Training

The next day the tributes gathered in the Training Room. It was huge, all one room, and filled with different stations. All the tributes were dressed similarly, in t-shirts and loose, comfortable trousers, with trainers or combat boots. Perfect for physical activity. As they grouped nervously together, the Head Trainer, a man called Gladius, jumped up on a small podium to talk to them.

'Now,' he said, surveying them all. His eyes lingered on a few tributes, before moving on. 'You've got three days to brush up and hone your skills for these Games. As you can see, there are a number of different stations to help you. You're lucky this year – we've just installed a swimming pool. The Gamemakers decided they didn't want District Four to have such an advantage.' He winked at Jessalyn and Skye, who looked stonily back. 'Anyway, so, at the end of the three days, you will be tested, and a training score will be given. Remember – that score could effect whether or not you get sponsors, so work hard! Last of all, a couple of rules. Namely no fighting each other! We have assistants for that! And I don't want anyone slacking. It could greatly lessen your chances of surviving in this tournament. I think that's it – off you go!'

The tributes murmured assent and headed off to the different stations. The Careers of One and Two, of course, went straight to the Weaponry Stations. As their plan was to take control of the Cornucopia and use the resources there, they wanted to concentrate on fighting tactics, not survival. After a pause, Skye Coral followed them, while Jessalyn headed towards the swimming pool, picking up a spare swimming costume on the way. Most of the weaker tributes went for the survival and fitness stations, to try and learn which plants to eat and how to run faster to escape.

Gladius walked up to the balcony, where some of the Gamemakers were watching the tributes training. The Head Gamemaker, a man called Caecelius Hawk, walked over to talk to him. He was a powerful man, not in a particularly big or muscled way, but he was the kind of person who seemed to exude power and force wherever he was.

'Gladius,' he said smoothly, holding out a crystal goblet of wine. 'What do you think of this year's tributes?' Gladius shrugged, looking down at the wine, before quietly placing it on a table. You never could trust Caecilius.

'Adequate,' he replied. 'I can see some could be interesting. You see that one, there?' he pointed to Cleo, who was demonstrating her ability to throw knives. 'She looks to be as vicious as a wildcat. I can imagine her winning, you know.'

'What about the big one, also of District Two?' asked Caecilius. Jayson was wrestling with an assistant, and continually winning.

'He is strong and powerful, yes, but he does not have the intelligence of the girl, nor the speed. She could outwit him without even trying. Personally, I have taken a liking to the girl of District Four. Do you see her, down there in the new pool?' Gladius pointed over the balcony, to where Jessalyn stood on a diving board. As they watched, she executed a perfect swan dive, before cutting through the water with powerful strokes.

'Swimming is not everything,' said Caecilius.

'I know, but she is a Redway girl. Have you not heard of that family?'

'Of course. A family of winners, are they not?'

'They are. And I heard her say to the District Four boy that she knows all she could learn here. I would watch her, if I were you.'

'I shall, but you have not spoken of District One,' said Caecilius.

'They are skilled, yes, but as ever with District One, they seem too hung up on their looks rather than their fighting skills. They would have trouble against the Twos.'

'I agree – look there!' The group of Careers had obviously got bored of showing off their weaponry skills, and had decided to bully other tributes. Hareld, the boy of District Three, had been an instant target, especially as Jayson disliked him and he was standing in the middle of the room looking lost.

Suddenly he found himself surrounded by four Careers (Skye hung back, not wanting to get involved). Gladius headed down to the Training Area but signalled for the other Trainers to hang back. Bullying and fights often broke out in training, and Trainers preferred to wait and see if the tributes could sort it out before stepping in.

Hareld looked up at the tributes with wide eyes. 'I – I don't want any trouble,' he stuttered. Jayson just cracked his knuckles threateningly.

'Don't you now? Well the thing is, runt, we do!' growled Jayson. Somebody shoved Hareld in the back and he stumbled forwards into Jayson, who roughly pushed him to the floor. 'Did you just touch me? I don't think that's acceptable.'

'No, it isn't,' said Sparkle, smiling cruelly. It was just like back at school, with some dork. 'I think we need to show him it's wrong.' The others agreed, and suddenly Jayson and Niall grabbed Hareld's arms.

'What shall we do with him?'

'Dunk him!' cried Sparkle and Cleo, laughing. The boys nodded and started to drag Hareld over to the pool on his knees. Hareld was struggling against them, but he had no hope against two highly trained and strong boys. By the time the Trainers had started to move, they were at the edge of the pool.

'Please – please don't dunk me!' Hareld cried, almost sobbing. 'I'm scared of water! Please!' He was shaking with fear, but the Careers just laughed harder. None of them noticed Jessalyn had seen from the other side of the pool. 'I can't swim!'

'Best way to learn, eh runt? Look, it's nice and deep!' said Jayson. 'Shall I give you a taste?' He dunked Hareld's head in the water, pulling him out wet and spluttering. 'Like it? Shall we throw you in?'

'Ew, look, the little runt's wet his pants!' jeered Sparkle, pointing to the wet patch in Hareld's crotch and puddle underneath and trying to sound disgusted while doubled over in laughter. 'He needs a bath!'

'Yeah!' they dangled him over the water, Jayson able to easily hold him at arms length while he kicked and screamed, before letting go. As Jayson and Sparkle leant over to watch him flail around in the water, somebody shot out and grabbed them by the collars, pulling them in.

It was Jessalyn, of course. She had seen what was happening and swum over to help. The pool was too big and she didn't get there fast enough to stop Hareld falling in, but she managed to reap some revenge for him. Sparkle and Jayson thrashed around and Cleo and Niall couldn't help laughing.

Gladius and some other trainers rushed over to help, but Jessalyn had already guided Hareld to the side and climbed out. She picked up a towel and wrapped it around her waist, watching as Jayson and Sparkle struggled over to the side. Gladius seemed completely lost on who to tell off.

'Why did you dunk the District Three boy?' he yelled as Niall and Cleo helped the other Careers onto the side and gave them some towels.

'We were just playing, sir,' said Sparkle innocently. 'We'd heard him say he wanted to learn to swim, and people say that that is the best way to learn, especially as there's only three days, you see. We were only trying to help!'

'There are Assistant Trainers for that!' said Gladius. 'I don't want to see any of you throwing each other in the pool again, got it? Now get back to what you're meant to be doing. Now!'

The Careers walked back to the Weaponry Stations, sniggering and laughing. Jayson and Sparkle were towelling themselves off and seemed in perfect high spirits again. Hareld, who was shivering with cold, disappeared to get warm. Skye moved over to where Jessalyn stood, drying herself with a soft towel.

'What're you going to do next?' he asked. Jessalyn shrugged.

'Swimming's a bit boring here – no waves or rocks or fish. But as I said, I've been taught everything on those stations,' she replied, moving over to a button on the wall. She pressed it and instantly her swimming costume was warm and dry. She pulled on her t-shirt and trackies over the top.

'You might as well practice, you never know – one of those Capitol trainers might have a hidden gem or something,' said Skye. 'What's your tactic gonna be, anyway?'

'Fight my way through the Bloodbath, grab some good supplies, leg it,' said Jess. 'You?'

'I'll probably stick with the Careers for a few days, then leave when they all turn on each other and it gets nasty. I thought you'd want to be in the gang too.'

'Nah, I work alone,' said Jessalyn, smiling and flicking her hair back. 'Cause I'm worth it!' They laughed quietly. 'Maybe I'll shoot a few arrows, I probably need to get used to Capitol weapons.'

Nothing exciting really happened that day, though most people's techniques could soon be seen. Amore and Odio weren't great by themselves, but were killer as a team together, covering each other's backs and taking down opponents. Diesel was good with a rapier but not so great on long distance. Patrick didn't really have any survival techniques or know how to use a weapon, but could run very fast. And Lottie was just downright vicious.

Around five thirty Gladius dismissed them all and sent them back to the Tribute Building. Hareld purposefully climbed into the lifts last, so that Jayson and Sparkle couldn't climb in with him. Instead they ended up with Scott Fosters and Jenna Monroe.

'Hey, we're with the Bumpkins!' laughed Jayson. 'Have you been practising with pitchforks?'

'Ew, they still smell of manure and other … farm stuff,' sneered Sparkle, taking a big sniff then theatrically pinching her nose. 'Thank goodness I'm not in here long.' As if on cue, the lift doors opened and she stepped out. 'See you tomorrow, Jayson. And Bumpkins – take a bath.'

When the lift doors closed, Jayson turned to Jenna. 'You know what, District Ten? I'm gonna kill you in a special way. The same way you kill livestock.' He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head back, before making a slicing motion over her neck. 'I'm looking forward to it. Show you how it feels.'

He let go as the doors opened again and he stepped out. Jenna was still shaking when they reached Scott's floor. As he left he turned back. 'Don't listen to them, ok? They're just bullies.' Jenna nodded mutely, looking away from him. Scott sighed and walked into the parlour room of the District Nine floor.

'Ah, Scott!' cried the Escort, bouncing over to him. 'You've got a new Avox to serve you! Look!' She grabbed the shoulder of the new Avox, a young man, and spun him around. Scott felt his heart jump into his mouth as he looked into the face of this Avox. He recognised him. All of a sudden he felt a blinding flash of pain, and he saw a flashback, surprisingly clear. Of a boy not much older than him, laughing and holding out a ball. As he saw that boy, one word appeared in his mind. Brother.

His eyes snapped open, and he realised the entire room was watching him fearfully. He looked up into the face of the Avox, and saw that it was the same boy, a little older and much more grown up, but still the same boy.

And then he was running, slamming doors behind him. He reached his bedroom and threw himself onto the bed with an inhuman howl. His brother, his elder brother, was an Avox. He had been mutilated by the Capitol, rendered unable to speak. He must have been planted there on purpose, to taunt Scott and show him the power the Capitol had. But had he been allowed to keep his memory, or had it been wiped too, had he been brainwashed or hypnotised or some other cruel trick of the Capitol. As Scott lay there, curled up and shaking, he heard the door quietly open and close. Sitting up, ready to snap at someone, he was surprised to see his brother standing there.

'Brother?' asked Scott, his voice cracking. And when he looked into his brother's eyes, he knew that he had been allowed to keep his memory, probably more as a punishment than a mercy. 'What happened to our parents? The rest of our family?' His brother slowly shook his head, miming a cross over his heart to signify death. Immense sadness and grief was etched on his face. 'Everyone?'

Scott couldn't help breaking down after that. He had always retained the hope, though small and unrealistic, that one day his parents would reappear, and he would have a proper family again. And now he knew that that would never be. His brother moved forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, silently comforting him.

As Scott slowly calmed down, his brother gently lay him down on the bed, and straightened the covers, tucking him in. 'Stay with me,' whispered Scott, but his brother shook his head sadly. 'At least until I go to sleep.' To his surprise, he fell asleep almost immediately, tired out by the day.

The next two days were similar to the first. There were no more obvious acts of bullying, but weak tributes such as Hareld were constantly pushed around, whether it was a quiet insult in their ear, or a sneaky trip in the lunch room, making them fall over with a tray of food. And of course in the lift, where no adult could watch them. But nothing big, nothing that someone could tell them off for.

At the end of the three days was, of course, the private sessions, to show the Gamemakers what they were capable of. They went in District Order, boys before girls, so Niall of course went first. The Gamemakers had just arrived, so were alert and watching. He walked over to the bank of weapons, and picked up a set of dual swords. Whipping them through the air, he strode towards a dummy, and in a flash, stabbed it in the stomach and beheaded it.

'That was easy,' he said clearly. 'May I duel with a real opponent?' Caecilius nodded and indicated to an Assisant waiting in the corner, who picked up a normal double-edged sword. It took just over twenty seconds for Niall to disarm him and have one sword point at his neck and the other at his chest. When the Assistant attacked him from a distance with a bow he deflected or dodged all the arrows, before chasing him down. He also showed prowess in wrestling and with knives, and managed to get over the obstacle course easily.

'Well done. You may go,' said Caecilius. Niall bowed and left the room, feeling pleased with himself.

Sparkle did not seem as deadly or strong as Niall, but she still beat the Assistant most times. She showed how she had improved with a bow, hitting the target with all but one arrow. She could run fast, and had even brushed up on her swimming. She also showed them how she could use her beauty against an opponent, especially males, making them stop or pause for a second, giving her time to kill them.

Jayson was an immediate success. He did not just kill the dummy, he reduced it to a pile of sand and scrap material. The Assistant who reluctantly fought him, was unable to get up by the end of their wrestling match, for he had been thrown on the floor so many times, and just lay on the mat, groaning. Jayson also managed to throw the biggest weight about thirty foot and create a dent in the floor.

Cleo showed herself to be a born killer, especially vicious with her throwing knives, always hitting the bulls-eye, and also using them in close-combat. One time the assistant seemed to have won, and almost had his sword to her throat, before realising she had a knife pressed against his stomach. She sprinted fast and went through the obstacle course with agility and surprising strength for someone of her size.

Dawn Shentell did not know much about weapons, but she could handle a short-sword well. Also she had managed to use her knowledge of the inner workings of technology, and her quick fingers, and had found a talent for making snares. She showed her knowledge of edible plants and insects, and her talent for moving quickly without being detected.

Hareld's session was abysmal. He tripped over and fell flat on his face when he ran the obstacle course, as well as getting stuck in a net. He kept dropping his sword when he was up against the assistant, and managed to break his glasses. By the time he left the Gamemakers were hardly able to contain their laughter.

Skye Coral did well. He showed his strength with the weights, lifting all but the biggest. When he fought the assistant, he showed his prowess with swords, tridents and most of all, nets. The assistant ended up in such a huge tangle in the net that the session had to be paused to untangle him, while Skye stood back, smirking slightly. He also showed how well he could swim, as well as fight in water.

Jessalyn Redway was very good. She started off in the pool, swimming a bit before fighting an assistant in the pool. She dragged him in and managed to beat him three times in a row. After climbing out she decimated the obstacle course in record time. Finally she showed her prowess with a number of weapons including swords, bow and arrows, knives, and of course, tridents and nets.

Amore and Odio did not do so well, as they excelled in team fighting, and they were not allowed to do the private sessions alone. So they showed that they had skills with weapons, especially swords, and could run fast, but they left parts of themselves uncovered and vulnerable to attack, as those are the parts that the other would have covered.

Patrick Volta had worked hard and managed to make a fire (with matches) and learn a few basic techniques with a sword. But the assistant was better than him, and he usually lost. But the part where he excelled was when he ran. His long legs meant that he could run for a long time, and fast, perfect for outrunning other tributes.

Lottie Blacilla showed herself to be bloodthirsty and slightly mad. Instead of using weapons against the dummy, she just leapt at it and tore its throat out. She nearly used the same technique against the assistant – her teeth were a centimetre from his throat when another assistant pulled her off. She beat or scared off any assistant who went up against her, before leaving without being dismissed – the Gamemakers were too shocked and terrified to say anything anyway.

Diesel Cain was incredibly good with a rapier. It moved as a blur in his hands, constantly touching the assistant's chest, neck, stomach, arms, etc, too fast to count how many times. He wasn't as good with other weapons, especially bows and throwing knives, and his survival knowledge wasn't great, but his skills with a rapier seemed to make up for it.

Violet was very good with hand-to-hand, weapon less combat, and could use an axe or a spear well. She had been fighting other kids in the street for years, so knew which parts hurt when hit and how to fight dirty. Her knowledge of plants was good, and she could camouflage herself and move stealthily.

Kai Septor did incredibly well on the obstacle course. Most tributes did not do well on the hardest setting of it, but he did it with ease and in record time, even pulling off a somersault as he jumped from one post to another. He could handle long knives and swords fine, and he had some knowledge of nature from reading books.

Ginevra showed that she could make a weapon from anything – loose vines, sticks, etc. She could also use some weapons like swords and of course, a bow and arrow. Her survival skills were okay, but her main strength was how inventive she was, and how well she could hunt and create weapons and snares.

Scott Foster was very good at fighting with a sword, and he had transferred his skills with a pitchfork to using a spear. He was very strong, and had crammed as much survival knowledge as he could over the past three days. Others were surprised by how much he could retain to memory in a short space of time, but he just said that after having his memory wiped, there was so much space to fill it was easy.

Sephiria showed that she could climb well and identify different plants. She also discovered that if someone attacked her, would either freeze in terror or her brain would switch off and she would fight back viciously. They ended up having to stop her from going too far with the assistant, and when they did, she seemed to come back to herself again, and left the room in tears.

Pau Furnely, after growing up catching horses, could use rope extremely well. He knew hundreds of knots for all different purposes, and could lasso anything from a horse to a person. He could also use a whip, and managed to beat the assistant by whipping him around the ankle and tripping him up, before quickly tying his arms and legs together and leaving him helpless.

Jenna Monroe was awful with weapons – they scared her and she couldn't handle one at all. But she could set traps and snares very well, leaving the assistant dangling in the air by his leg. She knew which fruits and nuts to eat and which would poison you. And most of all, she could be very, very quiet, moving from one area to another without making a sound.

Nathaniel Merezald was very fast and agile, dodging the assistants' attacks and managing to escape from them. He was good with a bow, shooting the moving and stationary targets easily. After growing up on District Eleven he knew which plants and fruits were edible and which were poisonous. But he didn't know about any weapons like swords or knives.

Tabytha was also very fast, and could run very well. She fought with knives, and had great reflexives. Her plants knowledge and skills were good, especially with poisonous and dangerous ones, which she used to mix poisons. Her only big weakness was heights, as she discovered on the obstacle course.

Ember showed how good he was with fire – he could create it out of almost anything. As well as creating it he could manipulate it and use it as a weapon, without getting hurt. He wasn't great with normal weapons like swords and knives but could move stealthily and without being seen. He could create traps (again using fire) and climb well.

And finally, Trix. She had always had a habit of throwing things when she was bored, and now she used it to turn everyday objects like pebbles into weapons. Her petite size meant she was agile and quick, and she was a decent swimmer. Her biggest setback was that she had extremely poor survival skills and no experience of hand-to-hand combat.

That evening the Panem watched to see the training scores, which would reflect the tributes chances in the arena, and how attractive they would be to sponsors. Each tributes name would be announced, then a picture of them would flash up, and finally their score. They went in order of districts.

Most tributes just got six or seven, with the Careers of course getting more. Jayson got a ten, as did Jessalyn. Sparkle and Skye both got eight, Cleo and Niall getting nines. Hareld got a three, the worst score of all the tributes. Amore and Odio got matching fives – they would have got much more together. And Lottie got eleven, perhaps because of how terrifyingly vicious and mad she was.

As Trix Lexon's score, a seven, faded away, Caesar Flickerman reappeared in a royal purple wig with matching lips and eyelids. He was getting old, but Capitol doctors meant he looked only just middle-aged, if a bit plastic. He grinned at the nation. 'Well, what an exciting evening this has been. And don't miss out on tomorrow, when I will be interviewing all these tributes! But for tonight, good night!'

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Now it's my summer holidays, I will be updating quicker than before, as I do not have those pesky distractions of homework and school!

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Elena:20

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Food (small amount): 15P

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