Disclaimer: I do not own BTR or the Hunger Games.
"There are twenty-four of us Gale only one comes out..."
-Katniss Everdeen, the Hunger Games
I sat in the silent room of the Hall of Justice, unable to accept this was happening. Sure my name had been in there a good few times, but it seemed too impossible a fate to happen.
"Kendall!" Tally exclaims, her voice cutting through the silence like a knife. I look up to see her, Asher, and Cameron enter the room. When I stand up, the two younger siblings both wrap me in a desperately tight embrace.
"It's not fair," Cameron whimpers.
"Yeah! It must've been rigged or something," Asher adds.
I return their hug and tell them in a stable a voice I can manage, "C'mon guys, it happened, okay. The reaping is unpredictable right?"
Asher, the first to pull away snorts, "Of course it is. But aren't you the least bit upset?"
"Idiot!" Cameron spat, rounding on her brother. "Of course Kendall is upset; we all are!"
"Now, there's no need for this," Tally reminds them, speaking up. She glances at me and says, "Kendall knows how to work a bow and arrow, and hey; maybe the game makers will be creative and throw in a pick axe."
"Yes," I agree, following what Tally is getting at. "Those other tributes won't stand a chance."
Asher flashes me and indignant glare. "How can you be so ignorant? I thought you knew that the careers, district 1and 2, train their whole lives! You'll be killed for sure!"
Upon hearing her brother say this, Cameron burst into tears, her sobs filling every square inch of the room. Tally is about to scold Asher, but I shake my head, 'no'. I wrap my arms around Cameron again and promise her, "I'll win. I'll do what I can to win."
"B-b-but-" she stutters, "T-there a-re tw-twenty three o-other tributes...o-only one comes o-out alive."
"And I'll make sure that one is me," I vow, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of her head.
Cameron pulls back with a weak smile like she can believe me now. She glances over her shoulder at Tally and steps aside as a gesture of sorts. Tally steps closer until we are standing face to face. "Be careful out there, Kendall," Tally whispers.
"I will," I say.
"Seriously, Kendall," Tally presses, adding in a lower voice so Asher and Cameron won't hear, "You and the other girl Corey are at a disadvantage because District 12 has no mentor to tutor the both of you."
"Which is why I'm going to be on my guard; I won't make friends with her and I'll make sure I remain in the shadows from the other tributes."
"Okay, good," Tally sighs. She gazes up at me, her naturally sad pale green eyes. "I'll miss you, you know."
"I'll miss you too," I say in all honesty.
The door is suddenly flung open and a Peacekeeper is announcing, "Time's up!"
Without a hint of hesitation, I lean down and kiss Tally on the forehead before she is forced out of the room along with her brother and sister. "See you soon, Tally," I call after her to once more confirm that I'll return.
After they leave, it is quiet once more, until a minute passes and Piers and Liam are hustled into the room.
"God, Kendall, who would've thought you'd be reaped," Piers says bluntly, whipping the sweat from his brow.
"I know; but not to fear, I intend on winning this twisted game if it's the last thing I do," I declare.
"It just might be," Liam reminds. "The games are brutal. You can't trust anybody and you'll never have any idea what the game makers will have planned."
"But I can use a bow and arrow. And I'll be able to fire from a distance."
Liam nods, but the uneasy look in his eyes does not cease. "You're skilled and all, but it's gonna take more than that."
Piers frowns grimly and nods. "Yeah, you need to know how to find water, shelter, all that survival shit," he says.
I have a quick flashback to when Logan and I took a wrong turn while hiking when we were on a field trip in eighth grade. We were lost for about two days-no joke! It was like they'd forgotten about us or something; but never mind that. Logan was freaking out that we would die of dehydration because our canteens would only last for so long. Then, I recalled something the park ranger said about a waterfall and knew from some Animal Planet program that you could always hear water in the ground if you were close by. So I laid my head down against the dirt and listened. This process was repeated every now and then until I was leading a clear path to the waterfall.
"I know the basics," I say.
"Alright, good," Piers says, "Well, Kendall; I do believe, District 12 just may have a victor this year."
"But don't let that go to your head," Liam scoffs. "Get to cocky and you will be the first to die, understand?"
"Got it; don't be cocky," I repeat.
Liam nods in approval and the three of suddenly find ourselves in a totally manly group hug. It lasts all but a few moments and when we pull back, Piers says with an impressive amount of composure, "may the odds be in your favor, Kendall Knight."
"Thank you," I sigh and watch as they are swept away by Peacekeepers. I don't expect anyone else to pay me a visit...which is why it comes as a surprise when the door swings open to reveal Skinner Cullet.
"Well, well, well, here you are waiting to be taken to the Capitol," he laughs half-heartedly.
"Yup, here I am; what do you want Skinner," I demand.
"I wanted to bid you farewell of course," Skinner snickers.
"Look," I say through a clenched jaw, "If you came here to make some snide comment, I'd greatly appreciate it if you left."
Skinner doesn't flinch. Instead he says, "It's gonna be different without having you around to taunt."
"Your point being...?"
"It'll be different without you around."
My eyebrows spike up and suddenly I'm smirking. "You're going to miss me, aren't you?"
"No!" Skinner snaps defensively. "I said it's going to be different! That doesn't mean I'm gonna miss you!"
"Oh, doesn't it? Why else would you be here?" I inquire.
Skinner bites his bottom lip. "Just wanted to see my arch nemesis off."
"Arch nemesis? That's a bit strong, isn't it?" I muse in a taunting voice.
Sweat slides down his forehead and I can see him wringing his hands nervously. "Gah!" Skinner exclaims, running a hand through his hair. "Fine! I'm going to miss you; ya happy!"
"Yes, actually," I admit with a bemused expression.
Skinner rolls his eyes and confesses, "You never were that bad, Knight."
"I suppose if you hadn't given Piers and I such a hard time, I could've said the same thing about you..."
"Whatever," Skinner grumbles. He thrusts his hand out in front of me. I take it and shake it firmly as if confirming a business deal. "See ya on the other side, I suppose."
"Yeah," I say, and we release each others hand. "See you on the other side."
Lana Trinket is taking the train back to the Capitol alongside Corey and I. Thus far, she has been rambling on and on about the functions and luxuries of the high speed train we were aboard. I was listening quite unwillingly, while Corey was gazing out the window at the sights whizzing by far too fast to possibly see.
At the moment, my thoughts were drifting to the decision of eating the food available or not. They were all fruits and treats I had never seen before. Don't get me wrong, it looked delicious, but then again...
"How are we going to get sponsor deals if we've got no mentor to seal them," Corey questions out of the blue from her seat.
"Oh, um, I guess there can be an exception of the sponsors happening on their own; sure it'll be more unlikely to receive supplies, but you two both seem ready to tough it out," Lana exclaims brightly.
"Okay, who's going to give us the personal training?" Corey asks.
"Sorry, I guess that part is just bad luck, all your training will have to be made turning the group time I suppose," Lana answers.
"Bull!" Corey spat, jumping to her feet. "Why does District 12 have less privileges! We've got no mentor; we should have more time to train than the others, not less!" Her wild, now curly auburn hair is a mess in front of her blazing eyes. She seethes, "How do you expect us to have a chance if we have unfair treatment before hand?"
"I think you're over reacting," Lana says, anxiety painting across her face.
"OVER REACTING?" Corey screeches and Lana cowers in her chair. I never would've suspected someone like this girl to explode. She seemed so solemn at the reaping...
I stand up slowly and say to Corey, "Maybe you should go to your chamber on the train and spend some time alone? Blow off some steam, you know?" She glares at me and for a moment I'm sure she'll convert her rage to me. But then her anger eases and defeated, she trudges out and into the direction of the chamber cars.
"Thank you, Kendall," Lana says, gathering her bearings. "I've no idea what on earth is wrong with that girl."
"What's wrong?" I say evenly. "She's being shipped to an arena where she'll fight to the death against twenty-three other teenagers. That's what's wrong."
And without thinking it through all that much, I follow Corey's path, leaving a stunned Lana alone. When I find Corey, instead of in her chamber, she is curled up on a small lime green loveseat, watching a previous Hunger Games on the television screen in front of her.
"What do you want?" She sighs, not bothering to sit up. "You sent me away so I could be alone, didn't you?"
"I did," I say, "But I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
Corey doesn't respond, instead, turns the volume up louder. I glance at the screen in time to see a young girl being stabbed to death by an older, lanky guy. Her screams rip through my skull and I swallow hard.
"What are the odds either one of us will win, do you think?" Corey questions.
"One out of twenty-four," I reply.
"Then the odds aren't exactly in our favor, are they?" Corey muses. She finally sits up and motions for me to join her. When I do, she says, "Shall we see who else has been reaped?"
I shift until I'm somewhat comfortable. "Why not," I say with genuine interest.
Corey flips through the stations until she reaches the correct channel. The reaping for 1 is just being transitioned out of and the scene flickers to District 2. Standing on stage are a girl of Hispanic origins who looks to be eighteen, and a tall boy my age...
"W-who are they?" I inquire, voice coming out strangled.
"Their names? Uh, I think the girl is Mary-Alice Greene, and the guy? I'm not sure I heard his name before," Corey says.
I grip the edge of the couch so tightly, my knuckles turn white, and I lean forward towards the television. The small, middle aged man announces in an irritatingly pitchy ton, "This years District 2 tributes, Mary-Alice Greene and James Diamond are sure to do spectacular in the arena, thank you all for attending the reaping!"
"Oh my god..." is all I can choke out. Somehow, I don't know if I should be relieved he's alive, or mortified that he was reaped.
"What?" Corey says.
But I can't speak. Any words that might've crawled up and out of my throat have dissolved on my tongue. I ponder, suddenly, over the fact that perhaps Carlos and Logan are alive as well. Then I realize they might've been reaped too. The room begins to spin around me and the images on the television blur. There is a vaguely familiar voice in the distance, roaring and echoing in my head. I try to find the source of the voice, but moving makes my head whirl even more...
And then-
"Mr. Knight? Mr. Knight?"
I groan and shift awkwardly on the loveseat. I've been slumped against the far right side of the couch and my body is half on, half off the cushion. When I go to sit up properly, pain shoots up, my spine and I have to warily adjust my seating position. It takes a moment for my vision to focus until Lana comes into view.
"What do you want?" I jeer, sounding unintentionally harsh.
"Corey returned without you last night and said you'd fallen asleep on the couch," Lana explains. "We're almost at the Capitol now so I came here to wake you, but I found you unconscious on your back on the floor! Honey, there floors are a beautiful marble, but I wouldn't suggest falling asleep on them."
That must've been why my back hurts. I nod slowly and ask, "How long do you suppose I've been out?"
"Gosh, all night? Maybe a few hours more," Lana answers.
"Okay," I sigh. "So, you said we're near the Capitol or something?"
"Yup!" Lana exclaims, her normal perkiness taking control once more. "C'mon into the dining cart! You and Corey can get a spectacular view out the windows when the train slows down!"
I nod again and with the amount of poise as a dancer with a broken foot, I rise to my feet and follow Lana. When Corey sees us enter she teases, "Someone was overwhelmed by the competition."
"I was not overwhelmed," I snarl.
"Sure, which is why you totally didn't pass out on the floor," Corey snickers. She turns around completely from where she had been standing by the window. "Who freaked you out more? That Mary-Alice chick? Or the tall guy...James was it?"
Without even meaning to, I stiffen at the mention of James' name, and Corey notices it. "I'm not 'freaked out; over either of them," I say before she can comment.
"It's too bad you passed out anyways, you missed watching all the other reaping," Corey feigned pity.
"Oh, would you two quit it," Lana exhales in exaggerated aggravation, "Look! Look out the window!"
Corey turns back around and I walk over to her side. Across the water is a magnificent modern Rome style kingdom and I'm losing myself in all its stunning beauty. This place would make Vegas appear tacky. The train shoots down a tunnel, plunging us into darkness for a second or two, before we emerge into the midst of the bright city. Outside of the train are cheering hoards of Capitol people.
"Enthusiastic aren't they?" Mumbles Corey, while at the same time, Lana is sighing,
"It's good to be home."
I'm too awed to speak. It is as if I've been put in a trance, and nothing else matters. The fact that I'm hundreds of years from my true home, the fact that I'm to fight in the Hunger Games, the fact that James was reaped too and there's a possibility my other friends are in the games too...I let these facts hunker down for the sure breakdown they'll bring in a few hours.
"Fascinating isn't it," Corey grunts under her breath when we are herded off the train.
"Hush!" Lana scolds, "You mustn't be rude."
"Well excuse me," Corey says, putting an emphasis on 'excuse' by stretching out the syllables.
"Seriously," I warn her, "I know I'm probably not one to say this, but if you want them to be your sponsors, you'll act...likeable?"
"Whatever," Corey huffs. "You just woke up a minute or two ago, how are you functioning so normally?"
"Guess I'm just amazed by the Capitol," I confess.
"You are?" gasps Corey in fake surprise.
"Geeze, you're like hot and cold," I say, "One moment you're angry, then the next vulnerable, oh! And then the next a complete bitch!"
"You did not just call me a bitch," Corey hisses.
I shrug. "Alright, I'm sorry. Maybe I'm being judge-y, because you could be bipolar."
Really, I didn't mean it as an insult; I was speaking in honesty; obviously though Corey took it offensively. "You don't know me," she spat in a low enough voice so that the surrounding crowd wouldn't hear.
"Please, both of you!" Lana pleads, flashing us a glare from over her shoulder. "You'll be going to the Remake Center where you'll get a complete makeover from a prep team. Since you two are from an outer district, of course it will take you longer to be scrubbed down. After you are all clean, you'll be handed over to your stylist and then he or she will prepare you for the grand tribute parade."
"Joy," I mutter.
"For once we agree," Corey says.
When we reach the Remake Center, we are both sent to different sectors and are told to strip down and cover ourselves in a hospital gown of sorts. Sure it was awkward being so...revealed to these perfect strangers, but I couldn't exactly argue. Well, now, lying on top of something that is indistinctly similar to an operating table, I'm getting my...everything waxed. I consider asking them why the boys have to get the whole waxing treatment, but again-can't argue with these people. To be sincere, all this not quarrelling over how ridiculous these processes are is doing nothing for me. Back home, I was known for my stubborn Knight attitude. Every now and again in Panem, I would have certain debates with Tally and Corey is sure to get me riled up, but knowing I can't stand up for myself here is humiliating.
After my prep team is finished, I am left in a small room, told to wait for my stylist to arrive. Sitting in here alone I feel naked even with the gown on. On the bright side, my legs and arms are extremely smooth which is surprisingly pleasant; but on the other hand, my infamous bushy eyebrows-yup, you guessed it; history. Now they are your average thinned out brows you'd see on any guy...Staring down I find that even in this crammed room, the tiles are vibrant...
"Kendall Knight," the voice of a young woman says.
I jerk my head up to see a woman who appears to be in her late twenties. She is African in origin and has dark, dark brown hair with lavender highlights. Her lips are full and her deep eyes kind. I notice how she isn't wearing much makeup and how she is clad in white skinny jeans and a navy blue leather jacket. Come to think of it, she is the most normal person I've seen so far in the Capitol.
She holds out her hand and I shake it respectfully before standing up. "Yes...?" I say.
"Hello, Kendall. I'm Vitella," she introduces. "I will be your stylist."
"So, I heard your going to be prepping me for this, uh... tribute parade was it?"
"That's it," Vitella exclaims. "I, along with the female tribute Corey's stylist, Ren, are going to be creating costumes for the both of you to wear when you're revealed to the entire population of Panem through the parade."
"Wow," is all I can say.
"Indeed," Vitella laughs. "Hey, you know something, Kendall? District 12 tributes are so often put in dull miner outfits, but I want to try to do something different with you because well..." she smiles. "...Call me crazy but I could sense there's something special about you."
If you consider being sent here from hundreds of years into the future special, then yes. "Special?" I repeat in fake disbelief.
"Mmm hmm," Vitella says, "But, what I was thinking was that the characteristic of 12 isn't just mining-it's the strength it's citizens have from surviving poverty. Tell me, how have you survived?"
I hesitate to answer because I'm not sure if the reply will be used against me somehow. "I'd sneak out into the woods and hunt with my friends."
"Excellent," Vitella says brightly. "Hold on for a moment while I go conference with Ren about adding some final touches to the designs."
I don't have to time to say anything more because she is already hurrying out the door with a certain spring to her step. Had she and Ren planned on an outfit that had something to do with survival ahead of time? How could they've thought that far ahead? Instead though, I focus on calming my nerves.
The coal black leather vest jacket reassembles something Hawkeye would wear and the matching colored jeans are simple, but add to the outfit somehow. Over my shoulder is a sash with an arrow bag holding a prop bow and arrows.
Corey's ensemble is similar to mine. Covering her shoulders is a short, half leather jacket with a popped collar and her jeans are skin-tight instead of looser like mine. Her appearance has changed a bit. Her curly auburn hair is now straightened perfectly, and there is pale makeup on her face and mascara draw out the intense dark blue of her eyes.
As we stand in front of the chariot that we'll be riding in, Vitella explains to Corey and I how we will be using the arrows. "Now, all of them are white and made with harmless material," she says, "but there is one for each of you that is silver and contains a little surprise. When your chariot emerges, I want you both to take that silver arrow and launch it at the same time into the air. Don't ask any questions, just trust that everyone will love it."
Corey and I exchange a glance before nodding at Vitella. We board the chariot and prepare for the parade. "This is really happening, huh?" Corey sighs.
I sheepishly gaze over to her and say, "That it is."
Corey closes her eyes and breaths in then out. She says, "Alright. Let's give them something to remember, shall we?" Corey holds out her hand for me and it takes me a bit before I reach out and slip my hand into hers.
"Yes, we shall."
Was that too much to squeeze into one chapter?