Prologue: Construction

Jacob Calirosso, 34 years old, Head Gamemaker

"So we're sure that we want to do this?" Malaya Scarlon asks me. She's just as nervous as I am when talking to superiors. It kind of shows in her subtly designed clothes juxtaposed on her rather portly frame. Her green and black eyes tremble as she looks over the latest plans. She's the map maker and planner for the arena, and my second in command for a reason. But I'm glad she knows who's in charge.

"Malaya, realize that the most popular location for the arenas is between District 7 and the Capitol for a reason. The weather is close to our home, not as hot as the badlands of District 5, more dynamic than the subtropics of District 4 and 10, and that District 13 is no longer an option for the arenas. Transportation will run smoother there, and our supplies for these new additions will be there quickly." She squeaks as I rant before running off to blabber to the rest of our team.

I get up from my desk and jump down the 10 feet to join my second in command headgamemakers. "Jacob," Aderion Shorin, the public relations manager, greets me. Much like Malaya he's shorter and stubby, but he has a much more well adapted taste of clothing. He dusts off his green flanked coat and puts on a smile. "The under gamemakers are trying to get a general look on how District 13 is run, so that they can update their websites and give official press recordings."

"Well I don't know jackshit either." Rolling my eyes I notice an avox stride into the room, giving a drink to muttmaker Irradia Manir before walking to me. She carries with her a tube full of glitter and a message that the president needs to see me. In the glitter a poorly contained message says that's it's to talk about the state of District 13 at the present. "B-B-But I think we'll get the idea promptly…" I stutter with my confidence leaving me.

Aderion nods with an understanding grab at my shoulder before he returns to his position and gets on the phone with the main Capitol news network.

Blowing air into my tightly clasped hands I follow the avox into one of the president's private cabs and let the driver take me into the President's main office. Our last prisoner's execution has me on edge. She might remind me that my Head Gamemaker's position lasts only for 5 years, only to keep the population satiated for the decade to come, and I might be the next target. Then again, I may get a promotion, or a raise, or maybe a new home. But then those will come with catches, such as having to report more than weekly with her, having her on contact 24/7, having me as a main inforcer so much so that-

I'm jolted out of my thoughts with the arrival to the massive five story mansion, where the offices are on the first 2 stories and the living quarters are on the upper three. There are 2 sets of staircases, one that leads into private living quarters and a smaller and less ornate pair that leads into the main offices for the president.

Aderion Shorin, 35 years old, Public Relations Manager

As Jacob leaves the heavily guarded and pristine room I pull up the files that President Sleet privately sent. Aldric apparently wasn't the only prisoner. Another leader went out with much less of a fight and they took a second in command who was apparently a head of nuclear development and trying to train it to the Capitol.

Much like Aldric's execution, the leader's execution, this one another man going by the name of Zeta Wickons, starts with Sleet talking to the prisoner. The prisoner is much more relenting than this time and gets a bit more of a merciful execution, but still scary nonetheless. My eyes go wide as he's sent on a conveyor belt with the sounds of machinery running in the background, the most prominent being a piston. The prisoner tries to escape this time and barely doesn't, but trips over the belt and gets squashed by the piston and sprays blood everywhere.

I look around sure that I'm not being watched and briefly go back to my main server. With a sigh I send a message out to some of the server moderators in District 3. Be sure to add some of the sound files that we sent you to some of the features of the new arena. But don't reveal too much, or else I'm going to blast off into oblivion.

With that message sent I view the last execution as of late. Like the previous two, Sleet gets some information out of the prisoner, a girl going by Zebulon Nebule, before she's executed unceremoniously. She's given the most brutal execution I've seen yet. A chain manifests out of nowhere, wraps around her neck, and drags her to a batting cage. She's pelted with baseballs to death, and her blood scatters everywhere.

I almost scream after seeing the video and hastily move to a different display in order to work on some more apparent needs. A brochure for arena tours needs to be completed and finalized for last year's arena, a dark cavern with many beautiful light features. I continue to work as I notice the rest of us simply milling about.

Malaya Scarlon, Vice HeadGamemaker, 30 years old

I shiver uncontrollably as I look at the footage of the third Quarter Quell, the one with victor's relatives. Taking place in a horrendous clock, the Hunger Games lasted for six days, the digital root of 24, with a third of the tributes dying to the bloodbath and six tributes falling to the horrors of the arena.

As gamemakers we aren't supposed to feel mercy to the tributes, but as the first death occurs, I know that they've been spared much of the horror. The youngest tribute in the arena falls off of her pedestal and I can swear that the jabberjay mutts were ringing as the girl, Audley, had her pedestal obliterated. After the miniature wave gets sent to her wedge partner the bloodbath begins in earnest.

I hold tightly onto the cushions as I change the video feed to one of my favorite mash ups, the bloodbath mash up. All bloodbaths from Hunger Games 8 onward with their massive amount of deaths feature heavily with hundreds of tibutes dying in the single opening hour. It'll be hard to have this year's games live up to the hype of years past.

I unfold the map of the arena that I've made so far, looking over the replica of the old popular resort, seeing it unfold over massive pathways of many areas. "Irradia," I call over. Her petite frame traipses across the polished metal floors of our offices quickly. With her she brings a case of models of her muttations and I lay the map out on the table. "So what is it you had planned for this bear?"

Irradia smiles and opens her mouth as she begins to tell me. "He's in the forest, the central mutt, and he can talk and leads his friends though the ceter of the woods, as they'll call it. They need a lot of help so if the tributes successfully help then they get a good item. That's going to be determined by Corrin. So that's the main gimmick of the Hundred Acre Woods besides it being big."

"So the mutts are for the most part peaceful?"

"Yeah, unless they fail at getting the object or don't give it. Then they die. Simple as that."

I nod in confirmation as the monitor begins to display a request for communication. Aderion accepts the call immediately and puts us all on the feed. "Hey guys," Jacob says awkwardly. "The president wants us to add something, so uhh, take notes?"

"What is it?" Corrin Dexter asks nonchalantly.

"Remember what the president did to the prisoner a while ago?" he says with a wince. "She wants that in the arena. She has about a dozen more ideas and wants to see at least one programmed for the games."

"Oh," Irradia says loudly. "No problem then. I'll just fix the mutts and we can have that appear in the games. I went over this with you, but remember the fetch tasks that we have the tributes doing? If they fail, then they die like that," Irradia says happily.

Jacob lets out a sigh of relief and turns his attention to Corrin. "Corrin, work with Aderion to get the 'executions' to the arena. Malaya, just get the map adjusted for our convenience. Finish finding the locations of the mutts with Irradia. And then Irradia, I'll work with you for a design on the main mutt. I'll see you guys then."

The video ends and we get to work, sure that we can finish in time for the Hunger Games in about 5 months. I just get to work adjusting the designs of the map. I layer it over the illuminated table and get to work as per usual. Corrin puts on some infernally annoying music to 'get him in the mood' and I have to resist snapping a pencil and burying it in his skull.


Hey Guys, Hopps here

So I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was a quick look at the team behind the despair inducing arena this year and they're jsut so willing to suck the hope out of the unlucky 26 tributes...upupupu

As for some thoughts, I am in need of more tributes since I don't want to have to make final decisions just yet, see my profile for details. Also the deadline has been established as 2017's summer solstice. in the meanwhile I'll probably be making another prologue and devising some sort of sponsorship program with these rules. In case I do pull through with the sponsorship, I'll ask this question for 10 bonus sponsor points. Which 2 franchises in general are going to be represented with the arena? [questions like these will be optional, and there is no penalty for getting these wrong]

Anyways, I hope you guys submit, School's out for me so I hope to be writing for the summer

Hopping out

Hopps