Apologies for the short hiatus, had exams then went away and this fic kind of just slipped to the very back of my mind, but here we are, I wouldn't abandon it.
District 7 male – Arnold Pryor, 15
I had a skill that most people in these games didn't possess. And that skill was that I could make food for myself and any allies. Not that I'd found any allies. I expected people to approach me, but no one did. Why did they not love me?
Oh well, that was their loss. I couldn't just make food; I could do it well. Make it taste incredible. Guess I'd just poison them all instead. During training, I'd practised making food without a fancy kitchen, and unsurprisingly I did very well at it.
I'd also learnt how to purify water, another skill I could show off during my private training session. I went into the training rooms when it was finally my turn with a grin on my face because I was confident that I'd get a good score. Probably the best score.
As soon as I was in there, I nodded to the game makers politely, because I was a very polite person. I then moved over to the place where I could start up a fire and cooked up some meat, before putting it before the game makers to taste. One of them, raising an eyebrow, grabbed a small piece in his mouth, before nodding his approval.
I then moved over to the small bit of water and purified it in front of them, before taking a big swig of it to prove that it was drinkable. I was finished, then, and walked closer to the game makers and took a bow. I'd nailed that.
District 7 female – Asiza Sekewael
The ally that I'd found during the group training, Calvus, or Cal, as he liked to be called, I'd wrapped right around my finger with ease. He was too easy to manipulate. I was sure he had a massive crush on me, too. How could he not? Every person my age did.
But for now, I had to impress the game makers. Coming from District 7, I was fairly good with an axe and had improved my skills even more over the past few days of training. I walked into the training room as soon as my name was called, and flashed my biggest, sweetest smile to the game makers, waving at them as I did so.
They told me to proceed with my training, and I made my way to the weaponry section, gripping the best axe that was there. I showed how I could move it around smoothly, before approaching a dummy and attacking it with the axe. I did it at a good speed to show that I wouldn't waste time with my victims.
I chuckled as I turned back to the game makers, before grinning at them again. I knew they'd love me. I knew everyone would love me. I was everything they wanted in a tribute. Kind, attractive, and skilled.
I knew I'd be the winner.
District 8 male – Patch Corvin, 18
I was no psychologist, but I was 99.99% sure that all my allies were extremely mentally ill. All they wanted to do was kill, kill, kill. That was their entire strategy for the arena. How they intended to win when they hadn't practised any survival skills whatsoever and had only trained with weaponry, I had no idea.
Honestly, they were kind of annoying, but I'd joined them because we were all criminals. But for now, I had to show off the skills I'd learnt and mastered during the days of training to the game makers to try and get the best score I could.
Over the past two days, I had mastered skills in using a knife, as well as hand-to-hand combat, and so as soon as I walked into the training room and was acknowledged by the game makers, I made my way to the weaponry area and got my hands on the best knife there. I then aimed and threw it directly at one of the dummies, before asking for a sparring partner to show off my hand-to-hand combat skills.
The sparring partner was a little hesitant as he came down, but I gave him a nod before throwing my first punch, stopping before my fist touched his stomach, he fought back, and we continued this for a while until I'd exhausted him, and the game makers had seen that I could win a fight like that.
They had seen that I could win.
District 8 female – Gabrielle Buiton, 14
I missed my brothers. I missed my parents. I missed my friends. But most of all, I missed Cyrus. Even if I could never have him, I just wished he could be here to support me.
I did like my allies, though. They were all pretty reasonable, and they'd come up with genuinely good tactics to get through the games. All three of my allies, Hazel, Fllora, and May, were quite smart and genuinely skilled enough to get us all through these games.
During the training days, I had mastered survival skills as well as learned how to use a knife, both of which I intended to show off to the game makers now.
I made my way into the room when my name was called, and nervously made my way to the weaponry section and grabbed a knife. I ran with it fast, showing off my speed, and ran at the training dummy and stabbed it directly in its heart. I then moved to the survival section and began to make a fire that I'd be able to warm myself up from and cook food.
I then made a trap that I'd be able to use to capture animals to cook up for meat, before standing up and nodding to acknowledge I was finished.
I could do this. I hoped.
District 9 male – Calvus Logg, 15
Some skills I had included using spears, axes, and javelins, all of which I had advanced during the days of training, as well as fooling Asiza. God, she was stupid. The idiot thought I would do anything for her, yet she had no idea that I intended to turn on her as soon as we were in the arena. Not that I would kill her. I still wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do that. Killing someone. But I was intending on ditching her as soon as I could, right when she needed me and thought I was going to help her.
I was going to show off those skills on the day, though, and I was hoping to get a fairly good score because I knew that I needed sponsors to have any chance of winning and surviving.
As soon as I was in the training room I looked up at the game makers, who were chatting amongst themselves. I stood there and waited a little for them to notice me, but they didn't look.
"Hi, sorry, is it alright if I go now?" I asked, and they turned their heads to me and nodded.
I swallowed, and walked over to the weaponry section, grabbing a javelin, then throwing it directly at the training dummy, hitting it perfectly. Javelin really was my best skill. I did the same thing with a spear and an axe, hitting the dummies but not perfectly, then turned to the game makers as they nodded to me that they were impressed.
I'd done it. Now all I had to do was wait for the score reveal.
District 9 female – Bulga Conroy, 14
I'd learnt a lot about edible and poisonous plants and bugs during the training days, so I intended to show off this knowledge to the game makers during my private sessions by doing a few quizzes on them. I'd done the practice quizzes a few times so I knew that I could get a perfect score on them easily.
When I went into the training room the game makers seemed distracted and didn't look at me when I was in there. I wanted to scream at them that I was there, but they were older than me so I couldn't do that. So I just stood there awkwardly until one of them finally noticed me and they were all watching.
As soon as they were watching, I walked over to where the plants were and began identifying which ones I could eat, and which ones were poisonous, before doing the same thing with bugs that were in the same section of the room. I then grabbed a bag and pushed all of the live poisonous bugs into it, and, taking the bag, I ran over to a training dummy and threw the bag at it. The poisonous bugs tumbled out of the bag and went all over the dummy, biting at it and, if it had been a person, poisoning it.
I was done then and turned to face the game makers who nodded in dismissal. Please give me a high score.
District 10 male – Janusz Kurczak, 18
It had been over an hour since all my allies had left and done their private sessions, and I was bored out of my mind. Why couldn't the order be based on the attractiveness of the tributes? I'd be first up, then.
On the topic of attractiveness, I found myself constantly staring at the boy from Twelve. He was hot. So, looking around at the other remaining tributes, I got up and then sat down next to him.
"The name's Janusz," I said to him, "Janusz Kurczak."
He looked at me, his face serious. "Zevran."
I talked with him for a while, until my name was called, and I had to go into the training room. I winked at him as I got up and made my way inside. The game makers seemed distracted when I was in there, so I clapped my hands and cleared my throat.
"I'm going to blow something up!" I called out, and they all directed their attention to me. I grinned, and then began to identify poisonous plants, before heading over to weaponry and grabbing a few knives, throwing them at the training dummies, hitting them all perfectly. I then got a sparring partner down to fight with.
I showed off my skills with several different weapons as we sparred, moving at rapid speed until they were completely exhausted and I would have had an opportunity to kill them.
I grinned up at the game makers. "Thank you, thank you. I would show off my incredible swimming skills, but unfortunately, I am not sacrificing my freshly washed hair for that water."
I waved at them again, before getting up and leaving the training room, grinning at Zevran as I passed.
District 10 female – Fllora Hanzell, 17
I was extremely intelligent, I knew that. I was capable of winning these games and getting my allies close to the end as well. But that didn't mean I wanted all the other tributes to know that.
When I thought about getting a training score, I thought about it logically. I wanted the other tributes not to know that I could genuinely win this thing, but my score needed to be decent enough to get sponsors.
During the past few days of training, I'd acted like a bit of a bimbo, so the other tributes probably thought I wasn't the brightest person in the room. For the private session, I continued to do this.
The game makers barely looked up at me as I entered the room, and I cleared my throat to get their attention and smiled at them once they were looking. I showed off my skills in survival that I'd learnt over the past few days, starting by making a fire in front of them, and then making a fairly complicated trap, but I made sure to mess it up a few times before getting it right.
I then went over to the section where the plants were and identified which ones were poisonous and which ones I could eat. Once I was finished, I stood up and nodded to signify I was done, and then was dismissed.
The other tributes were in for an unexpected treat from me in the arena.
District 11 male – Buster Melrose, 13
The self-appointed leader of the alliance I had joined was a real asshole. Bulga, the girl from Nine, had been pissing me off non-stop for the past two days. I didn't think I could survive in the arena with her, and to be honest, I secretly wished she would die in the bloodbath.
Despite her, I wanted to do well in the private session today. I would not follow the stereotype that District Eleven did awfully at everything. I would get a good score.
They called my name once it was finally my turn to go into the training room, and once I was in there, I noticed all of the game makers seemed extremely bored, after already watching twenty tributes do their session. But they had to watch me, and May, and the two from Twelve. It was only fair.
"Hi, I'm ready to go," I said. I was going to get a good score, I wouldn't be stripped of that because they were too sick of it to watch me. It was their job after all.
They turned to me, and I began taking a quiz on edible and poisonous plants, before going over to the trap-making section to make a snare. I finished off my session by running an obstacle course around the training room. When I was done I looked up at the trainers and noticed they were chatting again.
"Were you watching?" I asked.
"Yes, yes, we were watching," one of them said. "You are dismissed."
District 11 female – May Vickford, 15
One thing that none of the other tributes knew about me was that I was incredibly skilled with a crossbow because I'd hidden that skill throughout the whole group training process. But the truth was I'd learnt and mastered the skill from years of working long night shifts defending crops. I'd used a crossbow to shoot any birds or other animals that tried to destroy the plants I guarded with my life and had developed an incredible aim.
So, as I walked into the training room for my private session, I already knew that my secret weapon to get a high score was that I was going to show off my incredible skills with a crossbow. Once I was in there, I looked up at the game makers and crossed my arm when I noticed they weren't acknowledging or even looking at me as I entered.
"Hello?" I said abruptly, looking up at them. "I'm ready to go, can I go?"
One of them sighed and looked down at me, telling me to proceed. I nodded and made my way straight to the weaponry section, putting my hands on a crossbow for the first time since the reaping. It felt good, as I lifted it and aimed it at a training dummy, shooting straight away and hitting it right in its heart.
After that, I went to the survival section and showed off my first aid skills, praying they were still watching me. A few of them were, clearly intrigued by my crossbow skills. I gave them a small smile when I was finished before I was dismissed and made my way out of the room.
District 12 male – Zevran Karras, 18
"I like your hair."
His hands were on my hair. The hot boy from ten spoke to me for twenty minutes straight, complimenting me on my body, eyes, face, hair... I didn't know what he was on about or what he wanted this to lead to, and while I was up for a fling with a bit of kissing and free sex, I refused to get attached to this man.
Not that I'd ever experienced love. I didn't love Vang, and I'd never loved my ex-girlfriend, Hadrianna Lassel, or any other person I'd hooked up with. I didn't love anyone. The boy from ten went into the training room, and I had to wait around for another half an hour before it was my turn to go in.
Once I was in there, I looked up at the game makers, who were chatting amongst themselves. I sighed, then grabbed a knife and threw it at one of the targets fiercely so it would hit it hard and loud. A few of them glanced in my general direction and I slowly walked over to the dummies and began slicing into it, using the method I knew all too well that would kill a human easily.
I got a sparring partner down and asked them to pretend to be making a fire, unsuspecting. They did as I asked and I snuck behind them, silently, before gripping their neck and pretending to twist it, showing how easily I could kill someone from behind.
"I didn't even hear-" the sparring partner began, but they didn't finish, because the head game maker was telling me that my time was up.
District 12 female – Fox Harlow, 12
I had very mixed feelings about my alliance with Jonas. The positives were that he was a lot bigger than me, could easily defend me, and was promising to try to help me get through the games to the end until it was just us two and then I could kill him, apparently. But what if he was lying? I was wondering whether I should have trusted him so easily. This was the Hunger Games, after all. You couldn't trust anyone.
But for now, for the private training session, I had to convince the game makers that I wasn't what I seemed like. I had the disadvantage of going last, so they'd likely be bored, as well as being the smallest and youngest tribute there, the game makers likely assumed that I was weak. But I already had one kill up my sleeve, and I was not afraid to do what it took to win these games and go home to my sister.
It took me a while to gain the attention of the game makers, and once I had, I made my way over to the weaponry area and grabbed a knife, throwing it at a training dummy, and then did the same with a spear. I continued throwing weapons at the dummies, crossbows, javelins, and axes and only stopped when I was told my time was up. Maybe I didn't hit the target perfectly every time, but at least I'd showed off that I was going to win this thing. I wasn't just a weak little girl from District Twelve.