Chapter 11

NARRATOR | Minna Feinberg, District 3

I'm scrambling through an obstacle course, ducking beneath a swinging bar before I try to jump over a rotating beam. The beam swings out of nowhere, swiping me off my feet; I grunt as I hit the ground, rolling off the course.

"Next!" the trainer calls, and the boy behind me sprints onto the course.

"Good job," Kylie says, helping me to my feet. "You keep getting hit right at the end, though. When you dive under the bar, there's enough space to stand out of reach of the beam. That might help."

"Thanks," I huff. "I'll try that next time."

I follow the older girl to the back of the line for the obstacle course. She's been giving me pointers since we started out on the obstacle course, and something about her has drawn me in. Maybe it's because I never had a sister back home, but Kylie has helped me so much that she already feels like the sister I never had.

The girl in front of Kylie runs through the obstacle course, and then we're at the front.

"Good luck," I tell my new friend before she sprints through the course. Kylie's incredibly agile, and she finishes the course with ease. Hopefully, with all the pointers she's given me, I'll be able to do nearly as well.

"Next!" the trainer calls, and I'm off. The course starts with horizontal bars, and I have to swing from one bar to the next without slipping. I remember what Kylie told me the first time we spoke. Keep your eyes on the bar you want to grab next...

I make it across the bars, and then I have to leap from one platform to the next. After that, I'm back at the swinging bar. I duck, crouching beneath the bar as I look out for the beam. It swings by, and I jump onto the swinging platform, riding it around to the end.

Kylie's cheering when I finally run down the finish ramp. It's my first time finishing the whole course, and I feel great. "That was awesome!" she beams.

"Thanks," I say, still out of breath. "I wouldn't have been able to finish without you, though. Thanks for the tips."

"Happy to help," Kylie says, taking a look around the room. "Do you think we should try something else?"

"We could try archery," I suggest, trying to hide my excitement. I didn't know how I stood with Kylie - would she want to keep working together, or were we just buddies on this obstacle course? Now I know I've made a friend, and it feels amazing.

"Sure," she says. "Let's go find it."

As Kylie and I cross the training room, I see Devin attempting to start a fire with another boy. We tried to work together at the start of training, but it became obvious pretty quickly that we weren't getting along well. Kylie catches my gaze, following it to my District partner.

"That's your partner, huh?" she asks, pulling her hair out of her face. "D'you guys get along?"

"I guess," I shrug. "But he's stubborn. He's frustrating to be around sometimes."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Kylie sighs. "My partner is a meathead."

Kylie points out her District partner at a nearby station. He has a 10 on his shoulder just like Kylie does. He's one of the older kids, and I can tell he's athletic.

"You don't get along?" I ask, watching as the boy spars with a trainer.

"We get along, but we don't have much in common," Kylie says quietly. "He's older than me, obviously. And he was a wrestler back in Ten. One of the best."

"Wrestler? What's that?" I ask.

"It's a sport," Kylie explains. "It's pretty popular in Ten. Boys try to strangle each other, pretty much. I don't really watch it. Corbin's pretty well-known for it, though. He was the champion at one point."

A wrestling champion... Corbin will definitely be one to watch. I follow Kylie until we reach the archery station.

I stand back as Kylie picks out a bow and arrow. "We have a few of these back home," she says, stringing the arrow back. "You have to hold it up to your face like this."

Kylie holds the arrow up, aims, and fires. It flies so fast that I can barely see it before it hits the target. She has a good aim - the arrow lands close to the center of the target.

"Nice shot!" I cheer as Kylie turns to face me, a smile on her face.

"It's not as easy as she looks," she warns. "I'll get you a smaller bow."

As Kylie returns to the bow rack, I get the feeling that someone is watching me. I turn, taking a glance around the room, and I see a girl staring from across the room. She has short hair and beady eyes boring right into me. I squint to see the number on her shoulder - Five.

This girl can see me staring right at her, but she doesn't back down. She's just sitting on the side of the training room, silently observing. Why is she just sitting there, watching me like this?

Kylie returns, breaking me from my thoughts. "Take this one," she says, handing me a bow. "Just try your best and then we'll try another one."

I nod, moving to string the arrow back like Kylie showed me. She's right - it's harder than it looks, and my arms struggle to pull the arrow all the way back. After some struggle, I manage to pull it back a decent amount. I hold it up to my face, lining the arrow right up to my mouth, and fire...

The arrow sails to the left, embedding itself in the foam wall behind the target. Kylie laughs from next to me.

"Come on, Minna," she says. "Let's try to hit the target. I'll get another one."

I sigh as Kylie walks away - I can't seem to be good at anything around here. How do I have any chance of defending myself in the Arena with so many killers on the loose? Will I have to rely on Kylie to teach me everything?

I can't help but turn back around to glance at the girl from Five. She's not watching me anymore, her attention turned elsewhere. I guess she saw what she needed to see - I'm horrible.

"Okay, try to keep your eyes focused on the center of the target this time," Kylie instructs. "And hold the bow up a little higher."

Kylie stands behind me, and I let her reposition me to the right place. I release the arrow and watch as it connects with the target.

I'm so grateful to have Kylie with me today; I've never touched a weapon before, and I've certainly never been in the wilderness. I'm going to have to do both in the Arena, and having Kylie around makes me a thousand times less worried about it all. Everything will be alright, as long as I have her by my side.

A/N - Here's Minna and Kylie, two characters we haven't heard from yet! Hope you enjoyed seeing the start of their friendship :) This chapter marks the end of the first day of Training, and tributes' relationships will begin to shift as the days go on so stay tuned for that!

~S