24 Years, 24 Tributes

Chapter 18

Valerie POV

"You have five minutes."

I looked around the room. The only thing I was good at was first aid, and I didn't think an assistant was ready for me to cut up so I could heal her. I noticed a realistic dummy sprawled in one corner and flipped it over. It had a gaping mouth and closed eyes. That must be how I was supposed to show that sort of skill.

I pinched the dummy's nose and breathed into its mouth. Then I crossed my fingers just like the healing attendant showed me and pressed sharply on its chest. It didn't breath, of course, since it was a dummy, but the Gamemakers looked satisfied.

That took all of one minute, and I still had four left. There was nothing else wrong with the dummy, so I took matters into my own hands. I grabbed a knife from the weapons table and slashed the dummy's leg, spilling stuffing everywhere. Then I ripped my shirt and secured a tourniquet where I now knew an artery would be in a human. I found some dock leaves on the edible plants station and pressed them against the wound. I cleared the stuffing away like it was blood contaminating the wound and stood up just as the buzzer rang.

Aspen POV

My first shot missed by a mile.

"Now that the practice round is over, let me show you what happens when I aim," I said to the Gamemakers. I knew they weren't supposed to listen, but it must get boring up there.

I took five more shots at the second-farthest target. Four hit it, and one was one ring off the center. I continued shooting until the buzzer was just about to ring. Then I turned to my audience.

"Thank you, thank you. Now enjoy the view as me and my bow bow," I said.

As I left I heard the Gamemakers clapping. I might not be the best shot, but I was the best show.

Apollo POV

I dodged between two sparring assistants and punched one the instant before I turned and threw the other to the ground. I was sweating, but I kept ironclad control of my breathing. I may have been tired, but the Gamemakers weren't going to know that.

I hurled myself down on the fallen partner and slammed my elbow into his stomach. He gasped and curled in on himself. I grabbed the other one by his collar and threw him into the wall.

"Anyone else?" I called. There were no takers.

Peppermint POV

I looked longingly at the javelin, but resolutely turned away. That was for me to know and everyone else to find out. I'd give the Gamemakers a little something to tide them over in the meantime.

I found the computer mounted on a table and tapped its screen. A grid showing edible and poisonous plants flashed at me for an instant and then switched to show solid squares.

Not everyone knows that I have a great memory. I didn't think it would really come in that handy in the Games, so I might as well show it off. I blazed through the game, matching every edible and poisonous plant and correctly sorting them to opposite sides. I played it again to fill the final minute, then got up to go.

"That's right, Gamemakers," I said. "I can match colored squares like no one else. Those other kids might as well go home now."

Bree POV

I had a lot of things I was decent at. I didn't have as many things I was really good at. I ended up trying each of the decent things for a short time. I threw a few knives, identified some plants, made a snare, and glanced at the clock.

A minute left. I tried to think of anything that might set me apart.

I remembered how back in 10 I used to call the cows home. It always impressed my parents that such a little girl could make such a bellow.

Hey, why not? I thought. I blared out a cow call, then mixed in a few of the bird whistles I'd picked up over the years.

The buzzer rang, and I walked out. I still felt a little forgettable, but in the Games, sometimes that's a good thing to be.

Jean POV

I stared levelly at the Gamemakers and didn't move. I knew I could show them how to cut apart a human like I cut apart the cows back home. I could show them how I could run a tribute down and tear them apart at the weak areas. Thing was, I didn't want to.

I knew I wasn't worth anything to the other Tributes. Maybe I was worth something to Cornflower, but I could never tell with her. I didn't know how I could ever be worth anything to myself again, but I did know one thing. The Gamemakers were worth even less.

I looked at them and I saw what they made us become. None of us wanted to kill anyone. Even the Careers only did it because that was all they knew. The Gamemakers took innocent kids and twisted them into monsters. Now I knew we weren't monsters at all. Only they were.

I waited until the buzzer sounded and walked away. I didn't want their points or their presents. I wanted them to look at me and know what I was. I was a child, and they were the ones that sent me to die.

Miller POV

After I ate all the edible plants on the table, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I looked up at the Gamemakers. They seemed impressed that I knew to only eat to good plants, but it didn't last long. They all looked aside and I saw a servant carrying a huge cake.

"Hey, can I come up with you guys?" I asked. They ignored me.

Well, nuts to you too! I thought.

"Fine!" I yelled. I already showed them I knew how to find plants. They weren't getting any more. I stomped out before the buzzer even sounded.

Heidi POV

I separated the edible and poisonous plants into piles and ate a few to show I was confident. I wasn't as confident with weapons, so I just took a few swipes at a dummy with a dagger to show I knew how to hold a blade. Then I realized hardly any of the tributes spent any time on the rope course, so I climbed one of the ropes and clambered around above the ground for the rest of my time. I hung from my knees and from one arm, and with a little effort I managed a pull-up. The Gamemakers weren't awestruck, but I saw one or two taking notes. They seemed to pay extra attention as soon as I started climbing the rope. Maybe that was important.

After the buzzer sounded, as I was walking out the door, I thought about their reaction and what it might mean. Maybe it had something to do with the arena. I hoped it wasn't a giant tree. That would be a huge mess.

Alayza POV

I sat myself right at the edible plants station and sorted through the plants. I still had two minutes when that was done, so I picked up a spear and chucked it at the nearest dummy. It lodged in the dummy's upper leg.

"See that?" I asked the Gamemakers. They didn't react.

"Oh, that's not good enough for you?" I huffed. I threw another four spears at the same dummy. The wind caught one and it missed, but two stuck near the first one and another just skimmed the fabric of the dummy's leg. They still didn't react.

"Oh, shove off! Can you throw a spear that well? Admit it. I did great. You wanna come down here and tell me different?" I asked.

The buzzer went off, and I twirled around with a flourish. If they can't recognize talent, that's their problem. I found food and eliminated my enemy. What more did they want?

Caldwell POV

I showed the Gamemakers the trap I'd invented. They seemed to like it- they kept leaning forward and pointing. I didn't like them watching me and fussing, so I pretended they weren't there and focused on making my snares perfect. After that I ran through all the other traps I knew and made a neat row of different knots. By the time I finished all the knots and snares the buzzer rang. I stood up without a word and quietly walked out.

I wasn't sure what all that was about, but my mentor told me to go in and show everything I knew, so I did my best.

Timber POV

The Gamemakers all stared at me as soon as I walked in. What were they looking at? Did I already mess up?

They were creeping me out. The only thing I could think of was to build a shelter. There was a pile of wood for making fire. I scooped it up and leaned two of the bigger sticks against the far wall. The rest I draped over the top to make a little tent. I grabbed all the bowls off the plant table and used the leaves to patch the holes. Soon I had a neat little shelter, and I ducked inside.

After a minute I felt like they expected me to do something else, so I ran around the room and lifted the heaviest weights I could. I knew I wasn't terrible at those things, so better that than failing epically with a weapon.

I was relieved when the buzzer rang and I could clear out. It wasn't great, but it could have been worse.

Ever POV

I sprinted lap after lap around the room, throwing a knife into the heart of every dummy as I passed. I only stopped to retrieve my knives, and I kept it up for a full four minutes.

I could have gone on, but I didn't want to look like I only had one trick. I noticed the Gamemakers seemed restless. Two started whispering to each other, and one laughed.

"Hey! You can't pay attention for five stupid minutes? Want something to watch? Watch this!" I slashed my knife harshly across the nearest dummy's throat. Stuffing spilled everywhere and the head tumbled to the ground.

"My apologies for boring you," I said as I left.

Astra POV

All right, Astra, you've got this. You practiced. You can do it.

I picked up a knife and threw it at the nearest target. It landed in the lower left chest.

All right, not bad, I thought. I aimed for the next farthest one. The knife just barely hit the dummy's right hip.

At least he wouldn't be coming for you after that, I thought. I took a breath and aimed at the farthest dummy.

This one's for all the marbles. Calculate the spin, measure the distance, and throw, I thought.

I closed my eyes as the knife soared toward its target. I heard a thud and opened my eyes. The knife was sticking right in the dummy's gut. I wasn't sure if it was skill or luck, but that was definitely a mortal wound.

See? That wasn't so hard at all.

Harvey POV

I was nervous as I picked up the rope to make a snare, and I ended up making a granny know instead of a square one. I kept a straight face and soldiered on. With any luck the Gamemakers didn't know their knots anyway.

I thought about asking for a sparring partner. I didn't know what level I should go for. If I asked for a beginner, I could win, but then it wouldn't be impressive. If I asked for an expert I'd lose, but at least it would show I had pluck.

I went for the expert. I reasoned that I could put up one berserker fight before the assistant could figure out my style enough to cream me, and I'd look a lot tougher than I was.

It worked. I lasted the final two minutes until the buzzer rang right as I was about to collapse. I was bruised, sore, utterly outmatched, and about to get my butt handed to me, but I looked like a total savage.

1. I was supposed to put Jean's scar on his face. Oops... everyone pretend that's what I wrote. From now on it's on his face.

2. I did this chapter 12-6 instead of 1-6 to break the monotony. After we get through the orderly things like sessions and interviews, I'll be able to mix up the POVs more, and once the Games start I'll have longer sections with fewer characters per chapter. I'll try to keep things even, but some characters just don't need as much screen time *cough* Miller *cough*