Dayta Owens, 14, D3:
So, this is where I shall observe my competition? A small darker room than before, lit up only by the light of the television screen. Two cushioned seats face the screen, a small table in front of it. Perhaps I am expected to write in the notepad that rests in front of the seat. I highly doubt that will be nessacary for me.
As for my District partner, Liesel, it might come across as helpful. Speaking of Liesel, I wonder if she is prepared. We were expected to be here at approximately 8:30, it is now five minutes past. However, it isn't too long until she appears, the usual scowl embedded onto her face, cold eyes worn with fatigue. There is no denying that Liesel is exceptionally tired.
Even in the dim light, she still doesn't seem quite normal. Hostile indeed, possibly quite far from polite.
"Good evening," I say, nodding my head.
"Yeah, whatever, just shut up," she groans, stretching her arms above her head. What a pleasant young girl. From my current observations, I know that she isn't simply a dim witted soul. She has a edge of intelligence, indeed a very devious girl. I have made sure to eye each one of my competition, and she is the first.
"My apologies, I theorised it might be a good idea to possibly get to know each other," I say, choosing my words carefully.
"You really think I'm that stupid? I know what you're trying to do, you're as far from social as it gets, and we are about to enter a brutal battle to the death. The last thing anyone would want to do is to get to know a person before they have to kill them," she says in mock laughter.
"No, I know what you're doing. You want to know my strengths, my weaknesses, anything you can use against me. That's not happening, so nice try," she says.
I'm impressed. However, that's not what I was going after, she in fact confirmed what I had been suspecting. She definitely isn't oblivious, she is always on her toes, ready to use anything to her advantage. This shows that she is already thinking about strategy, and can damn well be a threat.
"Oh I was simply trying to strike up a friendly conversation," I say, making my expression blank.
"Is that the case? Come on I thought you were smarter than that Dayta," she says shaking her head. If only she knew.
"Well, if you don't want a civil conversation, what is there to do?" I ask. She sighs, I may have gone past her tolerance point.
"I don't understand, shouldn't you be sooking like all the younger tributes would be doing, you are being sent to your death after all," she says plonking herself on the recliner.
"A fair suggestion indeed, however I do not intend to die. My intentions are to come out of this game alive," I say, producing a smirk. She almost spits out the water she had been so graciously sipping.
"You expect to win this? You're not so smart after all!" She exclaims, wiping her mouth.
"Indeed, this may be a game of fighting and death, however people still fail to realise, that brain always beats brawn," I say as I lean back comfortably. She appears to think for a moment, considering what I have just said.
"Okay, what if a lunatic from District 5 comes at you wielding two axes?" She says leaning back herself. This girl is something different, she is challenging me. I am enjoying this.
"Oh that's an easy task. Dodging at the specific angle as he swipes at me should ensure enough time for me to then make my move. Knocking his calf with the right amount of force will momentarily incapacitate him, which will slow his recovery time. This gives me enough time to hit the right pressure point to temporarily paralyse him," I say as I cross off every step with my fingers.
"Then what would you do?" She says with her arms crossed.
"What do you mean?" I ask, certain I have covered all the specifics.
"Do you kill him after?" She asks, eyebrows raised. For the first time in a long time, I'm left speechless. I have been faced with something that I do not know that answer too, what would I do? Surely I wouldn't be heartless enough to kill him. However if I left him, he would certainly come after me later on.
"You are hesitant to kill aren't you?" Liesel says softly.
"No, of course not, I would kill him in a heartbeat!" I exclaim, somewhat unconvincingly. I was never a star actor.
"You would think that killing someone is hard, but it really isn't any different to an animal," she says, voice barely audible over a whisper.
"Shall we begin watching these reaping's?" I ask, determined to change the topic.
"Sure," she says in response. The image on the screen switches from the Capitol seal to what I presume to be the Town Square of District 1. Undeniably their District is beautiful, blue skies, marble buildings. Of course the District is rich after all.
Surprisingly, we are greeted first by a volunteer. The girl named Theia calmly raises her hand, saving another girl in the process. However the vibes I get from her are nowhere near heroic. Her gaze is elusive, sly, I dare say even wild. I will indeed keep my eyes on her.
"Fancy that, two of you," I say smirking at Liesel. She gives me a greasy look and glances back at the screen. Not the time for banter?
I am bewildered again by the next tribute who bounds up to the stage to volunteer. Straight away, Haim comes across as cocky, which I assume he knows. His eyes are full of excitement, however not insanity.
"What's with everyone volunteering to die?" I say exasperated. I get no response from Liesel as the District 2 reaping's have begun. This time the male tribute is reaped first, quite interesting, apparently there is no specific order. An African American boy named Nero is called. Looking for signs of disturbance becomes inefficient, until he finally manages to make his way to the stage.
I notice a limp accompanies him, a disability for the arena will unlikely prove helpful to him. It definitely won't appeal to such a lethal audience. The only thing besides that that interests me, is the fact that he has no reaction at. His face is blank and he appears to feel nothing, if anything at all, it would be pure boredom.
The next girl is interesting. A girl named Ladonna is called up. This time there is immediate disturbance in the crowd. An incredibly large and muscular girl panics and begins to break down. A few Peacekeepers are knocked out in the process, until they are finally able to get her under control.
"Nothing I can't handle, you on the other hand, well I believe that Ladonna could sit on you and you will be gone," states Liesel.
"Oh really? Honestly, Nero seems about as capable of killing as a kitten does in the state he is in, and Ladonna appears to have the IQ of a cabbage," I say calmly.
"Personally, at this moment in time, our biggest threat are the Ones, something about that girl, isn't particularly, 'normal', let's leave it at that," I say.
"Perhaps, we shall find out anyway," she says, facing the TV again.
The familiar District 3 Town Square pops up on screen. I sigh at the memory.
"Oh how I miss it already," I say dreamily.
"Fucking hate it to be quite honest," says Liesel.
"Why is that? It's your home," I reply.
"No, District 7 is my home. I've been stuck in that shithole you call District 3 for too many months now," she says bitterly.
"And this is your opportunity to escape," I reply.
Nealt stands in the same position she was standing when the reaping occurred. First Liesel is called up, which she does so while examining her nails and giving the least bit of attention to what was going on.
"How delightful you look," I say laughing. She covers her eyes from the screen, expressing disgust.
"I look atrocious," she mutters.
"Hey, it's better than crying," I say shrugging.
I hear Nealt call the name Dayta Owens, and without warning the flood of emotions I experienced at that moment come racing back to me. Confusion. Anger. Even a bit of fear mixed in. I had been so confused as to why I had been reaped. I mean surely the Capitol were doing this to claim those idiot rebels. So why was I, the least rebellious person chosen to participate in the games?
"Awwww, Dayta you look adorable! All shaking and everything," she says mocking me now.
"Excuse you, I was shaking with rage," I argue, folding my arms up in annoyance.
"You look so angry with your pale face and sweaty forehead, don't you?" She says grinning. She is quite good at reading people it seems.
We are introduced to the bright sunny square of District 4, deep blue ocean rolling in the back ground. The girl that is reaped, Rhode, simply rolls her eyes and scowls at the cameras that try so desperately to get up and close with her. There appears to be many fighters at this stage, Volunteers, people that look bored with the event, monstrous girls that fight Peacekeepers. The only thing I have to prove at this stage is my brain.
The boy, Danix, appears rather hesitant as he too volunteers to enter the games. I wonder why that is. He keeps turning to somewhere in the crowd looking rather panicky. From his body image he appears quite similar to Haim from District 1.
"This is getting more challenging by the second," I say, feelings of anxiety brewing deep into my stomach.
Next is the savage District known as Five. I can hear the gunshots in the background of the recording. An athletic and muscular boy of Asian descent is reaped, named Minho. The name is familiar, maybe I've read it in one of the many books I own. That would be the most logical explanation.
He doesn't exactly react, more just glares at the crowd, and their whiny escort. I'm not even going to lie, he scares me. I feel he is the biggest threat for me so far, mostly because of the place he comes from.
Laelia, the girl that is reaped, instantly storms up onto the stage. She is very obviously set with a colourful array of curses that she uses on her escort and the Peacekeepers. I don't catch what her escort says, but I do see her start to attack her. However this proves unsuccessful when she drops to the floor unconscious. One of the Peacekeepers has tranquillised Laelia.
Both Liesel and I glance at each other, eyes open wide. This will be a lot harder than I had first anticipated.
"Well, they are from District 5 after all," says Liesel softly. I do wonder if there is anyone that can match up to Minho. Well, there may be, we are still yet to see District 6, and I have no doubt that they will hold extraordinary odds in these games.
As I predicted, we are introduced to a girl named Hera. Brilliant green eyes, significantly tanned skin, dirty blonde hair. I feel a stir deep in my chest, like some ferocious beast wanting to be released.
"Wow," I utter, dumbstruck at this girl's beauty.
"What was that?" Asks Liesel, smirking at me.
"What? Nothing, I was just admiring the, uhh, destruction," I say pointing at the destroyed central square of District 6. No doubt that was from the District 0 attacks.
"If I know any better, that is the look of someone in love, Dayta," she says grinning.
"That's rubbish! I've only just seen her! I haven't even met her yet," I say defiantly.
"Okay, sure Dayta," she says shaking her head. I silently grin to myself, sure what she accused me of was somewhat true, the main thing is I have caused her to open up a bit, and wind down. The hostile nature seems to have come to a rest around me, now it's more playful. There is more to Liesel than I first thought, it seems.
I am drawn back to the screen by a significant amount of yelling and cursing, similar to Laelia. I am surprised to see a boy, with locks of golden hair, and porcelain like skin. He doesn't appear very similar to the, standard, District 6 appearance. I would guess District 8 at first glance. The boy's name is Aramid, quite a unique name.
"Oh dear," I sigh when Aramid as well, is tranquillised and dumped on stage. This keeps getting worse and worse. I didn't expect this kind of body power to be in the games.
District 7 proves to be just as bad. The girl named Phionex, attempts yet again to attack the escort. She appears to be more of a District 6 person with her raven coloured hair and pale skin. It doesn't get any better when Atlas, the male tribute, volunteers and spits on the escort, who had been just fixing up her clothing from the previous attack.
Again, he reminds me of Haim and Danix, but this time he has an unmistakable scar on the side of his face. One that could only have even received from fighting.
"District 8 can't be that bad, right? I mean, they are poofs," says Liesel, trying to make the situation easier. I can only hope she is correct, District 8 aren't exactly known for their physical abilities. They try to make the excuse that nobody let them fight during the war, we all know they secretly liked their job. Making clothing for the rebels. Personally I couldn't think of anything worse.
The boy is reaped first this time, his name being Rexx. Quite, 'interesting' if I say so myself. He gives the strangest reaction yet. He just smiles and politely waves at the camera. Interesting, he isn't exactly scared of the concept of dying yet.
A rather pretty girl with pale skin, coal black hair and alarming blue eyes called Libra is reaped next. For once, a tribute that cried at their selection. One that actually might be sane. I find her to look kind of like Phionex.
"See, harmless, they won't hurt a fly," Liesel says.
"I don't know about Rexx, I saw a hint of intelligence in his eyes. Rather calculating if you ask me," I say in my observatory state.
"And you're not?" Laughs Liesel.
"Well of course I am, but he is from Eight," I say staring at the screen.
The familiar image of District 9 flashes on screen. They showed the burning wheat fields a lot during the war. The girl called Ancora is reaped. She tries to get her friends, who I hear to be named Faith and Hope, to help her. After their refusal, Ancora begins to bawl, rivers of tears flowing down her cheeks.
All I can catch her saying is something about how her friends betrayed her or that they've left her. All Faith and Hope do is shake their heads, one of them cries as well.
"Hmmm, can't see her lasting long," says Liesel.
"Likewise," I respond.
I feel a twang of sympathy, even though I hate the rebels. She must be going through hell though, no food because of the wheat fields, getting reaped for her execution. Must be horrible for District 9. I can't allow myself to feel anything for them though. They starved the Capitol, and they starved us as well.
"Oh my!" Screams Liesel.
"What is that? Is he even human?" I screech. Getting wheeled up to the stage with hands cuffed behind his back and a face mask covering all of his lower face is Fletcher. His body is huge, putting Ladonna Gully's to shame. His hands could probably crush my skull with a flick. All I can see in his bloodshot grey eyes, is pure evil. I thought that the rest of these tributes were bad, this guy is monstrous. All he does is scan his surroundings, which is mostly people that have cowered in fear.
Soon enough, the image on screen flickers to District 10, which I will admit, causes me to sigh in relief. I couldn't stand to see that, insane hulk of a person. Both Liesel and I remain silent, waiting for the District 10 reaping to begin as we picture the figure of Fletcher.
A boy named Vince is reaped first. He casually walk up to the stage, hands behind his back and crooked grin on the cameras. All I see in his eyes however is panic. He looks fairly strong, understandable being from Ten. Cassia is then reaped, which I take note of, due to her being only twelve years old. She walks up, rather blank and frozen. I get the vibes that she has seen things that a twelve year old shouldn't ever have to see. I would not want to imagine her facing Fletcher.
"That one wasn't so bad," says Liesel, looking rather relieved.
"True, but these next couple of reaping's doesn't exactly make that nutcase from Nine disappear," I say bitterly.
When Naomi from District 11 is reaped, Liesel lets out a murmur of understanding.
"What? All she is, is another young crying girl," I say.
"She is the one that had Poisonous Berries found in her goodbye room. She caused the Capitol a scare because they thought she was going to kill herself, however she swore that her friend was only trying to show her a way she could kill in the arena. I guess she would be dead by now if she had actually eaten some," she explains.
"Fair enough," I reply, now paying attention to Quinn, the boy that has just volunteered. I can't comprehend, why are there so many suicidal kids? I'm not sure what to make of him, but if he has volunteered, he must be somewhat confident in his chances at winning.
Finally, the last District has come, District 12. First to be reaped is Dana, who first hesitates, and then swears at the escort. Next is a young boy named Whent. He is the first and only to do what I would expect some other tributes to do. He begins to run away, however he doesn't get very far with the Peacekeepers blocking the perimeter.
I half expect District 13 to play next, but then I realise that they are no more. The screen turns to black and the lights light up dimly. Both of us stare at each other, quite unsure of what to do. Liesel speaks first.
"Well, we have some improvement to work on."
A/N: So I had another busy week at school, so from future, try not to expect chapters on school days. If I manage one that is all good. I do realise that this chapter is very long, I fact my longest yet, so that is another reason why the update is late. However now you have seen all the tributes! I may get another chapter out today, MAY. And I have also decided, the more you review, the more likely your tribute is to survive, it's just that I want to make sure that I don't have abandoned tributes. Anyways, until next time.
-Ares