Chapter 12 (POV of Amelia Pond)

It's time for the second mandatory training course, and just looking at it makes me want to throw up. OK, that's an exaggeration, but I can't do it at any rate.

It's a running track.

Donna Noble steps in front of us and gestures around the track.

"This is a race. The object is, obviously, to come first. Except, it isn't going to be as easy as it appears. Around the course, there are 'mines.' You step on one, and you have to immediately leave the race. This is not a question of speed, or strength. This is here to test your skills of observation."

"I'm not doing this." Says Sherlock Holmes, the boy from 3, his voice seemingly drained of emotion. Donna Noble raises and eyebrow at him.

"And why's that?"

"You're testing our skills of observation, correct? You want to know what we can see, and how we are able to recognise it. You want to test us." Sherlock states. Donna cocks her head at him. "The problem is… This training is meant to help us: To prepare us." Sherlock says, incredibly fast. I watch him carefully, as does everyone else. Molly is smiling slightly. She must have seen him do this before. "But I can see from looking around this room, from looking at the stations, the instructors and even you… I can see that you're just gathering information. You're not helping us by putting us on this course. You're seeing what we can recognise so you can disguise it." Sherlock smiles slightly. He's figured that out. I hadn't even considered that. Donna laughs.

"You still have to do the course mate." She points out. Sherlock pulls back. He stares at her for a moment before deciding on something.

"Of course." He nods, but there's an icy glint in his eye. I smile at him and turn to face the course. I have no idea how to look for mines, but I bet Sherlock does. He's probably seen all of them already.

"Line up!" Donna calls and we begrudgingly set ourselves along the large starting line, It's a wide race track, and runs around the edge of the training room. I don't want to do this. Not only can I not see anything at all, but I can't run. Sherlock is stood back, his hands in his pockets, smiling slightly. He knows something about the course that we don't. Molly is staying close to him and I think she's trying to figure out for herself where the mines are. She's frowning.

I look along the line of tributes and most of them seem to be a little worried. How we do here is incredibly important. The way we react to this sets a precedent, and if I fail, the careers will mark me out as a weakling before the games have even begun. I don't need that.

"On your marks… Get set…" Donna begins, holding a starter gun up. "GO!" She fires a shot. I start quickly, but then immediately slow as I remember the mines. I need to look out for them, or I'm in trouble. But as I watch, Sherlock and Molly are sprinting around the course, not really looking.

Then it clicks.

There aren't any mines.

I bolt off after Sherlock and Molly as fast as I can, and whilst I have a lead, the other tributes must be catching onto what I've just figured out. But I have a lead, and that's what counts.

I can't begin to describe to you how much I hate running. I do it only when I have to: for instance if I'm late for school. I'm not a good runner. I'm not fast, and I don't have the stamina for long distance running. Although I have to admit I'm doing ok. Maybe I'm better at running than I thought…

I'm so close to the finish now, and only the boy from 2 has over taken me. Almost there… So close now…

FINISHED. And I finished 4th no less. I grin and slow down quickly. The boy from 2 smiles at me cockily.

"Fast, but not quite fast enough." He remarks. I roll my eyes. He holds out his nhand for me to shake.

"The names John Smith. You can call me Doctor." He introduces. I shake his hand.

"My name's Amelia Pond. You can call me Amy. But why Doctor?" I ask, pulling my hand away. He shrugs.

"It's a personal thing. And it's nice to meet you. This is Clara." He nods to his district partner, who's just bounded up to us. She looks me up and down and finally says.

"You're faster than you look." She remarks. I laugh.

"I'll take that as a compliment; so thanks." I reply, smiling. We shake hands. So far this is going well. I've talked to four out of six careers, and I'm doing well when it comes to the training, so today hasn't been a flop. So far.

"What's your accent?" Clara asks. I was expecting more than one person to ask me that, so it's not particularly annoying.

"It's an old accent. A few people in District 5 have it." I explain, briefly. I'm tired, and I'm not really all that willing to talk about home.

"Alright! Well done everyone. I take it you realised there were no mines." Donna calls. I didn't really. If Sherlock hadn't known, then I would never have guessed. I wonder what the purpose of that was? Why weren't there any mines? I bet Sherlock knows, but he does scare me a bit, so I'm not going to ask.

My slight fear and awe of Sherlock is nothing compared to my absolute terror of the boy from twelve: James Moriarty. I don't know what it is. He walked the whole way on the course, and came last, but he did it with such assurance. He just… walked. With his hands in his pockets, as if he didn't care. Maybe he doesn't. We're all terrified of him. Even the careers avoid him like the plague. I glance his way and he smiles at me. That little sweet, malicious smile that sends shivers down my spine. It feels like he knows me. It's like he's staring right through my head, reading everything. To be fair, it feels the same with Sherlock, but there's something different here. There's no threat accompanying Sherlock's gaze. Moriarty just reeks of danger. Like… I dunno… A spider. Just waiting, waiting, waiting, until someone gets too close.

I look away and shake my head slightly, clearing all thoughts of James Moriarty and his secrets from my head. I can't afford to get distracted right now. Especially not because of him.

I have to focus on the Games, and nothing else. I don't need any distractions.

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