Don't own Hunger Games.


"Son of a bitch, when will this training be over?!"

"When you stop whining and finish running!"

"Back off Pliny! I know! I'm running faster than you, so don't start!"

"Would you two shut up!"

"This is an A and B conversation, Peeta. See yourself out of it."

"Really? Really?"

"Oh, like you could do any better!"

"Shut your goddamn mouths and run! Twenty more laps! Another sound and I make it fifty!"

"Yes sir!" All three of us reply in union.

Every other soldier around us groaned in annoyance.

"I said no more sounds! Fifty! Next peep and you'll be running while carrying sixty pounds of gear!"

No other sound was made, though the look of everyone's face was that of annoyance and frustration.

Three weeks of training...

How the hell did I survive this?

Well, this long? The length is killing me.

When I first started this, I knew it would be difficult. It was, but the only thing I can complain about is how long this seems to be taking. I should be thankful it's not the full course though; the training was originally eight weeks long, but since we are in the middle of a war, they've had to cut it down four, getting the more important aspects into the weeks: physical training, firing weapons, driving ground vehicles, knowing the chain of command, knowing what means what, outdoor survival, callsigns, parachuting, and using equipment.

Since fifty laps would equal around twelve miles on top of the other twelve we were just about to finish, the PT officer was a little more lenient on the others. He gave us an hour and a half to finish before he let us off to go to breakfast. Today was simple bacon and eggs with sausage, and a biscuit.

"Well that was fun."

"Oh shut up Alto." One of the trainees behind me said.

"Someone's pissed." I glance at the kid before stuffing the bacon in my mouth.

"Can you blame him? You made us run twelve more miles." Peeta replied.

"No, I made you run five. The idiots groaned and that made it twelve. And you guys were talking to me too. It's as much your fault as it is mine. Get your facts right."

"He's right you know." Pliny added, though I doubt that made her feel any better about it.

When Pliny and Peeta joined me in training I was rather confused. Why would they need training if they had already seen combat? Had continued to see combat after twelve burned? Peeta's reasoning makes some sense; he'd train for a week before my rescue from twelve, so he knew the very basics of combat. Pliny didn't make sense though. She use to be a peacekeeper. She generally knew what she was doing. She hasn't given me an answer yet.

"Whatever." Peeta seemed more occupied with eating then anything else.

We quietly finish our breakfast, having enough time to sit their and tease one of the recruits about a stupid thing he did earlier in the week.

"How do you do that? I mean, the nozzle is big enough for you to see. Yet you manage to basicly pepper spray yourself."

"It was small. I couldn't see it. And it was a new type of sprayer. Not the one I was use to."

"You're still an idiot for spraying yourself."

"Shut up Alto."

"Is that all you can say? I swear, I hear you say that at least three times a day."

"Hayes! Arausio! Mellark! Here, now!" The sergeant calls out to all three of us.

"What you do Alto?" Pliny asks while we stand.

"Me? I didn't do a thing." I whisper back as we walk to him. He has another man with him, in his dress blues. His cap in hand; a common courtesy when indoors. What caught my eye was his own. It was the first time I had seen someone with red eyes like mine.

"Sir?"

"Follow me." The man said. He starts walking to the exit of the mess hall, the three of us following closely.

We make our way to the command center, though he took us all the way down the hall and into the room on the left. This room has a rather massive and thick door. It's about the size of the entire wall. When someone inside opens it for us, we see what I can guess is half a foot of metal.

When the door's closed and locked, he turns to the wall, where yet another door resides, though this one has a number dial on the left side.

"You three are to tell no one of this. Do I make myself clear?" The man says.

"Yes sir." We reply uneasily.

He types in the codes to the door faster than our eyes can register. The door responds immediately, sliding to the side to reveal an elevator. He motions for us to enter, which takes us a second to register. When we're all aboard, the door closes and takes us down. Fast.

Pliny, Peeta and I share a glance. What was this? A hidden room? Underground facilities? What was it that they needed from us?

I turn to the man who's been leading us, and he's staring back at me. For a second we do just that; studying each other, trying to read what the other is thinking. He's not giving much away, but there's something about the way he's looking at me. Like he's remembering.

"Are you alright sir?"

He stares a second longer before looking forward again. "Everything's fine Alto. Only tired. I've had to stay up many nights. It's hard trying to lead a revolution."

My eyes widen, while all our bodies stiffen up. This was the man behind Free Panem? The one who's probably had this war planned for years?

"I...I wasn't aware."

"It's alright son." He smiles slightly.

It's another minute until the elevator comes to a stop and we reach the facility. We continue to follow the commander, and the area is much different than anything I've seen. It's very clean, and looks more advance in design then even areas in the Capitol I've seen. It's also very busy, with men and women walking to and fro, working on different projects.

"What is this place?" Pliny finally voices.

"This is an underground facility that the Capitol was using for research and development. They housed it here because of the massive amounts of military personnel needed to keep eleven under control. They attempted to destroy it, but hadn't suspected traitors in their ranks. Now the technology here is ours. It's some of the most advance in the world, even outdoing current Capitol tech."

"So weapons, right?" Peeta asks as we pass a group of people surrounding a dismantled missile.

"Weapons, vehicles, water purification, radiation shields, even terraforming technology. They had almost everything you could think of. I brought you here for one such piece of military hardware. Just past the shooting range here." He points forward, past a shooting range where weapons I've never seen before are being fired. We walk past them down a corridor, where a solid blue force field blocks our way. The wall here looks made of glass, and a soldier in strange armor gives us a nod before pressing a button, which turns the field off. The commander steps to the side and motions to the room.

"You'll find combat armor in the rooms to your left. Throw those on and meet me in this room."

We comply and make our way to the room, basically a changing room of sorts. We don't speak to the each other, seeing it preferable to hurry and not keep the commander waiting.

The armor we wear now is thicker than the normal armor I see soldiers wear, but it's surprisingly light. It's also darker in color, a midnight black, and the armor itself covers more of my body, exposing only my joints. One thing we all notice is the strange rivets in the armor, like something belongs there. It's on our legs, arms, and down our spine.

We find ourselves before the commander once more, who brings his hand up and spins it once at the soldier from earlier. The presses another button.

The ground in front of us opens.

I stumble back and fall as I hear that god awful volcanic roar.

"No! This can't be happening! I killed you! You're fucking dead!" He was a burnt black and red paste on the ground when I last saw him. He shouldn't be here.

His clawed hand digs into the ground around the hole.

And someone grabs my shoulder.

"Alto! Alto, snap out of it! Alto!"

I'm face to face with blue eyes and blond hair, a look of fear, worry, and anger taking his features. Though who he's angry at it questionable.

I take a good look at Peeta, like he wasn't real, then at Pliny, who hasn't moved from her position, staring at me. The commander is doing the same. I turn my gaze back to where I saw the ground open up, to find three strange contraptions above them.

...

...

"Just a flashback. Just a flashback?" I ask.

"Just a flashback." Peeta replies, giving my shoulder a small slap.

"Oh...okay...okay." He helps me stand. The commander's face hasn't changed much from the episode I just had. The only thing I can see now is a little surprise.

"So...uh, what is this?" I start as I approach the strange technology. It's a little shorter then I am, and appears to have very thin legs, arms, and a spine. That's all it really is.

"This is the most advanced personal military equipment in the world, known as the Exo suit." The commander states.

"Exo?"

"Think of an exoskeleton. Something that goes over your body. This piece of tech augments the user's abilities: strength, speed, reaction. Put them on and you'll see what I'm talking about. Just get close and turn your back on them."

We do as he says, walking until we were inches from the suits, then turned our backs. We hear metal clanking behind us, the a small push and a loud 'click'. The suit then moves to lay on my arms and legs, settles itself under my feet and onto my hands. Another 'click', and the suit is now connected to us.

A small touchscreen is connected to my left arm, saying that the suit was now on, and soon changes to a map of the area.

"Woah." Is my first response.

"Not even the half of it. Try jumping the obstacle." He points at an elevated wall, easily two stories tall.

"Okay." I say a little skeptical. I had an idea that the Exo suit would help, but that was still a tall wal. I walk to the base of the wall, looking up and trying to see how I could jump it. The only thing I can think of is a running start.

"Here goes nothing." I start running, and about six feet from the wall, push hard off the ground.

The next sound I hear is that of jets. It's not loud, and came from virtually nowhere. The next thing I knew, I was flying up a lot faster then should be possible. And I landed on top of the wall.

"Ha ha!" Now this was awesome. Even if I didn't know how I got here.

"Holy hell!" Peeta comments.

"My turn!" Pliny seems as excited as I am.

I jump down, landing easily what would have broke my ankles as Pliny takes her turn. She takes a running start like I do, and when she jumps I see what allowed me to reach so high. These suit have small jets on them, that ignite on the jump. It's what was propelling us forward.

After Pliny and Peeta test out the jump capabilities, the commander spoke up. "Now how about you destroy the wall? Punch or kick it."

I'm not nearly as skeptical as I was before, nor are Peeta or Pliny. We approach the wall, and ready to kick. When we do so, our feet punch right through the wall. Unfortunately, the wall caves in on itself towards us. We jump back, the jets on our exo suits aiding us to avoid the debris.

"Now this-" I glance at my hand. "Is awesome. Why isn't this standard?"

"We don't have too many. Only enough for half our special forces. We're trying to get more out, but we just don't have the industry to mass produce them. The only districts that can are two and three." The commander said. He motions to us. "All three of you will be using the exo suits for the last week of your training. You are the lucky few who get to use these."

"Really?" We all say in union.

He nods. He points to a glass door behind us. "We have a course for you here. Use it to your heart's content. Make sure you know how to use everything before the week it out."

"Yes sir!" We all say before taking off to the training course.

"One moment Alto." He calls for me, making me skid to a stop. "Something you may like. Some of our scientists made these especially for you." He motions for me to get closer as he turns around to grab something. He quickly turns around and hands me the items.

"A tomahawk and knife?" I raise an eyebrow

"Made of an alloy that can get through certain types of armor. The second feature helps in that as well. The button on the handles. Press them."

I glance at the handles, finding the switches just high enough for me not to touch them by accident. I flip the switch on both weapons, and I hear a hum. The entirety of the blade and the edge of the tomahawk begin glowing white. I can feel some heat on my hands.

"Are these heated?" I bring the knife close to my face, and I can feel heat radiating from it.

"Superheated. Can cut through any armor when they're like that. You'll find yourself using that in trenches more often than not."

"It's that kind of war?"

"In district nine it is." The commander stated. "Now go on. Learn how to use those things." I merely nod and jog to the course.

Time to put these suits to the test.


'So...that's what he's been going through. And that's not even scratching the surface.'