The Hunger Games: The Crankiplier Story

Training Day 1

"In two weeks, 23 of you will be dead." She said.
"One for 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 in the arena. There are four compulsory exercises, the rest will be individual.

"Listen to me when I say don't ignore the survival skills, many of you will die of natural causes anyway. 10% from infection, 20% from dehydration. Exposure can kill as easily as a knife.
Good luck."

It was the first day of training, and I didn't even know where to start. But I took Kass's advice in starting with survival.
Everyone else grabbed the closes weapon they could find and began swinging it around.
I was one of the first of many to make my way to the outdoor training area.

The setting looked as realistic as it would look. The only think i felt was necessary to learn first was starting a fire, in case of cold weather. We didn't know the arena we were going to, so it was nice to be safe.

I stood besides a large log and grabbed a few branches. Once I looked up for a moment, I saw the gamemakers watching each and every one of us.
I grabbed a thin branch and pressed it down against the log, which I then began rubbing it between my palms.

It went on for a bit and I didn't get a single spark.
I tried again and still no luck.
It was around this point where I started to get frustrated and let out a huff.
Despite that, I tried it again.
"Try moving your hands down."

I froze for a second and looked to my left to see a young girl I didn't recognize. She put her palms together and rubbed them up and and down.
"Like this." She said.

I looked at her hands than back at my own, trying to repeat what she showed me.
The girl sat besides me to get a view.
"Try going faster too."

I took her advice, moving my hands down at a faster pace. In a matter of seconds, smoke began forming from under the stick, eventually I got my first spark.
"Woah." I gasped.

I looked back up at the girl who was smiling.
"Thank you." I told her.

"Ethan, right?" She asked.
I glanced up at her and just stared.
"Yeah..." I said quietly. "How'd you know that?"

"Believe it or not, you're kind of an icon."
She said. "The first male duo from the same district, one of them volunteering for the place of a women, being your sister."

I knew it wouldn't take long to be reminded of Sadie.
She's the reason why I'm here after all.

"What's your name?"

She didn't take long to answer.
"Presley. Presley Zimmerman."

"Are you one of the younger tributes?" I asked.

She nodded. "Second youngest."
"Who's the first?"

She pointed in a certain direction. She aimed her finger at a young girl who looked like she was younger than the age limit. She was around a lot of the older tributes and stood out very much. She was too gentle to be a killer.
"Poor girl." I mumbled.

I stared back at her. "People like you don't deserve to be here."
Presley dropped her head down and shook it.
"Nobody does."

We went quiet for moment, until I looked down and remembered the fire I started.
"Well, for a girl your age, you're smarter than you look."