Hi, everyone! Here's some info before we start: since we've almost got to the most important part- namely the arena- I've decided to give priority to this story, in the sense that I'm going to upload more chapters in a row than usual (not many chapters though, maximum 2 or 3). Don't worry, I won't forget about Divine Punishment, I will just update it less frequently. I take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported me so far, you are fantastic! Please, stay tuned!
Now, let's move to the second day of training! Enjoy your reading :)
Third day in the Capitol
Tartan Dye (13)- District 8 male tribute
The Painter
I start coughing. I've got an awful sore throat. I cover my mouth with both my hands, hoping that it will stop soon. I feel a sharp pain also in my chest and in my back. When I finally stop coughing, I uncover my mouth, trying to catch my breath. But every breath is torture. At some point, I look at my hands. I freeze. They're blood stained! Consumption, the plague of my family! No, please, I cannot get sick now, I have to fight! I rush to the bathroom to wash my hands, but it doesn't work, those blood stains are still there, no matter how much water I use…
… I wake up! I'm in bed, in my room, in Capitol City. My body is covered in sweat. I look at my hands. They're clean. No blood, no pain. It was just a nightmare.
Autumn enters the room. "Tartan, is everything okay? I heard you moan," she says in a gentle tone.
"Just a bad dream," I explain.
She sits on my bed. "Wanna talk about it?"
"No, thanks. Nothing important, really."
"Okay. I'll expect you for breakfast, then," she replies, smiling.
"Erm… you go, I'm not that hungry this morning. Yesterday's dinner hasn't sat well on my stomach," I say.
"Sometimes, a heavy dinner may cause a fitful sleep," she points out.
"I don't know, I'm not accustomed to heavy dinners," I rebut with a shrug.
She looks down in response, feeling clearly uncomfortable. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"
I bite my lip. I'm such an idiot!
"No, it's me who should apologize… I talked nonsense! I'm really sorry, Autumn!"
She stands up. "No, you're right, I shouldn't brag about my family's wealth."
"But you didn't…"
"Don't worry, Tartan, it's okay," she interrupts me and then leaves me alone.
I flop down on my bed. I feel so stupid now! Autumn has always been kind to me, like a sort of protective, older sister, and I treat her like that!? She has decided to ally with me, even though I'm not the best ally she could find... I mean, she's the daughter of a victor! I'm pretty sure she could join even the Careers! I wonder why she chose me. Out of pity? Maybe. Out of district pride? Who knows? In any case, I don't want to be a burden.
Anyway, the best thing that I can do now is getting ready for another training day. I have a quick shower to sweat off my body. When I'm finished, I wear my training outfit. I cross the dining room and greet Gemini and Miranda, who are, however, too busy flirting to reply. I take the lift along with Autumn, then. She doesn't seem neither offended nor sad, she just smiles as always.
"I'd like to try different stations today," I say just to break the ice.
She nods in response. "I'll follow you."
When the doors of the lift open, I head immediately to what they call "Arena Simulator" along with Autumn. I don't know exactly how it works, but I'm curious to find it out. Unfortunately, we get there exactly at the same time as one of the Careers: the boy from District 1. He certainly wants to try first… but no, he bows instead. What?
"Ladies first!" he says, mimicking the Capitolite accent… but his imitation is so clunky that I cannot help chuckling.
"Nice imitation," comments Autumn, who's trying not to laugh.
"Yeah… I'm ridiculous, am I not?" he replies, scratching behind his ear.
At this point, the instructor assigned to this station clears her throat and starts explaining: "This is the Arena Simulator. It makes use of virtual reality to simulate different kinds of situation in which you might find yourself once in the arena. You just need to sit there, select the conditions you want from this computer, wear this VR headset, and the simulation will start. During the simulation, you'll wear seatbelts. That's just a security precaution: people tend to imitate what they do in the simulation with their real bodies, and we don't want you to get hurt. Any questions?"
No one answers.
"Very well, then. Who's first?"
"Madame," says the boy, addressing Autumn.
"It's Tartan who's interested in this station," she replies.
"May I go first, then?" I ask him with a hint of hesitation in my voice.
"Of course," he answers with a smile.
His smile seems friendly and genuine… maybe he's not kidding me.
I sit down and start looking at the computer menu. There are basically four kinds of condition you need to set before starting: type of situation, arena (you have to choose one of the past arenas), day/night, and weather. Here's what I choose:
- Type of situation: bloodbath (which is what scares me the most)
- Arena: arena of the 98th Hunger Games- frozen landscape with geysers
- Day/night: day
- Weather: clear
I fasten the seatbelts and put on the VR headset. Some writing appears before my eyes: SIMULATION LOADING. Once the loading is done, I immediately find myself on a pedestal. All around me, a frozen wasteland. The simulation is so realistic that I can even feel cold. There are other pedestals in a circle about the golden cornucopia. On each pedestal, a tribute. They reconstruct the physiognomies of past tributes for these simulations, I suppose. Quite impressive. In the meantime, the countdown has already begun.
I take a deep breath. Okay, calm down, this is NOT the real bloodbath!
When the gong eventually sounds, I jump off my pedestal and rush to the nearest backpack I see. I kneel down to grab it, hoping to find a weapon in it. I'm still rummaging in it, when I suddenly feel a sharp pain in my back. Someone has just stabbed me! I didn't think I would feel pain even in a simulation! I keel over on the ground.
This is just a simulation, this is just a simulation…
I look up and I see who's stabbed me. It's… no, it can't be… it's my brother! How cruel!
"Denim…" I whisper, stretching my hand out to touch him… but everything goes dark again.
Another writing appears: YOU DIED. SIMULATION OVER.
…...
Kyle Whiteswan (17)- District 1 male tribute
The Empathetic
While Tartan is trying the Arena Simulator, I wait for my turn alongside his district partner, Autumn. She's the child of a victor… like me. I feel the need to talk to her about this fact to know how she deals with it. But I don't know if she shares this desire. After all, tributes from the outer districts tend to mistrust Careers… not that I can blame them. But it's worth a shot, right? I see nothing wrong with conversing.
"Your parents must be proud of you, you're following their footsteps," says Autumn, thus anticipating me.
How could she do it?
"And now you're asking yourself how I could know that you wanted to talk about our parents," she adds with a smile.
"Precisely," I admit.
"It's not always easy… I mean, knowing that my father had to kill in order to survive… but I'll find myself in the same situation soon, so no need to dwell on that. Anyway, since you're a Career, you may think otherwise, or maybe not."
It feels like she knows my true feelings towards the Hunger Games, but I don't know whether I should be relieved or scared. Is it safe to expose myself right now? Or would I better keep silent?
"It's not easy even for a Career like me. It depends on the person, I suppose," I say.
A neutral reply, I hope.
"You don't need to play the strong Career with me, Mr. Whiteswan. I watched your Reaping; you didn't let that boy volunteer for you not because you wanted to be in the Games, but because you wanted to save his life. You're a good guy, in the end," she points out.
"If you know me so well, then call me Kyle. Mr. Whiteswan is my father. Apparently, you're good at reading people," I reply, smiling.
"I'm an actress, I can understand when people pretend. But don't worry, I won't say anything to your allies. I don't think they would believe me. Anyway, a little tip: when you play a character that is different from your true self, you need to play it fully. I mean, you cannot let your true feelings betray you, you need even to think as that character. Basically, you should be a different person while playing," she explains.
"Uh… thank you."
Suddenly, Tartan takes off the VR headset. He unfastens the seatbelts with shaking hands. He looks rather shocked. What did he see in the simulation to react like that?
"Hey, Tartan. You okay?" Autumn addresses him in a worried tone.
He doesn't say anything in response, he just runs away.
"Tartan!" she shouts.
I follow him instinctively. He has crawled up in a ball in one corner. He's crying. I kneel down beside him, one hand on his back. He winces at my touch. He looks at me with his reddish eyes.
"W-what… what do you want? If you want to kill me, do it now! It was… it was a tribute from your district who killed him! Why don't you get rid of the remaining brother?" he stammers, while sobbing.
"What did you see in the simulation?" I ask him.
"I-I know he couldn't be there, but… he s-seemed so real…"
"You saw your brother, didn't you?" says Autumn, who has just joined us.
She's standing behind my back. Tartan nods in response.
"He lost his brother in the Games of last year *," she whispers to me.
I feel bad for him. He had to watch his brother die in a horrible way, and in addition he was forced to relive this painful memory in the simulation. How can Gamemakers be so heartless? What's the point of raging on him? He's a tribute in the Hunger Games, isn't that enough? I cannot speak my mind too openly, but I can at least try to make Tartan feel better.
"The Games are cruel in all their parts, but, if your brother was here, he wouldn't want to see you like that, he would want you to fight for your life," I say in a gentle tone.
If I want to win, all my fellow tributes have to die, but how could I live with this knowledge? How could I live knowing that my victory costed the blood of innocent children like Tartan? Maybe I should follow Autumn's advice: I should wear a mask and hide my true feelings behind it, even though this wouldn't prevent me from feeling the same about the Games… but at least appearances would be kept, and that's what matters, right? Only the show matters.
…...
Tobias Jackson (13)- District 11 male tribute
The Breadwinner
The casserole we have today for lunch is delicious. It is so soft that it melts in my mouth. This is heaven. Both Maya and I are eating like tomorrow doesn't exist. We are clearly not accustomed to such abundance of food. If our escort could see us right now, she would probably scold us, because we haven't got what she calls "table manners" at all. Actually, she gave us a lecture on that on the train- how to behave at table, which cutlery to use, and so on- but it was so boring! I mean, if one spends half of their life starving, what's the point of table manners? But Capitolites haven't got this problem, right? They live in luxury. This huge gap between the Capitol and the districts shouldn't exist. If I think of how much I struggle to make a living for me and my family, while Capitolites are rich without doing anything at all, my blood boils.
Luckily, Maya decides to talk about strategy. I need to focus on that, after all, not to think of injustices.
"Rod hasn't said much about strategy, but we should start somewhere, I suppose," she shyly remarks.
"Tsk... he gave up the very first time he saw us, believe me," I rebut.
It's a fact. Our mentor hasn't been helpful at all so far. Actually, we see him only at dinner, and he speaks little. Where does he spend the rest of the day? What does he do? Who knows? Our escort says that he's just a drunkard. Well, we could understand that ourselves, since Rod stinks of alcohol almost all the time. I wonder how a person can become like this.
"Maybe he's still angry, because we destroyed our costumes at the parade," she offers.
"Nah, that was really funny!"
"For us," she says, looking down. "But maybe it wasn't a great idea."
Oh, Maya is so similar to my sister Flo! She's always afraid of making mistakes.
"I don't think so. We've got noticed, that's what the audience wants," I point out.
"Okay."
"So, what are your strengths, Maya?" I ask her, changing the subject.
"Umm… I'm little and silent, so I can hide quite easily. People tend to ignore me, so, if I stole some food, no one would notice it, I think," she answers.
"That's something."
"What about you?"
"Well, I can climb trees and recognize some plants. I work as fruit gatherer, so I'm accustomed to fatigue."
"What about weapons? To be sincere, I'm afraid of using them, but… you know, we haven't much choice."
"I think we could try something light like…"
But I don't finish my utterance, because I see the boy from District 12 approach our table. I've already noticed him. He has spent most of the time wandering from station to station, desperately looking for a good alliance. Apparently, his district partner wants to train on her own. I knew he would come to ask us as well. We're his last resort, since all the alliances seem to be already consolidated.
"Hi, guys," he greets us.
"Hi," Maya greets back.
"May I sit here?" he asks.
"Sure," she replies with a smile.
What are you doing, Maya?
"I don't want to beat about the bush, guys, so I'll go straight to the point: would you like to ally with me?"
"At most, it's you who allies with us," I point out.
"As you wish, Tom."
"My name is Tobias!" I protest.
"Ops, sorry," he apologizes, giggling.
"What can you do, Twelve?" I ask him, annoyed by his behaviour- I mean, you're desperate, you need allies… therefore, you should be more serious!
"Glad you asked me," he answers with a self-confident smile.
He stands up and heads to the spear station. Both Maya and I follow him. He grabs one spear and makes it twirl with only one hand. I must admit that he's showing great dexterity. Eventually, he takes aim and throws the spear at a dummy. It gets lodged in its stomach.
"Well done," says Maya, impressed.
"Thank you. Am I in, then?" he replies, grinning.
"Maya and I need to discuss first," I chime in.
"Okay," he says with a shrug, but he doesn't move.
"In private," I add.
In response, he holds his hands up in an act of surrender and then goes sit at our table.
"Why don't you want him?" Maya asks me, as soon as we're alone.
"He's arrogant, I don't like him," I answer.
"But he's capable. We need him, Tobias, and Rod would be glad to know that we've found an ally," she retorts.
"To hell with Rod! But, yeah, you're right, Maya, he's capable."
"Give him a chance, Tobias! Please, do it for me!" she begs me.
I sigh. "Okay."
The truth is that I'm not able to say no to Maya... just like I'm not able to say no to my little sister.
"Thank you," she replies with a wide smile.
Maya hugs me. After that, we join our new ally at table and give him the news.
"Thank you for accepting me, guys. I'm Fabian, by the way. The other tributes may consider us as underdogs, but we'll show them who we are!"
…...
Adam Thorn (18)- District 9 male tribute
The Fiancé
I decide to try the archery station. Sickles are District 9's representative weapons, but they're not always present in the arena. I'm more likely to get my hands on a bow. To be sincere, I've never done archery, but this is as good a time as any to begin, I suppose. Bows are such elegant weapons. If I become good enough, maybe Rebecca will start seeing me in a different light, instead of worshipping Owen just because he's a Coin.
I grab a bow, take an arrow from a quiver, nock it, aim, and shoot at the human-shaped silhouette in front of me… but I miss the target. Frustrated, I try another time, but I miss again. At this stage, the trainer assigned to this station approaches me.
"Your posture is wrong," he explains. "Relax your shoulders, you're all hunched over. Keep the bow closer to your chest… yes, like that… and you can draw the bowstring a little more. Don't worry, it won't snap. A little tip: think of the arrow as an extension of your sight. Close one eye to aim better. Remember… the arrow has to hit the target in your mind first."
I aim again and this time it goes better: I hit an arm.
"Much better," the trainer compliments me.
Thanks to his advice and to some practice, I manage to improve my aim. I start getting the hang of it. I leave the archery station just because my arms ache. I need a break. I didn't think I would strain my muscles that much.
Maybe I should try a station that does not involve physical exertion such as the plant identification station… but then I see them. Rebecca is seated on a bench and Owen is bringing a bottle of water to her. They're talking cheerfully. At some point, he sits close to her… too close for my liking. They look like a couple! My blood is now boiling in my veins! I quickly approach them.
"Hey! She's my girlfriend!" I shout at Owen.
"I'm not your girlfriend, Adam!" retorts Rebecca, while standing up.
"Calm down, you two," Owen chimes in, coming between Rebecca and me. "I was just talking to her, there's nothing wrong with that, right?" he adds, addressing me.
"Oh, shut up!"
That said, I grab Rebecca's arm to pull her away. "Come with me! I want to talk to you in private!"
We withdraw in one corner of the gym.
"What's the hell are you doing, Adam? I'm not your property! Can you understand that?" she complains.
"Listen to me. I'm trying to prevent you from making a terrible mistake. You're certainly aware of the fact that they cannot let Owen win; as a consequence, being associated with him could be extremely dangerous to you," I explain, putting my hands on her shoulders.
"The truth is that you're jealous!"
I sigh. "Yes, I'm jealous, I admit it! Because I do care about you! To be sincere, I didn't agree with the idea of allying with District 13, but you seemed so enthusiast that I gave up. Now, you're exaggerating, though!"
"Why? Because I'm interested in another boy?" she replies, defiant.
"He's the wrong boy, Rebecca!" I insist.
"This decision is not up to you," she rebuts.
"Please, Rebecca, I… anyone but him. He's doomed due to his own name… I fear that he could be your doom as well," I say, looking down.
"We are all doomed, Adam."
I look at her again. "No, there's still hope for you!"
"Because I'm part of a good alliance… but if you don't feel at ease there, you'd better leave."
"Is that what you want?" I enquire, watching her right in the eye.
She looks down, without answering.
"Okay, okay, if you want me to leave the alliance, I'll do it. I'm out," I say, holding my hands up.
"Adam…"
"No need to say anything."
I walk away, heading again to the archery station. A little practice will help me to mind off. How could Rebecca betray me like that? I just wanted to protect her, I even volunteered for this reason! Ah, it's all the fault of that Coin! He has bewitched her somehow! Just because he's a Coin, that's how! But he wasn't even born when the rebellion started! Once in the arena, I'm sure Rebecca will understand that he's not a trustworthy ally, and she will look for me. Besides, I can protect her even from outside her alliance.
…...
Cliff Wells (14)- District 5 male tribute
The Dam Worker
The gym is equipped also with the so called "climbing garden"- a wall with several handholds to climb up. That's what Rhonda and I are trying right now. Who knows? Maybe we'll need to climb a mountain in the arena. In any case, I'm stronger than my ally. Now, there's a harness that prevents us from falling, but we won't be so well-equipped in the arena. If Rhonda is so weak, she won't stand a chance. The fact that our mentor Amanda is her friend won't save her life. She could send her gifts, from which I might benefit as well, but would that be enough?
A buzzer sounds, signalling that another training day is over. Rhonda and I climb down the wall. A trainer helps us to remove the harness. We take the lift to our floor. Either of us say a word. I have a shower and get ready for dinner. At table, there's the whole prep team: our mentors, Amanda and Leroy; our escort Kira; and our stylists, Chloe and Florian. A couple of avoxes start serving the first course- chicken pieces with almonds, all accompanied by a sweet-and-sour sauce, but I don't know how it is called.
"How was your training?" Amanda asks Rhonda and me.
"Good. We tried different stations," she answers.
"Have you found other allies?"
"All the alliances are already formed, for what I've seen," I reply with a shrug.
"I see."
"Well, an alliance only between district partners is not that bad, after all. Amanda, you allied with your partner last year, and you two did pretty well," comments Florian.
Amanda looks down in response. Apparently, the memory of the way her district partner died still hurts. She had to kill him, I can't even imagine what she felt.
"We have presented you as united allies since the parade, and I think we should proceed with this strategy. Florian and I are actually thinking of complementary outfits also for your interviews," adds Chloe.
United allies!? We barely talk to each other! I know it's partly my fault, because at the parade I hinted that she may get more help than me, since Amanda is her friend, but that's the way things are, right?
"The interviews are the least of our problems now. First of all, we'd better think of your private sessions. Have you got an idea of what to show the Gamemakers?" Leroy chimes in.
"I've learned to tie knots. In addition, I can set a trap," I promptly answer.
After that, everyone at table watches Rhonda, who's not as prompt as I was. "Well, I-I… I haven't thought of that yet… maybe I could start a fire… o-or identify plants," she stammers, clearly uneasy.
"Umm… survival skills, basically. What about weapons?"
"Leroy…" says Amanda.
"What? You know they'll need them sooner or later! The fact that you won last year isn't enough to gain sponsors!" he points out.
The room falls silent for a while. Leroy is right: we'll need to use weapons… if we survive, of course. I could try with something not too demanding like knives. And Rhonda? Her tiny hands don't seem suited to handling weapons at all. To be sincere, I've allied with her just to make things simpler for our mentors.
It's Leroy who breaks the silence: "If you haven't tried any weapons so far, please do it tomorrow. It's your last chance. We'll talk about your strategy for the interviews and for the arena after knowing your training scores."
So, also the second day of training is over. What do you think of the Arena Simulator?
Submitters can assign points to: Kyle (D1M), Cliff (D5M), Tartan (D8M), Adam (D9M), Tobias (D11M)
Specific questions about tributes:
Kyle: will he manage to play the strong Career?
Cliff: what strategy should he adopt?
Tartan: what do you think of his relation to Autumn?
Adam: do you agree with his decision to leave the rebel alliance?
Tobias: should he really accept Fabian in his alliance?
Current status of alliances:
- Careers: Kyle (D1M), Excelsa (D1F), Victor (D2M), Scarlett (D2F), Oliver (D4M), Vivian (D4F)
- Rebel alliance: Rebecca (D9F), Estrella (D10F), Owen (D13M), Christine (D13F)
- The perfect trio: Henry (D3M), Ambra (D3F), Christopher (D6M)
- I don't want to be a burden: Tartan (D8M), Autumn (D8F)
- Underdogs: Tobias (D11M), Maya (D11F), Fabian (D12M)
- Not so united: Cliff (D5M), Rhonda (D5F)
- Loners: Alexa (D6F), Adam (D9M), Timothy (D10M), Yolanda (D12F)
As for my next updates, I will first finish the training part of this story (including the private sessions) before updating Divine Punishment.
Thank you for reading and reviewing :)
*See chapter 10 (D8 Reaping)
