Against His Odds - A Hunger Games FanFiction

Chapter 7

Iris felt uncomfortable standing in a line with the other tributes. They were in the training room, and an instructor was teaching them some tricks and tactics. "Most of the tributes that die in the Games die due to nature, not other tributes," the instructor said. Iris remembered Odis saying that, but giving more detail. She laughed in her head.
     Soon, the tributes were allowed to practice using the weapons. Iris turned to Chad. "Hey, you think we should ally with other tributes, too?" She asked him. Chad nodded. "It would be nice. Who are you thinking of?" He asked. Iris looked around. "Maybe Heather and Jonathan?" Iris answered. "The masonry tributes? I'm fine with that. Maybe they know how to use a hammer," Chad said. "Well, let's go talk to them."
     Iris walked over to where Heather and Jonathan were. Jonathan was checking out a hammer, seeming to show Heather how to use one. "Hi," Iris said, stopping by them. "Hello," Jonathan replied. Heather just gave a welcoming smile. "I was wondering if you guys wanted to ally," Iris informed them. Heather and Jonathan looked at each other. "Sure," they replied. Jonathan finished, "After all, it's better to have a group instead of going solo."
     Chad walked over. "I don't think we have introduced ourselves," he started, before Jonathan interrupted him and said, "We know who you are. We watched the Reapings like everyone else. So... You and Iris are friends?" Chad nodded. "What weapon is best for you guys?" Chad asked. Jonathan replied, "Well, I'm best with the hammer. Heather, though..." Heather began to speak, "I don't really have a special weapon. You see, I had a plan to end the Games when I lived in the Capitol with my father." Iris was stunned. She had tryed to end the Games? Heather continued, "I took a tour in District 2 so I could secretly enter my name into the Reaping. I was hoping to be called, so President Snow would be forced to end the Games for my sake. But... He couldn't. He had a talk with me after my name was called and they took me to District 2. He said if he ended it or took me out, a rebellion could start because people wouldn't think it would be fair. So, here I am now, preparing to live or die."
     Heather swallowed her guilt. "If it had worked, none of us would have to die. But, I'm not actually from District 2, and I have no idea how yo use weapons." Iris spoke, "Well, none of us have ever used much weapons before. The closest to a weapon that we have used is a weed hacker. But that is what this is for. We can train." Heather nodded. "Well, what weapon are you going to try?" She asked.
While thinking of the weapon, something caught Iris's eye. She looked over to see a rack of spears and swords. "How about a spear?" Iris asked. She walked over to the rack and took a decent-looking spear from it. She located a target and steadied herself after reading the instructions of how to throw it. Then she drew it back and threw it with all her might. It made a sharp 'boing' sound as it hit the target a little bit away from the center, but in the bullseye part. The whole training area grew quiet.
     Embarrassed because of the attention, Iris took the spear and drew back to where Chad, Heather, and Jonathan were waiting. "Wow," Chad said. Heather turned to her. "How did you do that?" She asked. "Well," Iris started, "I read the instructions. Chad and Jonathan chuckled. "Can you help me pick out a weapon?" Heather asked. After all, she was only 13. "Sure," Iris responded, gesturing for her to follow.
     They looked around the training area. "What stands out to you?" Iris asked. "Well," Heather started, "The peace-keepers would use either swords or guns." "The closest to a gun is a bow," Iris informed her, looking at the rack of bows. "Which would you like?" Heather looked around. "I'll try both," she said. "Oh, also," Iris started, "I can show you how to make weapons." Heather smiled and nodded as she ran to try out the swords and bows.
     Iris looked around to see Jonathan showing Chad some weapons. Right by them was what seemed to be a training simulator. Iris walked over to it. She watched as words appeared on the screen, saying, "Pick your weapon and level." She pressed 'spear' and 'level 3 out of 10'. Then she stepped in and watched as digital tributes surrounded her and began running. She threw and thrusted the spear at them in different directions. Finally, it ended.
     Iris stepped out of the training simulator and looked at her score. '85/100' was the number it displayed on the screen. She looked at her friends. Jonathan and Chad were doing very well with their weapons; Jonathan had a hammer as usual, and Chad got a hold of a sword. Iris looked at Heather. She was doing well with the bow and arrows; she must think of it as a gun that the peace-keepers used at the Capitol.
     She walked over to Heather. "You're doing very good with the bow!" She exclaimed. "Thanks," Heather said. "I can show you how to make weapons now," Iris said offered. Heather nodded. Before she could say anything, though, Jonathan ran over to them. "Come on, guys. They're giving the speech on surviving in the nature," he said. Iris followed him. This year of the Hunger Games was going to be very interesting.