The Reaping
They say that something happened inside of him that day. The day of the Reaping. They say that he became a different person. They're right. I did. But I didn't just break at the Reaping. I died. My name before then doesn't matter; his name doesn't matter. Because I was just Mr. Almost from then on.
He was a barely decent mechanic-in-training from District 6 and he almost made it to adulthood without ever being a tribute, but when he was eighteen and he was called. He tried very hard to be upset about his imminent death. He did. But I knew there was nothing for me in District 6. He was bad at fixing machines and worse at building them. He wasn't allowed to run the trains and probably never would have been; the Capitol is very picky about who they let have near-free range about the Districts. I was never suited to the Transportation district. Of course, I couldn't tell my weeping family that I didn't mind going. I was their only child, after all.
The old man, Roger Carlisle, who picked me and my counterpart up, herded us onto our train. This has been his duty since the beginning. He was overly chipper, but very friendly and made me think of my grandfather, if he were fabulously wealthy and wore a purple opera cape. Not to say that his family was poor. We just weren't rich. We were almost rich and almost poor.
The last person on my train was our mentor, an angry woman called Jezzy. I remember Jezzy's game. She had been the second victor from District 6 and the game had been one of the shortest. Jezzy had the fewest sponsors of all the tributes, but she convinced the Careers that she was useful because she could make almost anything from scratch, then she killed them in their sleep. She repeated this as needed. Look like an innocent twelve-year-old, find someone willing to protect her and hoping to use her, kill them when they thought they were safe. The last to was a boy from an outlying district who couldn't get over his objection to killing a little girl in time. At least he died with his soul intact.
Jezzy still scared me, but the other tribute seemed in awe of her. I knew one thing from watching the Hunger Games all my life: no one likes a traitor. Alliances are common in the arena and when they last until the end, they get more stuff. Jezzy had done a lot of damage to his district's reputation. He was resolved to be different. Jezzy insisted that sponsors were unnecessary. I knew she was wrong.
When we got to the Capitol, I tried not to be in awe because 6 is almost an inner district. It was almost an outer district, though, so the Capitol was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I waved cordially to the crowd before Jezzy and Roger led us inside.
The Preparation
The suave, flashy host went through the interviews like a box of chocolate; unwrapping each for the surprise flavor inside and encouraging others to try it. I picked up on what he was doing as he talked to the boy from District 5, a fourteen-year-old who was young enough that his odds of winning were almost nothing and old enough to know that. He was a walking corpse, like me. The host changed that. He gave the boy something to fight for with all his strength (a girl back home, of all things). He did the same for the District 6 girl. How clever the Capitol is.
When it was my turn, the host greets me with, "Did you know that you're the oldest tribute this year?"
I blinked. "I almost wasn't."
The host laughed. "Isn't that the truth? Your last eligible year and that's when your name is called."
"It's just the luck of the draw, I guess," I said.
"Maybe not," the host said. "Do you believe in fate? After all, being the oldest does have its advantages."
"Yes." I rolled my eyes. "I'm full of wisdom from my years of self-reflection."
The host laughed again and the audience with him. "Well, let's hope that works out in your favor." He stood and gestured to me. "Ladies and gentlemen, Mister Almost!"
(Roger told me at dinner that night that he came up with the nickname. "Nothing like a nickname to build up fans." I don't think he meant for it to be my name for the rest of my life.)
Evaluations were the worst part of the pre-game madness. I thought had no useful skills before coming here, but it turned out that I was a fast learner at everything but being a mechanic. Jezzy had shown me how to make weapons out of wood and rocks with no tools, but I had also paid special attention to the survival training. There had been a lot of focus on mushrooms, so I spent some time on my own learning more about them. I also practiced my fishing skills because mushrooms grow in wet places. My combat skills were, as Jezzy said, acceptable.
It was a gamble, but showing off my survival knowledge and my learned resourcefulness got me a score of 11. I had the highest score. Almost perfect. There were four 10s, though, and I had a suspicion that they would eventually outweigh my score.
The Arena
The day of the Games arrives and he fly out to the arena. I don't get nervous until I get in the elevator chute and it starts going down. When it stops, there is almost total darkness, but I can hear the chutes close above me. Someone on the other side of the cornucopia screams, then there is an explosion. The cave shivers. Someone else is startled by the first and a second boom goes off.
22.
The countdown finishes and I run away from the brawl. He isn't ready to kill. I realize my mistake in running to fast as I hit my head on a stalactite. Someone trips over me be I stumble to me feet. "Fine. We'll fight," I say. I look around for my assailant, but he hits me first.
I bump into a stalagmite on my way to the ground and an idea strikes me. I lay still until he comes at me again. As his feet brush mine, I spring up and shove him into the stalagmite. I hear bones crack and feel blood on his chest. A cannon boomed, but it isn't for mine; he is still coughing. There is a round of cannon shots, 6 of them, before my attacker finally dies.
14.
I continue down the passage way, more carefully this time. I find myself in a dirt tunnel with tree roots poking down. Smiling, I go to find a rock to dig some out with. I need weapons and tools.
It is now that he realizes that he's a killer.
I finish gathering things that I think will be useful and start looking for water and a safe place to sleep. Another cannon goes off.
13.
I smile. I am realizing that I have a good chance of survival after all.
I find a lake, but I am hesitant to stay. I see a couple of lights waving around. The problem with flashlights is that while they help you see, they also help other people see you. I look around for a place to hide and wait for them to pass by me.
There are some rocky shelves and I take cover there, but the lights go the other direction. I hear a scuffle and a scream. I look to see who has died and it isn't the group with the flashlights. The cannon goes off.
12.
I have found the career alliance. It seems their current plan is to trick people into thinking they're the dumb ones and attacking. They are moving away, though, so I feel safe enough to sleep.
I am woken by the sound of splashing in the lake. I I poke my head out and look around. There is a girl in the water and she has a lantern. With the light, I can see a stream flowing into the lake, but none going out. I know that the lake will attract the other tributes, so I have to get away from it. I also need food.
Quietly, I lash my roots and rocks together with my jacket and wait for the girl to leave. After she does, I go upstream to look for food.
A cannon goes off.
11.
Time is marked only by the nightly list of the fallen. After about three days, I am tired of mushrooms, but I have only seen a couple of other tributes and managed to avoid them. I've become accustomed to waking up at the slightest noise and I can work in the near-total darkness. To be honest, I don't know where the light comes from, except for the faintly glowing creatures I have found (don't know if any are edible; not going to try).
Today, I am woken by a scraping noise just in time to see a giant spider crawling towards me. He stifles a scream. The light of a flashlight falls on me. The careers. I grab the spider by a leg and throw it at a them. A boy screams.
By the spider's faint glow, I see the boy from district 2 fall, writhing. Then the spider scuttles away.
The other three shine their flashlights into my eyes. Blinded, I throw my extra rocks at them. I hear a few impacts and the lights wave around.
A second later, a girl appears out of the light, a knife in each hand. I hold my bundle of roots up like a shield. Both of her knives stab through the jacket, but don't reach me. I twist, flinging her to the side. One of her knives stays in my bundle, so I take it out and prepare for her next attack.
She comes at me again, more carefully this time. My eyes have finally adjusted to the light. She is better with the knife and she gets a few shallow cuts on my arms. I am stronger and once I get in close, I wrestle her to the ground and stab her in the throat.
Two cannons go off as I stand and turn to face the other two.
9.
The other two run away.
I sigh, blind again. I crouch until my eyes adjust to darkness again, then I grab my bundle. My arms are bleeding more than I feel is good. I use the knife to cut some strips out of my jacket's lining and bandage the cuts. As is my luck, a cold breeze suddenly wafts through the cave.
A cannon goes off as it keeps getting colder.
8.
I hear someone crying somewhere close by. I think it is a girl. I put my bundle over my back and start slipping closer to the noise. There was a girl, clutching the body of another tribute. Their was a spider with a leg broken off slipping back into a hole. I silently thank it like it's a friend. It did save my life earlier.
As I near the girl, I hear her mumbling, "There's nothing, nothing, where is everyone? Hello? I think I'm lost. Silk!"
I pause. The noise she's making will draw others closer. I grab my knife and slit her throat. A cannon goes off almost immediately.
7.
Before getting away, I take her jacket. The cave keeps getting colder.
I get lost in the tunnels later, can't find the mushrooms I had been living on. I'm cold and hungry and the weight of killing someone who was helpless weighs heavy on my chest. All the other people before had attacked me first. The next step to being like a career is start hunting the people. I don't want to be them.
But the careers almost always win. The careers get to go home. I want to go home. I didn't before. But I do now. I am tired of the dark. I am tired of this cave. Only six more have to die. Four, before the gamekeepers pit me against the careers. I killed half of that group anyway. I can take the other two.
So he's really dead. Whoever I was before. I want to go home more than I want to be myself.
My wanderings now have a purpose. I am a hunter seeking out my prey.
The careers help me out with another cannon shot.
6.
I smile.
I find a group of two. One is asleep. The other is keeping watch, but facing the wrong direction. I throw a spear that I made and it gets buried in the kid's back. I stab the other with my knife. Boom, boom.
4.
The cave starts shaking.
A stalactite falls near me, the tip sticking into the ground and the rest shattering around it.
I start running. I only get a few feet before I realize it's the wrong direction. The cave is collapsing. It must be pushing me towards the careers. And towards home.
Amidst the rumbling of the earth trying to swallow me, there was a more percussive bang.
3.
Just me and the careers.
We run in to each other by the lake. Their lights hurt my eyes. I throw spears in their direction and they drop the flashlights while dodging them.
No more tricks.
Just a fight. Two on one. I can take them.
I can finally see my opponents. The girl from 2 and the girl from 3. Two of the 10s. They both have knives. I still have my bundle and I use it as a shield.
District 3 is on my left and district 2 is on my right. I block 3, knocking her down. I hit 2 with my bundle and take the moment that she stumbles to jab my knife in her gut.
I know now why they ran away before. I took out the better fighters already.
Victory is mine.
I am free.
The cannon goes off.
2.
Just me and the girl from 3.
I yell with exhilaration.
3 stares at me for a second, suddenly wary.
Well, I probably look like a crazy person. And she's much smaller than I am.
I run towards her suddenly and shove her into the lake. In the flash, she drops her knife. I push her head under the water. He is frightened by his own brutality. My one consolation is that I'll get to go home after this.
I feel the girl slipping away from me. Her lungs have filled up with water and she's sinking deeper. I can't feel her hair anymore.
But the cavern is silent.
"Where's the cannon?" I ask. "Where's the damn cannon!"
Something grabs hold of my ankle and pulls me under. I see her face in the slanted light of the flashlights. I can't get her off of me. She's stronger than I thought. I'm dying.
I close my eyes.
I almost won the Hunger Games.
He never could have gone home, but I almost lived.
Mr. Almost is all too fitting a nickname now.
I imagine my thousands of fans weeping for my death.
I imagine district 3 cheering.
My lungs burn as they pull in water, demanding air.
The cannon, my cannon, goes of prematurely.
1.