Alliances

Otis

Haymitch told us that there will be no Tribute Parade. There will be no interviews. There will be no betting. There will be no sponsors in the Games once we get started; supplies will be delivered based on our performance in the Games. There will be no victory ceremony or interviews for the winner. Everything will be as clinical and clean as possible.

I can almost hear Lenora in the room across from mine, snoring loudly. How can she be sleeping at a time like this? I've been up for hours, watching the sun rise over the skyscrapers of the Capitol and shimmer.

I order some coffee from room service and think about the next few days. I don't think things have quite sunk in yet. Perhaps they will in a few days time.

Training begins today. It's the only thing apart from the Reapings that still remains of the pre-Games. The Gamemakers thought we should be given the chance to practice how we're going to kill one another. I've never held a weapon in my life, let alone see one except on TV from previous Hunger Games. However, I have seen what damage they can do. There's always a lot of blood. I can imagine that if your killer isn't quick about it, it will be incredibly painful.

My stomach growls. That will be the other issue. How will any of us last more than a few days if we can't hunt or forage for food? Starvation is also fairly common in the Games. It looks even more painful that being stabbed.

Lenora and I are the only people at breakfast, except for two guards standing in a corner. Lenora's pretty. She would probably be even prettier without her hair and lips stained navy blue. Her skin is the colour of milk chocolate and looks very soft.

"Hey, Otis", she says in between mouthfuls of French toast. I say hello back. We don't talk for the rest of breakfast but I see her fidgeting, tapping her fingernails and feet. Could she actually be looking forward to this? It makes me uncomfortable.

Usually there would be several other people eating at this table. A handful of prior victors, the district escort, maybe the stylists. We have no need for any of that now. Haymitch is our only mentor.

We shower and dress and ride the elevator down to the bottom floor to begin training.

Urban

Looking around at some of the impatient expressions on the other tributes' faces, I can tell that I'm not the only one who wants Katniss to shut up and let us get on with practicing. The better I can do here, the better I'll be in the arena.

"Take it from my personal experience. If you want to win, you can't ignore the survival stations. Weapons will help you to make a kill but they won't help you build a shelter, or light a fire", Katniss says. She's been put in charge of overseeing our training. The lady who used to do it is nowhere to be seen.

One of the cool things about this is that we get to see what goes on during Training. For those two-and-a-half days when the tributes would hide away from the rest of the world, things would get really boring. We used to have to get our Hunger Games fix on rewatching the Reapings and Tribute Parade, or other past Games. Now I'm living it. It's pretty intense, but cool.

When Katniss finally shuts her fat mouth I move over to the heavy weapons stations. I had always thought that if I were in a district, I would be in 2. It just always seems to have fit my personality.

It looks like us older tributes have scared away some of the younger ones. They look at us fearfully and slink back into the corners with the lame survival skills. If I've learned anything about watching the Games year after year, it's that the Careers almost always win. So to win, I'm going to need to turn from a Capitol boy to a Career.

I spend most of the morning bashing dummy heads with a giant mace or wrestling and punching with some of the trainers who have been provided to help us with hand-to-hand combat. But this isn't just a time to get in with practice, it's about forming alliances. Larissa, the Asian bombshell from yesterday's chat walks over.

"Nice moves", she compliments, eyeing up my latest punch flirtatiously. I return her compliment with one of my own, though perhaps not exactly to do with her axe-throwing.

"I would like to propose an alliance", she invites. "I've already joined up with Lenora and Falko." She gestures to two people behind her shooting arrows into targets. They're not bad actually. I was initially going to ask some of the older, stronger-looking boys like Alec or perhaps Lucas but Larissa's offer seems even better. If I have to choose between spending the next few days with a bunch of boys or a couple of hot girls, I know which I would prefer.

"OK. Let's do it", I say.

Tunney

"Lucas", I say, looking at the white-blond boy trying to light a fire.

"No, I think he's already taken", Oberyn replies. "I saw him shaking hands with the two guys he was with earlier. What are their names?"

"Alec Jaken and Silvan Artemis."

"Wow. That's very precise."

I smile at him. "I just want to know who our enemies are going to be."

Oberyn snickers. "You're beginning to sound like Lenora."

"She's not stupid, Oberyn. She's probably the most experienced person here, even though it's only by a little. It wouldn't hurt us to try and remember what previous victors have done to win."

"Make alliances is what they did."

"Exactly. Do you want to ask her to join our team?"

"Who, Lenora?"

"Yes, Oberyn!" I say exasperatedly.

"No."

"Has she got another group?"

"I think so. It looks like she's with the short, black-haired, Asian girl and the muscled dude with the silver hair throwing punches...and the green-haired guy too, I presume."

"Larissa, Urban and Falko. I don't like the look of them. They seem way too relaxed about everything that's going on." I look past Oberyn's black-and-red hair and golden earring to the petite blonde behind him, throwing well-aimed knives furiously in the hearts of targets. "What about her?"

"Sergia? I guess so. She seems to be the only decent-looking one left. I was just about to point out that dude at the sword station. Tall. Purple hair. Dark skin. He looks useful enough with that sword in his hand."

"That's Sergia's Precinct partner, Corsan. They're both from the Spear."

"Spearheads, eh? You know what they always say about spearheads", Oberyn jokes.

"Yes I do. And if that stereotype is true, we better snatch them up quick before anyone else has the chance to strike a deal. You go talk to Corsan, and I'll talk to Sergia. See what their plans are."

Drusilla

I look up from the patchwork of leaves, pine needles and mud that I've made at the camouflage station to see what everyone else is doing. They've seemed to separate into smaller groups. The girl with the red hair and dark teal eyes and her partner with the red-and-black hair and gold earring are joined by two others and they take turns throwing axes. The silver-haired scary guy has his own group. The white-blond boy with the glasses has a couple of other guys throwing spears with him. Even fire-hair-girl and her Precinct partner have two other young girls sitting with them, trying to make some snares.

I walk over to the only person that I know, Vyctor. He's a few years older than me but he's scared like me, and that's oddly comforting. I want my mummy and daddy. I don't want to be here with all the scary people. I want to go home.

I'm afraid I'll break down again if I think about the Hunger Game anymore.

"Hello, Drusilla", Vyctor says. "Can I help you with anything?"

I shuffle my feet. I don't want to go into the arena by myself but I'm too afraid to ask him. I open my mouth but change my mind at the last minute.

"Can you help test me on edible plants?"

Vyctor is a little surprised but he nods. After a few rounds of very bad guessing, he asks me if he wants me to stick around with him in the Games. I say yes immediately out of pure relief that somebody's got my back. Even if it's only for a little while and then we die.

The tears start flowing again.

Alec

By the end of the first day of Training, everyone has an ally. Whether it was because they sought them out or were forced together because they were left over, no-one is going into the arena alone. Some, like the two blonde idiots Summer and Lorna, are small. Others, like Larissa's gang, are larger. I'm happy that I've got Lucas and Silvan. I'll fight, Lucas will nurse us back to health if we get injured and Silvan can cook.

Sleep will come a little easier tonight to everyone. No matter how bad or dangerous our situation is, we've got each other.