The Reckless And The Brave - Chapter 5
Pairing: Jalex, Riassadee, slight Rydon.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Each year, the Capitol of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to fight to the death on national TV - until Alex Gaskarth, of District 11, and Jack Barakat, of District 7, change everything.
Warning: Character death.
Disclaimer: Fictional. Title credit to All Time Low. Based on The Hunger Games.
Masterpost
Over the course of their next few days of training, Alex and Jack meet during breaks and listen to the taller boy's iPod. Alex has always loved music, and Jack's music helps the chestnut-haired boy escape the Tribute Tower for a few minutes every day. Every so often they exchange conversation, but Alex is careful not to say anything that might leave him vulnerable.
Then there are the sparks that now flood his veins every time his eyes connect with Jack's. I'm into girls. And yet, he has a growing crush on a boy. What if they find out? We'll both be executed.
The Careers are still bullying the rest of the tributes. Now, the guy from District 5 - eighteen, scruffy, smoky black hair, blue eyes - has joined their group. The day before the final test, when Alex beats him to the top of the rock-climbing wall, 5 scowls at him on their way down.
"Consider yourself lucky this time, 11." Then he slaps him on the side of his face.
Alex restrains himself. 5 could definitely kick his ass.
At the weight-lifting station, while Jack struggles to lift even the 10-pound dumbbells, Jonathan sets down the 50-pounders to do a whining impression of his attempts.
"Stop mocking me, 2." Jack puts down the dumbbells.
"Not my fault, dude. You're so skinny you don't even exist - "
"Shut up."
" - you're, like, a complete nonentity."
"That's a big word for someone with such a small dick."
Jonathan shoves Jack, and the taller boy jumps on him, his bony fist colliding with the Career's smug smirk. They fall, fists flying.
Suddenly, a whistle screams, and a group of Gamemakers and instructors descend on them. "Hey, hey, break it up!" McCoy shouts, pulling Jack off Jonathan.
As the Gamemakers walk away, the shorter boy stares directly into Jack's eyes and slashes his finger across his throat.
The close-combat station has a rack with assorted weapons and protective gear - padded helmets and breastplates - sized extra-small to extra-large. There's a white ring, about ten feet in diameter, painted on the floor.
"OK. This is the final test," McCoy announces. "Combat." He's holding a small glass bowl, similar to the ones at the reaping, filled with slips of paper. "So here's how it's gonna work. I'm gonna randomly pick two of you at a time, and you either try to push your opponent out of the ring or hit them in the middle of the target on your gear. Just like the last test, it's gonna be timed." The timers are set at zero. "Everybody got it?"
Everyone nods.
"All right." McCoy picks two slips from the bowl and unfolds them.
"Taylor Jardine and Cassadee Pope."
Tay and the brown-haired girl from District 12 put on their gear - shiny and black, like stag-beetle shells, with a red target on the breastplate. Tay chooses a slightly longer sword than Cassadee.
"OK, now shake hands." They do.
"Ready ... set ... go." McCoy presses a button, and the timers start.
For someone so small, Tay is not only surprisingly strong and fast, but determined. Within a minute and ten seconds, however, Cass hits the smaller girl's target.
Jonathan Cook vs. Zachary Merrick.
The fight is over almost instantly. Jonathan charges, sword held high, at the boy from District 4, but he just picks up the dark-haired boy by his shoulders, like he weighs nothing, and throws him out of the ring. There's a dull thud as he lands about five feet clear of the circle.
"You OK?" asks 5 as Jonathan sullenly rejoins the group of Careers.
"Shut the fuck up."
John O'Callaghan vs. Robert Dawson.
District 12's boy tribute holds a hammer that would have looked comically oversized in anyone else's hands. He's just as solid as his weapon, standing his ground under the relentless assault of the boy from 1.
One minute, fifty-eight seconds. John finally slips through a rare hole in 12's defense, almost impaling him with his sword.
Sierra Kusterbeck vs. Travis Clark.
The girl from 2 dodges fluidly around the redhead from 9 and touches the point of her dagger to his chest from behind.
Seven seconds.
By the time the second-to-last pair is chosen, neither Alex's nor Jack's name has been called. They're going to go up against each other. And then it hits him - Alex has a crush on his possible killer.
McCoy unfolds the two remaining names. "And that leaves us with Jack Barakat and Alexander Gaskarth."
They choose their weapons, put on their padding, meet in the middle of the circle, shake hands.
"Ready ... set ... go."
Alex aims for the target on Jack's chest. Jack's sword clangs almost too loudly against Alex's when he blocks it hurriedly, struggles to repulse it. There's a charged pause of a few seconds before the shorter boy pushes the taller one's blade to the left. Jack takes another swing at Alex.
He's wide open. Alex hits the center of Jack's target.
Seventeen seconds.
He sleeps late that night and wakes up the following morning from a dream that leaves his skin tingling.
He and Tay are scheduled for evaluation at three o'clock that afternoon. They're going to be rated from 1 to 10; the higher the score, the better.
Alex sits in the small room in front of the Training Center, on the black-leather-cushioned bench to the right of the automatic doors. "How'd you do?" he asks as Tay returns from her evaluation.
"I dunno." A few minutes later, a neon-white light blazes overhead. It's his turn.
The doors slide open, revealing a startlingly transformed Training Center.
An obstacle course.
He puts on his padding, then selects the sword - thin, supple, but strong - that fits best in his hand.
"You ready?" McCoy looks down at him from the balcony, one black forefinger hovering over the button to start the timer. Alex nods and stands behind the starting line.
"OK. Ready ... set ..."
The finger drops.
" ... go."
He bolts over an artificial grassy hill, piercing the red heart of a black dummy, then over a series of platforms, ducking and jumping and twisting to avoid a sudden slew of black rubber balls that fly at him through holes in the walls. He places his sword in its scabbard, and then jumps directly from the last platform onto the wall of the huge raised area in front of him, which is studded with handholds and footholds like the rock-climbing wall.
There's another dummy waiting for him at the top, and trees planted in the floor in the same fashion as the hill. In one of the trees is a silver capsule. Alex runs the dummy through the center of the target and scales the hawthorn tree. The moment his fingers touch the cool silver surface of the capsule, the timer beeps. He carefully climbs down the tree, down the wall of the raised area, before opening it. Inside is a simple chocolate bar.
A glance at the timer tells him that it took ninety-three seconds. Most of the Gamemakers, including McCoy, nod their approval, but a couple frown and shake their heads. "He missed dummy #3," he hears one of them say. "If that was an actual tribute..."
The doors silence her as Alex walks out. His heart hurts to race. There was a dummy #3?
"How long did you take?" Brendon questions between bites of garlic mashed potatoes.
"Ninety-two seconds."
"Ninety-three. Our scores are gonna be on TV tonight, right?"
"In just a few minutes, actually." Brendon and Ryan abandon their first course and simultaneously drop into the plush purple loveseat in front of the TV, turning it on as Alex, Tay, Maja, and Uncle Panini follow suit. Brendon puts his arm around Ryan. " ... how well they all fare in the Games," says William Beckett, one of the Hunger Games announcers, "however, only time will tell."
The Careers' scores range from 8 to 10. Zack Merrick from 4 gets a 7. Martin Johnson, the boy from 5, gets only his district number.
So does Jack. "That's the best shot I've ever seen."
"I think he performs way better than most of the other tributes I've seen from 7," adds Andy "the Butcher" Mrotek, the second announcer. Cut to a video of Jack running through the obstacle course. It's hasty and gangly, but he shoots all three of the dummies straight through the heart. Two minutes even.
Then his eyes meet the camera, and Alex tingles all over, so hard he thinks the others can feel it too.
Christofer, the boy from 10, gets a 3. "Ouch. Well, I wish him the best of luck." Adam Siska shakes his head, his voice thick with insincerity.
Fuck. In a few minutes, that's gonna be me.
"Moving on. District 11. Taylor Jardine. You can tell she's genuinely trying her hardest here." Cut to the video. She sprints at a pace that blurs the rest of the Training Center. "She received a score of 9 - " Brendon, Ryan, and Panini are suddenly standing and cheering, while Maja simply raises her eyebrows " - very impressive. Alexander Gaskarth - watch this - " cut to the video " - amazing agility, again, very impressive. He also received a 9."
What?!? What about dummy #3? What about that lady who was complaining about me?
Panini shouts with triumphant joy, and Alex chuckles uncomfortably when the older man tugs him into a crushing hug. It's not a 10, but it's the highest score anyone has ever earned under Panini's mentorship.
They return to the dinner table, just in time for Flyzik to bring in a tray of the pinkest, plumpest fish Alex has ever seen on a bed of green onions, artichokes and mushrooms. He produces a silver lighter from the breast pocket of his uniform, touches the tiny light to the surface of the dish, and smiles mysteriously when it bursts into flames.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: Each year, the Capitol of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to fight to the death on national TV - until Alex Gaskarth, of District 11, and Jack Barakat, of District 7, change everything.
Warning: Character death.
Disclaimer: Fictional. Title credit to All Time Low. Based on The Hunger Games.
Masterpost
Over the course of their next few days of training, Alex and Jack meet during breaks and listen to the taller boy's iPod. Alex has always loved music, and Jack's music helps the chestnut-haired boy escape the Tribute Tower for a few minutes every day. Every so often they exchange conversation, but Alex is careful not to say anything that might leave him vulnerable.
Then there are the sparks that now flood his veins every time his eyes connect with Jack's. I'm into girls. And yet, he has a growing crush on a boy. What if they find out? We'll both be executed.
The Careers are still bullying the rest of the tributes. Now, the guy from District 5 - eighteen, scruffy, smoky black hair, blue eyes - has joined their group. The day before the final test, when Alex beats him to the top of the rock-climbing wall, 5 scowls at him on their way down.
"Consider yourself lucky this time, 11." Then he slaps him on the side of his face.
Alex restrains himself. 5 could definitely kick his ass.
At the weight-lifting station, while Jack struggles to lift even the 10-pound dumbbells, Jonathan sets down the 50-pounders to do a whining impression of his attempts.
"Stop mocking me, 2." Jack puts down the dumbbells.
"Not my fault, dude. You're so skinny you don't even exist - "
"Shut up."
" - you're, like, a complete nonentity."
"That's a big word for someone with such a small dick."
Jonathan shoves Jack, and the taller boy jumps on him, his bony fist colliding with the Career's smug smirk. They fall, fists flying.
Suddenly, a whistle screams, and a group of Gamemakers and instructors descend on them. "Hey, hey, break it up!" McCoy shouts, pulling Jack off Jonathan.
As the Gamemakers walk away, the shorter boy stares directly into Jack's eyes and slashes his finger across his throat.
The close-combat station has a rack with assorted weapons and protective gear - padded helmets and breastplates - sized extra-small to extra-large. There's a white ring, about ten feet in diameter, painted on the floor.
"OK. This is the final test," McCoy announces. "Combat." He's holding a small glass bowl, similar to the ones at the reaping, filled with slips of paper. "So here's how it's gonna work. I'm gonna randomly pick two of you at a time, and you either try to push your opponent out of the ring or hit them in the middle of the target on your gear. Just like the last test, it's gonna be timed." The timers are set at zero. "Everybody got it?"
Everyone nods.
"All right." McCoy picks two slips from the bowl and unfolds them.
"Taylor Jardine and Cassadee Pope."
Tay and the brown-haired girl from District 12 put on their gear - shiny and black, like stag-beetle shells, with a red target on the breastplate. Tay chooses a slightly longer sword than Cassadee.
"OK, now shake hands." They do.
"Ready ... set ... go." McCoy presses a button, and the timers start.
For someone so small, Tay is not only surprisingly strong and fast, but determined. Within a minute and ten seconds, however, Cass hits the smaller girl's target.
Jonathan Cook vs. Zachary Merrick.
The fight is over almost instantly. Jonathan charges, sword held high, at the boy from District 4, but he just picks up the dark-haired boy by his shoulders, like he weighs nothing, and throws him out of the ring. There's a dull thud as he lands about five feet clear of the circle.
"You OK?" asks 5 as Jonathan sullenly rejoins the group of Careers.
"Shut the fuck up."
John O'Callaghan vs. Robert Dawson.
District 12's boy tribute holds a hammer that would have looked comically oversized in anyone else's hands. He's just as solid as his weapon, standing his ground under the relentless assault of the boy from 1.
One minute, fifty-eight seconds. John finally slips through a rare hole in 12's defense, almost impaling him with his sword.
Sierra Kusterbeck vs. Travis Clark.
The girl from 2 dodges fluidly around the redhead from 9 and touches the point of her dagger to his chest from behind.
Seven seconds.
By the time the second-to-last pair is chosen, neither Alex's nor Jack's name has been called. They're going to go up against each other. And then it hits him - Alex has a crush on his possible killer.
McCoy unfolds the two remaining names. "And that leaves us with Jack Barakat and Alexander Gaskarth."
They choose their weapons, put on their padding, meet in the middle of the circle, shake hands.
"Ready ... set ... go."
Alex aims for the target on Jack's chest. Jack's sword clangs almost too loudly against Alex's when he blocks it hurriedly, struggles to repulse it. There's a charged pause of a few seconds before the shorter boy pushes the taller one's blade to the left. Jack takes another swing at Alex.
He's wide open. Alex hits the center of Jack's target.
Seventeen seconds.
He sleeps late that night and wakes up the following morning from a dream that leaves his skin tingling.
He and Tay are scheduled for evaluation at three o'clock that afternoon. They're going to be rated from 1 to 10; the higher the score, the better.
Alex sits in the small room in front of the Training Center, on the black-leather-cushioned bench to the right of the automatic doors. "How'd you do?" he asks as Tay returns from her evaluation.
"I dunno." A few minutes later, a neon-white light blazes overhead. It's his turn.
The doors slide open, revealing a startlingly transformed Training Center.
An obstacle course.
He puts on his padding, then selects the sword - thin, supple, but strong - that fits best in his hand.
"You ready?" McCoy looks down at him from the balcony, one black forefinger hovering over the button to start the timer. Alex nods and stands behind the starting line.
"OK. Ready ... set ..."
The finger drops.
" ... go."
He bolts over an artificial grassy hill, piercing the red heart of a black dummy, then over a series of platforms, ducking and jumping and twisting to avoid a sudden slew of black rubber balls that fly at him through holes in the walls. He places his sword in its scabbard, and then jumps directly from the last platform onto the wall of the huge raised area in front of him, which is studded with handholds and footholds like the rock-climbing wall.
There's another dummy waiting for him at the top, and trees planted in the floor in the same fashion as the hill. In one of the trees is a silver capsule. Alex runs the dummy through the center of the target and scales the hawthorn tree. The moment his fingers touch the cool silver surface of the capsule, the timer beeps. He carefully climbs down the tree, down the wall of the raised area, before opening it. Inside is a simple chocolate bar.
A glance at the timer tells him that it took ninety-three seconds. Most of the Gamemakers, including McCoy, nod their approval, but a couple frown and shake their heads. "He missed dummy #3," he hears one of them say. "If that was an actual tribute..."
The doors silence her as Alex walks out. His heart hurts to race. There was a dummy #3?
"How long did you take?" Brendon questions between bites of garlic mashed potatoes.
"Ninety-two seconds."
"Ninety-three. Our scores are gonna be on TV tonight, right?"
"In just a few minutes, actually." Brendon and Ryan abandon their first course and simultaneously drop into the plush purple loveseat in front of the TV, turning it on as Alex, Tay, Maja, and Uncle Panini follow suit. Brendon puts his arm around Ryan. " ... how well they all fare in the Games," says William Beckett, one of the Hunger Games announcers, "however, only time will tell."
The Careers' scores range from 8 to 10. Zack Merrick from 4 gets a 7. Martin Johnson, the boy from 5, gets only his district number.
So does Jack. "That's the best shot I've ever seen."
"I think he performs way better than most of the other tributes I've seen from 7," adds Andy "the Butcher" Mrotek, the second announcer. Cut to a video of Jack running through the obstacle course. It's hasty and gangly, but he shoots all three of the dummies straight through the heart. Two minutes even.
Then his eyes meet the camera, and Alex tingles all over, so hard he thinks the others can feel it too.
Christofer, the boy from 10, gets a 3. "Ouch. Well, I wish him the best of luck." Adam Siska shakes his head, his voice thick with insincerity.
Fuck. In a few minutes, that's gonna be me.
"Moving on. District 11. Taylor Jardine. You can tell she's genuinely trying her hardest here." Cut to the video. She sprints at a pace that blurs the rest of the Training Center. "She received a score of 9 - " Brendon, Ryan, and Panini are suddenly standing and cheering, while Maja simply raises her eyebrows " - very impressive. Alexander Gaskarth - watch this - " cut to the video " - amazing agility, again, very impressive. He also received a 9."
What?!? What about dummy #3? What about that lady who was complaining about me?
Panini shouts with triumphant joy, and Alex chuckles uncomfortably when the older man tugs him into a crushing hug. It's not a 10, but it's the highest score anyone has ever earned under Panini's mentorship.
They return to the dinner table, just in time for Flyzik to bring in a tray of the pinkest, plumpest fish Alex has ever seen on a bed of green onions, artichokes and mushrooms. He produces a silver lighter from the breast pocket of his uniform, touches the tiny light to the surface of the dish, and smiles mysteriously when it bursts into flames.