Chaze Unger, District 2
I wake up earlier than everyone else, so I decide to get a head start on breakfast. I serve myself some eggs and toast, eating near the window and watching the city. Even though the sun is slowly appearing over the horizon, no one is moving in the Capitol. It's only when I finish my food do I hear my partner enter. We don't acknowledge each other, and that's fine with me.
I think about Brettany every day, how much I miss her. I cannot wait to return home to her and get married. We will have the most beautiful children, children who will be victors just like their father.
I leave my dish where I was sitting and go back to my room to change. I put on a comfortable muscle shirt with shorts and comfortable tennis shoes. I brush my hair back and smirk. I've got this.
I rejoin Lana in the dining room and see our mentor has joined us as well.
"How was training yesterday?" He asks us. Lana shrugs.
"It was good." I say. "That girl from one is a bitch, but I know we're intimidating to the others. They'll be dropping like flies once the competition starts." I cross my arms.
"Don't let your confidence blind you, some of these tributes might have a trick or two up their sleeves." I hold back the urge to roll my eyes. He did win this thing once, he knows what he's talking about.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get down there." I say to Lana. She ignores me and finishes her food. She's already dressed in training gear, so we go to the elevator and head to the training arena together once she finishes. Neptune and Majesty are already down there so we join them. Glamour and Callista come down shortly after and we are off to training before most of the other tributes have arrived.
We start off with the heavier weapons, maces and longswords. I am definitely the best, swinging around the weapons like its dead weight. After destroying a dummy with a mace, I smirk at my allies.
We move onto archery, which I struggle with. I miss the target more often than I'd like, and I'm embarrassed when they show me up. After a few more misses, I put the bow down and just observe. That's when I realize someone, rather two someones, are missing.
"Where the hell are Majesty and Neptune?" I say, getting the attention of my other three allies. Lana points in the direction towards snare making and I see them sitting over there with the girl from Twelve. Are they seriously talking with another tribute?
I storm over to the station and they don't even look up, not until I clear my throat. The girl looks at me with wide eyes.
"Scram." I tell her and she listens, getting as far away from me as fast as possible.
"What the hell are you two doing?" I ask. Neptune stands to face me.
"I was showing them how to make a deadly snare, one that can kill a tribute in seconds. Is that a problem?" I don't like his attitude. I'm tempted to tell him so, but we've attracted an audience. I back off.
"Don't do it again." I storm back over to archery, using my anger to hit a few bullseyes. No matter.
He'll be the first Career I'll take out in the arena.
Demica Langley, District 6
As soon as I arrive in training, I spot the boy from Nine standing by himself. Samuel, I believe his name is. I walk over to him, just like I did yesterday. This time, he ignores me like I'm not even there.
"I've seen you in training. I've seen your strengths, and I've also seen your weaknesses. You'll be best working with me, trust me." He seems shocked at my words, but turns towards me. He sighs.
"You might be right." He says, one eye on the Careers demolishing dummies with maces. I nod with a smile.
We start off with archery, missing more of the shots than not. A little ways through, Lavender comes over and joins us.
"I guess he's our ally now." She smirks and I laugh.
"Yes, he came around." She joins us at archery for a bit, but we don't stay long. We refresh on our survival skills, how to find food, purify water, make fires. We seem to all be getting the hang of it which makes me feel better. We break for lunch and sit near the edge of the room. We make small chat. I learn that Samuel's best friend, Grant, competed in last years Games. I don't have the heart to tell him I don't remember Grant, but once he tells me he died in the bloodbath I feel a little less guilty. Lavender tells us a little about her family, how her mom passed away and how she loves her father to death. I tell them a bit about my grandparents, how my grandfather is slowly passing away. As awful as the thought is, I do not believe he will be alive if I return home. The thought saddens me.
We finish eating and return to the weapons training. We throw some more knives, Lavender and I are improving more and more with the practice. Samuel is good as well, but I can tell hand to hand combat is more his thing. Perfect. The more skills we can have collectively the better.
Watching the Careers makes my heart jump. They are all lethal with every weapon they touch. One can shoot deadly shots, another hits every target with a knife, another looks like he could snap my neck without blinking an eye. I can only hope they struggle with basic survival skills. That will be my only chance. That will be anybody's only chance.
Seth O'Donnell, District 7
I've spent all of my time in training at the survival stations. Sure, I could swing an axe around, but I know deep in my heart I cannot kill another human. Maybe my perspective will change in the arena. But the thought of taking another human's life is too much for me to handle. If I still feel guilt for an accidental death, how would I feel after committing murder?
I've tried to be friendly with my district partner, but she ventures off before I can really say anything. So instead, I try to make friends with some of the younger tributes here. Yesterday, the girl from Nine and I started talking at the snare section and ended up eating lunch together. I learned her name is Sage and she is arguably the nicest person in the world. I certainly don't feel like she will stab me in the back.
Today, Sage and I work on some basic camouflage and notice the boy from Six is watching us closely. He appears to be copying some of the techniques Sage is using. I nudge her and tilt my hea in his direction. She smiles at the boy.
"You're doing a great job." She says with a smile. He looks away, sort of pretending he didn't hear her, but that doesn't stop her.
"What's your name?" He finally looks up at her.
"Rally. But most call me Rail." He says softly.
"It's nice to meet you, Rail. I'm Sage, and this is Seth." She gestures towards me. Rail comes closer to us and smiles. And that's how our alliance was formed.
During lunch we sit together but keep to ourselves. Others around us engage in small chat, but we don't partake. Silence suits us just fine.
After lunch we attempt the obstacle course. I get through it with slight difficulty, but my allies struggle. Neither of them are the strongest tributes in this arena.
After they make it across, we return to survival stations and test our food finding skills. That's when the bell gongs to indicate our day of training is over.
Only one day left.
Farn Earthdrop, District 11
I hold the small knife in my hand. I take a deep breath and flick my wrist towards the target. This one hits and sticks in the target. I smile, looking over at my sister for approval. I see a small smile on her face and I feel good about myself.
This repeats for most of the morning as we continue to improve on our knife throwing skills. Fodille's aim is very good, but I know she excels with the bow. I know she will protect me in the arena.
We move on to practicing first aid, how to clean and dress wounds, care for burns, cuts, the occasional tracker jacker sting. I have some basic knowledge from living in District Eleven, but the trainer teaches me more than I ever thought I'd need to know, including stuff I don't think I'd use in the arena. But I store the knowledge as I have no idea what kind of arena we will be in.
We break for lunch and I can feel my arms shaking as I slowly eat. I have worked hard in the fields, but I have never worked this hard in this amount of time. The heavy weapons, the knowledge, the stress, it's way more than I've ever had to handle. Fodille doesn't seem as phased as I do. Granted, she is much stronger than I am. If she had more weapons training, I could see her fighting the Careers and defeating them. But alas, they have the advantage. They always do.
After lunch, we go back to shooting bows. I step back and simply watch, my fingers too sore from yesterday. I watch Fodille stand in the center surrounded by a dozen dummies. They move and come at her with foam weapons, yet she dodges, jumps, and shoots with ease. After a few minutes, every dummy surrounding her has fallen to the ground. I may be mistaken, but I think I see another smile form on her face.
We finish our day making snares. We don't learn anything fancy, just some basic ones that will trap small animals. I'm secretly relieved when they announce training is over as my body is on fire. Soreness from yesterday as well as the activity today, I don't know if my body can handle a third day. But I have to. I have to manage, I have to try to survive as long as I can. Fodille and I can't live without each other.
I'm back home! I wrote a decent amount on the plane, so hopefully the Games will start soon. Don't forget to review!