Chapter Fourteen: Training
Despite all of the internal fears and worries plaguing Maize's mind, she had been able to enjoy a full night's sleep without any interruptions. She figured, and perhaps her subconscious had as well, that she'd soon be living in an actual nightmare, so her imagination had let her be. The same could not be said for poor Cana who had slumped his way over to the dining room table like a sloth. He shot her a tired smile before digging into breakfast and spent the rest of the time quietly playing with his food. Maize spent that hour asking questions to their Mentors in between bites.
Thankfully the two Victors didn't seem annoyed by her questions, rather they (mostly Seeder, since Chaff was nursing what she realized was actually a permanent hangover based off the new glass of scotch in hand) answered her questions honestly and in detail. Advice on what to expect and some survival tips for the arena.
Seeder's Games had taken place in a dessert-like environment and the only reason she had won her Games was because of the woman's love for desert plants and for being able to hold off from dying of starvation the longest in comparison to the other tributes. The majority of the tributes that year had died from 'natural causes.' Which, if one cared to think about it, was actually kind of sad. Seeder had won because she could handle starvation and hold on until the others had died. Chaff's Games were more brutal in manner, a true blood bath. More than half of the tributes had perished during the first few minutes of the games during the bloodbath and those that had survived spent the next two days hunting each other down. Chaff hadn't come out of it unscathed either, he'd lost his left forearm before winning.
After breakfast ended Maize and Cana were instructed to quickly change by the stylists into matching tracksuits with the number '11' pinned to their backs. Before they were walked to the elevators with Goldie (apparently, she would be escorting them everywhere) and sent downstairs to the basement where the training rooms were located. They weren't the first tributes there, but they weren't the last as they waited for ten to hit and the instruction to begin. Maize took that moment to survey the large room. There were different kinds of stations available for them, filled with various weapons and obstacle courses. Above them, in elevated stands that surrounded the gymnasium, the Gamemakers could be seen tittering around as they ate from a banquet that'd been set for them. Maize only observed them for one more moment before deciding to pretend that they weren't even there.
They only had to wait seven more minutes for the rest of the tributes to arrive, before a tall athletic Capitolite woman introduced herself as the head trainer. The woman, Atala, went on to explain the training schedule and what each station has to offer. There were experts assigned to each station to help them and the tributes were allowed to move from station to station as they pleased. The biggest rule seemed to revolve on the 'no-in-fighting' between tributes. Which made sense, they would have plenty of time to kill each other in the arena.
The moment that they were allowed to explore the large gymnasium like space, the Career tributes sprinted to the deadlier looking weapons before beginning to handle them with a certain amount of ease that made jealousy and pity burn in her stomach. Cana stood by her side as she surveyed the stations before she dragged the younger teen to the shelter station that was free of other tributes. They spent an hour there learning from the expert and making their own shelters before Cana asked if they could move to the snare making station. Maize was happy to follow him, she knew how to make some basic snares to catch lizards and small rodents in their gardens (it was one of the main ways that her family was able to access meat) but she was excited to learn what other kinds of snares she could make.
The rest of the morning went by in a similar manner, as the two of them rotated from station to station (as long as it was free) and learned what they could about surviving. Maize and Cana flew by the edible plants' station, and they both did well on the poisonous plants and animals (Maize was a little better than her District partner with her medical background, but he was a quick study). Maize was even praised by the expert in the first aid/med station, much to her embarrassment and Cana's amusement. It was around one in the afternoon when escorts started collecting their tributes for a thirty-minute lunch before training commenced once more.
It was after they had come back from lunch, while Maize and Cana were watching a demonstration on how to make fishhooks, that she got her first real close look at Annie Cresta. Her fellow sixteen-year-old was struggling and failing to start a fire while her District partner, a cheeky blonde-haired thirteen-year-old, laughed softly at her attempts. Cresta had a shocking mane of silky red hair, bright green-blue eyes, and soft creamy looking skin, even with frustration clouding over some of her features she still had a pleasant face. She was pretty. A real looker. But overall, Cresta's body language practically screamed KIND. It was obvious now to Maize why Annie Cresta had lost her mind after the Games in the books. She was too kind, her eyes innocent and naïve despite the place they were in.
Maize turned to look at Cana, he was completely focused on the task on hand and was using his nimble fingers to create a fish lure. Annie Cresta was good, important even in the grand scheme of things, but Cana was more important to her than the integrity of the possible timeline. If it came between Cresta and Cana, Cana would always win. With that thought in mind, she informed Cana that they would be going to the water/pool station next.
Swimming was like riding a bike, a skill that you never really forgot no matter how many years passed by. The expert at the station looked grudgingly impressed that a girl from District 11 knew how to float, let alone swim. It had taken quietly promising Cana that she wouldn't let him drown for the teen to enter the water. Cana did surprisingly well after he learned to float when he got too tired of treading water. They spent two hours in the water, after Maize had whispered her urgency in his ear. Cana had looked confused, but perhaps her fear-filled face convinced him to stay put and continue practicing this new skill.
After drying off, Cana led her to the rock-climbing station and that was where they spent the rest of the afternoon before Goldie came to pick them up for dinner. The training rooms, while still open after dinner could only be accessed as long as a tribute had a chaperone (either their escort or Mentors) with them since the head trainer and other skilled experts wouldn't be present. Maize would get down on her knees and beg if she had to, to convince her Mentors to chaperone her. Apparently, most tributes (even the Careers) didn't take advantage of that.
Idiots.
The whole lot of them.
Words: Around 1,220
Edited: October 31, 2019