Sorry for the late update guys! I've had loads of stuff going on and I'm on Work Experience this week. Updates may be coming less often but I will try and update as much as possible. I will try to do about 2-3 tribute POV's per chapter. Please keep voting and I've noticed some of you have only voted once. Please vote for your top three as the ones you may like, may die early. Please keep voting, reviewing and PM-ing :) Also, just before I write the bloodbath scene, I will be taking down the poll and resetting it without the dead tributes. Thanks for reading!
Reggie Elliam, 18, District 4
That was intense. I step - well, stumble - out of the chariot and gracefully fall flat on my face. Thank goodness the rest of Panem didn't just see that. I see the pairs from Districts One and Two talking with each other and I already know they've formed the Careers alliance. It's not long before we're all escorted to the lift that will take us to our floors. I can't believe we have a whole floor to ourselves!
The lift is so pristine and clear. When we step in, it's like we're standing on air. Just air. It's so weird, especially when the lift moves. It goes incredibly fast but yet, I feel nothing. I see myself going up from looking down, through the glass, but I still don't feel anything. The lift comes to an abrupt, but unnoticeable stop. The group for District One take the tributes through the door and once the door closes, the lift shoots up again. The lift stops twice more, letting out the groups for Districts Two and Three, before taking us to my floor. Now, I'm not sure, but I think Bianca from Five just tried to trip me up. I felt a foot hook in front of my leg but I noticed it and carried on walking to the side. I think I've just made my first enemy.
As soon as I walk through the door, I'm in complete shock. Nothing in this building is even remotely similar to District Four. They actually have deep blue, silky curtains, protecting us from the invading sunlight. All we have at home is a tatty, see-through cloth, attempting to cover the windows but can never reach the edges. I can't believe they are what caught my eyes first. The rest of the room is incredible. The wooden table is enormous and has several engravings on it. From what I can tell, they're the names of every tribute to go into the Games from District Four. The chairs look like bright, blue thrones, fit for royalty. We literally had stumps. If a tree would get too big in our garden, we'd cut it down and take out the stump and use it as a seat. I can't wait for what the beds look like. They couldn't possibly be any better than the train's bed. There is a huge, glass chandelier in the middle of the room, dangling over the table. I wouldn't like to put my head underneath that. We are lead to the drop-dead gorgeous sofa with blue, plush cushions lying on it.
Thankfully, I know one of the past victors so I chat to her before the wall-sized television blares out the Capitol Anthem and shuts us up. A woman named Sagittaria Duncain comes on to the screen and announces the stunning tributes for this year. Why, thank you very much. She reads the list of the names of the tributes and how old they are, whether they volunteered or were reaped, and if so, why. As the list goes on, I see one of my soon-to-be mentors writing down some stuff in a notepad, occasionally glancing at the screen to hear who's next. I take a quick peek and notice he's writing down whether they're a Career and how long they'll most likely last in the Games. He looks at me and says something which I can only take in a good way: "This will help you, kid." I guess I don't need an explanation for that. When the list finishes, the guy with the notepad looks up and we all look to him as if he's a baby and he's about to say his first word.
"You're not going to believe this. There are 11 volunteers, this year. Reggie being one of them." 11 volunteers? Really? That's just under half of the tributes. I don't think this has ever happened before and when I think one record's been smashed, Sagittaria announces another record. The fact that, for the first time ever, both tributes from District Twelve volunteered. Wow. These Games may actually be more interesting than I thought. Before long, Sagittaria runs us through the chariot rides and points out the potential tributes. Both me and Veronika being in that group. They focus on our costumes more than what's necessary but that's not a problem, I guess. More screen time means more sponsors. I look over to Veronika and she looks absolutely terrified. Bless her, she's only 14. I put my arm around her and whisper into her ear.
"Just ignore the other tributes. We'll stay on our island and I will make sure you go home." With that, she gives me a quick smile before being rudely interrupted by Thalia, our escort.
"Right," annoyingly, she rolls her 'r's' in her weird accent, "dinner time. Everyone to the table and we'll have an avox engrave Veronika's and Reggie's names into the table." I swear she loves to sing instead of speak. To be honest, I'd rather she just shut up altogether.
We are taken to the table and I can't believe my eyes. It looks like someone just drew a rainbow on all the food. Blazing red tomatoes, bright orange carrots, yellow bananas, green beans, blue... I don't even know what they are, indigo plums and pink...
"Thalia," I have to ask, "what are those pink things?"
"Those are pomegranates," she replies, "you peel off the skin and eat the seeds inside."
Interesting. I'll be sure to give them a go. We sit down and I'm given the fanciest set of silver cutlery. All we have at home is a couple knives and rusty forks and spoons. I'm not sure if I should start eating yet, so I wait for someone else to start. Once Thalia takes something from the centre, I lunge for the pomegranates. They're massive so I only take one. I peel off the skin and grab my spoon. As soon as I put the seeds in my mouth, I feel an explosion of sweet flavour. These are the nicest things I have ever eaten. I try some other foods but nothing can compare to the amazing taste of pomegranates. I would win these Games, just to have more pomegranates. That's how much I love them. I realise I need to wash my food down with a drink. If the food is this good, I can't wait to see what the drinks are like. I notice there is already a drink next to me. It's clear but has bubbles rising from the bottom. I've never seen anything like this before. We only have water at home, unless we find fruit and make a fruit juice. I take a sip and my tongue is met with a very tingly sensation, mixed with a sour lemon taste. I try downing it in one but it's impossible. Anyway, I want to savour the taste.
"What is this drink?" I ask, drinking it until there isn't a single drop left.
"It's called lemonade," answers one of the previous victors, "when I won, the first thing I drank was lemonade and I haven't stopped drinking it since." I'm not surprised.
"Right," starts Thalia, still annoying me with her rolling of the 'r's, " tomorrow morning, you will have your first day of training. You will have three days of training and then you will have your individual sessions with the gamemakers to determine your score and odds for the Games. I will explain more about it soon. Now, off to bed. You have a big day ahead of you."
Finally. Bed. The train's beds were amazing and I know the Capitol ones will be even better. I walk into my room and oh my gosh, it's incredible. I run straight to the bathroom because you know, needs, and it's the fanciest bathroom I've ever seen. It's not surprising considering it's the Capitol. The shower has so many buttons that I don't even know what half of them do. I only use the buttons that have pictures on that I understand; the temperature, the power and the soap dispenser. I've never had a shower this nice. I stand in a machine, press the only button, and within two minutes, I'm completely dry. My king-sized bed is on a large, round podium, surrounded by glass-covered water. I step on it and it looks like I'm walking on water. I look down and I see thousands of tiny fish of all colours and sizes. I switch off the light and get into my bed. If I were to die right now, I'd die happy. I drift off into a peaceful sleep and I don't even care if I don't wake up tomorrow. To be honest, I'd rather not.
Bianca Calder, 18, District 5
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Just five more minutes, mum," I call out.
"You're not in District Five anymore, remember?" A voice comes through the door. Damn, I was hoping I was still at home. "You're late. Training starts in 20 minutes."
Uh oh. I jump out of bed. So much for the stretching, which I've been waiting to do. I hop into my already laid out training clothes and rush into the dining room to scoff down some breakfast and slurp down my drink, completely ignoring "manners." Emma Lyron, our escort, quickly takes us to the lift and we get to the training centre with five minutes to spare. I must admit, I'm pretty impressed with that. Once I'm in the centre, I realise I'm not the last one there. There's still some tributes who haven't arrived.
My plan today is to join the Careers, along with Killian. This is so embarrassing but, I may have developed a small crush on Killian. First of all, his name is Killian, which can be nicknamed as 'Kill.' You would not want to mess with a guy named "Kill." Everyone has their own preference in what a person looks like (long hair, green eyes, tall, short etc) and my preference is short, black hair with blue eyes. Killian meets all those criterion, with messy hair, which is a bonus. I hope this doesn't go further than just a small crush as I wouldn't be able to bear it if he died. I can't bear the thought now, let alone when it may actually happen. The training instructor tells us to try all stations as just being able to fight won't be enough to survive. I know I'll be fine with combat as I've been training for the past 12 years. I'm fairly good with swimming, due to swimming at the lake by the power plant. I know I need more plant knowledge as I only know of nightlock, which is a very poisonous berry, and a couple safe ones. The gamemakers will more than likely put more poisonous berries and plants in the Games, like they did many years ago by making everything poisonous, so I need to do more research about them. My other weakness is probably camouflage as I'm always the first to get found in hide-and-seek. I'll need to cover all the basic survival techniques, as well.
As soon as the instructor allows us to go off and train, Kill and I walk straight towards Ratchet, as I'm assuming he's the leader of the Career pack after watching his Reaping. He's very intimidating but I look past it and tap him on the shoulder to get his attention.
"Oi, Ratchet," I have act badass to get his acceptance.
"What do you want, Five?" His words are like ice, and apparently, so is his spit. Gross.
"We want to join the Careers. We're strong, willing to kill and will help you in any way." Seems a good enough reason.
"Depends. Do either of you have any fears?"
"No," Killian pipes in.
"Well, I have a fear of heights, but not a very big one, and claustrophobia." I hope that doesn't hinder my chances.
"Hmm," Ratchet thinks to himself, "any weaknesses?"
"Only camouflage, really," I reply. That's not too bad.
"Mainly planning. I've never been good with that." That's not good coming from Killian.
"Hmm," Ratchet repeats, "we'll take the girl but not the boy." Oh no. That doesn't even make sense. I didn't do as well as him in that interview. I look towards Kill and he's devastated. He walks away and trains on his own.
"Wait," comes a very distinct, female voice, "what do you mean "we"?" Hadley Rymerse of District One. Oh, brilliant.
"I think we can both agree that I'm the leader of this group," Ratchet retorts, "do you have a problem with that?" He stands about an inch from her face, towering her and making her cower. She backs away towards Grayson and starts chatting away.
Getting back to reality; "why won't you take Killian?" I ask, hiding my disappointment, "he seems fine."
"I don't take non-volunteers. If he was really into it, he would have taken pride when his name was called out, like me. I don't trust him."
"Please, let him in. We could use him as bait." Why did I just say that? The look on Ratchet's face confuses me.
"Okay. We'll take him. Just be sure he doesn't screw up." His nose is right up against my face at this point but I can't help smiling as I'll be with Killian. Maybe I really do fancy him. I beckon Killian over and give him the good news. Ratchet tells us to start training with things we're not familiar with then tomorrow we'll train with things we know we're not good at. I have higher hopes for these Games now.
Desmond Cordus, 17, District 10
This training centre is unbelievable. It has everything you would need, and more. I don't even know what some of these weapons are but I can't wait to find out what they do. Even though I have no intention of killing anyone, I still find these kind of things interesting. The one weapon that catches my eye is the double-bladed axe. I pick it up and it's the perfect weight. I give it a few swings and I know this is the weapon made for me.
The weapons trainer gives me a dummy to practise my axe skills on and it's obvious I need the practise. I barely make a dent on the dummy the first few swings so I keep trying. When I get to my 20th try, I manage to slice the dummy's arm clean off. I know in the Games the scenario will be completely different. No-one is exactly going to let me practise killing them. With a few more successful blows, I'm confident that I can use the axe in the Games without problem.
I remember the training instructor advising us to do all stations, including survival techniques. It would be helpful if I learned how to make a fire, as it will most likely be very cold at night. Everyone always says lighting a fire is another way of screaming "Kill me now" as the other tributes will be able to find you easily. However, we have our own islands so the chances of being found are slightly smaller. I walk over to the station and wait until the boy from Seven is done. Once the flame goes up in his face, which I find very funny, he gives up and walks away. I ask the trainer what the best way to make a fire is and he simply says you should rub two sticks together. Seems legit. He says the friction will start the fire but it will take a while to get it started.
Luckily, I have good upper body strength. The flame starts within five minutes and I know I have that skill sorted. I don't want to rush all the stations as I have three days to try out all the things. Next, I try the tree-climbing station. Each island is bound to have some trees and if Hypatia dies, being able to climb trees will come in handy as I will be able to spy on my prey on another island until the moment comes. Not that I want to do that but whatever it takes to survive, I guess. The tree climbing goes quite successfully until I inevitably fall. Why am I not surprised. I don't feel anything but I guess that's because I'm in shock. I look down and find that thankfully, nothing is broken. Phew. I give up on tree climbing, for now, and try the net station.
Nope.
I'm not even going to explain what went wrong with that but what I will say is, if I ever see another net, I may genuinely throw up. The bell sounds to tell us it's lunchtime. Perfect. I'm starving.
They serve up dishes that I still don't recognise, but they taste good so I don't complain. The couple from Six come over to me and stay quiet, right in my face.
"Do you want my bread?" I really have no idea what they want.
"No," the boy replies, "actually, we were hoping you would join us in an alliance, in case one of our pair dies."
"Right, here's the thing," I already feel myself making a scene, "what is the point in having an alliance when your allies are either going to die or kill you. Either way, it's not going to be a happy ending. You'll start getting too attached and next thing you know, they'll be gone. Forever. Plus, we're going to be on islands and only one person can leave the island at one time, so we'd never see each other anyway until one of the alliance dies." At this point, everyone in the lunch room is looking at me and there are tears forming in the eyes of the Six siblings. "Just forget the whole idea of allies and just focus on surviving. There. A good survivor's tip. Now go away." Glad I got that off my chest. I may have just put a target on my back. Crap.
The bell sounds to tell us we can go back and train. I'm already tired but I get through the next few hours and get through a portion of the stations. I can't wait to get some rest tonight. The next few days are going to be hectic. I'm certainly not looking forward to the interviews and don't even get me started on the actual Games themselves.