The Hunger Games (Fan-fic)

Chapter 4

So it's not really one of my best chapters i think its plain but thats up to you guys (if your even reading this) so enjoy!

 

 

 

Training day has finally arrived and my nerves are getting the best of me. Sure I could suck at everything and show the other tributes i'm nothing but a wimp and won't even be worth their time. But, I could also uncover a hidden talent for a weapon and be labeled a target immediatly. Basically my mind is screwing me over on what to do. 

Deciding it would just be best to go down there and get it over with I dress up in a long sleeve and shorts. I head down to the dining area and find that i'm not the last to arrive, Faye is still not here. 

I sit down at one of the chairs and see that this table is even larger than the last, meaning there's more food for me to eat. Roasted nuts, dried fruits, rice balls glazed over with a spicy hot sauce, and more roasted meat. We're served this time by Avoxs, people who broke big laws like traveling to another district or defieing the capitol, and have had their tongues cut out. I try my best not to look them in the eye or speak to them, as if they would answer, I feel embarrased to have them serve me, like i'm higher up than them. That won't be for long though.

"Where's Faye? Isn't she supposed to be mentoring us?" Levi speaks up from across the table, Thyme stops scooping up her soup and a secretive look crosses her face. 

"She's...come down with something" she says after a brief clearing of her throat, I don't buy it and from the look on Levi's face, he doesn't either. But we don't pester since training is about to begin and we won't need Faye for that, I don't even know if she's allowed in.

We clean up quickly and leave the room, Thyme has given us directions to the training center and me and Levi wait in silence as the elevator counts down. We rush out of the doors as soon as they open and make it to the center just as the clock hits our due time. Turns out we're one of the only five groups that have decided to come on time. The other tributs barley spare us a glance before they turn back to our coach, Haldeon. He's a short, broad-shouldered man with thining gray hair and a voice that booms even in a whisper.

The other six districts come in one by one and soon we are all gathered around Heldeon, he reads off the stations and lets us disperse to the one of our choice. 

I start off at the archery station, which I fail miserably at. The first arrows I shot barley make it three feet in front of me and when I can get a far enough shot, it's aim is extremley off. It hits a few inches from the District 1 girl, Isadora is her name I think, and she promptly glares at me before smirking at my terrible aim. 

I give up on archery and head to the knife throwing station, this one boosts my confidence. My first trys are bad but as I get the hang of it i manage to hit the dummys straight in the heart, three times in a row. Isadora's watching this one and I give her a smug smile, heading towards the painting station.

Most of the careers, tributes from the weathlier districts such as 1,2,3, and 4, do good at almost all the stations. But some other tributes have skills as well. I can see the tall girl from District 8 has amazing talent at the archery station and the food knowledge station, the careers glower at her and I have the feeling she won't last very long. She does hang around with the thirteen year old from her district and I can tell that they plan on being allies. Just that alone makes me want to be her ally and I decide I will, if she or I can make it to that point.

Levi, on the other hand, seems to be doing a lot better than me. He can build a fire with ease, identify more plants than I can count on my fingers, he can throw an axe so it hits the dummy square in the head and he can hold his own with a sword.

 Maybe angering him wasn't my best decision.

 

 

By the end of the day I have found out I am only good with two things, knives and spears and even with them i'm still amatuer compared to the other tributes. All their years of training and being well-fed have really paid off, but I am much slimmer and smaller than most of the boys and girls. So i'm pretty sure I can get out of their grasp easily and run faster than them.

Thyme's been pestering me all day about strategies, allies, sponsers, and about a hundred other things I can't even remember. Levi's been quiet since we got back and i'm surprised, surely he should be bragging about how much he could do in training. Faye still hasn't come to dinner so as we're clearing up and heading back to out rooms I stop Levi in the hallway, these little games of his are really getting to me.

"What's up with you?" I ask, leaning my shoulder against the wall so he can't escape without answering me. He gives me an annoyed look, "what do you mean?"

"All this" I guesture to him, "you barely eat anything, you yell at me for trying to gain some sponsers for us, and you keep quiet about your talents. Why arn't you even trying to show you want to stay alive?" He gives me another odd look and shakes his head in annoyence. 

"Because I don't want to win this, I don't even really want to live after this. Having to remember that you killed or sneaked your way through twenty-four people, visiting their families and just reminding them that their child is dead. I don't want that, that's fine if you do, but just don't force me to do something I don't want to". I stare at him in disbelief, anger rising inside me. He's making me sound like the bad guy, I'm just focused on staying alive, it's instinct. How dare he act like he's better than me, that he has all the humility in the world and i'm just some animal, waiting to rip something apart. I have a baby to think about, he doesn't.

The anger is so strong that I burst the words out before I can even think about it,"I'm pregnant! I'm only doing this to keep my child alive!" I cover my mouth immediatly and close my eyes. No, no, no he can't know.

I hear him gasp a little but when I open my eyes he's regained his composer. He pushes past me roughly and mutters loud enough so that I can hear.

"Good, then maybe you can understand what it would feel like to lose a child."