Chapter 4-
“They did what?!” Elroy yelled shocked and angry when Scott told him what happened in the training center. “I’m fine. I swear” I reassured him. He didn’t listen to me as he walked towards the door. “Elroy!” I called after him. He spun around as I ran up to him and grabbed a hold of his arm. “What are you going to do?” I asked worried. “Probably hit someone” Scott laughed behind me as he laid on the couch with a grin.
I shot him a dirty look and turned back to Elroy to see him still angry and frustrated. I didn’t get why he was so ticked off. “I’m going to go talk to Seneca Crane. That’s all” he promised with a sudden small smile. I stared at him but nodded. “I’d go beat someone up instead” Scott called over his shoulder as he flipped through the channels. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a nearby throw pillow. I tossed it at Scott’s head and said “Shut up” He spun around and stuck his tongue out at me. “Loser” he teased.
“Don’t take Scott’s advice” I told Elroy. He smiled a little but nodded then left. I walked up to Scott and stood in front of him. “Ah! Sky move! An intense part is coming up!” he yelled and swatted at me with his hands since I was blocking the TV. I moved over a little and then sat on his stomach as he laid there. “You weigh a ton!” he yelled and rolled over causing me to fall off.
I landed on the ground flat on my behind. Scott laughed so hard he was clutching his sides. I stood up and tackled him as hard as I could. The couch fell backwards with us on it causing a loud crashing noise to fill the entire floor. We laughed together as we laid on the ground. “It hurts” I laughed holding my side. Scott’s howling laugh filled my ears and he replied “I know”
I rolled around laughing until I saw a pair of brown expensive looking shoes in front of my face. I looked to see Railer standing over me. “Get up” he ordered. His arms were crossed over his chest and he had a stern look on his face. I stopped laughing instantly and stood up. Scott did the same. “What?” Scott asked standing beside me. “Someone would like to see you” he said looking at me. “Who?” I asked. “The mentors from 1 and 2” he replied bored.
“Why?” I asked confused. “How should I know?” he growled. Just then the elevator door opened and in walked a man about 19 years old and a girl that looked only a year or 2 older than me. “We’re here to see Skylar Cohen” the man said. He was very tall and very muscular. I could see that he had definitely won his games with brute strength. “That’s me” I replied coldly. Railer left the apartment leaving me and Scott alone with them. The woman strutted over to the couch and sat on it delicately. She crossed one leg over the other and looked around like she owned the place. The skirt she was wearing was far too short and her attitude was pissing me off.
“We don’t appreciate you accusing our tributes for that incident that occurred during training” she said as she grabbed a rose out of the vase on the table. “What?” I asked stunned and angry. “You heard her. Go tell Seneca Crane that our tributes did nothing wrong and that you lied” the man said behind me. He was very intimidating. The woman twisted the rose in her finger then turned to me with a disgusted look. “We don’t appreciate little liars” she hissed then crushed the rose in her fist, the petals spilling out all over the floor.
She clapped her hands together getting rid of any remaining petals, then stood up. “Your tributes did everything they were accused of, everybody saw them! They almost killed Sky!” Scott growled angrily beside me. “Whether they did or not doesn’t matter. Tell the gamemakers they were innocent or you’ll regret it” the woman said fiercely. “Screw you” I said as I inched towards her. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I spun to see the man behind me. “Don’t touch her” Scott warned him and pulled me away from the man.
Scott pushed me behind him and stood in front of me protectively. “We’ll break you sweetie” the woman laughed and stood beside the man. She walked up to Scott and grabbed his chin in her manicured hands. “Your death will surely be slow and painful” she hissed and leaned towards Scott. He froze and stared at her with a dirty look. She pressed her lips to his cheek and smiled before strutting away.
I grabbed a vase that was on a stand to my right. I moved from behind Scott and threw the vase at the her head. Why? I don’t know. I was just so angry right now!
The vase missed and hit the wall in front of her. She spun around angry and jumped at me without hesitation. I stepped out of the way and as I raised my fist to punch her, the man grabbed my neck and held me up. My feet were no longer on the ground as I struggled. Scott ran to me but Elroy was already by my side. He punched the man in the jaw and from where I stood it seemed like a pretty hard hit.
His released his grip on me instantly and I fell to the ground coughing. Scott tried to come to me but the woman dug her nails into his arm and held onto him. I watched as Elroy moved swiftly avoiding all the punches thrown at him and threw many of his own. The woman let go of Scott and walked up to the guy. “Let’s go” she said pulling him away from Elroy.
Elroy stopped fighting instantly and walked over to me. He crouched down on the ground beside me and Scott ran over too. They left quickly and Elroy cursed as him and Scott helped me up. “We have to tell the gamemakers or someone” Scott yelled in anger. “For what, huh?” Elroy shouted. “Who’s going to believe us? It’s our word against theirs and trust me their's is favored over ours. We won’t get anywhere by telling on them. This isn’t a school game. You can’t go crying to your parents and teachers!” Elroy was furious as he continued, “Nobody here cares about you or her. This is all just a game to them. The only people that care are the ones in this room now!” Elroy shouted to Scott.
“Well are we just going to let them get away with it then?! We have to do something!” Scott shouted back at Elroy. “There’s nothing to do but win!” Elroy called back. Both of them were angrier than I had ever seen. “Well that’s not going to get us anywhere! The tributes from 1 and 2 are still always favored and the games will still exist!” Scott yelled. “What the hell do you expect to happen? Are you hoping for a miracle? Well you’re not going to get one, not in this damned world!” Elroy yelled.
“Stop!” I finally cried out upset. Both of them stopped instantly and stared at me. I stood up shakily. “I don’t care what happens anymore, not to me or the other tributes. No matter what only 1 person is coming out. I’m sure the Careers are going to come after me especially anyway. I just hope they don’t torture me too much before killing me” I mumbled then pushed past Elroy and walked to my room.
I slammed the door shut and locked it. I dragged my feet and made my way to the bed. I collapsed on it and tried to get to sleep. Easier said than done.
~
“Skylar I’m sorry” Elroy said to me during training the next day. “About what?” I asked as I threw another knife at the moving target. Bull’s eye.
“I’m sorry for fighting with Scott and for not showing up sooner to help you guys” he said as he watched me throw the knives. I shrugged “It’s fine” I replied grabbing a bow and an arrow. I promised Scott I’d practice with it before the games. “What did Seneca Crane say anyway?” I asked as I adjusted my arm and released the arrow. It missed the target. I grabbed another arrow. “He said that there wasn’t much he could do but talk to the Careers” Elroy said as I released the arrow. It hit the heart of the still target. I grunted annoyed and grabbed another arrow. “But the good news is that he said he was very impressed by your skill and quick thinking. That’s sure to get you a good score” Elroy grinned. I shrugged and put the bow away.
“Hand to hand” I said. Elroy got ready and a fight broke out. Unfortunately Elroy was both bigger and stringer than me. It wasnt long before I lost. He had pinned me to the ground with a knife to my neck. “You lose” he smirked down at me. I rolled my eyes and grabbed his hand. I twisted his wrist and shoved my shoulder into his chest. I pulled the knife out of his hand and flipped him off of me. I pushed him to the ground then sat on his stomach. I held the knife to his neck. “Actually I win” I grinned.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me down to him. I gasped surprised. I was only an inch away from his face as he looked me in the eyes. A serious expression was on his face. I noticed his gaze flicker somewhere else then back to my eyes. I looked behind me to see what he was looking at. Nothing was there so I turned back confused. The serious expression on his face was replaced with a grin as he knocked the knife out of my hand and flipped us over so I was on the ground again. “Don’t get distracted in a fight” he laughed and stood up. He put his hand to me. I grabbed it and as he was pulling me up I dragged him down. He fell to the ground and I sat beside him laughing. “Yeah and also don’t let your guard down” I said and stuck my tongue out at him. He laughed and shook his head. I stood up and put my hand out to him. He raised an eye brow but reached for my hand. “Psych” I laughed pulling it away before he could grab it. He smirked and grabbed my arm and pulled me down causing me to fall onto the ground once again.
I growled and pounced on Elroy again.
“Having fun?” a voice said from the door. We both turned around to see Finnick Odair standing in the doorway. He was the mentor for the district 4 tributes. I quickly stood up when I realized I was sitting on Elroy’s lap and I knew my face was turning bright red. Finnick laughed and walked over as Elroy stood up. “What do you want?” Elroy asked. Elroy had won his games about 5 or 6 years ago. Finnick had won his games a year later. They had some issues I guess since I could feel the tension in the air. “Um I think I’m going to go Elroy” I said feeling the tension in the air. Finnick smiled at me. I paused and stared at him. After taking a good look I smirked and said “I don’t find you that attractive” then I walked past him and to the door. Both Elroy and Finnick broke into a fit of laughter.
Stopping I turned to Elroy and said “I’ll send Scott down for his training” Elroy nodded and then turned back to Finnick as they spoke.
~
“Do your best” Elroy grinned. “We will” Scott told him then he grabbed my arm and led me to the training center. It was the day of our private sessions now. I was terrified. Elroy said that our score in this is what gets us sponsors. The higher the score the more sponsors. The more sponsors the higher chance for survival in the games.
“Scott, I’m terrified” I admitted as I held his hand tightly. We were waiting for the District 6 boy to be done. “Don’t worry. I know that you’ll do great and even if you don’t I’ll go good enough for both of us” he smirked cockily. I couldn’t help but laugh a little. I leaned against him and rested my head on his shoulder. He leaned his head against mine and we just waited. Finally my name was called. I took a deep breath and stood up. Scott stood with me. He wrapped me in a tight hug and then kissed my forehead. “Kick some ass” he smiled. I nodded and walked into the room.
The gamemakers all fell silent when I walked in. I went directly to the group of knives that rested on a nearby table. I grabbed all of them. There were about 5. I took a deep breath and stared at the targets. They all moved from side to side. I watched and listened carefully to the targets movements. I threw a knife at a moving target that was close to me. It hit the heart. I smirked a little and threw another knife. Same as the other it hit the heart.
I paused and watched the targets movements again. They moved side to side in a rhythmic fashion. Once the target had reached the end of one side there was a small click. Then I counted out the seconds. It took a total of 8 seconds for the target to make its way to the other side where again it clicked then started moving again. I turned to Seneca Crane. “Um can I please borrow that?” I asked pointing to the handkerchief in the breast pocket of his suit. He looked at me a little strangely but slowly nodded then removed the handkerchief. He dropped it down to me. I smiled at him and said “Thanks”
The game makers whispered among themselves and stared at me like I was the oddest thing in the world. I unfolded the handkerchief and raised it up to my face. I placed it over my eyes and tied it tightly. I heard the game makers mumble louder in shock. “Shhhh” Seneca Crane told them and I knew he was watching me closely. The room was dead silent except for the clicking of the targets. I listened and waited.
Click. I flicked my wrist tossing a knife in the direction of the noise. Click. Again I threw another knife in the direction of the noise. I was down to my final knife. I heard another click but it was faint so I waited and counted. 1…..2…..3…..4…..5 I turned my body slowly towards the previous click. The targets stopped moving once they had been hit so there was only this one final target left. 6…..7 -I took a deep breath and readied my knife-…….8 Click. I threw the knife at full speed with full force.
The room was still silent now. I slowly removed the blindfold and opened my eyes. I first saw Seneca Crane with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. His mouth hung open a little. I slowly turned my attention to the human shaped targets.
A smile crept on my face when I saw them all with knives piercing through the heart.
