You didn't think I'd update so soon, did ya? Well, I'm back, with the tributes from the Coal Mining District. That's right, we're meeting Keola Foeba and Soot Maloy today, and we're sure to love them!
Reviews!:
faceless eater aka slendergirl: I'm glad you liked it, I was relieved to have my first outer-district alliance. Thanks for the review!
The Rcse: Thanks for the review! Trust me, Crysta's life is only going to get harder. But I'm glad you liked her! I was excited when caitiebug007 told me she wanted to Sponsor her! Congratulations! You know, if you wanted to Sponsor her, well… you have the fourth-highest amount of Sponsor points. Or maybe Esmeralda and the rest of the Careers…
dreams and desperation: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!
Just another reminder: When the Reapings are over, I will be changing the story's title to Into the Darkness: The 6th Quarter Quell. The current one is a bit of a mouthful.
In TranscendentElvenRanger's Forest of Death: The 54th Hunger Games, my District One female tribute, Atalanta Bliss, is a confirmed survivor of Day 4, with 1 kill. Let's give her some support!
I am not Suzanne Collins. I do not own the Hunger Games, or anything else I reference.
I am writing this as I eat a Creamie. Be jealous.
Thanks to superepicstarkette and ElvenRangerRysel for Keola and Soot!
Keola Foeba, Age 13, District 12 Female
The dream was so realistic, it was as if it was happening again. I could see the big, bulky figures approach me, even though their faces, like the rest of the world, was a blur of blue and grey. One of the figures raised its arm, and I saw a fist fly toward what I could assume was a fist. Before it could hit me, a blur of brown came out of nowhere, and then red. So much red.
I sat up in my bed, screaming like I had all those years ago. When I was eight and the bullies wouldn't stop their teasing, and they had finally crossed the line. When a girl, my best friend since, had stood up and fought back when I couldn't.
I was still looking around in a panic when the door opened, and a figure much taller than me, yet only a little wider, ran into the room, calling, "Leila? Leila, honey, are you okay?" Her eyes zeroed in on me and she sighed in relief, gently lifting me into a hug. "Nightmares again, huh?" She asked. I only nodded.
Tristeza Foeba, at twenty-nine, was a very loving, caring mother. I was birthed to her prematurely when she was sixteen, causing small problems in me. I never blamed her for it, of course, but she still did everything she could to make it up to me.
"I'm okay, mom, really." I assured her after several minutes. She gave one last little squeeze, and departed with nothing more than a small nod.
My heart rate normal again, I surveyed my small room. In Twelve, we were coal miners, and you could definitely tell by the thin coat of black powder that covered everything. The walls, the floor, ceiling, doors, small window, wash basin, broken shard of glass that served as a mirror, my grey dress, originally white, everything.
I stood up, causing the dust on my arms and sheets to dance through the air like the light bombs the Capitol has on TV. I coughed as yet another whiff of coal flew down my throat, no doubt coating my already damaged lungs further. Moving slowly so as to allow the dust to settle, I made my way to the wash basin, a small, wooden bowl that had been a gift from my father to my mother. Staring into the clear liquid that been scooped up the night before, I cupped my hands and brought them to my face.
I stripped off my nightgown, which Mother had made me years ago, and attempted to wash myself as much as was possible, getting the coal off my olive skin. I was careful around my wide, grey eyes, as I didn't want what happened the previous year to happen again, and finally stepped back, drying myself with the small, torn rag that hung on the edge of the bowl.
When I was sure I was dry, I looked at myself in the small, triangular piece of glass that really didn't help you see anything other than your face. I had to lift various parts of my body just to inspect it.
Having been born several weeks early, I was born small, and it had reflected on me since. I was four-foot-six, and weighed in at about sixty-five pounds on a good day. Not wanting everything on my body to be small, I had let my hair grow down to my waist, which, though extremely difficult to brush, helped me keep warm during the cold winters Twelve always seemed to get.
As I looked at my Reaping outfit, I gave a small chuckle. The grey dress, though tailored to reach just below the waist, was long enough to make it halfway below my shins. The black flats, once shiny and new, looked worn and lifeless. Only the silver ribbon, yet another gift, which I used to tie my hair into a (really) long ponytail, looked at least a little nice.
All dressed and ready for the event every child in Twelve dreads, I slowly exited my room, still wary of the black menace that was toxic to my immune system. In our small sitting room, just outside my door, sat two small wooden chairs, misshapen but still usable. In the one closest to me, my mother. In the one across from her, my best friend Stephanie Minor.
Upon seeing me, Stephanie stood, wrapping me in a hug. "Are you okay?" She asked. "Your mother came over and got me after you had stopped screaming. What happened?" Her expression was one of genuine concern, one that I had seen many times before.
"I'm fine." I answered, only lying a little, "Just a nightmare. The Reapings are today, after all. What did you expect?" She gave a relieved laugh, and I joined in, though it only turned to a wracking cough.
Soot Maloy, Age 13, District 12 Male
"Now, you be quiet, Tomas, or you'll scare away the mockingjay." I hushed my little brother as he complained for what must have been the hundredth time.
"Be nice to Tomas, Soot, he's only five!" Maddie scolded me. I had surprised myself by saying that. I was usually so quiet and caring.
Feeling I had to make up for it, I whispered back, "You're right, Maddie. Sorry, Tomas." I looked up to where the mockingjay had perched in the tree, but it had long since vanished. I sighed, wondering what it would be like to fly, cutting through the air and going wherever you wanted to go. Such a life was only meant for birds, I supposed.
"Soot Maddie and Tomas, get in here! We have to leave soon!" A voice called from behind us. "I need you three to get ready!" Me and my two younger siblings looked up at the small wooden house that housed the Maloy family. Our older sister, Sarai, was hanging out the window, waving a cloth like they do in those "Old Capitol" films that are referenced on TV from time to time, starring Kahn Lane and Flint Westwood.
The inside of the house was fancy for a home in Twelve, but it had been bought and paid for while my parents still had only two kids. It had a living area, complete with a bearskin rug (which was a feast for the family, mind you), four chairs and a small sofa, circled around the screen for mandatory viewing. With a whole three bedrooms, it was pretty nice.
Sarai met us at the door. "The Quell's today!" She said urgently, "Soot may be the only one eligible, but we'll all be clean and ready in ten minutes. Go!" We all scrambled to follow her orders. She was in charge, after all.
In the room that Tomas and I shared, we stripped and washed, helping each other with our backs. After messing around for a few minutes, we heard a loud knock on the door, and a scream. Laughing quietly, we found our Reaping clothes and practically threw them on. After helping Tomas button up his shirt, and fixing my tie, I quietly left our room and snuck past the girls' to our small bathroom before Sarai flipped a lid again.
In the bathroom was a sink, small tub, toilet and mirror. The mirror, scratched and streaked with dirt, was hard to see through but it was sufficient.
I looked myself over, making sure I was truly ready for the day. My brown eyes shined slightly, the same shade as my olive skin. My body, smaller than most, was really thin and my curly black hair and wide grin showed that the old threadbare blazer I was wearing was a bit old on me. Dark grey in color, the pants matched, and the black t-shirt underneath didn't help with the summer heat.
I jumped slightly at the banging on the door. "Soot, if you're in there, so help me, I'll wring your scrawny little-" She sighed mid-sentence, and continued, no longer yelling, "Soot, I'm sorry. I'm just really nervous about today is all. It was Garrett's final Reaping, and we were going to celebrate, but then the Quell was announced. And if you go in, I won't be able to help you because I'm fifteen and-" She started sobbing, and I heard her slump against the wall.
I smiled, opening the door. I pulled her into a hug. "It's okay, sis. There are a lot of eligible children, it won't be me. Everything'll be alright, alright?" I spoke softly and she nodded her head in understanding.
Bells tolled in the distance. "We'd better get going." I told her. "I'll get Tomas and Maddie. You clean yourself up." She laughed a held me closer, before letting go.
Standing up, I made my way to my room and was about to grab the handle when little Tomas opened it. "Is it time a go?" He asked loudly. I smiled and nodded, grabbing him and lifting him up. He cried out when I stumbled slightly. "Hey!" He threw his arms around my neck, holding me firmly. "Don't drop meeee!"
I laughed and put him down carefully. Grabbing his hand, I led him back to the girls' room to collect Maddie, when a hard knock came at the front door. Before I could protest, Tomas broke free of my grasp and ran to the door. "I get it!" He called behind him.
I rolled my eyes as I knocked on Maddie's door, letting her know we were about to leave. She groaned, and I could hear her dragging herself from her bed.
As I turned, I saw a flash of color and suddenly I was on the floor, a body on top of me. "Hey, Soot!" She called. "Ready to go, shortie?"
"Of course, Coalette." I groaned as she helped me to my feet. "You don't have to do that every time, you know?"
"I know."
Keola Foeba, Age 13, District 12 Female
"Hello, hello, people of District Twelve! And how are we today?" The new escort asked, staring out at the blank faces. "Well, I am doing just fine, thank you! I am your new escort, Caleigh, erm, Indigo Pearl! As the newest of the escorts, I'm sure you will all make me feel right at home. Oh, but I almost forgot! We have a video for your enjoyment, courtesy of the Capitol!" She gestured to the large screen above her, and it came to life.
Because District Twelve was the home of the Mockingjay Katniss Everdeen, Twelve's video was a little more… threatening than most of the other Districts'. The President narrated the whole thing, taking note of everything that the "stupid, clueless girl" did wrong in an attempt to rip the nation apart. It showed her killing her ally from Eleven (which I've been told she didn't really do), and how the creatures of fire ripped her apart, limb from limb, one of her arms hanging from a nearby tree before her cannon sounded.
It was all a threat, we knew. One that told us to steer clear of rebellion, for there were "far worse Games that could be played."
The video showed the final placings of the Third Quell, where Katniss and Peeta stood in ninth and fifth. It showed the final showdown between Gloss and Johanna, and then went dark.
"Well, then. That was interesting, wasn't it? As much as I'd love to watch it again, I feel we need to recognize your previous Victors. Are you ready?" Instead of waiting for an answer, she pulled out a card and read:
"The Tenth Hunger Games, Kyler Ashworth. The Twenty-Fifth Hunger Games and First Quarter Quell, Susan James! The Fiftieth Hunger Games and Second Quarter Quell, Haymitch Abernathy! The Seventy-Fourth Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. Dead sixteen years, Rory Hawthorne of the Seventy-Seventh Games! Slatia Mist, the Eighty-Second Hunger Games!" She gestured to her left, where the living Victors sat.
"From the Eighty-Ninth Hunger Games, Thalia Wildes!" An old woman with dark skin and grey hair waved from where she sat. "The first of four in a single decade, Delia Quail, the Hundred-Eleventh! From the Hundred-Fourteenth, Tolla Rutai!" Both women in their fifties, plastered smiles on their faces and waved to the cameras. "The first to complete a back-to-back Victory for Twelve, Vesta Charr, the Hundred-Fifteenth!" Vesta didn't wave, she just stared at the crowd blankly.
"The Victor who closed the Decade of the Twelves, at the age of only thirteen, Blossom Kilo, who, sadly, passed away last year." Blossom's oldest daughter was in the Hundred Forty-Ninth, and Blossom died of a drug overdose on the ride home from the Capitol. "And finally, the only living male Victor from District Twelve, Coal Black, from the One-Hundred and Forty-Third Hunger Games!" A young man stood at his name, his eyes dark, his skin slightly yellow.
"Ahhah, yes, the moment we've all been waiting for! Today, we find out who will receive the honor of representing District Twelve in the Sixth Quarter Quell! Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor."
Soot Maloy, Age 13, District 12 Male
The crowd went quiet as Indigo made her way to the girls' bowl, the paper audible crinkling as she swirled her hand through the slips. After a brief moment, she grabbed one out of the bowl and carried it to the stand. Carefully breaking the seal, she read it out loud.
"Stephanie Minor!" She called.
A small cry pierced the air from the thirteens' section, and a girl made her way slowly to the stage. She was trying to keep a brave face, but she was close to falling apart. She was nearly to the stage when a voice called out, "I volunteer!"
The entire crowd reeled in shock as a girl, smaller than I and looking sickly, made her way through the crowd and into the aisle. The girl who had originally been chosen, Stephanie, stared at her in horror, and screamed at the escort, "No! She can't volunteer! I volunteer for her! Please!"
"I'm sorry, my dear, but your eligibility ended when this young girl called out the words. Come up here dear, please, we'd all like to hear from you." The girl nodded, and made her way up to the stage. She walked as if anyone might lash out at her, and the escort was obviously growing impatient. When the girl finally mounted the stage, her really long hair moving slightly in an unseen breeze, Indigo huffed.
"Finally! Now, sweetie, what's your name?"
"Keola Foeba." She answered hesitantly.
"Hello, Keola, it's nice to meet you!" She gushed. "Now, you just stand right here while I select who will be your District Partner." She brushed imaginary dust off her suit and strode over to the boys' bowl, emptier than usual because of the smaller candidate pool.
Indigo took the same amount of time she had previously, plucking a paper from an unknown location in the glass bowl. She pulled it out took a deep breath, and turned. Staring at the podium, her heart no doubt racing, she strode forward, wavering slightly. She held the paper in front of the mic, and broke the seal.
"Soot Maloy!"
I could feel myself growing paler. My ears were ringing, and I could vaguely hear shouting around me. Slowly, I made my way into the aisle, everything around me a blur. I refused to cry, and after what seemed like eternity, I was on the stage, being beckoned over to Indigo.
Indigo said something, but I didn't hear. I felt more than frightened, and helpless. So helpless. I imagined how I must have looked to the district, scared the way a baby bird is as he's pushed out of the nest for the first time.
It took me a moment to register the slight pressure in my palm, and I realized I was shaking hands with Keola, who like me, was being led to the slaughter.
My hearing returned, just as Indigo was wishing everyone a "Happy Hunger Games!" Moments later, she was shoving me into the room where I'd have to say goodbye to my family, possibly forever.
Keola Foeba, Age 13, District 12 Female
My mother burst into the room in a panic, like she always did. She ran over to where I sat, sobbing into my shoulder. I patted her back gently, which seemed to take her out of her sorrow. She looked up at me and asked, "Why would you do this? Is it because of me? What did I ever do wrong? I've tried my hardest to help you, to keep you safe. I've given you everything you never wanted. Where did I go wrong?" She curled into a ball on the floor, sobbing harder.
I had to choke back a small laugh. Normally, the parents would be consoling the children, telling them they could make it home, that they'd be okay. The roles had been reversed for me, though, and I had to her job for her.
I kneeled down on the ground next to her, resting my head on her shoulder. "Mom." I said, "It's not your fault. I couldn't let Steph go into the Games knowing full well what she did for me. You didn't do anything wrong. Indigo did." I lifted my head, and wiped the tears from her eyes. She took a deep breath.
"You're right, sweetie. I suppose I'm supposed to give you ideas for the Games, huh? Well, now, let me think…" She tapped her chin in thought. "Don't grab much at the Cornucopia. Twelve's never last long in the Bloodbath. Grab a pack and run. And allies. Most every Victor ever had at least one ally. Find as many as you can and you should be-"
"Time's up!" A peacekeeper threw the door open, and grabbed my mother from where she sat. He took her outside, kicking and screaming the whole way. I sat in silence only a minute.
The door opened again to reveal Stephanie, her eyes puffy but no tears in her eyes. She looked at me, still kneeling on the floor, and said, "you didn't have to do that, you know."
I shook my head as she walked over, sitting where my mother had moments before. "You needed me. Just like I needed you, all those years ago." I flinched slightly as she reached into my hair, untying the ribbon she had given me. She pinned something onto it.
I looked at the charm, bright green and shaped like a snowflake, and I smiled. "You remembered, huh?" She smiled back as she tied the ribbon back into my hair.
"Of course. I will send you into the Arena with the reason we ever became friends. Something to remember me by."
Soot Maloy, Age 13, District 12 Male
"I'm so sorry Mom and Dad couldn't make it." Garrett apologized again. "They're still working the extra hours they need to get the money to care for you four. Well, three now." Sarai punched him in the arm, but said nothing, probably afraid of breaking into hysterics again.
"What?" He asked defensively. "Until he makes it home, it will be you three. After that, he'll be supporting them."
Tomas smiled at that. "And we could have a BIIIG house, right Soot? And we could have treats? And steak? And hangurbers?"
I laughed slightly. "Of course, Tomas. All the treats you ever want. I promise."
The door opened, and the last I saw of my family was little Tomas and Maddie waving goodbye for what I hoped wasn't the last time. Before it closed, however, a slight figure darted in, and I had to fight the urge to jump out of the way before she tackled me.
"Oh, Soot, I'm so sorry!" Coalette cried, throwing her arms around me. "I can't believe this happened to you. I mean, of all people, you! Why? I don't understand! You haven't done anything wrong! Never once, it's so-"
"It's so what?" I asked gently. "Unfair? Cruel? I'm not the only one who's ever been invited to the Games, Coalette. Two-hundred ninety-eight children from Twelve have been given to the Games, and two of them went back in. Anybody can enter that Arena, Coalette, you know that. However, you should also be aware that anyone can come out alive. That's the only hope one has in the Games."
She looked at me strangely, cocking her head slightly. "Did I just hear that from you, Soot? Don't tell me the Games have already changed you." She laughed quietly, and I did too. She looked at me with pride and hope and then rummaged through her pockets, as if remembering something.
"Here, I almost forgot." She said, "I wanted to give you this. It's not much, but I wanted to give it to you after the Reapings today. Not like this, but… You know what I mean." She leaned forward, pressing something smooth and cold into my palm. After she removed her hands, I looked at it.
It was a simple stone, grey in color with small specks of white and black. It was smooth and even polished, reflecting the light from the overhead lamps.
That's not what was beautiful about it, though. Carefully carved into the rock were words so simple, yet they were words that were sure to help me get through the Games.
Slatia Mist, Age 85 (17), District 12 Female Mentor
82nd Hunger Games Victor
As I woke up from hibernation, again, I couldn't help but notice the screaming, like each of the five kills I made over the course of the Eighty-Second Hunger Games. Opening my eyes, I sat up and looked around. To my immediate left was another bed, Austin Bean written across the headboard. The rest of the beds had the sheets in a crumpled mess at the end, meaning the occupants were awake.
I closed my eyes and groaned as I realized what that meant.
Looking over at where the screaming was coming from, I gave another moan. A man I recognized as Velvet Furse was slumped against the wall, near the door. His eyes were closed, and his leg was at an odd angle. Right in front of him was Cecelia Furse from Eight, and Kinzie Wrasse from Four. Cecelia had her arm around Kinzie's neck, holding firm even as Kinzie clawed and bit, drawing blood.
I heard a cry and a crack as little Harvest Summer from Nine flipped twenty-nine-year-old Gloss Xerces over her leg. He didn't move.
Suddenly the opaque glass door slid open, and Capitol nurses with batons flooded into the room. One of them shouted at the Victors, but they didn't listen. She shouted at her companions, and they all flicked their wrists, covering the batons in blue, sparking electricity.
Coal Black, Age 22, District 12 Male Mentor
143rd Hunger Games Victor
Another year, another loss. I thought as I waited aboard the train that would take me and the tributes to the Capitol, where I'd hunt for Sponsors and alliances for them, and no matter what I did, they would die, like Twelves always did.
Oh, sure, Twelves had won numerous times, on twelve different occasions in fact. But after mentoring six years and watching twelve kids die, I had pretty much lost hope.
Hope has no place in the Games. I thought miserably. The boy was too nice, the girl too weak. Both tributes would probably die in the Bloodbath, I knew, as Twelves did every year.
Sighing, I stumbled to the dining car, where I would hopefully find more bourbon to fill my flask. I had been attempting, again, to get the faces of my victims out of my head, to no avail, of course.
There were only two, but their deaths were more brutal than I had ever seen before. None of the weapons in the Cornucopia that years were sharp, consisting mainly of wooden bats and bricks, so most tributes fled into the thick forest surrounding the Arena. I did not.
Somehow, I made it into and out of the bloodbath with a metal staff, and I survived for eleven days. On day eight, the Careers fractured, stressed from finding no other tributes.
The boys from Six and Thirteen. Both twelve. Killed by the boy from Twelve.
HOLY CRAP THERE'S ONLY ONE MORE REAPING LIKE OH M GOODNESS!
Here are the submitters who are Sponsors thus far. If I have your name down wrong, please let me know: (Remember. You can change who it is up until the Private Sessions)
dreams and desperation: 92
ElvenRangerRysel: 90
Mystical Pine Forest: 77
HufflePuffleJay: 68
faceless eater aka slendergirl: 62
jayman1919: 62
We're All Okay: 56
Rina-The-Fangirl: 56
Wolfie McCoy: 56
caitiebug007: 53 (Devon Cynthia Rose, District Five Female)
Here are the submitters, who have points, but haven't confirmed whether they want to Sponsor or not:
The Rcse: 74
Jotunheim Storm: 59
CreativeAJL: 53
InfiniteDespair: 53
MushtcheNinja29: 53
grimbutnotalways: 53
Here are the submitters who have not reviewed (If I don't know you're reading, I may kill your tribute(s). Just saying) (and I like your tributes, so don't let them down now!):
superepicstarkette1211
If you are on none of these lists, you are probably a non-submitter, and I have not included your name because I haven't seen a review in a while. If you'd like to be on any of these lists, let me know. Remember everyone, your donations can save lives!
Alliances!:
Careers: Marcus (1), Malaya (1), Mason (2), Cassia (2), and Esmeralda (4).
Children of Amber: Thorn (11), and Willow (11).
Loners who will likely get alliances eventually:
Cordin (3)
Infiniti (3)
Jasper (4)
Darius (5)
Devon (5)
Aran (6)
Jetta (6)
Logan (7)
Kenzi (7)
Henry (8)
Tulle (8)
Thanatos (9)
Harvest (9)
Denny (10)
Cheyenne (10)
Soot (12)
Keola (12)
Questions!:
Catch the references?:
Thoughts on Coal's mindset?:
Are you proud of me?:
Any predictions for Thirteen?:
With a little luck, I'll see you tomorrow,
Lord Zagreus