"District seven male and female tributes please make your way to the training room, your private sessions are about to begin.” A feminine voice distinctly states over the loud speakers. From across the table Arlo gives me a worried smile and I can tell he has no clue what is going on ether.
Ashley, our mentor, said that because of the quarter quell, like the reaping, things will be a bit different but we still can't figure out why they are calling the tributes for their private session in their district pairs instead if individually. Arlo and I stand up together and grasping hands, we make our way to the double doors at the end of the cafeteria room where we had lunch, and waited to be called to our doom. We reach the door and I take one last look of safety then Arlo pulls me through the door, into the metaphoric black abyss of what lies beyond the waiting room.
The door slams behind me as the chilly training room air seeps into my warm living skin, turning it to stone. With a squeeze of my hand Arlo leads me to the center of the room. As we step to the center of the vastness I start to smell a vile mixture of blood and stronger cleaner coming from the floor, and I know that there has been recent bloodshed in this room. The realization of what has happened before and in the future makes my stomach turn and I have to fight back the weakness in my knees caused by the inevitable hallucination.
"Now listen up you two I am Ranea blu the head game maker for the quarter quell. This year instead of having your private session alone to show off your skills you will be showing us how you fight by fighting the tribute from your district." A lady in a black skirt and blazer says. I look at Arlo trying to read his expectation through my tear filled eyes but he has none.
The lady called Ranea continues to speak but it's like my ears are full of Cotton balls all I hear is soft mummers. I try to stay focused but after learning I have to fight and injure Arlo I lose all concentration. The few odds and ends I hear I try to pace together "do not kill your partner." "You can use any weapons in the room.” “There will be no mercy until unconsciousness."
My head focuses for the last sentence of the speech "you will have 1 minute to find your weapon of choice, may the odds be ever in your favor." She says almost finished "we will begin in three, two, one." A horn goes off signaling the start of the session. Trying not to lose my head I look around searching for the knives which is my weapon of expertise, when suddenly Arlo grabs me by the shoulder and starts talking to me in a soft urgent voice.
"Listen to me Mackinze you have to hurt me you have to show them what you can do."
"But I can't love you" I declare with tears about to cascade down my face.
"You have to. After collapsing at the reaping and not doing anything physically challenging at the trainings they are going to think you won't be able to fight in the arena and you won't get any sponsors." Arlo says staring straight into my eye.
"But I can't" I begin to say with tears dripping down my face as Arlo cuts me off "listen to me don't fight me. Use your hallucinations to your own advantage, Picture me as some kind of mutation. Remember the power of the mind affects the power of the body."
He lets go of me and I know we have been talking to long by the way Ranea Blu looks at us. I turn away from Arlo and spotting the knives I jog towards them. I grab a leather holster with ten knives in it and I turn around preparing to fight. I see Arlo grabbing an axe from across the room and, I start to walk towards him.
"When the horn goes off you will begin fighting again, May the odds be ever in your favor." Ranea Blu says with an impatient tone to her voice.
I nod in understanding and as I feel the hallucination pushing to take over. Instead of pushing back, like I usually do, I let it take over. I close my eyes in fear of the fear that is about to take over but, I remember what Arlo said the power of the mind effects the power of the body, and I wrench my eyes open. Frighteningly instead of Arlo in front of me there is a big blackish brownish beast with fangs and yellows piercing eyes.
I hear the horn go off, and as the adrenaline courses through my body I understand what Arlo was trying to tell me that fear in some cases shuts you down but in other cases it wakes you up. I grab my first knife and with an effortless flick of my wrist I send it flying. The knife hits the beast in the shoulder and a sickening crunch is heard as the bone cracks. Growling the beast charges and claws my face leaving deep bloody gashes on my face making my heart to beat faster and my reflexes to become quicker. Hastily I send another expertly aimed knife at the mutt making a gash in his left thigh. He runs at me, I quickly let another loose hitting him in the rib and without hesitation I hurl another and it sinks into the beasts yellow eye.
The mutant pauses for a moment, pulls the knife out of his eye, and miraculously keeps fighting , taking another swipe at me, which hits me on the leg. The sting of pain enrages me and I fling two more daggers both hitting his right arm probably breaking bones. I fire two more without thought; they land in his side making him groan in agony.
How the brute keeps going I will never understand, but he does and charges clawing me badly in the stomach. I fall to the ground in pain six feet behind the monster. Fearing for my life I send my second to last knife flying towards the demon. It sinks deep into the miscreation’s back with a stomach churning thump.
Finally defeated the creature falls to the floor. Clutching my stomach in pain I crawl over to the beast and I roll him over, which aggravates his wound sending fresh blood spilling over the front of him and cascading into my lap. With my last knife I raise the blade over the over the monster, preparing to stab him in the chest, when all of a sudden instead of a beast lying there Arlo is on the floor in front of me.
In shock I pull the knife away from Arlo’s body, which already has five knifes sticking out of it, like a human pin Cushion. What have I done I think to myself, how could I have done this to the love of my life. I begin to cry as I try to wipe away the blood from his face, but his eye is still pouring out blood making it impossible to clean it.
I look up at Ranea Blu with tears streaming do my face and she gives me a nod of approval in responsible and I know that at that moment I have become a pawn in there Games. Collapsing from lack of blood I fall into Arlo’s lifeless arms. Before I black out I watch my scarlet blood intertwining with Arlo’s dark claret colored blood.
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Beep. Beep. Beep. I wake up in a white room with three tubes coming out of my right arm. I reach my left hand up to brush away some hair and I feel stitches running along the side of my face. Must be from the beast I think to myself, but it was in actuality from Arlo's axe.
I doctor comes in and unplugs the tubes from my arm. Then he retrieves the clip board at the end of the bed and begins to flip through it.
"What happened?" I ask in a horse raspy whisper.
"After you fell unconscious some medics took you, and the boy to the training building’s hospital wing. We stitched you up quick enough but the boy wounds were almost fatal. He just got out of surgery when I came in to check on you, he is resting now but he is going to pretty stiff when he wakes up." The doctor says putting the clipboard down.
"Surgery, why?" I inquire distraughtly.
"Well you hurt him pretty bad. He had a broken arm, two cracked ribs, his spine was damaged, and his eye was total destroyed."
"Will he be okay?”
"We think so, his blood levels are stable, his bones were no problem to repair, and his eye was simple to replace but we aren't sure how much Damage resulted from your knives." The doctor conveys looking into my fearful eyes." No need to worry we fixed his spine we just aren't sure if it will be restored in time. We have him on a supplement that will heal him 10 times faster than normal and if he is still not ready for the games then we can send him the pills through a sponsor that is of he gets one."
"Okay. When will I be able to get out of here?" I ask
"Today all the tributes are rest from the fights so you will get out tomorrow morning or afternoon but don't worry you will be let out in time for the interviews tomorrow. Now I think you should rest your stitches are still healing. A nurse will bring you supper in an hour, sweet dreams." The doctor walks out the door closing it behind him.
I lay there for a bit but decide the time we pace quicker if I go to sleep so with I sigh I roll over and drift off to sleep. As I lose conciseness the last thing I think about is Arlo.