8. Stick Together and Stick to the Goal

       “Hey, easy with that!” Dan yipped as he picked the stone off the metal floor. He handed it back to me. I grabbed it from him and loaded it into the slingshot again.

            “Sorry,” I grumbled. “I can’t concentrate today.”

            “I’ll say.”

            “I’m tired, okay?” I snapped.

            “So am I, and I bet a few other people in here besides you are too. Don’t make that an excuse; it won’t save your life in the arena.”

If I didn’t know any better, I would say Dan was treating me like he was my mentor. I was honestly fed up with these constant reminders of what I shouldn’t do in the arena, because I’d die if I did any of those things. There was a long list I could make into a short book with.

            I really hadn’t gotten any sleep at all last night, so I wasn’t in perfect form today for day two of training in the Training Center. To top that off, I couldn’t concentrate well enough to where I heard some other tributes pick on me. I had nearly picked a fight with them. If it hadn’t been for Daniel and a few experts to step in, somebody would have gotten hurt—and most likely I would have hurt myself more than my opponent.

            “I think we better take it easy for today,” Dan said softly.

            “No. I have to show I’m not weak,” I said strongly.

            “Bri, you’re exhausted. You’re snippy, you’re not thinking straight today. You should just stick to simpler things.”

            “I don’t want to get yelled at later tonight.”

            “You won’t be. I’ll tell Johanna what’s going on, she’ll understand. Besides, even if she doesn’t, I’ve got your back, and I’m sure Jade will side with you too. Now please, just settle down, okay?” I ignored him. “You need to get a wakeup call, and I think I know just the thing.”

            I don’t see what could make me wake up. I’m in a mood.

            “I doubt anything could wake me up, Dan,” I hissed as I launched the rock. I missed by almost a foot. My jaw clenched. “It’ll make my mood worse if anything. I don’t think you’d want that. I don’t.”

            “You could conquer a fear today,” he suggested as I set down the slingshot. I stared at him. “Try the Ropes Course.”

            “Ha, no way,” I snorted, folding my arms across my chest.

            “Then what are you going to do if you have nowhere to hide from other tributes except for up in a tree, hmm? Either you learn to overcome your height problem now, or you wait until the Games where if you don’t decide quickly enough, you’ll most likely get a spear through your heart.”

            Daniel was being harsh with his words, but as harsh as they were, they were also true. Quick thinking was what would keep me alive, just so long as I got a sufficient amount of sleep to make that possible. Now that I thought about it, what would I really do if I was put into Dan’s scenario? Most likely I would flee in a different direction to throw my pursuers off the trail, but that wouldn’t keep me alive for very long.

            Sometimes Dan was a replacement Johanna. It was like she was with me even in training.

            I sighed irritably. Dan convinced me. I looked up at the menacing course swinging above my head like a demon. It had beckoned me since yesterday to try it out and fail. Well, I guess it was better to actually try it now. I mean, I can at least say I attempted it rather than not have touched it at all. After all, the worst thing that could happen would be getting laughed at by other tributes. I’d already dealt with that.

Wait…scratch that. The worst thing that could happen to me would be to fall off and injure myself.

            “You promise to be below me when I fall?” I asked quietly. Dan grinned, happy with my decision. I certainly wasn’t.

            “I don’t think you’ll fall, Bri. Have some confidence, would you?” he retorted playfully.  Dan had to coax me to the beginning of the Ropes Course because I was still very reluctant about doing it. I was given a leg up and latched onto the ropes. I made the careful trek up to the ceiling. My legs dangled below me, suddenly giving me a lot of weight to steady. My fingers grasped the ropes tightly as if they were my lifeline. I glared up at the ceiling, terrified to look down. Focus on moving forward, I told myself calmly.

            Slowly, I made the journey across the Ropes Course. It seemed like the finish was miles away, and that’s what bothered me. I had to climb across all this? I wasn’t sure I could do that. Daniel might try to help me gain confidence, but it wouldn’t work this time.

I sucked in a breath and pushed forward.

            My eyes strayed downwards a few times, and I instantly snapped them back up. It was hard not to look down when I was so worried about not looking down. However, the longer I was up high and the more I looked down, I began to be less afraid. In fact, being up high gave me an aerial view of the Training Center. It was a better way to see what the other tributes were trying to do, that was for sure.

            I could see the boy who had mocked me yesterday still at the Boxing station. The District 2 female was once again at Archery, accompanied by the District 11 female. They definitely weren’t friendly towards each other; they worked in silence alongside each other. The rest of the Career pack was going at it on the Gauntlet, a daunting obstacle I knew I would never go on. I would rather be up high than on that thing.

 I saw some tributes stop what they were doing to stare at me. Great, unwanted attention. That’s definitely what I want, I thought sarcastically. I was getting kind of comfortable up here until now.

            That kind of distraction was what made me lose my grip. I gave a yelp of shock as I plummeted to the steel cold floor. I collided with it, back first, knocking my head against it good. My vision became blurry, and I heard a few sets of feet come my way. I also heard something else—snickering by what I could tell. Haven’t I gone through enough today?

            I expected to see Daniel’s face first, but instead I saw the District 2 female’s…or two of her anyway. Her eyes were a very dark emerald green, almost black the way I saw them. She reminded me of Aria with her eyes. Her hair was pulled away from her face in a braid, but her bangs were just above her eyes. She couldn’t be any older than thirteen or fourteen. She’s probably here to laugh in my face. Bad place to be, sweetheart, if that’s what you’re going to do.

            “Lost your grip?” she teased. Somehow, I didn’t find her teasing offensive. It almost sounded like she was trying to befriend me. Did I hit my head harder than I thought on the way down?

            “Yeah, and my vision doubled,” I grumbled, putting a hand to my forehead.

            “Let me help.”

            Normally, I would have immediately accepted her help, but my mind reminded me where I was. There was a long pause between us. The girl watched me for approval. She didn’t seem to be trying to trick me in any way.

Slowly, she helped me at least sit up. The room started spinning. I put my head between my knees, eyes closed, inhaling deep breaths. I heard laughter erupt behind me. My muscles tensed and my head snapped up—too quickly. I clutched my head in my hands.

            “Easy there, tiger,” the girl chuckled. “Just relax and get your vision back before you even think about standing up.”

            “I knew that was going to happen.” Where the hell was Dan when I needed him? I told him to be below me in case something like this happened! Whenever my vision returned to normal, I was going to get my answer from that boy.

            The District 2 female looked past my shoulder, her eyes daggers. I didn’t think those eyes could show ferocity. She sighed irritably, shaking her head. I looked at her. She was starting to become one person again—a good sign for my vision.

“What?” I asked her.

            “Nothing,” she growled. “Some people need to learn to act mature for their age.” Her attention went right back to me. “Is your vision any better now?”

            “Yeah.”

            Slowly, she and I got me on my feet. She helped me steady myself. For someone who was younger than me—possibly—she had the height advantage on me by a few inches.

            “Next time, have somebody down below in case this happens again, okay?” she told me.

            “That’s what I tried to tell my partner but he—”

            “Sutton!” barked a voice behind me. My attention wheeled around to the District 2 male.

God, he was beautiful. I knew it was wrong to consider one of my biggest threats in such a manner, but I couldn’t help it. He had wavy brown hair that had a light sheen of sweat trickling on it; his blue eyes were very serious and stern, like those of a Peacekeeper. He looked to be almost a foot taller than me. His build was muscular, but it wasn’t prominent unless you looked at his arm muscles. I saw the District 1 male and female flanked him, all three of them watching the girl—Sutton—and me. “What do you think you’re doing with her? Get back over here!”

            “Ugh, him I swear,” Sutton mumbled under her breath. “If only I had a different district partner…”

            “Sutton!”

            “Back off, Meeka, I’m coming!” she fought back. The District 1 female snickered at Sutton’s shout, her blonde braids quivering from her laughter. I wanted to punch that smirk off her pretty little face. Sutton looked to me. “Just be careful from now on, okay?”

            “I’ll try,” I told her.

            Sutton skulked back to her pack, where all three hounded her. Meeka snorted and walked off with the District 1 male while the District 1 female hovered around Sutton, whispering things in her ear—things most likely about me. If they were bad, Sutton wasn’t listening. If anything, her body language suggested she’d punch the girl if she didn’t back off soon.

I guess it wasn’t just me who found the District 1 female annoying.

            I found Sutton to be very odd. First she looked unhappy when being reaped for the Games, and now she was roaming away from the Career pack and actually helping me. There were some things that went on in these Games that I knew I would never understand.

            “Whoa, what was that?” Dan’s voice piped behind me. I turned on my heel to glare at him evilly. He stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. “What’s that look for?”

            “That was me nearly falling to my death and being helped up by a Career. And this stare that I’m giving you right now is one you definitely deserve. I thought you were near me in case I fell!”

            “I thought you could handle yourself,” he mumbled.

            “You knew I couldn’t, Dan! You knew. You know I haven’t climbed anything in my life.”

            “You looked fine once you were up there.”

            “Where the hell were you?”

            “I was over at the Knives station.”

            “Then let me ask you this: why didn’t you rush to me when I fell, or did you not see or hear it?” I folded my arms across my chest. My foot tapped impatiently on the steel floor that made my back still ache at the moment.

            “That girl came over to help you so I figured you were fine.” He shrugged.

“You’ve got to be joking!” I snarled. That set me off. “What if she hurt me, Dan?”

            “The experts wouldn’t allow that.”

            “What if they weren’t on watch? Were you just going to let me defend myself while I was down on the ground in pain?”

            “She seemed willing to help you up.”

            “What if she didn’t?” I snapped.

            “Look, I’m sorry, okay?”

            “Sorry isn’t good enough.” I turned on my heel again and started walking away from Daniel.

            “Don’t you turn your back on me, Bridget,” he called after me. I shook my head and kept on walking.

I couldn’t believe it for one minute. Dan was with me for everything, just like Ewan was. Now he couldn’t even be my guardian angel should I fall from a great height and possibly plummet to my death.

I never thought I’d hear myself say it, but Daniel was becoming unreliable.

*      *      *

            I ended up sitting by myself when lunch had come around since my anger towards Daniel hadn’t diffused much. He took the hint because he never approached me. Nobody really did approach me, not even Sutton. Of course, she was being kept under watch by her counterpart, Meeka. A few times I saw him give me the dirtiest looks. I highly doubted he and Sutton were dating. But still, they were both Careers, so I bet he wanted to keep the pack strong and not let anyone talk to the other tributes—or in the Careers’ eyes, “outsiders.”

Speaking of the Careers, I knew they all saw me as a weak link. They all talked about me; though I didn’t think Sutton would now. Normally Careers never associated with anyone but each other. Sutton was different from the other Careers. An ally to me? Maybe so, but I wasn’t putting much faith into that thought. Appearances could be deceiving. For all I knew, she could befriend me now and stab me in the back—literally—in the arena when she felt the time was right.

            When lunch had been dealt with, I flew solo. I channeled my anger in the Boxing station. I actually got a lot of good hits, and not one hit me. I felt triumphant. Rage was what fueled me. Even the boy who tormented me yesterday looked impressed by my effort.

I was never a fighter, but if there was ever a time to become one, preparing for the Hunger Games was an excellent time to do so.

            When the Training Center was closed for the night, Daniel and I rode in the same elevator in silence. I never bothered to look at him. He never once tried to strike up conversation with me. Smart move on his part, because I’d find something else to shout at him for.

            I entered the threshold of our room. Jade swiveled her head around and leapt from the couch as she saw us enter. She looked so peppy; I wished I could steal some of that from her.

            “How did the second day of training go?” she asked. Neither Daniel nor I answered her. I went straight to my room and shut the door. “What’s wrong with her?”

            “It’s been a rough day for us both,” Dan said tiredly. You didn’t get hurt, I wanted to shout.

            “Do you want dinner?”

            “Might as well. Where’s Johanna?”

            “She’ll be along soon. I’ll get Bridget and see if she wants to eat.”

            “I’m not hungry,” I yelled.

            “Oh, never mind then.”

            I sat on my bed, wanting this to end. My muscles ached, and my soul felt no happiness. It was as if darkness came and sucked the life right out of me. All that I was now was just angry, like Johanna. Is this what the Hunger Games did to tributes like me? Did it suck away their happiness and break their friendships apart if their district partner was their childhood friend?

            The hours passed painfully. I could hear all that happened on the other side of my door. I had changed for bed when night came, but I still never came out of my bedroom. I opened the windows of my bedroom, walking out to the small balcony my room had. The small pang of homesickness welled within me once again.

This wasn’t District 7. This wasn’t where I belonged.

            I missed Dad and Troy, and Mom even though she’d already been gone a year. I wanted their comfort, I wanted to feel safe. Hell, I would be okay if Ewan came here to comfort me. I just wanted someone who reminded me of District 7. I would have wanted Dan to come into my room but with how edgy our relationship was now, it wouldn’t help me. Anyway, he didn’t resemble home anymore, because he was where I was: in hell.

            My door slid open, but I didn’t turn to see who it was. I focused on the noises of the Capitol in its festive, up-beat mood. This wouldn’t continue next year, because the Hunger Games would cease to exist. It’s sad, really, that it took almost a century for someone to finally pluck up the courage to end the Games.

            “You better leave now, because I’m going to bed. I don’t take too well to people watching me sleep,” I threatened, still not turning around.

            “Oh, so you’re actually speaking to me now.”

I should have known it was Daniel. I would never expect Johanna to come see what the matter was. I did expect Jade to, but she probably didn’t want to risk getting her eyes clawed out by my fury.

            “Get out of my room.” I put a lot of malice into my tone.

            “Not until we settle the issue.” Dan didn’t hesitate to sound stubborn. I heard him walk closer to me. “Look, I’ve been thinking about this all day—and I think…you overreacted.”

            I chuckled darkly. That’s what he thought, huh? Put the blame on me for the fight, huh? I thought best friends didn’t do that.

            “I overreacted?” I snickered. I turned around to lean against the railing of the balcony now. “Wouldn’t you have done the same if I wasn’t there for you?”

            “Probably.”

            “Exactly, so it was a natural reaction.”

            “But still, Bridget,” Dan said calmly, “you need to learn that once we’re in the arena, I might not always be around to catch you when you fall, or heal you when you’re sick, or even defend you from the enemy because you’re too hurt to do it yourself. I think you’re becoming too dependent on me when it comes to that. I know you want to feel safe, but you won’t feel that way in the arena—and neither will I. We’ve got to start being uncomfortable, it’s the only way we might survive just a little bit longer in the Games.”

             “I thought you were right there to catch me, though.” I sounded more hurt than angry.

            “I know, and I should have known better to think you were fine up there when you really weren’t.” Dan had closed the gap between us and hovered over me. I didn’t shoo him away or try to use violence and run him out of the room. “We’re both at fault, really. I wasn’t there for you when you needed me, and you overreacted.”

            All the tension in me melted away. I couldn’t believe I was so stupid and reacted how I did towards him. That was no way to treat my best friend; it was like I was hurting family.

            “I think these Games are more brutal mentally than physically, and it’s before we’re even in the arena,” I joked.

            “Just think, two more days of being in the Training Center, and then we’ve got a while before the interviews.”

            “And then it’s show time for us and for all of Panem to see. Twenty-four children go into the arena, one comes out alive,” I said bluntly. I collapsed into Dan’s arms, and he held me. It was funny how earlier today I had yelled at him, and now here I was in his arms, feeling worn out in every way possible. “Do we have any plan as to how we’re going to convince the Gamemakers to let two tributes live?” I looked up at him. Dan looked at me with tired, sad eyes.

            “Like I told you before, the only option is what Katniss and Peeta did throughout the Seventy-fourth and Seventy-fifth Hunger Games.” He shrugged. “But since we clearly can’t do that, we’ve got no other option but to show them how much we mean to each other—in a non-relationship kind of way and hope that they’ll see we can’t deal with losing each other.”

            “They won’t care about a friendship, Dan. People nowadays fall for the star-crossed lovers and all that crap.” I sighed. “I still think that’s what people are seeing us as every since we joined hands in the opening ceremonies. I mean I would try to play that part, being a star-crossed lover, but it would seem wrong to me—only because it would feel awkward to me.”

            “I can say the same.” Something about Daniel’s voice told me he was just agreeing with me so I’d feel better.

I got the feeling that he was for trying the whole relationship deal between us. Was there something I wasn’t picking up from him? Usually I could read Daniel and Ewan well, know what’s on their minds, know when something’s wrong, etc. Two days could really wreck me if I lost the ability to read Dan’s face and know what’s going on.

            “Do you think Jade and Johanna still think we’re not talking?” I whispered.

            “Nah, they’d know we’d patch things up tonight when they see us tomorrow.” Dan yawned. “Besides, Johanna suggested I talk to you—and I kind of wanted to anyway.”

            “Oh she actually wants us to stay together? She must still think we’re dating.” I giggled tiredly.

            “Nah, I think it’s because she wants us to stick together.” He yawned again.

            “You should really go to bed,” I told him.

            “Nah, I’m fine.”

            “Dan,” I whined, “please go to bed. If we do now, we might get sleep tonight.”

            “Ha, I doubt that. But maybe you’re right.”

            “Go to bed,” I pushed.

            He chuckled. “Goodnight.”

            “’Night,” I said as I escorted him to the door. I shut the windows and locked them before sliding into bed.

            I tried snuggling into my pillow, but it didn’t feel as comfortable as I wanted it to feel. It still felt foreign, but I knew I would adjust. After all, I had about a week and a half still on this floor. I had to get used to it now while I could, because I knew I would be anything but comfortable as soon as the gong rang, announcing the start of the 95th—and final—Hunger Games.