Chapter 6: Keeping Score
Imagine the song 'Eye of the Tiger' by Survivor playing as the following montage begins.
Diamond runs into the arena and picks up an axe, before throwing it. She beams with pride as the axe connects with a dummy to her left, slicing its chest open and causing a few tufts of fluff to spill out of it.
The image of Lindsay Knucklesworth is meshed with each tribute as she reads their score.
"Diamond Tiara receives a score of…an eight. Just what we'd like to see from a Career tribute."
When dismissed by the Gamemakers, Diamond leaves the training room, and Silver enters. He grabs a large sword and begins slashing at the dummies, tearing each one of them up completely.
"Silver Tiara…he gets a score of…an eight as well. Like brother, like sister, it seems."
Regan is next to enter the training room. She grabs a handful of spears and fires each one, aiming for the red, human-shaped targets lined up in front of her. One by one, her spears connect with the bulls-eyes of each target, the last one being knocked over due to the impact.
"Regan Speare…a ten! Amazing, absolutely amazing."
Caius is standing before the Gamemakers next. He is holding a bow and arrow, meticulously aiming for a target almost on the other side of the room. The Gamemakers watch the arrow fly, and a smirk appears across Caius' face as the arrow connects. Bulls-eye.
"Caius Kent, with a score of…ten! Wow! Another fantastic score!"
Aimee shyly smiles at the Gamemakers before picking up a bow and arrow. She takes a step closer to the target as she aims, before releasing the arrow. She smiles with relief when it lands just an inch away from the bulls-eye.
"Next up is Aimee Cornwell, with…a seven. Not bad for a District 3 tribute."
The Gamemakers await the next tribute, but he is nowhere to be seen. Their eyes scan the training room, before Oliver pops up right below the balcony where they're sitting. Oliver then proceeds to charge at a dummy, knocking it to the ground before throwing several punches at it.
"Let's see, Oliver Claude…a six. Average."
Emmaline picks up a throwing knife and pauses to aim, before chucking it at a dummy. Much to her delight, it hits the dummy, but much to her dismay, it bounces off the dummy, failing to even leave a mark.
"Emmaline Lyons gets…a seven. Pretty weak for a Career tribute, I'm afraid."
Not one second after Emmaline exits the training room, Cyrus charges in. He grabs a sword on the way before pouncing on a dummy, tackling it to the ground. He stabs and slashes at it for several minutes, before grinning proudly when he sees that he has dismembered it completely.
"Next, Cyrus Slash…wow! An eleven! Even for a Career tribute, that's fantastic!"
After Cyrus' brutal beat down of the now mutilated dummy, Kelilyn is seen kneeling by a series of plants. She seems to be giving the Gamemakers a lesson on edible and inedible or poisonous plants.
"Onto District 5. Kelilyn Light, you've earned…a six. Meh, okay."
Ivan picks up a bow and arrow and aims. He hesitates before letting the arrow fly. He watches in horror as the arrow misses the target, instead colliding with a string of lights that was perched on the wall below the balcony filled with Gamemakers. Ivan cringes as the bulb struck by the arrow shatters.
"Ivan Nukes…wow. A one… Fail."
Lucille is next. She grabs a sword and thrusts it into the chest of a dummy hanging on the wall below the Gamemakers. She repeats the motion over and over until she creates a big hole in the dummy.
"Lucille Bellevue…a five. Lame."
James enters the room and takes a pause to look up at the Gamemakers, before picking up a medicine ball and throwing it at a target. The medicine ball slams right into the target, causing it to fall backwards, which in turn knocks three other targets over.
"James Rhodes…a six. Again, average."
Bettina gives an awkward smile and wave before lifting a dummy off the floor and throwing it into another one, before grabbing an axe and chopping up the first dummy into pieces.
"Bettina Wilde…an eight…Eh, pretty good."
Jack reaches for an axe and throws it like a Frisbee at one of the remaining dummies. He grins as the axe cuts through the dummy's torso, slicing the mannequin in half.
"Okay, Jack Forrest…a nine. Very nice."
The Gamemakers then watch as Ariani quickly ties a noose together, before picking up one of the smaller dummies and using the noose to hang it. She takes a step to the side to show off her handiwork.
"Ariani Woolf…a seven. Just above average, but not too bad."
Darien walks towards the hanging dummies, sword in hand. He raises his sword and impales it through the first mannequin's chest, before grabbing another sword and simultaneously beheading two others.
"Next, we have Darien Shinoko…ten! Wow! Very impressive for a non-Career."
Lita walks over to the weapons station and grabs a throwing knife. She pauses for a moment to decide on a target, before hurling the knife at one of the human-shaped targets in the center. The knife fails to stick, but it does slice the head off the target.
"Lita Reed…she gets a nine. Good, good."
Felix shortly follows after Lita. He picks up a knife and aims it, holding it between his fingers as though he's preparing to throw a dart. He throws the knife, only for it to fall to the floor before hitting the target. The District 9 male apologizes profusely before picking up the knife and preparing to try again. Sadly he does the exact same thing.
"Felix Rice…one. Now that's just bad."
Aeris takes a deep breath as she reaches for the throwing knives and pulls out the heaviest one. She takes aim, mustering all of the strength she has before throwing it at a hanging dummy on the right. The knife collides with the dummy's head and sticks.
"And the Gamemakers' score for Aeris Hart is…an eight. Well done."
Holding a knife, Murphy runs over to one of the dummies that have already been stabbed and begins stabbing it in the chest repeatedly. After doing so about five times, he looks up at the Gamemakers. They look unimpressed.
"Murphy Stock…yikes…a two. Yeah, major ouch. Now we're up to District 11…"
Naoko chucks a knife at the head of the only untouched dummy remaining, pointed out by the Gamemakers. The knife slashes through the mannequin's head, beheading it. The head hangs on for a moment, before dropping off and plopping onto the floor, with the knife replacing it on the dummy.
"Naoko Chan…she gets…a nine. Nicely done, non-Career."
Grant lifts up a medicine ball and swings it around, preparing to throw it. However, due to dizziness and overshooting his footing, Grant stumbles and falls over, dropping the medicine ball.
"Grant Fields…three. How sad."
Hamish rushes into the training room and picks up a spear. He takes aim at the target in the center, and throws. The spear sticks to the target, but unfortunately landed far below the bulls-eye.
"Hamish Rembrandt…a four. What a pity."
After hours of waiting, Rosemary enters the training room, watching the Gamemakers as she makes her way over to the weapons station. She picks up a bow and a few arrows and takes aim at her first target. She releases the arrow, and it hits the target square in the chest for a bulls-eye. Happy with her first shot, she smiles as she aims at the second target. Her arm slips right as the arrow is released, and it lands on the head of the human target. Not a bulls-eye, but still a good shot.
"And lastly, Rosemary Wood…a nine. Good job."
End montage.