Deceived: The 500th Annual Hunger Games

Chapter 12 - Private Sessions/Scores

JARRETT CANNERY'S P.O.V

I grabbed a glass of wine, a plate of food and my notebook and pen and sat down in my chair. The private training sessions were about to start. In 3 mornings time, the tributes will be in the games. Tomorrow they have a free day, followed by the interviews and last night supper on the last night.

This year, all 20 gamemakers will score, and the average between all of us, along with hours of debating, will be the final score announced on TV by Phillipe Honeyman.

The first one to enter was Majoris. He introduced himself and asked for 3 dummies. He grabbed a sledgehammer and a dagger. The dagger was slid into his belt and he wielded the hammer with both hands.

He smashed the first dummy in the neck. A violent snapping sound could be heard throughout the training centre. He dived and took out the second dummy, hitting it in the ankles, followed by the chest.

He threw his hammer at the last dummy, knocking it to the floor. He slid the dagger out of his belt and stabbed the dummy repeatedly in the heart, sadistically grinning and yelling as he did so. I'll give him a 9.

Roxen was next. She introduced herself, twirling her hair and swaying side to side. Unfortunately, looks don't get the best scores.

She grabbed two Katar daggers, a type of dagger with a handle held as if you're clenching your fist. She started slashing at everything in sight. Dummies were mauled from head to toe and were deprived of every limb. I'll give her a 9 too.

Velorum strolled in, grabbed a trident and started to knock everything. He threw spears and tridents into targets all around the room, hitting the centre every time but once, where he managed to slip on something.

He requested for a robot dummy. He sliced at the dummy, making a huge tear across its chest. He then threw the trident, severing its neck and lodging it into the target behind it. The other gamemakers cheered. I'll give him a 10, he deserve it for that last move.

Atlus didn't bother to introduce himself, he just went straight to the daggers and picked up two with curved blades, also known as Janbiya daggers.

He requested for two robots. The robots fired arrows and knives at him, missing him by 2 inches each time. A knife got him in the ankle. He yelled like a monster, picking it up off of the floor and stabbing the one who threw it. It fell to the floor lifeless.

The other robot advanced even faster, firing arrows 2 at a time. Atlus stabbed it in the back of the neck, followed by the lower spine. The dummy launched an arrow, hitting Atlus in the left arm before it spasmed as it fell the ground. I'll give him a 7.

Zak came in and screamed his introduction as if we couldn't hear him. He picked up the daggers left in the bodies of the dummy Atlus just killed. Zak climbed up into the climbing frame and harnessed himself in. He jumped from heights of over 30 metres, slicing targets and dummies on the way down.

He then undid the harness and continued to climb and jump. He missed his footing one or twice and missed a couple of targets, but other than that it was okay. I'll give him an 8.

Topaz came in next, kissing Zak as he left. She grabbed a spear and threw it into a target far across the room. It hit dead centre. That was pretty far away, most victors aren't even capable of doing that with a spear. The gamemakers cheered and clapped for the long ranged throw.

She then picked up a sword called a butterfly sword - a short, heavy, thick bladed sword from a place called China. She slit the throats of dummies and punctured the organs. Once every dummy was on the floor, she did a fancy twirl with the swords. The gamemakers roared with excitement.

She finished by sewing up the necks of the dummies she had cut open. Wow, a Career who can do more than kill. I'm going to give her an 11.

Septimus was next. We didn't ask him for an intro. He could be easily mistaken for an Avox, he doesn't talk at all. I don't even know what his voice sounds like.

He picked up a dadao sword, a sword that's narrower nearer the handle and fatter towards the end. I hadn't had the chance to see him in action in training. 3 dummies all advanced towards him.

Septimus did a backflip, slicing up the first dummy into the jaw. The dummy fell to the floor as the gamemakers cheered. He then skewered the second dummy, the dadao blade appearing through its chest.

The last dummy threw a shuriken at him. Septimus blocked the weapon with the end of his sword, and in a split second, he grabbed it and launched it between the eyes of the remaining dummy. The gamemakers screamed even louder. He deserves a 12.

Last in for District 1 was Chester. Chester introduced himself and headed over the array of throwing knives. Chester picked up a different variety, including a Mini Bo-Kri, a Circus Faka and a Laxandor, the ones that looked most like swords but were perfect for throwing. A sneaky tactic.

Chester requested two robots, and asked for specific weapons. A crossbow and a trident. From what I've seen in training, he wasn't as good against long ranged people as short ranged. He wanted to show us his maximum potential, not his minimum.

He launched the Laxandor knife at the crossbow, blocking anymore arrows from being loaded. He broke the crossbow. The Circus Faka was launched at the robot with the trident, slicing it between the eyes just as it threw the trident. Chester ducked and rolled, grabbed the trident and ripped the top of it completely off. The Mini Bo-Kri remained in his belt, from what I've seen, it's the knife he always finishes with.

The threw the trident head at the remaining robot as it tried to get the crossbow to work. It hit him in the arm, pinning its arm to its chest. Chester jumped on top of the dummy, grabbed the knife from his belt, and sliced across its sewn up neck. I'm giving him an 11.

Starting for District 5 was Wade. It sucks now that all the Careers are out of the way - at least they can entertain us. Wade made his way over to the daggers. More daggers? Note to self: only request 5 daggers in the arena.

He picked up a Gunong dagger, a dagger with a curved handle. I looked closer at his hand, it looked slightly deformed.

An Avox came in with some files. I accepted them and requested more food and wine. They nodded and set off.

I opened the records. The first words I saw were 'abused at home.' I scanned the documents until I saw the subheading 'Hand.' At the bottom of the paragraph, a recent entry has been entered.

'His hand was destroyed in a fight with his dad. He didn't tell anyone about the pain, making it worse on the first night at the Capitol. An Avox treated it as best as possible, but the palm has been mutilated, leaving him unable to grip things properly.'

The only things he can grip are curved objects. I must talk to the President to request curved handled objects just for Wade.

He sliced through dummies and targets, climbing up whatever had something to grip onto. The dagger in his hand stayed firmly, lunging at robots and twisting the dagger inside of them. He can have a 7.

Next in was Pomelime. She went over to the fire building station and spent 10 minutes building a fire. She then went to pick up a sword, but she could barely lift it off of the floor. I'd seen her in training. She can't fight at all. I'll give her a 4.

Jaymes came in, introduced himself and went over to the spears. He then stopped and looked curious.

"Hey gamemakers, where are the bidents?" He asked. Only one tribute in history has used a bident in the games. His name was Sony. He was a tribute sometime before the 300th Games. He died during the feast battle after his bident was taken by mutts.

"We have one, but it hasn't been used by a tribute in over 200 years." I called for an Avox, who fetched the golden bident immediately. Jaymes smiled and started striking targets. His force was incredible.

He then requested 2 dummies, one with a spear and one with a trident. Whatever the difference is between the three weapons, other than the prongs, I have no idea. I guess people just have their preferences.

He swiped the one with the spear over the face. The trident was launched at him. He did a forward roll, dodging it and grabbing it as it lodged in the floor. He threw the trident back at the dummy, piercing it through the stomach and killing it. The spear was launched, missing Jaymes by centimetres. Jaymes launched the bident, spinning as it soared. The two prongs pierced the dummy through the neck and the mouth. A perfect kill. An 8 for Jaymes from me.

Haile came in, escorted by an Avox with a medical kit. She cut herself on an arrow tip the other say and she bled for hours. We allowed the Avox to stay.

I was excited to see Haile. No one has really used a bow and arrow as their main weapon yet.

She picked up a black bow and a spiked arrow. Trying to pull that out of your body would only make the injury worse. Haile must know this or she wouldn't have chosen to use them, seeing as they aren't standard arrows.

A dummy advanced towards her, swinging its sword. She fired the arrow, hitting it straight through the heart. She fired some arrows at other targets too, hitting the centre nearly every time.

3 days ago, she could barely hit the target, and now she can hit the tiny red circle not much bigger than the arrow tip. I'll give her an 8.

Tansy strolled in. She requested a dummy with a dagger. She didn't bother to grab a weapon, she just charged straight towards it. The dagger almost hit her in the hand, but she rolled over, the knife being launched into the air.

The knife started to fall. She tossed the dummy to the right. It went to get up, just as the knife reached it and stabbed it through the skull.

"I don't have a weapon of choice." she said, shrugging.

I liked Tansy. Her power was immense. I clicked my fingers, and an Avox came in. I whispered in his ear and he followed my orders.

She squealed as an Avox handed her a box with claws in. She slotted them over her hands and grinned.

The robot was set up again, an this time, when she ran at it, she swiped at its face, leaving long gashes along its padded cheeks. She punched him in the gut repeatedly, the claws disappearing into the wound several times, before the dummy stopped responding. No other tribute is going to get close to her with those gloves on. She can have a 9 for the power the other tributes lack.

Alisma was next. She went over to the throwing knives, and picked up all of the Ziel knives. She walked over the the flashing targets. She managed to strike 90% of the targets she hit, but failing to hit the centre most of the time. She didn't request any dummies to be brought in.

Her lack of combat and accuracy scored her a 6 from me.

Nancee strolled in, looking tough. I've noticed recently she's been acting like a Career, turning her nose at anyone who disliked her. Her arrogance has soared through the roof in the space of a few days.

She grabbed a spear and launched it, hitting slightly left of the centre. She groaned and grabbed another spear. She threw it and it went slightly below the target.

She then grabbed a trident and launched it, the left prong hitting the centre. She looked satisfied. She tried again with the trident, missing the target by not throwing it hard enough. She screamed, kicked over the spear stand and stormed out. Terrible attitude. Her behaviour scores her a 5 from me.

Geranium strolled in with confidence. From what I've seen, he's pretty neutral. He isn't good at anything, but he isn't bad. He picked up some Gyro Dart throwing knives - that look like screwdrivers - and started launching them at targets. As a target would light up, he would throw a Gyro Dart and hit the target. He only hit the centre once, but he didn't miss any targets. I'll give him a 7.

District 9 was next. I noticed some good skills from the grain district during training, so I am excited for some of tributes.

Yarrow strolled in. She went over and grabbed a rope. A rope? What's she gonna do with that?

She requested for a dummy. The robotic figure stumbled out, saw its target and strikes. She grabbed the rope, whipping the weapon out of its hand. The dagger remained on the floor as she jumped on the dummy's back and strangled it with the rope.

"Nice work," I said, applauding. "How about we bring you a whip?"

She nodded happily. The box was laid on a table next to her. She picked out a Qilinbian - a whip made from steel chains, and a Cat O Nine Tails - the whip with 9 tails, hence the name.

She whipped the dummy across the back with the Cat, causing it to fall to the floor. The cracking noisemaker the gamemakers scream with delight.

She strangled the dummy with the Qilinbian, cutting into its throat. She finished by whipping the dummy's neck sigh the Cat whilst strangling it.

We clapped. It's hard to kill with a whip, seeing as they are usually used as torture weapons, not killing weapons. She deserves an 8.

Keelan was next. He glared coldly at the dolls, picked up a Katana - the ultimate samurai sword - and requested for 5 dummies. The 5 dummies had a range of weapons. One threw a knife at him. He stepped to the side, swung the heavy sword with one hand, and decapitated the dummy.

He picked up a second Katana. He started to twirl around, slashing at the dummy closest to him. Majestic. The dummy fell to the floor, long gashes indented along its body.

3 dummies left. He held his two swords in an X formation as an arrow soared towards him. The arrow hit the blades and fell to the floor in front of him. He then did something no gamemaker has ever seen. He threw the katana up into the air. The blade was 70cm long, as long as Keelan's leg. The blade rotated through the air, and the gravity was about to take its toll.

Keelan launched off of the wall, grabbed the handle of the spinning Katana, and stabbed through the dummy, spearing it from the head down to the chest. That blade wasn't going to be retrieved during battle.

2 left. The robot charged at him with a dagger. The sword was being firmly held behind Keelan's back. He span and slashed at the dummy, ripping its robotic organs and killing it in seconds.

The last dummy was reloading the harpoon it had. Keelan knocked it out of his hand, before spearing it through the chest like a kebab. Like it was nothing. Keelan didn't even break a sweat.

A 12. No doubt, a 12 in the bag. The President would've been happy with that performance, and trust me, the President isn't normally happy.

Ovid came in. He didn't head for a weapon first. He grabbed a bunch of poisonous plant replicas. He then grabbed a sheath of arrows and a crossbow. He dipped the arrow tips into the poison oozing out of the berries on the table.

He fired his crossbow at a target, hitting dead centre. He then aimed for a dummy, piercing it in the heart. He requested for a new dummy with a crossbow.

The dummy ran towards it, firing its first arrow. Ovid dodged it and pounced onto the dummy, using one of his poison arrows as a dagger. He forced the arrow through its eyeball. He then shoved an arrow in the mouth of the robot, poisoning it. I'll give him a 7.

Runyon came in and headed straight for the daggers. He grabbed two, a Phurba - an egyptian dagger that looks like a pen, and a Kukri, a thick dagger shaped like a boomerang.

He requested for 3 robots. This better be a good show. I'm bored of the tributes now.

He sprinted towards 2 of the robots, stabbing the left dummy with the Phurba, and slicing the right dummy with the Kukri. The dummying the left fell, clutching its heart. The dummy on the right sank to its knees. Runyon kicked its temple as he back flipped off of him, killing it. The last dummy advanced towards him, throwing a knife. Runyon used the Phurba like a throwing dart, the dagger piercing the flesh and ripping through the entire body. It's a 9 from me.

Jed walked in next. He hasn't even bothered training. He's spent the last 3 days with his arms wrapped around Yarrow. I wonder if he knows how to use any of the weapons here.

Jed look around and wades for the axes. He picked up a Mattock axe - a half pickaxe, half adze - and started chopping random objects up.

He asked for a dummy, and it came at him almost immediately. The dummy lunged as the sword caught the tip of Jed's hip. He threw his axe - and missed completely. The dummy stabbed him and he screamed as he reviewed a shock. Death.

"Hard luck buddy," I said, shrugging. He just laughed and walked out. He gets a 4.

Maxwell came in, glaring at his brother as Jed left. He went over to the shurikens and picked out a Fūma shuriken, an arms length shuriken that can be used like a boomerang.

He threw it at ropes in the training centre. The shuriken sliced through the ropes and flew back towards him. Maxwell hadn't chosen his weapon until yesterday, and spent almost 12 hours practicing, knowing his survival was going to depend on it.

He asked for a robot. The robot flew forward and he threw his shuriken. It decapitated the dummy and flew back to him. I'll give him a 7.

Yohan was next. I've seen Yohan's performance with shurikens. He's an ace. He went over and grabbed a variety of shapes and sizes.

He requested the light up targets. We set it up and gave him a 3 second limit to hit the target.

The first one lit up and a shuriken flew into it, making contact with the centre of the wooden circle.

He hit every target accurately. I'll give him a 9.

Ivory gave him a kiss on the cheek as Yohan left and she entered. I hadn't seen her weapon practice yet, so I was looking forward to her.

She grabbed a bunch of throwing axes. They're similar size to daggers and throwing knives, but they have an axe design.

She asked for 3 robots. They flew out from different directions. The first one fell to the ground instantly, a throwing axe lodged between its eyes.

The second one threw a knife. She jumped over where the knife was falling, rolled and picked up the knife up out of the floor. She launched it and it skewered its neck.

The last one trip over its dead robot ally, face-planting the floor. Ivory lodged an axe in its back, killing it in seconds. I'll give her a 9.

We all left our chairs and into another room, where we discussed the scores we gave, ready for broadcast tonight. I can't mess this up.


PHILLIPE HONEYMAN'S P.O.V

"Good morning Panem," I beamed into the camera. "Today, the 24 tributes performed in private training sessions. I have been sent the scores by our lovely head gamemaker, Jarrett Cannery."

I cleared my throat, "this year, 20 gamemakers recorded scores, discussed their opinions and found the average score for each tribute."

I picked up the paper in front of me. "District 1:
Majoris - 9.
Roxen - 8.
Velorum - 10.
Atlus - 7.
Zak - 7.
Topaz - 11.
Septimus - 12.
Chester - 11."

I had to explain my opinions now. "Wow, a 12 for Septimus? That's outstanding!" I squealed. "And only a 9 for Majoris? We've all seen his sledgehammer action. I can't wait to speak with our District 1 tributes in the interviews."

I swapped my paper and ran my hand through my hair.
"District 5:
Wade - 7.
Pomeline - 3.
Jaymes - 8.
Haile - 8.
Tansy - 10.
Alisma - 7.
Nancee - 6.
Geranuim - 7."

I put the paper down. "After Nancee's throwing at Majoris, I'm surprised she only got a 6. And what did Tansy do to get a 10?" I said. "I can't wait to speak to our District 5 tributes, especially Pomeline. Am I the only one who wants to know how she only scored a 3?"

I picked up the last bit of paper.
"District 9:
Yarrow - 9.
Keelan - 12.
Ovid - 8.
Runyon - 9.
Jed - 4.
Maxwell - 7.
Yohan - 9.
Ivory - 9."

I am shocked. District 9 have been my favourite District out of these 3 here now. "Jed, our oldest tribute out of all the districts, turning 19 in two weeks time - if he survives - only got a 4?" I said, whining slightly to make the crowd question it too. "Keelan got a 12? Yohan got a good score too with a 9. Will the Kaxwell alliance continue?"

"Thank you for watching. Please, send in your questions for me to ask our tributes in the interviews. Also, start saving your money, you're gonna want to sponsor your favourite tributes, aren't you? I'm Phillipe Honeyman, goodnight Panem, have a great evening and may the odds be ever in your favour!"