Nina Esteves- Head Gamemaker

Freedom.

What a strange word freedom was. It rolled off her tongue awkwardly, as if it were a foreign word in a language unknown. Her lips moved slowly when she said it, looking as if she was attempting desperately to figure out its meaning. Freedom was a word not normally found in her vocabulary. Just the whispering mention of the word made her ears perk and her entire body alert. The word brought back memories of the rebellion just ten years prior. Just the sheer mention of the word filled people's hearts with hope and added a subtle glint to their normally dull eyes. This glint is the same one that made the streets run red with crimson blood. Their blood. The people's blood.

And so it began that whenever said word was spoken, she pictured a wave of glittering red blood crashing down upon the people of Panem and sweeping them off their feet. They swirled about in the ocean of their own blood, thrashing and struggling until they eventually went under the raging red currents, not to be seen again. When the wave passed, all that was left in her mind were massive piles of limp corpses stacked on top of one another. Their dead eyes only stared back at her, glazed over and expressionless. There were thousands, possibly millions of dead bodies. There were twice as many expressionless and foggy eyes. There were so many, adding twenty-three more limp bodies and fourty-six dull, dead eyes didn't make a difference.

The Avox opened the door, snapping her out of her stupor. Brushing the hem of skirt skirt downwards, she took a tiny step forwards. She gulped. Although she knew what she was going into, she always was nervous to meet with President Heron. The old woman always made her anxious. One slip of her tongue and the president could turn her into a mute Avox- or worse. She could pay the ultimate price for a one simple word that accidentally escaped her two lips. Then she would just be another bloody corpse lost in the bloody piles. Despite this fear, she stepped into the room with a confident smile.

The first thing she noticed about the room were the birds. Along the blank grey walls of the room stood dozens of metal cages. Each cage held a small bird, no bigger then the size of her palm. They chirped loudly, as if they were welcoming her. At the middle of the room President Heron sat seated at her desk.

"Mrs. Esteves, how wonderful it is to see you," the president welcomed. She smiled wide, her pearly white teeth visible to the head gamemaker. The smile was most likely just for show and had no true emotion behind it.

"The pleasure is all mine," she said through an equally fake smile.

"Please, sit down, we have much to discuss," the president continued, folding her arms on her desk. Nina noticed they were skinny and skeleton-like. She shivered.

She walked towards the desk, taking a seat. She placed the papers she was carrying in front of her on the desk. They contained her best plans and ideas she had for the upcoming games.

The president parted her lips, her dull blue eyes fluttering to the piece of paper Nina just set on the desk. After a few moments, the president's eyes rested again on the head gamemaker. "I take the rebellion is fresh in your mind," she murmured softly.

"It is in everyone's," Nina responded quickly, diverting her eyes from the president's icy gaze. She shivered again. If President Heron was nothing else, she was most definitely chilling.

The president nodded her head slowly. "Precisely. It needs to stay that way. A new generation is rising, one that has not witnessed the pathetic rebellion and the immense power of the capitol. They have not seen what the capitol can do."

Nina flinched as a bird cawed loudly. "Worry no more. These games will showcase our power. The new generation will learn to respect and fear us. The blood will stay fresh in the people's minds."

Another bird squawked loudly, causing Nina to almost leap out of her seat in surprise. She glanced over at the bird, narrowing her green eyes in it's direction.

The president shifted in her seat, watching as Nina looked to the squawking bird. "I see you have taken notice to my birds. They are quite lovely, aren't they?"

"Very. May I ask why you have them in your office?"

The president blinked a few times at Nina. She sat in silence for a minute, her breathing growing quicker. She tapped her foot along the marble floor, the tapping sound echoing throughout the room. For a second Nina believed she was about to lose her tongue. Yet, the president eventually responded, her tone sharp like daggers.

"As a president, my people come before all else. The people of Panem are my life, my reason for existence. The birds remind me of the people. Notice how they flutter around in their cages, eager for the chance to stretch their wings and fly. Yet they cannot. They squeak, chirp, plead and beg for me to let them free, but I don't. It is more fun to watch them suffer."

Nina nodded her head, pretending to agree with the president's words. She turned back towards her, giving her a large, fake, toothy smile. They continued on with their meeting as if the last conversation had never happened. They conversed about the arena, and the mutts. They talked about sponsors and gamemakers. For the rest of the meeting, everything went as planned. Nina eventually stood from her seat and headed towards doorway. Before exiting, she stole one last glance at a birdcage beside the president's desk.

The bird was drowning in a sea of red.

Hey everyone! This is my first Hunger Games story, but don't worry! I've written in other genres too- so hopefully I won't go all awol on you. That being said, this is my first SYOT, and I'm super excited! Here is the forum for y'all to fill out. It is also on my profile. Please submit by PM unless you are a guest.

Note: Tributes are not first come first served. It will pick the one I like most, so try to be detailed with your submissions! Three submissions per person is the limit. If you send more then three submissions in, I may not include the extras.

Name:

Age:

Gender:

District: (a second choice too!)

Appearance:

Personality: (Try to be extensive here!)

History:

Family/Friends:

Strengths: (I like tributes with an equal # of strengths and weaknesses!)

Weaknesses:

Reaping: (Reaped or Volunteered?)

Reaction to Reaping:

Token: (optional)

Chariot Outfit: (optional)

Interview Outfit: (optional)

Strategy:

What do they focus on in Training and proposed training score:

Game strategy and proposed placement:

Allies?

Anything else:

As always, thank you for reading. I love constructive criticism and would like to hear what you all have to say about the first chapter of the book. I am accepting tributes until the 19th of May.