12th hunger games{Completed}

Chapter 4

Cold water trickles down my back. Even the showers here are massively different from then ones back home. With the click of a button scented soaps mix with the water, all I need to do is scrub it in. I chose sea salt since it reminded me of home, made me feel better and less home sick. Even if home life back in four was hard, I would prefer it over this. Prepping myself for my inevitable slaughter.

I dress in a floral button up shirt that is unbuttoned at the top, with beige shorts that end at my knees. As I'm tying my shoes I hear mags calling me. Today is the first day of training, we will be headed downstairs to the training room. They have stations for everything, from survival skills such as poison detection to tying ropes. There are also sword fighting and knife throwing, careers will be playing at those stations as if it's a playground. The thought brings a shiver down my spine.

"Morning Nate, once you get some food in you let's go downstairs." Mags gestures at the dinning table, filled with breakfast foods. "Oh and, I suggest you don't eat to much. Don't want you puking at training." She says it so casually but I know something as little as that can make you an easy target in the arena, makes you seem easy to be picked off.

I eat some toast and leftover raspberry sauce quickly as I want to head out as soon as I can. As soon as I can get training and see what the other tributes are like the better. I am itching to see who are strong with weapons and who are smart and who I can write off as dead. I also want to see what those tributes from 3 are good at. If they survive the first day they are bound to shower in sponsors. I finish my food and decided to head out.

Me and mags walk down the well-lit hall to the elevators. We walk in silence until we are alone in the elevator and mags says; "Make sure you train in skills you don't do well in. And keep a close eye on the others." I nod and I say good-bye to her as I exit to the training grounds. Everyone is already here but district twelve who is always last join us. I wonder why they are always late. Is it them? Or the people in charge of twelve? It's not important, I think to myself as I take note of everyone around me. The boy from 3 isn't looking at anyone, he seems to not be intimidated by us. I wonder if that's his strategy. I also note that the girl from 10 has almost a grin, looking around at us like we're a snack. On the other hand the tributes from 9 look like twigs shaking in the wind.

The beep of the elevator opening snaps me away from the tributes in the room to the tributes from 12 entering late. Everyone is dressed in black cargo pants secured by a black belt, and a bright orange denim jacket with out district number on our left arms. When they join us in a half circle the instructor begins. "To start, congratulations on being picked this year, it's a great honor. Secondly, in here you will be training for the games. You will learn survival skills and hand to hand combat as well. Most of you will want a knife or a bow, but I assure you half of you will die from causes such as untreated infections or starvation. Something as small as not having matches can kill you. I'm here to teach you how to survive." Her voice ricochets off the walls, her voice has great power and range to it.

"As for the rules, don't fight each other here. If you want to practice hand-to-hand there are plenty of trainers here for that, don't fight other tributes. There will be plenty of opportunities for that in the arena." I see the tributes from 2 shake their head in disappointment. Do they think this is a joke? "And the other rule is to only train here. You can't train in any way other then working out in your dorms. That is all, you may get to it." She dismisses us with a wave. The careers all separate to their preferred weapons.

Axial and Sill, the male and female tribute from 2 go straight for sword fighting. Typical. Eden and Glint both go to climbing, I take a mental note that they are more resourceful than the other half of the career pact. After the others picked up what was going on the others joined and went to other stations. Tori, the female from 9, has painted herself into a tree. I notice I'm skulking suspiciously around the tributes so I act more normal by joining the fire starting station. No one really goes over here so I find it to be a nice spot to learn an important survival skill but also stay out of sight. I'm now happy I didn't bring to much attention to myself at the parade.