The 200th Annual Hunger Games - The Ultimate Games

Training (Day 2)

Eric Newton POV

I was sat next to Jeffrey on the small sofa in the District 12 suite, my legs crossed and my hands in my lap. Jeffrey coughed and shuffled into his seat, wiping a hand across his face. Caitlin still hadn't shown up.
"Why did we even ally with her?" Jeffrey asked, "90 percent of the time she's either high or drunk, all she will do is get us killed."
"Mystique and the District 9 mentor confiscated her alcohol, actually," I replied, "She hasn't been drunk since the train ride."
"Yea, and now she walks around like a zombie," Jeffrey grunted in annoyance. He scratched behind his ear and glanced up at me through hooded eyes. "I don't want to keep being allies with her, she's just going to be a nuisance."

"I want to stay allied with her," I said defensively. Jeffrey rolled his eyes.
"Well then, what do you want to do?" He asked in exasperation.
"We can't just ditch her, dude," I said. Jeffrey sighed.
"Yea, we can. It's not that hard."
"Fine," I answered, standing up, "You can ditch her if you want. But I'm not."
"What?" Jeffrey asked, confusion written all over his face. I shrugged and turned away from my former ally, walking towards the elevator. I pressed the button to go to Level 9 and watched as Jeffrey stared at me in disbelief, his brows knitted together, before he disappeared from my view.

Jonathon Roy POV

"Welcome tributes. Today, the private training sessions shall commence. Please remain seated until your name is called."
I sighed, shutting my eyes slowly. I had absolutely no skills whatsoever. I would be embarrassing myself. I glanced over at the sheet on the wall, which had the order of the training sessions.

DISTRICT 9:
1. Jonathon Roy
2. Victor Soto
3. Doug Matthews
4. Valentina Curtis
5. Amaya Mills
6. Tatiana Whiteman
DISTRICT 10:
7. Tim Martin
8. Phillip Gilbert
9. Will Stevenson
10. Shay Weber
11. Daphne Floyd
12. Rosalie Wood
DISTRICT 11:
13. Max Fisher
14. Jay Mann
15. Christopher Chambers
16. Misty Wolfe
17. Renee Wolfe
18. Caitlin Sharp
DISTRICT 12:
19. Jeffrey Attwell
20. Eric Newton
21. Rudy Moreno
22. Beth Gibson
23. Santana Higgins
24. Camille Garza
PLEASE NOTE THAT, INSTEAD OF SHOWING SCORES, TRIBUTES IN THEIR RESPECTIVE DISTRICTS WILL BE PUT IN RANKS, RANGING FROM 1-6.

Great. I was first up. I shook my head, trying to rid my mind of the evil and doubt that plagued it.
"Jonathon Roy."
I gulped and stood up. Victor gave me a thumbs up and a grin as I entered the training centre. As I stepped through and the door shut behind me, I took a deep breath.
Make this count, Jonathon.
I walked over to the centre of the room. The perk of being first up was that the Gamemakers were actually paying attention, so I guess I couldn't complain.

"You have 10 minutes to present your skills," Dravius called out from where the Gamemakers were seated. I nodded and walked over to the knot tying station. I quickly gathered some rope in my hands and then began to tie knots, my slim hands making delicate little loops and twists. I showed them off to the Gamemakers, who smiled politely at each one. Not being competent with anything else, I just continued tying knots for 10 minutes. Then the timer rang and I left the room, my heart heavy.

Dravius Flamingboul POV

"Next up: Valentina Curtis."
A young girl with long blonde hair waltzed through the door, a smile painted across her face.
"My name is Valentina Curtis, I am 15, and I will be showing you my skills with a katana and a warhammer."
"Ooh, interesting!" the Gamemaker beside me murmured. I had to agree, this girl seemed fiery. Something about her was... off... for lack of better words, however I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Valentina moved over to the weapons station, picking up a katana and then walking over to the mannequins.

She began to slice and lunge at the mannequin, her sword darting forward and backwards with the precision of a snake. She darted around it and dug the blade of her sword into its back, her face maintaining a blank expression. She flicked the blade out of the wound it made with a quick flick at the elbow and spun around, her katana twirling in the air once, twice, before she sliced the mannequins head from its neck, watching as it fell to the ground. She then placed the katana back into its sheath and placed it back on the stand.

She picked up a few warhammers, switching them between her hands for a few moments and putting them back before she found one she was comfortable with. She walked over to a different mannequin, and then with a surprising strength she hurled the end of the warhammer into the side of the mannequin. A 'thud' sounded as the mannequin jolted, a large dent now in its side, and Valentina quickly pulled her warhammer back once more, sending it flying downwards and crushing its skull. I cringed as the mannequin shattered. If that were a tribute, the first hit would disorient and wound it, the second hit would undoubtedly kill them, and they wouldn't be in much of a position to defend themselves.

Valentina then placed the warhammer back, smiled emotionlessly at me and the other Gamemakers, then turned on her heel and walked from the room, flicking her blonde ponytail back over her shoulder with confidence oozing from her.

Rudy Moreno POV

I grabbed my bow and a quiver and strode to the centre of the room, already nicking an arrow into the string. I glanced up beneath my eyelashes and watched the Gamemakers. Half of them were drunk off their ass, stumbling about and heaving laughter, whilst the other half were watching me with curiosity in their eyes.

I moved to the centre of the room and rose my bow, aiming the arrow at a target suspended on the roof. I shut my non-dominant eye, letting my other eye focus in on the target. Then, I released the arrow.
I watched it spiral towards the target, tearing through the air as it made its way towards its target. The tip of the arrow landed smack-bang in the centre of the target with a satisfying 'thud' and I smiled, lowering my bow slightly. Then I notched another arrow into my bow, and rose it again. I sent another arrow flying through the air, landing in the centre of another target to my right. Then, I loaded another arrow and aimed it at another target to my left.

"Thank you Rudy, you're time is up."
The sudden words startled me and my bow jerked upwards as it released the arrow, and I watched the arrow fly through the air with a heavy heart. It would miss the target. I watched as the arrow soared over the target, flying way over where I had intended it to go. It didn't hit the target. It didn't hit the target at all.

Instead, it tore through the rope that suspended the target in the air.
I watched in shock as the rope was severed almost perfectly, and watched as it crashed to the ground. My mouth was open in shock, and I heard several gasps of surprise from the Gamemakers.
Well, better roll with it.
I turned towards the Gamemakers and bowed, smiling broadly as if I had intended to bring the target to the floor, then placed the bow and quiver back on the table and left the room, my mind still ringing from the shock of it all.

"Hey Rudes, how'd you do?" Camille's face all of a sudden popped up in front of me, her mouth wide in a grin and her hands placed firmly upon my shoulders. My heart palpitated and I cursed myself internally, praying for the heart tremors to go away.
"Alright, I think." I smiled half-heartedly, "I accidently shot my arrow through the rope holding up the target, I think that they think I did it on purpose. I just kinda rolled with it."
Camille laughed merrily, her eyes crinkling as she smiled widely. "Oh, that's great. Wish me luck!" And then, she engulfed me in a huge hug.
I wrapped my arms around her torso in the embrace, murmuring a quick 'good luck'. Camille pulled away and gave me a thumbs up, biting her bottom lip as she did so. I smiled and saluted her as I walked into the elevator, and as soon as the automatic doors shut I groaned, letting my head knock against the metal walls.

Damn you Camille, damn you and your goddamn perfectness.
I raised my head and sighed, running my hands down my face. These feelings had only started when we left the orphanage, before then I had never thought of Camille as anything more than a friend. It was all so sudden, and that pissed me off. It felt like my feelings had just turned around, flipped me the bird and jeered 'Haha, fuck you'. Why couldn't this just go away?