Chapter 5: Training
Today's the day, I think as I lay motionles, buried under the covers, the day I learn to kill everyone in this arena.I manage a smile. I pull the covers down and the first thing I see is my prep team's faces and the first thing I hear is Adirann chiming, "Good morning sunshine! Are you ready?"
They're only here to get me up out of bed and fix my hair and light makeup before Lilizia comes in to dress my for training. She shows up with a simple tight black tank top and green loose sweatpants. Perfect, I think, nice and comfortable so I can train and feel loose and free... We head down to breakfast to discuss our training strategy. We get down there and I see that Isaac and tthe mentors have already arrived. Apparently our strategy is to intimidate the field with what little skills we have. I won't even look at Isaac. And soon enough, its time to head down to the gym. I tune out the trainers speech and then I head straight to the knife throwing station and start chucking knives at dummies hearts, taking 3 steps back after each hit. Never missing a throw, and soon I am at the far wall, I throw my last knife an hit the dummy square in the chest. I feel super proud, but refuse to show it. I see some of the other tributes watching me and I can't help but smile as I make my way to the spear throwing station. I am pretty decent at that but its harder cuz spears are heavier. Then I head to Hand-to-Hand combat and without even practicing, I request a trainer to firght with. I excel and in a matter of minutes, I've got the trainer pinned with my hands positioned to snap his neck. I am going to be a ruthless killing machine. And then its time to go. I head up to my room to change before lunch, as I have worked up quite a sweat. When I get down to the dining room, I hear Isaac talking to the mentors in hushed voices.
"Whats going on?" I demand and Johanna replies, "Isaac was just explaining to us, your ability to kill, I would've never guessed..."
"Oh so HE noticed me, did he?" I ask, he looks confused and then responds,
"Of course, everyone did, they're all afraid of you! Meanwhile I sat at the knot tying station trying to make a snare." I make a noise between a snort and a laugh as I realize what an impact I've made on my chances of survival.
The next two days go by quickly and soon its private training time. I get into the training room and I go right into the knife station, hit every dummy, throw some spears and snap a dummies neck. I scale one of the beams, swing across the cieling beams and and jump back down, shoulder roll forward, turn and chuck a knife across the gym tear a whole straight through a painting someone made with camoflauge materials, right through the head. And then they dismiss me. I feel confident as I walk to the elevator. I go to just hang out in my room until dinner.
When Kathryn calls me to dinner, I follow obligingly. I tell Johanna and Andrew of my accomplishments and they seem very pleased. And after a delicious dinner, we go to watch the training scores. The careers of course get between a 7 and 10 and the others manage somewhere between 4 and 7. The boy from 11 gets a 2, oooh that's gotta suck... I think. And then I see Isaac, he got a 6...haha that's amusing. And then there's me, with a 12 under my headshot. And the next thing I know, I'm jumping up and down excitedly hugging Johanna and Andrew and they return my enthusiam. I am so happy, I can imagine the reactions of the other tributes, scared, shocked, angry, confused. Life is good...