FRAGILE GIRL || THE HUNGER GAMES ¹

7.

"YOUR LIFE IN THE ARENA..."

---¤☆¤---

Silently looking around at the kids, I find myself feeling both intimidated and sad; most of them were between my age and Ares's. I think that I was the second youngest tribute. Standing to my left was Ares, arms crossed and eyes narrowed, like a guard dog. Then to the right of me was a blonde haired girl, decked out in District Twelve apparel.

Taking a deep breath, I turn to the girl next to me and follow Julian's advice; 'Make allies, make it harder for them to kill you. Remind them that you both are kids.' Gulping away the fear, I pray that she doesn't give me the cold shoulder or is one of those arrogant tributes; who are too good to talk to others.

"Um, I'm Athena, Athena Grey. I'm from District Ten." I said, holding my hand out for the girl to shake.

"I'm Lizzy, I'm from Twelve." She said, shaking it.

"So, how are you?" I ask, letting go of her hand.

"I could be better, I mean. My Mentor isn't the best, but the Career's make it worse." She said, tucking a strand of her blonde hair.

"Career's? What's a Career?" I ask, confused by the name.

"Oh, the kids from One and Two, sometimes Four if they team up. We call them Career's from where I'm from." She explains, as I nod my head in understanding.

Looking at the center of the room was a woman, her hair was short and her black with small streaks of grey in it. Her arms were crossed showing off her muscular body, her face was stone cold and her eyes were focusing on each and everyone of us. Her dark skin was littered with small scars and tattoos, making her look even more intimidating.

"Welcome tributes, my name is Vela. I am the head trainer here, shall we begin?" The woman said, with a cold look on her face.

Standing behind her, were at least a dozen other trainers; all had different skin tones and were different heights. Some were smiling at us, others were scanning us up and down with calculated looks. Following their eyes, I eyed the group of Career's; the girls from two and one were eyeing up the boys.

"In two weeks, twenty three of you will be dead. Only one of you will be alive. Who that is depends on how well you pay attention over the next four days. Particularly to what I'm about to say. First; no fighting with the other tributes, you'll have plenty of time for that at the arena." She explains, causing a few of 'Career's' as Lizzy called them; to snicker.

They were just like us. Kids. With families. With dislikes and interests. With homes. They were kids. No, they weren't kids. Kids didn't enjoy killing. Kids didn't like violence. They weren't kids anymore. Breaking my stare from the Career's, I wipe the sweat off of my hands onto my pants.

"There are four compulsory exercises, the rest will be individual training. My advice is don't ignore survival skills. Everybody wants to grab a sword, but most of you will die from natural causes." She says, pointing to an orange hologram floating next to her.

The hologram showed a pie chart, it was separated in different sections showing how we would die. Ten percent was infection, Ten percent from Starvation, Ten percent from mutts or muttations and another Ten percent from the Arena's climate itself.

Twenty percent from dehydration, Thirty percent were the other Tributes and the Cornucopia Bloodbath, and Ten percent was somehow winning and lasting through the entire Games. The ten percent was broken down into details, but before I could get a good look at them; the lady spoke up again.

"Ten percent from infection. Twenty percent from dehydration. Exposure can kill as easily as a knife." She said, snapping her fingers for theatrics.

Nodding my head, I look around the room only to find a girl staring at me; her grey eyes looking me up and down carefully. Looking at her, she was short and slightly muscular making me guess that she worked with heavy lifting. She was dressed in a black tank-top showing off her muscular arms, tied to her waist was her assigned jacket. The number Six was on the sleeve of her jacket, confirming my suspicion about working with loading.

"Good luck, tributes. You are dismissed." She said, as the Career's ran over to the weapons area with arrogant smirks.

---¤𖠁¤---

Standing in front of the large screen, I click on the few plants that I recognize from Ten; from oak leaves to the barley that we feed the cattle. There had to be at least a hundred other plants on the screen that I didn't know anything about, tho. So I would need to study them for a little while.

Clicking on one picture, it revealed the picture of a bright red with a black and white dot seed. It had the similar features of a ladybug. Okay, the Rosary pea. It's a single seed that can kill you within 36 hours, avoid at all costs. Clicking the card, I pick another one, when I notice a small microphone looking button in the far right corner.

"Amaranth, this edible weed is native to District Five, Nine and Eleven. All parts can be consumed—just be conscientious of small spines that sometimes grow on its leaves." A robotic voice explains, revealing a bright pink plant.

Clicking onto another card, I picked a bright purple flower making a description pop up on the screen. Opium Poppy, this plant is native to District Nine and Twelve. This plant can be consumed—though this plant can cause serious hallucinations and be addicted. Note to self, avoid at all costs. Feeling a presence besides me, I turn my head to see Ares standing next to me, eyes darting back and forth between plants.

"Hello, Ares." I said, greeting the older boy.

"Um⎯Hello, Athena." He said, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"So⎯Um, how can I help you?" I ask, clicking on another plant.

Popping on screen was the picture of a dark purple blueberry that had an eerie shade of black on it. If you stared at it, it looked like a blueberry but at the same time it wasn't exactly a blueberry. Reading the description, it said, "Nightlock, native to Distict's Twelve and Thirteen. This wild plant is extremely poisonous that can lead victims to a painful and quick death. Folklore in Twelve states that the berries can kill a victim before it can reach their stomach."

'Little bit dramatic but, beware of Nightlock..' I thought.

Stealing a glance at Ares, he clicks on a plant making a picture of lettuce pop up. That's pretty easy to remember. We feed that to the cattle. Staring at the picture in pure confusion, I stare at him in disbelief, how could he not know what lettuce is? Was he pranking me? Blinking at the picture, he struggles to guess the name of the plant. 

"Do you need help?" I ask, pointing at the picture.

"Yeah, I guess you can say." He said, nodding his head.

"What does that mean?" I ask, confused.

"I know⎯I won't make it far in the games by myself. What you lack in strength, I lack in brains. You know plants and other stuff, we can work together until the final four, then we can separate." He rambles on, making me even more confused.

'Was he asking me to be his ally?' I thought.

"Are you..?" I ask, my voice trailing off at the end.

"Yes. I want us to be allies." Ares said, holding his hand out for me to shake.

+++++

And I am done with the chapter! Stay safe out there guys!

I hope you all are doing okay emotionally and physically! I love you all!

I hope that you are enjoying the book so far! A quick reminder to comment below about the story of what you think so far!