Gwen Reading's P.O.V. (D4)
Harper and I exit the elevator, walking into a large room filled with various stations and racks of training weapons. A buff guy is standing at the top of a small staircase talking to the rest of the tributes. I assume he has to be the Head Trainer. By the time we enter the group, he is talking about how we can use any station we like for as long as we want today. He tells us to train with weapons, but advises us to make sure we spare time for the survival stations. We're going to need it.
"And one more thing," he adds before leaving, "Please avoid arguments and fighting among one another. We can't have anyone getting hurt before the Games. Alright, now you may start your training."
As soon as the Head Trainer leaves, Harper runs over to the tributes from District Three. I can't believe he made allies so quickly. I thought it was going to be easier for me than him.
Just then, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see the boy and girl from District Two standing in front of me. The girl has the lightest blonde hair I've ever seen. It almost looks white, and it reaches only to her shoulders. The boy is half a foot taller than me and looks pretty strong. Obviously the Careers.
"What do you want?" I ask.
The girl flicks her hair behind her shoulder, "You look like Career material to us. You think you've got what it takes?"
I grin, "Are you asking me to join?"
"What do you think we're doing?" the boy replies.
"Well in that case, I'm in!" I say and they just smile back. Then they both turn away and start talking to each other as they walk over to a station. I follow them.
"So are you going to wait until the private sessions to show off your skill?" the girl asks the boy.
"Yeah, I don't really need to practice it."
"Hey," I speak up, "You never really told me your names."
They look at each other in embarrassment. Then the boy introduces himself as Ace, but he says his friends call him 'Lucky Ace' sometimes. Then the girl says that her name is Elsa.
"I'm Gwen-"
"Hey!" a voice cuts me off, "What's up, Careers?"
Oh great. It's the little snobby girl from District One. I knew there was something irritating about the voice.
"What do you want, Kara?" Ace asks with a sigh, folding his arms over his chest.
Kara laughs as if it's a joke, "Isn't it obvious? I'm here because I'm a Career, like you losers."
"Yeah...if I remember correctly, we never actually agreed to let you join, so..." Elsa says, showing her disinterest, "We don't really want a twelve-year-old in the toughest alliance. Oh I have a great idea! How about you go play with the other tributes your age?! They'd love you."
"Not on your life, blondie," Kara says, planting her feet, "I'm with you guys, whether you like it or not, I'm staying!"
We all sigh, and Ace finally says, "Fine, but don't be surprised if we kill you in your sleep."
Dylan Harrison's P.O.V. (D8)
I frown in concentration as I practice tying a strange kind of knot. The string keeps getting tangled in my fingers and I can't seem to figure it out, so I walk to another station. I try to find a weapon that's appealing to me. Then I see the sword station. It can't get easier than that.
I spot Emma at the knife-throwing station that just so happens to be right next to the sword station. I have to talk to her at some point, but I'm still upset about her volunteering. Then I suddenly notice her talking to the two tributes from Twelve. I need allies, and it looks like Emma has already made some. Maybe now would be the best time to talk then.
I take a deep breath and approach her, "Hi, Em."
"Well look who finally decided to talk!" Emma says, but she doesn't look mad. I glance at her allies for a second, then back at her.
"Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"
I lead Emma away from the station before I say something.
"I just wanted to apologize for ignoring you for the past few days. It's just been really hard for me to take it all in and-"
"Dylan, it's okay. I'm the one that needs to apologize. I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have volunteered. I didn't realize you would take it like this."
"It's just that things were so perfect before. The moment my name was called, I knew it was all going to be ruined..."
"Well what's done is done. We need to focus one the present now. So are you joining our alliance or what?"
I nod, "Yes please."
"Then come on," Emma chuckles, leading me back to the two allies she's made.
Geofrey Santer's P.O.V. (D5)
I follow Jada to a plant station. I notice that she picks up the pace, trying to get avoid me, but I catch up easily. I've been following her everywhere and I think it's finally starting to annoy her. I told her that I won't stop until she agrees to be my ally.
"Ugh...will you just stop already?" Jada growls, turning to face me.
I stand my ground, "No. I told you that I want to be your ally, and that's the only way you can get me to leave you alone."
"I'll just kill you in the arena if you follow me anyways," Jada says, starting to walk back to the station again.
I shake my head and smile, "No, you won't. I know you won't...you can't."
Jada stops in her steps, her fists clenching into balls. She turns around again, "You think so huh? We'll see about that."
"No, we won't, because it's not gonna happen, and we both know that. You'll wouldn't kill a fly, Jada," I say, but it seems to make her angrier.
"You've managed to make me angry enough that it might just be possible for me to make one kill...just one. And do you know who that will be, Geo?" she says, pointing her finger at me accusingly.
I smile, "I think I might get who you mean. I guess we'll being seeing each other in the arena then."
Then I turn and walk away. I'll get her to be my ally. Just you watch... But for now, I should make another one, just as backup.
I look around the room, trying to find an open person, but most of the tributes have already formed alliances. The tributes from Two, the girl from One and Four all form the Career alliance, it appears.some of the younger kids have formed an alliance also. It looks like it's just Cole and Myx from Five and the two siblings from Eleven. Then there's the tributes from Three who have allied with the boy from Four. The tributes from Districts Eight and Twelve are together too. Janice, Harper and Steve are in an alliance together. An finally, the siblings from Seven are obviously allies. I think the girl from Nine has the boy from One as her ally too.
That leaves Fate and Jordin from Ten, and Clark from Nine. I decide to talk to Clark first, because I'm pretty sure Fate and Jordin are going to be allies and I don't want more than two. Jada, myself, and somebody else.
I walk over to the spear station, where Clark is practicing on some moving targets. I watch him launch one spear after another, nearly hitting close to the center every time.
"Hey, Clark, right?" I call over. When I reach him I offer my hand to shake, "I'm Geofrey, Geo for short."
Clark nods and shakes my hand after looking me up and down, "You interested in an alliance?"
I smile, "Yes."
Danielle Sottington's P.O.V. (D9)
"George, throw it now!" I shout as I start printing across the room, towards a target on the far wall. I run like I would if I was in the arena, right now. George throws the knife towards me and I snatch it right out of the air as I continue running. Then I take one glance at the target and send the knife soaring towards it. It hits dead center and I stop running. I turn to George, who is staring with wide eyes in awe.
"H-how did you-?"
"Practice makes perfect," I reply, smiling, "Nice throw by the way. We'll have to use that sometime in the arena. After all, we are going into the bloodbath."
George looks a little nervous after I say that last part.
"What's wrong? I thought we both agreed on that. You want to get back at Kara for choosing you, and I want to get back at Clark. The bloodbath is the only place and time we can guarantee where they are. For all we know, we can never run into them again if we don't get them at the very beginning," I explain.
"Yeah, I know. It's just that I don't really fight very well..."
"Well we'll ace to fix that then!" I say, "Come on, let's see what you can do with knives."
Fate Greenridge's P.O.V. (D10)
Jordin and I finish up building some snares and thing knots and move on to another station. In this station, we learn about poisonous plants and plants that can be eaten. Nightlock seems to be the most popular poison used in the Games since it is seen in nearly every Games. It's quite lethal too. They say that you die seconds after having a handful of the berries.
"Hey, these ones look cool," Jordin says, reaching out to poke a pale flower with delicate, red-speckled petals.
The lady supervising the station steps forward saying, "That is a Griplacca flower. It is extremely poisonous to the touch and can kill in sixty seconds."
Jordin takes a step away from the strange plant and looks at his hand, "You mean I'm gonna die?! I just touched that!"
The woman laughs, "No need to worry. You see, this specimen is obviously fake. I would never have allowed you to touch it if it were a real Griplacca."
Jordin sighs and looks back at the plant, "So...what if we accidentally do run into one of these? Is there a cure?"
"Yes," the woman shows us an identical plant, but the speckles on the petals are blue instead, "This is the Harplacca plant. If you rub its petals where the Griplacca plant touched you, it will heal immediately. But remember, it only takes sixty seconds for the Griplacca to take effect. Fortunately, the Harplaccas and Griplaccas always grow in the same areas, so you will often find them bunched together."
"Interesting..." I say, "Thank you for that info."
Then Jordin and I decide to grab some lunch. At lunch, we discuss how we are planning on starting the Games and where to meet up.
"I say we should go in," Jordin says, "I would risk it to get at least something that I can defend myself with."
"I agree, but we shouldn't stay there any longer than we have to."
"And if we get separated?" Jordin asks.
I rub my chin, "Then we meet at the closest water source to the cornucopia."
"But what if the whole arena is water?" Jordin points out.
I frown, "Then this sounds like a conversation to be had when we actually know what the arena is."
"Agreed."
"Now I say we should avoid fighting as much as possible."
"But why? It'll be over sooner if we just fight. Besides...only one if any of us is going to make it out alive..." Jordin says.
I bite my lip, "Right...well I guess we're going to have to do our best then."
"We will...everyone will."