Author's Note
I do not own the Hunger Games.
For the foreword future, I'm aiming to post one chapter a week, on a Sunday. This is because I'm currently stockpiling chapters.
Etheria Arquette, 17
"Welcome to tribute training!" announced a small man in a black jumpsuit. Lights glowed on his shoulders. The players wore those during The Game; Etheria had seen plenty of streamed games. It was fascinating to watch players trying out different strategies based on what they'd seen work.
"To get started, you just need to select three stations. If you do well at these stations, you may earn sponsor points! But do be careful! Once you choose your stations, they can't change, so make sure you select the stations that are best for you."
Etheria had had thoughts on which stations she would take before she entered The Game, but looking at all the options now she found herself hesitating. There were so many more than she expected!
She took a moment to scroll down the list. Multiple different weapons, all with different buttons. Different survival skills. Athletic skills. Etheria wetted her lips. Camouflage was definitely still a given. It linked well with her own artistic ability. She selected that button and nudged it into her list. Her hand hovered over traps for a moment before she selected that too. Hide and set traps. That was the strategy she'd been planning, right? And then… weapons, she needed a weapon. She glanced over the choices and stopped as one caught her attention. "That's an option?"
She'd not seen it in clips and streams of The Game before. Etheria selected it and pushed it into her list.
"Are you sure you want to choose these stations?" asked the electronic trainer.
She smacked the green button. "Yes please!"
"Come this way. Training will begin shortly."
Emeria Delilah Echavoque, 15
Emeria scrolled down the options for training. She hesitated on a few of them, they'd added some new ones for this special, but ultimately she decided on the three she and Silverie had decided. Archery, fire lighting, and knot tying. Weapons and survival. Together, they'd have most things covered. It would be nice to pick up someone with medical skills – especially since this was the Fiftieth, wasn't that arena one of the most dangerous?
The Fiftieth and the Sixth Third.
"Are you sure you want to choose these stations?" asked the electronic trainer.
Emeria pressed the green button. "I'm sure."
The trainer indicated the door. "Come this way. Training will begin shortly."
Emeria followed him through the door to where the archery station was already established.
"Welcome to archery training," announced the trainer. "But before we begin, let us run through the basics of combat when inside the arena."
Emeria sighed and folded her arms. Every time. A pity they couldn't set up a way for more experienced players to slip this part.
Artemis Gilmore, 17
Artemis selected her usual three training stations: daggers, swimming, and poison. She could ace their minigames by this point, and knew herself capable of hitting the maximum number of sponsor points on them all. Picking up her daggers, she stepped into the ring with the trainer, and awaited his familiar speech on how combat worked.
"All competitors will wear jumpsuits of the type you see me wearing," he began, indicating his black jumpsuit. It covered him from neck to ankle, with glowing nodes on the shoulders, five on each side. "These nodes here indicate a competitor's health level. While all mine are lit, like so, you can see that I am at full health. If all nodes go dark, then a tribute's health is too low and they will die. Try to hit me."
Artemis took a swipe, and one of his nodes went dark.
"Very good. Now let's see if you can knock me out."
She could, of course. Easily. The trainer dutifully clapped and upped the difficulty. All three levels were easy at this point, and she could almost predict his moves. There was only so much imagination a computer could have. Artemis kept her eyes on the completion metre more than him, grinning as it struck one hundred and darting through to the next station.