Scars That Never Fade- A New Generation of Hunger Games

Chapter 11

That night I dreamt the first dream I had had in a long, long time. I was in District 12, but it was before the rebellion. Very dirty and poor. A young man was being whipped on a post by a Peacekeeper for hunting illegally. The man's back bled profusely and her moaned weakly. He looked up and I screamed but no sound was made. It was my father when he was young. Did this really happen? All of a sudden, a girl came by, wearing the same braid I always wore. She looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on who she was. Perhaps it was he girl that I reminded my father of. She screamed at the Peacekeeper to stop. He drew his gun. Then, another person ran next to the girl. It was Haymitch. What was going on? Haymitch and the girl kept trying to get the Peacekeeper to stop. He did, eventually, and Haymitch and the girl led my father away, limping and hanging his head very low.

I woke up, clutching my sheets and sweating. Just a dream, just a dream. That never really happened, I assured myself. Just your imagination.

A girl walked into my room. She had blonde hair tied up in a bun, and was small and timid-looking. She set a sleek, black outfit down on the edge of my bed.

"Thank you," I said. The girl didn't answer. "Hello?! Hello!!" The girl still didn't answer. "That is very rude," I told her. The girl shrugged helplessly and left. That was very strange.

I put on the black suit, which was tight-fitting but very easy to move in and comfortable. It must be for training, which started today. I left my room for the dining area, where Lina and Volker were. I heard Haymitch bumbling through the hall, which meant he'd be joining us soon.

We ate breakfast quickly to get down to the training center. Haymitch had a severe hangover, and had to hang onto Lina as we took the elevator down.

When we arrived, many of the other tributes were already there. I spotted Romy, who was trying her hand with a sword. Her small arms could barely lift it, and switched it out for a dagger. She looked over at me and walked over.

"Fern!" she exclaimed happily, "Long time, no see. We're two of the youngest people here, did you know?" I nodded.

"It's good to see you, Romy," I say, "who's the other younger tribute?" Her fingers led my eyes over to a short blonde boy, skillfully throwing knives into a dummy. He grinned maliciously- he had hit all the marks.

"That's Epsilon," Romy said warily, "he's 13- and he's a career from District 7." That was very surprising. Very few careers were expected this year, least of all a thirteen-year-old, from a District 7 too!

"Wow, such a young career," I said. Epsilon looked deadly, and very confident. Though he was small, he handled an axe with ease, slicing a dummy's head, arms, and torso. I looked at Romy, hoping desperately that Epsilon did not get a hold of an axe in the arena.

"Well, we should both get back to training," Romy said. I nodded in agreement, and she began climbing up a ropes course.

Where should I begin? I eyed a bow with arrows. That was all I knew how to do. I picked them up, hoping that maybe I could sharpen my skills in the three days I had. I put the arrow in the quiver and drew... It hit the dummy in the shoulder, not very good. I tried again, and hit its thigh. Once more. Finally, in the chest. Before I could shoot again, someone grabbed my shoulder.

It was the career boy from One.

"That was terrible, Hawthorne," he jeered, "I bet your sad excuse of an ally could do better." He motioned at Romy. "Oh, I am so sorry! My name is Cassian, and don't worry, I already know your's. I think your dearest daddy would be very disappointed with your lacking skills." My blood boiled.

"What do you want?" I snapped at him. He laughed.

"You dead. Listen, you little idiot. Everyone in the Capitol adores you, but once they see how weak you are, they won't anymore. I'm going to snap you like a twig in the arena."

"Get away from me," I growled. "Now."

Cassian laughed again. "Don't try to intimidate me, Fern. You're like a baby deer. And I will kill you easier than one." He walked away to the girl from his district, Phoebe. With a flip of her long blonde hair, they were both off to agility.

Frustrated with archery at the moment, I tried my hand with a dagger. I slashed the dummy's neck, side and jabbed it into its stomach. I slowly pulled it out, pretending it was Cassian. I stabbed his heart. The dagger was certainly easier to handle. But I needed to learn everything I could. My stature and favor with the Capitol already put me at a disadvantage. I was weak, with a target on my back.

"Cassian's such an idiot," said a boy behind me, but when I turned around, it didn't look like a boy. He looked more like a man, he was tall, broad-shouldered and muscular. He held a trident, and I knew instantly he was from Four.

"Aren't you a career?" I asked him, a bit scared. He shook his head, no. I was surprised. He was enormous, surely a force to be reckoned with in the arena.

"I'm Wake Connelly, from District Four," he held out his hand. I shook it, but you never know who you can trust here in these games.