Voices of the Dead: A Hunger Games FanFiction ©

3. Flint

The opening ceremonies were no surprise; as usual, there were decent costumes, and ridiculous monstrosities. As I watched, mildly amused from my seat on the plush sofa, I couldn’t help but once again thankful that my costume had been rather decent in comparison.

The first thing that happened on day one of our training was that, to my surprise, Bruno immediately accepted my offer. Somehow, I’d thought he’d take longer to reach this conclusion. I’d graciously thanked him and then proceeded to do some reconnaissance of my own.

I kept a close eye on the blonde boy from the previous day, Macon, as he went along from station to station; trying his hand at various weapons. Whatever he’d done in his district to attain his athletic build had obviously not been weapon-related. He fared well with hand-to-hand combat, wrestling, and seemed to be very knowledgeable in the making of snares. However, when it came to trying his hand at actual weaponry, he did unexpectedly worse than I’d imagined.

I didn’t understand until I watched him for a longer period; he was distracted, something or someone was pulling his attention away from the task at hand. I began to walk forward to approach him, only realizing once I was close, the reason his mind was unfocused.

As Macon raised a sword to try and swing at a dummy, his eyes instinctively shifted to his left. I followed their direction, my suspicions confirmed. With a cynically warm smile, I continued forward to the small twelve-year olds from district eight and nine; Mipe, who went by “Smalls”, and the other named Bodey.

Before I was even a yard away from them, I found myself face to face with Macon. “Hello there,” I said in nonchalant tone.

He eyed me suspiciously, “Hey.”

I grinned, cocking my head to the side, staring hungrily at the cowering children behind him. Meat. “Who’re you hiding, huh?” I asked in a mock-cheery tone.

He shifted, again blocking my view. “No one,” he lied poorly.

I chuckled, and then leaned close. “Listen, I like you buddy, I really do. Don’t kid yourself, you know as well as I do those boys have bloodbath written all over them,” I waited for his reaction.

He clamped his jaw and in that moment I saw his resolve solidify. “You don’t know that,” he said stiffly. “They’re not as helpless as you think.”

I actually let out a laugh, amused, “Sure I do!” I snorted. Smiling maliciously, I let the fire color my words. “I know…cause’ I’ll be the one looking for them,” I took another step closer, “whether you’re there or not, those boys are mine.”

He shivered, than answered in a hushed tone. “We’ll see about that,” he said, crossing his arms.

He glared at me, but I saw that I’d planted the seed of fear in his brain. “I guess we will,” I chuckled then leaned to the side, waggling my fingers at the boys. “See you soon!” I jeered, and then mockingly pretended to swing an invisible lasso at them. “I’ve got my eyes on you.”

Indeed, I was having fun. On the second day, Bruno took me aside and I was glad to see he’d done some recon of his own. He’d be more than just a murderous powerhouse.

“I don’t think there’s really much to worry about. Mostly I’d say the males from five and ten are our biggest concerns,” he muttered while he toyed with a handful of daggers.

I nodded, wiping the sweat off my forehead with a towel; I’d been trying my hand at wrestling and was pleased to see I was in tip-top shape. “Agreed, Coriolanus and Macon,” I gulped at my water, “Macon should be easy though, he has many faults.”