Chapter 21: Ripple

          Tyler absentmindedly bit his thumb as the elevator doors closed and we started to descend. He and I were dressed in similar District 4 jumpsuits. My slim training suit was too short for my long limbs so it was rolled up at the wrists and ankles. I uncomfortably curled and uncurled my toes in the shoes that I laced much too tightly, pinpricks starting. My feet were used to cool underwater sand and sun-worn wooden planks, not cushioned and scientifically perfected soles. The doors slid open with an almost breath-like whoosh and clean cold air rushed into my lungs. I merged in along the tributes, turning my body carefully so I could cross without causing a ripple in the atmosphere. The sleek blackness of my suit made me feel like an elusive sea creature.

         I found my way to the wall by a vacant station and bent down to flick my hair into a high ponytail that I tied with a piece of string around my wrist. When I looked up, I realized that I wasn't alone. She was a girl that didn't come off as striking at first, but once I noticed her, I was immediately fascinated. Her cheeks were sunken in and her eyes were filled with hate that seemed to go far beyond her existence. Except there was an inextinguishable life that drew me closer. She was haunting. I drew in a breath as I caught sight of her District 13 tag. The swelling whispers in the room showed that she had caught everyone else's interest, too. I hadn't even realized that I walked over to her until she looked up at me with her clear blue eyes. 

         "If you camouflage that 13, the stares might stop." I said, reaching up to tighten my ponytail.
"Doesn't really bug me." she shrugged, going back to painting a shield. The face of a man was emerging as she continued to paint, the rough skin, the windswept hair, the eyes as clear as hers. I sat down a few feet away from her and drew my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them.
          "I'm Basil. District 4." I watched her carefully paint the face of a man I assumed was her father. They shared their clear blue eyes filled with life and determination.
          "I know." she said shortly, her eyes never leaving the shield she was painting. "You and that boy from your district, you care about each other, don't you?"
          "Tyler." my eyes flitted to him across the room. He was unsuccessfully starting a fire. "And yeah...he's helped me through a lot."
          "I understand." Her reply lacked a clear emotion, but consisted more of severe clashing in her voice. There was a long pause before she looked at me. "Make sure to visit the snare building station. It'll be a real help in the arena.
          "Thanks."
           She went back to being silent, cautiously glancing at the gamemakers several times before turning to me.
           "Listen," she whispered, continuing to watch the gamemakers carefully. "I'm looking for allies in the arena. I want to stand up to the Capitol, band most all if not all the tributes together. You in?"
           I pressed my lips together hard and let her words sink in. My eyes flickered to Tyler and I subconsciously willed for him to come over here. "Uhm..." I was on the edge, not quite sure of what to say. She must have caught my glance towards Tyler, because she cut in. "I'll take an answer tomorrow. I've got a whole slew of tributes to tell." With that, she stood up and walked over to another station.
           Uncurling from my crouch, I began to cross the room to Tyler. I thought about how I would approach him with this idea. My persuasive skills aren't very polished, while his are, so I don't want him to dissuade me. He's sensible and level-headed, but I can sense the potential in things. I can make a tunic out of a length of string and a piece of canvas, and use the leftovers to make a pack to sling across my back. I'll gather a few handfuls of thin silver fish, crab meat, conch meat, and seaweed, and make a delicious stir-fry to feed ten. I just like to make the most of my resources.
            "Tyler." I grabbed his wrist and pulled him behind a thin hybrid metal divider. I knew that we didn't have much time before our absence would be suspicious, so I spoke in a hushed yet hurried voice. "So, Thirteen has this idea. An alliance against the capitol. You in?" The words tumbled out, one after the other, the idea not coming out the way I had planned. He wrinkled his forehead thinking it over.
             "It's risky. But there's nothing to lose." I heard the yes in his voice and couldn't help but grin. With a hollow metallic sound, the poly-metal was split by a black curved blade. The metal around it quickly mended itself, the tip slowly drawing back into the metal and dropping to the floor on the other side with an ominous ring. We were on the other side of a knife target.
             "Speaking of risky..." I said under my breath, towing a suddenly pale Tyler away, just as another blade hit the metal. Long after the session ended, and I was tucked in the fresh sheets of my room, I could still hear the ringing of weapon against target. 

Chapter 20: Moments (Loueh)

          I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair after setting my axe down to take a swig from my water bottle. With a confident smirk on my face, I stood at a point where I could see everything and everyone in the room. In my head, I took notes on every tribute that I saw. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the District Two male who boldly acted as if he had already won. He was tall and muscular, but his ego took up more space in the room than he did physically. He was very healthy and he had a very defined jaw-line but I personally didn't find him attractive. His grey-green eyes filled with intensity and his behavior proved everything I assumed about him. Also, his tight black training outfit looked awkward stretched across his bulging muscles.
          The District 13 girl with pale, freckled skin and jutting cheekbones didn't have anything very exciting about her looks but she was the who everyone's eyes were on today. Something about her was interesting enough to make me pause my surveying and study her.
          My eyes kept flicking to a black-haired boy with a district number that I couldn't quite make out from across the room. He kept to himself and he had a permanent serious expression on his face. I could see in his pale grey eyes that he was thinking of something or someone else. He radiated an honesty and likableness that drew me in. He looked a little introverted so I planned how to talk to him as I took a final sip of my water before capping it.
          A thin girl with smooth delicate movements was tying her long blonde hair into a ponytail with a thin piece of rope. Her face was thin and her body was all bones but there was a softness in her eyes that spread through her whole being. Her long limbs didn't look awkward, but instead, liquid. The Capitol part of me wanted to scout her as a model because of her graceful movements. The reality of the situation rudely interrupted me as a knife flung through the air by my face, sinking into a dummy's skull. This wasn't the Capitol anymore. This wasn't even District 8. Each inch brings us closer to our deaths, and we're just a mess of moments that will be gone with our last breaths.