Chosen to Die (A Hunger Games FanFic)

Chapter 6: First Day of Training

I awake to the sound of Rupalia knocking on my door.

“Get up, dear! Today is a very exciting day! It’s the first day of training! Come on and get up, dear!”

“I’m awake.” I groan as I sit up. My training outfit has been layed out on my bed; a black short-sleeved shirt that has the number 7 on the back, black pants, and black leather combat boots. I brush my hair out and put it in it’s usual French braid then walk into the dining room. Every one is already awake and almost done eating. I sit down and fill my plate with various foods, gorging myself, and I’m only halfway done when we have to leave for training.

I take one last bite of my blueberry muffin then we head to the elevator. Elevators are amazing, really. You either shoot up hundreds of feet, or shoot down hundreds of feet. The people in District 12 are lucky; they get the top, meaning they get to ride even longer in the elevator. We get down to the training center and Rupalia sends us through a large door then waves goodbye before she struts back to the elevator. We’re one of the first ones; only the Tributes from Eight and Two are here.

The girl and guy from Two are the same as they appeared in the Reaping. The girl from 2, Prine, picks up two daggers and starts murdering dummies. Her hair is raven black and her eyes are grey, she has a scar along her cheekbone, probably when she was training back in her District. The guy from 2, his name is Thorburn, has dark green eyes and dirty blonde hair; he’s very muscular.

The two from District Eight don’t look like much of a threat. Her name is Azure, his name is Baron.

More Tributes start filing into the training room and when everyone is in, Atala starts giving her speech and when she’s done, we’re free to train with whatever we want. I head over to the axes and find one that is the perfect balance. In District Seven, we learn very early in life how to use axes because of course, we cut down trees to make lumber and paper for the Capitol. I start swinging at a dummy and lodge it into its neck. I try to pull the axe out, but I’m not strong enough. Oh great, now everyone will see how weak I am. (sigh) Great.

"Need some help?" he asks.

“Yeah. Uh, thanks.” I mumble, embarrassed. He grabs the handle of the axe and with one yank, dislodges it.

"Try swinging it like this," he says, demonstrating what he means, "and it should work better."

I try it for a few minutes then go onto the hand-to-hand combat station, and manage to get the trainer on the ground. I walk over to the monkey bars and grab hold of one of the bars, attempting to climb to the other side, but my hands slip and I fall onto the hard floor, knocking the wind out of my lungs. I hear someone run over to me and look up, expecting a trainer, but it’s Iveris, the girl from Four.

“Are you okay?” she asks, concerned. She helps me up and I tenderly rub my hurt elbow that I fell on.

“Yeah. Thanks, Iveris.” I reply once I can breath again.

She smiles and pats my back.

“Don't mention it. Hey, want to sit with Sean and I during lunch break?” she asks.

“Sure. Thanks.” I reply. She’s so nice, but what if it’s just an act? I go to the knot tying section and find Sean (the guy from Four) there, tying many complicated knots. I kneel down and start tying a basic knot.

“Hey, I saw you talking to Iveris over there.” he says.

“Yeah. She invited me to sit with you two at lunch.” I don’t even look at him,  just focus on the knot.

“Cool. So-” he’s interrupted by the loud lunch bell. Everyone stops what they’re doing and heads to the lunch room. Iveris calls me over to her table so I sit down across from her. Sean sits by Iveris and holds her hand, they must be in a relationship. I get chicken noodle soup and two rolls then eat slowly, thinking about what the arena might be this year.

"So, how have you been?" Sean asks, interrupting my thoughts.

"Honestly? Depressed." I answer frankly. Iveris, Sean and I keep having coversation until it’s time to train again. I try archery but my aim is the worst in the world, so I try a few other things. I’ve never really been that talented, though. Except with axes, that is if they are the right weight. At the end of the day, training is over and we head back to the apartments. I ride in the same elevator as Iveris and Sean and want to ask them if they want to ally, but with other Tributes in here, I can’t. When it gets to the 7th floor, I step out of the elevator, run to my room, order some muffins and hot chocolate, then turn on the TV and watch the Reapings again, this time sizing up the other Tributes and finding out their names.

The girl from One is Saggitarria, the boy is Raff

The girl from Two is Prine, the boy is Thorburn

The girl from Three is Spark, the boy is Teche

Then there's Iveris and Sean from Four,

The girl from Five is Cable, the boy is Bolt

The girl from Six is Persei, the boy is Griffin

Then Titus and I, from Seven

The girl from Eight is Azure, the boy is Baron

The girl from Nine is Amber, the boy is Rye

The girl from Ten is Blye, the boy is Rendwick.

The girl from Eleven is Barley, the boy is Otto

The girl from Twelve is Ashby, the boy is Struve.

 After memorizing them, I get tired and fall into a deep sleep.