Trust Me

The next day was our last day before the Games. People were training furiously now, especially people who had a low score and wanted to prove that they were better than their stats. Now that I had nothing to hide, I spent most of my time sparring with some of the assistants. I was trying to improve in any areas I might be lacking. I noticed Jill working on the survival stations, and how she flew right through all of them. She started a fire within minutes, knew which plants were poisonous at first glance, and could tie any knot within seconds.

Kip, on the other hand, was almost completely useless without his trident. He tried to use the spear, but he wasn’t used to the significantly lighter weight. He would throw it like his trident, which was much heavier, and as a result he’d overshoot every single thing. I could see Terra trying not to laugh at him every time he missed a dummy by a mile, and I almost felt bad for him.

At lunch, I ate in the cafeteria for the first – and last – time since I’d gotten to the Capitol. Terra and Parq sat with me, chatting away over who to watch out for. Obviously Adri was at the top of the list, followed closely by Ingrid and the boy from 10 – Tam was his name – who’d shown remarkable skill with a sword.

“Do you think we should let Kip in on the alliance?” Terra asked me suddenly. I’d been listening to their conversation but had barely contributed.

“He’s completely useless.” Parq scoffed.

“But he’s from her District.” Terra pressed, shooting Parq a dirty look. I wondered if they thought I’d turn on them if they didn’t include Kip in the alliance.

“Parq’s right. He could kill a mouse from 50 feet away with his eyes closed if you gave him a trident, but without it he can’t do anything. But on the off chance that they include a trident in the Games, he’ll be very valuable. If not, he’ll just be dead weight.” I mused aloud.

“I say he’s useless.” Parq repeated.

“He’s not even appealing to sponsors. With such a low score, he’s really only well-known because he came from your District. He’s lost in your shadow. The only people who know him, know him because he’s got terrible statistics.” Terra added.

I sighed. “If we turn him down and there’s a trident, he could kill any one of us easily. A trident is too heavy to deflect with anything, it’d go through most armor, even. If we’re within range, we’re dead. It’s a big risk.”

“We could accept him into the alliance now, and kill him if he proves to be really useless.” Parq suggested.

A smile spread across Terra’s face. “I like that idea. It works both ways.”

I suddenly felt queasy. “Yeah. We’ll do that,” I agreed. Strategically it was the best move, but I didn’t know if I could kill Kip. If he was in our alliance, and one of my allies killed him, nobody in my District would forgive me. Kip was well-known and well-liked in our neighborhood.

“So that sets our Career alliance.” Terra announced with a smile.

“What about Jill? The girl from 7?” I blurted out. I’d meant to introduce the idea a little more subtly, but it had just spilled out.

“Why would we want her? She’s no good with any of the weapons,” Parq pointed out with a grimace.

“She’s really good with survival stuff. She can make a fire in minutes and figure out what’s poisonous in seconds. Because the Game makers know we’re good with weapons, they’ll try to kill us through natural causes, like freezing or poisoning us.” I said. I had no idea if that last part was true, but it seemed plausible enough that Terra and Parq would buy it.

Terra crinkled her nose, thinking it over for a moment, before nodding. “Fine. But if she becomes dead weight, she’s gone too. Just like Kip.”

Parq smiled. “You can kill 7. I call dibs on killing Kip.” He said with a laugh.

“Deal.” Terra said, and they shook hands to seal their promise.

“I’m going to go tell Jill.” I said, shooting up out of my seat. I’d forgotten how eager Careers were to kill. I’d seen their ferocity in the Games, but I’d never heard it up close. It made me feel very uneasy.

I took a seat next to Jill, who was sitting by herself in the corner. The male from 7, who had been sitting with her earlier, was at the counter getting another helping of food, and I seized the opportunity. “I was talking to the others, and we all think it’d be a good idea if you joined our alliance.” I said.

Jill gave me a funny look. “Why?” She asked suspiciously.

“Because you’re amazing with the survival stations, and we really need that.” I explained.

She cocked her head thoughtfully, mulling it over. “Promise you’re not just trying to gain my trust so you can kill me later?”

I paused. “Well, at the end of the game, we’ll all have to kill one another. But I swear I won’t do that unless it’s down to just the two of us.” I said.

Jill seemed to accept that. “Okay. I’ll take your word for it, 4.” She said simply.

The boy from 7 returned with another helping of food, and I quickly stood and got out of his seat, leaving them both to finish their lunch.

I trained hard the rest of the night, right until I was called up for dinner, and even then Georgina almost had to have someone drag me out of the arena.

I looked down at the plate of food that had been laid out for dinner. “The last supper,” I joked.

Finnick shot me a dark look. “Don’t say that.”

“Fine. The last civilized supper for the next week, at least. Starting tomorrow, eating a squirrel will be considered a delicacy.” I said, not wanting to make Finnick angry again.

Kip gave me a nervous look. “Did they accept me into the alliance?” He asked. Terra and Parq had asked me if I could tell Kip about the alliance. They didn’t seem to like him very much, and I had a feeling it was because he wasn’t very good with weapons. To them, anyone who wasn’t as good as a Career should be was a disgrace.

I took a bite of whatever meat was on my plate. “Can you pass the bread, please?” I asked.

Kip practically leapt at my command, as though doing what I asked might help guarantee his place in the alliance. “Here,” he said, taking the bread from the dish and putting it on my plate for me. I heard Finnick start to laugh, but he tried to disguise it as a cough.

I took a bite of the bread, chewing it slowly and avoiding eye contact with Kip before I gulped down the mouthful. “Yeah, you’re in.” I said finally.

Kip let out a loud sigh of relief and collapsed back in his chair. “Oh, thank God.” He said under his breath. “I’m so sorry about what I said to you that day of the Reaping. I was just nervous.”

“Isn’t it funny how it’s completely the opposite of what you’d thought it was going to be?” I said suddenly. Now was my chance to get everything off my chest.

“What?” Kip asked, frowning.

Finnick cut in. “You know, I don’t think I ever found out what you said to her on the day of the Reaping.” He said to Kip, and I could see his jaw clench as he gave Kip a glare.

“Oh, I don’t really remember.” Kip said abruptly, looking down at his food.

“Oh, sure you do. Here, I’ll remind you.” I cleared my throat. “You said that the only bonds you planned on forming were alliances, and you didn’t think I was the best choice for an ally. You also said that I was weak and I would just slow you down, and you didn’t want to feel obligated to protect me.” I said, giving him a falsely sweet smile, but I could feel the anger rising up in me as I remembered his words.

Finnick burst out laughing. “Oh, the irony kills me. You do realize you’d be screwed without this girl, right?” He said.

Georgina cleared her throat. “Excuse me, but I don’t think this is a good way for us to spend our last night together.”

“I think it is. I mean, I’ll be seeing Winnie again in a few days, so I figure we should have a good enough laugh to last us a week or so.” Finnick said coolly, staring Kip down.

Kip stood up and threw his fork down on his plate. “I’m full.” He said, before whirling out of the room.

“Do you see what you’ve done? How could you have more faith in one of your tributes than the other?” Georgina snapped.

“He’s the one who didn’t want to work with me, Georgina. And you know Winnie’s got a better chance at being the victor.” Finnick said.

Georgina didn’t say anything; she just continued to eat in stony silence. Finnick looked up at me and gave me a grin and a thumbs up, and I returned both.