Hunger Games OCT--Training 3/4

Reed woke up screaming into his pillow. It had just been Andrianne—her, alone in the arena. Bleeding out, dying, crying for help, but all he could do was sit and watch. No one came when he screamed—he wasn’t sure if anyone had actually heard him or he had just imagined it.

Over breakfast, Rene gave Reed a solid look while eating his eggs, “You need to focus on fighting skills. While survival skills will help you, if it comes down to a duel to the death, if you can’t fight it’s a death sentence. Can you fight?”

Reed poked at a cinnamon bun. “I can throw a punch.”

“Hand-to-hand combat then. Make sure to visit that station today.”

The rest of the meal continued in silence. Reed didn’t even have the heart to try and talk to the escort, before he finally made his way downstairs.

Reed had walked into a massive ordeal of drama. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he was tired, still kind of weepy, and didn’t want to deal with any of the tributes right now. He wasn’t even sure where to start, so he stood in the doorway, watching, looking for familiar faces. The Careers were up to something, some people were hugging, and he was just generally confused. He hoped no one would notice him as he tried to pick a station.

Then, Ash walked over to him. He looked a bit down himself, but he asked with a small smile, “Hey, um…Reed, right? How’re you doing on this fine day in the Capitol?”

Reed frowned a bit more at Ash, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Hello, Ash. I’m…I’ve been better. How are you?” His attempt at conversation sounded just as lame aloud as it did inside his head, but it was all he had to offer. “I’ve apparently missed a lot…?” He asked, staring at the tributes who were currently conversing. “And I have no idea where to go.” He flinched when Skunk head threw a spear into the dummy’s head.

“I understand,” he said with a nod. It was almost sympathetic,  and it caused Reed to smile weakly. “And…I don’t think you’ve missed anything. Everyone just seems to be milling around, unproductive today.” He shrugged, and patted Reed’s shoulder, much to Reed’s surprise. “No idea what you want to do yet? Well…I don’t really know how to help with that problem, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You can just…take a moment if you need it, though.” His voice lowered a little as he added, “You look kinda upset, if you don’t mind me saying.”

Reed turned a light pink. “I-Is it that obvious? Oh gosh.” He was really embarrassed now, and brushed his hair behind his ear. “I-It’s just…nightmares? I’m so sick of the nightmares,” he murmured quietly. Then he waved his hand.  “Sorry, I’m just missing home. If I’ve got my dates straight, it’s my girlfriend’s birthday today.” With a guilty look, he stared at the ground. “But you probably don’t want to hear about my problems. I-I’m sorry. How are you?”

A faint smile returned on Ash’s face. “Nightmares? Yeah, well…I think most of us are dreading what’s to come, so…you’re not alone or anything. I know I am,” the boy admitted. He reached towards something near his neck—Reed figured he had a keepsake underneath his shirt, and he added with a small nod. “I hope she has a happy birthday. I have a girlfriend back home, too. I know how hard it is.” Then he looked about the training room, and shrugged. “I think I’m all right. Tired and a little overwhelmed, maybe. Missing home and my girlfriend, too. I guess we have quite a bit in common in that aspect.” He glanced back at Reed. “And I don’t mind if you confide in me, I just don’t know how good of a friend I’ll be.”

Reed understood what Ash meant—they would be trying to kill each other soon, in the arena.  “Thank you.”

“Today’s her birthday? That’s so sad to hear.”

Reed jumped and gave a startled cry as a hand rested on his arm. A breath caught in his throat and he began to cough, his legs crumpling from underneath him. Still high strung from his nightmare, he found himself sinking to the ground as the girl continued talking, something about telling Andrianne how much he cared. He instead tried to focus on steadying his breathing, refusing to blank out, grabbing blindly for support from anything, anyone. “Wh-where—where the hell did you come from?” he whispered hoarsely, finally managing to look at the girl. It was the little girl from District 12, he realized, the one who had managed to piss off the Careers. “Oh, hello.”

“A-Are you okay? O-Oh god, I didn’t do anything, did I?” Ash grabbed Reed’s hand and pulled him back up quickly, resting his other hand on Reed’s shoulder. The little girl helped Reed stand, too. “It’s okay, Ashton,” Ash said quickly. “You all right, Reed? Come on. We can sit down, if you need it.”

“N-No, no, I’m fine,” Reed said, turning even brighter red, but his legs were still wobbly. “Y-You just gave me a fright, that’s all. I-I’m okay, I swear. W-we don’t need to sit down. I’m okay.” He cleared his throat and stepped away from both of them. “I-I’m sorry.” His breathing was turning more regular, and he finally calmed down. “Um…Ashton, right? Nice to meet you.”

“I’m really, really sorry,” the girl repeated in a small voice. “I’m sorry.”

He let go of Ash’s hand. “Sorry. I-I…shock isn’t very healthy for me, apparently. I’ll just wind up fainting again at this rate.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure. I…hope you don’t faint. Seems pretty dangerous problem to have.” He rubbed the back of his head and smiled at Ashton, adding, “Not your fault, didn’t know.”
Reed casted Ash a sideways glance. “It’s never been a problem before, honestly. I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about it, Ashton. I just need to be more aware of my surroundings, I suppose. I just don’t need it happening in the arena.” He gave Ashton a pat on the head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. Very nice of you two to be concerned, actually. It’s nice to have someone to talk to for once besides the district mate and the team.”
“Well…let’s not hope it doesn’t happen then, huh?” Ashton asked, her cheeks turning a little bit pink. Reed smiled at her as Ash folded his arms across his chest.

“Ah, well, I hope it’s not a problem for you later on, either,” he said. “Being aware of your surroundings out there is pretty much the only way to survive.” Then he nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it’s nice to meet someone else.” He glanced at Ashton. “I’m sure he’ll be fine now.”

“That’s right, I’m perfectly fine,” Reed said. “And if you two don’t mind, I’m going to go over to the hand to hand combat station. I can’t do a lot of things, but I can throw a decent punch when I’m not ready to keel over in a faint. Thank you, both of you, and I hope your training goes well.” He adjusted his shirt, brushed his hair back, and tried to stride as dignified as he could to the station, and focused on it for the rest of the day.
It was difficult, the hand to hand combat stage. While Reed indeed could throw a decent punch, there was much more to hand to hand combat. There was tackling, kicking your feet out from under the opponent, but Reed found that his reach was incredibly helpful when it came to going for the eyes. His long fingers seemed to be ideal for going for the eye sockets. If he had a few sharp needles tied to his fingers, Reed figured by the end of the day, he could easily blind an opponent if he got close enough.

“It’s a good plan,” the trainer finally said when Reed asked about it. “Messy, but a good plan.”