Noah D.10

As soon as I rose out from underground I had to struggle to keep my eyes open. A bright, hot sun was reflecting of the clear blue water, it hurt my eyes. I was the youngest, only twelve year old, smallest and weakest. As I tried to prepare myself, my mind wandered to the rest of the tributes, I replayed the reapings in my head.

First, of course, it was district one, a career district, the Capitol's favourites. An 18 year old girl called Rose was chosen from the reaping ball. She looked very serious and mean, most of them do, though. No one volunteered in place of her. The boy was then chosen, his name was Aiden… he didn't look too scary, he was only twelve as well. Unfortunately, when volunteers were asked for, a big, 18 year old boy stepped up. I think he wanted to prove his strength, and just go for it, as it was his last year and the odds definitely were in his favour. So that was the District one tributes, with district two very similar. The girl was 16 and very pretty. Lori, her name was, and her fellow tribute Leo, 17, had a confident career look about him… I decided I would definitely avoid them.

District three isn't a career district, so the tributes aren't as scary. The girl Ramona, 16, looked okay, but very intelligent. The boy Scott, 13, looked a bit scared, maybe he would ally with me, I thought. Again there were no volunteers, well; they don't tend to volunteer as much in district three. There is another career district, four, they're in charge of fishing, a lot of them are good with tridents, I remember people talking about Finnick Odair… Ariel was the girl, she's 16, and the boy was Douglas, 17. It looked like something was going on between them, romantic wise, and I kind of felt sorry for them. I guessed they would be part of the career team, and I was right. District five was June, 14, and Sky, 15. Nothing really stood out about them. District six had Coral, 15, and Stiles, 17. I don't think Coral will do very well in the games; she got a 4 for her training score. District seven, the girl was Willow, 16 and Adam, 12. I was glad there was another twelve year old, and I didn't think anyone would volunteer in place of him; until a very big 18 year old called Theo stepped up and volunteered, I think he felt sorry for Adam. Why did no one do that for me? District eight held Summer, 16, and Jack, 13, the only sort of drama there was a woman (Jack's mother, I think) breaking down and crying. Nine had Errica, 13, and Jude, 15. Then it was my district, ten. The girls were called first, Petunia, a 15 year old, was picked. I knew she would have trouble in the games because she was stuck up and from a rich family. As I was twelve, I didn't think I would get picked. I felt okay. Until my name was called out. I almost fainted. My knees went weak as I walked up to the stage, waiting for volunteers. But it was silent and before I knew it, I was in the Capitol. District eleven was interesting when 13 year old Amy was reaped, and then 15 year old Nox volunteered. She was unusual, weak and upset looking. Apparently she was bullied a lot; I wonder if that's why she volunteered… The boy from eleven was Jay, 14. Lastly it was district twelve, the poorest of all the districts. Carrie, 14, and Ryan, 16, were reaped. There was nothing special about them; they just looked very underfed, like most of twelve.

So that was the reapings, all the other people I was up against. One of them would kill me. I might kill some of them.

Just as I got to district twelve the gong sounded. Our sixty seconds were up and we had to leave our platforms. But how? I thought I would have to swim until I stepped out onto a clear bridge, leading straight to the mouth of the cornucopia.

Training Scores

Sterling- 11. Rose- 8

Leo- 10. Lori- 9

Scott- 5. Ramona- 6

Douglas- 10. Ariel- 9

Sky- 5. June- 7

Stiles- 6. Coral- 4

Theo- 10. Willow- 7

Jack- 5. Summer- 5

Jude- 8. Errica- 6

Noah- 5. Petunia- 4

Jay – 6. Nox- 8

Ryan- 6. Carrie- 5.

Carrie D.12

I look around the arena as soon as I can. All tributes are on platforms equidistant from the cornucopia which is in the centre of a lake. We are in the lake. I panic a bit until I notice the clear, almost invisible bridge leading straight to the cornucopia. From the cornucopia there are four bridges made of wood that lead to four different sections of the arena, although what is there is hidden behind a row of trees. My original plan, to not go anywhere near the cornucopia and just get out of there, needs to be re-thought. As I don't know what lies behind the trees, I decide to run straight to the island with the cornucopia and get onto the closest bridge leading to the beach then trees, past the lake and away from the bloodbath.

When the gong sounds I run. Run as fast as I can and instantly turn to the bridge. However, what I didn't think to do was take in the other tributes. Rose, the tribute from district one, had already made it to the cornucopia with the other careers and had hold of some sharp daggers. Well, I guessed that's what they were, my back was turned but she had shown off with them in the training centre. A sharp pain ran through me as a dagger entered my back. My dying view was a glistening blue lake with a beautiful beach, before I blacked out.

The games had started.

Lori D.2

As the countdown began to draw to a close, I eyed up the rest of my allies. Sure enough, they had noticed the almost invisible bridges leading straight to an island with the cornucopia on. We would all make it there. I had a direct view of the mouth of the cornucopia, it was suspiciously empty, compared to other years, and I couldn't see many weapons. But I was fast, and I knew we could secure what we needed, and Sterling wouldn't let anything important go. As the gong sounded I followed our plan; cornucopia – weapons – supplies – kill. I was the first there, closely followed by the others. After collecting some sort of sword I turned round and saw that wimpy twelve year old running my way, he had been on the platform next to me. If I wasn't in it to win the games, I may have spared the kid's life, but there is only one survivor. I was just making his suffering in the games shorter, sword through his chest; instant death. No regrets. I turned straight back to the cornucopia to carry on.