Chapter 5

Dawn broke through the windows. And as I opened my eyes, I saw that The Capital had a misty, haunted air. My head ached when I slowly sat up. Probably from the wine last night.

I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. I promptly punched the buttons on the control board and ended up hopping from foot to foot as alternating jets of icy cold and steaming hot water assaulted me. I was then deluged in lemony foam that I had to scrape off with a heavy bristled brush. At least my blood flowed by the end of the shower.

When I dried myself and moisturized my body with lotion, I found an outfit that had been left for me at the front of the closet. Tight black pants, a short-sleeved emerald tunic, and leather shoes. I then tied my hair in a high ponytail.

Finnick didn't give us an exact time to meet for breakfast and no one called me this morning, but I was hungry, so I headed into the dining room, hoping there'd be food. While the table is empty, a long board off to the side has been laid with at least twenty dishes. A young man, an Avox, stood at attention by the spread. He was ready to serve me, but I stopped him by telling him that I could serve myself. When he nodded and went back to his spot, I loaded a plate with eggs, sausages, batter cakes covered in thick orange preserves, slices of pale purple melon. As I gorged myself, I watched the sunrise over The Capital.

My mind immediately wandered to my family. They were probably up by now. Jonas was most likely helping Grandma Mags for their breakfast of mush while she was praising him with a sweet angelic voice. As for Dad, he was most likely working to forget about my situation in The Games. But a part of me wanted him to be with our family, because I thought Grandma would sympathize with him and comfort him in his time of grief. Even though I saw disappointment in his eyes, I never saw so much sadness in him. He probably thought I was going to die like Kailey since I was in the exact same position she's in. But the difference between us was why we volunteered. Kailey did it for fame and fortune, and I did it to protect my best friend. I just hoped that if I died that it wouldn't leave a heavy burden on them as I hoped that either Gill or me got out.

Finnick and Gill came in and wished me a good morning. They then filled their plates while I was dreading training. Even though my district was a Career district, I couldn't deny how nervous I was since the other competitors were older and had more experience than me. I knew they were going to be tough. I just had to make sure that I didn't show it.

When Finnick finished a couple platters of fruit, he pushed his plate back with a sigh. "Let's get down to business, shall we? If you want me to coach you separately, let me know now."

"Why would you coach us separately?" I asked.

"So that you wouldn't share each other's secret skills." Finnick replied.

"I don't have any secret skills anyway." Gill said. "Talia's way more skilled than me. We've known each other since we were kids."

"When you're in the Games, it doesn't matter how long you've known them, or who's your friend. Only one of you is getting out, and I hate to say it, but you're right, kid." Finnick said, turning to Gill. "At least she has a chance. You? If I put a bet on you, I'd definitely lose all that money."

"How about you be more encouraging instead of pshycing him out?" I said.

That definitely got his attention as he replied, "Sweetheart, let me make this loud and clear for you, because you clearly didn't understand on the train. There's never been any twelve or thirteen year old victors for a reason. The rest of the Career pack won't take an interest in him, and keep in mind that the longest surviving tributes in the arena have always been Careers."

Now that I think about it. He's right. I've never seen any other districts survive as much as the Career districts, especially One and Two. The only reason why our district became a Career district was due to the arenas as our tributes had an advantage in the arenas almost every year since we were known to be the best swimmers.

"Coach us together then." I said to Finnick. "If you're really our mentor, then do your job and help both of us."

I was begging more than I was demanding, and Finnick seemed to understand that as he stared at me intently, almost considering it. I refused to let him give up on Gill without a fight. I understood that Gill had a disadvantage with the Career pack, but I didn't want his own mentor to abandon him at sea.

Finnick then snickered and looked away for a moment before turning his head back to us and said, "Fine. Tell me your strengths."

Gill swallowed a lump in his throat before he began, "Well, It's just like I said. I don't really have any."

"Surprise, surprise." Finnick said sarcastically before looking in my direction.

"He can make traps though." I intervened. "I've seen him craft a net for Nemo back in District Four, and it was weaved perfectly."

"Traps are a plus, but if you can't wield a weapon, then what's the point of them?" Finnick asked.

"If the person's caught in a snare, he can easily bash them in the head with a rock or something."

He finally nodded his head and said, "Alright. Can't guarantee if it'll work though because every minute in that situation counts." When he put his hands on the armrests, he asked me, "You were pretty good with that spear or whatever it's called when we went up against each other."

"It's called a naginata. Ron Stafford gave it to me. Said that it was the best tool to build muscle."

"Sounds like him." Finnick said with a hint of amusement. "Anything else?"

"Well, I'm also pretty good with a knife. I still practice when I'm with Grandma cooking dinner."

"What about traps?"

Gill interjected then as he said, "Oh, she's great with traps." I gave Gill a dirty look, but he clearly didn't notice as he kept running his mouth off. "My sister and her were the ones who taught Jonas and me how to catch fish with a net. I'll never forget when we caught those big trouts and took 'em home for dinner."

"That's good to hear." Finnick's sly grin made me uncomfortable. I knew he wanted me to win. It was written all over his face. "Be sure to show off your skills to the Career pack. There's no doubt in my mind they'll take you in especially with the moves I saw in the Career school."

"What about Gill?" I asked.

Finnick set his fork to the side and leaned back in his chair. "He can try to show off his traps, and maybe you can convince the Career pack, sweetheart, but they are brutal. They won't show any mercy to him if he does something wrong like not killing another tribute. In my games, I was too hesitant to kill someone in the beginning. One of the Careers saw it at the Cornucopia, and then challenged me to kill the first person we found in the arena without any hesitation. As soon as we found one of the tributes lighting a fire at night, I didn't even wait. I killed her by throwing my spear at her. So, be sure not to hesitate with the Career pack. With that being said, meet Phaedra at the elevator at ten for training."

Gill and I both nodded our heads and headed back inside our rooms. I made sure to slam the door so that Finnick could hear. He probably had that arrogant smirk on his face after I slammed it. God, I hated him, I hated this situation, and I hated these games.

When it was almost ten, I cleaned my teeth and redid my hair so that there wouldn't be a strand out of place when I tied it again. Anger temporarily blocked out my nervousness about meeting the other tributes, but now I felt my anxiety rising again when Gill and I proceeded into the elevator with Phaedra and headed down to the training room.

The elevator took us below ground level. When the doors opened, it revealed an enormous gymnasium filled with various weapons and obstacle courses. Although it's not yet ten, we're the last ones to arrive. The other tributes gathered in a tense circle. They each had a cloth square with their district number on it pinned to their shirts. While someone pinned the number four on my back.

As soon as we joined the circle, the head trainer, a tall, athletic woman named Atala stepped up and began to explain the training schedule. Experts in each skill would remain at their stations. We would be free to travel from area to area as we choose, per our mentor's instructions. Some of the stations taught survival skills, others fighting techniques. We were forbidden to engage in any combative exercise with another tribute. There were assistants on hand if we wanted to practice with a partner.

When Atala began reading down the list of the skill stations, my eyes couldn't help flitting around to the other tributes. It's the first time we've been assembled, on level ground, in simple clothes. My heart sank when I looked at my competition. Almost all of the boys and at least half of the girls were bigger than I am, even though many of the tributes have never been fed properly. You can see it in their bones, their skin, the hollow look in their eyes. Even though I had some muscle, I was much smaller in comparison to most of the other tributes. I would have to say that my biggest advantage was that I was probably the quickest after three years of training with my naginata.

When my eyes caught the boy from District Two staring at me, I held in my breath. He gave me the same look he did during the Opening Ceremony. I was nothing more than a meal to him just like everyone else in this room as he would pick us all out one by one in the arena. I then turned my attention back to Atala since I didn't want to show him that I was slightly intimidated by him.

As soon as Atala released us, the Careers headed straight for the deadliest-looking weapons in the gym and handled them with ease. They were showing off, clearly trying to intimidate the field. Then at the others, the underfed, the incompetent, shakily having their first lessons with a knife or an ax.

I decided that my best chance was to work with the Careers, that is if they accepted me. I just needed to show them how good I was and convince them to keep me around long enough during the games.

As I made my way towards them, the male tribute from District One nudged his district partner's shoulder and gestured to me. The District Two tributes noticed me right away when they saw that the rest of their fellow pack looked over at me. The girls and the boy from District One gave me such hateful looks, especially the girl from District Two. They probably couldn't stand the fact that I won the crowd over them during the Opening Ceremony.

"Anyone got a hook to sink this fish?" the District Two female tribute said.

Instead of saying anything, I nudged past her and went to a specialist wielding a spear. He was so serious, tossing it to me, but with the three years of training I had, I caught it effortlessly. It was so much lighter than what I was used to. It wasn't that I minded it, but I preferred training with my naginata since it could blow huge damage to someone else.

The specialist grabbed a club and kept it by his side before swinging at me. I knew the Careers were watching me, so I needed to give them a reason to have me join their pack. That's why I gave the specialist all I had. I rolled out of the way, and I caught the District One boy uncrossing his arms as he watched me, and nothing gave me greater joy than wiping the smug grins off of the Career female tributes. As for District Two's male tribute, his solemn gaze calculated my move. Their reactions meant that I was doing something right.

When I kneeled on one leg, I swung the spear at the specialist's legs, catching him off guard, but he jumped out of the way just in time. I then got back up to my feet and twirled it with one hand in the air before approaching him slowly as I twirled it again. This time in front of him. I felt like I was putting on a show. A deadly performance.

The specialist then swung his club again, but I blocked it. He was a lot quicker than I anticipated. I thought for sure I had him. Then he took me by surprise by reaching into his back and pulled out another club. I gasped and ducked just in time, but he just kept coming for me, so I did my best to block them while backing up step by step until he finally stopped and smirked. I was confused until he gestured to my feet, so I looked and saw that I was out the red line.

He then came over to me to take the spear as he said, "not bad."

I sighed before I looked at the District Two male tribute heading my way with a smirk as he said, "you're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"Are you really that surprised?" I asked. "My district's a career too."

"Yeah, but not nearly as good as mine or One's. We train our whole lives, and you? You start when? Twelve? Just because your district finally got a few more victors in their belt."

"Looks like I'm lucky then to get enough training before I volunteered for the games."

He scoffed before he said, "you think you're gonna win, Four?"

Looks like I had a new nickname, but I didn't let it get to me. "Well, no one ever knows, do they? Sure I had enough training, but the arena's also where it's at. It could make or break a tribute."

"You're not wrong." he replied with a sly grin creeping up his face. "I'm gonna make you a one time deal." My ears perked with interest as his tone grew serious. "Join our pack. We could use someone like you."

I decided to test him a bit by asking, "and why's that?"

"Your fighting skills," he replied. "And knowing that you're from District Four, we could use a good swimmer."

There it was. My opportunity to join the Careers was there, so I nodded my head and replied, "alright. Looks like I'm in."

"You could at least be more grateful about it."

"That depends on the person, preferably someone who doesn't want to kill me in the end."

He smirked as he leaned in close, which caught me off guard as he said, "I'll make sure your death gives The Capital one hell of a show." I shivered at his tone. It was so menacing and cold like a huge wave destroying a boat. And when he leaned back, there was a glint in his eye when he saw me glare at him. "Name's Cato by the way. Good luck, Four."

He stalked back to the rest of the pack. The girls didn't look happy at all that Cato talked to me, and they didn't seem pleased when he told them that I was now part of the Career pack. The District One male tribute had a sly grin on his face as he looked me up and down just like what Cato did, but I would say that the boy from District One saw me more as a meal. I just hoped that everything would turn out alright.

Yay! We finally made it to Talia and Cato's first interaction together. Please let me know what you think. I am also going to be working on my thesis project for my final, so it may take a while for me to give a new update. Stay tuned for more chapters heading your way soon!