Hey everyone! The poll said you guys wanted three chapters for the training, so here is the first one. Sorry for the long wait; finals and moving back into my house took up a lot of my time. I hope you all enjoy the chapter!
Sebastian "Seb" Cassara (18)- D7M
My first thought in the morning is of Alexis. Her name is one my lips when I wake up, and I can still see her face swimming in front of me. I promised her I would try to win, and I know what that entails, my father's face starting to appear in my head. I shake the thought away and breathe in deep before throwing my covers off.
Outside my window I see the city is still asleep, no cars racing along the streets or even any shops open. Our escort said that the Capitol only wakes up at around noon, but I didn't realize what exactly that meant until now. I stare out the window, wondering how it's even possible that so many people nothing to do and nowhere to go. In Seven, the lumberjacks will already have taken down a couple of trees by now, and the market will be up and thriving.
I dress in the clothes that the escort laid out for us last night. Training clothes. The black suit is made from a fancy material that I've never seen before, stretchy and light. It feels nice to wear, but I refuse to enjoy it. I need to get in the right headspace for the next three days. I can't let the other tributes know how my strengths or my weaknesses. Johanna said that we should learn as much as we can in this time period, but what does she know? She pretended not to know anything. And while I'm not stupid enough to try to pull the same stunt just five years later, I'm not going to reveal anything except to the Gamemakers.
Willow and Johanna are waiting for me in the dining room, where a lush breakfast is waiting for us. Willow is stretching in the middle of the room, either oblivious or unperturbed by Johanna watching her closely.
"Hey, Seb," she says when I enter, standing up straight. Some sweat is already lining her forehead. "Ready to train?"
"You can do what you want. I'm going to be sizing everyone up."
"You're going to size everyone up?" Willow rolls her eyes. "Please. You don't know anything about people."
"And you do?"
"I know something's bothering you," she says casually, bending down to touch her toes. "What is it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," I say slowly, starting to feel irritated. Willow can be annoying at times.
"Whatever. We'll find out soon enough how you do with weapons. I know what I'm going after. Knives!" Her eyes light up. "The perfect weapon. You can throw them, stab with them, defend yourself, and use for finding food…"
As she trails off, I try not to think about plunging a kitchen knife into my father's chest. I stuff another fruit pastry into my mouth and resolve to silence.
Jason Sparks (18)- D6M
The ride down to the Training Center is silent. Attie seems to have decided to stake out on her own, which is fine with me. I don't really want to be allied with a morphine peddler anyway. I from experience on the streets that they are flighty, selfish, and untrustworthy, and Attie seems all of the above. Her face is completely blank as we arrive at the Center
The room itself is huge, stocked with weapons of all shapes and sizes, as well as various survival stations that have their own full grown trees, nets and climbing stations hang from the ceiling, and simulations to practice our weapons skills are at the far wall. It's a Hunger Games' fan's fantasy.
I feel like I'm in the arena already as Attie and I migrate to where everyone is standing in a semi-circle around a Capitolite woman. Everyone takes their places according to their district and she begins to speak.
"My name's Atala. I'll be your trainer for the next three days. These training stations are designed to help you survive in the arena. I recommend you learn from every station and master as many skills as you can. In your private session with the Gamemakers, you will show off what you have learned to earn your training score, so work hard and learn while you still can."
The Careers are nodding vigorously, and Attie is staring around the room with calculating eyes. I don't like the way she looks at other people, so when Atala lets us loose, I immediately head towards the fire-making station.
The man is eager to teach, showing me how to make a fire in under a minute with nothing but some sticks, but I'm hardly paying attention, more interested in what everyone else is doing. To my surprise, Attie hasn't chosen to start with any weapons, but is at the knot-making station. The Careers are hogging the larger weapons, as expected, laughing and showing each other their skills. The boy from Two takes the heads off of several dummies with a broadsword while his district partner spears moving targets through the heart right beside him. They will make formidable opponents, but I can't help but wonder if it's a liability to reveal your strengths right away.
I spin a small twig in the palm of my hand as the girl from Four picks up a trident and throws it with muscular arms into a dummy's chest. It's buried deep into the body, and the other Careers whoop in celebration. She approaches her district partner, who is sitting away from the others, looking downcast, and possibly attempts to cheer him up. She throws her silky brown hair behind her back and snorts in laughter at something that he says. I can tell what angle she will be going for with the Capitol with her beauty and physique.
Her eyes stray to the rest of the room and land on me, and I turn away immediately. Some of the tributes may have pieced together that I have Peacekeeper training, and I don't want to make myself more of a target.
Tesla Sherman (16)- D3F
"That one," I say, pointing to a small green plant.
"Yes! Very good. You're a quick learner." The man in charge of the edible plants station gives me a smile. I wonder how many tributes he's trained before this. How many quick learners have died in the Games for his entertainment?
I pull the radish out of the ground. I've never seen one before, and it doesn't look very appetizing. But I suppose when I'm starving in the arena, I'll be thankful I know how to recognize them.
There's a thud from the other side of the room. Pixel has fallen off of the high point of the obstacle course, now sprawled on the ground and clutching at his knee. The trainers help him up and luckily he isn't hurt. I look away before he can meet my eyes. I've known he's a goner from the start, and now everyone knows it. I don't want to be associated with him any more than I already am.
"I'm going to set traps now," I tell the plants trainer, who looks a little surprised but lets me go nonetheless. If I really want to learn which plants are edible, I need to come back each day and test my memory. A little from each station each day. That's what's going to get me through to my victory.
The boy from Nine is at the trap station, but luckily he doesn't say much. The two of us work in silence, and he's surprisingly good at it. The trainer seems very impressed, and I can tell he's pleased with himself, so I go to the camouflage station where I won't be so easily overlooked. The painting is difficult, but I think I've gotten the hang of it by the time the girl from Eleven shows up. I recognize her as the one with a Capitol name and light skin that isn't typical of her district, and leave in disgust. I look around and realize I won't be able to work alone, so I try to find someone who isn't annoying. The girl from Six is at the knot-making station, every now and then glancing around the room. I can tell from the look in her eyes that she isn't looking for a conversation partner. As I approach, her eyes grow cold and she refocuses on her work, but doesn't leave. We work together in silence until I think I've learned everything I can, and I decide to try something else. I get up and brush off my knees, looking around for my next opportunity.
"My name's Attie, by the way," the girl says suddenly.
I glance down at her and force a smile on my face. "I'm Tesla." With nothing else to offer to her, I turn away and head towards the knives. It's a popular weapon, so the line is plenty long, but I'm willing to wait.
Hadrian Cato (18)- D2M
Tiger is trying his hand at the broadsword, only hitting about half of the aiming points. It's not bad, but still not as good as Tiffany and I. He is ruthless with a throwing axe though, hitting the mark almost every time. It's quite impressive, I must say, but his sword skills could use some work.
"You need to adjust your grip," I say.
He glares at me. "My grip is fine."
"Whatever," I roll my eyes. He's been acting weird towards me ever since last night. I don't know what's gotten into him, but we have bigger problems to attend to. Most pressing is the issue of Drew. No one wants to say it, but we can't have a blind man in our alliance. I hope I'm not the one who has to break the news to him, but it might come down to that. Nikki and Tiffany keep giving him special treatment and helping him around, as if he actually stood a chance here.
Luckily, no one seems to have noticed his predicament, mostly due to the fact that he's been sitting in the same place for most of the morning. The other tributes must think he's either really confident or starting to give up.
"He's right," Tiffany says, wiping some sweat from her forehead. It doesn't mess up her makeup though, which is perfectly applied and apparently glued to her face. "Your grip is too loose. And your hands are too far apart.
Tiger huffs, throwing the sword to the ground. Rufina picks it up, seemingly unaffected by the scene, until she turns and shoots me a pointed look and mimes hanging herself. I stifle a grunt and try to seem nonchalant as I sidle over to Tiffany. She strings her bow and lets the arrow fly, missing the target by a hair. The next one is closer to the middle, probably a decent hit if the target was a real person.
"Hey, do you know what's up with Tiger?" I ask her. As his district partner, she would know better than anyone.
"No. He's always a bit of a grump so don't worry."
"He seems more of a grump toward me than anyone else."
"I'm sure it's fine," Tiffany huffs, turning to me. "Are you just going to stand there or are we going to practice?"
I grumble under my breath and wander over to where NIkki and Drew are standing near the knives station. The girl from Seven is trying her hand at them, some of them even hitting the targets.
"What's going on?" I ask Nikki, ignoring Drew as he perks up at the sound of my voice.
"They aren't going to fix Drew's vision," she says under her breath.
I try to seem surprised. "That's too bad."
She nods, eyes following the knives that are flying through the air. She glances at Drew, frowning a little and sighing. I can tell she wants to get away from him and show the other tributes what she's made of, but she doesn't want to leave him where anyone could find out that he's blind. I kind of understand; it's a little embarrassing for her to be associated with a blind district partner, especially when you're a Career. Good thing it's her problem and not mine.
The girl from Five steps up to the knives and throws off entirely off course, her ears turning red. I laugh unabashedly, ignoring Nikki's raised eyebrow.
"I want to try," Drew says.
"What?" "What?"
Nikki and I exclaim at the same time.
"Relax," he says, his eyes staring past me strangely. "I used to be good at it before…"
He trails off, perhaps unwilling to say it.
"Drew, I'm not sure if that's a good-"
A loud bell rings around the room, signaling to us that it's time for lunch.
"Thank God," I hear Nikki say as she drags Drew behind her. I sigh as I watch. It's time for us to drop some dead weight.
Filly Marcoffe (18)- D10F
Denver and I sit alone at the edge of the room, watching the rest of the tributes. Denver is nervously munching on his roasted ham, fear filling his eyes.
"Don't worry about them," I whisper to him. "They're just as scared of you as you are of them."
"Not them" he nods toward the Careers, who are laughing together in the center of the room.
"They're just trying to intimidate us," I tell him as the boy from One picks something out of his teeth with his knife. His muscles bulge as he stretches behind him. "There's no use in worrying about them. We have to focus on ourselves."
"I know," Denver says quietly, fingering the necklace that his sister gave him. I notice him watching the tributes from Four, who have been interesting me as well. They don't seem too keen on bonding with their alliance, staying quiet and eating slowly. The boy in particular has been acting strangely, barely eating and seeming shaky on his feet. His eyes have an odd, faraway look. I wonder if it's a symptom of his eye problem and shrug. It's not my problem anyway. Hopefully Four's disregard for their allies will lead to their early deaths.
Denver's eyes are now on the pair from Seven, who are also sitting together and silently taking stock of everyone in the room. I try not to reprimand him and just eat my food. He isn't the best ally I could have, but I don't trust any of the other tributes. At least I know Denver won't stab me in the back. He would be too afraid.
We've been doing the best we can in training, but we have different ideas of how we should spend our time. I've been living with animals my entire life, and I've always had to know which plants are edible and how to tie knots, make traps, and dress wounds. Survival skills are certainly not my weakness, and I need weapons training if I want to win this thing. On the other hand, Denver is too terrified to try his hand at any of the weapons stations, and sticks to the simple survival ones. I can tell he's starting to lose hope. He doesn't deserve to die, none of us do. I try not to think about it. There's nothing I can do now except try to save myself.
"After this, I want to try some weapons," I tell him, his eyes widening. "You don't have to go with me, but we need to know how to defend ourselves."
"I know," he's practically trembling with fear, but something hardens in his eyes. "I'll do it too."
Sock Northsilk (12)- D8F
Lunch ends in a flash, and soon Tag and I are back in the Training Center. I string my bow and pull it back, wincing as the tension puts a strain on my arm. I aim the best I can and let loose, the arrow hitting the dummy on the shoulder. It's not a great hit, but not a bad one either. It would definitely incapacitate an enemy.
"What do you think?" I ask Tag. I glance over to him and see he's watching the pair from Five climb the obstacle course. The boy seems pretty adept at jumping over the obstacles and climbing the ropes, but the girl is falling behind a little. Her foot catches on a bump in the course and she stumbles a little, but finishes within the time allotted.
"We need to learn how to do that," Tag says. "Running from an enemy is important to survival."
"I'm not going to run," I say sharply. "We face our enemies head-on."
"That's a good way to get killed," Tag says, sounding amused. "Trust me. We need to round out our skillset."
"Alright," I relent. We've been doing what I want the entire morning, so I guess I should let him take charge for a little while. I have a hunch that even if I didn't agree, I would find myself coerced into doing it anyway. Tag doesn't strike me as a someone to look over in this competition. Despite our ages, we will make a formidable pair in the arena.
I wonder, not for the first time, if Tag's weak reaction at the Reaping was all an act. His confidence and cleverness doesn't match the nation's first impression of him, and I guess I'll find out what his strategy is during his interview with Caesar Flickerman.
We get in line for the obstacle course, Tag going first. He finishes the monkey bars easily and climbs up the rope surprisingly well, but on the way down he slips and falls onto the floor. I gasp and run to him, carefully kneeling beside him. He's grabbing his shoulder in pain, his dyed purple fringe covering most of his face.
"Already breaking his bones before I get the chance to," the boy from Two jokes loudly from across the room, much to the amusement of his partner, who snorts.
"Is that why you need to train your whole life?" Tag snaps suddenly, sitting up without pain. "Because you're so scared of two twelve-year olds that you have to taunt them and assure them you're going to kill them?"
"Alright, everyone, calm down," Atala interjects, her and another trainer circling Tag and I. She gently feels Tag's shoulder as the Careers scoff and walk away, back to their weapons. Everyone in the room is looking at us.
"I'll be fine," Tag says, pulling his arm away. "Let me try again. Sometimes you have to fall to learn what not to do."
Rooker Holm (13)- D12M
I try not to give the Careers any attention and focus on my training, but it's hard when the girl from Two is behind me, sighing impatiently and tapping her foot. I throw the spear again, pleased when the point buries itself into the dummy's stomach. I"m getting better, and my chances of survival are increasing.
The girl behind me chuckles softly. I ignore her and grab another spear, this one missing the target entirely. I try not to be discouraged, picking up yet another and throwing it. This time it impales the dummy's leg. The trainer keeps telling me that my aim is too low, but I can't fix it no matter how much I try.
"It's my turn," the girl, Rufina, says behind me. I can tell by the tone of her voice that it isn't a suggestion, but I know the other tributes won't take me seriously if I'm a pushover. I pick up another spear and raise it up, beginning to aim when it is suddenly snatched out of my hand and thrown over my shoulder, hitting the bull's eye perfectly. I gasp and start to tremble, trying not to show my fear.
"Everyone has to wait their turn," the trainer says uncomfortably, stepping forward.
"It is my turn," Rufina hisses angrily.
Suddenly there's a crash as the boy from Eight falls from the obstacle course. I quietly watch the exchange between him and Hadrian, then put down the spears and move on to the archery station.
"The young ones are starting to get on my nerves," Rufina says angrily, tossing a spear over her shoulder and hitting the target dead-on again. "I can't wait until I can spear one of them. It's going to feel good to finally bleed them."
"Tell me about it," Hadrian says darkly.
Rufina's eyes turn sharply to me and I turn away. I need to focus on me, nothing else. I pull the bowstring back and let it loose, the arrow flying past the dummy completely. Rufina snorts in dersion, so I string another one and carefully aim, taking deep breaths. I imagine Gaia is watching me, like she will be in the actual Games. Her blue eyes are watching my face. I can hear her saying, Oh, Rooker. I don't think you can do it. Do you need my help?
Not now, Gaia. I can protect myself.
I let the arrow fly. It hits the target, though not directly on the bull's eye. I still glance back at Rufina triumphantly. She's glaring at me, and makes a slashing motion over her own throat before pointing at me. I gulp back my fear. I can do this myself. For Gaia.
Tiffany Silk (18)- D1F
My sword swings right into the neck of my victim, chopping the head off part-way. I swing the other direction and impale the point into the chest of another dummy. I wipe the sweat off of my forehead and admire my work. The other tributes aren't going to stand a chance against me. And my allies… aren't exactly victor material.
After Hadrian was needlessly mean to that twelve-year old from Eight, he's been sulking around all day. Drew is useless, even though I am sympathetic to his plight. Nikki seems to have no interest in anyone, sticking to herself and Drew, working on her trident skills. Rufina has some potential, and so does Tiger, but they're not serious enough about this. I knew that about Tiger from the start. It's always been about proving his family wrong and not about the Games themselves.
I pluck my sword out of the target and place it back on the shelf, leaving it for the boy from Eleven. His eyes are green and watch me sharply, without fear. I remember how he had pushed the Reaping ball of off the stage at his ceremony and roll my eyes at him. There's no need to be so disrespectful to everyone in Panem. So ungrateful.
"Alright, everyone, let's round it up for the day!" Atala calls to us. Tiger finishes his last lap around the center and jogs over to me.
"Are you ready to go?" I ask him. I'm ready to take a nice relaxing bath in our giant tub after our first tough training day. I don't have much to learn, but my allies have been testing my patience.
"Not yet," Tiger says. "We're meeting one last time before the day is over. To kick out Drew."
"Thank god."
Nikki and Drew are waiting for us near the tridents. The other tributes walk past us, giving us short glances of fear and anger. Hadrian and Rufina join us soon after. Rufina clears her throat, nodding to Tiger and I. Tiger raises an eyebrow and I shake my head. There's no way I can tell Drew we don't want him in our alliance. I feel bad for him; it's not his fault that his eyes don't work, but we can't be responsible for him anymore.
"What's going on?" Drew asks, his eyes staring at nothing.
"I'll tell him," Hadrian says shortly. "Drew, you're out."
"What?"
"You're out of the alliance," Tiger supplies, giving Hadrian a strange side-eye.
"You can't do that," Drew gasps. "I can still fight!"
"No, you can't," Rufina says, not even looking at him. "Sorry. Let's go."
Her and Hadrian leave without so much as a look back. Nikki rolls her eyes at Tiger and I. "Thanks for leaving me with him," she says, grabbing Drew's arm and pulling his away.
"I feel bad," I whisper to Tiger as we make our way out of the Training Center. "I mean, he's been training his whole life for this just like us."
"I know, but that doesn't matter," Tiger says. "He's going to die anyway."