Clato: Twisted

Chapter 2 - A First For Everything

 He smashed the brick into the boy's limp body over and over...

"No! Stop! Please, stop! No more, I don't–" Out of nowhere, a hand muffled Clove's pleads.

"Shh," hushed a voice next to her ear. Clove jerked awake, fully conscious of the tears streaming down her cheeks. She buried her face into her older sister's shoulder, Bellatrix.

"Shh" Bellatrix whispered periodically while brushing the younger one's long brunette hair with her fingers gently.

"It was him, Bel" Clove sobbed. "he was throwing the rock... " This wasn't the first time Clove had dreamt that dream. In fact, it was probably one of the most common dreams she dreamt. That horrifying memory came to haunt her two or three times a week. Each time, Bel would comfort Clove with tears streaming down her face and then Bel would tell her that she cannot continue to break down in the future. Being the daughters of Arnold, the 64th Hunger Games champion, they were expected to be exactly like him: brave. Although they weren't his legitimate daughters, most people assumed that his personality would pass onto them at such a young age.

"Hey," Bel said. Clove looked up with her large frighten eyes into Bel's chocolate brown ones. "Today's the big day. You start today."

She was right, today was Clove's big day... her 5th birthday. Normally, boys advanced into their next training academy at age 5 whereas the girls would at the age of 6. Arnold had convinced the trainers to allow Clove to graduate with the boys at age 5, just as Bel had once done, wonderfully she might add.

"Let's get you dressed properly," Bel said, glancing at Clove's childish pajamas. Bel left the twin-sized bed they shared and went into the small bathroom. Although they lived in District 2, one of the wealthier districts, they were still considered poor. She came back into the small bedroom, no larger than the size of the bed, a few seconds later. She showcased the complete set of the District 2 training uniform that Bel had once worn. It included a polyester fabric dri-fit small tee along with the same material pants, all completely charcoal black. Bel helped Clove into her new uniform while Clove's mind was elsewhere. What if I can't do it? What do I have to do? And worse, what if they find out?

"Clove, we have to go now" Bel glanced at the miniature clock that stood on the tiny dresser in the corner of the room. She hesitantly gave a small nod, unable to hide her unease about starting training.

The two girls left the house, Bel held Clove's tiny hand in her own, reassuring her that everything would be fine. They walked the long 5-kilometer dirt road to the training facility in silence; both of them had a queasy feeling and were hesitant to speak, unsure of what to say. When they were close enough to the facility, Bel dropped her hand quickly, making sure no one saw. Obviously, nobody wanted to know the victor's daughters were so weak, so fragile.

In front of the doors was a group of boys around the age of 6. They talked quietly amongst themselves. The joy and excitement lingered in the air when the boys chatted around the "school".

"Attention!" A loud, low voice bellowed overhead, above all the chattering. Everyone stopped immediately and stared at the tallest steps of the building. There, a man, extremely muscular, stood rigid, hands behind his back like a soldier.

"This is your new training facility where you all will be trained until you meet our standards." He was scanning the crowd, already judging who will get cut or not. "The best will be in one class, an advanced one, whereas the oth–" his words were cut short when his eyes fell on Clove. She stared back just as intensely—well almost—, masking her earlier doubt and fear.

"Why yes, this is who Arnold was talking about, correct?"

"Yes, sir. I'm his daughter" She managed through her dry throat.

"Why don't you come up here and show yourself? I'm sure Arnold would be very proud of you and your efforts to come." The last words almost ended in a smirk.

She hesitated slightly before her legs found the nerve to move. She urged herself to slowly make her way up the stairs, making certain to not make a fool of herself as a girl exactly like her once did. She finally made it to the top, staring at the new instructor with respect.

He gestured for her to turn around to face the crowd. She obeyed, eyes nervously skimming the crowd. She registered the unique faces of each boy. Back at home, there were only females left in the house as all her other brothers had gone off to the peacekeeping industry or into The Hunger Games. She had never seen so many boys in the same place, much less standing side by side, in her lifetime.

"For all those who do not know Arnold, — you probably should, by the way—he was the victor of the 64th games. She," The man pointed at Clove, "is his daughter. She will begin training along with all of you."

There were murmurs about how girls shouldn't train with boys and how girls are weaker. There was a particular blonde boy who talked rather loudly about how girls couldn't handle all the violence and of the such. Clove blushed as a surge of rage flared within her. How could anyone think that? Girls are equally strong! With that, she was determined to prove them wrong, especially that stocky blue-eyed boy.

"Silence!" The man, who everyone still didn't know the name of, barked. "There will be no controversy over this! A decision has already been made."

No one knew what "controversy" meant but had assumed they shouldn't talk more about said topic based on the tone of his voice.

"Today is the first day of training for all of you young gentlemen... and lady. You will refer to me as 'General' or 'Sir', nothing else. Understand?!"

"Sir, yes, sir" The crowd of boys replied in unison. Clove stared in dismay. She had a lot of catching up to do. She didn't know how to respond like everyone else did.

"Today is a different schedule because of the special occasion of you newbies, but starting tomorrow, we will follow the regular schedule every day." He emphasized the word "every" and made sure everyone knew what they were getting themselves into.

"Now, since this is a special occasion, you all will be assigned to a previous victor, whether in a group or by yourself. Everyone will also have a supervisor today. In later stages of training, there will be fewer and fewer of you because you will be ranked based on your effort and progress. You will be cut if you don't meet our standards. Understand?!"

"Sir, yes sir!" Three-hundred or so boys and a girl replied. Clove listened carefully and managed to reply along with everyone else on time.

"Training usually start at 7 o'clock sharp but we are behind by half an hour today. Now, I would like to invite the previous victors out when I say their name. First, I will say the recruit's name, followed by the victor. This will go in alphabetical order based on last names for boys but first for girls. First, Clove..."