savages.

three.

Danielle

The morning after the parade was when it finally sunk in for Danielle. She was going to be in the Hunger Games, and she would be forced to fight for her life. She had no other choice than kill or be killed, and that was how it is, and God knows she was going to try her hardest to make it out alive.

At breakfast, everyone seemed to be a little more talkative, probably since they had overcome the shock of being selected. "Did either of you see the District 6 boy last night?" Simcoe, one of their mentors questioned.

Arching an eyebrow, George leaned in out of curiosity, and Danielle internally remarked about him being a nosey bastard, but figured she shouldn't really vocalise that so sipped on her coffee instead. "What, the cloud one? What'd he do?" he interrogated.

Reluctantly, Simcoe shrugged. "Hit his stylist, right in the face. Apparently he deserved it, but obviously it didn't sit right with the Capitol. Kid got put in some sort of solitary confinement for the night, and has been banned from training for the day."

Shocked, Danielle thought back to last night and how she'd glanced upon the boy- was his name Zak?- and taking note on his clenched fists. It was likely that he was simply frustrated at the injustice of the games, but really, there was nothing he could actually do to stop it.

Once breakfast was over, it was time for the first day of training, and in honesty, Danielle was eager to begin as she wanted to ensure she was prepared for the games, and she also couldn't wait to escape from her insufferable companion, George.

After receiving a safety briefing, the tributes were sent off to practice however they wanted. Danielle made a beeline for the weaponry, focusing on how to grip the knife and stab with the right amount of force and at the right angle. However, after a brief period of battling with a dummy, Danielle was interrupted by a tough group of people. She immediately recognised them as the careers.

The first to confront her was a tall, smug-looking boy with dark hair, who crossed his arms and chuckled at her. Danielle remembered him as a District 1 tribute. "You seem to be enjoying yourself," he remarked smugly.

In attempts to ignore him, Danielle speared the dummy again, this time aiming just below the chest, but this only seemed to encourage the group, as a slightly shorter, tan boy stepped forwards. "I think you should save this station for the ones who actually know what they're doing," he suggested, a threatening tone to his voice.

Finally, Danielle settled back into a normal standing position, although she didn't drop the knife. "There are so many other dummies and stations for you to use. Please could you just let me be?" she spat out.

The other District 1 tribute, a short girl with auburn hair that just passed her shoulders rolled her eyes. "We want this one," she insisted sharply.

Slowly, Danielle studied the faces of the four teens before her, and decided it wasn't worth the fight. A 14 year old District 8 tribute against four 18 year old careers? Her odds of winning were practically nonexistent. She dropped the knife and stormed away to a station which focused on survival skills; specifically tutorials on building traps and snares. At the beginning of the session, they were advised to focus on survival skills as much as weaponry, so this was supposedly a valuable use of Danielle's time, too.

Danielle was surprised to find three other tributes in the grassy area, each a reasonable distance from one another that suggested they weren't exactly allies, but they were tolerant of each other. Based off of the numbers on their training outfits, they were the girls from districts 5, 7, and 11. Awkwardly, Danielle hovered a few feet away, gesturing to the ground. "Mind if I, um... join you?" she asked.

The District 5 girl nodded, and so Danielle seated herself. "Do you know what you're doing?" the District 11 girl questioned. She seemed to be a similar age to Danielle, and her long, blonde hair was tied back into a ponytail.

Sheepishly, Danielle shook her head, and so the girl began to... help her? The assistance wasn't something she'd expected from a fellow tribute, so needless to say, Danielle was taken aback. Once the snare was set up, the girl sat back. "I'm Leah," she introduced, before turning to the two other girls. "That's Eleanor," she gestured to the District 5 girl who looked to be around 17, "and that's Alice," the District 7 girl who seemed a little younger nodded in response.

"...Danielle," she responded slowly. "Have you, um, come into contact with any of the careers yet?" she questioned, thinking back to her bitter encounter with the group.

Scoffing, Alice paused mid-construction. "No, thank god. They're all stuck-up and think they're better than us all; I don't want anything to do with them," she spat.

Surprised at her honesty, Danielle continued to thread some rope into itself. "Oh... I guess you're right. They forced me off of the knife station for no reason; they seem like pricks."

With that, the four of them seemed to relax somewhat around each other, realising they could be completely transparent with their thoughts and feelings. Each of them had a distaste for the careers, although Leah pointed out that despite her strength, the District 2 career seemed less hostile. Perhaps it was simply a misjudgement, but Danielle did recall that she hadn't spoken a word while her peers confronted her earlier.

x

It wasn't long before the first day of training was over, and the second began. This time, though, there was a difference; the District 6 boy- Zak?- was present. He looked exhausted, and had a few bruises covering his skin, no doubt from the Peacekeepers who had apprehended him. He brushed off the people who questioned him, and retreated to a hand-to-hand combat station where he pummelled a dummy with his fists.

After things settled, and everyone dispersed, Danielle decided to seek out the snare station once again. Sure enough, the three girls were seated within the grass once again, conversing quietly. Relieved to find some sense of familiarity, Danielle joined them. "Hey, I was thinking... would any of you want to form a truce in the games? I get it if you don't, but I think everyone could use some sort of companion in there," she offered.

There was a brief period of silence, and Danielle began to doubt her proposal, but then Alice spoke up. "I don't see why not," she said casually, shrugging her shoulders.

The other two girls nodded in agreement, and Danielle was flooded with relief. The games seemed so much less intimidating now that she had allies.

They moved on to another station after that, figuring they needed to focus on all areas, and Danielle found that Alice was experienced with axes and machetes from her time in District 7, and Leah was familiar with knives after her time in District 11. They taught each other their skills, praying that it wouldn't be in vain and that they wouldn't have to use them on each other.

When Leah was teaching Danielle different ways to yield her knife, she felt the gaze of the District 1 girl burning into her again. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw her glaring at her, arms crossed over her chest. Although she attempted to ignore it, she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd made a fatal enemy.

Somewhat shaken by this, Danielle's mind wandered into what the consequences of this could be. She could just get killed quickly by the careers, or they could capture and make her life a hell before finally putting her out of her misery. Even worse, though, maybe they'd kill her allies first? Glancing over to Alice, who was teaching Eleanor how to swing an axe, Danielle felt dread wash over her. Things weren't really going to be okay, and she felt foolish for believing that because this was the Hunger Games, and soon enough, only one of the twenty-four tributes would be alive.