Sidney Fawkes, 16, District Two Male
I swung the sword around my head, weaving it around the dummy with ease. Back and forth it went, the blade dancing around the defenceless dummy. I paused, then stabbed it into the heart of the dummy and smiled as it sliced through the back of the dummy, the plastic cracking as I did so. At least the dummy would stay still. If it didn't, I'd probably be at a complete loss for this weapon. I didn't know how to fight with a sword! The Eternal Sun only taught agents knife skills and a few other essential skills for their missions in the field. A broadsword was never an ideal weapon to assassinate a person with.
I stepped away from the dummy and walked towards the knives, the instructor at the station looking weary as I did so. We hadn't even made it to lunch yet, but almost every tribute had found their way to the knife stations. Actually, I had no need to work on my knife skills. From what I could see of some of the other tributes, it was best to overshadow myself and hide amongst the crowd. I didn't need to give away my position, now did I?
I walked past the game makers' room up above, where a dozen men and a few women, young and old alike, stood around the room, watching everyone below them. I guess that they thought that as long as they were that much higher than any other tribute, they would be safe from an attack. They were fools. Anyone with half a mind could easily figure out that a carefully placed arrow would assassinate at least one if not two. Either force fields were expensive, windows were out of style, or they all liked to live on the edge. Perhaps it was so that they could monitor the tributes more. After all, it was hard to listen in through hidden mics when everything was getting torn to pieces.
I stood below them and listened in, trying to see if I could get anything of value from their conversation. After all, there wasn't any barrier to stop the noise from drifting over to me. Was it really that bad to try to find out anything about the arena?
I stood still and listened, my ears perked for there conversation. "Is there… entertainment… roar!"
There was a burst of laughter, and I nodded slowly to myself. Obviously, they weren't interested in telling each other anything about the arena. It was more beneficial to me to work on other skill sets.
I walked over to the medical station and sat down with a small boy, listening to the instructor show us how to wrap a wound. I watched the wound get wrapped around and around, the fake blood soaking into the bandage.
The blood dripped down the grandmother's face, the bullet having already embedded itself into the brain. I watched her cold, dead eyes glare at us before she collapsed, a squelching sound coming from the body as she fell onto the floor. Oh, oh, oh, the blood, the blood, it was everywhere!
I stood up and walked away from the station, fighting the urge not to puke. I gagged as I thought of the memory, and tried to remain calm. I had to. I had to. I had to.
Oh, why did… wounds have to be so messy?
Adira Hemlock, 17, District Seven Female
I launched the ax into the air, the handle swinging round and round before it positively crashed into the target. The target gave a wobble, then collapsed to the ground, the ax still embedded into the wall. I smiled and dusted myself off, yanking the ax out with ease. I still had it after my two days of not wielding one. It was so strange not to have one in my hand after all of these years, it was almost an extension of my arm, like another hand. I needed to have one in the arena. If not, I would probably go wild with anger.
The room seemed to fill with whispers of hatred, envy, and awe, all surrounding me as I turned away from the axes. I noted in satisfaction that people now were shrinking away from me as I walked past them. That was good. A good reputation never hurt anyone.
I looked at the pair from Ten, noting that both of them were working away at the fire station. They were next on my list. The girls from Two and Four had agreed easily when I had first asked them, especially after I demonstrated to them my strength with the weights.
I walked towards the pair from Ten, standing above them and waiting for one of them to look up. It was the girl who looked up first, watching me apprehensively before nudging her district partner. "Joel, we've got company."
The boy looked up, paling slightly as he glanced up at me. "Um, hi?"
I smiled slightly, standing up and pointing at the two girls that I had gotten. "We're making an alliance to make it through the Games. And we'd like both of you to join. If you do, you've got guaranteed protection from us until the top eight, where we split up and go it alone. Deal?"
I let the two ponder my offer for a minute, glancing over them to watch the game makers sitting up in that rooms of theirs. They seemed mildly interested by our exchange, and some of them pointed at the two girls waiting over by the rock wall. That was good. If our alliance got attention from the game makers, we might get some immunity from traps and mutts in the Games. I didn't want to be eaten by a bear just because the game makers thought we weren't interesting enough. If these two joined the alliance, it would be big enough to generate interest for our group. And if we generated interest in the Capitol...
The girl nodded slowly, standing up to shake my hand and smile, while the boy took longer. I waited for a minute as he considered a bit longer, then left with the girl. "If you don't want to join us, you could say so!"
The boy looked as if he was about to say something, then settled back down onto the floor. He turned away from us and started to work on his fire again, starting to gain sparks. I walked off with Ava, going towards the other girls. We were an official alliance now. And with our strength, there was no way the game makers would overlook us.
Joel Fletcher, 14, District Ten Male
I worked away at the fire, making sure that it kept going. A merry blaze was starting to spring up, and the trainer was looking rather impressed by my prowess.
I looked up at the clock and saw that there was around an hour before we'd be heading back to our floors. It was so high up in the District Ten floor, you could see the Capitol and everyone in it for miles and miles upon end. I didn't like to be high up. Not even the water tower in our small town was that high. There was something… menacing about heights. It was as if us humans weren't supposed to build that high, to live above the clouds. I would be grateful if the arena was flat. It wouldn't do to be on a mountain.
And what of the arena? Did the game makers leave any hints for it around the training center? If so, they'd probably hide it in subtle forms, like in survival skills and other things. It would be good to figure out the arena before we went into it ourselves. I wanted to be able to train for it, rather than stumble around blindly, going to every station and learning lackluster skills in an attempt to learn everything.
I glanced around the training center, noting the high rock wall at the center. Hopefully, that didn't mean we would be stuck on a mountain. I didn't want to climb up a cliff face, clinging for dear life to the rock. But then there were the shelters, and instead of materials that you would expect, like branches, there were tarps and long grass. Was that a clue? Or was it another trick?
I looked at another station and noted how the boy from Four was digging through the ground for water, albeit between coughs. Now that, that had to be a clue. You didn't put that much effort into a station without having a meaning for it. And after looking at the girl from Seven fight mutts in the corner, it seemed that we'd be going into a dry and hot arena.
So be it, then. I'd work at the water finding station for the rest of the day.
Alexis Telle, 17, District Two Female
I yawned as I walked into the training center, rubbing my eyes as I watched the few others in the center start to studiously work on more skills. We were all just coming into the room, and from the looks of it, they were streaming in by the minute. When it was the day before the private sessions would start and the tributes would first be tested, you could bet that everyone, even Adira, was going to be working hard on honing any skills that they wanted to show to the game makers. Even if the private sessions seemed to be useless, just a tool to help Capitolites bet on what tributes were going to do well and to display potential victors, it still felt like it was something to work for. In a way, it was a first try at the Games, a chance to see how you would do when you were thrown into the arena with the other twenty-three tributes. Even if it meant nothing anyway, I still wanted a high score. I wanted people to believe in me.
"Attention, tributes!" A low pitched voice emitting from the intercom caused me to jump in surprise, and the rest of the tributes seemed equally as disturbed and intrigued by the voice. "Due to high demand by the Capitol, tributes who are willing to take time out of their day will be taken out to the public, just outside of the training center, and will be able to be observed by the general public."
I wrinkled my nose in confusion, looking at the other tributes. Why would we want to be displayed to the Capitol? Was this just something to boost ratings? If so, why wouldn't they make all of us go? Was this a trick?
Adira stood up and walked confidently towards the door, a small group of tributes reluctantly following her. I noted the District Twelve Female and the drop-dead gorgeous girl from Eight walk towards the exit, and I started to walk as well. It wasn't something to boost ratings, it was another impressions. If I went, my odds could go up in the Capitol, and that could potentially mean the game makers going easy on me when I was starving of hunger and with a leg ripped open in the arena. I had to go greet the public.
As we walked towards the exit, I noted a few tributes fall away as they saw that Adira was heading the pack. It was obvious, they were still nervous after her display yesterday with the ax. Who wouldn't be when they saw what she did to the pillar? It was providence that she had graced me with an invitation to her alliance. If I wasn't part of her group, I'd likely be with the rest of the tributes, walking back to the stations because Adira was there. There was something about her that made you feel intimidated. She wasn't a girl, she was a victor.
Don't think that, Alex. You can't dig yourself into a hole of denial until the Games begin.
The eight of us nodded as we were surrounded by a group of peacekeepers, walking in single file towards the exit. I heard a babble of voices coming from the front of the training center, and caught a glimpse of… a sea of people standing outside of the center. What was this?
We walked outside and the crowd erupted, screaming at us six girls and the two boys who had decided to follow us. Something told me that cheap posters of us all would be plastered up in bedrooms around the Capitol by the end of the day.
Adira stood confidently as she walked towards the spot where we were told to stand, her hair blowing in the wind. The crowd erupted, and I walked up beside her and struck a pose. I was next to the first volunteer! If anything, this would cause the public to bet on me. They wanted to see us, they wanted to see the tributes of the Fifth Hunger Games!
Smile and wave, Alex. Smile and wave.
Hey! Another chapter in the books, and I'm happy to call this one done! Keep reading, reviewing, and get ready to sponsor soonish!
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