Chapter Two- The Boy on the Train

The train moved so fast that Silk couldn't even feel it. The high-tech machine ran through each of the twelve districts to pick up each tribute. Since District One was the last stop, the ride to the Capitol would only take a day. The train itself was gorgeous, filled to the brim with luxury furnishings and delicate foods displayed on silver trays.

A finger snapped in Silk's face, making her rear back as she watched the boy grin. "You've been staring out that window for the past hour; the scenery isn't that thrilling, I'm sure," he mocked, sitting back in his chair as he crossed his muscular arms. Silk's eyes scanned over his face, immediately recognizing him. Rhode Strix, he was the same age as Silk, seventeen. She had seen him around their district, he always fell in with the other kids who made it known they'd volunteer one day. It seemed he got what he wanted. Silk often wondered if he trained for the Games in secrecy; his build and physique gave it away.

The doors of the train slid open as two people walked through, and Silk instantly knew them. The first was Ruby Sorrel, the winner of the 59th Annual Hunger Games. Her fiery red hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail with a braid running through the right side, her signature look from when she was in the arena. Cerus Kors followed close behind, his blonde hair longer and tied in a bun on top of his head. Silk had been just a girl when he won his games, but his name carried significant weight in District One. He had won by betrayal, backstabbing his tributemate on the last day of the Games.

Silk felt herself tense up as his deep green eyes scanned over both her and Rhode, his lips pursed in a tight line before he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small glass bottle as he downed the liquid in a matter of seconds. Ruby sneered at him, ripping the bottle from his grip as she tossed it against the wall. The glass shattered loudly, making Silk jump as her mentor stalked towards them.

"Let's cut the crap and make this simple. You do what I say, and you won't die, got it?" Ruby stated, pulling a chair up as she sat down on it backwards. Silk and Rhode stayed silent, too stunned to even reply to her. "Rhode, you'll be working with me. Silk, you get Cerus. No offense, but I'm not wasting my time on someone who will die in the bloodbath," Ruby said coldly,

Silk's gaze shifted back towards Cerus as he leaned against the wall, his eyes rolled back as he let out a deep sigh. It clicked in Silk's head; he was higher than a jabberjay. "You're giving me the mentor who's hopped up on morphling? Seriously?" Silk deadpanned, her stomach twisted with unease as she watched Cerus slump down into a chair and close his eyes. "That's not fair-"

"Life isn't fair, sweetheart, and the Games are the least fair of all," Ruby hissed, her dark orange eyes glaring. "My decision is final; I intend to have a victor this year," she said, her head tilting towards Rhode, who smirked cockily.

Silk got to her feet, her jaw clenched painfully as she stalked off towards the back of the train car. Her body felt completely numb, as if this was an awful dream she was going to wake up from in any given second. Panic began to set in, her heartbeat quickened as her breathing came out in pants. Her hands tangled in her hair, gripping it tightly as she backed up into the wall. What the fuck was she going to do? Reality was setting in, she was going to die in that arena.

Suddenly, the door slid open, revealing a teenage boy who looked to be Silk's age. His dark brown hair was tousled messily at his shoulders, with one side of his head buzzed neatly. He paused for a moment, his muscular arms completely full of various snacks and sweets, having dropped several of them behind him.

Looking up at him wide-eyed, Silk began to notice how dirty his clothing was, how he had slight mats in his hair, and how dull his eyes were. He didn't work for the Capitol; he was a tribute. "What are you doing?" she hissed lowly, glancing over her shoulder to make sure her mentors hadn't noticed him yet.

His eyebrow raised as he stared down at the food in his arms and then back to Silk. "I'm eating," he said it like it was the most obvious thing, as if she was stupid for not realizing it. "Different cars have different snacks; I want to try them all," he said as he tilted his head in confusion. Silk deadpanned, completely shocked at this tribute's stupidity. She didn't even know other tributes could move car to car in the train; how did he get the clearance? "Are... Are you the girl from my district?" He asked after a beat of silence.

Silk's eye twitched at the question. "Do I look like I'm from your district? You have mud on your boots!" She bristled, gesturing to his shoes with utter disgust. "They could hang you for this!" Silk's voice dropped into a lower tone, still looking over her shoulder to make sure no one had noticed yet. At this point, she could be hung as well.

Her light purple eyes drifted back to him, glancing over the various snacks in his arms, dumbfounded that he'd risk his measly life for something so obtainable. She didn't realize how much her ignorance was showing. "What even are these?" Silk grumbled, plucking a package from his arms as she read the label. '11's Sweet Bread, Nothing Tastier!' There was a delicate brown sweet loaf inside, with a beautiful pattern of a wheat plant on top.

The tribute boy's eyes narrowed, staring at Silk as she examined the sweet bread before leaning down to be closer to her face. "It's not mud. It's dried pig guts," he said intimidatingly, "I wonder what yours would look like on my boots," he added, looking as though he was fighting back a grin as he pulled away from her. Silk froze at his tone, a chill went down her spine as she glared up at him. No matter how hard she tried to save face, she was scared shitless of this tribute.

"Besides," he huffed, shifting to make sure no other snacks would escape his grasp. "They wouldn't hang me, look at me. I'm huge for the district. Huge angry men make for great television. I could kill you right now and the Capitol would praise my name for being 'so excited for the Games' or some shit," he gritted out, leaning against the back wall. Silk's breath hitched in her throat; she couldn't believe the audacity of this boy. She couldn't tell if it was stupidity or bravery at this point. "You must be from a Career District. You have that watered-down Capitol attitude they all have. You should learn not to touch someone's food," he said as he dropped all of the snacks in his arms, snatching the sweet bread out of Silk's hands as he pivoted to leave.

A surge of irritation washed over Silk. There was no way in hell she was about to be talked down to like this by someone like him. "Save the intimidation for the cameras," she said bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest. She hated to admit it, but he had guts. Talking down to a career District tribute would've made him a target, but luckily for him, Silk had no intention of making any alliance with the careers; not that they'd take her anyway.

"What's your name?" she asked, taking a small step back as she grabbed a bag of lemon candies from a nearby tray. They were one of her favorites; the sweet candies would melt in your mouth the moment it touched your tongue. Silk tossed it over to him, watching him catch it with ease. "I'm Silk."

He shoved the candy into his worn-out back pocket, turned back, and continued walking away from her. "Buck, District Ten," he said before the door slammed shut.