The center is huge, and filled with every form of defense and attack you can imagine. Bows and arrows, knives, snares, spears, camouflage paints, swords, deadly and non-deadly herbs, and even a climbing rope line the walls.
Ebb heads for the sword and spears instantly. I should have guessed. So much for training together. I take my time, spinning around, taking it all in. Finally, I walk towards the knives. I could use practice with those.
The trainer for the knives smiles at me. "District Two, eh?" he asks. "I saw your entrance at the opening ceremonies. You were in white, right?"
"Yeah," I say. "They painted me white." I don't know the significance of my words, but they sounds vaguely profound. To break the silence, I pick up a knife. The blade is about half a foot long. I pick it up, weigh it in my hand, and face the targets.
The targets are on the opposite wall. Five painted figures in the shape of humans, each with a red spot over the heart. I pull my hand back, take aim, and throw. The knife wedges itself in the shoulder of the target.
"Mmm," says the trainer. "See, your arm is fine until you get to the release point. You have to follow through with it. Like this."
He walks around next to me and picks up a similar knife. With a quick flick, the knife is embedded in the target's heart. I stare at the red blotch. He continues on with his explanation. "A shoulder wound, if it's deep, can be a problem. But if you hit them in the heart, they're gone for good."
"Thanks," I say, but I'm not sure if I mean it or not.
The other tributes have started to arrive. 1, 4, 7, and 9 are here already, and I'm sure the rest will follow. I pick up another knife and practice throwing it for a while. Even with the trainer's encouragement, I can't seem to get it right.
I look over at Enobaria. She shakes her head just slightly and tilts it to one side. Time to move on.
I leave the knife-thrower and make my way to the climbing wall. Now here's something I'm good at. Back in 2, we have a lot of mountains, so I've learned the art of rock climbing. The trainer, a stocky woman who introduces herself as Pirra, buckles me into this restraint and wire that she says will keep me from falling.
I grab onto the rock and hoist myself up with ease. I'm pretty sure it's the restraint that's doing all the work, though. I work my way back down and ask if I can take the buckles off. She gives me a quizzical, why in the world would you want to do that? glance but I'm persistent. I can be very persuasive when I want to be.
She takes the restraint off and I try again. This time it's harder, but the movement is more natural. I'm sure I won't have a wire to support me in the arena. I climb to the top with little difficulty, and start to descend again. It's harder coming down, but when my feet touch the ground, I feel like I've accomplished something beyond the Games. Though I'm not sure where I would use rock climbing outside of the arena. If I even survive.
I head over to a table where they've set out water for us. As I drink, I watch all the other tributes.
The pair from 4 look deadly for sure. The boy is busy at the snare table tying knots and snares that would kill you instantly, and the girl is at the knife-thrower's booth, chucking the knives into every target's heart. As I watch, she sends one right between the eyes of a dummy meant for rope practice. She smiles, but the gesture doesn't reach her cold gray eyes.
The tributes from 11 and 12 are blundering along, as usual. 8 looks better than the norm, and the boy from 9 is sure to be a contender, as I watch him sending one spear after another into his targets.
I'm suddenly joined by the girl from 9. She's a bit short, pink cheeked, and her blonde hair is tied up into a long ponytail. "Hi," she says, chipper. I nod my head in greeting. She reaches across to grab a water bottle. "I'm Thella," she says after taking a long gulp of water. "District Nine."
"Ayla. District Two."
"Nice to meet you," she says. "So, what are you thinking?"
"What do you mean?" I ask, still watching the boy from 9. "I mean, you look like you're having some pretty deep thoughts," Thella says, and takes another swig of water. "You're just staring into space."
"Oh," I say, feeling stupid. "I'm thinking about how your fellow tribute is great with the spears."
She follows my gaze. "Oh, that's Kirwan," she says. "He's good with a ton of stuff. Lots of practice with his father, who was in the games a couple decades ago. Lots of people in Nine were upset because he got picked. Especially the girls. He's kind of our 'golden boy' if you know what I mean. Good looking, and all that."
I can see what she means. He has dark hair, and eyes that are a coppery-gold color. I guess he's pretty handsome, but I don't put that much stock in appearance. I've learned that a person's behavior is the thing to pay attention to, not their looks.
"Well, I should be off," Thella says with another smile. I've got lots of training to do." She waves and jogs towards Kirwan. I watch her go, then remember that I'm supposed to be doing the same.
I walk towards the bow and arrows. I think about Thella, how nice she was. These games are going to be harder than I thought.
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