Assistant Gamemaker, Aphrodite McKennon
Aphrodite, along with a few randomly selected Gamemakers, made their way to the balcony of the Training Center. Chal stood next to Aphrodite, looking terribly hung over from the Tribute Parade. This is why Aphrodite should be Head Gamemaker; she doesn't drink or try to molest the Master of Ceremonies. She has always turned down the alcohol, even in the party when the Games complete. She dismissed her thoughts and held her tablet in her hands. Today is not the day to be bitter about Chal; she needs to focus on the tributes and their odds at winning.
She and the other Gamemakers took their seats and looked over the empty gymnasium. The woman instructor and greeter, Selene, stands in her Capitol issued uniform waiting for her tributes to arrive. Aphrodite looked at the tablet in her hands. She, unlike Chal, keeps a close eye on each and every tribute, raising or lowering their odds when needed. Every tribute starts with the same odds: 60-1. If a tribute does very well, their odds rise. She has never seen a tribute with 2-1 odds before. The closest thing to it was a tribute with 4-1 odds, but they only made it to the top three. Well, at least they trained hard to earn those odds.
"Who are you excited to see?" A voice calls to Aphrodite. She turns and sees the Tribute Manager, Ceaser. She smiles and glances at her tablet.
"Probably the boy from Four." She looks at the tribute's headshot on her tablet. "Predator should live up to his name quite nicely. What about you?"
"I want to see the siblings from Fourteen." Ceaser says. "They look rather strong. I wouldn't be surprised if they made it past the Bloodbath."
Aphrodite pulled up Blakely's headshot. A promising tribute, eighteen years old and ready to fight. His sister, Amelie, is only sixteen, but she looked just as strong as her older brother. Being siblings in the Games is more dangerous than being alone. Only one can come out alive. Why would Blakely volunteer if he knew those rules? Dusk Shine now has a job to find out that exact reason. Aphrodite flipped through each tribute, expecting the best from each and every one of them.
Meadow Walsh, D12
The elevator slows and stops at the training floor and Meadow's heart sinks. All hope left her heart and body when her name was called at the Reaping. What could she do? How can she compete with tributes from 1, 2, and 4 who have trained all their lives for this exact moment? She began to take deep breaths as she steps out of the elevator and into the gymnasium.
The eleven districts above 12 were already there and lined up by district. They all stared at the lady with the Panem seal on her jacket. She stared at each tribute who walked in, ready to tell them about their upcoming deaths. Meadow took her spot behind the boy from 11, who was shorter than her. She continued to take deep breaths as District 13 filed in.
Once 14 took their places, Meadow turned her attention to Selene, ready to learn useless knowledge. She may never see 12 again, so what's the use? She held her ground as Selene opened her thin mouth to speak.
"Hello, tributes." Her voice was thick and heavy with the Capitol accent. "Today, you will be learning the skills you need to surviving the Games. In two weeks, twenty-seven of you will be dead. Only one will remain standing. Who that is relies on what I am about to tell you today. Don't ignore the trainers. They will give you all of the information you must know to survive.
"There are a few rules you must know. One, don't fight with any other tributes. You will have time for that in the arena. Second, you must complete the compulsory exercises. Those exercises will help you in any arena that the Gamemakers have created for you. With six more tributes than normal, you may all want to grab a sword, however, most of you will die from natural causes. Infections, dehydration, starvation, and open wounds can kill as easily as another tribute."
Selene released the tributes and Meadow ventured off alone. The tributes from 2 went straight to the axe station. What can she do to impress anyone? She knew the Gamemakers were watching and they had the power to give or take away her sponsors. After some deep thinking, she moved her way to the giant screen with plants on it. No one but the trainer was at the station, so she went their with a clear mind.
After the trainer explained how to work the machine, he started it up for Meadow's use. Over a hundred different plants showed up on-screen. Oh, it's a matching exercise. Meadow thought to herself. Her fingers tapped the two nightlock outlines and they disappeared. She tapped the nightshade, blueberry, and hemlock outlines. She continued to click away the plants until every single one was gone.
Diamond Cortez, D1
Diamond had her blond hair tied into a fishtail braid to keep it out of her eyes. She and Ian were in line for the obstacle course. As a mandatory excercise, she needed to do this one before she can move to the throwing station. The tribute completing the course was being pushed by a trainer. He swiftly moved around the trainer, showing off the number 8 on his back. He jumped from the lower level to the higher level and effortlessly grabbed ahold of the bars above him.
Diamond bounced around impatiently. She knew that she can complete this course in minutes, if not seconds. The boy from 8 finished and a trainer took a hold of her arm. "Okay, darling." The trainer started. "You have to jump over these uneven ramps while dodging your enemy." He gestured to another trainer. "Then, go onto those bars and don't fall in the water. Lastly, compete in hand-to-hand combat with that trainer over there. You ready, District One?"
"I was born ready." She sneered, looking at her target. The trainer nodded and blew his whistle. Diamond took off, only looking in front of her.
She jumped on the first beam and made her way to the next. This course is different from the one back in 1. The one back home wasn't as clean-cut and the dip from beam to beam was deeper, but she had to make do with this course. She moved closer and closer to her target. She jumped up to the highest beam and was face-to-face with the trainer. He swung a baton in Diamond's face, and she quickly moved away from the weapon. You little... Her thoughts stopped as she pushed her palms into the trainer's chest and ran to the overhanging bars.
Her legs pushed off from the beam and her fingers caught onto the metal rungs. Underneath her, about ten feet below, was a pool of clear water. Her hand moved from rung to rung, propelling her forward. Her quick movement surely brought the attention of the Gamemakers to raise her odds. She reached the end of the bars and dropped to the hand-to-hand combat phase of the course.
The female trainer in front of Diamond was poised to attack. Diamond jolted from side to side, and grabbed the trainer by the stomach. She laid her on the mat, ready to pin her down. Suddenly, the trainer wrapped her legs around Diamond's back and flipped the tribute onto the mat. Not today. Diamond grunted as she flipped the trainer over a pinned her down. She continued to hold her there until a whistle stopped the fighting.
"Nice job!" The female trainer told her. Diamond's eyes averted to the clock on the wall. Her time was showing brightly, projecting to the Gamemakers up above. They better raise her odds now.
The clock read one minute and three seconds.
Kira Shock, D6
Kira's nimble fingers tied a tight knot on a length of rope. The trainer taught her the basics of knot tieing, which she quickly caught on to. She pushed her loose brown hair from her eyes. Her mind was only focused on the rope in front of her, making some sort of snare. She has only done two other stations since she was released three hours ago; obstacle course and fire-starting. Kira tied the final knot and completed her snare, something that an animal or another tribute can get caught in.
A bell rang and every tribute left their stations. Kira abandoned her rope tying and followed everyone else. She caught a glimpse of the Gamemakers overhead. They stopped watching the tributes for now; their attention was now focused on an over-stuffed roasted pig with an apple in its mouth. Her eyes caught a woman with a tablet in her hands. What did that tablet contain? Kira continued to walk to the cafeteria, where their lunch would be served and eaten.
When she walked in, she noticed that groups were forming. Some tributes ate alone while others were others were still getting their food. Kira went to the end of the line to get her Capitol lunch. The line moved rather quickly, and Kira's lunch consisted of brazed ham, mashed potatoes with thick gravy and water. Oh, so the tributes train for their lives and the Capitol can't provide them a luxurious lunch? Lazy cooks.
Kira took her tray and sat in an empty table. She took her knife and began to cut her meat. Who cares if the meal is smaller than last night's? The Capitol can sure cook up a good meal. The meat is placed in her mouth as her eyes scan the tributes. She notes the tributes that are lunching together.
The typical Careers. All the tributes from 1, 2 and 4 are sitting together. The boy from 4 says something and they all burst out laughing. Friendships don't last in the arena, guys. Kira's eyes advert to the small girl at the end of the table. She isn't a Career, being so little compared to everyone else. Kira glanced at the number on the girl's shoulder: 8. Why is that girl with the Careers? She's so tiny and only looked about fifteen years old. The girl from 8 doesn't know what she is dealing with.
A fit of giggles came from the table at Kira's right. When she looked to the source, she made sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. She saw the girl from 11 and the boy from 12 sitting together, laughing and making faces to each other. How many times do they need to know that friendships never last in the arena? Only one comes out and you suffer longer if your friend dies.
Kira rolled her eyes and continued to eat. Those tributes are a danger to themselves, not me.
Violet Dixon, D3
"Hold the spear like this." A male instructor told Violet. She curled her small fingers over the metal weapon and clutched it slightly. "Now, put your right foot behind you and step off with your left. Throw the weapon when your arm is over your head."
Violet took deep breaths and did as she was told. Her right foot moved to the front and she swung her arm. The spear sailed through the air, heading straight for her target. It hit the dummy in the abdomen, inches below his heart. The trainer patted her back and handed her another spear. "That was amazing. You think you can do it again?"
The District 3 girl nodded and gripped the spear. This was the last station of the day, and she wanted to make the best of it. Since lunch ended, she went straight fot the spears. Something about these weapons made her want to throw them. She's one of the smaller tributes, but that doesn't mean she can't throw the heavier weapons. The trainer has been such a complete help, showing her how to hold it and throw with complete accuracy. She hasn't completely missed the target, but she never hit the bulls-eye.
Slow and steady breaths came from Violet's mouth. She wanted this spear to count. She took a few steps back to get a running start. She ran a few steps and released the weapon. It sliced through the air and made its way to the target. With a thud, the spear embedded itself into the dummy. Violet didn't know where it landed until the trainer placed a hand on her shoulder. "Honey, you hit the bulls-eye! That was amazing!"
"Thank you." She quietly said.
She didn't feel very accomplished. With the trainer's outburst, he unknowingly put a target on her back. A tribute from a poor district made her name known with a spear, and the Careers will be after her. Her thoughts were confirmed when the boy from 2 glanced over at her, with a death glare in his eye. Why did her trainer have to yell when he congratulated her? Couldn't he have stayed quiet?
"Attention tributes!" Selene yelled out. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at the woman. "This concludes your first day of training. Come down tomorrow at the same time to do this all over again. Thank you for your cooperation and see your again tomorrow."
Violet left her station and found her district partner. Pace, her mentor, suggested that they stay close together. Daniel didn't mind; he just grunted and continued to eat the Capitol food. Standing next to the larger tribute made Violet feel more powerful, as if Daniel began to radiate power over to the little District 3 tribute. They entered the elevator and pressed the 3 button. The door closed and they were on their way to their floor. Tomorrow will be the same deal, so Violet couldn't wait to sleep. Training for your life if harder than it seems.
Updated Tribute Odds:
Diamond Cortez: 8-1 Ian Strace: 10-1 Kleo Miller: 9-1 Caden Miller: 6-1 Violet Dixon: 20-1 Daniel Kelly: 15-1 Maya Matthews: 8-1 Predator Fazaysia: 7-1 Isadora Jolf: 16-1 Rod Bolts: 21-1 Kira Shock: 15-1 Ryan Yitch: 30-1 Sheila Carwell: 27-1 Linden Ulmus: 9-1 Flim Tayles: 24-1 Camden Pheon: 29-1 Jayd Blair: 31-1 Rye Corn: 19-1 Melayna Smith: 20-1 October Huxley: 12-1 Saely Taylor: 16-1 Jack Abonson: 50-1 Meadow Walsh: 40-1 Playton Reyes: 42-1 Melinda Hanis: 29-1 Tartan Blade: 35-1 Amelie Sage: 18-1 Blakely Sage: 10-1
A/N: I personally like this chapter. I got the multiple Points of View in and I am trying to put out odds for each tribute. I hope they fit your tribute. Not everyone will get 3-1 odds like Cato. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. :) I have been working on this one for a while. (Like...three days!) I still need more people to take the poll on my page. I need tons of data for the surprise I have. Take the poll please. :)