Heyo! I'm baaaaackk! Here's Training Part 1. Again, thanks for the reviews & support! I think most people voted to reveal 'dem sponsor points, so I (if I remember) will list them at the bottom from most points to least points! If you're interested, I keep track of the tributes, personalities, weapons, sponsor points etc. on MicroSoft Access. It's pretty chill. PM me if you ever want an update! PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS SONG! IT REALLY RELATES! :) It's by Dia Frampton, 'Bullseye'
Look for a favorite quote!
We're gonna run, gonna run, gonna save you
We're rolling up our sleeves, got our fingers curled
For the bad, for the good, for the evil,
They got it out for me, for me
…
Valentina Bolt The Solitary
I practically choke on my breakfast. Our mentor keeps a watchful eye over Nikolai and me, saying that if we don't eat quickly enough we'll be late for the first day of training.
"Hurry it up," he gestures to my scrambled eggs.
I slowly stab a piece of the egg with my fork, taking my own time to bring it to my mouth. Something in his voice irritates me, the authority. I purposely turn my green eyes to my mentor with my fork hovering just below my mouth. His jaw is set, eyes as cold as I'm sure my own are.
"I don't have time for this, Valentina!" he cries.
"You? You don't have time for this? What about me? I have to make sure I get a spot in the Career alliance!" Nikolai rambles. I throw him a stern look.
"You're joining the Careers?" Our escort pipes with a look of genuine pride on his face. I roll my eyes at his ignorance. It's sad that these people rule over the Districts. What's sadder is we let them.
Our mentor ignores him, turning to me once more. "I don't know Miss Bolt, what caused you to become so stubborn, what family member abandoned you in the woods; but I suggest learning how to get along with your fellow tributes. Because from the last 24 hours I have spent with you there hasn't been a moment of pleasance!" My insides seem to freeze, my body rigid. I want to speak, to snap at him, but my mouth won't move.
Instead I look like an idiot who can't take a punch.
Nikolai saves me, "Can we please go now? That pretty girl from District Two said she thought I was cute. I think I'd like to get a smooch in before training if you don't mind," he stands up with his white china plate and takes it to the sink.
"Oh no dear, let the Avox do that!" Our escort nods his purple bald head to a girl dressed in crimson, standing in silence in the corner of our room. Her black hair reflects the fluorescent light from above.
She looks like someone.
Someone so far into my brain I can't reach them.
On a light stomach, Nikolai and I retreat to the elevator. Our mentor waves goodbye to us while our escort wishes Nikolai luck with the Careers and the District Two girl. I'm sure Nikolai doesn't even know her name.
We stand in an awkward silence, Nikolai and I. Usually I'd try to get him to squirm in the tight place. But Nikolai is different. There's purity in him I admire. He's naïve and hopeful. And so far he's the only person in this place that's been able to put a smile on my face.
The elevator lets us off with a ding! and we find ourselves in a warehouse. The walls look refinished with a silvery metal. The floors are black. There are no windows, the only source of light comes from the hanging fixtures on the silver ceiling. Dummies and weapons galore are scattered across one half of the room seemingly at random; the other half is divided into square stations for survival skills- tying knots, plant information, starting fires and too many more to name. On the far wall there is an indent large enough to hold the gamemakers that will evaluate us later on.
Closest to the elevator is a ring of tributes, standing on a navy mat. Inside the ring is a middle-aged woman who looks relatively normal compared to most of the Capital citizens.
"Hello, I'm guessing you're District Three?" The woman asks us.
I respond before Nikolai can think of a lie. "Yes," my voice comes out emotionless. The woman nods and gestures for us to join the tribute circle.
Once both Nikolai and I are in position she begins, "Now that everyone is here, I will begin to tell you about the training center. We have split the room into two sides- weaponry and survival. It is usually thought that weapons kill the most people in the Hunger Games. When in reality the arena is the true murderess. Spend your time wisely. If you have any specific questions or concerns either talk to a trainer or me. Absolutely no fighting will be tolerated. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"
I groan at the overused phrase.
The tributes around me begin to shuffle around. Most don't look sure where to go. Only the tributes from 1, 2, and 4 immediately strut to the weaponry side. Convenient, isn't it, that they skipped over District 3 like it wasn't there. My District could be a home for the victors, but instead it's known for bloodbath casualties.
I'm one of the first non-Career tributes to break out of the tribute haze and stumble to a station. I decide to tackle the survival skills first, planting myself at a station that will -hopefully- teach me how to start a fire.
Moments after I've sat down a girl joins me. She's small. I recognize her from the Reaping. She's the District Eleven Girl who volunteered. She has a plain, but kind face. Her eyes twinkle from the bright hanging lights overhead. Her full lips are pushed into a smile.
"Bold move," I turn to look at her.
She tilts her head slightly to the left. She creases her eyebrows, wrinkling her creamy brown skin. "What?"
"Volunteering. I just hope you have a plan for yourself," I give her a half grin.
"Oh... that," she looks around to make sure no one's listening. "It's a long story. I was kind of forced to," when I don't say anything she continues warily. "I have a disease. A heart disease. I need to win for the medicine."
What a trusting tribute I've stumbled upon.
That's what I think before I process what she's said. A heart disease. That's who the Avox reminded me of. The three words throw me back three years to when I was fifteen. I remember the day Marika was ripped from my arms. My beautiful, delicate, Marika- the only person who's ever loved me. She healed my scars, but the day she left me they came back fortified.
I didn't think she could ever hurt me.
And she didn't.
Not until she died.
Scott Jameson The Underestimated
My allies and I are in an awkward line by the weaponry. Nobody speaks for a long time. But I know what we're doing. We're testing each other. Observing our alliance and our skills. Next to me, Dessiah taps her fingers against her leg. The silence is overwhelming, it's meant to make us squirm.
Finally someone moves from the line to face the rest of us, the Girl from Four. Her green eyes bore into my own. She searches me.
"I'm Katrina," she says, her voice like glass. "And I think we should find a leader," She glances between the Boy from One and I.
"How?" The Girl from One asks a little too eagerly.
"A test. I'll observe you all, and choose who I think is the most… leader-like." She smirks.
"That's not fair! Who said you get to decide?" the Girl from One squeals.
Katrina takes a step closer to the girl, who eases backwards. Katrina's a good foot taller and a hell of a lot more intimidating. The girl's eyes widen. Her platinum blond hair frames her face.
"And what's your name?" she asks the girl.
"Sprite Winters," she replies with pride.
"Yeah? Well, Sprite, I said I wanted to be the one who chose the leader so I think that's what I'm going to do. I wouldn't want to have to turn on one of my allies already, but I'm not afraid to lose one itsy bitsy twelve year old. I think we'd survive without you. But I don't think you'd survive without us. So either scram or find your weapon so I can decide if you'd make a good leader or not," Katrina's voice is like poison spewing out of her full lips. Her pretty face looks sinister.
Sprite nods, face red. But I can tell she wants to snap back at Katrina, only she knows better. Katrina nods to the weapons, signaling us to split.
Normally I would have argued with Katrina like Sprite did. Only this time I didn't because I agreed with her. Someone should observe us. Someone should choose the leader. Someone who wouldn't vote themselves. And from what I see, Katrina will be fair. She doesn't seem to have an attachment to her District partner like some of us do. She's watching us from a perspective we aren't used to.
The Boy from One marches to the daggers. I watch his tall figure. Unlike most boys I've seen from District One, he isn't very muscular. But there's still the arrogance of the average boy.
The boy picks up a dagger and hurls it towards the target, slicing the air with his weapon. The metal hits inside the circle, not perfect, but pretty damn close. He brushes his hands together when he's finished.
I don't watch anyone else because after seeing the Boy from One I go to the crossbows. I've trained since the Dark Days. I've seen what the Capital can do. They destroyed me. My parents were shot in the rebellion. My little sister and brother- kidnapped. And I doubt the Capital showed them any mercy. They left my older sister and I to rot an orphanage until she was old enough to take care of us.
Not that that was any better.
But either way, I've learned that the Capital isn't afraid to slain the innocent. Once the Hunger Games was announced and started I began training. I didn't know I was going to volunteer then, I was afraid of getting reaped.
The crossbow is heavy in my hands that warm the cool metal. I close my eyes and pluck a narrow arrow from the rack. I balance it on the crossbow and bring one hand back. Once the arrow is behind my head, I release. The arrow cuts through the thin air and hits the target with a satisfying thump. It's stuck in the center of the target.
I do my best not to act excited, so instead I take another arrow. My second doesn't hit as close to the target as my last, but it's still impressive.
In-between loading the crossbow I watch my allies. My District partner, Dessiah, stands a few feet from me with a bow in her own hand. Unlike mine, it's graceful instead of bulky. She raises it and shoots. I notice her hands tremble on the quiver. Sweat trickles down the side of her face. I thought I was taking a risk, volunteering at fourteen, but Dessiah took it to a new level. She volunteered at twelve.
There's something different about her… she doesn't look ruthless. She have her pretty face stuck up in space like most girls from my District. Instead she hides behind her dark wavy hair.
I knew her brother. Dalton Martin died in the Seventh Hunger Games. I remember him because he made it far. That, and he was a friend of my sister's. Dalton was betrayed by his District partner, stabbed in the back- literally and figuratively.
I just hope she didn't volunteer to avenge him; if she did it'd make me her first target.
Dessiah's arrow lands within the target, nothing too remarkable, but she's proved herself to the alliance.
I turn my eyes to the Boy from Four. He's odd-looking, to be completely honest. His short red hair contrasts his green eyes. The boy has a smaller nose and long lashes. He's shorter than me, but still muscular. He works at the nets station, his fingers fumbling with the rope, tying pieces together quickly.
Sprite is by the spears. She grips a long weapon in her hands. It seems like it should weight her over, but she stands still. Sprite throws the spear at the dummy stationed ahead of her instead of a target. She hits the small board, but on the outside. Like Dessiah, not too remarkable, but she has a spot in the alliance.
But Sprite's different from Dessiah. She's all fire while Dessiah is shy and emotionally flexible like water.
"Time's up!" Katrina voices with an air of confidence. She claps her hands together. "I've decided who the leader should be, but first I realized I don't know your names! Well, except for Caspias," she gestures to her District partner, "and Little-Miss-Feisty-Sprite," she jerks her head to the District One Girl.
"Well, greetings everybody! I'm Jules Gilded," The Boy from One says. His voice is higher than I expected.
"Dessiah,"
"Scott"
"Now that's out of the way, I think Scott should be our leader," she nods to me approvingly. I try not to gawk at her.
If only District Two could see me now. A few weeks ago I was the measly little sick boy. Now I'm in charge of the most powerful alliance in the Hunger Games.
To my surprise, no one objects.
Metric Tenure The Reckless
When I thought of the Hunger Games, I never really paid attention to the Capital activities. Even after I volunteered I only cared about being slaughtered.
When my brother was here years ago, I blocked it out. I can't remember what his chariot outfit was. I don't know his training score. I have no idea how his interview went. I only know that he died. I guess my memory honed in on his death and blocked out everything else.
A small tap on my shoulder breaks me from my thoughts. Lero stands next to me. He's muscular, especially from our District. At first glance he doesn't seem like someone who'd be bullied.
We were in the same grade at school, Lero and I. I didn't ever talk to him. He didn't ever talk to me. We each had our own issues and neither of us had our minds on school, I know that. I also know that kids teased him and made fun of 'Lady Lero.'
We're rather different- I was disregarded, Lero was unmistakable- but there's something comforting about him. He doesn't intimidate me. He doesn't talk too much. He doesn't ignore me.
"What?" I turn towards him.
"We should go somewhere else, this is boring," he nods towards the braided rope in my hands. I agree, the knot station isn't my idea of fun.
"Let's go to the weaponry," Lero stares at me, speechless. His eyebrows crease.
"The Careers are there though. The basically claim the weapons," He finally says.
I shrug, "All the more reason to put them back in their place,"
In the end Lero agrees.
I decide to try out the swords first, while Lero strides to a weird weapon I haven't seen before. It's like a fan with blades.
The Girl from Three is already there. From what I can tell she isn't a Career, although the typical arrogance is present. She holds a silver sword in her hands. A sliced dummy stands ahead of her. She stops slicing when she hears me approach.
"So, what brings you here?" she asks, her eyes still trained on her sword.
She slurs her words. There's dominance in her splintering voice that irritates me. "Oh… well gosh… I'm not quite sure. Maybe the arena? The fight to the death that will take place in a few days? The fact that knowing how to use a weapon could save my life?" I snap. The girl rolls her eyes.
"So we've got a little spitfire over here, huh? What happened? Daddy didn't pay enough attention to his little girl… she grew up rough around the edges?" her voice his light, but her tone deadly. She twirls a lock of her hair around her finger. She's trying to set me off; to make me uncomfortable.
Two can play at that game.
I throw my hands up. "Close enough. What about you? What's your hidden secret?" I take a shot in the dark, " Someone ripped out your fickle little heart? Put you a bit over the edge?" I give her a wink. The girl's eyes soften and for a moment I almost feel sorry. But soon they're stony once more.
"You wish. But really, sweetheart, I'm golden," With a toss of her hair she's gone to another weapon.
I hope I didn't already make an enemy.
Not that it wouldn't be entertaining…
I slide a sword out of the weapon rack. The silver blade catches the white light, making purple spots form in my vision. When I finally blink them away I notice Lero watching me. With a shrug I continue to the dummy. The Girl from Three, The Girl from Seven- who I only just observed- Lero and I are the only non-Career tributes in the weapon area. So naturally, a few of the Careers are watching me. Not good… I chose to work with the swords first because I'm completely inexperienced with them. I haven't lifted a heavy metal object once in my life- unless you count the railroad supplies I've worked with.
I lumber towards the swords dummy. There's grey cloth stretched across its body. Two targets are stamped on the head and heart. With my sweaty hands making the sword slippery in my grasp, I swing at the dummy's head, making a tear in the dummy. The sword is clumsy in my hands. It feels too heavy, so after only one more slash I decide to try something else.
I saunter over to Lero, who still is at the bladed fans. He gives me a quizzical look. "Why'd you give up already?" he asks.
"I suck at swords. I think I'll try something else," I shrug.
"Go ahead. Want me to come with you?" He asks. I smile at Lero but shake my head.
"Nah. I think it's smarted to split up. Don't worry though, I'm sure you'll spend plenty of time with me in the arena," I grin.
"You mean, we're allies?" he asks me, his blue eyes boring into mine. I can see my reflection from the lights. I look weak. My pale skin is brittle and my green eyes that once shined so bright look dull and foggy. My dark brown hair is choppy as always- I cut it myself. I frown at myself in Lero's eyes. He looks strong- he is strong. I suppose dancing has its pros.
I smile again. "Sure, I mean unless you were planning on teaming up with someone else…"
"Nope!" He gives me a grin.
I hope I haven't made the same mistake my brother did. Somehow though, I don't see Lero stabbing me in the back.
Keegan Hale
Everybody around me seems to know their place. They waltz around the training room so sure of themselves. Everybody but me. I don't know what to do. Should I go to the weaponry or survival stations? Should I make any allies? Certainly that would be a good decision temporarily. Eventually they might become a burden or I might have to end up deciding whether my life is worth more than theirs- something I don't want to do.
As of now I'm standing in an aisle between the knot tying and fire making stations. Neither sounds too appealing. Maybe I should try to find an ally, someone I can trust.
Before I can make up my mind, the trainer who spoke to us at the beginning of the day strides to the center of the room with a microphone in her hand. "Now we will break for lunch. Head out the doors to your left and you will enter the dining room. Food will be served,"
Five minutes later I find myself in at a sleek long white table. I'm seated near one of the ends with a pile of food on my plate. Food I know I'll never finish. I keep my head down as tributes walk past me, finding seats with allies they've already formed.
Just then, a girl with light blond hair finds a seat next to me. I smile at her. She only says back to me, "I'm Four," and sticks her right hand out.
I take it in mine. Her grip is firm and a blanket of nervousness has fallen over me.
Don't you screw this up, Keegan.
I only now notice that the girl looks at me expectantly, raising her light eyebrows.
"Oh, um… Keegan," My words stumble out of my mouth.
Four nods back to me with no emotion evident on her pale face. She's like a ghost drenched in bleach.
Before I can say anything to break the uneasy silence, another tribute plops down across from Four.
Something flashes across Four's face when the boy with golden hair sits down. Disgust. The boy ignores her and starts to eat his meal of some type of meat and a creamy white soup with bread. I shoot Four a quizzical look, but she either doesn't notice or doesn't care.
"Hello?" I greet the boy, my voice rising like I'm asking a question.
"Oh, sorry, I was too busy eating to introduce myself," The boy laughs a bit.
I shrug, "I can't blame you. I'm Keegan,"
"Will Houston." He turns to Four and nods.
"You guys know each other?" I ask, confused by the relationship.
"Yeah, we're both from Twelve," Four grunts.
"Oh…" I pretend like it makes sense now. Why does Four act hostile to Will when Will is only kind to her?
"May I sit here?" I turn to see another boy with dark skin like mine.
"Go ahead," I smile at him.
"Thanks,"
…
It doesn't take long to start a conversation with the three tributes that sit near me. And before I know it, lunch is over.
The tributes mostly break up into groups, but a few shuffle alone back to the training center.
"So, do you guys want to train together?" Four asks nonchalantly. My heart lifts.
"Sure," I try not to sound too excited.
Barkson and Will agree as well. Questions swim around in my head- Does this make us allies? Why does Four act even stonier when Will is around? I don't have time to sort them out now. Might as well pay attention to what I do know- I'm being thrown into an arena in less than a week and I need to survive.
Do I? A small voice asks. I've never really thought about it… What if I went into the Hunger Games as and surrendered, knowing I won't come out- but no, Parish needs me. My younger brother would be in hell without someone relatively normal taking care of him. My mother and father would be of no help.
Whenever I close my eyes I see my father with a hollow grin plastered on his face just like the one evident when I was reaped. No doubt if I lose he'll make Parish volunteer to avenge his pride lost with me.
And then there's my mother. She's been blinded by the past. Her sister was in Games when they were younger. My mother has never been able to live beyond the moment she died.
I hope my brother doesn't turn out like her.
"So, what should we do?" Barkson breaks me from my thoughts. I notice the muscles on his arms. I guess chopping down trees gives you some advantages.
"Let's do the weaponry first and survival stations last so they're fresher in our brains in the arena," Will suggests. Four grunts.
I ignore Four, "Sounds good to me,"
The group proceeds to the left side of the training center. Before us only a few tributes besides the Careers were here.
"Does this make us allies?" Will asks.
"I guess so," Barkson replies.
I nod, happy to have found a group, now I have to figure out who I can and can't trust…
…
We're gonna run, gonna run, gonna save you
We're rolling up our sleeves, got our fingers curled
For the bad, for the good, for the evil,
They got it out for me, for me
…
Allies List (normally I wouldn't post this, but I don't want anyone to get confused… also keep it mind that these could change easily in the Games)
Careers: Sprite, Jules, Dessiah, Scott, Katrina, Caspias
Alliance1: Xander, Vesper, Shay
Alliance 2: Robin, Ayla
Alliance 3: Nikolai, Daphne, Atticus
Alliance 4: Shade, Thorn, Valentina
Alliance 5: Lero, Metric
Alliance 6: Barkson, Keegan, Will, Four
Alone: Bobbin
Sponsor Points as of June 6th
Bobbin- 28
Jules- 27
Ayla- 22
Shawn (Shade)- 21
Lero- 20
Valentina- 20
Sprite- 20
Shay- 17
Daphne (Magenta- 17
Metric- 16
Atticus- 15
Vesper (Vezzy)- 15
Katrina (Katri)- 15
William (Will)- 14
Dessiah (Dessie)- 14
Scott- 13
Robin- 12
Four- 12
Nikolai- 10
Keegan- 10
Barkson- 9
Xander- 8
Thorn- 7
Caspias- 4
READ ALL THE AUTHOR'S NOTE! (Wow. I think I'd rather deal with Lillith Gold than have to redo the points and alliances…) OH I UPDATED THESE JUNE 8th, so if you reviewed any time after your points aren't updated.. And now I'm realizing it's been almost a month since I updated last (not counting the hiatus note).
Oh, and just to clarify, yes Valentina is gay too; bi actually!
AGHAHAAH! Sorry, got too excited… just wanted to say I love writing this story, thank you everyone for such in-depth characters and wonderful reviews! I seriously appreciate each and every one of you and I'm so thankful that my stories always have the best submitters.
Well, I hope you're happy with your alliance! And if you want more points, there's still time! Review my children! Also, I'll allow you to go back through the chapters with sponsor points and guest review to earn some that you missed out on. (only do this if you didn't do the sponsor questions previously. If you've already answered it won't count as extra. Also, be sure to tell me who you are!) :)
And, here's a sponsor point question…
SPONSOR POINTS (2 points): Review! Yay, that's it! :)
Also if you have any questions for this story or about the Games or me or anything ask it in your review! I'll answer frequently asked questions, or just good questions or whatever next chapter :). Thanks! And also, what do you think about the length of this chapter? Is it reasonable?
And finally, if you'd like to humor yourself, you can check out my very first SYOT… this is my 4th I believe… It's called 'The 50th Hunger Games' and it has 21 chapters and 16,000 words ;P I'd like to say I improved!
I MADE A FRICKING BLOG JUST COS I WANTED TO! IT WILL BE REVEALED NEXT CHAPTER FOR SURE! :)
PROMPT WINNER(S) WILL BE AWAREDED NEXT CHAPTER!