savages.

two.

Zak

Zak's siblings and parents were terrified. It was only natural, and God knows he didn't blame them, but he didn't feel much, yet. Perhaps it hadn't sunk in.

Once his family and friends had left, his girlfriend entered, and she was crying. Zak didn't quite know what to do, so he awkwardly pulled her into an embrace. "I'll be okay," he attempted to assure her.

She gripped onto his shirt, shaking her head. "But you won't, will you? We're from District fucking 6; we make transport. Have you ever even seen a sword before?" she cried out.

Zak didn't respond, awkwardly loosening his grip slightly. "I-I can try, right?" he choked out, begging his eyes not to betray him and cry.

Before she could snap back, the oak doors swung open and the peacekeeper stormed in, followed by Smirk and Lowe, their mentors; Rutter, their Capitol representative, and Sophie, who looked like she'd been crying. Quickly, Zak pulled away, avoiding everyone's gaze as a Peacekeeper forced his girlfriend out of the room.

"I suppose we'd better get going," Rutter stated, and Zak wanted to scream in response.

Everything was moving too fast; he wasn't ready.

The five of them travelled to a platform of sorts, before boarding a modernised Capitol train. Zak recognised it from one of his school subjects as the type to move at insane speeds, and that very few were manufactured. Living in District 6 made him sick of seeing transport, which gave him yet another reason to not want to board this train, but supposedly he had no choice.

x

The train was extravagant to say the least. Rutter had given them a brief tour, informing them where their bedrooms and bathrooms were located, before guiding them to a dining room of sorts. Now, the five of them were seated around a long dining table filled with all sorts of food Zak had never even seen before.

They were in silence for a while, before Rutter finally spoke up, having already begun to eat. "You should both probably start eating. You'll need the energy for the games," she stated, and the mention of the games struck fear within Zak.

Wordlessly, he stabbed into a steak, dropping it onto his plate. The mentors had began to eat, and Sophie was pushing some sort of pasta around her plate, her head resting in her opposite hand, so Zak figured it was okay for him to touch this seemingly sacred food. "You not got any advice for us?" Zak asked, almost challengingly, eyeing his mentors.

Lowe, who seemed to be a typically old and cranky man, huffed. "Don't die," he remarked.

"Wow, I'm enlightened," Sophie muttered from across the table, now resorting to stabbing the pasta.

As far as Zak could tell, Smirk was a kinder person, and she released a small sigh at Lowe's response. "Just wait it out. Avoid the bloodbath at the cornucopia. Everyone will tire themselves out eventually, so just wait," she advised.

Another period of silence settled upon the dinner table once she finished. Nobody wanted to think about the games; not really. Who would want to ever think about their potential deaths, or the robbery of someone else's?

x

It wasn't until the next morning that they arrived at the Capitol. Zak forced some sweetened porridge down his throat despite his nausea, and then moved towards the window to watch as the urbanised, wealthy city rolled into view. The train moved so fast that most of the surroundings were blurred, but as they got further into the city, the train slowed so to show off the tributes as if they were celebrities.

Beside him, Sophie stared anxiously at the crowd. "They're all there because they're excited to watch us die," she whispered. "This is so fucked up."

Slowly, Zak nodded. She was right; to the Capitol, they were just another piece of their game, easily discarded like they weren't humans. It was disgusting, and yet, there was nothing they could do. Nobody had the power to end the games, and that fact was hammering into his mind as he watched those excited faces race by outside.

x

They were soon whisked through the crowd and into some ridiculously extravagant building, where they met with their stylists. Sophie seemed pleased with hers; a tall girl with purple, curly hair and tattoos covering every inch of her skin. Zak, however, wasn't so lucky. His stylist was stuck up, and fit the image of a typical Capitol citizen. He hardly spoke to Zak other than barking commands and snide remarks at him as he seemingly peeled off his top layer of skin, waxing off any body hair in sight. It fucking hurt, and Zak felt like he was in hell already.

When he saw Zak grimace for the billionth time, his stylist sighed, sitting back and shooting daggers at Zak with his eyes. "You're gonna be in a lot more pain in the arena. Get over it," he snapped.

Asshole, Zak thought, clenching his fists. Regardless, after what felt like years, Zak was finally ready for the ceremony where they'd present the twenty-four children as if they were animals in a zoo. Each of the tributes had outfits corresponding to their districts; for example, Zak was dressed in a pale blue suit with silver accents running throughout the fabric which seemed to resemble metal, catching the light differently at each angle. It was somewhat unclear where his suit ended, as the edges were hazy as if resembling clouds, and his hair and limbs had long, sleek silver jewellery hanging from them. It was an interesting look to say the least, and it was evident he was made to resemble the sky in connection to the planes manufactured in his district.

When they were reunited, he learned that Sophie's outfit was very similar, although she was wearing a dress rather than a suit. Her stylist smiled sweetly at Zak, smoothing out his jacket. "You like the idea? I fucking love coming up with outfits for this district, there's just so much to do," she exclaimed.

Zak's stylist rolled his eyes in response and she swatted him over the head, clearly not a stranger to his foul attitude. Zak was grateful for that at least.

He and Sophie boarded the chariot and finally stole a glimpse of the other tributes. Ahead of them was District 5, where a boy with square shoulders and sandy hair stood awkwardly beside a somewhat tall girl with short, dark hair. Ahead of them, however, was a pair of terrifying tributes. They both had flaming red hair and were equipped with almighty tridents that seemed at home in their hands. On their heads they wore turquoise crowns which pointed dangerously high into the sky, and wrapped around their bodies were shimmering ocean-blue robes which almost resembled fish scales. They were District 4, and by the looks of things, they were a force to be reckoned with this year.

Forcing himself to tear his gaze from the pair of them, Zak instead stared blankly into nothing, hardly snapping back into reality as his chariot jolted into motion. He heard the screams and shouts of the Capitol, hollering at him as if he was some sort of prize, but it didn't quite reach him. Instead, he squeezed his fists painfully tightly, thinking about his stuck up stylist, and the uncaring mentors, and the terrible fucking president who had arranged this games. Rage bubbled within him and he needed some way to release it.

He heard President Wright introducing the tributes after the parade, and he heard the subsequent cheers and shouts from the crowd. He saw the other tributes, some terrified and some riled up and ready to murder. Once he was released from the ceremony, he met eyes with the stylist that had made the day a living hell for him, and he thought about his family's tears and the complete and utter despair from everyone close to him and the injustice of this whole social system and these games and then, summoning all of his rage, he put his clenched fists into good use and he swung, punching the Capitol citizen square in his smug face.

He felt the guards apprehend him, and he heard the screams of shock from those around him, and yet, he didn't care. He had nothing left to lose anymore, because he'd been chosen for the Hunger Games, and now, nothing else mattered.