Mindora:
Odon swept in majestically and turned to Genisius.
"Thank you, Genisius; I'll take over from here."
"Yes, sir," Genisius replied, bowing his head in respect.
In one corner, Mindora was finally asleep. She hadn't been that way for long, but every second had been an eon of peace for Lucius and Genisius.
But, as it always was with Mindora, her silence did not last long. And why should it? The all-powerful Oron Oronof was in the room with her. That fact could not go denied to Mindora, even in her sleep.
"Oh my… Gamemaker Oron! Oh, I can't believe it's you! I am so in awe of your work, sir, you really are wonderful!"
The high-pitched torrent of words was, of course, Mindora, who had just woken to the sight of a living legend at the other end of the room.
Unfortunately, Oron was not so happy at the sight of Mindora.
"Who is this?!" he demanded, "Genisius, we do not mix social life with this room! You, of all people, know that! Get her out! Now! Before I chuck you both out!"
Mindora looked like the world had crashed and burned around her.
"But… But, Oron, please let me stay! I'm a massive fan; these games are my greatest passion!"
"I don't care! Get out of my centre or I will put you in those games myself!"
"You would do that? Oh, please can I go in, pl-?"
"I said, out!"
"But-"
"OUT!"
Shayli, D7 (17)
My eyelids crack open. I'm still in front of the T.V. I must've fallen asleep while watching for Shayli.
Shayli!
She's on the screen now, hiking through picturesque forests next to a stream. I examine her body as she walks. A task which is easier said than done due to the constant switching of camera angles.
Just as I finish, she suddenly stops. Beneath her, the ground trembles slightly. Her feet start to sink into the ground. Is she standing in quicksand? Surely the Gamemakers wouldn't just let her die like that, so soon with out another tribute involved?
The ground continues to shake violently, and Shayli drops straight down into the ground. I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the cannon.
After a few seconds without any sound, I crack an eye open.
The shot has changed. Now it shows a girl who I don't recognise. That's strange; I watched the Reapings twice, and then the Reaping recap, too.
Anyway, she's just waking up. I turn the volume up so I can find out who she is.
"…had a rough time so far, Caesar, yes." Claudius Templesmith is saying, "After the gong, she just ran, not picking up anything at the cornucopia. That means she hasn't eaten anything yet."
"Mind you, Claudius, she's rather weak for a District 10 citizen anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if…"
I turn the volume down again as the blonde girl gets up. A wide angle is shown, taking in her and the nearest tributes - the careers.
I don't want to watch this.
But I can't turn off the T.V. It's impossible; the Justice building controls our TVs this time of year, and they turn it on when the Hunger Games is showing. If you try to turn it off, Peacekeepers arrive to watch it with you… for the rest of the Games.
My eyelids squeeze together again as the careers draw ever-closer to the girl…
Zayn, District 1 (17)
"Be quiet a second, Bianca," says the girl from 12. (Ila was it?) We all shut up.
"What is it?" asks Cloe from 4, who has somehow become our sort of leader. "Another tribute?"
"Yeah…" she whispers.
"Let's get them!" yells Ajax, from 2. He's the only other boy in the group and he's a right idiot. I think Flame and I are the only sane ones around here. Even Chive, who I thought was alright, has left me.
Hang on, where is Flame?
I look up into the trees above my head. She's sitting there, looking over the top at the thing we heard.
"How many?" I ask. She holds up one finger in reply and I nod back.
Everyone else is arguing over who will kill this tribute, so I sneak past them with ease and slip into the clearing.
There.
Very carefully, I slip behind her and get her in a headlock, then hit her over the head with my mace. She's out cold in an instant, with a big cut running across her scalp. Next, I grab my knife and-
She's very small, isn't she? And extremely thin.
Without my consent, part of my brain imagines her with her family, at home. What will they be thinking now?
I sigh. This is crazy. All I need to do is slit her throat! It's really not that hard.
But I can't quite bring myself to do it.
I'll… I'll just leave her here. The others can do it.
Just as I'm about to drop her and go, I sense a presence.
Someone's behind me.
"Go on," says a voice – Cloe.
"Yeah, what are you waiting for?" Ajax.
"Look, if you don't want to do it…" Bianca.
"No, no! I'll do it for you!" Chive.
"Shut up, all of you. He got here first, so he gets to kill her." The girl from 12 (Eve was it?)
"Yeah, Ivy's right," –Ivy, that was it- "Let Zayn do it." Says Cloe.
I will do this. For Cali.
My knife goes up and I close my eyes.
Boom!
Lyric, District 9 (13)
Hide, hide, hide. Run, run, hide.
She didn't know what was hidden enough. What had that nice lady who smelt of sweets said? "Never, never, let anyone find you. If they do…"
Oh, she had never been good at remembering anything.
Down the metal tunnels she ran, turning randomly. Every now and then, she would reach a dead end, so turn around and run back the way she came.
The silence cut her to the core.
And she was so afraid.
Rayon, District 8 (17)
The change when I get out of the desert is instant; the heat goes – I can literally feel the shade on my back - and the wind stops, along with the biting sand.
I inhale the clear air and take a step further into this cool haven.
Clank! The sound bounces off many walls around me. I'm in some sort of metal tunnel.
For a little while, I walk down the passages with my hand on one wall, following the side. Down, down, down it goes, right into the ground.
Suddenly, I hear something up ahead and stop. It sounds like the ping noise of a parachute, maybe 200metres away. This is followed by the sound of an opening catch, a gasp (female, someone older than me), and a clank of metal on metal, almost like… Well, sort of like when my father repairs the sewing machine at home – the sound of mechanics.
"No! No! Please, no!" It's a different girl's voice, this time closer.
"Shut up and stop wriggling" This voice is different: older and lower.
Who are they? Come on, Rayon, they were both in training with you!
"No! Get that dirty piece of metal out of my face! Help! Someone he-" The first voice is quickly silenced. Was it… Oh, the girl from six! Yes, the trainers kept dragging her out of the medical room, telling her that she didn't need morphling.
"No-one's helping you now, stupid," says the second voice – possibly the girl from three? Yes, it is, but I certainly can't imagine her saying that.
There are sounds of a struggle, then a cannon shot and feet walking away.
I shiver.
I just heard a murder.
Eloisa, District 5 (17)
Mutts crawl from every passage around me, ready to strike at any second. I'm trapped. I don't want to die like this… Please, anyone, save me!
Tears leak from my eyes down to my mouth and I shut my eyes, tight. My legs buckle beneath me and I collapse.
The world fades out…
"Hello? Hello, can you hear me?"
Blinking, I wake to see a boy's face in front of mine. I scramble back as fast as I can. At the cornucopia, I only picked up three bottles of water and I can't reach them now, so I'm totally defenceless.
When I reach the metal wall, I look at him properly and gasp.
"What happened to your face?!" I can't help but ask.
He gets up from his crouched position and stares at his feet. "I… I, um… It got very burnt when I was 18 months. Seventy-five percent burns all over my body."
It's so sad a sight that I forget to be scared for a moment… Until I see the man in white, standing right behind him.
"Look out!" I yell, "There's a man behind you!"
The boy spins on his heels and looks around. "No there isn't." he says, and he's right; the man's gone.
"Never mind…" I mutter, "He turns up sometimes…" I spot the look on his face. He thinks I'm crazy. "Oh, forget it."
He sighs. "I'm Nick, from District 5. You?"
"Eloisa, District 5." I say, "But I don't remember you from the reapings…" I try to think of what I do remember from the reapings. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing my district partner at all. It probably was him.
"Allies?" he asks.
"Yeah, ok. Let's go."
We start off again down the tunnel.
Should I trust him?
A/N: I would like to apologise to the following people for killing their tributes:
shady in the ghetto (Quinn, D6 girl)
flowersami (Rose, D10 girl)
I have friend called Imp97. She is writing an SYOT and is in desperate need of tributes. If any of you can help, it would be very, very welcome. I'll have a link up on my page if you want to find it.
See you soon!
