Grain & Blood | A Hunger Games collection

Training day 2 pt 1

Since I did that little stunt with the knives yesterday (that's what Pablo called it,) I have become more afraid of Kamalyn. I know I shouldn't be, but I've seen what she can do and it isn't pleasant.I walk into the training centre, and waiting right in front of me is Kamalyn.

"Oh! Iris! What a pleasure to see you here!" She smirks.

"She's been waiting, hasn't she," whispers Robin.

"Yes. Go and do something useful, I'll be with you as soon as I can,"

"Good to see you too, Kamalyn," I reply in a loud, careless tone. She ignores me and keeps talking. 

"After yesterday, I started thinking. And I came up with some challenges. Me versus you. If I win the most, I get to kill you at the cornucopia. You win the most, then we," she gestures around at the other careers, "will give you one minute to get your supplies and go before we are allowed to kill you."

I replay her words in my head. If I lose, I die then as a result Robin dies, if I win, I have a minute to get what I need and go. "Okay," I nod, "I accept. Just be ready to lose, 4."

"Mhmm. We'll see about that,"

I follow Kamalyn over to the targets, the ones I was using yesterday.

"First challenge, how long does it take you to throw 10 knives, one into the heart of each target. Youngest first, " she smirks.

I pull on one of the Capitol knife jackets, stocked with 10 knives each.

"And... go."

I don't even wait for the first knife to hit the target before I throw the next one. I'm feeling so much energy, mainly because I know that my life depends on it, but also because I'm always up for a challenge, especially when it's against a stuck up equal. 

In no time at all, all the knives are where they should be. I turn around for my time, and Kamalyn says,

"15 seconds. Pretty good. But I can do better,"

She takes her place in front of the targets, already equipped, and releases the first knife just as I press the start button on the stopwatch. For her, every single knife simply flies into the target. She doesn't hesitate, she just throws, in such a way that it feels like she's a river and the knives are droplets of water. I look down at the stopwatch. 13 seconds.

"Well, I won this one," gloats Kamalyn.

"Maybe you did. What's next?"

"The gauntlet. How long will it take you, huh?"

It's not a question I want to answer. If I fail this, I have no chance of surviving the bloodbath. The gauntlet is a line of platforms, of different heights, which I have to jump between to get to the end of the trail while trainers swing foam bats at me. It's a lot more terrifying than it sounds.

I stand on the first platform and get ready. Then, I leap forward, and dodge the bat. Next platform, duck. Third, twist-dodge. Everything is going well until I land on the fourth. I don't notice the bat until it swipes into my back, knocking me off balance and sending me flying forward, over platform number 5 and onto the edge of 6. I can't give in, so I pull myself up and keep going. Backflip to the next, somersault forward, land on the 8th. One leap onto the 9th and a swerve onto the finish.

"48 seconds."

For the duration of Kamalyn's run, I watch the stopwatch, counting the seconds with it. 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51.

"How long?"

"51 seconds. I won that one."

Kamalyn gives a little growl of frustration, evidently annoyed.

"Is the next one a useful skill? Like starting fires or finding food?"

"No, why would I need those skills when I can get everything I need at the cornucopia? Not that you'll ever know. You'll be dead by then."

"Mhmm."

"Well grab a knife then, we're doing combat against each other."

Everyone starts crowding around the combat floor while we pull on pads and protection. Kamalyn grabs a dagger, so I do to, but while she isn't looking I slide another into my pocket.

The trainer counts us down and we start circling each other, knife in hand, like tigers stalking their prey. Then she leaps. I'm expecting it, so I spin out of the way. She dives onto the floor, and I jump onto her. But she, being a year older, she is also stronger, so she knocks me off and is on top of me instead. First, she pulls my knife out of my hand and throws it away across the floor then places the blunt end of her knife across my throat.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5,"

She starts counting up to 10, if she reaches it then she wins.

I grab the spare dagger from my pocket and thrust it into her shoulder pad. In surprise, she releases her grip, giving me enough space to wriggle out and and strike the dagger onto where her femoral artery is.

"One, two, three, and you're dead."

As I said, an upload. I might do one later, I'm not sure, I have a lot to write and I'm not sure if I have the time to write it, I have homework to do. I wrote quite a bit this morning, i.e the next chapter, but if I upload it today there might not be anything tomorrow. ANYWAY I need to stop ranting, pls vote if you enjoyed. 

-Katherine