The Hanging Tree. *ON HOLD*

Chapter Eleven ~ Training

Chapter Eleven ~ Training 

Although I had willed myself to stay neutral and calm, and make sure not to let the other tributes see my worry and apprehension, of course, since I was never good at hiding my feelings, it didn’t work.

The other tributes turned around and stared, as soon as they heard the elevator doors ding open. I looked around at the enormous gymnasium in front of my eyes, and I see all the tributes standing in a tense circle. Some of them looked at Finnick and me with a mixture of awe and fear, most of them just stared with blank expressions but the girl from one, Laguna I think her name was, and the boy from four and nine each gave us their own looks. Laguna had pure hate in her eyes, the boy from four, Rylee, had a smirk across his face and was watching Finn with a look just like that of a predator hunting its prey, the boy from nine, Jaxon, looked at me hungrily, in a way that felt like his very eyes were violating me. I began to walk forward confidently but was stopped by people who pinned a large, cotton 12 on my on my back and Finnick’s. My heart began thumping against my chest as I looked up and saw Jaxon hadn’t moved his gaze, not once.

As soon as we entered the circle the head trainer started speaking to us about our training for the next 3 days. Experts at each skill will remain at their stations. We will be free to travel from station to station as we choose, per our mentor’s instructions. Since our mentor’s weren’t exactly great, as mentors that is, we hadn’t actually gotten any instructions. Some of the stations teach survival skills, others fighting techniques. We are forbidden to engage in any physical combat with the other tributes. There are assistants on hand if we want to practice. The trainer begins to read down a list of all the skill stations and my eyes skim the other tributes. They are all listening intently to everything the trainer is saying, but I can see that they all look nervous. Fortunately for me and Finnick this isn’t the 74th Hunger Games where there were careers and they had a higher chance of winning. No, now we are, to the best of my understanding, all at the same level of physical and mental state. But of course you can see in the hollow eyes, and skin that a few of these kids aren’t feed enough and have absolutely no chance of winning, which, in a cruel, horrible part of my brain, makes me smile, though luckily no one noticed the slight curve of my lips. I continued looking around and I could immediately sense all the tributes personalities and willingness to kill. Strangely enough, it was incredibly varied. For example the district 7 girl, Willow, had her toes poised as if she was wanted more than anything to fly out of the room and go home, but she had a violent look in her eyes and I wasn’t sure if that was for show or it was real. I remember seeing her on the TV. She was the one I thought Mum had called Rue. But of course, her name was Willow and although Mum had told me all about where my middle name had originated from, how on earth could this girl be related to the little girl who died in my mother’s arms? Suddenly everyone started moving away from the head trainer and start making their way over to all the different stations.

‘Prim?’ Finnick was standing dutifully by my side. I smiled at him.

‘Ok. So since I’m guessing we are going to stick together in the arena it’s probably better if you do weapons and all that stuff while I do the survival skills. Make sense?’ Finnick nods his head sadly. ‘I hate it as much as you Finn but what choice do we have?’ He nods again; I doubt he trusts himself to speak. I look around quickly making sure no one’s watching us and I gather Finnick into my arms. “It’s going to be alright. It’s going to be alright,’ I repeat. He nods a third time, breaks the embrace and walks over to the knife throwing where there’s already a considerable queue forming.

I sigh and close my eyes willing myself to get into a mentality that won’t make me want to burst into tears every time I see my brother. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jumped and spun around, knocking the hand of my shoulder.