Status: back with a facelift | previously title take your aim

Kiss of Death

Chapter Seven

When Scout awoke the next morning, her body was warm and sweat pooled around her face. Even while sleeping, her body seemed to be aware of the training that would begin that day, even if her mind did not. Her hands were shaky, making it difficult to pull off her blanket.

Even though she had showered that night, and was sure to get even sweatier during training, Scout decided that a quick shower was the best way to calm her nerves.

The warm water falling around her reminded her of the warmth she felt when Ash wrapped his arms around her. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to be back at home.

Scout reluctantly stepped out of the shower and got dressed, pulling on the training outfit that had been laid across her bed. She stepped out of her room and into the hallway. As she made her way to the dining area, she could hear the sound of Geneva’s soft laughter.

“There you are,” Geneva said, as Scout entered the room.

“Good morning, everyone.” Scout took her seat next to Reed, taking a sip of the orange juice in front of her. She grabbed a muffin, but when she moved it to her mouth to take a bite, she felt her stomach turning inside of her. She quickly set it back down.

Adler looked at Scout, a soft smile on his face. “Listen, I know you don’t feel well, but you need to eat something or you’ll make yourself even sicker.”

Scout nodded, taking a deep breath, and forced the muffin into her mouth. Next to her, Reed was shoveling food down his throat as fast as he could get it.

When she looked at him, he looked back at her and attempted to smile, even though his mouth was full of food.

“So, what’s the plan?” Scout asked, nibbling at her muffin.

“For you,” Alder said, “I say lay low. You’re small. You’re not a threat. Your best bet is to stay down, and don’t draw attention to yourself.”

Alder moved his gaze to Reed, looking him up and down. “Now, you’re a different story. You’ve already marked yourself by saying you’re a career. The other tributes are going to be expecting a lot from you, and since laying low isn’t an option, you’re going to have to show them what you’ve got. Prove to them that you’re a threat, and you’ve got the gall to win.”

Scout looked over at Reed, whose eyes were on Alder, despite the fact that he was shoveling food into his mouth. She realized for the first time how similar Reed looked to the careers. He was tall and strong. His muscles had grown from the time he’d spent with his axe. He really was the perfect candidate for the games.

“You should head to the training arena now,” Geneva said, a large grin on her face. “It’s better to be early than late!”

Scout nodded, as the rest of the group stood up from the table. Scout moved her gaze to Kari, who had yet to speak that morning. The woman’s short hair was pulled back in a ponytail and it moved back and forth as she walked. She kept her gaze forward, walking straight and proper.

Scout followed behind Kari, with Reed and Alder behind her. Reed had his arms straight at his sides, while Scout’s were folded tightly across her chest.

In the short walk from their quarters to the training arena, Scout’s nerves had doubled. Her palms were sweatier than they’d been on the day of the Reaping, and she could feel her heart pounding in her throat.

Next to her, Reed stood straight, his shoulders back and chest out. A door opened in front of them, and Alder waved them forward. Scout and Reed stepped through the door, while Alder and Kari stayed behind.

Inside the room, each of the districts' tributes stood in a circle, surrounding a tall, thin woman, who Scout knew to be Atala, the training coach. Reed and Scout stepped slowly towards the group, going unnoticed.

Atala told the tributes of the very few rules the training arena had, reciting them strictly from memory.

“There is no fighting,” Atala said, eyeing the tributes from Districts 1 and 2. “There’s enough time for that in the games. You have two days, so there’s enough time to visit each of the stations, and I suggest you focus on the survival skills. The elements can kill just easily as a tribute. Good luck to each of you.”

Atala stepped to the side, leaving the tributes to visit the various different stations. The group looked around the room for a moment, before each of them stepped away.

“Where would you like to go first?” Reed asked, looking down at Scout.

Scout shook her head. “I don’t care. I suppose we could split up. We’d cover more ground that way.”

Reed cocked his head to the side, eyeing her up and down. “I guess so. I’ll go practice with the knives and you can work on some survival skills.”

Scout nodded her head, as Reed stepped away from her and to the opposite end of the training room. Scout looked around at the other tributes, who were each testing their skills at different stations. She suddenly regretted telling Reed they should separate. The room was a lot more intimidating without him.

In the corner of the room was a makeshift forest. The station was empty, so Scout moved towards it. She looked around at the moss, leaves, and wood piled together. Unsure of what to do with the items, she stacked them together in an orderly fashion.

After throwing the moss on top of the wood, Scout realized she was supposed to be making a fire. Though she had no idea how to build a fire without a match, she had seen Ash do it once or twice. She grabbed two rocks lying next to her and rubbed them together, attempting to create a spark the same way Ash had.

Several minutes of trying yielded no fire, and she gave up, throwing the rocks on the ground. A laugh came from above her head and she looked up, finding Reed standing in front of her. He looked down at her, a soft smile on his face.

“I guess survival skills aren’t your strong suit,” Reed said, mashing the rocks together. He created a fire in one quick flick of his hands.

Scout rolled her eyes, before blowing out the fire with her breath.

“How did you do that?” she asked, pulling the rocks from his hands.

Reed placed his hands on top of hers and pushed the rocks together with the same quick motion he had used before.

“It’s all in the wrists.”

The fire lit again, just as quickly as it had before. Scout looked down at the fire, a small pout on her face.

Reed gave a soft laugh. “Maybe it’ll be warm and we won’t need a fire. Then my skill will be totally useless and you’ll be back on top.”

Scout looked up at him, a faint smile on her lips. “I doubt that.”

Reed stood up, reaching his hand out to Scout. She grabbed onto it and stood up with him. Their attention was turned to the laughter coming from the other side of the room.

Across the way, the tributes from District 1 and 2 were standing in a small circle, tossing knives between them. As they threw the knives, catching them at the handles, they looked around the room, eyeing their competition, and picking out their prey.
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