Chapter 1: The Arena

On the ground below, a mockingjay trilled a single note of warning before the hovercraft drifted into view. From inside the machine, however, Head Gamemaker Grayson Helm was unaware of the bird below signaling his approach to the surroundings. Instead, the man was preoccupied with the landscape beneath him. His full mouth creased into a frown as he narrowed his steel gray eyes.

"Something still isn't right," he spun on his heel and paced in front of the other gamemakers. The games were in a matter of weeks, and despite his best efforts, Helm simply felt the arena was, to put it midly, lacking. It's not that it wouldn't challenge the tributes, it just did not reach the level of diabolical perfection he was aiming for. Prowling back to the window, he glowered down at the landscape before intoning, "it needs something... more."

The hovercraft swayed slightly in the strong winds above the arena. The elements were all there… blood thirsty mutts, geological horrors, just enough food to survive on, but the overall vision was somewhat lacking. One of the gamemakers quietly discussed the possibility of some new muttations, for use in a climactic scenario, but Grayson shook his head wearily. They had plenty of hybrid monsters at their disposal, but they needed something more.

The position of Head Gamemaker was extraordinarily difficult. The amount of necessary creativity to make sure that the arena was unique, and both difficult to navigate, but possible to survive was a challenge. The key was that the arena had find a delicate balance between insurmountable and normal. The tributes needed to have hope that they could survive the arena if they played the game properly, but yet never feel completely comfortable while inside the force field. After all, this was the Hunger Games, and they should remember that the gamemakers were watching every move, every step, and every breath.

That's it, Grayson thought to himself, finally allowing a small, satisfied smirk cross his chiseled features. Silencing the other gamemakers with a jerked hand motion, he pressed a button to communicate with the pilote. "We've seen all we needed to, please return us to the Capitol.'

He had it. He had the winning idea, to build the tributes up, then abruptly smash their hope into despair. The smirk had changed into a full blown grin, and he hastily began to sketch his ideas on the nearest available screen. The trip to the arena might have been a long and arduous one, but absolutely worth it in Helm's mind. Production would have to start almost immediately to have the arena ready in time, but Helm was confident this one last change would make everything worth it. This was his first year as Head Gamemaker, and he was determined to make the Games a truly memorable experience for the citizens of Panem. Meanwhile, clouds drifted lazily by the windows of the hovercraft, light and floating and free.

Author's Note: The following is the tribute list. Due to an unfortunate turn of events, the story was deleted for a non-content chapter (completely my fault, but has been remedied), so I am reposting. Best of luck, and Happy Hunger Games to all!

Tribute List: Name (age), Mentor

District 1

Male: Chase Stone (18), Stark

Female: Chime Prewett (16), Melody

District 2

Male: Ares Vector (18), Tripp

Female: Varice Hall (17), Liya

District 3

Male: Coil Brennan (15), Venn

Female: Matrix "Trix" Reed (13), Lectric

District 4

Male: Solstus Faerbilt (18), Carp

Female: Windsor Thern (18), Finley

District 5

Male: Volt Wilks (18), Dern

Female: Sage Concord (17), Saera

District 6

Male: Tobias Greene (12), Cooper

Female: Ella Fiyere (14), Mirth

District 7

Male: Redwood "Red" Spire (18), Bark

Female: Jessalyn "Jess" Harlow (16), Fern

District 8

Male: Mesh Ellet (15), Patch

Female: Pepper Flannelette (17), Seam

District 9

Male: Locke Stern (17), Jayne

Female: Corynn Smyly (12), Thea

District 10

Male: Hartford Gray (13), Everett

Female: Bree Hadley (14), Lark

District 11

Male: Tasi Merkava (16), Graham

Female: Kristen Ruehs (17), Bloom

District 12

Male: Camden Thread (15), Haymitch

Female: Adalyn Thread (17), Haymitch