Family Ties: The 35th Games

I hear the cheers as soon ad the District One chariot leaves the warehouse (or stable, I suppose), and is in eyesight of the all the spectators. The procession has begun, and slowly, the other chariots enter one-by-one. Our chariot rolls slowly into the city, and I hold my head high, hoping to god that I don't look as scared as I feel. I hear cheers as we ride towards the city center. I smile slightly as week keep moving, and Nathan glances up at a giant screen, that happens to currently have a live feed of the two of us.

"You know, you look kind of scary," he teases me, laughing when I roll my eyes. He didn't even try to make that comment believable. But I appreciate that he's trying to keep the tone light.

The chariot comes to a stop in front of President Snow's mansion. The president stands on his balcony, expression unreadable as he oversees the scene in front of him. "Welcome tributes," he calls, and the crowd goes silent, "to another Hunger Games.

"Again, we must ask ourselves, why must we sacrifice so many young lives? How did the Hunger Games become necessary?

"War. Terrible war. Widows. Orphans. A motherless child. This was the uprising that rocked our land. 13 Districts rebelled against the country that fed them, loved them and protected them. Brother turned on brother until nothing remained. And then came the peace; hard fought, sorely won. People rose up from the ashes and a new era was born. But freedom has a cost. When the traitor was defeated, we swore as a nation we would never know this treason again. And so it was decreed that each year, the various districts of Panem would offer up in tribute one young man and woman to fight to the death in a pageant of honor, courage and sacrifice. The lone victor, bathed in riches, would serve as a reminder of our generosity and forgiveness. Henceforth and forevermore, this pageant was to be known as the Hunger Games."

President Snow pauses for dramatic effect. I know his speech by heart, for it never changes, year after year. "Now we begin the thirty-fifth Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!" The crowd roars, but I'm getting tired of that phrase. I wonder, truly, how many more times I'll have to hear it before I die. 

Before I die. I hate that that concept is getting easier and easier to manage.

The chariots wheel us slowly back into the stable, and it's Palana that greets us first, squealing as she does, "You were both wonderful. Nathan, all of my friends in the Capitol can't get enough of you! You are very popular, a fan favorite for sure! And Zania, you looked absolutely darling!"

My eyes narrow at her. It feels a bit patronizing, her talking to me like I'm a six year old in a party dress. But I know better than to talk back.

Olivia is there to help me get down from the chariot, though, and when she offers me a sincere "Great job!", I preen. I like Olivia. Impressing her and making her proud feels good.

Sean pulls both of us close, and begins whispering urgently, "Yeah, yeah, great job. Time to start putting in groundwork though, Okay? Don't have much time before the games, all things considered. Have to put you two to work now." He pauses and both Nathan and I nod hesitantly. "Over there are the tributes from District Ten. I'm friends with their mentor; he seems to think they'd be open to an alliance. Says they're quiet and friendly. They're scared, though, and don't like their chances anymore than the pair of you do. They'll be open to working together if you ask."

"You want us to go over there and try to ally with them now," Nathan asks, furrowing his brow. "I thought you said we'd do that during training-- won't it be weird to approach them here? Out of nowhere? Won't that just be intimidating?"

"The more time you have to collect allies, the better," Sean replies grimly. 

Nathan looks anxious, but I take a deep breath, nodding resolutely to Sean and turning to go over to the District Ten tributes alone.

Nathan was big and strong. He was thoughtful and supportive. He was doing so much for me, he always had, and I knew in the arena he'd do a lot to protect me too. This, though? This was something I could do. I like talking to people; or at least, I usually did, under less stressful circumstances. If I could talk to people, convince them to see our side, I could pull my own weight. I could be useful to Nathan and I, in some way.

I try to sneakily size the District Ten tributes up as I approach them, trying to get a read on them without them noticing my staring. The girl looks about my age, but the boy looks closer to Nathan's. She's very short, with curly blonde hair, but the more I look at her, the more I notice she's quite muscular too. The boy has big hands and big shoulders, with long hair that covers his eyes. 

Upon closer inspection, too, I come to realize I don't hate the farmer costumes we were put in as much as I thought I did. Not when this was the alternative. They were both in really goofy looking mascot suits-- the boy dressed like a cow, and the girl, a pig. Without thinking, I say, "Oh no, those are so terrible," Within earshot, and when both look at me, I blush scarlet, hoping I didn't offend them.

To my relief, the girl smiles. "Ridiculous, aren't they? Not sure how we're going to pull any sponsors in these. If anything, I'm just going to give them a hankering for pork chops, and they'll go spend their money on that instead."

I smile back sheepishly, and after a moments pause, I hold out my hand for her to shake. "I'm Zania."

"Addalie," she replies, taking my hand. She introduces her counterpart as Mark.

"You're the girl who got Reaped alongside her brother, aren't you." The words come from Mark, and they're not a question. He recognizes me, but I cant garner from his tone how he feels about that.

I lower my gaze. "Yeah, that's me." Every time I think about the Reaping, a fresh wave of sadness washes over me. I wonder if my family was watching the Parade back home, and what they though. I feel another sharp pang of sadness in my gut when I think of David-- I hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to him.

The girl's soft voice brings me back to Earth. "I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine what you must be feeling."

"I can't even wrap my head around it most of the time," I admit softly, looking back at them with shining eyes. "I just.... I hope we can both survive until close to the end. I don't want to die in the Bloodbath." Addalie makes a small sound of agreement, and we all stand in awkward silence for a while, all anxiously thinking about what's to come.

It reminds me again of what I came over here to do. So after taking a deep breath, I keep talking. "Listen... I know this is really sudden, but it isn't fair. None of our situations are fair. And I know only one tribute can win, but you guys are like me-- we're not Careers, you know? We have less of a chance. But I think we'd have a better one if we worked together." I pause to gauge their reactions. Mark's eyes narrow, but Addalie cocks her head to the side and I take it as a sign to keep going.

"You two seem strong. You guys have the potential to be competitors. You guys seem nice, too, and our mentors are friends. And I know you want to win as much as I do. We all want to. We'd all have a better chance at winning if we join forces, if only for the beginning of the games. Nathan and I would like to form an alliance with you."

Addalie shifts back and forth, on and off the balls of her feet, rocking slightly as she considers what I have to say. "You have a point," she says after a moment. "The Careers are strong, but they only ever outlast everyone for as long as they do because they work together. Even if it all falls apart by the end, the united front at the start is why they're so scary..."

"They're scary because they've been training their whole lives," Mark counters with a little scoff, and I deflate a little. He was right. I'd hoped that I'd been convincing, but it hadn't taken him much to poke a hole in my proposal.

But then I hear Nathan's voice behind me, my brother finally coming over to join me. "We'll just have to make even more connections then, won't we?" Addalie jumps; she clearly hadn't seen him walk up, same as me, and got startled. Nathan introduces himself to the District Ten tributes, and then continues. "And even with no one else, think about it; we'll have four times the sponsors, since we'll share what we get. We'll have more protection as a group-- even if it's less than the Careers, it's still more than any one of us on our own. We might even get something decent from the Cornucopia, since we'll have each other's backs and can probably scramble to get something together before we escape."

I think Addalie must have been pretty nearly convince just by me, because it doesn't take her long to concede to Nathan. "Yeah, okay, I'm in," she finally says. "I know I'm an easy target, being a younger tribute. I don't think I'm gonna win but..... I'd have a better chance with you guys."

"Alright," agrees Mark, relenting. Nathan had broken through to him. I was glad-- I didn't know Mark, but just physically, he seemed like someone I'd rather have on my side in the arena, rather than someone against me. We all shook hands once more, sealing the deal.

"You mentioned making more connections," Addalie brings up once we've all gotten on the same page, looking over at Nathan. "Do you have anyone in mind yet?"

"Our mentor mentioned the tributes from Eight and Eleven," Nathan answers. "We can scope out possible allies during training, I think."

"We'll help you out with that," Mark says with a nod, speaking for both himself and Addalie. "Open books, though, all of us. No secrets or scheming. We all need to agree on who we bring in, and talk about it. This isn't going to work if we can't trust each other and work together."

I nod. "We're a team."

"The building we're staying at until the Games has a roof," Addalie pips up unexpectedly. "My mentor was telling me about it-- he said he used to go up there before his Games when he needed a breather and some time alone. He said it's really loud up there. We can meet up there after we all get back tonight! Harder to be overheard, you know?"

"Sounds like a good place to start planning," Nathan agrees. "Zania and I will meet you there." And with some quick, whispered goodbyes, we left them, Nathan leading me back over to our chariot, and waiting mentors.

"How'd it go?" Olivia asks eagerly. 

Nathan smiles back at her. "They're in."

"Good," replies Sean. "This is a good start. Especially that boy-- he has a big build. Bet he'll turn out to be a fighter."

"We're going to meet them on the roof tonight to talk more," I confide quietly. I have to admit, while I am still anxious and scared, It's kind of nice meeting new friends. The friendship is under dire circumstances, and it is destined to not last, but I try not to dwell on that too much.

"Even better," exclaims Olivia. "You'll be able to really bond with each other; that'll make it easier to work as a team. And if you think up anything interesting, be sure to let Sean and us know when you're done."

Nathan nods. "They said they'd help us find other allies during training, too."

"All the better," Sean answers, cracking a rare half-smile. "You two might have a shot yet."

Anything else that would have been said was cut short, however; Palana had arrived, stepping in the middle of the conversation. "Alright, my angels, our rooms are ready! Lets make our way over to the Training Centre and get you settled into your new homes!" That earned her another glower from Nathan, but either she didn't notice, or pretended not to.

We follow Palana to a large tower in the City Centre, and she leads us into an elevator. "Each district has a floor to themselves, naturally," she informs us. "We're on the Ninth floor. District Nine, and all. It's lovely how these things work out..." Nathan and I exchange a glance. "The real training center is in the basement-- every other floor is accommodations for other districts." I look at the elevator control panel while she talks, noticing a button above the one for the highest floor labelled 'Maintenance - Roof Access' and smile to myself. Palana presses the button labelled with our district number, and the elevator shoots upwards.

I wasn't sure what Palana had been on about on our trip here from District Nine when she'd said the Capitol was so much better than the train-- to me, our new temporary home looked almost identical. More of an open layout, obviously, and extra rooms for the stylists and prep teams, but the same ostentatious decor. Nathan and I pick out a room to share, and he leaves for a different bathroom to change in, letting me get out of my costume in the one attached to the room. There are more clothes provided for me, hidden away in drawers, so when I rid myself of any lasting reference to the stupid farmer costume, I slip into a new set off pajamas. 

Quickly, so Addalie and Mark aren't waiting for too long, Nathan and I sneak past Palana, head to the elevator, and hit the Maintenance button I'd seen before. Even in our haste, though, the tributes from Ten had beat us-- Addalie and Mark were waiting patiently, sitting on the ground. They'd ditched the parade outfits too, look much less silly when they weren't dressed like livestock. 

And though we'd had so much big talk about getting started on planning and strategizing, we didn't tonight. Instead, we talked about our families back home. We bonded over how stupid we all thought various aspects of the Capitol were. We talked about our hobbies and interests, our dreams for the future. I liked hearing about their district, and it really did make me feel like I had friends. 

Every time I found feelings of comfort and hope, though, they were quickly stamped out. Three of us would die for certain. I knew that for Nathan to survive (or me, but I still didn't think that was happening), Addalie and Mark had to die specifically. But for now, I tried not to focus on that, and tried to enjoy just having one night of normalcy. And with the new friendships that were being formed, I at least held onto the hope that I wouldn't be the first casualty of the Games.