Author's Note
I do not own the Hunger Games.
d7f
They take her direct to a hovercraft at the train station and she tries to think of what she knows.
She comes up with nothing.
She feels like she's wasted these last few weeks.
She could have practised with an axe, taken a few runs – but instead she'd spent her time reading in the library and doing homework with her friends.
She couldn't have known this was coming.
She stares up at the hovercraft and wonders how long it will take for them to reach the arena.
She wonders who will cut her down.
d9m
He doesn't see his District partner until he's aboard the hovercraft. The Peacekeepers leave them alone, locking them in guest quarters and marching out.
They stand there in silence for a moment, and then she speaks.
"Are you looking for allies?"
"Are you?"
Twenty minutes later he feels the hovercraft come to life and take off.
They don't trust each other, but they won't see the other tributes until they arrive in the arena.
They have no choice.
d4m
His District partner is his best shot at an ally right now, but she's tiny.
"How old are you?" he asks.
"Twelve," she replies.
Twelve.
His District partner is fucking twelve.
What is he meant to do with that?
Maybe the other Career Districts will be in the same situation. He won't even know what their tributes look like until they get into the arena. That's why he wanted an alliance with his District partner.
But twelve?
She's going to be the youngest tribute in the arena.
"I can still stab a bitch," she says helpfully.
He smiles.
Maybe this can work out.
d12m
His District partner won't stop crying. It's grating on his nerves, but there's nothing he can do. He paces the guest quarters like a caged animal. They're small but plush, furnished with all the things they don't have in Twelve.
He could have a better chance this year. There's no preparation, all the other tributes are going to be in the same situation.
He sits down next to his District partner. "Hey."
She swallows a sob and blinks wetly at him. "What?"
"You want an alliance?"
d1m
There are plenty of kids in One that would have killed for an opportunity like this.
His District partner looks like she's one of them.
He's not.
He's never set foot in an academy; he's never wanted to. If he won his family would be rich, but if he died they lost his income. So now he sits and waits and thinks of his family back home. The ring burns heavy in his pocket.
His District partner looks at him. "So are we allies?"
He doesn't really know what to say.
She might be able to drive a knife through someone's heart, but he doesn't know if he can.
d7m
He's been working amongst the trees for years, strong and fit.
He's already trying to work out what he needs to do.
He's banking on everyone else being scared and confused; he's banking on everyone else being as lost as he is. He needs to get a weapon, an axe, he needs to get supplies, water.
He needs to run for the cornucopia.
He needs to enter the Bloodbath.
He'd like an ally, but his District partner is a townie, small and hunched over, staring at the floor.
It doesn't matter.
He sits and waits.
d10f
They spend an uncomfortable night on the hovercraft, her in one bunk and him in the other. Food is served on an automatic buffet and they see no other people but each other.
At least she knows she won't be the youngest.
She's lost track of time by the time the hovercraft lands, and the Peacekeepers march them out. She gets a glimpse of other tributes being marched from another two hovercrafts before they're marched across the shining silver hall and through a set of heavy doors.
She tells herself to breathe.
There have been fourteen year old Victors before.