"Joy Ride to the Capital"
After the two had left, Steve spent the remaining daylight in the kitchen area. It turned out that the chefs were nice people, and were eager to share stories about the previous tributes. Two of the cooks gave the super-soldier a heads up on what was to come, and the man was thankful for any helpful info.
Sometime around midnight, Steve wished the cooking staff a good night and walked to his room. On his way to bed, he could hear the moans of that suicidal tramp and that conceited drunkard loud and clear in the empty hallway. It made his skin crawl to know that the woman was whoring out before she meets her maker, and that the man she was boning probably slept with all his apprentices. Disregarding the ginger and her date, the man continued down the hall.
Upon arrival to his room, he noticed that his door knob glowed a faint greenish color. It didn't seem too out of place (knowing that the rest of the train was just as weird), so Steve carelessly reached for the knob. Twisting it, he pushed open the door and was instantly sucked in.
The man was thrown across the room and slammed against the wall. The impact had taken the super-soldier's breath away. Taking a couple of breathes to fill his lungs with air, the man finally let out a groan. Slowly, he moved his extremities to check if anything broke. Steve wiggled his fingers, toes, and shifted in his spot.
While he was doing, a ray of sunshine struck the super-soldier in the eyes. "Ooh!" He said as he covered his eyes. How could it there be daylight?! The super-soldier thought.
Climbing to his feet, Steve stretched his aching body, and as he was doing this, he noticed that once the soreness diminished, his whole body felt rejuvenated and ready for another bout of activity.
Not wanting to be in his room, after having just actively participated in a scene-transition, Steve headed for the door. But before he opened it, his hands stopped above the knob. The man gave the brass grip an inspection, and only when he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, he felt confident enough to open the door.
What greeted him on the other side was the hallway. Peaking his head out first to make sure nothing was up, Steve cautiously stepped out and sighed in relief when nothing happened. With a spring in his step, he walked back to the dinning cabin. Just outside, he could hear Tony explaining to Pepper that the key to success was to be likeable, if she wanted to survive the Hunger Games.
The ginger head woman shook her head in mock interest. Giving their mentor a wink every so often. Eventually, his words meant little to her in terms of entertainment, so she turned the subject to something of a more graphic nature.
Back outside, Steve covered his ears. Why was she still talking him like that? Didn't they sleep together, already? Aren't they passed the point of indecent flirtation? Shivering, he pressed the open button by the door and entered the room. He noticed that the chatting duo snapped their heads towards him and observed his every move.
Being the obnoxious fella, Tony was the first to crack a joke. "Look who decided to join us. I thought you might've gotten drunk last night." Steve flashed him an annoyed smile.
"I overheard you talking about survival. Do you have any tips for us?" The super-soldier said before sipping his orange juice. Tony examined the man across the table. Hmm, tall, fit, frosted tips….I don't like em. The brunette thought. "Ooh, sorry kid. My contract obligates me to mentor atleast one person, and that little lady is, well, the lady."
Returning to his breakfast, Tony smeared a clump of jelly on his toast, the playboy then proceeded to stuff the whole piece of bread down his throat. Steve looked away from the man. Uh, there was something grossly erotic about that view. Note to self: stay away from Stark. Steve thought.
As the super-soldier began to settle down, he noticed that something had moved out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to face it, he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary other than a misplaced chair. The man kept his eyes trained on the spot, hoping to catch the mysterious movement again. When suddenly, the sound of throat clearing filled the room. "Excuse me, but staring is terribly impolite."
Jumping back, the man looked around the room. "Did you guys hear that?" When he didn't get a response from Pepper nor Tony, Steve focused intently at the empty chair and found the silhouette of a woman. "Misses representative?" The super-soldier questioned.
"Of course! Do you not recognize me?" Steve shook his head. "It must be my new camouflage. Ooh, I just knew that it would work." With a satisfied smirk, Maria turned her attentions elsewhere.
Steve averted his eyes to his plate of food. Uh, nothing seemed the least bit appetizing. It was as if the man had lost his desire for food. Rising from his seat, Steve separated from the group and wandered the dinning cabin. From the window, he could make out their destination: The Capitol.
Staring out, the man marveled at the beauty of the richer quarter. It was nothing he had seen before. Buildings were well kept, the lands that surround The Capitol seemed much livelier than the ones that he grew accustomed to.
It was as if the city had enchanted the super-soldier, and the man couldn't shake its hold. In awe, Steve's eyes wandered the landscape, attempting to absorb a load of information when his view was suddenly blocked by rows of brick. The unexpected change in view startled the man. He jumped back and almost knocked a tray off the nearby table.
Apparently, the train had just entered a tunnel. It seemed like no longer than 30 seconds had passed before the high speed train emerged on the other side. What lie ahead was the train station, and a hoard of people were gathered by the platform, waiting for the tributes to appear.
Upon hearing the cheers, Pepper jumped to her feet and plastered herself to the window. Steve peered over to the woman, and saw that she was blowing kisses and waving to the crowd. Did she just wink to someone? The man thought, she knows no bounds!
While the tributes were preoccupied with the crowd, a hazmat team boarded the train and proceeded to the participant's location. The duo were not aware of the impending disinfecting that was about to take place, nor were they ready for their 'extraction'.
Storming the room, the hazmat team forced the two participants into a corner and injected the two with a sedative. Once they were out cold, the team transported the tributes to an undisclosed location.
