Flooding Panem: The Hunger Games

Chapter Six: Training

Going down in the lift is even more exhilarating than going up; it reminds me of diving into a cavern. There are tons of these under District Four, and I know for a fact the government has no clue about them. But there's only one that I visit. Most of them are so pressurized or deep that it's nearly impossible to reach them before running out of breath or risking an injury from the water pressure. As you go down, the light fades into a space where you can only see the shapes of objects and rocks floating past. If you look up you can see the blueness of the sea and the sun above the water, but such things barely exist down there. Then comes the worst bit- a tunnel with no source of light, about a kilometre long. By this point, you've been underwater so long that the salt-water no longer stings your eyes, so if you wanted to know whether or not they're open you'd have to feel your eyelids. But then, you don't have time for that- if you're not quick or fit enough, chances are you'll run out of air and drown. It's safest physically to go down with a partner who would pull you to the nearest source of air if you faintest, safer still to hire an oxygen tank. But if you have any interest in keeping your tongue, it's better to go alone.

But you approach the end, there's a glint not far ahead of you, and you know it's not much further and you know you'll make it. Suddenly the tunnel is growing- you feel the pressure lifting from your ears, and you can tell whether your eyes are open or not. And then you're there- a cavern, lit by objects that different divers have left over the years. Wedged in a rock there's a wind up lamp- tied to rocks with strong ropes, glow sticks dangle in the water. And above you, on a shelf situated in an air pocket are objects that no one sees anymore, because they've all been destroyed or waited out of production. A computer that doesn't work- after the war they were all destroyed. An egg of some kind of water bird that's nothing like one I've ever seen. An old book with every page carefully preserved in plastic. All sorts of objects the government would hate to find in existence, right beneath one of their main towns.

The elevator mimics this, diving down into the darkness before the light streaks through the crystal walls. As we step into the training room, I take note of who's there. District 3 male. Both from eight. The girl from twelve. The doors slide shut and the elevator rushes up again before we're ten feet into the room. Someone else will be coming down. Marvel and I copy what the others are doing, looking around at the various stations. Fire making. Throwing weapons. Camouflage. A tiny archery range shoved in the corner. Climbing. And then of course, in the middle of the room is a huge obstacle course. Rope nets that you have to swing across on, poles you have to balance on while avoiding getting hit by knives thrown by the assistants. Various other obstacles sprawl forward from this, until it branches in two sections. The first is offensive- you can try and take down opponents in a room that contains a constantly changing environment. Or the other part, which is walled off by crossing, that is filled with interlinking chains. A maze that an assailant will chase you through.

Of course, they're not real. The opponents, assailants, knives. They're computerized, coded to disappear the moment they touch a solid object. They won't even scratch you, just set off an alarm that tells you to get out because you've failed the course. I probably shouldn't know about it, but Laxina and Hercule told Marvel and me about it at breakfast. Chances are the careers will know as well.

I'm looking over the weights station trying to figure out which ones I would be able to lift, let alone throw, when the lift doors slide open. Stepping from the crystal walls are the District One tributes. They stand, steady as rocks for a moment before walking authoritatively towards each station, clearing a path before them with only their gaze. Sighing, I return to examining the stations. Is there a point in attempting to befriend them? Will they kill me quickly if I do? Do I care? I decide that I don't. I'll die in the end, how it happens doesn't really matter. So I continue to examine the stations, moving onto the plants station. I recognise a majority of them immediately; there are a number of killer leaves lying in a salad bowl on the table. No berries though. Obviously.