Phoenix Creed, 51
Head Gamemaker
Private sessions. My favorite pre-Games event. The power I held was unmatched. Everyone around me was always working to impress. And now the tributes would be too. It was perfect. And the food wasn't bad either.
This year, I'd invited my young protege, Seneca Crane, to join us. He and his fellow Gamemaker Lucia Clifton were neck-and-neck in their program, and I knew we'd see great things from both of them. And though Lucia had been my pick the past several years, I was intrigued to see what Seneca brought to the table. He was quieter than Lucia, and for that reason was often overlooked. But today would be different.
The last of my co-workers joined us on the balcony and gave me a nod.
"Apologies for my lateness Mr. Creed," Orlando Ragir said as he took a seat.
"It's fine, but don't make it a habit," I replied.
"Of course not, sir."
I turned away from him and settled into my comfortable chair. Then I waved a hand at the technician in the corner.
"Let him in," I said.
An automated voice rang out, announcing Adonis Serrano. The blonde boy swaggered into the room almost immediately, a smirk on his face. He seemed cocky, yes, but he had a certain charm about him.
"Hello," he said, his deep voice friendly and cheerful. "Thank you for this opportunity." Then he bowed before walking over the rack of swords.
After selecting a large, lethal blade, Adonis came to stand in front of a trainer. The two began to duel, and it was immediately clear that Adonis was more skilled. He parried every strike and dealt quite a few blows of his own before kicking the trainer in the knee and bringing the sword to his throat.
They shook hands and then Adonis was moving to the archery station. He picked up a quiver and a powerful bow and began to fire arrow after arrow into the target. Only two of his dozen shots weren't bullseyes.
A timer rang out, signaling the end of his session. He placed his weapons back on the racks and bowed again, before giving a little salute and strutting out.
"He's confident," Nefertiti commented, sounding less than impressed. I sighed. That woman was impossible to please. But I was quite excited by Adonis's performance. He'd definitely earned himself a high score.
Lumine was called in next, and she entered much more subtly than her district partner. She immediately grabbed a smaller, daintier bow and took aim, which surprised me. During training, she mainly practiced with rapiers. But her precision was incredible, and she made a few trickier shots, rolling and coming up to her knees before firing and firing arrows while running. When her timer went off, she curtsied before leaving. I smiled. Both tributes from 1 seemed very impressive, as well as personable. I could see them going far.
Spartan Akuma, the hulking boy from 2, was next. He marched into the room and snatched up a war club, a powerful and brutish weapon. Instead of turning to a trainer, he began to demolish a dummy with deadly accuracy and brutal strength.
His buzzer rang out once he'd destroyed about half of the dummies. He looked as if he'd barely broken a sweat. Dropping his club, Spartan stormed out of the room, punching the elevator button with a surprising amount of force. Oh, he would definitely score high.
Billie's name was announced next and she waltzed in with a smile. Billie was a pretty girl who lacked the typical brutish 2 looks. But she was still strong, and showed it by selecting a mace. She expertly annihilated several dummies before sparring with a trainer. She was impressive, using her size to her advantage by targeting the trainers' knees and back. She was able to take him down after a few minutes, but against Adonis or Spartan, I couldn't see her lasting.
Hugo, the boy from 3, had a lot to live up to. Lee of 3 placed 2nd the previous year, and the year before that, Wyler of 3 had left a lasting impact on the Games. And Hugo did not disappoint.
The boy came into the room holding a sketchbook. After pushing his glasses up on his nose and clearing his throat nervously, he began to go through the book, showing off several detailed sketches of machines and contraptions. A canister that released poisonous gas, an automated blowgun, and the beginnings of a plan for a small bomb were just a few of the inventions he showed us. I could see that Nefertiti in particular seemed intrigued by him, and I had to admit that I was as well.
Evelyne Hope was the next tribute to enter the room. Her partner was a tribute in the 56th Games, and now Evelyne was competing as well. She was definitely a crowd favorite already, since Lana had been so beloved.
Evelyne began by running the obstacle course, showing off notable athletic skills for a tribute from District 3. She completed it with quite a good time and then jogged over to the archery station, where she picked up a bow and a quiver. Standing in front of the targets, she let out a deep breath and took aim. The arrow hit right on the line between the first and second rings.
Her next eleven shots struck in similar places, but none were bullseyes. Still, she was definitely talented enough to earn herself a decent score. She waved to us as she left the room.
Marino, the drag queen, was next, and I was excited to see his performance. He was a Career, despite not being formally trained, and seemed to be quite secure in the alliance.
He strutted in with a grin on his face, brushing his teal hair out of his eyes and giving us all a friendly smile.
"Hey, so what did the ocean say to the sand?" he asked, grinning. None of us spoke, but Marino wasn't deterred.
"Nothing!" he exclaimed. "It just waved."
A few Gamemakers let out awkward chuckles, but most of us remained stony-faced. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Was it immature to deduct points for a bad joke?
Marino still wasn't phased though. He made his way over to the edible plants table and began a simple quiz. He took up about half his session time and scored quite well. Then he picked up a sleek black baton and began to perform tricks with it. He was dexterous and precise, but the performance was more flashy than functional.
Next up was Mira, and I had a feeling she'd be a direct opposite to her district partner. She seemed serious and guarded, though apparently had a bit of a temper. When her name was called, she entered without acknowledging us and went straight to the rack of spears. Selecting one of decent length, she drew back and hurled it at a target. A bullseye.
Smirking, she continued to throw spears into the dull gray dummies, her throw perfect nearly every time. But when she went to spar with a trainer, I noted that he towered over her. She was on the smaller side compared to the other Careers, and against a tribute like Adonis, Spartan, or Billie, I doubted she would fare well.
I had to admit I wasn't too enthused to see District 5. They rarely did well, and both Rain and Zeppelina were young. Younger tributes historically didn't do well either, but there was an occasional surprise.
Rain walked into the room with a confident swagger, giving us Gamemakers a friendly wink before grabbing some rope and tying a sturdy knot. Then he went over to the climbing wall and threw the rope up. It took a few tries, but he managed to snag it on a handle. Then he began to repel up the side of the climbing wall, reaching the top with a good time. When his buzzer rang, he shimmied back down the rope and gave us a wink before exiting.
Zeppelina entered next, a dark, determined look on her face. She didn't acknowledge us or wait for permission; she just went straight to the poisons station, stopping only to grab a small knife. Once there, she selected several different poisonous berries and leaves and mimed coating the blade in them. Then she began to slice up a dummy, each cut precise and deadly. She hit all of a human's most vulnerable points in mere moments. This girl was clearly more dangerous than I thought.
Our sources said Ronald was a criminal back in District 6, so I was excited to see what he could bring to my Games. He marched in and snatched a spear off the rack before beckoning to a trainer. The two of them squared off on a mat, and Ronald struck first. He jabbed with the spear, and when the trainer dodged, brought his leg up to roundhouse-kick him in the side.
They fought for a few more minutes, and Ronald maintained the upper hand throughout. He dealt a few savage blows, with his fists and feet, and with his spear. Finally, he knocked the trainer to the ground with a sweeping kick and mimicked plunging the spear into his heart.
After Ronald's impressive performance, I was expecting great things from Winona. She was a volunteer, and District 6 was the reigning district. Could they pull off a back-to-back win?
Winona had a serious look on her face when she came in. She was completely focused. She picked up a medium-sized ax and gave it a few practice swings before approaching a dummy. With one clean sweep, she lopped off its head. Moving to the next one, she cut a clean 'X' into its chest before continuing down the line, slicing and hacking as she went. When she was done, she shot us a dirty look before heading to the elevator.
We were halfway through the sessions now, I could hear grumbling and groaning around me. I sighed, annoyed. This was their job. If it was so dull, why bother being a Gamemaker? Still, I pressed a button on my tablet to order a round of champagne for us all. It would appease my coworkers, and I could never say no to a glass of champagne.
The door slid open to allow Jackson Forester inside. All I remembered about him was that his older sister was a tribute in the 51st Games. I couldn't recall her placement, not to mention her private session.
Jackson looked nervous, but he headed straight for the plants station and began the edible plants quiz. He finished it quickly, and with a high score. Not enough to earn an amazing training score, but enough for a decent one. But then he walked over to the first aid station and carefully began to sew up a wound, quietly explaining the proper method to clean and sterilize an injury as he went. That would definitely bump up his score.
The beautiful girl from 7, Ebony, was our next tribute. She was a well-known escort back in 7 and definitely had the potential to do well here. She was already a fan favorite and reportedly had lots of sponsors lining up.
Ebony entered the room with a wink and a wave before proceeding to the traps station. She worked on several small animal snares and then demonstrated the proper way to clean and prepare a kill. Nothing phenomenal, but not bad.
A blonde avox arrived with the tray of champagne as Jeff entered the room. Like Jackson, he showed off what he knew about edible plants. Unlike Jackson, he didn't do very well on the quiz. The buzzer rang before he could demonstrate any other skills.
I was starting on my second glass as Ada came in. She had a deep frown on her face, but marched straight to the ropes and traps station. There, she found a piece of thick wire and began to tread softly across the gymnasium floor. Her footsteps were nearly silent, and when she reached the dummies, she leaped onto one's back, wrapping the wire around its throat and pulling. Fairly impressive. If she could successfully sneak up on a tribute, she would likely have the upper hand in a fight.
Vasir was a tribute I was quite interested in. Like District 5, District 9 rarely produced strong tributes, or, needless to say, victors. But Vasir was part of a gang known as the Faceless Brotherhood, whose base had been raided shortly before Reaping Day. Vasir couldn't be allowed to win, but his past would make him an interesting contender.
The younger boy chose a medium-sized knife and squared up against a trainer. He lunged first, thrusting his blade at her shoulder. She slipped past him but he turned quickly enough to avoid her strike. They danced back and forth, neither landing a blow on the other, until finally the trainer managed to swipe her blade across his stomach. Though even if the weapons weren't fake, it wouldn't have been a deep cut. And Vasir used her moment of distraction to bring his blade down on her shoulder - a deep and painful strike.
Juliana, Vasir's district partner, was also an extremely skilled tribute. She was a volunteer, and I could see why. She slashed through dummies with a machete like they were made of paper. Was she previously trained? It was reasonable to suspect that she was.
I wasn't expecting much from Victor, the youngest tribute of the bunch. He selected a small knife and went up against a dummy, feinting and stabbing. But his movements were awkward and choppy, and he didn't have enough strength behind his strikes. He had decent form though. I'd give him some credit for that.
Next up was Kerra, the hulking girl from District 10. She was part of a big alliance that outweighed the Careers this year, and I had a feeling she'd be able to put on quite a performance for us. She didn't disappoint.
Kerra smashed through the dummies with a large mace, much like Billie had. And while she didn't display the same poise and technique as the girl from 2, she had raw strength and bitter determination. That would serve her well, both here and in the arena. She would definitely score high.
But even after the dummy massacre, she wasn't done. Kerra stepped up to the wrestling mat, where she and a trainer locked arms and began to fight. Kerra was bigger than him overall, and didn't have too much trouble pinning her opponent to the mat.
After her fantastic performance, I wasn't sure if any outer-district tribute could top it. But it was Spruce's turn to try. The dark-skinned boy slunk into the room nervously, his eyes flicking back and forth. After a few deep breaths, he seemed to summon the courage to pick up a spear. His first few throws weren't anything special, but he seemed to gain more confidence with each one. And his second-to-last throw was a bullseye! And afterwards, he zipped through the edible plants quiz, scoring two points higher than Jackson. Overall, not a bad session.
Tiny Ruby was next, and I was expecting far less from her. She gathered some supplies, got down on her knees, and immediately started working on a fire. She used a flint to light it, instead of matches, but it took her a few too many tries. But eventually she had a small blaze going.
Next, she began to stack logs against a fake tree, creating a small lean-to. She draped moss and other foliage over it to make it blend in better, and then turned to us, spreading her hands in a "ta-da" motion. We dismissed her after that.
'Only two more', I told myself. My head was starting to hurt from the champagne and my stomach was growling. I had no one to blame but myself; I was the one who skipped lunch. But I could have a dinner fit for a king once the kids from 12 were done.
Jonathan came in, wringing his hands nervously. But he set himself up at the edible plants station and began the quiz. To my surprise, he outscored both Jeff and Spruce. But he didn't choose to display any other skills.
And finally, it was Beria's turn. She was a beautiful girl with a promising skill set, so I was expecting good things. But she just clumsily made a fire and demonstrated how to skin an animal properly. Nothing impressive. How strange. Unfortunately, I'd have to score her in accordance with the skills she demonstrated. I wondered if she had ulterior motives for downplaying her performance. She certainly had the potential to be entertaining in the arena.
Once Beria left, I let out a sigh. This was tiring; there was no doubt about it. I'd have to finalize the scores, get some dinner, and then meet with Caesar to announce the scores. But the excitement was quickly returning. The Games were truly beginning, and I had a cast of tributes ready to make them shine.
Hey everyone! I hope you're all doing well. I know this chapter is definitely not my finest work, but private sessions can get very repetitive. And I wrote this chapter in three chunks, so the vibe is more than a little off. But I figured most of you would prefer a wonky chapter over no chapter, so here we are :)
Also! As of right now, the bloodbath is three chapters away and I am so excited! I want to thank you all so much for reading and reviewing and just coming along for the ride. As a note about the Games, I will be taking reader activity into consideration. If you haven't been reviewing, please feel free to just say a simple "Nice chapter!" in a review or PM me to let me know you're still reading. This definitely isn't the only deciding factor for placements, but I'd rather keep active readers' tributes alive. So just say hi!
Questions:
1) What would you show the Gamemakers?
2) How would you score your tribute(s), based on what I wrote?
3) In future SYOTs, would you want to see a minor subplot? (I know this an unrelated question - I just want to gauge interest)
Alliances
The Careers:
- Adonis
- Lumine
- Billie
- Mira
- Marino
Winona's Bunch:
- Evelyne
- Winona
- Ronald
- Jackson
- Ebony
- Kerra
- Victor
Manipulation Station:
- Hugo
- Zeppelina
- Vasir
- Ruby
The Family Men:
- Jeff
- Spruce
- Jonathan
Loners:
- Spartan
- Rain
- Ada
- Juliana
- Beria
Have a nice day, be kind to each other, and never stop reading!
- Fiona
