Under the Tribute Quarters is the Training Center, where we're given two-and-a-half days to prepare for the Games. That's where we are now—

Well, that's where we would be if the elevator was responding, Levina and I wait next to it with our escort Auderia, a plump little woman with more than just a few too many ornaments. She glances at her watch and complains about how the elevator is making us late for training and how the stupid gadgets are malfunctioning this year and how those stupid Districto mechanics can't get anything done.

Levina rolls her clear brown eyes that seem to sparkle and reflect light, much like our costumes yesterday (which would be a false analogy considering the ugliness of the costumes). It seems like the more I look at her, the more I realize how attractive she is. Not that I have any interest; I just hope they won't force her to use it as an asset.

"What should we do when we get down there?" Levina says.

I pause to consider. "What skills do we have? What skills do we need?"

She pauses to think. "I'm pretty good at wires and batteries. I almost burned down my school playing with them in elementary school."

Auderia's jaw drops. "They let you play with what? Poor dear!"

I can't help but smile. "I'm good with shelter. After enough experiences with bad shelter, you learn how to make a safe one."

"Then we could focus on… edible plants? I don't know anything about them."

"Sounds like a plan."

The doors eventually open. We join a lanky girl, a young boy, and their escort, who immediately strikes up a conversation with Auderia. Momentarily, my eyes meet the boy's haunting black eyes. He's the only one I remember from the Reaping recaps. The sun seemed to wash out all the colors, leaving everything in a haze of orange, especially the little boy from the thirteen-year-old section that looked even more helpless against the backdrop of the dusty Town Square. I don't have a right to judge—I'm only two years older than he is—yet he looks so small, so harmless, so… dead.

"Five," I say, referring to my district.

"Ten."

The doors open to reveal the spacious Training Room, where everyone else is already scattered around at the various stations. Auderia leaves us, muttering about "stupid elevators" and "being late." The head trainer sets us loose after a quick overview of the purpose of the days of training.

Levina surveys the room. "I don't see an edible plants station…"

"You've got to be kidding!" I scan the stations as well. No edible plants. "I guess that means we either have an abundance of toxic plants or no plants at all."

She presses her lips together, confusion written on her face. "Then… I guess we start anywhere."

We find ourselves alone at First Aid. The trainer lends us a weak smile. "What would you like to learn?"

"Maybe… a general overview of common injuries," Levina says, "Anything that we need to watch for, really."

As the trainer begins his presentation, I visually wander the room. There are several clusters at the shelter, knot-tying, and burn treatment stations. Interesting that they have set burns apart from the rest of first aid. Surprisingly, the haunting-eyed boy is at the knives along with another cluster of tributes; he has more determination than I gave him credit for. Most of the tributes are at these stations. As for the weapons—

Levina nudges me. "Psst. Are you paying attention?"

I blink and refocus on the trainer, who is demonstrating how to bind a wound on a mannequin. "I was watching the others."

"This stuff might be useful."

"Knowing your enemy is always useful."

My eyes wander to the larger-weapon stations, where this year's group of trained tributes has already coalesced. Their leader appears to be the District Four Male—Tiberius Wharton—a tall, good-looking eighteen-year-old skilled with the spear and the sword. Is he staring at me? No, he's watching Levina. Something about that predatory stare just doesn't sit well with me…

Levina jabs me again. "What's up with you?"

"The DIstrict Four Male was staring right at us."

We both turn our heads to look, but Tiberius is now talking with the others, no longer watching us.

"Maybe you just happened to look up at the wrong time," Levina suggests, "C'mon; actually pay attention. If I get hurt I need you to know what to do."

Although I'm not convinced about Tiberius, I concur and refocus. The trainer is now demonstrating how to cauterize a wound, heating a knife up and then pressing it against the faux wound in one-to-two second bursts.

I wince. "Looks painful, even for the mannequin."

"You'll want to use painkillers or give the patient something to bite down on," the trainer says, "And don't forget to sterilize the blade. Forgetting to do so could result in infection."

I look at Levina. "Do you know how to start a fire?"

She shakes her head. "Not unless it's with batteries."

"Then to the fire-starting station?"

She smiles. "Only if you plan to learn it this time."

"Fine."

The only tribute left at the fire-starting station is a restless girl that looks older than me. Unlike us, her skin is tanned and she seems to be somewhat strong. When we approach, she looks up and watches us for a moment, her shoulders tense.

Levina smiles at her. "Hey. Do you mind if we join you?"

The girl relaxes a bit. "No. Go ahead."

Levina picks up a flint and steel while I study the instruction booklet. "Have you been here all morning?" Levina says.

"Nah," the girl replies, "I spent my morning learning how to use a sickle as a weapon, and I just wanted to check in and make sure I had my act together. It's kind of twisted, you know? I use sickles every day at home, but I've never really held one in my hands and considered using it as a weapon."

Levina nods. "You said you use a sickle every day?"

"Yes. I'm from District Nine. I'm Setaria, by the way."

"Levina, District Five. My partner is Aaran."

As the girls chat, I look inside the basket of rocks while reading the instructions on flint and steel. For flint, I'll need a hard rock, and for the steel, I grab a metal bar. So according to the instructions, I should strike the rock against the metal…

It doesn't seem to work for me. Do I hit them together? Rub them?

"You need help?"

I look up and see Setaria. "Well… yes."

She takes the rock and metal. "You need to do it faster and harder. Put some strength into it… like this… see?"

A spark flashes from the collision.

"But how do you get a fire?"

She grabs a bit of cotton. "Get something flammable and get the spark to catch the something on fire." She gets up. "I'll be moving on now. I'm trying not to waste any time here."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Once she's gone, I look to Levina. "You're awfully friendly."

She shrugs. "It can't hurt, can it? She might spare us now that she knows us."

"Doubt it. She might be nice now, but once we're in the arena, she'll become like all the rest. Home means more to her than we do."

"Still," she says, "It's still helpful to make people hesitant to kill us."

"But aren't you also becoming more hesitant to kill others?"

"Well…" She sighs. "I don't think I could've killed anyone in the first place unless they were about to kill me. Could you?"

I bite my lip. "I don't know. And I don't know if I should want to kill others or not."

A yelp grabs our attention. Over at the axes, a boy has just dropped his practice ax on his foot. Several of the trained group laugh, including Tiberias.

"What do you think of them?" I ask.

Levina studies them for a moment. "I get what you meant about the Four boy. He makes me nervous. District Two will die first."

"Why?"

"The the guy and girl from One loo close, and the Fours are working closely as well. But the Twos look alone. If anything goes wrong, they'll be the first to die."

"I… didn't think of that."

She smirks. "Knowing your enemy is always useful."

In that case, I'll have to keep my eyes open.

A/N Things are still a bit slow, but they're slowly picking up. I dropped so many hints in this chapter ;). Be sure to let me know what you think! MY writing is still a bit rusty; I could definitely use any advice you have.

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