Here is your new update! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far – I'm over 100 reviews XD
I enjoy writing this almost as much as you seem to enjoy reading it! So, the pre-games chapters are here. Let's get started! PM me with any questions.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games in any way, shape or form. I only own the arena and my surprisingly short authors note.
Sedan Bristol, District Six Male POV
It came as no surprise to me that no one visited me before we were brought here. My family dislike me intensely because of my attitude in life. I'm sarcastic. Cynical. Pessimistic. And what's so bad about that? There's not much hope that I can have, now that I've been dragged to this train so they can take me to my glory. I'm going into the Hunger Games, plain and simple. You can just see on my face that I am dying to get into the arena and rip into some tributes. And it's already obvious that I'm so wonderful and unbeatable that I don't need to worry about it. I'll do "Just fine!" if you ask my mentor, Mona Johnson. She seems bland. Literally, there is no personality to her. The way she talks, what she looks like…even what she wears just reeks of neutrality. She's so helpful.
I'm sitting here, listening to my mentor's wonderful advice about the Hunger Games. We don't have a second mentor. We've only ever had three. During the 75th games, two of our mentors died painlessly in the arena. It must have been fun…and now I must face the same fate.
Obviously, this arena is going to be a safe haven for the tributes this year. Nobody will ever be in danger, y'know? There won't be any kind of tricks orchestrated by the Gamemakers, will there? So that means that I am completely safe. Ha, I wish.
The electric doors slide open, and my District partner walks through, finally wearing something that doesn't make her look like a retarded Capitol citizen. I don't even know her name, but I really need to, because she'll be so much help in the arena. So much help. I can already tell that she's an optimist. She's got this dreamy look on her face. She'll live long. Anyone can see that.
"Hey!" she squeals, smiling brightly at Mona and me.
"Hello child," Mona says boredly. She cares for us so much that she doesn't know our names. Calling us a child seems rather demeaning. Well, for me, not for the girl.
The girl shrugs at the reply, and walks over to the food bar, where she picks up a plate and starts putting food onto it. I have to admit, the food is amazing. Lamb stew, blue cheese sauce, stuffed turkey with cranberry sauce, roasted croutons…
I've never heard of such combinations. Seriously, I haven't. I flex my arms, rewarding myself with the wonderful feeling of pins and needles. I haven't moved from this spot since we left our District. Mona cornered me, and started talking about how to look good for the Capitol. And his voice totally keeps me awake.
"I'm going to go and look at how exquisite my room is." I announce, interrupting Mona's drone. She scowls at me, and I narrow my eyes at her before walking off. I decide to find my room, knowing that it must be so tacky, and that it wouldn't be comfortable at all. I opened the smooth wooden door, to a calming compartment of paradise. Over on one side, there is a bed, complete with a squashy mattress and soft plump pillows. Both the pillows and duvet are a deep oceanic blue. On the opposite side of the room is a large varnished wardrobe, complete with ordinate carvings and an unbelievable amount of clothes. I don't think I've something so…posh. Unless of course, you count the dining car. There is a blue velvet sofa next to the train window, complete with matching curtains, already pleated and drawn. Outside, the world whizzes by in a green blur. I check in the en suite bathroom to find an interesting looking shower, with a multitude of buttons that I'm so not going to get confused over. There's also a full-length mirror, complete with a sink and toilet. I walk out and sit down, sinking into the fabrics of the sofa beneath me. I almost feel as if I'm being dragged down into it, drowning in the swathes of material. I take a better look around the room. Well, no one is starving for this room to exist are they? Nobody is poor enough to fantasise over the room I'm in right now. But it's still nice.
"Sedan?" the girl calls suddenly from outside the door. How does she know my name? Then it clicks. The reapings. I rack my brain for the girls name before answering. Zest, wasn't it?
"Zest?" I call back. "What do you want?"
"The reapings are on TV," She replied cheerily, seemingly happy that I know her name. "Mona wants you to come and watch them with us, so that we can analyse our competition!"
I roll my eyes.
"I'm so looking forward to that…" I mutter, before raising my voice. "I'll be there in a minute!"
As Zest's footsteps recede down the hallway of the train, I stand up and sigh. With the competition in front of me, it's going to make such a difference. Time to enjoy this time-wasting event. I walk out of my room and down the hallway, finding my way to Zest and Mona. The train is a state of the art, mechanised heaven. Crystal chandeliers shimmer from over my head, and the carpet looks to be almost as smooth as silk. All you have to do is press a button on a machine, and it gives you a hot drink of some sort. One drink is a dark brown, another is almost black, and one is a light green. It soon realise that the light green one must be some kind of mint drink. I decide to find Zest and Mona. I've killed fifteen minutes. They'll be happy.
"You ready?" chirps Zest as I walk in, still cheery. Mona glares at me from across the room, but I ignore it. I nod, and she turns on the screen in front of her.
Kleska Giori, District Two Female POV
The world flies by the window of the train as we speed along. I catch the blurred shapes of trees and grass, and even the odd empty field every now and again. But other than that, there's nothing really entertaining to see. There's plenty to listen to though. Our escort still seems to decide that shouting is appropriate at any given moment, and he's really pissing me off. He keeps on shouting random nonsense about how we have to be the best tributes ever, and intimidate the others, blah, blah, blah. I mean, I already know! I can easily beat the other tributes in a fight, and I haven't even seen them yet. District Two has always had the most victors, and we still do. And looking at my competition, victory is not going to be too much of a problem.
Steven Krane. That is the name of the boy tribute sitting opposite me. He seems like a weak career, and yet, he volunteered before Bruticus did…why? The more I wonder about this guy's intentions, the more I can't figure him out. Why would he volunteer in the place of Bruticus? Glory? Fame? Riches? Well, either way, I have to remember that he's no weakling. District Two or not, he volunteered, and he seems like he wants to be here. He's no scrawny kid either. I reckon I could take him down pretty nicely though. Still though, he hasn't spoken a word to me, which strikes me as odd. Career tributes always team up together to become a team, where we hunt the weaker tributes before turning on each other. That's an age-old rule. A rule I plan to break.
Right now however, Steven doesn't look like he's in the mood to make any friends whatsoever. Truthfully, who would with our asshole of an escort shouting all the time?
"Silence, Gauze!" a voice rings out angrily, and the muscular escort stops yelling and shouting. A woman works her way into our view, her hair curled but lifted up into a loose bun. Her eyes are a piercing and icy blue, and she wears a long silvery dress. If anything, this woman reminds me of the Greek goddess Athena.
"Now that's done," Athena mutters haughtily, before addressing us directly. "Well, it looks like we have some interesting tributes this year."
The way this woman says her words makes me angry. She speaks to me as if I'm a weakling, a child. She almost sounds sarcastic. I can't help but to reply.
"I think we're made for victory, Princess," I retort, narrowing my eyes a little at Athena. Athena raises her eyebrows, but smirks.
"It seems we have a feisty one here," she comments. "But what can you really do? There's not a curve in sight on your body, and you're as small as a munchkin. Sponsors will be difficult for you, my dear. Come now, we can talk more later. We have tributes to analyse. If you are going to win, you'll be needing a lot of our help."
I don't understand what she means by "munchkin", but I hate my flaws being revealed to me. As Athena turns away, I pick up the cheese knife from the table and launch it at her, letting the knife slice past her nose and into the doorframe. Athena stands there for a moment or two, before turning back. I stand there, enraged at this bitch, while she looks me up and down.
"Most impressive," she says, sounding the complete opposite. Her face is blank and unreadable. "I've had enough of playing around. Let's go and meet Kian, another of the mentors who will be watching over you this year."
"Wait!" Steven says. His voice rings through the cart, determined and strong. "What's your name?"
He hasn't said a word since the reapings, so it was a bit strange to hear his voice, especially after an hour or so of Gauze yelling and announcing things. He became white noise pretty quickly. Athena looks back at Steven, and I lean in, interested a little. I just dubbed the lady as Athena, not bothering to learn her name, but I guess I just want to know her name. Athena sounds superior; as if she's above me, when really, she's not.
"My name is Helena," the mentor replied. "Now, come along."
She leaves, and our escort, Gauze, follows her. Steven also follows, not giving me a single glance as he walks through into the next room. The room is a living room, with lush black leather sofas with a cream carpet and chocolate walls. Fluffy cushions are placed neatly on the sofas, which are arranged around a large flat screen TV. Sitting in the middle of one of the sofas, is a thin man of about twenty years of age, with messy brown hair and blue eyes. 'Kian' sounded like it belonged to a much more muscular man, but it seems not. I'm surprised he actually won his games. I could easily take him down in a fight.
"I'm Kian, what're your names?" the man says. He speaks very quickly and demandingly, but both of us answer anyway.
"Kleska," I say, and Steven replies with his own name as well. Kian nods.
"Well, without further ado, we'll analyse your competition this year."
He turns on the TV, and the recap of the reapings start. The interviewer is Dallas Cornwall, who took over from Caesar Flickerman after he was thought to be a part of the rebellion. The problem is with Dallas, is that you don't really know if he's a man or a woman. He confirmed that he was male, but there's still that edge of femininity to him. I don't particularly care though. The competition is more important.
District One's tributes look fairly menacing, but the boy seems more of a brute compared to the girl. Both will probably be working with me in the career pack. Then it's us. I look as confident as ever, walking boldly up to the stage, and Steven volunteers before Bruticus. District Three is a direct contrast. The boy looks so weak, sobbing all over the place. The girls a bit more spunky though. What is that pose? She looks like an idiot. District Four's tributes appear to know each other. The boy volunteers and the girl is reaped, but both of them look strong, so they might come into the career pack. District Five is a mix. The girls a goner, but the boy looks like a threat. The pair from Six look like something I can handle, but I'd better keep an eye on the boy, just in case. District Seven aren't of much interest to me, and neither are District Eight. District Nine, the girl is easy, and the boy seems mysterious. District Ten…a disabled boy with a shrivelled arm, and a moody looking girl. They look like a bit of trouble, but not much. The pair from Eleven are weaklings, yet they seem interesting. The girl looks innocent and weak, yet she seems confident. The boy just shuffles up. He's small, but he looks cunning. And as usual, the pair from Twelve don't look like too much of a problem. It seems like we have a good set of tributes this year. Other than the careers and the boys from Five and Six, most of the tributes seem to lack strength. They'll be no match for me. I'll cut all of them down with my knives. I smirk a bit, and we are dismissed so that we can "think about the tributes". Steven and I go our separate ways; him to his room, and I back to my seat by the window. Instead of thinking about the other tributes, my mind drifts to Mom, Lydy and Al. They were sad to see me go, but Mom told me that she was proud of me, and that's all that matters. I wonder if they've found my message in the tree trunk yet. The reapings seemed so long ago, even though it's only been a few hours. Even laughing at that orphan boy seems like it was year's back. In fact, I feel kind of guilty for laughing at him. How it must feel to be alone with no family…
And what if my family lose me? How will they cope? Sighing, I practice throwing knives at the doorframe. I have to focus on winning. Any distractions could result in a fatal mistake. I reassure myself quickly. I'm one of the best tributes out there. I can win. I just need to make sure that everything goes to plan. Join the careers, and kill everyone. Easy. I just hope it'll be as easy as I say it will be.
Florescent Neista, District Five Female POV
Our mentor, Nate Scourlion, turns off the big screen on the other side of the room. He says it's called a telly-vision, but for short we call it a TV. Some of the other people on the screen look very big and scary. Some of the others were crying, and I felt sad, because I wanted them to be happy. I don't get it though. Why is everyone so sad? What's so bad about those bowls?
I stare blankly back at Nate, as he regards me worriedly.
"What?" I ask, confused.
Opposite me, the strong guy with the white hair that Carmen talks about, shifts uncomfortably. His eyes stared at me in sorrow, as if to feel sorry for me.
"Why am I here?" I ask into the silence of the room. Two pairs of eyes look at me, staring at me. It's a little bit creepy actually.
"Do you really not know?" Nate asks, looking visibly shocked.
"No," I reply simply.
Nate rubs the back of his neck and makes a face.
"You're going into the Hunger Games," he said gently.
"Really?" I ask, excited. "Will I be able to win food prizes for Mommy and Daddy?"
The Boy with White Hair as I'm calling him now, gets up and leaves the room, shaking his head.
"No, your prize…is…your life." Nate explained.
"I don't get it," I say slowly.
"The Hunger Games is an event when twenty-four children are placed in an arena to fight to the death. Two children from each District, called tributes, are chosen to go into the arena, with the hopes of coming out alive. The victor wins luxuries for their district, such as better food and materials."
"So, people kill each other?" I say, raising my eyebrows. "That's just rude."
"That's how the Hunger Games works," Nate says. "And I'm sorry, but you're going into the arena."
"So…people are gonna try to kill me?" I question. Nate nodded. My heart sinks. So…I might die? I don't get it. Why haven't I been told about the Hunger Games before? Unless…Mommy…and Daddy. They tried to keep it hidden from me, didn't they? They were trying to protect me from the horrible stuff that happens in the Hunger Games. They didn't want me to watch people kill other people. And now I know…
I reach up to touch the headband that Mommy and Daddy gave me before I left. It's white and it has a pink flower on it. It's the only thing I have from home, and touching it instantly calms me down. For a second or two, I can almost feel Mommy and Daddy beside me, telling me that it's alright. It'll be OK. I won't die. People won't hurt little girls like me.
"OK then," I say, getting back to the topic. "Where are we going, and what will the ah-ree-na look like?"
Nate sighs sadly, already knowing that my knowledge of the Hunger Games is limited.
"We're going to the Capitol, the main city of Panem," Nate tells me. "This is the place where you'll be dressed up to look pretty for the world to see. Then you have to train with weapons, so that you can defend yourself. Finally, you go into the arena and you have to kill everyone so that you can go back home."
"B-but…I don't wanna kill people," I say.
"I'm sorry my dear," Nate says. "But that is what you must do. I wish it was different but those are the rules. The least I can do is help you."
The tears start to fall. I don't wanna kill. I don't wanna die either. It's scary. All of the big tributes are gonna kill me. I wipe some tears away.
"How?" I ask, sobbing a little.
Nate pats my back and hands me a tissue, but it does little to stem the flow of tears.
"I've won the Hunger Games," he says. "So, I know how you can try and win."
I look up to him; hope flooding my face like a sun shining through the clouds after a thunderstorm.
"You do?" I ask.
Nate nods and smiles encouragingly.
"Tell me everything you know. Please," I sniffle, rubbing my eyes and calming myself down.
Nate nods his head, and starts to tell me everything. Both of us know that without the knowledge of the Hunger Games, I will be dead for sure.
So, there you go. The train rides are over. My plan is: Three tributes on each of the events of the pre-games chapters, so…Train Rides, Chariots and the Capitol, Training Days One, Two and Three, Private Sessions, Scores, Interviews, and The Night Before The Games. Of course in one of these chapters, we will re-meet our Head Gamemaker, Luca Fawkes, and he has had a bit of a rude awakening if you remember the first chapter. More on that later though.
Sedan and Florescent are less developed than Kleska, because their forms were shorter, so that is my explanation. By the way, Koala of Doom, this is addressed directly to you. I apologise in advance for struggling to write Sedan. I do not understand sarcasm at all. If someone was sarcastic, then I'd have trouble knowing if it was or not. My ultimate weakness in writing is sarcasm, because I have to make it really obvious – so obvious that your character sounds like an ass, so yes, sorry about that, haha :/
Anyway, I'm babbling. So, Sedan seems like he's given up all hope. Do you think he'll be able to pick his motivation back up? And Kleska's remembrance of her family and her face off with Helena. What did you think of that? And as for Florescent, now that she actually knows what's happening, so you think she can try to survive? Also, do you have any favourite tributes out of the twenty-four so far?
I hope to update soon my wonderful reviewers and readers! Thank you so much
Over and Out!
~E.E.