Chapter 10

NARRATOR | Ansel Voltaire, District 7

Plates clink as Avoxes set down our breakfast plates. My mentor, Lila, sits across from me; next to her, Alma, Violet's mentor, is staring at Violet's empty chair.

"Where's Violet?" I ask, digging into my plate. Considering how she's been acting since we were Reaped, I'm shocked to see that my District partner isn't up and ready yet.

"She already went down," Lila says, staring down at her own plate. Next to her, Alma rolls her eyes.

"She thinks that she'll be able to meet the Gamemakers if she goes early in the morning," she sighs. "I told her they wouldn't be there, but she doesn't listen to me."

I just shake my head. What's gotten into my District partner?

I remember going to school with Violet years ago. We weren't close friends, but we definitely knew each other. She was very outspoken back then. She was funny, too. Always joking around.

I remember her brother was Reaped into the Games a few years back, and she disappeared from school. I always assumed that the grief was too much for her, that she couldn't handle it. I almost went to visit her, just to check that she was okay, but I wasn't close enough to her to justify it.

I've only just found out that I was sorely mistaken. Violet left school to train for the Hunger Games. I haven't talked to her about it, but Lila told me that she has some sort of vengeance against the girl from Two. What the girl from Two has to do with any of this, I have no idea.

It makes me uncomfortable to think about how much Violet has changed. She hasn't said a word to me since we were Reaped, staying mostly in her room. The girl I used to know is gone, and she's been replaced by this new, emotionless Violet.

I don't know. Thinking back, I just can't imagine that the Violet I knew in school would do something like this. Volunteering herself into the Games just to kill someone... that kind of rage is something that I can't even fathom. Grief will do that to people, I guess, but it's still hard for me to understand.

"You should head down, Ansel," Lila says. "You shouldn't be late on your first day."

"Okay," I sigh. "Wish me luck."

"You don't need it," Lila says, waving me away. "Don't focus on the others, focus on yourself. The more you train, the more prepared you'll be."

"And keep an eye on Violet, please," Alma begs.

I assure Alma that I'll keep Violet in line before I step into the elevator, taking it all the way down to the Training Center.

When I arrive, most of the other tributes are already here, and they're standing in a circle around a pedestal. Violet is standing on the opposite side when I arrive; she glances in my direction but doesn't acknowledge my arrival. I worm my way into the circle, standing next to a young boy with the number 3 on his shoulder. The boy offers me a smile before returning his focus to the pedestal in front of us. I do the same to see that a man is stepping up to face us.

"Looks like this is everyone," he says, taking a look at all of us. "I'm Petrus, your Head Trainer. Welcome to the Training Center."

Petrus walks us through the rules of the Center - don't hurt the other tributes, ask for help if you need it, and only throw weapons under supervision. When he's done, we're released to do whatever we want.

The other tributes scatter to various stations around the Training Center, and I'm left behind at the pedestal. Should I go and find Violet, or should I try to train by myself?

I scan the Training Center and spot Violet across the room. She's already preparing to spar with one of the trainers, a huge sword in her hand. A chill runs down my spine as I watch her swing at the trainer with frightening speed.

I remember what Lila told me before I left for training. Don't focus on the others, focus on yourself. Clearly, Violet is focusing on her own training right now, and I should do the same.

Maybe it'll be easier to start with something I already know. I move to one of the stations across the room where I see axes on a rack. I've never used an ax as a weapon before, but I have more experience with them than anything else here.

I hear someone grunting next to me as I walk, and I look over to see Judah, the boy from Two. He's throwing spears across the room, hitting every target he aims at. Next to him, his District partner is taking a look around the room. She catches my gaze as I pass her, and I look away.

The kids from Two hold all the power in here. That's what Lila and Alma have told me, anyway. They're the only ones who have prepared for the Games, so they're naturally the strongest. Apparently, the kids from Two always get their pick of allies, and they'll be surveying the rest of us in training to pick out the strongest.

I wonder what it's like to be able to pick whoever you want for an ally. All I want right now is for someone to be my partner in here, to treat me like I'm not useless. I don't have any combat experience, though, so I doubt that any of the other tributes will be watching me very closely.

Nearby, I see the kids from Three working together to make fishhooks. The girl seems to be more successful than her partner.

"Come on, Devin," she says, leaning over the boy. He's the one who I stood next to a few minutes ago. "Just curl it up a bit at the bottom."

"Minna, stop," Devin bites. "I got it."

Now that I think about it, most of the tributes in here are paired up. Judah and Safira from Two... Minna and Devin... Across the room, I see that the kids from Six are reading plant manuals together.

I sigh, finally making my way to the axe station. I'll find people eventually, I hope, even if Violet is going to ignore me this whole time.

I lift an axe from the stand, bringing it over to a target on the wall. I've only been an amateur lumberjack for a year now - they let you start when you're sixteen - but I've been handling axes way longer than that. We have a popular game in Seven throwing axes at targets, so this should be easy for me.

I focus right on the center of the target, raising my axe and letting it fly. It spins in the air, landing close to the center. Not a winning throw, but not horrible.

I lift another axe, focusing on the same spot. The axe sails towards the target, landing right in the middle.

"Nice throw," someone says from behind me, and I turn to see a boy approaching. "How'd you learn to do that?"

"Runs in my blood," I say with a smile, pointing to the number 7 on my shoulder. I check the number on his shirt - 11.

"I can try to teach you if you want," I offer, and the boy's smile widens.

"That would be awesome," he says. "I don't think I've ever touched an axe before. Ever."

A girl walks up behind the boy, offering me a smile as she approaches. "Who's this, Eddie?"

"Oh, this is Ashlyn, my partner," Eddie tells me. "Ashlyn, this is..."

"Ansel," I introduce myself. "I was gonna show Eddie how to throw axes if you wanna join."

"I'd love that," Ashlyn says. "I'm sure I'll be horrible, but I'll give it a shot!"

I grin, taking another look over the training room. Violet is still sparring with a trainer, stabbing ferociously as the trainer tries to block her with a pad.

Violet can keep sparring for all I care. Eddie and Ashlyn have said more to me in two minutes than Violet has in two days.

"Grab an axe," I tell my new friends. "Let's go."

A/N - Sorry for the late updates, school has been crazy! Next week is going to be hell so updates may not happen but I have a lot of the story written, I just need to find the time to edit. I'm gonna try to get back onto my regular schedule soon :)

~S