Train Rides Part Two

District Seven

"They never told me…"

"Asher-"

"They said I won't be Reaped…"

"Listen to me-"

I'm going to die. I'm going to die…!"

Before Rowan could do anything, the younger boy let his face fall in his hands. The tears flowed down his face and he was trembling violently. Asher had never expected this to happen. He was happy! He just wanted to go back home and cuddle with his mummy. The prospect of such an early death frightened him and he just couldn't stop crying. He was about to die! What was he going to do? He didn't know anything. Anything! He was useless! And stupid, a fool. Nobody would even want to ally with him.

Rowan knew what he was going through. She felt terrible for her district partner, her anger at the Capitol rising. Asher's parents had tried to hide the reality of the world from him. They tried to keep him away from the cruelty that was happening around him and treated him like a delicate piece of glass. Rowan knew that it wasn't Asher's fault that his parents were overprotective and wanted him to keep his innocence and liveliness with him forever, but now it was about to cause him his life. Or so one would think but Rowan had other plans. Asher wasn't going to die; she wouldn't let it happen.

The boy's sobbing was the only sound in the otherwise silent room. Slowly, Rowan walked up to him and sat down beside him. Putting an arm around him gently she said, "Calm down Asher. Nothing's lost."

"Everything's lost!" Asher cried, "My life, my family, my happiness. Everything!"

"Don't think so negatively," Rowan said and was slightly relieved that the boy had not pushed her away.

"What should I do?" Asher whispered. His eyes were red from crying and the immense sadness in them felt like an ice shard in Rowan's heart. He was so innocent…

"Asher," Rowan said gently, "I am here. I will help you out."

"But," Asher said, his voice quieter than ever, "If-if you help me then-then what about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I knew what I was getting into when I volunteered. There is no way that I am leaving this place alive and-"

"Then why did you do it?" Asher cut her off.

"I-I can't tell you that," Rowan replied, "But if I can help you get out of here, I will consider that I was successful."

"I can't let you do that!" Asher almost screamed, "It's wrong! I can't ask you to die for me Rowan! I don't- I don't- I am not a monster! You can't do this! It's not-"

Rowan pressed her hand against his lips to silence him. He was staring at her with wonder and admiration, but also a kind of dread. Asher might be naïve but he couldn't help but wonder why a girl, a complete stranger at that, wanted to help him. There seemed to be no reason. If he would come out alive, Rowan would have to die. Why was she so willing to sacrifice herself for a nobody?

Little did Asher know that the kind but rebellious girl had volunteered to help a child come out. That would be a big slap on the Capitol's face. Plus, she could help send one of the innocent victims back home. That's what Rowan thought of the tributes. They were victims, they had nothing to do with anything and were still being punished. Seventy-nine years had passed but there was no hope. Rowan wanted to awaken that hope.

"I am doing this of my free will," she said, "I have accepted my end but I will not let you do the same, Asher. Cheer up, you will be going home soon. I promise."

But Asher didn't cheer up. He hated it when people wanted to sacrifice things for his sake, and Rowan was talking about giving up her life. The boy was confused whether to be grateful to have found someone like her, to lament the loss of both of their lives or to be suspicious of her.

But for then, it was decided that they would be allies.

District Eight

A deadly silence had fallen on the tributes from Eight. Cassidy was sobbing despite herself and although an optimist, Burgundy was finding it hard to cheer up in the situation they were in. it was taking all his self-control to not tear up, because death seemed to be inevitable then. What chance did he have anyway? A part of him told him to try to enjoy the few days of his life that were left; the other part just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.

Cassidy looked up at her District partner, who was staring out of the window in silence although it was not in his nature. Cassidy considered asking him to an alliance, it would be benefit them both. But the question was whether Burgundy would agree or not. She was nice but she didn't really believe that she was okay with dying, because she certainly wasn't. obviously, she would avoid killing and for that very reason she was hesitant to make an ally. As such, she was a detached person, but it wasn't really impossible for her to become caring towards a potential threat. However, Burgundy didn't seem like one.

Before she could say anything though, Jute cleared her throat.

"So, shall we watch the Recaps?"

"We watched them already," Burgundy replied, "While you weren't here."

"Oh that's good," Jute said, "So where do you think you will place?"

"I don't look like much," Cassidy answered hesitantly, "But I'll try my best-"

"Your best doesn't mean anything," Jute interrupted coldly, "Realistically speaking, where do you think you will place?"

Cassidy was shocked by her mentor's words. His statement hadn't really been very encouraging. Burgundy was astounded too. The behaviour of their mentor… it seemed as if he had already given up on them.

"B-bloodbath," she replied quietly.

"And you?" he asked, looking in the boy's direction. Burgundy gulped. He felt frightened to even say it out loud.

"The same."

"Well, then do you think I can do anything for you two?" Jute asked anxiously, "When you have yourself given up? How am I supposed to help you?"

The two tributes looked at him in silence. The train rumbled on and then Jute sighed.

"Listen, one of you two can come out alive, if you try really hard."

"But the Careers, they are trained! They will destroy us!" Cassidy said, desperation lacing her words. She had stopped crying a long time back. It was as if she had accepted her fate.

"But we'll have to try," Burgundy interjected, "We must try. Many a times, non-Careers win. We can't lose hope."

"Exactly," Jute nodded, "And now, let's talk about what we can do. Cassidy, I think, looking at you, that a small weapon will suit your needs better. Same with you Burgundy, but I think you can manage long distance weapons too, looking at your frame that is."

The two nodded, unsure of what to say at that.

"But focus on survival. Honestly, there are so many victors who won because they knew how to survive, you know? It's good if you can make a fire. It's amazing if you can make a trap. And it's excellent if you can kill with one."

The word kill sent a shiver through Burgundy's being. The very thought of hurting someone repulsed him, and he was required to kill. He didn't know what to do, or how he would manage. Would he even be able to forgive himself if he did kill?

Cassidy's thoughts were similar to his. She didn't want to kill and knew that the guilt would be too hard to bear. There was nothing she could do about it. It had to be done. Due to the clarity of her thoughts, she was even more confused whether she should as Burgundy, or anyone, to an alliance.

"And you two need to find allies. Strong allies, people with skills you don't have," Jute continued, "Are you getting me?"

"Yes," the two replied together.

"Good. So, are you considering to ally with each other? I suggest you do. After all, you're both from the same place. You'll be comfortable that way."

"That's a good idea," the boy replied with a smile, "If Cassidy's okay with it, that is."

"I am," the girl replied quickly.

"Okay, so it's decided. You both are allies for the Games."

District Nine

"I don't like this guy," Mateo muttered as he watched Sevarian's Reaping. Alessandra didn't say anything on that but she didn't like the vibes that the boy from Five gave. Or the ones her District Partner gave.

Her instincts screamed at her to avoid Mateo, that he wasn't really as nice as he appeared to be. As such he had been quite polite to her but it didn't matter. Another thing that she couldn't believe was how collected he was in the situation he was currently in. Aly felt she was losing her mind, and if it hadn't been about being proper she would have cried and screamed and sobbed. But she couldn't appear to be weak, not in front of this boy anyway.

"Well," Ceres said as she leaned back in her chair, "Is that all?"

Mateo didn't like this woman much. Her cocky grin and her entire demeanour reminded him of the fools who used him when he was young. Plus, she behaved as if she was being forced to help them and that she didn't actually care. The boy shook his head and then looked at the little girl. Mateo admired her courage, the way she was holding herself together despite being so young. It would be a shame to kill her and he hoped it wouldn't be by his hands, but sometimes things were inevitable. Sometimes things had to be done just for the sake of survival. And Mateo could do anything to survive.

"The volunteers," Mateo answered, "We have to watch out for them."

"The boy from Seven and the girl from Eight are definitely bloodbaths," Aly added. She surprised herself with her words. Never did the young girl even think about harming anyone. And at the moment, she was planning to kill people.

"Yes," Mateo nodded, "I don't think the boy from Three, actually the pair from Three will last long."

"The girl is mad," Ceres said bluntly.

"Yeah but do you remember that a few years ago a guy won? He was schizophrenic," their escort said.

"He wasn't schizophrenic, he had started hallucinating after going into the arena," Ceres retorted.

"Anyway," she continued, "What are you good at? Are you fast? Strong? Do you have a good stamina?"

"Stamina is where I lack," Aly answered. Mateo smiled to himself. Slowly she would reveal her own weaknesses to him. "But I am quite fast."

"And you?"

The boy frowned in Ceres' direction but then quickly rearranged his features into one of deep thought.

"I'm athletic," he said finally, "And a little fast on my feet."

"Nothing else?"

Aly had spent quite a lot of time on books and had a vast knowledge on plants and some of the basic survival skills. But she wasn't ready to trust Mateo so she just shook her head.

Mateo, on the other hand, knew very well how to take advantage of other people. He knew he could use them as wanted to but he wasn't going to share that. And then there was his aim. It was brilliant. He knew from the times he had exacted vengeance from his foes.

Together the two of them said, "No."

Ceres was certain the two weren't opening up to her completely, and she didn't care. She was being paid for this job and she would do it, but it was really up to the tributes to cooperate. If they didn't want to, they didn't have to.

"Oh," she said, "And I am very sure you two won't be allies?"

"I don't mind Aly. She's-"

Before Mateo could complete his sentence Aly cut him off, "I don't want to ally with him."

The boy raised his brows and looked at her in mild surprise.

"Why? Did I do something wrong?"

"No," Aly replied. She was already tired of the conversation. "I just want to find allies of my own age."

Both of them knew she was lying. The girl was smarter than Mateo gave her credit for. He almost smiled. If all went well, Aly would go very far.

But it should go well for him, not her.

"I understand," he replied, "I completely understand."

And Aly realised too that Mateo was aware of her thoughts on him. She didn't care. She didn't care about anything.

Both of them had the same thought in mind, they wanted to live.

District Ten

Ivy crossed her legs and tilted her head, looking at Reynard. She winked.

The boy didn't respond to that. He was, in all honesty, tired of everything that was happening. Arrington had turned into Ivy and back into Arrington half a dozen times already, and he was in no way impressed. He couldn't understand why her personality was changing so fast even for her condition. Maybe it was all fake, maybe it really was a genuine problem. Whatever the case, he was not eager to make any interactions with her.

And Ivy was stumped. No man could ever resist at least smiling at her. And her District Partner, he didn't give any reaction. This made her furious but she tried for a charming smile instead. Walking up to him, she ran her finger along his cheek and smiled again before sitting down next to her.

"Stop it okay," Reynard finally, "This is not funny. I'm not interested."

And he really wasn't. He was trying hard to think up some strategy and this vamp woman was just… gross.

Ivy laughed.

"Everyone is interested in me Rey," she said in a sweet sickly voice. She knew that shortening his name would probably annoy him but she didn't care. How long could he resist anyway?

The boy got up and left the room, or at least attempted to when she grabbed his wrist and was next to him in a second.

"Where are you going, handsome?"

As much as Reynard didn't want a conflict, he didn't know for how long he could avoid it. at the moment he was tempted to throw her off the train and his patience was running out. But he was good at controlling himself, and so he simply brushed her hand off his wrist.

"Mind your own business."

Ivy laughed. It was almost funny to see that he wasn't falling for her, like most boys did. She had thought that maybe, in this manner, she could make an alliance with him but there seemed to be no scope of that. Oh well, maybe Arrington could persuade him…

"Listen," she said, "You won't get much time later on to enjoy life. Because Ivy will be walking out as the winner, and you will be dead soon. Just drop the tough guy act."

It was not an act.

Before Reynard could say anything, their mentor returned. Ivy cursed her internally whereas the boy was kind of glad to see her. At least he wouldn't have to go through the torture.

"W-why am I standing here?" Arrington asked in a weak voice.

Reynard almost groaned. Not again!

"You were trying to…"

He left the sentence hanging like dark clouds in the sky. Arrington blushed from embarrassment and didn't know what to say. As Ivy, she was sure she had annoyed Reynard a lot. Slowly, she recalled some of the things she had said and turned even redder than before.

"I-I'm-"

"It's okay," he said, just as he had the previous six times.

"Okay," Meadow said, "We have watched the Recaps, and I left you two alone so that you could get to know each other better."

Arrington averted her eyes from Reynard, who also made a point of not looking at her.

"Apparently it didn't go well."

"It was all my fault; I shouldn't have done all that…" Arrington said quietly. She felt ashamed right then. Acting in such an inappropriate manner was against her moral values and se could only understand how uncomfortable she had made her District Partner. She was certain that if there had been any scope of an alliance initially, it was gone. She blamed herself for all of it. Why would anyone ally with her anyway? At the moment she wanted to get rid of Ivy more than anything else.

"It doesn't matter," Reynard said.

"Well," Meadow cleared her throat, "Um, I was watching the Reapings again and I have a feeling the people would want to sponsor you two if you manage to stay confident during the Parade."

The two nodded at that.

"Look, you two are District Partners. You should become allies, that's what I think."

Arrington almost squealed at that. It was exactly what she wanted! But would he agree, seeing that she was in his bad books?

"But-"

"Ciervo," Meadow said with a tone of finality, "There is a reason I suggested that. It will definitely be better if you agree."

"Okay," he said, surprising both Arrington and Meadow.

But he wasn't going to ally with a mad woman, not in a death-match. The moment they would be in the arena Arrington would be on her own.

He had already started formulating a plan…

District Eleven

Aspen was scared for her brother. She couldn't focus on what was happening in the train. Blossom and Trig were rumbling on and on, and Fynn was adding suggestion from time to time too but Aspen didn't care. When the time had come to say goodbye to her, Lee had freaked out. He had tried to fight the Peacekeepers. Even as they attempted to drag him away, he chased after the train, yelling out her name. His voice was so bloodcurdling as the Peacekeepers beat him, but he fought them anyway.

Aspen didn't even know whether he was alive anymore or not.

"The Careers are weak this time around," Fynn said. It was quite obvious. A mute boy, a pretty girl, a mediocre volunteer, a girly man, a sweet girl and a Reaped Career. It was a messed up crowd. Fynn didn't care, they would be his allies during the Games. At least in the beginning anyway. As soon as top twelve would approach he would cut them down. He glanced at Aspen and frowned at her buckteeth. What if the Capitolites decided not to sponsor based purely on her looks? He hoped that wouldn't happen, and that his own skills and good looks would be enough to get him sponsors.

"Don't underestimate people, Fynn," Trig said, "You are over confident."

"I am confident, Trig," Fynn corrected him, "And I am not underestimating anyone. I am just stating what I observed."

Blossom yawned, covering her mouth politely. "What do you think of the other volunteers?" she asked.

"They are all going to die," he replied, "Although the girl from Five is strong."

"The girl from Seven is weak," Trig added, "I don't understand why she volunteered."

The three of them conveniently left Aspen out of the conversation, and she was glad about it. At the moment she didn't want to think about anything, do anything. She just wanted to see her brother once. She just wanted to make sure that he was alive. The very thought of a dead Lee made her shiver despite the heat. Why was she unlucky enough to be Reaped?

"Get in with the Careers," Blossom said, "During training they will definitely approach you."

"I know."

"Try to convince them into taking Cecelia in as well."

"Why should I?" Fynn asked, "Why not just ill her in the bloodbath?"

"That may sound like a good idea, but you may want to ally with a strong competitor for your own benefit. Try taking out the other strong opponents in the bloodbath."

"And who are the other strong opponent?" Aspen asked, uttering her first words since she boarded the train. Everyone looked at her in silence for a moment then Trig replied, "The other strong looking tributes. Sevarian, Aileen, Persephone. Anyone else."

"That sounds like a good idea," Aspen said. She herself didn't know why she was suddenly so attentive. But she was and she intended to contribute to the discussion as much as she could.

"I think we should kill the young ones first," Fynn said, "That's easy."

"That's stupid," Aspen said, "Young ones are weak. Why finish off the weak when you have a greater threat around you? If the younger ones are easy, they will remain easy, right?"

"That's a very good point," Blossom said with a smile.

Fynn frowned.

"That's not stupid," he said, "it will be better to finish off the younger ones, team up with strong tributes, wipe out the rest of the competition and then fight your allies."

"Well okay," Aspen said, her competitive nature finally taking over, "But what if your allies don't agree with your approach? What if they think it would be wiser to finish off their allies first and then hunt the other tributes?"

Trig laughed.

"Good one," he said, "Fynn, Aspen has a point. Eliminating the strong ones first is a wise move."

Fynn didn't say anything but he had already made up his mind. Aspen would die in bloodbath. Nobody argued with him and won. He would prove the foolish girl wrong. He would kill her himself.

District Twelve

"I d-don't understand!" Bridge cried out as Anthracite tried to explain the strategy to him. Of course he did understand every word, but why should he let her know?

"Why the heck did you volunteer then?!" Perry yelled out at him finally. She was already sulking at the fact that she was reaped. Add the fact that this stupid boy volunteered and he didn't even know what he was doing!

"I was scared!" Bridge cried out in a high-pitched voice, "My brother would have punished me because I stole something precious from dad!"

"Yeah? And what is this 'precious thing'?" Perry snapped.

"I can't tell you that," Bridge answered mysteriously, "But it was very, very precious."

His voice sounded sinister and Caspian frowned. The boy was hiding something; he was sure of it. He had done something very big. Something wrong.

Julio laughed.

"Don't worry Bridge, you're safe now!"

Perry wanted to throw the knife sitting on the table in front of her in his face. Safe? Safe?! They were going to The Hunger Games! A death match! And he dared to say that they were safe!

"Excuse you Julio," she said, "But if it's so safe, why don't you take part in the Games on our behalf? I'm pretty sure it will be an honour."

"Perry," Caspian said, giving her shoulder a squeeze, "Calm down."

"I can't calm down okay?! I want to live! And how much chance do I have? Almost none! And he is saying that we are safe?!"

"Perry," Bridge said hesitantly in a small voice, "Y-you have a good chance. I'm sure p-people will sponsor you, you're a competitor. You certainly have a better chance than me."

Perry stared at the young boy for a moment. She did have a better chance than him. She was strong whereas Bridge looked very scared. Timid. There was no way he would even survive the bloodbath. She wanted to help him.

"Stop it Perry," she thought, "You want to survive. You have to live."

But the way Bridge looked at her, with hopelessness in his eyes, melted her heart. She tried to fight it but his beseeching look didn't leave much choice.

"How about we ally?" she asked, already hating herself for it.

Bridge looked at her in wonder and Caspian and Anthracite exchanged looks. Caspian shook his head at her, warning her to not do it, but Persephone didn't seem to notice. A big smile appeared on Bridge's face and he gave her a really tight hug. This surprised her a little but then she ruffled her hair lightly.

As Bridge stepped back, he was already congratulating himself for his first victory. It was so easy to play this girl. He didn't really want to do it, and he had, in his own way, told everyone the truth. He had taken something very precious from his father. As soon as he recalled the incident, his eyes turned bleak. His father…

Bridge didn't hate him. It was purely impulsive; he had been angry. He didn't mean to harm his father much; his plan was only to frighten him a bit. But then something had happened and he had…

… Tristan had every right to hate him.

And Bridge had made another reckless move, he had volunteered for the Games. There was no turning back now, he knew that and was already questioning his decision. But that vain so he had stopped pondering on it anymore. In the situation he was in, he needed to think, to plan and to execute. He didn't want any more blood on his hands but it had to be done. Bridge was concerned with surviving.

"What can you do, Bridge?" Anthracite asked, "What are you good with?"

"I-I-I don't know…" the boy said and lowered his eyes.

"We'll figure something out for you," Caspian said, still unhappy with the alliance.

"Don't worry Bridge, we'll learn everything during training," Perry said.

Bridge smiled at her widely.

"I do know songs though," he said, "Want to listen?"

"Okay," Perry said.

And immediately regretted it.

"To the games we gooooo

"What should we dooooo

"Idea I have nooooo!"

And Bridge looked around for a reaction but wasn't really pleased. Julio was missing, Anthracite and Perry were covering their ears and Caspian was smiling only out of politeness. Tears welled up in Bridge's eyes. Nobody, nobody respected his talent!

Persephone looked at him with wide eyes and then spoke up finally.

"Well Bridge, I think you do have a useful weapon."

And Bridge only turned red.

Done with the train rides! The chapters are coming out slower than I would like, so I apologise for that. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you thought of this.

Have a good day!