"Evelyn Brinley, better known as Lady Red, victor of the 72nd Hunger Games. Won her games at 15."
"Why Lady Red?"
"Because she always wears red. Oh, and she won her games by burning the remaining tributes alive."
✮
"𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆? 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
EVELYN COULD HEAR FEET TAPPING AGAINST THE FLOOR AND LOW WHISPERS as she sat outside the training room. Everyone in the room was nervous, and the careers were huddled together discussing something that no one else could hear. That made her even more nervous. The careers were going to get 10's or 11's like they did every year. Evelyn would have tried to get a decent score, not too high but not too low so that it put her in good standing, but there was no point in that now. The careers were going to be after her either way, especially after the disaster that was the last two training days.
Evelyn had tried to stay out of their way, but Joshua distracted her when she was trying to throw a spear and the spear went sailing towards Marina instead of the target. Luckily it hit the wall above Marina's head, but it still ticked the girl off.
And then the careers started eyeing her like she was a meal for the rest of the training session so she was screwed.
And if she was dead anyway, why not go for the highest training score she could get?
"What are you planning to do?" Evelyn asked Jordan as District 1 got called up. Technically, tributes weren't supposed to discuss what they were going to do during their training interviews but she was just trying to find a way to distract the boy. He was trembling and it looked like he was going to be sick.
"I dunno," Jordan murmured under his breath, "Maybe knives or something."
"Are you good with knives?"
"No."
"Then why knives?"
"Because I'm not good at anything else."
That marked the end of that conversation. Jordan didn't say another word and neither did Evelyn. She didn't know how to comfort him, she could say that he had to be good at something but that might've made him even more upset.
Jordan only spoke again when 7 was getting called up, "Evelyn?"
Evelyn looked down at the boy, "Hm?"
"I can't say this around anybody else in our group because Bell keeps scolding me when I even mention it," The tribute said, "but if you win can you tell my family I loved them for me?"
The girl's heart shattered as she heard Jordan's words and she had to bite her tongue to keep from telling him that he'd see them again. She knew that wasn't what he wanted to hear, he knew he wasn't going to make it. The youngest victor to ever survive the games was Finnick Odair at 14, and he was from a career district. There was no chance for a 12-year-old who came from 8.
Jordan seemed to pick up on her hesitation, "Evelyn please, we both know I'm not going to make it. I have no skills, I'm the smallest, and I'm the youngest. I was never going to make it."
Evelyn had to clear her throat and swallow back tears to keep her voice even as she spoke, "Yeah, I'll tell them."
