A Victor's Ally - The 73rd Hunger Games (Fanfiction)

six

 "You may begin." The Head Gamemaker peered down at me. I was surprised to see that he didn't look too much like a typical capital person. I suppose he was much more focused on his job than getting facial reconstruction. I shuddered at the thought that his job was to design an arena for 24 tributes to fight to the death.

"I said, you may begin, Juliet." He raised a dark eyebrow, motioning for me to continue. His sharp eyes bored into mine with a sharp focus, contrary to the other Gamemakers who seemed bored out of their minds.

I nodded, quickly scanning the massive room for an idea. My eyes landed on the rack closest to me and I walked over, grabbing a handful of light knives off the shelf. I turned with sudden movement and threw the knife as hard as I could at the target. Although it wasn't too close to the center, the force and momentum of my throw caused the knife the burry deep into the wood. I threw a couple more before risking a quick glance at the Head Gamemaker. He seemed interested, but expecting more.

Well, he would definitely get more.

I turned toward the obstacle course, more complex than the one in training. I wondered how many tributes would use it, considering the strong ones would focus more on weaponry and the weaker tributes would show off survival skills.

Pumping my legs as hard as I could, I sprinted over toward the beginning of the course, quickly running across the long stretch of floor, jumping and rolling to dodge the rubber knives and arrows that were thrown across my path at a rapid pace. I ducked just in time to narrowly avoid a spear that sailed over my head. I could hear a slight buzz as it passed above my ear, and I had a feeling I would be delivered a nasty electric shock if I didn't move out of the way in time. After reaching the end of the hallway-like section, I neared a dead end. After a quick second observation I noticed narrow ridges in the thick, rock like material. Notching my foot in the first ridge, I quickly scrambled up the wall in record time, hoping my speed and agility would impress the Gamemakers.

The next portion of the course was filled with real looking trees with low handing branches. I hesitated, knowing there had to be a hidden trap somewhere. Out of the corner of my eye I spied a trainer crouched behind a tall tree with a wide trunk. I dashed forward, attempting to surprise and out run my opponent, but I was disappointed to see him jump up and follow behind me at a rapid pace.

I let out a yelp as I stumbled over a surprisingly thick tree root, but managed to catch myself just in time. I kept going, attempting to speed up and lose the trainer in the mass of trees, but he was just as quick as me.

I ducked under a low hanging branch, suddenly getting an idea. I turned to the side and subtly looped back around the way I came, giving a wide berth for my pursuer to follow me around instead of cutting across the arch I created. I slowed down just enough for the trainer to be nipping at my heels. As soon as I spotted the same low-hanging branch, I sped up and leapt upward. My hands grasped around the branch and I flipped myself up and over the branch for a split second before coming down hard, landing on the back of my opponent and knocking him to the ground. While I had him pinned underneath me, surprised at my sudden aggression, I pulled a knife out of my belt loop that I had taken from the previous station and pressed it against his throat.

"I win." I smirked slightly before climbing back off into a standing position, dusting off my knees and arms.

"You may leave." An amused smile played on the Head Gamemaker's face, and I wasn't entirely sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"Thank you." I responded politely, bowing my head slightly before exiting through the door held open for me by a tiny Avox.

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