Hunger Games War

Aspen stared at her for a moment as if he was studying her. "Dimitri, I want to know what is going on. Why are you acting like this? This isn't some game. This is war. Since you were drafted, I can't send you home. It's either you pay attention and learn or else you die," he said. It came out rather harshly, but he didn't mean it to. "Listen, what I'm trying to say is that while I'm training you guys, you become like brothers to me. I've already lost enough brothers. I don't want to lose more," he said. Dimitri shook his head weakly. "I-it's okay," he managed to say, but it was clear he was starting to struggle.

Ann stared down at her hands for a moment, lost for words. She knew he was right. Yet, she wasn't sure she wanted to admit that. "I know....," she began, slowly bringing her gaze up to him then. "I'm just different than my father," she continued. Which was true. Dimitri was different than their father. Ann, however, wasn't. "But I'm going to work harder. I promise," she continued, glancing up at him then with spitfire determination. When Ann put her mind to something, she followed through. Even now. Drake made it to the hospital and brought a wheelchair out. After helping Dimitri into it, he quickly pushed him inside.

Aspen watched her for a few moments. "Good. Now go get some dinner, and get me a plate too. I have some stuff to work on," he said, and he began to pull out some papers. He honestly hated all of the work. He was more into the action of the job, but this was part of it too. One guy the guys that had been in training walked over to Ann once she was out of the tent. "What was that about?" he asked. He soon after realized that he never said his name. "I'm Dean," he said. Dimitri tried his best to act like he was fine, but he clearly wasn't. After a few minutes of waiting, a doctor finally came to them. "What do you all need?" he asked.

Ann nodded and saluted once more. "Sir, yes, sir," she agreed, but cracked a small smile. She was feeling a bit more confident. She could do this. She was sure of it. As she stepped out of the tent, she glanced up as someone came over. "Uh, hey, Dean. I'm An- Dimitri," she greeted, covering up her mistake with a cough. "But, uh, he was just giving me a bit of....advice," she answered sheepishly. Well, close enough to advice. Drake glanced at Dimitri once before turning back to the doctor. "He has been sick for a while now...we just want to know what the problem is. He hasn't been getting better. None of the medications have been working."

"Good to meet you, Dimitri. Personally, General Ledger scares me a bit. I surprised he hasn't killed you yet the way he keeps talking to you like that. I think he's planning out your failure and not battle plans," he joked, and smiled lightly. "You want to come and sit my me and my friends?" he asked her. The doctor gave him a small nod. "Okay. I can see if I can run a few tests and we can see what's going on," he said, and he started to wheel Dimitri out and to the testing rooms.

Ann smiled lightly at that. "Yeah, he's pretty strict on me," she agreed. "Maybe it is just because of the family name," she added on with a shrug. She had a sickening feeling that Aspen was on to her, however. That, or he just really didn't like her. She smiled slightly at his question. "Yeah. That would be great," she agreed. She needed to make some friends around here. As Aspen had said, they were all brothers. All except one. Drake nodded and said thankfully, "Thank you. That would be great." He sat down in the waiting room and clasped his hands together. He almost didn't want to know.

Dean nodded in agreement, and he gave her a small smile. "You know, I don't really care if you are a Sherwood. If I was a general, I'd make you work just as hard as the others. No more, no less," he said, and he soon make to the line. "The food here sucks, but I don't really complain much," he said with a laugh. "What is your family like?" After hours and hours of running tests, they finally came to a conclusion, and it wasn't very good. The doctor called Drake and pulled him form the waiting room. "We finally came up with something, but I don't think it's what you want to hear," he said, and he sighed. "We haven't told Dimitri yet," he said. He hated to tell it to him, but he had to. "Drake, your son has cancer."

Ann sighed and stared down at the ground for a moment. "Fair enough. But I guess I haven't exactly been making his job easy. Or maybe I am just easy to pick on because I was the late one," she said with a shrug. Or maybe he is on to me and knows I am a girl, so he is giving me a hard time. she added on in her mind. She half smiled at his comment about the food. She could agree with him there. At his question, she dropped her gaze to the ground. "Great. I have a great family," she began. "I have a twin sister, and we are...we're close. And I am pretty close with my parents too. I am sure they aren't taking this well." Drake stood and followed the doctor. From the look on his face, he had a bad feeling. He didn't know what to expect. He hoped it was just some curable virus or disease. Something that wouldn't be too hard to fix. It was the complete opposite. He was rendered speechless. He had to force himself to continue breathing. "Are you sure?"

Dean laughed, and he listened to her. "It might be a mix of both," he said, and he soon got his food. "A twin? That's different. I have a pretty big family. Of course there is Mom and Dad, and then I have two older brothers and a little sister," he said. His family wasn't that close. "I'm only close with my sister. She's my everything. I guess it was really hard on her when I had to leave. My parents, not so much. My older brother is already in the army and my oldest has moved out and got married," he said. The doctor sighed, and he nodded. "I'm sorry, I am sure. We are going to keep him here and try to help him the most we can. I think it would be best if you told him."

Ann nodded as he described his family. "I guess I am pretty lucky then. My family has always been close knit," she replied before she grabbed her tray of food. He was right; it did look disgusting. She tried not to make a face. She hadn't realized how hard it was going to be on her family when she did it. She was only thinking of saving her brother. Drake dropped his gaze to the ground; he couldn't fathom the thought that he could lose both of his children. It was hard enough on him to know that Ann may die, but now his son had cancer. "All right," he whispered finally. "Where is his room?"

Dean gave her a small nod. "Yeah, you are. I should meet your family sometime. They seem like really nice people. And don't worry, I won't hit on your sister or anything," he said with a laugh, and he went to sit down. "I'm not sure how this is edible, but I guess it's what we have to eat," he said. The doctor led the way to the room, and when he made it to him, he opened the door and stepped to the side so he could get in. Dimitri was lying on a bed with a few things stuck in his arm and a breathing mask to help him breathe better.

Ann shrugged and half smiled. "Maybe one day," she agreed. She laughed as he added on and shook her head. "You better not. Or you will have to go through not only me but my father," she joked. She sat down at the table as well and let out a long sigh. "I think dog food looks more edible than this stuff," she joked, wrinkling her nose before taking a small bite. Drake nodded to the doctor before he stepped into the room. He sat down in the chair beside him and gently rested a hand on his shoulder. "Dimitri...they know what it is," he began, sighing. He didn't even want to say it. "You...have cancer."

Dean laughed, and he shook his head. "I wouldn't want to do that. I've read about your father. He seems so...uptight," he said, but then he quickly added,"not to offend you or anything." He looked over at his friends who seemed to not be paying attention to the conversation. Good thing they didn't hear his slipup. He wouldn't have heard the end of it. He looked down at the food. "What is this even supposed to be? The mystery meat that they have on Wednesdays at school?" Dimitri watched as his father walked in, and he tensed up when he heard he knew what he had. What he said next made his world explode. He had cancer? No, that couldn't be right. He could die. He paused a moment and closed his eyes, thinking about it. "Put it in the letter to Uncle Maddox. Tell him to tell Ann. It should give her an extra boost to want to come home," he said.

Ann dropped her gaze down to her plate of food for a moment. "He isn't as bad as you may think," she replied, shrugging. She tried not to seem too defensive. That would be an Ann quality. She had to remember she was Dimitri. Sweet, innocent Dimitri. She simply shrugged it off and managed to eat a few bites of her food. "Maybe that is where they get it from," she replied with a disgusted face. Drake dropped his gaze to the ground. He didn't know what he would do if he lost his kids. They were his world. "I will," he whispered after a moment. "And Dimitri, don't get discouraged. We are going to make sure you make it through this."

Dean rose a brow at her defensive tone. He wasn't going to say anything, but he did seem a bit mad when he spoke about his father. "Okay, I'll take your word over the tabloid articles," he said with a small smirk, and he glanced over at his friends who were somehow eating the food. It didn't make sense. "It wouldn't surprise me," he said, and he looked at Ann and spoke in a low whisper. "So, did you hear about the guy that's coming here to watch General Ledger?" he asked her. Dimitri glanced at his father when he spoke, and he offered a small smile. "I won't be, Dad. I'll be fine," he said, but he wasn't so sure of his words."

Nodding, Ann moved the food around on her plate. She wasn't very interested in eating the food that was provided. She would have to force it down. She dropped her fork and instead sucked down a bit of water. It washed down the food at least. At his question, she arched her brows. "I heard about it, but I don't know who it is or why he is interested in watching him. He seems like a fine instructor to me," she replied, frowning slightly. "Why, what had you heard?" Drake stared at the ground and remained quiet for a moment. "All right," he replied but he wasn't so positive. "We are going to make sure that you are going to make it through this."

It had been almost a week now. The cadets were in the middle of training, and Aspen was watching over them. That was until a car pulled out. Commander Kenway got out of the car, and he walked over to Aspen. "So these are your cadets," he said. He had gotten the letter from his brother-in-law a couple days ago. Aspen nodded and handed him a lost of names. "Here they are," he said. Maddox looked through them for a moment before pausing. "I want to talk to Cadet Sherwood," he said. Aspen looked at the group. "Sherwood, in my office, now!" he called. Dean looked over at her. "Good luck, Dimitri."

Ann had been doing better. Saying she was "good" was a bit of a stretch. But she was decent. She was getting used to the gun. The sword hadn't exactly been her strong suit, and it still wasn't. She was doing her best though. But she was really beginning to think she was going to make it. She glanced up as a car pulled in. The person who stepped out made her heart drop. Her mouth literally dropped open. She could barely close her jaw when she was called out. When Dean spoke, she smiled weakly. "Thanks, I need it," she mumbled in response to him before she went to Aspen's office. She was doing her best to keep herself calm. He couldn't know, could he? Oh, what was she kidding. They were family.

Maddox watched Ann for a moment or two before Aspen called her. She seemed to be doing okay. he wanted to help train her, but he couldn't. That was Aspen's job, and he couldn't take Aspen's job. As she came, Aspen was about to follow, but Maddox put his hand up. "No, stay here," he said. Aspen gave him an odd look, but he nodded. Maddox followed Ann into his office before grabbing her arm tightly. "Do you mind telling me what the hell you think you are doing. You can get killed out here! Do you know how much trouble you can get in for pretending to be your brother?" he asked her, trying his best to calm down.

Ann bit her lip nervously when Maddox told Aspen to stay. That could only mean one thing. She was sure he already knew if he hadn't before. People who were closely related to them could see the difference between her and Dimitri. She looked just like their mother. She flinched when Maddox grabbed her. She should have expected that, but she hadn't. "I...I had to save him. They weren't being fair, and Dimitri would have died before he could make it to the war," she replied. It sounded logical to her. Of course, it was also suicidal. She dropped her gaze to the ground. "It was for the greater good. I have a much better shot than he does."

Maddox sighed, and he closed his eyes, running a hand through his hair. He knew that Ann was doing this just to help her twin. Everyone knew that if Dimitri went, he would die. He pulled Ann into a tight hug. "I don't think you understand the trouble you put yourself in," he said, and he bit his lip. "Ann, I'm not telling you this to sadden you or discourage you, but to make you fight even harder to get home. They found out what is wrong with your brother," he said. He paused a moment. There was no nice way to go about it. He was just going to have to be blunt. "Dimitri has cancer."

Ann dropped her gaze to the ground. She knew she was worrying everyone, and the odds were not in her favor. However, she was going to work hard. She returned the hug and let out a shaky breath. When he spoke again, she felt her heart begin to beat a mile a minute. What could be wrong? Why was it so bad that Maddox didn't want to tell her? Her stomach seemed to drop when he finally told her. She had to brace her hand up against the wall to keep from falling. "This can't be happening," she whispered, trying to remain calm. Her brother couldn't have cancer. She knew the odds of her coming home were unlikely. Yet, now she had to make it home. If she didn't, her family would lose her and possibly Dimitri too.

Maddox sighed, and he hugged her. "I know that right now maybe seem hectic, but I promise you that Dimitri will be okay, and you will come home. I have asked General Ledger to protect you at all costs, no matter what," he said, and he kissed her head. "Stay safe, Annalise. I will speak with your father soon. I'll try to update you on your both as much as possible. Now get back to training. If you are going to see your twin again, you need to know how to fight."

Ann returned the hug but she felt as if she could pass out, and she probably would have under normal circumstances. She hated it. She was risking her life, and Dimitri could still die. It just wasn't fair. She nodded and bit down on her lower lip. As long as no one else found out, she could do this. She could actually make it out of this and help Dimitri. "I will try," she replied, glancing away. She had to. She was going to try as hard as she could. "Thanks, Uncle Maddox," she whispered, giving him one last hug before leaving and heading back to the training area. Her determination had sky rocketed.

Maddox took a look at Ann, and he walked back out to Aspen. "That's a fine cadet you have on your hands. Don't let him slip through your hands," he said, and Aspen nodded, taking note of what he said. Dean glanced at Ann, and he handed her her gun. "You aren't in any trouble, are you?" he asked, just wanting to make sure that she was okay and everything. He noticed that Maddox was looking his way, and he quickly stopped talking. The guy really did scare him quite a bit. He was so tall.