Chapter 3:
The train comes to a slow and gradual stop. The train comes to a slow and gradual stop. I look out the window and see a tidal wave of colour in different coloured wigs, clothes and what even seemed to be a woman with lilac tinted skin! What a joke I think to myself disgustedly, if only they saw the standards we lived with in District 11, it'd probably knock the colour right out of their wigs!
The citizens all look ecstatic to get a first glimpse at what children they'll get to see graphically slaughtered on Panem television. I give them all a glowering look, that only seems to excite them further. I mustn't look very appealing - after all, I was restless all night, waking up with a jolt with nightmare after nightmare containing the unlimited possibilities of my tragic and undignified death. The crimson velvet carpet felt smooth and soft as we walked from the train into our headquarters, where we will spend our last couple of nights before entering the arena. The solid glass doors reflect lights coming from flashing cameras in the mass of citizens trying to get the best shot of Mathew and I. When we enter the elevator Nina tries to comfort us, seeing the fear and panic in both of our eyes "You guys get a better view than those tributes from District 1 and 2, because we get to be on the eleventh floor! AAAAAND," She babbles on, obviously telling that her words werent comforting us at all "I heard that they aren't even allowed nectar to drink!" Mathew and I look confused at her, so she then proceeds to explain almost patronisingly "Oh, I'm sorry! I didnt realise they dont have nectar at your home, well let me explain, it's a drink that tastes different to each person, it tastes like the drink that that person enjoys the most! Doesn't that sound marvellous?" Nina's face shows defeat as she shuts up and realises that nothing she can say is going to reassure us that it's going to be okay, because it won't.
Our quarters leave me breathless when we walk in - it was colossal! You could have fitted my whole house in there! Suddenly my gut feels like its been hit by a spear. I wont ever SEE my house again, let alone fit it into this room, I probably WILL be hit by a spear. We sat down on golden chairs with a mink cover and I give a small shriek after leaning on the table that was made out of water, but held the shape. "That's Capitol technology for you!" Nina announces delightedly, "Its like water so the food can float down to your plate, but the water doesnt stick to anything!" Even though everything about the Capitol disgusts me, this was impressive.
After about a minute, a small brown skinned boy rises up from the floor with a trolley full of strange looking delicacies. "That's our Avox." Nina informs us, with a tone implying that he was little more than a slave. He places the trays on to the table, and they float down the table in a loop. The aromas radiating from the food were astounding, I didn't even know such scents existed! I took a bit of everything, a piece of blue meat, some red, foreign looking fruit that had a savoury taste and something that tasted like groosling - a bird that we commonly ate back in District 11 - but had a spicy aftertaste.
"Try some nectar, dearies." Nina says, as a mug of a swirling multicoloured liquid floats down to me. I take a sip, and suddenly my taste buds become alive. It's like a barrage of different flavours dancing on my tongue in an intense routine of taste. After a few sips, it settles down into a single flavour: mint tea. Just like the kind my mother used to make me each morning, but there was something artificial about it.
It didn't comfort me like it should have.
I felt repulsed about the fake comfort the drink is attempting to give me, putting the mug down and letting it float away.
"Thank you, you may leave" Nina tells the little brown Avox boy.
"Why doesnt he speak?" I asked Nina.
"Because they get their tongues cut out," she replies.
This is too much. I leave the table and run into my bedroom. The sickness of the Capitol, there was so much cruelty and evil behind the excitement and happiness. I hid under the covers.
"You should come into the lounge" an unfamiliar voice tells me. I kick off the covers to see Mathew standing at the door frame. "They're showing the reapings soon." I realise that since we have no mentor, seeing who the tributes will be was going to be my only advantage.
The reapings for District 1 start after watching a few minutes of advertisements of the Hunger Games. Before each tribute it said their name, and age. I didnt pay attention to the names on the screen, so i hoped it would mention them somewhere else. The escort for District one reads out a name that I couldnt catch due to her strange accent. Immediately after the name is read out there are several girls yelling out "I VOLUNTEER". The first one to get up on stage is a slender blonde haired girl with a cruel complexion, like that of a mass murderer. I then realise that she IS a mass murderer, or at least she's been trained to be one for the majority of her life. I can understand her voice as she proudly exclaims "I, Emily Couchman, have volunteered to undertake the honour of representing District 1 in the 44th annual Hunger Games!" A deafening roar could be heard through the television speakers. Obviously in District 1 it is an honour to be given their death sentence, although they probably won't die.
The escort then proceeded to say another inaudible name, which is again immediately responded with a barrage of "I VOLUNTEER!"
The first boy to get to the stage yells out "I, Devon Copp, am sixteen years old, and I have volunteered to undertake the honour of representing District 1 in the 44th annual Hunger Games!"
The next district followed the same idea, only the tributes were much, much more terrifying. The male tribute was a seventeen year old boy called Ross - a towering mass of muscle, that had the grace and reflexes of a snake. I could tell in his eyes that he would not hesitate to kill anyone around him, given the chance. The female volunteer, a sixteen year old girl called Georgia was short but stocky, I could tell she could easily take down anyone if it came to hand to hand combat. I didn't pay attention to District 3, as they were not a career district, and the two tributes, Evie and Oliver were thirteen years old and both small and scrawny. In District 4, both tributes were volunteers; A seventeen year old boy called Finn who looked very friendly and had an athletic build and was suprisingly tall for his age. The way he walked showed that he could turn from a charismatic gentleman into a violent killing machine in seconds.
The female one, an eighteen year old girl called Shani, made Finn seem like a field mouse. Every step she took screamed lethality, her posture reflected how confident she was. She was definitely a ruthless killing machine, radiating a seductive deadliness in every move that she made.
The next few districts were the same, only a girl called Bijoux from District 5 and a girl called Karyn from District 6 had an aura about them that seemed dangerous; Bijoux looked strong and able to fight, plus she was from the power district so she'd have an advantage if electronics came in to play. Karyn seemed like a quiet, evasive character; the way she walked was almost as if she was ready to pounce at any moment, and able to blend in easily, like a cat.
Finally it came to me, I seemed pretty natural, I showed very little fear which was pleasing, as I wouldn't seem like an easy meal for the careers. The final reaping, which was the male for District 12 made me feel sickened by the Capitol's cruelty - as a twelve year old boy named James was selected. James broke down into a teary mess, after all he would probably be mercilessly murdered by the likes of the lethal Shani or Ross. When he tried to get comfort from the sixteen year old female tribute Nina, he was coldly turned down. I could tell Nina was going to be a lone wolf in this game. I decided to try and get some sleep, after all, tomorrow would be the first day of training, where I could learn the true deadliness of the careers.