A/N: Hello Tributes!

I've been waiting to write this chapter for SO long! :D

This is chapter 9, 'District 9, Evening people of hell!'

Hope you enjoy!

Your Gamemaker, Ellie x

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Chapter 9

District 9

Evening people of hell!

-.-.-.-.-Kasha Barric, Female, 14-.-.-.-.-

"...Anything you want to say to the other tributes?"

I watch Deimo Torn's face carefully as she replies to the interviewer's question.

"Yes," She replies coldly. She turns her head slightly to where we're waiting in the wings. The stylists have pulled her hair sharply off her face and at this angle, with the lights casting shadows off her acute cheekbones, she looks monstrous.

"I'm a killer," She purrs softly, "Remember that."

A shiver runs down my spine.

Griffith Xavier clears his throat and lets out a laugh.

"Well, I know I wouldn't want to mess with you! I'm afraid we're out of time folks! Give it up for the District 1 female, Demio Torn!"

The applause that follows could have brought a district down.

Demio's district partner Aubrey plays pretty much the same angle; cold-hearted and ruthless with a touch of sexy.

Only, I'm not sure Demio was playing.

Aubrey answers smoothly, earning himself a few unearned wolf-whistles here and there, but when Griffith asks if Aubrey has a girl back home he chokes up.

Seeing this, Griffith's bleached eyebrows form high peaks on his forehead.

"A career has a lover? Well, ladies and gentleman, there is a first time for everything!"

Aubrey turns stony. "Don't be silly, Griffith. I don't have time for stupid things like love." He turns his head towards the audience. "Unless you call love sex..." He trails off suggestively.

Someone swoons.

I roll my eyes. The careers are becoming more and more like sex objects these days.

-.-.-.-.-

Quilla's on stage before I can straighten my skirt.

Her strapless blue and bedazzled dress glitters in the spotlight.

"She would look better in red," flutters through my head.

"You look wonderful this evening, Quilla." Griffith smiles and gestures to her seat.

"I know," Quilla replies.

Griffith starts to chuckle before realizing she's not joking.

Shuffling his cue cards, he launches quickly into her interview.

-.-.-.-.-

Maximus was exactly what I expected.

Another quiet and cold career.

I sigh, glancing down at my already chipped nails.

Dammit.

My prep team won't be happy.

Sontly Volt looks pale as she shuffles onto the stage after Maximus.

Peering closer at her ghostly complexion, I notice her frail hands are grasping frantically at her stomach.

She looks like she's going to be sick.

This theory is proved correct as she hurls all over Griffith's polished shoes.

The cleaners leave the stage and Titan Rommel sluggishly waltzes onto it.

His back is much straighter then I thought It would be.

His chin is higher too.

I thought he'd have given up on survival, what with his frail appearance and stamina.

But as he shakes the interviewers hand, I swear I glimpse a smug smile hiding on his lips.

He sits down opposite Griffith; all shreds of emotion now gone.

Giving Titan the once-over, Griffith asks: "So Titan, How's the Capitol treating you?"

"Just fine thanks."

"Missing home?"

"I can't afford too. I have to keep my mind on the Games. Distractions like family will get in the way of that."

I hang my head, and start to pick at the beads sown to my yellow dress.

Titan Rommel doesn't have a lot of brawn but wit is a valuable thing in the Arena. And I need to take advantage of every valuable thing I can get my hands on.

I remember seeing him on the first training day whispering behind his hands to District 4.

He already has allies.

Maybe it wouldn't be best to intrude on their alliance...

Startled by the sudden applause, I leap to my feet and watch Titan start to walk down the corridor. He'll be walking past me any moment.

I wipe my sweaty hands on my dress.

'Now or never, Kasha.'

"Hay," I take a clumsy step forward and grasp Titan's upper arm.

It's almost no surprise to me when I find I can circle my entire hand around his bicep.

"Yes?" He replies, turning to face me.

"Umh," I hesitate.

Titan's entire lack of brawn is suddenly extremely apparent in such close quarters. The drumming of my heart intensifies as I realize that in the Arena, it will eventually come down to who has the most muscle-power.

Ba-boom-ba-boom-ba-boom.

But his smarts could mean the difference between living and dying for me, and having an ally, almost any ally, would be an asset.

Ba-BOOM-ba-BOOM-ba-BOOM.

Also, when I have to eventually get rid of him, his lack of muscle might make it an easier task.

And surely, this creature wouldn't be one to slit my throat while I'm away in my dreams.

BA-BOOM-BA-BOOM-BA-BOOM!

"Kasha? I have to sit down!"

He snakes his arm out of my grip and takes a step towards his seat.

And I let him.

-.-.-.-Jordyn Flayin, Male, 13-.-.-.-

Watching Talise and Coral woo the crowd had made me sick.

All I heard was laughter and... and giggling!

I hadn't listened to much of their interviews; I was too busy trying to drown out the sickly sweet sounds they were emitting.

During one point in Talise's interview, the laughter died down.

I let my hands relax from protecting my ears for a minute.

That's when I heard her say: "My father is not a monster... his actions are just monstrous."

I don't know what that was about because Griffith starting making jokes again and I ended up blocking my ears for the rest of District 4's interviews.

Grit had made my teeth grind together.

"Missing anyone?" Griffith had asked.

"Yeah, my boys back home."

"Children?" Griffith asked shocked.

"No, no, my mates. We put in hard labour at the Geothermal plant."

"I'm just sure you do." I had heard Rosalie hiss.

"I'm afraid we're out of time!" And that was the end of Grit's interview.

He said goodbye and lazily strolled down the steps, bumping into Rosalie.

"Oh sor-" He started, then he took a closer look and realised it was his district partner, Rosalie.

"Oh, it's just you."

I chuckled to myself in the dark.

I was amazed at how quickly Rosalie had composed herself when I saw her emerge onto stage.

No longer did she look like some raging dragon, but more like a graceful gazelle.

Man, those things can pack a punch.

And pack a punch she did.

She had the audience eating from the palm of her hand the moment she sat down.

Annoise, the deaf girl who was known amongst the tributes for her absurd break down on the first training day, had someone sign what Griffith was saying to her.

"Do you think being deaf is a disadvantage going into the Arena?"

Annoise watched closely at her signer's hands, decrypting their message.

She began to shake her head furiously.

"Of course not," She began in a monotone voice. "Being deaf means that all my other senses are 100 times stronger. That means I can see and hear better then all the other competitors."

Seth should've gone on stage wearing a clowns nose.

I had to cover my ears to drown out all the laughter.

"..What were your thoughts on being reaped?"

The words snaked through my fingers into my ears.

"Well," Seth laughed. "When life hands you lemons, make a gin and tonic."

The place erupted into laughter even though I'd bet my District that over half of them didn't know what he was talking about.

The next district was such a contrast that I found myself listening.

Gekikara bounced around in her cutesy violet dress answering Griffith's questions at lightning speed.

"So Gekikara, what do you think your chances of winning are?"

"I'm gonna freaking die!" She burst out.

The smile plastered to her face was unnerving me.

Tasi, the complete opposite to Gekikara, sat calmly opposite to Griffith.

The whole interview was very calm actually, so calm I must have fallen into a daydream.

It was only till he lumbered past me that I woke up to my senses.

I watched him pause just to the left of me, where my district partner, Kasha, sat.

"...I know what you're thinking. I'm thinking that too."

He stuck out a bear-like claw to Kasha.

Her startled green eyes peered into the pair that were towering above her.

She took his hand and shook it.

I pondered over that for a moment. Perhaps it was time I got an Ally. Couldn't hurt if I was going to survive this thing.

I'd completely missed Orchid's interview and and as she teetered on her heels towards me I decided to make a lunge for her.

"Allies?" Was all I whispered into her ear.

"Okay." She whispered back loudly.

It probably wasn't the smartest idea, becoming allies with someone so young and so powerless but I was ally hungry.

The applause from the stage switched a flick in my brain and I released Orchid, already forgetting about my new ally.

But I needn't have been so keen to see the next interview.

"Do you think you'll win these Games, Colt?"

"Nah, yeah, definitely!"

Just being in the same room as Colt made me feel smarter.

And now it's almost my turn.

Kasha is on stage right now letting the crowd fall in love with her.

I say letting, because Kasha seemed to be making very little effort at all in wooing her audience yet wooed they were.

She isn't lolly barf sweet, either, like district 4 had been.

She's just genuinely... loveable.

"Is there anything you want to say to your potential sponsors, Kasha?" Griffith asks, the merriment making his eyes twinkle.

"Yes, I'd like to let them know that the best things can come in the smallest of packages," She says, gesturing at herself.

"I'm sure they do," Griffith's warm response ending the interview.

Knees knocking together, I gulp down the rest of my thoughts and shuffle towards the spotlight.

-.-.-.-.-Jane Hawthrope, Female, 49, Main sponsor -.-.-.-.-

I glance back at the notes I made on Districts 10, 11 and 12.

Narrowing down one tribute to sponsor was getting tricky.

And I couldn't pick just any tribute.

I had to pick the winning tribute.

Tara from 10 was pretty enough, perhaps a bit too cocky.

I start to rule her name off but stop. I draw a lazy circle around her name.

I'd wait and see what her training score told me.

Juan made no impact at all. I cross his name off with a sharp flick of the wrist.

Lyra was nice, friendly and I liked that determined twinkle in her eye...

But that wasn't going to win her a game based on death.

Her name is crossed off too.

Granger Tillman...

I slowly bring the pen to my mouth in thought.

He looked strong enough, could probably take down a few of the weaker careers.

He too had Lyra's twinkle.

The boy had a brain.

He also had guts.

And I admired that.

I put him on my 'Maybe' list.

Katri Conran was too shy for my liking.

And too young.

No 13 year old was going to win this thing.

Katri is crossed off too.

Last of all Darien.

This was another one to think about.

I glance back at my notes.

They tell me he'd be perfect.

My gut tells me a different story.

Scribbling furiously in my notebook, a tap on the microphone forces my eyes to snap up to the stage mid-sentence.

President Orcal stood holding the box containing the notes on this years Quarter Quell.

"Ladies and Gentleman, It'd be my pleasure to announce this years quarter Quell."

I can't help but notice the quality of his tux.

Such flawless craftsmanship!

I wonder how much it cost...

"Now, I know some of you were disappointed at the lack of opening ceremonies. I'm not sure if our tributes noticed."

I certainly did. I couldn't believe my ears when I was told at a house-warming party the other week!

But what disconcerted me most was I couldn't find a reason for there not to be one.

"This was because the iron particles in the stadium would short-circuit the tributes."

A few gasps and mummers sing out from the crowd.

"Short-circuit? How on earth could this make them short-circuit? Can humans even short-circuit?" Griffith asks in a composed fluster.

"Not ordinary humans, no."

More mummers amounted.

President Orcal starts a rhythmic walk across the stage.

"See, while the tributes were on the train ride, we spiked their food and drink."

A flurry of gasps chorus to my left.

I scribble furiously into my notebook.

"What with?" Griffith asks, his fluster no longer composed.

"Body and mind controlling drugs." At Griffith's astounded facials, Orcal started to explain.

"Hidden around the Arena is a controller to represent each tribute. On each controller is 4 buttons labelled: traitor, killer, lover, follower."

I almost suffocate in the silence that follows.

"And they mean?" Griffith whispers in awe.

"Well," Orcal claps this hands together, "That's for the tributes to find out for the tributes can find these and use these devices. They may find their own, or they may find someone else's. They may never find a controller, or they may find all of them. I don't know."

The whispering in the room escalates quickly to a deafening roar.

I sit there stunned.

This is going to make my job a lot harder.

"What I do know, is that once one of the buttons-only one can be pushed-is pressed, the person the controller belongs to will have no option but to obey."

Griffith clears his throat. "And what is the reason behind the Quarter Quell?"

"The reason?" Orcal casts his eyes to the wings then to the cameras that follow his every movement.

"Once upon a time, the Districts did not obey the Capitol. They obeyed only themselves!"

His voice rings true and clear through the now silent hall.

"Now, they will have no choice but to obey each other." He pauses, searching the crowd's surprised eyes. "And who controls the Hunger Games that the tributes are in?"

He looks down at the box in his hands and smiles.

"The Capitol." He whispers.

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A/N: I never thought this would be so long! Hope you enjoyed! Thanks to those who review! You guys are awesome :)

P.S There's a poll on my profile asking who should win. Yes, you can vote for your own. :P