Tamika Frentle District 7
My lips are cold when I wake up. I sit up and I'm shivering. I tuck a knife into my belt - and that's when I see my hand. The tips of my fingers are a light blue. This shocks me awake and I look around at my surroundings. It's practically a winter wonderland as you might say. Except take out 'wonderland' and put in 'tortureland' instead. There was definetely an avalanche overnight. We're all half covered in snow and shivering even though some of us are still asleep.

*Flashback*
I remember my first winter that I was allowed out of the house. It was the year before Janita was reaped. She and I built snow men, made angels in the snow and had snow ball fights. We fought so much that we were always covered in snow and dripping wet when we had finished. Cayton sometimes came to join us. The three of us would run through the forests and swing on trees wherever we went. My father always took pictures of these moments without us knowing. He'd snap pictures on my grandfather's old camera. He put all the pictures into a book and he'd add all these small drawings and captions that he made himself. He took it out and showed it to Janita and I when she was reaped. When we came to say goodbye, he opened it and showed us all the pictures of the happy times we had together. 'Give it to Janita so she will have something of us to hold onto.' I said to him. He nodded and handed Janita the book. My father was a great man.
*End of Flashback*

I look around at my allies. Veronica is shivering like crazy and is trying to snuggle into Jared's arm. Blaze opens her eyes and looks at me. 'GAH!' she shouts when she realises she is half buried in snow. That wakes everyone up. 'I thought we spent the night in a tree... how come we are still bured in snow?' Jared asks. 'I think there was an avalanche last night. That would explain the snow covering most of this tree.' I answer. 'Hmm. Well then what can we do today?' he asks. 'Well, I think today we'll have to rely on our sponsors for food. I'm not going out there to hunt. We could get caught in a blizzard.' I say. 'Yeah. I don't really want to get caught in a blizzard either.' Blaze comments. 'So we're relying on sponsors today?' Cayton asks. 'Yeah' we all say in unison. I suppose our mentors took this as a yes because as soon as we said 'yeah', five packages fall from the sky and get wedged in our trees. Each package has a name and we distribute them out. I open mine. Inside is a paper bag and a rectangular gift wrapped in a blue ribbon. I untie the ribbon and take off the wrapping. Inside is the book that my father made and gave to Janita. My eyes brim with tears. My heart stops a beat when I open the cover. There's a note.

Jared Kingsley District 2
I open my package and two things fall out. One is a paper bag and the other is a circular shaped ball wrapped in paper. I tear off the paper and in my hand sits a small globe with little figures of my family contained within it. I shake it around and the little shiny flakes at the bottom rise up and float around. It brings tears to my eyes. It's the globe my mother gave me for my first reaping.

*Flashback*
'It's your first reaping Jared!' my mother said excitedly. 'When you're eighteen, you're going to be standing on that stage. Today, we're just going to have to wait.' 'But I want to be up there now!' I shouted. 'You're only twelve Jared. You can learn a lot in six years. When you're eighteen, you'll be much quicker and smarter than you are now.' she soothed me. 'Fine' I snapped. 'Here's a little gift for you, to wish you luck when you're older.' she said as she gives me a small crystal ball. As I look inside, I see my parents, my two brothers, my sister and I standing in the middle of the ball. Not really caring about it, I sit it on my window sill and walk out the door.
*End of Flashback*

I never really cared about the globe when my mother gave it to me. It's only now that I realise what she intended to do with it. I can't help but let my tears fall and splash onto the snow.

Blaze Cedheart District 1
Following everyone else, I open my package. I look at their packages. They're each holding a paper bag and a gift. I find that I am holding those things too. I set the paper bag down and open the gift. As I open the box inside, I think of my family and friends back home. Tears fill my eyes when I lift the lid. A photo of my little sister looks up at me from inside.

*Flashback*
'Mummy! Where are you going?' I asked in my seven-year-old voice. 'I'm just going to the hospital for a few hours, maybe a day or two.' she replies faintly. 'But WHY?' I pester. 'Don't worry. I'll be bringing a small gift for you when I come back.' she says before stepping into the hospital cart. She comes back the next day with a small bundle in her hands. I rush over and give her a hug. She kisses me on the head and hands me the bundle. I can tell it's delicate so I handle it with care. I sit down on my bed and unwrap the bundle. A small baby with bright blue eyes looks up at me through her dark eyelashes. A little sister! I'm so excited that I'm bursting with joy. I wrap her up again and run into the kitchen with her. 'Mummy! What's her name going to be?' I ask. 'What would you like to call her, since you love her so much?' she asks me. 'Can we call her Cherian?' I ask. 'Cherian... that sounds nice. Cherian Cedheart, welcome to the Cedheart family.' my mother says with a warm smile on her face. I jump with joy that I was the one to choose my baby sister's name.
~Five years later~
I'm kneeling down in front of a stone slab. The slab reads: Cherian Cedheart, Age 5. Died on 28th November 3117. My parents are crying with their hands covering their eyes. I am so sad but tears don't come. My little sister is dead. All because of that stupid cart driver. I was holding her hand as we crossed the road and we forgot to look both ways. A cart was riding full speed towards us. It crashed into us and we were pulled off the road by the school mistress. We were rushed to the hospital and I found out that I had a broken leg and ribs. 'What about my sister?' I asked. 'I'm sorry Blaze.' the nurse said. 'We have organised the funeral for your family since it was a Capitol messenger's fault.' 'SHE CAN'T BE DEAD!' I scream. 'I'm sorry Blaze.' The nurse repeats. I look over at Cherian and cry myself to sleep.
*End of Flashback*

I bring the photo to my lips and kiss Cherian on the forehead like I did everyday. I bury my face into the snow and that's when all the tears come.

Cayton Frentle District 7
Like everyone, I recieve a paper bag but instead of a gift, I recieve a letter. It's from Tamika's father.

Dear Cayton,
I don't know if Tamika has told you this, but I will write it here just in case she hasn't.
Since you were a baby, you have known Therese as your mother. You also have known me as your uncle and Tamika as your cousin. All this was a lie to keep you safe. Your parents were excecuted by the Capitol when you were a baby. They wanted to kill you too for being what they considered a traitor's son. I was very close with your father and his death hit me hard. He had always been there for me so I decided to do all I could to protect you. I got together with Therese who was another friend of your father and we devised a plan. The plan was that she was going to be your mother and I would be your uncle since she didn't have a child. The lie about your father was that he got lost while travelling. Two years after Therese took you in, my wife gave birth to Tamika. If you were my nephew, she would be your cousin. We played it that way for many years. To make it simple, Cayton, you're not Tamika's cousin. I only told Tamika this after the reaping. If she hasn't told you yet, please don't blame her. She knew it would be a shock to you, even more of a shock than she had. I thought it would be best to tell you this now, whatever will happen during the course of the Games. If you do come back to District 7, I still need you to play along with this act.
I wish you the best of luck,
Peter Frentle

I sink down against a tree branch and run my hands through my messy hair. My tears run down my face and onto the snow. I don't know what to do. I don't even know how to react to this.

Veronica Mathers District 2
I take out my paper bag from my package and see a small book at the bottom. I take it out and open the cover. It's my father's photo album. His favourite one with all his favourite photos. The first photo is of my whole family standing on the porch of our house. My parents are smiling happily with their fingers entwined. My brother sits on the step below and I sit next to him. That was the day of my parent's tenth wedding anniversary. I flip over the page and it's a picture of my first kiss with Jared. I remember feeling embarrased since my parents were there taking photos. I smile at the memory. The next page is of my brother blowing out his birthday candles on his 11th birthday. I was nine at the time and wanted to blow the candles out myself. My brother had hit me and I had fallen off my chair onto the floor and broke my nose. My mother rushed me to the hospital and they set the bones in my nose then taped it up. My brother apologised and gave me a hug.

While I was flipping through the photos, I didn't realise the steady stream of tears running down my cheeks. I bite my lip and return the photo album back into the package which I put into my backpack. I hug my knees to my chest and cry into them.

Tamika Frentle District 7
I bring the book closer and read the note. It reads:

Tamika dear,
I thought this book would bring back memories. I've added photos to it. You are doing so well and I'm proud to call you my daughter. I miss you so much.
Love Daddy. XOXOXO

My tears start falling and splash onto the note. I quickly wipe them away but they keep falling. I give up trying to wipe them away and open the book. On the first few pages, there are pictures of Janita and me skipping through the woods and swinging on tree branches. The page is decorated with colourful sparkly stickers and the caption reads: 'Janita and Tamika having fun in the woods.' The sight of Janita brings even more tears to my eyes. I miss her so much. She was the best sister anyone could have. The next page has photos of Cayton and I following Janita and trying to build snowmen. Janita has more experience so her snowmen layers are nice and round whereas Cayton and my snowmen are all soggy and melted. Janita came over and helped us fix it. We added stones as the buttons, eyes and mouth. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough money to buy carrots so we just used pine cones instead. Next is a picture of Janita and me making snow angels in the snow. My arms and legs are stretched out in a huge X and we're grinning from ear to ear. The next one is a new addition. Of course this doesn't have Janita in it. She had died in the Games already. I can't look at these photos anymore. I carefully place the book back in the package and curl up in the snow and cry. I don't even bother trying to hide my face. Let the Capitol see. Let the Capitol see what they've done to me.

A/N: I was so close to tears when I was writing this chapter. I thought I would write this chapter so that you have a clearer idea of the other tributes and where they came from. I didn't expect it to turn out so sad though! Was a very emotional part of the Games. But don't worry, next chapter will be more action packed! As usual, comments and reviews are welcome :D

~Celinachan