the chance, and Opal didn't seem much more prepared than she was. Quint wasn't even trying to hide the fact that they didn't know what they were doing. As soon as Octavia had told them to practice something they didn't know, Quint had headed straight for one of the simple knife stations. And Lark … well, he was certainly one of the stronger outer-district tributes, but that didn't mean he knew what he was doing with weapons.

All in all, most of them weren't any more prepared than she was, but she wasn't entirely sure whether that was a good thing or a bad one. On the one hand, it might make her less of a target if there were other members of the pack who were just as inexperienced. On the other hand, having only a couple of well-trained Careers might mean the pack was vulnerable. If another strong group of tributes tried to take them out, they might actually be able to do it.

None of the other groups really seemed to be that large, though. For the most part, the other tributes had split off into groups of two or three, although there were a couple who still seemed to be working alone. There was one larger group of mostly younger tributes, but they didn't seem too interested in attacking anyone; they'd spent a lot of time at the survival stations and the obstacle course. If they had any sense, they would be trying to avoid a fight with the Careers. Corin just hoped the other groups would do the same.


Fabrion Morrison, 16
District Eight

"You invited who to join your group?" Isaac groaned. "What were you thinking?"

Lucinda rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. "I … I don't know. He just didn't seem like he wanted to be alone, but also seemed like he didn't want to ask, you know? Or maybe didn't know how to ask. So I figured, where's the harm?"

Isaac shook his head. "The harm is that he attacked his escort. And by inviting him into your group, you're basically saying you don't care about that."

Lucinda shrugged. "Maybe I don't. Maybe I would've done the same thing if it was my last year and I was frustrated that I'd gotten picked. I don't know."

Fabrion shook his head. She wouldn't have. It wouldn't have mattered if Lucinda was a day away from being nineteen and the escort had made fun of her mother. She still wouldn't have attacked an old man – no more than she would attack any of the kids she'd insisted on befriending. Inviting Dario might have been a bad idea, but at least he had something to offer the group. The others were just little kids.

He didn't say anything, though. He didn't need to. Isaac was making his point well enough on his own. "You know, at first I thought maybe your strategy was to just fly under the radar. Team up with a couple of twelve and thirteen year olds, try not to seem like too much of a threat. But then you go and pull something like this." He turned to Fabrion. "And what about you? Still planning on going solo?"

Fabrion nodded. "Worked well enough for you."

Isaac finally cracked a smile. Score. "All right. You both know what you're showing the Gamemakers tomorrow?"

"Build a fire and show off some knife skills," Fabrion answered immediately. "Figured I'd aim for a low-to-medium score, try not to draw too much attention."

"Should be manageable," Isaac agreed. "Lucinda?"

"Rose, Aloe, and I figured we'd coordinate – someone shows off weapons skills, someone shows off plant skills, someone demonstrates shelter-building. Show our group is well-rounded, that sort of thing. Rose figured she'd be best with the plants."

Isaac nodded. "And you're showing off weapons?"

Lucinda shook her head. "Aloe wanted to do that. I'm building a shelter."

Isaac rolled his eyes. "You don't think it might be a good idea to have the older tribute demonstrate weapons?"

Lucinda shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Isaac considered that for a moment before shaking his head. "Actually, probably not. Like Fabrion said, probably better not to score too high, anyway. Make yourselves less of a target. What about Percy and Dario?"

"Percy's still planning to go it alone in the Games, I think. And if Dario's planning to show off some weapons skills, it probably doesn't matter whether Aloe gets a high score there or not."

Fabrion nodded. She was right about that, at least. As much of a liability as Dario might be, he was certain to earn the Gamemakers' attention. But was their attention really something she wanted?

Fabrion kept his mouth shut, but he met Isaac's gaze and shrugged a little. It didn't really matter what Lucinda did, who she invited into her group. Once the Games started, they both knew he was the better candidate. And by the time the other tributes knew it, it would be too late.


All right, that's a wrap on training! Here's where alliances currently stand:

Of Course We're (Mostly) Careers: Opal, Octavia, Quint, Corin, Sebastian, Lark

Fixing Grammar and Scythes: Squirrel, Malachi, Elemeno

Let's See What Happens: Arti, Whisper, Ebony

(Maybe) I'll Save You For Last: Fermi, Hyde

Strength in Numbers and All That: Rose, Aloe, Lucinda, Dario

Maybe You Do Understand: Aurora, Vicarys

One Other Person Sounds Just About Right: Baoba, Nirel

Allies are a Liability: Fabrion

My Alter Ego Might Hurt You: Eddie

Too Fast For Allies: Percy


Also, just to clarify, alliances will almost certainly not stay this way once the Games begin, and are not being set up with anything in particular in mind other than which interactions I thought might be fun to write, as well as a suggestion or two from the submitters. Right now, I have no more idea how things are going to play out in the arena than you do; I'm not going to generate the Games until after I write the launch chapter. At this point, I'm just throwing enough alliance ideas at the wall that I'll have something to build off of once the Games start. If tributes have at least met during training, it makes team-ups mid-Games a bit less "this came out of nowhere." But as far as whether any of these plot threads are going anywhere, your guess is as good as mine.

*wanders off to generate who gets which POVs for the next four chapters*