Guys before anything I just wanted to say I loved every single one of your reviews! You're all amazing, I love you so much!
Please keep going! :D Only one week or so and already 16 reviews, I feel grateful.
Before anything : go watch this video : .com/watch?v=A78aGQq11Bw
It's amazing, it's mainly because of that I decided to write this story. And second, because of my cousin, who pushed me to do it, you can thank her !
It's a looooong chapter but you deserve it. Hope you'll like it!
Chapter 5
When I step out of the train into the station, it's like the first time I see light since my birth. Everything around us is white, a pure tone of white that seems to glow around us. Looking up, I can see a multitude of domesof glass, each in a different color shade, from bright yellow to dark purple. I can't help but be amazed at the hugeness and sort of magical beauty of this place.
Brutus has to push me to make me realize I've been staring at the ceiling like a total fool for several minutes. And only then I notice the impressive number of people who are waiting for us. I can see men with cameras and Capitol citizen, with their crazy hair and painted skin as well. If I was admiring their architecture, their looks are at the same time creeping me out and make me pity them.
They're so ridiculous, I think to myself.
"Keep your head high Girl, show them how much a winner you are," I hear Brutus mutter in my ear.
So I lift my chin, sending deadly glances to the crowd. I imagine all of these people to be tributes and I stare at them, as if I was about to kill them in extremely violent way. I even let out an evil smile on my lips from time to time. After what seems infinity of cheers and flashes, we reach our building, the one we'll stay in until the beginning of the Games.
Being here suddenly makes me conscious that in a week or so, I will be in the Arena, fighting for my survival, killing the other people I just saw on television. Gosh, I can't wait to be there.
We cross the huge stone hall rather fast, Astra and Brutus guiding us straight to the elevators.
"You guys will be on floor 2. Try to remember it," Astra spits, looking at me.
I clench fists and smile falsely to that stinking puppet. I hope I won't have to mentor with her when I win.
"Fine, Astra and I have things to do, so find your rooms and wait for your Prep teams to arrive, right?" Brutus asks.
No, not right!
When they get off the elevator at what is indicated like ground zero, I'm literally going crazy. I don't know what to do, except control my hands' shaking. In vain it seems.
"Hey, are you afraid?" he asks in his pretended-worried voice.
"No," I just say, looking straight in front of me at the elevator's metal doors.
"I bet you are."
I can feel his hand covering my closed fist even before I see it. It's warm and strong, and totally inappropriate. I clench my fist even tighter, my nails breaking my skin.
"No need to be afraid, I'm here to protect you"
He muttered the last words inside my ear. I don't even try to move, I just stay still, my nails entering my flesh, acting like he was not holding my hand and whispering things that were actually giving me stomachache.
Eventually, the elevator's doors open and I try to get away as much as I can, but Cato doesn't seem to let go of my hand. How annoying.
"You're not leaving without a goodbye, aren't you?"
I have to say Cato knows how to fake emotion. I don't.
"Yes I am."
And with that, I pull my arm really hard so that he's forced to release his grip and walk away.
It takes me several minutes to find the room that has my name on it. Maybe Cato's act is disorienting me a little. I hate when he thinks he's allowed to mess with my head this way. We're opponents and we are both trained to kill, why would he pretend he likes me? And I know he's'not even trying to be likeable. He's'trying to impress me, to break me as he said.
Anyway, my thoughts are stopped when I enter my room. I freeze at the sight of colorful creatures in my room. Are those mutts my Prep team? Ho dear…
"Heeeeeeeeeeeey!" A woman screams
I stare at her glittering skin and at her hair –is that hair? I mean there are only two big curly straws of pink hair on each side of her head-
"Look at this doll face, you'll look astonishing darling"
I hate how this man just flipped his brown shiny hair behind his shoulder while talking. And I hate his eyelashes made of peacock feather. I feel like throwing up right now.
But that was before seeing the last member of my prep team. She looks like a frog. She must have had a surgery to turn her skin this bright shade of green. It looks like plastic, just like her big eyes.
"Hey sweetie!" she says.
She tries to pinch my cheeks but before she even knows it, I step backward and trap her wrist in a tight grip. My glance must but threatening because she seems to decompose in front of me. I finally let go when the first woman starts slapping the back of my hand.
"Crazy girl" she mutters. But then a wide smile comes across her face again. "Hey darling! I'm Shatty, this is Alâân –she points the man- and this is Froggina, you just attacked"
I stare at them longer, frightened by their looks. I guess Frogga, whatever is her name, is now afraid of me too as she's hiding behind peacock-guy.
"So…" starts Shatty that seems to be the more courageous of them all "How about starting your transformation?"
She must think I can't wait for them to touch me and to 'transform' me but reality is that my only desire now is to violently knock her head on the wall.
As I'm about to do it, Brutus' words come in my mind. Being nice with them will get me sponsors, isn't that what he said?
I sigh heavily and mutter a "Yes" that no one will be convinced of. But they seem to be. What a bunch of idiots.
First, they push me to wash at least three or four times. They even want to stay, to make sure I don't pretend to soap myself, but when I start to scream on Froggina, they all take a step backwards and leave me alone.
Then, they force me to lie on a strange thing that looks like a mutation between a table and an uncomfortable bed. I suddenly feel something warm on my leg and I begin to relax thinking about…
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"
I look terrified at my right leg from which the pain comes. I can see a section of skin, without any hair on it and I immediately connect it with the intense pain I feel right now.
"Don't ever do that again," I threat Peacock-Guy who has the murder weapon in his hand.
"I have to Honey, or you'll look like hairy garbage in your dress!"
I bet they take revenge on me for scaring the Frog one.
According to Pink woman, torturing me is called "waxing" in Capitol language. They wax my whole body. I should try to get some wax thing from sponsors once in the arena. That would definitely be a deadly weapon.
As I put on a peignoir, a little man enters the room. He is really small, smaller than me, but his bright yellow afro makes illusion of him being taller.
"Traydo. Stylist" he says, reaching his hand.
"Clove. District 2's'future winner."
He smiles and only then I realize his teeth are made of gold. Did that thing designed my chariot dress?
"I bet you're impatient" he smiles strangely, his upper lip rolls up while all the rest of his mouth is still. His voice is unbearable, at the same time nasal and deep; the kind of mix that obviously should not exist.
With his scary grin, he unzips the white case that contains my dress.
"Do not watch!" he screams like I was properly taking his life away.
He pushes me in the bathroom and I hear the sound of something being laid on the sink.
I let him dress me up and he eventually allows me to see his creation.
It is a dress for sure as far as I know but it seems to be made of golden metallic platelets held together by a thin sliver chain. It looks like an armor but still feminine, without being too much. That was a very strange blend, but a rather good one.
With the make up my Prep team inflicted me sooner; I have to say I don't look bad. But, much to my dismay, not very threatening.
"Look, look!"
He pulls out of a bag the most curious crown I've ever seen. It's made of a large golden headband circling my head, almost covering my entire forehead, with a wing on each side of my brain.
"I was inspired by an old Greek divinity, the war god, named Mars. You can also see it as gladiator armor; you know a gladiator was a soldier in very old civilizations. Anyway, I thought it would suit the..."
I don't care where he got his idea from, so I just stop listening.
Yeah, that outfit wasn't definitely the worse since the Games begun. I did not look to ridiculous, though I was all golden covered, and at least, I wasn't in one of those fancy dresses that made you look like a scared little child.
"WHERE IS SHE?"
Brutus literally burst into the room, obviously angry and looking for me. When he enters the bathroom, he catches my arm with force and almost drags me out of my room.
"What's the problem?" I ask once in the elevator.
"Don't tell me you would have liked to stay more with Traygo. I would not believe you," he says grinning.
"Did you actually get rid of him for me?"
"Let's say Traygo is a little… hard to stop once he began," Brutus coughs."But he does well his job so, we keep him with us"
As he talks I can feel his glance detailing me slowly, from the top of my wings to my golden sandals. Fortunately the doors open quickly on the floor I've never been before.
"Plus, we're almost late."
It looks like a wide hangar where the chariots are waiting to get started. We arrived by the closed bottom of it so I can have a look at all the chariots and outfits of my opponents.
Twelve's tributes have not arrived yet, but I can see the little girl from Eleven in her overalls, matching a baggy shiny shirt. How lovely, what a shame nothing will ever get her sponsors. She will make a very enjoyable Bloodbath kill.
As I walk by the Chariots, I can tell there's not much of a competition here, whether by costumes or by opponents. How do you want to look threatening when it looks like you've been dressed in bubble wrap?
I laugh loudly when we pass next to Eight's chariot. Those tributes look like jesters with their pink and blue patchwork costumes. They're hilarious. I would so love to see them twirl to save their miserable life. They might think I look up on them but, c'mon guys. You don't stand a chance. Even with my good hand tied in my back I would kill you.
All those costumes are just hilarious. They look like total jerks. Between the ones with their papers suits, those who had a crescent moon on their heads and the sparkly ones from Five, I really can't decide which one made me laugh harder.
Or maybe it's the stylist of One who win the palm of how-to-kill-your-tribute's-reputation-even-before-the-Games-has-started. I know they're supposed to be our allies but, seriously, the feathery pink look is the worst thing I've ever seen. They're even funnier that the jerks of Eight.
-You two look great. Cato, you'll thank Yesmea for me, Brutus claims. I mean, your costumes are definitely the bests, anyone can tell one of you is going to win, just basing on how marvelous you look!
Most heads turned round during his speech to see who the center of all this attention was. And now everyone is looking at us. I'm not part of those intimidated tribute. I stand there staring at all of them, even giving a smirk to Cato like we agreed on who we would kill first.
And they all looked frightened.
A siren sounds in the hangar and Astra pushes me on the chariot. It's small. Way too small for Cato's musculature and I to get in without touching. Screw you designer. Our little wagon is towed by two horses, which must have been white but are now all golden painted.
"It's really small, isn't it?" Cato grins.
He again has this evil mocking smile on his face.
"You think? There's still enough room for a kitchen right here." I say pointing the little four inches left empty just in front of me.
I sigh. If only I could have gotten rid of him now. There are noises coming from behind, cries and exclamations, but as I turn round to see, Cato takes the hand on the opposite side of his and lifts it.
"Hands up, Little Lamb, this is our moment."
At his words we enter the circus, with the whole crowd cheering and whistling for us. For us? Ho no, for me. This is my moment. A rush of adrenaline through my veins pushes me too smile. It's like I've already won this thing, they're all shouting for me, greeting for me, dying to me be me. I bet I've already half of them sponsoring me.
Our chariot starts to turn to finally arrive behind One's. I don't stop my little act though. I still wave at the crowd, displaying my future-victor smile to the crowd. Scary and so happy to be. Some people might say it's sadistic; I'll just define it as who I am. A dangerous smile. The one that says: Notice me, I might kill you later.
Suddenly, all the attention is drawn away from me. District Twelve's tributes get all of it. They're on fire. Literally.
I clench my fists. How dare they? How dare they come from their miserable district and get all the attention that I deserve? I am the future winner of this thing, they're just two little scared puppies whose stylist decided to highlight. That's not even coming for them, why is the whole crowd watching them? The girl especially is acclaimed. Why is she? She has nothing of a winner, except the outfit.
Beside me, I can feel Cato's anger as much as mine. We look at each other and it's like a silent pact. For one moment, we forget our quarrels to agree on one thing:
We are going to kill the Fire Tributes of District Twelve.
I hope you don't mind I didn't reinvented the outfits of the Tributes. I admit I just searched for it, because I really suck at designing clothes and the one from the movie wera ctually good so...
Next time comes the first day of training, i'd like to reach 23 reviews before updating.
You know just what to do! :D (even if you want to critizice something of course)
Love you!