(Camila De La Cruz,25,Female,District 10,Victor of the 66th Hunger Games)
My heart skips a beat as President Snow appears on the screen. I've been anxious about the Quell twist for months now, and I can only hope it isn't something too bad. The past two Quells have really worked well in tearing the districts apart, and I have no doubt that this twist will do the same.
"I won the year before Haymitch".
I turn my head and look at Alejandro, the tall, once handsome fourty year old man who's sitting in the plush armchair to my right. He's the only boy from District 10 to have ever come out of the arena, and he's watched twenty-five boys lose their lives in the Games since he won.
"Yes, I remember that year vividly. I was very surprised when you started riding that horse and began to cut through the others".
Alejandro clenches his sharp jaw as Maria speaks up. Alejandro never speaks about his Games, and the fact that Maria had to remind him what happened isn't exactly the most helpful way of comforting him.
"Didn't you win the year before the first, Madre?"
Maria isn't my actual mother, but she was my mentor and is practically a mother figure here in the Victor's Village. She brought both Alejandro and I home, we're basically a family.
"We don't speak about my time in the arena".
"We don't speak about anyone's time in the arena, Madre".
Maria grumbles in spanish (a language long forgotten in Panem, besides in District 10 where the ancient Hispanics resided after the global disasters) and Alejandro smiles at me gratefully. He doesn't say anything, but I know he's grateful. We love Maria dearly, but she can be a bit hard to handle.
"When the laws for the Hunger Games were laid out, they dictated that every twenty-five years the anniversary would be marked by a Quarter Quell. It would call for a glorified version of the Games to make fresh the memory of those killed by the districts' rebellion".
Alejandro rolls his eyes at this, and Snow's aged voice continues on,
"On the twenty-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that their children were dying because of their choice to initiate violence, every district was made to hold an election and vote on the tributes who would represent it".
That must've been horrible, to be voted in by your own district.
"There were no Careers that year", Maria says from her armchair, "No one wanted to compete against all the murderers, thieves and rapists that were sure to be voted in that year".
"So who won?", Alejandro asks.
"Shhhh Miguel, abuela is watching something. Go play with your sisters", Maria shoos away one of her grandchildren, who runs out of the living room, and she continues on,
"A lovely girl from Seven called Willow Zhao".
"Why did she get voted in?", I ask. How can she be so lovely if she competed against criminals?
Maria shakes her head in pity, "She was voted in because she had a girlfriend instead of a boyfriend".
I have no response to this. Being gay in Ten is something virtually unheard of. The LGBTQ+ Community is nowhere near respected in the outer districts as it is the The Capitol and the inner districts, but voting in someone because of their sexual preferences? She must've really pissed District 7 off.
Alejandro opens his mouth to say something, but he's cut off by Snow, who had paused for a bit to let the audience have their reactions to the first Quell.
"On the fiftieth anniversary, as a reminder that two rebels died for each Capitol citizen, every district was required to send twice as many tributes".
I doubt that exactly two rebels were killed in the war for every singular Capitol citizen. But the meaning is there. It would've been horrible to outlast fourty-seven tributes. Twenty-three already has most of us victors traumatized. No wonder Haymitch Abernathy is such an alcoholic.
"Funnily enough, there had been a large amount of victors from the districts beside One, Two, and Four. Rumour has it that the Capitol never pre-planned these twists, and they make up a twist that will suit them. Around the time of the Twenty-Fifth, there were many winners from the outer districts, myself being included, and the districts were beginning to become more rebellious, began trusting each other. Funnily enough, the Quell twist was that districts had to betray their own, and they were ripped apart again.
The year of the Fiftieth was after six non Career victories in the decade. The Fiftieth was the last Games of that decade and it's funny how so many non-Career victors won, and then for the Quell, so many tributes were sent to their deaths. I guess they were hoping that another Career victory would make it four to six in the fifth decade and even it out a tiny bit, but then District 12 went and got their second victor".
Maria huffs after all of this, and I can tell it took a lot of effort for the sixty-something year old woman to get out. Maria loves trivia though, and I was expecting some sort of information about the Quell. It's interesting though, about how many people think that the Quell twists are decided on what the Capitol needs at the moment in time. It does make sense though.
"And now we honour our third Quarter Quell", continues the president. I can't help but think of the horrors that my tribute will have to face this year. Maria has officially retired as mentor, so it will be Alejandro's and my job to guide the tributes from Ten. As it's a Quell, who knows how many tributes will be under our care. It could even be two girls, or two boys. Maybe they'll be adults the same age as us.
It's going to be worse for Seven and Twelve. They're the ones with Quarter Quell victors. Both of the districts have very recent victories as well, with Johanna Mason and Katniss Everdeen.
"On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder that if not for the Capitol's generosity and mercy, the districts would have nothing, this year's tributes will not be allowed to receive sponsor gifts. Mentors will be assigned to each tribute as per usual, as to coach them, and pre-Games events will still be held so to stick to tradition".
The anxiety lifts off my chest. No sponsor gifts certainly isn't a devastating twist. It'll lift the stress of off the mentors as well.
"Of course", Maria says.
"What, Madre?", I ask.
"Well it's obvious isn't it? Haven't you heard the talks of rebellion in the taverns?"
"Of course, but what has that got to do with the Quell?", Alejandro asks.
"The Capitol knows. They're punishing us for being so 'ungrateful'", she sighs, making air quotes as she says ungrateful.
Suddenly the anxiety is back. I have to be careful with what I do. I'm the only victor from Ten involved in the rebellion. Maria is too loyal to the Capitol, and Alejandro doesn't care. Every district has at least one rebellious victor, and now Snow is aware. With no sponsor gifts, it's pretty much a guarantee that someone from One, Two or Four will come out. Anyone in the Career pack will have a massive advantage this year, because they'll have control of the Cornucopia. Snow is guaranteeing that the victor this year will be no use to the rebellion.
This Quell is more devastating than I thought.
And that's the twist! I'm very excited to begin this story, and I'm working hard to make sure the Games will be interesting. I used some of the dialogue word for word when Snow was saying the Quell twists, so the credit goes to Suzanne Collins. This universe is an alternate universe where the rule change of the first book wasn't announced and Peeta died shortly after the feast from blood poisoning. Katniss was crowned the sole victor of the Seventy-Fourth Games and rebellion in the districts didn't grow, because Katniss and Peeta didn't perform 'an act of rebellion'. Victors don't have to go back in, so it's a different twist.