CHAPTER EIGHT

Clove had been having good dreams all that night and she woke up refreshed and happy.

One of her dreams was her and Cato during the bloodbath. All the other tributes were there, except they didn't have any faces, they were just grey human shapes. Her and Cato had completely destroyed every other tribute there before anyone even reached the cornucopia. The game makers were all so impressed with District 2's actions that they had let both of them be victors. They were both so excited to win the Hunger Games that Clove had kissed Cato, in a moment of passion. Remembering this part of the dream had troubled Clove, but she tried not to think to much of it. She was just excited, plus, she was dreaming. She couldn't be held accountable for her actions. And either way, her or Cato was going to die anyway so it didn't even matter how she felt about him.

Candola called Clove to breakfast while she was trying to remember her other dream. It came to her somewhere between the delicious strawberry pastries and the divine bread pudding.

She had been in the arena, and her and Katniss from 12 were the only two left. Katniss had killed Cato so Clove had killed Peeta. Clove finally had Katniss cornered, without any weapons or means of fighting. Clove relished in torturing Katniss during her last moments, which ended with Clove literally making Katniss a girl on fire with the use of matches and an easy burning fuel. Clove smiled at the remembrance of her dream.

Cato had not shown up to dine with them that morning. Clove either assumed it was from his guilt of trying to hit on her, or he was just so hungover he couldn't even open his eyes. She suspected it was probably the latter. Cato never really felt guilty about anything he did.

He'd better get himself out of bed by ten though, that was when they had to meet Candola by the elevator for training.

…

It was 9:40 a.m. and by the time Clove had gotten to the elevator, Cato and Candola were already there. She smiled awkwardly at the both of them, then kept her eyes from drifting over to Cato's face.

The training room took up the entire basement of the building. When they entered the room, there were about two other districts already there. Clove and Cato got the number 2 pinned to their backs. Clove looked at the other tributes there. It was the pairs from 4 and 5. People were forming a circle around the head trainer. Cato and Clove joined the tense circle and just waited in silence. No one wanted to speak in front of the head trainer. She was a tall, athletic, and mean looking woman named Atala.

To the left of Clove was Cato and to the right was the boy from 4. He looked even more scrawny close up and Clove was glad her and Cato had decided to not let him join their alliance. He won't even last long anyway. The boy let out a mucous filled cough and Clove turned her head away. That was when she discovered that this boy was sick. She didn't know why someone else from 4 didn't volunteer for him, though, that was another Career district. Next to him was the girl from 4, the only one that Clove had actually liked based off of appearances and personality. She was a quiet and reserved girl, yet very smart and tough. She was probably one of the biggest girls there, which only made Clove feel better about their future alliance.

It wasn't even 10 when all the other districts showed up. The last ones were Katniss and Peeta. Clove rolled her eyes. They always had to be last, to have all the attention on them. As soon as everyone was in a circle in front of Atala, she began speaking. Her voice sounded harsh and it commanded your attention. She was just droning on things that everyone already knew, so Clove decided to take a look at the other tributes and see if anyone was worthy of having an alliance with her.

The girl from 5 looked cunning and untrustworthy so she was out. The boy from 8 had an injured foot and Clove almost laughed out loud. There was no way that he stood a chance. There was that girl from 11. The little one, the one that probably had just slightly more of a chance than the injured boy. And the boy from 11. He was gigantic. Clove would have to take him out in his sleep when they joined forces. Then her eyes fell on Katniss, and she was looking back at her. Clove sneered at her and the girl looked away. What a coward.

Atala finally stopped talking and let the tributes go where they wanted. Clove and Cato automatically headed over by the sharpest looking weapons.

"Hey, I'm Glimmer." The girl from 1 stuck her hand out at Clove. She may have a ridiculous name, but up close, she looked fierce. The look on her face was dead serious and she had maybe 5 inches on Clove.

"I'm Clove," she responded and returned the shake.

Cato walked over by them and they exchanged names. Clove was looking at Cato's face intently. She didn't know why, but she was looking for some sort of reaction when he looked at Glimmer. The girl was pretty. His eyes may have flashed once, but that could have been in Clove's imagination. Feeling eyes on him, he looked at Clove. He smiled at her. Clove looked back at Glimmer.

The girl gestured to her companion. "This is Marvel." He was definitely the biggest guy there. Clove took a second to look at his muscles. "I'm Clove." She enjoyed shaking hands with him. Cato introduced himself with a slightly irritated tone.

Then the girl from 4 scampered up without her fellow district member. "I'm Melissa," she said the four of them. They all nodded and gave their names. The main Careers were set. Clove and Melissa found themselves at the knives. Cato and Marvel were by the spears and swords, and Glimmer ran towards the bows and arrows. Clove caught a glimpse of Glimmer aiming for a target. When she released, it landed in the outer ring. Glimmer acted a little flustered and spent time investigating the bow, as if it were the problem.

"I'm uh, pretty good at this, if I do say so myself," Melissa said with fake arrogance. She was moving a throwing knife between her hands.

Clove laughed. "Prove it."

Melissa threw the knife and it just missed a dummy's heart. "That was a fluke."

Before she could try again, Clove turned around so her back was to the dummy. She flung the knife she was holding behind her. She whipped around to see it pierce its forehead.

Melissa gasped and clapped. "'Tis an honor to stand in your presence." They both laughed and continued to practice their throwing.

Clove suddenly remembered about the boy from Melissa's district and asked about him.

"Oh. He got picked and wouldn't let anyone volunteer for him. He said that he, 'needed to do this'. Whatever that means. I dunno, he's just weird." She shrugged her shoulders.

…

The tributes were done with the first day of training. They would be having breakfast and dinner on their own floors, but lunch in a big dining room with all the other tributes. Food is arranged on carts around the room and they serve themselves. Cato piled his plate with food so he could gain as much weight as possible before going into the arena. Thinking that this was a good strategy, Clove did the same, but she still had a lot less food than Cato. They sat down at a table. Melissa was done getting food next and sat next to Clove. Marvel sat across from Cato and Glimmer sat next to Marvel.

Glimmer kept batting her eyelashes at Marvel but he didn't seem to notice. He was busy looking at Melissa, who was looking at Cato, who was looking at Clove, who was focusing on her food.

Clove could feel Cato's eyes on her, but she was afraid to see the expression on his face. She knew that Cato had feelings for Clove again, maybe they never even left. But Clove had to stay faithful to Menelaus. She was probably just missing him, that had to be the logical explanation as to why she was thinking about Cato again.

Sensing the tension at the table, Marvel decided to open a conversation. "So… who are you guys most excited to kill?"

Clove laughed at his bluntness and immediately responded, "Katniss Everclean from 12."

Cato, who couldn't respond since his mouth was full, gestured at Clove with his fork and nodded.

Glimmer scanned the tables. She pointed to a girl. "Her. From 7."

They all looked at her. "She's gorgeous," Marvel said, with his mouth wide open. Clove had to agree, she was pretty.

Glimmer looked at them sheepishly. "I'm afraid that's the reason. I might be a little jealous, but it's so early in training. It's not like I've found a decent enough reason to want to kill anyone."

After that initial question from Marvel, it was easy for them to converse with one another. Clove silently admitted to herself that Glimmer wasn't all that bad. She had been training to be a Career longer than Clove, and she was almost as vicious. Plus, she never once said a word about shoes or make-up.

Clove also found Marvel to be funny and nice. You wouldn't know he was a Career by his personality, but as soon as they started talking about weapons, his eyes turned steely and his tone, serious.

Halfway between the meal, they all hear loud laughter. Clove looked in the direction it was coming from and saw Katniss and her boy wonder. She sneered at them, but they kept their eyes to themselves. Laugh now, 12. You won't be able to when your carcass is at my feet, your blood pooling from my knife.

Glimmer redirected their attention with a small shriek.

"What's wrong?" Marvel asked her and held her arm.

Glimmer pulled something out of her pocket. It was a gold ring, with a tiny blade protruding from it. She pushed a hidden button and the blade disappeared, revealing a rose in its place.

"Sorry, sorry. I just put my hand in my pocket to see if my ring was still there and I felt the blade. It releases poison, so I freaked. But I think I'm okay."

Clove's eyes widened. That was going to be her token for the arena. All the tributes could have one, but Clove had completely forgotten. None of the tokens could be used as a weapon though, otherwise they'd be taken away. Glimmer might just get away with her ring, seeing as how the poisonous blade was hidden.

…

The first day of training was over and Clove was worn out. Career training was more strenuous, but now she had to focus on making friends with her fellow Careers, impressing the judges, all while thinking about the upcoming Games.

The clock on her nightstand read 9 o'clock. Clove figured it was a suitable time to go to bed, seeing as how the second day of training started at 10.

She slept without remembering her dreams.

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this chapter! The games start soon! Reviews are greatly appreciated, and please follow and favorite if you like the story. :D