How were they to make it to the end? How were they to leave the arena with weapon in hand and crimson blood soaking through their clothes and onto their pale fragile flesh? How were they to win a game- a game where innocent hands struggled to strangle and slaughter each other? How were Finnian Calibur and Hugh Wellben supposed to win the crowns. Crowns of blood and gold- ornamental symbols of oppression.
To them, and to many others, it seemed unfair. It was unfair that the pure children of the capital could be punished like this, forced to slay each other mercilessly as if they were nothing more than animals. But when had mercy ever saved one of the thousand dead children from the District? That had been the question ever since the Mockingjay had read that decree...
"... And hereby I declare in memories of the one-thousand seven-hundred and nineteen men and women killed in The Hunger Games, that a final Games will be hosted..."
It was those words that rung through Hugh's head hundreds of times in what felt like millennia long seconds.
"...hereby I declare..."
Hugh thought about those words a lot now. The nonchalant attitude that carried itself within the Mockingjay voice disturbed him. She was cold, so damn cold. How could she do that? How could she sentence 24 kids to death within a single sentence. It made no sense to him… What had they ever done? How could the Districts willingly condemn these 24 teenagers to death, a brutal death that would be used as nothing but a piece of entertainment… How could they do this to anyone, especially a child like Ruby Terrace or a boy like Finnian Calibur?
Hugh remembered the first time he met Finnian- or Finn for short. Hugh had just entered his quarters, tired and mentally in a state of pure exhaustion and agonizing anxiety- the type of worry in which every thought rips through your body curdling your stomach and making you grimace in pain. He entered his bedroom, a scowl smeared onto his thin pale face, to find a boy about his age wrapped in the golden cashmere comforter of Hugh's bed. The boy was crying, mascara running down his cheeks and his brunette hair matted against his small head. Hugh immediately recognized the boy- Finnian Calibur.
Hugh at first had no desire to befriend the boy. After all he was just a sympathetic character, a small boy, with nothing standing out about him. He wasn't immensely intelligent, he had never handled a weapon in his life, and despite his small demeanor he didn't fit the stereotypical bill for the innocent young boy who was guaranteed a bloodbath death.
But then something happened. Something Huge had not seen coming, an alliance. No... it was more than that, and that both knew it. Neither one could deny the fact that the moment they shared together after the chariots meant something...
A long yet gentle kiss, lips interlocked together as a soft dim light illuminated the back of Finn's head...
So there they treaded, through the mouth of the training center and into the obstacle course. Like the rest of the building, it's architecture could stun anyone; man, woman, young or old. To Finnian the ceiling seemed as high as the sky itself, and like the sky it glowed a soft baby blue, lightening the mood of the room. Of course not even the beautiful architecture of the technology titans of District 3 could truly null the feelings of pure brutality that hung about the building. It was as if negativity itself was integral to the structure of the center, and to the capital itself.
Finn looked over at Hugh, trying his best to force a smile that simply refused to appear. Hugh just looked at him, taking a hand and running it through his ink black locks.
"C'mon... let's just get some form of training in." Hugh retorted to Finn chuckling a bit as he picked up his speed and proceeded to jog to the beginning of the obstacle course. Finn followed in suit, not saying much, but emitting a subtle smile-that no-one in the room-besides himself-had noticed
Hugh approached a long silver ladder, it extending up the side of a large dull metal box- the beginning of the obstacle course. The box was about the size of a small room, large enough for a good amount of people to be able to stand on top, not that more than four people ever climbed onto it at a time. At the moment the room was quite empty. It was early in the morning and very few people were in the center, let alone awake.
Hugh looked behind him, at Finn, smiling a bit.
"I'll go first." Hugh tells Finn, in an almost commanding and quite serious tone. Finn nods in response before looking to his side, a small sound catching his attention. In the corner of the room was Pluto, one of the younger tributes in this year's games. Neither Hugh nor Finn had actually talked to the boy, they hadn't really talked to anyone but themselves. They couldn't trust the others, only each other.
Pluto looked at Finn, a blank expression that read of a stolid mind and fierce determination that could be found in his dark animal like eyes. Finn quickly looked away, to see Hugh already half way up the ladder, about to start on the obstacle course, but Finn gave one final glance at Pluto. The next time they would see each other, one would be dead, an arrow lodged into his throat...
Hugh made his way up the ladder, and onto the block. He looked about the room, able to see almost everything from his perch. He saw Pluto in the corner of the room, a metal bat in his hand. Pluto balanced it in his hands, readying to swing at a small gray mannequin in front of him. Hugh looked away as the sound of metal colliding with synthetic bone rang and echoed throughout the room.
Hugh looked ahead of himself, a small metal stand resting in front of him. On the stand rested a small red metal box, and in the center a glowing neon yellow button. Hugh hesitantly raised a hand above the button before patting down, air rushing into his lungs preparing for the obstacle course to begin.
Moments passed before the stand before Hugh, slowly sunk down into the ground, hiding itself from Hugh. Then it began. Light blue holograms began pulsating into existence, pendulum began to swing across the gaps between different platforms and the platforms began to move around the room.
Hughs heart began to race, and his breath began to quicken. He Looked around at the holographic people starting to form around him, and began to feel a rush of panic go through his body. Hugh ran forward, pushing away at the simulated tributes that began to surround him. He ran to the end of platform and jumped off, towards the next platform. Hugh flew through the air, a pendulum flying towards him. He had almost made it when he felt something crash into his side. The pendulum pushed him to the side and he went flying towards the ground. Hugh fell through the air before he struck the red padded flooring that surrounded the obstacle course. HE hit the ground, head first and his body curled up into itself, Hugh writhing in aching pains that began to spread throughout his body.
Finn rushed to the boys side, the obstacle course slowing down as it sensed that Hugh had failed the course. Finn dropped to his knees, next to the now disabled boy. Hugh gasped for breath, light dancing in his large gray eyes. A small and subtle pain emerged from the back of his head, growing more and more with each passing second. Finn looked down at Hugh, his heart racing as he placed a hand on Hugh's chest. Finn could feel the deep beats of Hugh's heart as his fingers gently glided over the center of his chest.
"Hugh!..." He started, his voice ripe with panic. "Are-are you okay!?" Finn exclaimed, gaining the attention of the others in the room. Finn's mind scattered into a million pieces and his eyes widened when he heard no response from Hugh. He started to quiver instinctively getting up and running. He ran through the room, his arms tightly pressed to his sides and his eyes drowning in an apparent madness. Finn raced out into the hallway of the center, and whipped his head about looking for someone to help. It was an older woman, with warm golden eyes and bouncy gray hair.
“Um-um- Hugh... He hit his head!”
“I already know.” she responded with a slight tilt to the head and glare that was steeped with the harshness of reality. Finnian looked at her for a moment, his synthetic green eyes still wide with panic.
“Well are you going to help!?” he yells at her, frustration leaking into his still maturing voice. She looks at him for a moment, before striding past him as if he wasn’t even there. Finn pivoted on his heel before following her. The woman picked up speed with every step, forcing Finnian to do the same. It was little less than a minute before she reached Hugh, who still laid on the ground. His eyes were open and he scowled in pain.
Finn and the woman hung over Hugh, their eyes beating down upon him. The woman bent over and looked into his eyes, squinting as she did so. She let out a small yet breathy sigh before reaching a wrinkled slender hand into her belt and pulling out a small syringe. The syringe was filled with a strange blue liquid that almost seemed to glow. Finn grimaced as he saw the woman quickly insert the needle into Hugh’s forearm, her free hand pulling back at the cloth to reveal his skin. She quickly pulled to needle out before placing it back into her belt, which Finn saw was holding a variety of bottles, vials, and syringes that glowed a variety of strange and obviously unnatural colors.
“Probably a concussion… He’ll be fine.” The woman said in her deep and raspy voice before slowly walking off, her flowy nonchalant attitude showing itself in her walk. Finn stood there looking at Hugh. He seemed almost asleep, his left eye closed and his other slowly fluttering open. His face was almost limp as he felt the drugs calm and relax his entire system. It was strange, it was as if years of tension were melting away.
Finnian knelt down next to Hugh, his mind now at ease. Hugh was fine, that’s what the strange lady had said at least. Finn simply watched as Hugh fell asleep. He thought he looked quite peaceful and satisfied with everything. Now of course Finn knew in the back of his mind that he was definitely high on the drugs but this only slightly altered his immediate perception of the situation.
Hugh stayed like this for about five minutes, his muscles relaxed, his eyes closed, and his breathing calm and steady. But then his eyes opened, his breathing began to speed up, and he sat up looking at Finn. He looked at all of him for one long moment- at his messy brunette hair, his almond colored skin, his gentle and frail build, his small beauty mark on his upper lip, and of course the synthetic blue eyes. And in that moment Hugh thought to himself of how he felt about Finnian. He was so glad to have met him, even if the circumstances were of a more… Dire tone.
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“Zella, can you not be such a damn bitch?” - Patricia Kooti
“Shut up!”- Zella Holland
“You’re all idiots, ya know that!”- Colin Cini
“Why the hell are we even arguing”- Shea Prescott
The dysfunctional alliance, Shea, Colin, Patricia, and Zella, some of the most “interesting” tributes the games had in a very long. All of them were very rich and all of them had huge personalities, the type of personalities that clashed 24/7. It seemed as if they were constantly arguing, arguing to the point where it seemed as if they would never get anything done, especially during training- a time where literally every other tribute could watch them bicker, fight, and insult each other. Most wondered how the alliance ever started in the first place…
It was the second day of training. Half the tributes were already forming alliances with each other, and yet these four had not. In fact none of them had even spoken to another tribute yet, opposed to the advice that each received from their mentors.
“You will be much better off with an alliance.”
“I think the f**k not”
So Shea, Colin, Zella and Patricia were completely alone, not that either one minded this in the slightest. Shea felt as if none of these “stereotypical capital brats”, as she so pleasantly put it, were trustworthy enough to align with. Colin simply didn’t like people in general, unless he was illegaly drunk at a party. Colin did love to party… Zella frankly just thought she would be better off alone, after all she was a strong independent woman. She didn’t need some knight in shining armor to protect her. And then there was Patricia…. Unlike the others Patricia was not alone by his own accords, in fact Patricia would've loved to be in an alliance, but sadly enough no one wanted to be with an alliance with him. Apparently he didn’t “listen enough” or something like that. He hadn’t been paying attention to the person who said that anyways.
So as lonely people often do, they decided to be lonely together. Otherwise known as being stuck in the foodcourt line together.
“This food tastes like shit.”
“You’re right… Wanna be in an alliance?”
The dysfunctionals (As Kota Jackson liked to call them) were currently trying their luck with archery. They had been trying a variety of weapons over the past few days, since the “What’s your optimal weapon?” quiz had not “worked” for them- AKA Patricia claiming it didn't work after it told him the only weapon he could use was a fry pan.
Zella grabbed a small silver bow off the rack handing it to Shea. Shea quickly snatched it from Zella before looking at it.
“Why did you give me the smallest one?” she questions, frustration dripping from her pre pubescent voice. She glared at the much taller girl with squinting fierce eyes. Zella chuckled a little before responding.
“Smallest bow for smallest person.” Zella retorted in a somewhat mocking and sardonic tone. She looked down at the girl raising an eyebrow.
“You are so immature” Shea spits at her before pushing her out of her way. She strides over to Patricia, or as Colin called him, Pat. Pat was already at the shooting range , about to do his first attempt at shooting a bow. He gives Shea a quick glance, observing her obvious smile and furrowed brows.
“What's wrong with you?” he asks before looking back at the bow in his hands.
“Zella...She’s being absolutely immature and illogical.”
“So she's being a bitch?”
“Sure.” Shea muttered in response before looking behind her at Zella and Colin, who were currently walking towards them. She gave a small sigh before returning her attention to Patricia.
“So have you actually hit the target yet?’
“No...I mean I haven’t shot the bow yet either soo…”
“You mean you haven't shot the arrow?”
“Did I ask you?”
“I mean not technically” She starts before Colin and Zella finally arrive. Zella looks over at Patricia before laughing, She looks at Colin, who gives her nothing but dead serious face, she stops laughing instantly. Zella awkwardly looks back to Patricia, who's too focused on his bow to notice her. Zella looks at the bow in her own hands. It was basically like any other bow, but unlike the others it had her name printed onto the side… Strange. It knew who she was?
It was almost time though, time to watch Patricia (most likely) fail at shooting the target. Pat looked to his side and pressed a small blue button, triggering the targets to start moving. At first they started off slow, waiting for Pat to actually shoot before advancing to the next speed module. PAtricia rose his bow, a long silver arrow notched into the bowstring. He pulled the string back to his chest, making Shea cringe. “That’s not how you're supposed to shoot a bow and arrow” she thought to herself, for a moment wondering why she was in an alliance with this boy of all people. Pat then released his arrow. The silver arrow flew through the air, creating a slight whistle sound as it ripped through the space. It then hit it’s target...Which unfortunately for Patricia wasn't the actual target, just the wall.
Shea chuckled and Zella straight up laughed as they watched Pat frown with disappointment. He looked over at the group, noticing how Colin was the only one not laughing. He flashed him a quick smile. Colin didn’t smile back.