Hi everyone! I thought I'd write a Hunger Games story (as THG is really popular at the moment, so here are the perspectives of the Games from the other tributes, from the Reaping to the Games. I've done them in order by District (though didn't include Marvel as I don't really know much about him). Anyway, hope you enjoy reading!
Reaping Day is considered a time of honour in District One.
Especially today. Glimmer is almost certain that the odds will be in her favour.
She gets herself ready in her bedroom at home, she pulls her light green dress over her head, made of shimmery fabric, to match her eyes. Glimmer brushes her long blonde hair past her shoulders, looking with satisfaction at her reflection in the mirror. And she remembers back to when she was small.
"You're going to grow up to be a beauty." her mother would always tell her, tugging one of Glimmer's many designer dresses straight, made by the Capitol. "I know so. You just wait and see."
Glimmer smiles at herself. She certainly is one of the prettiest girls in her class at school. The other girls would stare enviously at her beautiful blonde hair, wishing they had hair like hers.
Well, today was the day she was going to shine. Like she was always made to.
She can't believe that she was the one picked to volunteer, out of all the other girls in District One. Voices shouted out all over the place, girls like her that wanted to be in the Hunger Games, and bring honor to District One. But damn it, she wouldn't let that stop her. She shouts out as loud as she can. And, all of a sudden, the brightly-dressed escort, Henna, is looking her way, and beckoning her up onto the stage.
Glimmer takes a good look around the rest of the district. Her mother and father are smiling proudly, although she can't help but notice a tiny flicker of worry on both faces. But they needn't worry. She was born to win. She is a Career, after all. She didn't train since she was eight just so that she could lose.
So she flashes her most winning smile around the district, and waits to see who will join her on stage. A boy called Marvel, who goes to her school. She's certainly seen him around a bit. And when it's time to shake hands, she grips his hand and smiles – only she's sending him a strong, silent message. Don't screw this up.
He seems to understand only too well, able to easily see it in the expression in her eyes.
The train ride there doesn't take long at all, the district only being half an hour away. Before Glimmer knows what's happening, she and Marvel are standing on the platform, along with their mentor Drako and Henna, smiling and waving at the luridly-dressed residents of the Capitol. Even though she has seen the Capitol quite a few times on television and pictured on the back of glossy brochures, she is still blown away at how big everything is.
Henna then takes Glimmer to what looks like a hospital mixed with a beauty salon. The beauty salon part is familiar, but she's not so sure about the hospital part. She's plucked and tweaked, poked and prodded. But she doesn't mind, because everyone that attends to her says how stunning she is.
Even so, a tiny part of her wants to be the girl seen more than a pretty face. She wants to be the girl who is a fighter. The girl who won the 74th Hunger Games.
Later in the evening, as the time draws near to six o'clock, the chariots are being prepared for the parade. As the final touches are made to her and Marvel's chariot, Glimmer glances around the spacious room at the stylists and the other tributes. There's a boy and a girl next to them, from District Twelve, who are dressed in similar black leathery costumes. Coal miners. Figures. She shifts her gaze to another pair, from District Two. They are dressed in gladiator-style costumes, looking as though they're made from golden armour. Glimmer is just about to look away, when the boy from District Two glances her way. Their eyes lock on each other for a few seconds, then he raises an eyebrow at her. She smirks at him, then looks away.
During the chariot ride, she realizes one thing. She was made for this. The chariot containing her and Marvel is the first out, and the shouts and cheers from the Capitol are near deafening. She smiles at the audience, blowing kisses and waving. But suddenly, as the chariot is nearing the end of the track, the audience seem to be looking at another chariot, and if possible, shouting even louder. Their horse turns around to face the crowds, and what she sees makes her eyes widen. The back of District Twelve's chariot seems to be on fire, the two tributes standing up, seeming to silently acknowledge the crowd's cheers and the shouts.
How dare they steal the show? Glimmer wonders indignantly, staring at them. Marvel also is not oblivious to the fact that District Twelve's chariot is creating more attention than probably all the others put together.
"Right. It's on." Marvel hisses, watching as the chariot comes to a halt at the end of the track.
Glimmer curls her lip. "Definitely."
Next is the interview with Caeser Flickerman. Glimmer remembers everything that Drako told her about being interviewed. "Just remember to make people like you, be as charismatic as you can. And remember, smile."
So she flashes her most award-winning smile around the the audience, as Caeser Flickerman warmly shakes her hand and leads her to sit down.
"Yes, Caeser, I am very prepared." she says, when he asks her if she is ready to enter the Hunger Games.
All she knows is that she's prepared to do whatever it takes to win.
The training session seems to pass more quickly than it should have. Still, Glimmer is able to practice her hunting and survival skills. And, of course, take mental notes of who she is going to destroy. She learns that the boy from District Two is called Cato, his District partner Clove. And the two from District Twelve are called Katniss and Peeta.
So at least when I kill, I know who I'll be killing, Glimmer thinks, as she loads an arrow and shoots it, just missing the centre of the target.
"Need some help there?"
A voice beside her brings her to look up at the grinning face of Cato.
"No thanks. I'm fine." She lowers her bow and arrow, glancing at him up and down. And she can't deny it, she likes the way he looks. Big and strong. She smiles at him, just like Drako told her. He grins back.
"Shouldn't you be helping Clove instead, by acting as a moving target to throw knives at?" she asks, glancing over at Clove, slightly envious as she watches her throwing knives at multiple targets. Never missing a beat, always hitting it dead centre.
Cato shrugs. "She'll get plenty of practice in the arena. And so will you." He nods towards her bow and arrow. "Anyways, see you around."
"See you." Glimmer watches as Cato turns around and heads towards the survival station, where Marvel is learning to make a fire.
Maybe this will help us form an alliance, Glimmer thinks, as she raises her bow and shoots at the target, hitting it right in the centre.
The day of the Games is not what Glimmer expects. Having to sit on a small jet plane with Peacekeepers guarding the entrances does feel a bit strange. As if any of us would try to jump out the window, she thinks sardonically. And having to sit next to the other tributes is worse. Still, at least there's hope of a possible alliance between the Districe One and Two tributes, which she doesn't mind. And when she showed the Gamemakers what she could do with a bow and arrow, a score on nine was even better.
25, 24, 23, 22...
As the countdown begins, she takes a look around the circle of tributes, then to the stack of supplies scattered here and there in the centre. There are backpacks, large containers, and a bow and arrow...
17, 16, 15, 14...
Glimmer wants that bow and arrow. Her gaze shifts to the tributes again. Katniss Everdeen from District Twelve has also caught sight of it. Glimmer's jaw clenches fiercely. She is getting that bow and arrow, and nothing is going to stop her.
10, 9, 8...
Even if she has to kill her...
7, 6, 5...
Glimmer poises herself to run.
4, 3, 2...
One more second...
1!
All the tributes are sprinting towards the centre. Glimmer runs as fast as she can towards the bow and arrow, colliding with a girl from District Six. And before she knows what she's done, the dead body of the girl is lying on the ground, and Glimmer is pulling herself up, the bloody knife in her hand. There's no time to stop now. She takes down another girl from District Ten, viciously stabbing her with the knife as she runs towards the bow and arrow, and all of a sudden...
She's got them. They're hers. She slings the quiver of arrows onto her back, takes the bow in her hand, and quickly looks around. Dead bodies of other tributes are strewn around, some with the handle of a knife protruding from their backs. Clove, Glimmer thinks, catching sight of her as she runs towards them. She sees Marvel finishing off another of the tributes, and Cato half-visible, standing inside the entrance of the Cornucopia, turning around to grin at them.
"Come and see what we've got!" He motions to the two girls to come forward. Clove eagerly strides forwards, while Glimmer follows. "Weapons of choice!"
"Look at those knives." Clove mutters. "Perfect." She reaches out and touches the handle of one with a finger.
Marvel approaches them, breathless. "How many of them do you think are dead?"
Before anyone can answer, a loud bang like a cannon fires. Then another. Then another. All four of them listen, Glimmer counting in her head. Nine...Ten...Eleven...Twelve. Half the number of tributes down in the first few hours.
She sure hopes that she isn't one of the tributes to go down next.
They find the boy from District Twelve next. Peeta. He's lurking around the trees, probably trying to find Katniss Everdeen. But still, he isn't quick enough to outrun them. Cato springs upon him, grabs him from behind and is about to slit his throat when an idea springs to Glimmer's mind.
"Wait!" she hisses at Cato. "Don't kill him yet!"
Clove, Cato and Marvel stare at her, surprised. But she's not finished.
"So...Lover Boy." she muses, narrowing her eyes at Peeta. "Where's your girlfriend, Katniss Everdeen, hmm?"
"I-well-" Peeta stutters. Cato jabs the knife at him threateningly.
"If you want to stay alive, take us to her."
Glimmer laughs with Cato as they stride through the forest that night, with Clove, Marvel and Peeta tagging along behind. They had found the girl from District Eight sitting beside a fire, attempting to keep herself warm. Cato had handed Glimmer the knife, and she had done what she had to. It wasn't even that big a deal, really.
"Oh no! Please don't kill me, oh no!" Glimmer cries, mocking the girl's terrified voice. Cato laughs. "Did you see the look on her face?"
She's not really sure why they shouldn't just kill Peeta now and get on with it. They'll find Katniss Everdeen later. But still, Cato has a point about Peeta being their best chance of finding Katniss. She smiles at Cato. He's always right.
A couple of days later, they manage to find Katniss Everdeen, half submerged in the lake. When she sees them coming, she scrambles out as fast as she can and runs in the opposite direction. They chase after her, Glimmer and Cato in the lead, with the others following as fast as they can, laughing at her when they find her up a tree.
"Where are you going?' Glimmer jeers, watching as Cato prepares to climb up after her. She, Clove and Marvel shout encouragement after him. Suddenly, the branch snaps, and he falls back down onto the ground with a loud thud.
"I'll do it myself." Glimmer hisses, drawing her bow and arrow to shoot at Katniss. She misses. Cato also attempt to shoot at her, but no avail.
Eventually, Peeta comes up with the suggestion of waiting until she comes back down. Glimmer and the others turn to stare at him. It's the only sensible suggestion he's come up with since joining with them, and Glimmer for once does not object.
That night, as the five of them sit round the fire, Glimmer sits next to Cato. She gets the feeling that he's trying to impress her, putting the end of his sword into the fire, then blowing gently on it to extinguish it.
Smiling, she shakes her head. "Please." She can feel Clove's eyes boring into her through the darkness. But at that moment, she doesn't care.
Glimmer lies down to go to sleep that night, with her head on Cato's arm. She feels safe. Protected. Cato will protect her if anything goes wrong.
Suddenly, she's awakened by a violent buzzing sound, all around her.
Tracker Jackers.
In a nanosecond, she and the others are all awake, scrambling to their feet and running. Both Glimmer and Clove are screaming in terror, Cato and Marvel yelling, as all five of them attempt to run. Peeta, Clove and Marvel are frantically swatting away the wasps as they disappear into the trees. However, Glimmer seems to have got the worst of it all. She senses someone, Cato, trying to pull her away from the swarm, but then his grip on her loosens, as he runs away from her into the trees.
Glimmer is left, all alone, screaming hysterically for help, in pain and terror. But nobody comes to save her. The Tracker Jackers are stinging every part of her they can reach. Her neck, face, hands. No, worse, they are inside her clothing, stinging her from the inside. She tries to bat them away with her bow, but there are too many of them.
She tries to run, but she only gets as far as the next tree before she collapses. Her face and neck are swelling, her throat constricting from the venom. In agonizing pain, she is left to die, her screams choking off.
All she can think now, being only seconds away from death, is, How the mighty have fallen.
Indeed... Next up is Clove and Cato's version of events!