Thank You, Girl on Fire {Cato's Story}

Part 1--Chapter 1--Meaning of the Games

Part 1--Academy

Chapter 1--Meaning of the Games

“Hurry up and get up there!” Coach yelled, whacking me quickly with his whip. I winced without showing my face, since he would surely hurt me harder if he saw, and clambered up the makeshift tree until I was straddling a branch at the top.

“Get back down, now, boy!” he yelled. Long ago would I have thought he’d lost his voice, he yelled so much. And I trained so much. All day- sixteen hours every day- with only a five minute break every two hours. Sixteen hours of grueling exercise, training, mock battling.

I jumped quickly from the height I was, and felt the wind fly through my short-cropped blond hair. I landed on two feet, and I could’ve sworn Coach gave me an approving look. But it disappeared quickly, though, and I was back to the rock climbing wall and swordfighting.

Sword fighting was always my favorite subject. Out of all the students at the school, four for each age, I was surely the best at it. Us four, we’d known each other for life. The life in the Career’s Academy.

We were all ten at that point, and the two of us boys, me and Marcus, already had bodies of firm muscles so firm they could be compared to steel. The two girls, Sabina and Antonia, were both quite quick and small. We were all, when seen, described as deadly. After all, we’d been training since we were kids.

“Break!” Coach yelled. I sighed and jogged over to a small tent in the makeshift forest, a fake place for training that seemed like the real thing, except for the metal branches on the trees and the footholds on the rock walls.

I chugged down a water bottle and sat down next to Marcus. He gave me a cold stare.

“Cato,” he muttered under his breath darkly. My eyes hardened fractionally from their already tense state and looked at the girls training. They had different breaks to keep us boys from the girls. Which I thought was stupid. Would we actually have time for romance? And yet, why would we? We would be killing each other later on. And... we were ten.

Marcus and I had always been edgy around each other due to the fact we’d be competing for the spot in the Hunger Games. One of us would be randomly chosen to volunteer when ready, but only one boy or girl from each age would get it, probably to intensify the training and motivate us. So I’d be natural that we were slightly competitive. Or... very competitive, that is.

He was staring at Sabina. Sabina was really pretty, not that, since I didn’t really see any other girls, I would be one to judge, but she had silky blond hair and clear blue eyes. Marcus had always seemed to like her, which I didn’t advise, since romance was only something that held you back in a life like mine. Clove, a younger kid that we saw occasionally, was more of my type. Loud mouthed, brave, slightly annoying, dark brown hair, hard, dark eyes. Kind of mean and stuck up, small and a knife thrower. Antonia was slightly similar, but larger and more muscular, with a fighting style like mine. Sabina was more gentle, less Career-like. I doubted she would get picked for the Games. After all, she was too emphatic, too kind. She would end up trusting the wrong people and landing herself into getting killed.

Marcus didn’t talk to me and we sat there in silence as the break was signaled to an end, resuming mock fights with older and younger trainees.

******

Up stepped Arrian, age thirteen. He had a huge sword in hand, mirroring mine, but he had a shield also, Shields always gave you more ways to kill, and better defense. But I suppose having two hands for one sword would have good power.

Nevertheless with all that thought, Coach told me not to think much and fight off instinct and power, the whistle blew.

Arrian came charging at me without a second thought. I neatly dodged both his sword and shield and sprang from behind him, slicing at his arm while he tried to dodge. He let out a low snarl, crouching low with anticipation, when he sprung.