One Stop too Far[open]

Sperring Kapow was a shadow.

A shadow of what could have been, but never was.

Everyone here was a shadow by now, one way or another. As Sperring took a long glance around the gym, he realized that. Shadows were everywhere, picking up swords, tying knots, searching through berries. Each and every one of them, had a life that would never be fulfilled. They were all training, undeniably, for death. But Sperring didn't fear death. In fact, after everything he'd been through, death seemed alright. It seemed like a fair escape from this corrupt world he was forced to live in.

At the same time, death scared Sperring more than anything. When he died, no tears would be shed. He was quite sure the baker would be the only person genuinely hurt. Even then, would he really care that much? Sperring frowned at the thought of the baker. He feared being alone in these games, dying alone, and never knowing what it meant to have a real friend at your side. After all, Sperring frightened people; he intimidated them, just by his solemn appearance. So, of course, he knew his grim fate, as much as he feared it. No one wanted to help him in these games. He just had to accept that.

Sperring slipped his hands into his pockets, focusing his eyes on the ground. There was no point in looking cheerful or happy, for Sperring definitely wasn't. As Sperring got ready to take his next step into the room, he almost ran straight into another boy, who seemed to be leaving, probably escaping back up to his room. "Sorry, man," the boy said quickly. Sperring blinked. He couldn't remember the last time someone had confidently apologized to him. He nodded at the boy slightly, shrugging the thought off. But all he could think was: I hope I don't have to kill him.

Sperring turned back towards the many stations before him, merely letting the previous moment pass. For a few seconds, he felt empty, like there was nothing left of him. He didn't really want to stop at any of the stations; learning to kill wasn't really something of his interest. He cringed as he remembered he already was a killer. He had already done it; his instincts had overtaken him. If he couldn't even control himself back home, how could he expect to control himself here in the arena? Being in the arena, you didn't need control. Maybe that was what really scared Sperring the most.

Making a split-second decision, he turned back, ready to exit the training center and escape to his room. Only a few minutes, and Sperring had already had enough of this. But the moment he turned, so did the other boy. He was still there. "Shayde Truedhart, District 9," he said. For a moment, Sperring was speechless. He was wondering if he was hearing right, seeing right. He knew it was no big deal, but it was rare that people introduced themselves in front of him.

Shayde looked older than Sperring, yet Sperring still seemed to tower over him. Sperring's mind quickly jumped to say something. "Sperring Kapow. District 4." He took a hand out of his pocket and held it out to Shayde. He desperately hoped Shayde would respond to the handshake, but at the same time, Sperring felt a pit of guilt in his stomach. Shayde was giving him a chance….a chance that Sperring knew, he didn't deserve.

Sperring quickly snatched thoughts in his mind, trying to shape them into words. He wasn't good at this, but he wanted more than anything, to speak. Want to go talk, at the…uh, target station?" After the words came out of his mouth, Sperring realized how little he wanted to deal with weapons. Oh well. If he wanted to get anywhere in these games, he'd have to use them, sooner or later. At least he knew, he had someone to talk to, however long that would last.

OOC--Sorry, still trying to get the hang of Sperring. xD

In the midst of a dream, I found a pair of bony, frigid hands grip upon my shoulders. The tips of the fingers dug deep in in the holes of my neck, making me gasp for air. The body of the creature pressed itself against me and brought its lean head to my ear. “Soon, you will be with me,” the thing spoke with such eeriness that chills ran down my thin back. A thin blade placed itself on my neck and, though I knew wasn’t going to die here, I was frighten that the knife would jerk, making my life bleed upon the imaginary ground.

I felt the gravity intensify as I woke from my slumber. The idea arose because it felt like a fifty-pound weight rested on my stomach. A mixture of different colors swirled around my eyes, as if I stepped into a kaleidoscope, and my heart pounded with the fear of today. My eyes were raw from the crying of last night and my head held a diversity of thoughts. I was sick. So disgusted that, once I gathered enough strength, I rolled over to the side of my bed to release the contents of my stomach upon the once clean floor. My Avox will clean that up later.

After wiping the excess vomit from my mouth with my sheets, I raised my heavy head from the comfortable Capitol pillows. In the air that lingered in front of my eyes, tiny specks of dust floated. The warm air escaped from my mouth, making the pieces of dirt swirl in an unorganized pattern. Oddly, something as normal as this was making a tiny smile appear on my lovely visage. So, once the speckles fell like they had before, I moved my body from my bed and placed my small feet upon the cool floor. After tossing on a tight fit black tank top, a pair of red shorts, and black tennis shoes, I exited the room without taking to my mentor or Mace. I didn’t care to speak to anyone.

Being on the tenth floor, I had quite the about of time to think. I feared this would happen to me. Be forced upon a train like my father had about 20 years ago. To have everything stripped from me, leaving me naked. Vulnerable. I hadn’t dared to speak to Mace and, from what I picked up, Mace was avoiding me too. I couldn’t risk getting close to any person. I may end up with a knife in my back. Or I could lose control of my emotions and put a knife in someone else’s. I had to go about this solo as it seems the only means of survival for myself. And I barely heard the “ding” of the elevator.

Though my mentor was not here, I could figure out where the training area was for myself. I wasn’t completely helpless. Actually, I am, without a doubt, the most beautiful and strongest female in the entire games. It doesn’t even matter that I’m not a Career. That was such a silly title. Career. Out of the past five games, only one had won. So, saying one is a Career has nothing to do with the games since there is more twists and turns than even the most thrilling roller-coaster. Back to the point, the training area is the place all the people were heading. See. Doesn’t take a Career to figure that one out.

I pushed the door of the training room open with such a force that I thought I might have taken it off its hinges. Now was the time to make friends but, now that I think about it, it sounds impossible. Do people really make “friends” in the games? Just people you think you can’t kill. Not exactly friends. But, there is no use in trying to make enemies. I don’t really want people going out of their way to murder me.

I don’t know exactly what brought me to the blade portion of the training center. My feet simply carried me to this glorious place. And then something was in my hands. A blade. A sharp, deadly blade that, with one swift moment, could end the life of any tribute in the building. Her, my mind pointed out a little mid-district girl. Put her out of her misery. That little girl doesn’t stand a chance, the dark side thought. The cool steel tighten in my hand. Just a quick swipe to the neck, I thought as I took one step forward. But the blade came crashing to the ground as that decent part of me arose. “No.”

I couldn’t run as that little movement could easily make me seem weak. Or, I would be called out for my failure. So, I turned on my heels and slowly walked from the blades. I hadn’t the right to practice there anyways. However, the dark side noticed another opportunity for sabotage. The target practice area. So, though I tried to stop myself, my feet kept moving until it reached that dreadful place. And those slender hands of mind couldn’t stop until a bow was placed into them.

The weapon felt so odd being placed into my hands but there was a task that needed to be done. Two boys at the same station would make an easy target for a person who has never shot a bow and arrow before. They were a merely a few feet away. Smiling at my devilish scheme, I pulled the arrow back but aiming it at the ground at first. The tip of the ready arrow lifted and aimed at the dummy across the room. With on quick moment, I could turn and target the human beings next to myself. But, good surpassed evil yet again and the arrow zoomed past the dummy and collided upon the floor.

I wanted to scream at myself for not taking the shot. I wanted to scream at myself for wishing to take the shot. “Damn it,”