Vester Mortana- District Eight male

Why'd they pick me? I'm not good at anything. I cried when I got Reaped. They should have picked Velvet.

At least I'm good at climbing. That will make all the difference. I'll just climb right out of the Arena.

Velvet didn't win either. I thought she might have. That girl had everything planned out. She made me look even dumber than I was.

Don't be such a grump. I knew the facts. I was going to die again. But I had a long time left. There were so many of us, I was bound to last a few days. And I had time to goof off in the Capitol. I'd train. I'd do my best. I'd just know that there was no reason to get all worked up. I'd make the most of the time I had and see where it took me.

Denim "Denny" Belltide- District Eight male

"You brought me back from the dead?" I asked the doctor fiddling with my pulse.

"That's right," he said.

"Thanks," I said. I got another chance. That was nice. It probably wouldn't work out, but it was nice of them to try. I still didn't like the Capitol, though.

Once the doctors cleared me, I hopped out of bed. I needed to get started training and stuff. First I was going to eat, though. I didn't care for all the sugary treats the Capitolites liked, but I liked the other food. I'd never been able to eat as much as I wanted. I knew it wasn't fair to be grateful when the Capitol could have fed us like this all the time, but sometimes my stomach was bigger than my brain.

Flannel Twist- District Eight female

I felt like I'd been sleeping for ages. There was so much to get done.

"Can I start training now?" I asked Tillo as I got out of bed.

"I suppose-" she started as I ran out the door.

What should I start with? I ran to the track and started running down it. I felt like I could do anything- except win the Games, it seemed like. I ran more and more laps, until I was sucking in air and my legs burned. I wanted to go even farther. I wanted to go on forever. I was full of energy, and I wanted to do everything.

Vanny Chancri- District Eight male

Tillo always seemed so sad. She was looking at me like I was already dead.

"Don't worry," I said. "I'll be okay."

Tillo's expression did not indicate any faith that I would be okay. It was less sadness and more a grumpy condemnation, like she was mad at me for not being good enough so she had to watch me die.

"I know you're supposed to be my mentor, but I think I'm kind of too big a job," I said. "You can focus on the others who might actually win. It's not your fault I'm not very strong."

"I'll be fine," Tillo said. I was surprised she said anything. Tillo was a woman of few words. I did not believe those few words.

Martha Lewis- District Eight female

I wasn't as scared this time. Nothing was as scary as getting Reaped. Even coming back wasn't as scary as dying. After that, I wasn't sure I'd ever be scared again.

The doctors and nurses came and went, but I didn't say anything. I felt empty inside, like the Arena sucked all my emotions out. Someone once told me that was what depression was like. It wasn't being sad. It was feeling like nothing mattered because there was nothing inside you.

Tillo looked older. She always looked like she was older than she looked- like the inside was a lot older than the outside.

"Do you need anything?" she asked.

I didn't answer. Talking seemed like so much effort. I didn't have the heart to find the words. She left, and everything was quiet.

Brenna Segale- District Eight female

Jeremy had moved on by now. The ring on my finger was nothing but a memory of a life that never was. I wondered if he'd met someone else. I hoped he had. Someone beautiful and sweet, who would be the wife I couldn't be. I hoped he didn't even notice me among all the faces. I wanted him to be happy without me.

Tillo saw me looking at the ring. "Tough break," she said.

What would you- I started. I saw the faintest glitter in her eye as I remembered. She lost someone, too. And her someone didn't even have a chance at a happy life.

"Do you ever get over it?" I asked.

"Doesn't seem like I ever get over anything," she said. "It's easier this time. They didn't pick him."

Eddin Cavitch- District Eight male

I died, was my first thought.

I died and Jamie's gone, was my second.

He couldn't wait around for me this long. We had one chance at happiness, and it was gone now. I wouldn't even recognize him if I saw him.

That was the past now. I wasn't ever going to get back to that life. What was gone was gone, like Orpheus found out. All I could do was move forward and remember.

Why did they even pick me? I got crushed on the first day. All they did was remind me of what I lost.

Alayza Mont- District Eight female

What a rip. I died and now I had to do it all over again.

Well, they had another think coming. They were not going to see me die again. I hope they were watching the first time, because I was not doing it again.

I was going to have to kill a lot of people to get through this one. I wasn't looking for any fights, but there would be some whether I wanted them or not. I wouldn't mind killing the people who deserved it, and the others... you do what you have to do. I had to watch my back, though. I didn't intend to make any allies, and a lot of people out there won't fight fair.

Cavander Jones- District Eight female

Monkey monkeys MONKEYS!

I sat straight up in bed, clawing and tossing off imaginary monkeys.

"There are no monkeys," Tillo's voice came flatly from across the room.

I checked all around me. She was right. No monkeys.

"This is a Resurrection Games, isn't it?" I asked.

"You got it," she said.

"How long has it been?" I asked.

"About four years," Tillo said.

That's not so bad. There was a chance Brian hadn't moved on. If he had, I hoped he was happy, but if not, we could make this work. I still had a chance, and so did we.

Blaise Wesley- District Eight male

Another day, another Resurrection Games.

It didn't take me long to find my old homeboys. By this point, Jay must have spent more time as a Tribute than as a non-Tribute. Him and Zach both, since Zach was the oldest of us.

"So, think one of us will win this time?" I asked Logan.

"Nah," Logan said. "Could happen, though."

We didn't have the worst chances. We had some pretty strong members. Things never seemed to work out for us, but we got more people each time. Eventually all the Tributes would be in our alliance, and then one of us would win.

Ryker Merlin- District Eight male

The odds got worse each time. This time whoever won would be one in a hundred. But it had to be someone, and it might end up being me.

I was through beating myself up. I'd done some bad things, and I'd had a lot of bad things done to me. By now, I must be pretty even. From now on, I could just try to win and spend the rest of my life convincing myself I was all right, like all the other Victors.

As soon as I was out of bed, I went back to the track. I didn't know if I'd still be good at running, since I was a clone. It didn't seem to matter, though. I was as good as ever. Which was good, since that was about all I had going for me.

Haber Dasher- District Eight female

I was very pleased to hear that Vera and Lancia were now Victors. I was very displeased to hear about Hades and Nassor. Hades wasn't that bad, though. Little boys were sometimes still innocent, before society turned them into men.

"No more girls for Eight, after all this time?" I asked when I saw Tillo.

"I'm sure they're sorry they disappointed you," she said.

It didn't matter anyway. I didn't care where the Victors came from, as long as they were girls.

Silver Flower- District Eight female

Haven't these people ever heard of 'rest in peace'?

Another hundred Tributes, and another ninety-nine dead kids. They were making it pretty hard to keep my faith in humanity.

I had never felt so small and so short as when I lined up with the others to start training with my mentor.

"Who's she?" I heard someone ask.

"Does she even go here?" someone else asked.

"All right, you failures ready to make good this time?"

Pray stalked down the row, glaring at all of us. She reached the end, then realized something was off.

"One of you isn't from Two," she said. I tried to look innocent.

Zibby Spooly- District Eight

Getting burned to death really hurts. So this time around it would probably go better.

Everyone parted around me whenever I moved around the room where all the Tributes had gathered before we split off with our mentors. Do I have a booger? I thought.

"Hey, are you the Mad Gasser?" some kid I didn't recognize asked.

"I didn't pass-" I started. "Oh. Yeah, guess that's me."

The kid looked at me with a mix of horror and disgust. He scuttled away, peeking over his shoulder at me.

Wow. You build one death chamber...

Jake Diaz- District Eight male

Strike two.

Not that the Capitol seemed to be following normal rules. Some of us had been here three times already. Seemed like they just wanted some particular winners and would keep dragging us back until they got what they wanted.

I'd been fighting in Arenas so long they felt like home to me. I could have done without the graveyard Arena, though. That and that mutt. What even was that thing? Butt-ugly is what it was.

"Hey! What up, dudes?" I asked when I found Jay and the others. "Looks like the gang's back together!"

Why so many people from Eight?!