The Games

Training Day

Waking up in the middle of the night in a freezing shower was far from pleasant. Shivering, I dragged myself out of the cold water, threw on some clothes, and collapsed onto my bed, quickly falling back asleep.

The next thing I knew, the door to my bedroom was thrown open, startling me awake. Instinctively, I shot up, ready to fight if necessary. Two guards stood in the doorway, expressionless. "You should know better than to scare a girl when she's sleeping. I could kill you," I joked, but they didn't find it funny.

"You have five minutes to get ready for breakfast, then training. Let's move," one of the guards barked before moving on to the next room.

From down the hall, I heard Max's voice echoing, "Tiny dickless pricks! I need my sleep! I mean, I can't look this good without it." I snickered to myself, shaking my head as I got dressed in the all-black training clothes they gave us: black leggings and a matching shirt. Great, black—the one color that absorbs the most heat. After getting dressed, I waited in the living room for the others to join.

Izzy was the first to appear, looking anxious as she stood beside me. "I'm not ready for training. I've never trained a day in my life. I'm so scared," she whispered.

"I'll help you," I whispered back, my face remaining neutral as I stared at the guards struggling to get Max out of bed.

"Really? Thank you so much! Maybe now I have a shot at staying alive!" she said, beaming with a bright smile. Izzy was too sweet, too kind. I couldn't bear to see someone like her hurt or killed.

The boys finally emerged from their rooms, both looking like they'd rather still be asleep. "Good morning!" Izzy chirped.

Atticus mumbled a half-hearted response, while Max ignored her, face-planting onto the couch.

"Alright, listen up," one of the guards said. "You're to be up every morning at this time, dressed for breakfast and training. The boss wants to make sure everyone has at least basic fighting skills. Just know, if you don't wake up for breakfast, you'll miss it and go straight to training. Got it?" He aimed the last bit at Max, who lazily flipped him off without moving from the couch.

Rolling their eyes, the guards led us to the cafeteria. As we walked in, I noticed we were the only ones wearing black. Everyone else had different colors, but that didn't matter to me. The whispers, however, were hard to ignore.

"That's her."
"Such a suck-up."
"What's so special about her?"

I rolled my eyes at their comments, got my food, and sat at an empty table with Izzy beside me. Max and Atticus took seats across from us.

"Don't listen to them," Max grumbled, glaring at a nearby table. "They act like this is school when it's not. This is life or death."

"I don't care what they think," I shrugged. "I'm just trying to survive." Before taking a bite, I sniffed my orange juice and food.

Izzy stared at me. "Why are you sniffing your food and drink?"

"To check for poison. You never know," I said casually, causing her to eye her own food suspiciously.

Atticus tilted his head, studying me. "Have you been poisoned before?"

"Yeah, my dad trained me ever since I could walk, and that includes dealing with poisons," I replied, finishing my meal.

There was an awkward silence after that, though Atticus continued to watch me with a curious expression. Once breakfast was over, we were led into a massive gym filled with training equipment, sparring mats, and stations for skills like knife throwing and even identifying poisons.

"Alright," one of the guards called out, "you'll be training here every morning after breakfast. After lunch, you're free to roam the building, but remember, all exits are locked. You're not getting out. Now, get to it."

A man named Tanner Knox stepped forward. "I'll be observing everyone to see what you need help with. Now, each team, pick a station and start working."

Our group—me, Izzy, Max, and Atticus—moved to a corner far from everyone else. "Do you two know how to fight?" I asked Max and Atticus. Both nodded. Izzy, however, shook her head.

"Alright. Izzy, you'll start with the basics. You two," I pointed at Max and Atticus, "can spar and see what you can teach each other."

Max grinned and walked to a mat, waiting for Atticus. "Good luck," he told Izzy before pulling off his shirt, causing nearly every girl in the gym to drool, including Izzy.

"Izzy, you're drooling," I laughed.

"I am not!" she protested, wiping her mouth and glaring at me.

"Alright, girls, focus," Mr. Tanner said, shaking his head.

When Atticus joined Max, he removed his shirt too, revealing hundreds of small scars crisscrossing his back and arms along with a bunch of tattoos. Whispers immediately started. I saw his shoulders tense as he reached for his shirt, clearly uncomfortable.

Before he could put it back on, I stepped in. "What are you looking at?" I glared at the onlookers, daring them to say something.

To distract them, I pulled off my own shirt, leaving me in my sports bra, revealing my own scars. Now they had something else to look at. The stares didn't bother me. I had plenty of tiny scars, but the three large ones running down my back stood out most—reminders of bad training sessions with my dad.

Turning back to Izzy, I got to work. "Alright, stand like this—feet shoulder-width apart, fists up to protect your face." She was a quick learner, which was good.

We spent the day training, and Max eventually asked to spar with Izzy. She blocked most of his punches, but in the end, he swept her legs out from under her and pinned her to the ground. He whispered something that made her face turn crimson as she pushed him off, standing up quickly while he laughed.

"Alright, that's enough for today!" Tanner called out. "Go get cleaned up, then head to lunch."

We returned to our rooms, exhausted from the morning. Max immediately face-planted onto the couch again, while I headed to my room for a shower. As the hot water washed over me, I couldn't help but replay the day in my mind. Tomorrow, we'd be back at it again. I sighed.

"Tomorrow's a new day," I whispered to myself, letting the water soothe my aching muscles.

Word count (1,104)