Careers have feelings too. Here are some of them.

Priscilla Piscot POV

Are all Careers this nervous, or am I just a bad Career? I knew I got a good score, but so did lots of other Tributes. I scored the lowest of all the Careers. If things were even I only had a one in twenty-four chance of winning... of living. Even with my training, they were terrible odds for a life. Why did any of us do this?

I knew why I was supposed to. I had to go bravely avenge Miall, since killing some kid from Ten would bring him back somehow. Castiel wasn't going to go easily, and even if I did my duty, I'd still always miss my brother. He wouldn't even have wanted this. He volunteered so he wouldn't be in my shadow anymore. The last thing he would want is to be remembered as the brother who failed while I was the sister who succeeded. Besides, he was my brother. He got jealous, but he loved me. He wouldn't want me to risk my life on some pointless mission, even if he pretended he supported my training. I came from the richest District. We should have been peaceful and happy. Why did it have to be like this?

Like so many times before, I daydreamed about things being different. Maybe we were from Twelve, and we were poor, but we worked together and we pulled through and were happy. Maybe I had some disease and couldn't volunteer. Those were horrible things to hope for, but I'd wished for them over and over as I grew up. For every day I was fired up to bring victory to One and be a hero, there was a day I was terrified of what would happen to me in the Arena.

I didn't even know who I'd be if I wasn't a Career. Maybe I'd be a fisherwoman in Four and watch the sun set on a drifting boat. Maybe I'd be a tailor in Eight, making beautiful dresses for fine Capitol women. Maybe my disease wasn't quite bad enough that I couldn't play hoops, and the Capitol would invite me to play on television and I'd be so inspiring without worrying about death.

I knew this feeling wouldn't last forever. I was by nature lighthearted, and I knew the blessings of living in One far outweighed the downfalls. Still, the thought was always there, even if I wasn't thinking about it. A Career shouldn't think such things, but I wished the Games were gone as much as the outlying Districts. They were only happy for one person, and that wasn't enough.

Rapture Kai POV

There was so much to love about Diamond. There was the way she never stopped fighting, the way she held on and fought back until the biggest opponent was too exhausted to care. In the minute before the bear's jaws snapped her spine, I thought she'd fight it off. When she went limp and I knew the sister who never stopped fighting would never fight again, it was like losing the whole world.

Diamond wasn't just a warrior, though. She was my big sister. She looked out for me even though I could fight just about anyone in the District. She helped me with my homework when I was afraid to look stupid if I asked our dad. She told me I was smart to study survival and focus less on pure weaponry. She used to read terrible romance novels, and I always teased her. Winning wouldn't bring her back, but it was the best way I could honor her memory.

Priscilla never mentioned it, but I knew her brother died in the Games too. All Academy students study former Games, and she wasn't there the day we reviewed his. Some of the older students jeered him for dying by a lousy Ten, but for the most part, we respect the fallen in One, unless they were really stupid. Priscilla was usually the class clown, but she was quiet the next day.

When I walked the Hall of Victors, there was another woman where Diamond should have been. Seeder didn't kill my sister, but she still shouldn't be alive when Diamond wasn't. Diamond deserved it so much more than that lucky dirt shoveler. It took far longer than it should have to get to a statue of a Tribute from One. Next year there would be one more, and it would stand for one sibling that made it and one that never got the chance.

Margo Caspian POV

I would have preferred to train around the clock, but the Capitol expected us to be available for the public to adore. We were highly encouraged to explore the building, and to get Philomena off my back, I took the elevator to the ground floor so I could walk back up the stairs and claim I toured the building.

I suppose I have to make this believable, I thought, so I walked across the floor to the opposite stairs to kill some time. In the absence of training equipment, it was the closest thing I had to exercise, so I started crossing all the floors to at least raise my heartbeat an inch. I kept tabs on the attractions and stores I walked past so I could drop a few names if Philomena asked. They ran the spectrum from normal, like a coffee shop, to just weird, like a giant bouncy house modeled after last year's Arena.

"Hey! You're Margaret Caspian!" someone yelled from behind me. I turned and saw some Capitolite with orange hair and a blue suit waving at me like an old friend. He ran to my side and snatched my hand. His eyes flickered on my face for an instant before he stared straight at my chest.

"I hope you win. You know what they do to winners, right?" he said as he leered at me. His hand traveled to where his eyes already were and I smacked it aside.

"Excuse me," I said coldly. He looked at me like I was an impudent slave.

"You better come around, girl. A Capitolite is not refused," he sneered. I hated to waste my time on scum like him, but he needed a lesson. I pressed my hand on his chest, then hooked my thumb under his rib and yanked him closer to me. His eyes bugged and he sucked in a breath.

"Unfortunately, a Victor can't refuse you," I said quietly enough that the few people around us couldn't here, not that they did anything to stop a sexual harassment anyway. "However, I am not yet a Victor, and for you, losing would almost be worth it." I shoved the man away from me and stomped past him to the opposite stairs. I could put up with a few bedmates if I won, but if that guy had the guts to try to claim me after this, I'd have to find a way to emasculate him with plausible deniability. I swear, sometimes the Arena is safer than the Capitol.

Alex Mason POV

"Is there any way for me to contact my sister?" I asked Craig.

"The Capitol discourages it, but if you're discreet..." he answered. He pushed some buttons on the television in my room and an old-style phone icon popped up. He showed his own discretion by clearing out, and I typed in our phone number. After a few rings, someone picked up. My father's face appeared.

"Whaddya want?" he growled. He saw it was me and was about to hang up when I broke in.

"Is Dawn there?" I asked.

"Dawn!" Dad twisted around and shouted.

"Coming!" Dawn's voice came from upstairs. I saw her as she came into the room and started smiling like an idiot. "Alex!" she squealed when she saw me.

"Don't run up the bill, yeah?" Dad said to Dawn, like the Capitol wasn't paying for everything. He left the room.

"Oh my goodness, how are you?" Dawn asked. "I wish you were here, though. It's too dangerous there."

"Don't worry about me. I'm supposed to worry about you. As soon as I get home we're getting out of there," I said.

"How's the Capitol?" Dawn asked.

"It's all right. Too flashy, though," I said.

"Are the other Careers nice?" she asked.

"Not really, since they're killers and all, but they don't tease me for not being in the Academy, if that's what you mean," I said. Dawn shifted her arm and I saw a red circle on it. In an instant, I was filled with rage.

"What's that? Where'd you get it?" I demanded. She saw where I was looking and covered the bruise with her arm.

"It's nothing. I bumped into the door," she said.

"He hurt you again, didn't he?" I said. That was the only thing I'd been afraid of when I volunteered. For a few weeks, we'd be apart, and he'd take any chance he could get.

"No! It's all right," Dawn said. "Please, don't worry about me. Just stay safe." In that moment, everything changed. When I got home, the first thing I was going to do wasn't going to be getting Dawn out of the house anymore. Academy trained or not, I was a Career. I knew how to kill and I was ready to do it. When I got home, I was going to make sure our father never hurt anyone ever again.

Whyte Roberts POV

Training can only go on so long. Vera and I took advantage of the enforced break to have a little fun before we had to kill everyone and figure out which of us was going to die. The Games center was heaven for people like us. There were so many things to see it was impossible to get bored. As Tributes, we had unlimited credit. Every shopkeeper and attendant wanted the exposure of a real Career sampling their wares. So, of course, we set out to sample every one. We roller-skated on a rink lit by crazy rainbow lights, bungee jumped off the edge of the building, played laser tag, got our pictures taken in ancient costumes, and got giant fake tattoos right on our faces to freak out our stylists. I just got a skull, but Vera went all-out and got a hyper-realistic tarantula. Rouge was going to have a heart attack.

Eventually a pit stop was necessary, and we sat down in a sweets shop for some refreshments. I had a "ice cream gumdae", which was apparently just named for the pun, since there was no bubble gum at all. Basically it was a huge candy bar filled with ice cream and chunks of littler candy bars. Vera had a caramel apple dipped in cookie crumbs and gummy worms. We were trying to eat way more sugar than anyone ever should when a woman interrupted us.

"Excuse me, do you have a moment? Fuschia Flash, Capitol reporter," she introduced herself. "I'd love a few words from this year's brave new Careers." Vera rolled her eyes at the flattery, but she set down her apple. It wouldn't hurt to give Fuschia a little something.

"Um, hello," I began. "I'm Whyte Roberts, and I volunteered so I could... I dunno, be rich and stuff," I said.

"I'm Vera Busattil, and I came here to make sure Whyte didn't blow himself up or something," Vera said. Fuschia jotted notes down on a pad.

"What we really want to know is, how serious are you two?" she asked. That was the one thing we were prepared for. Vera and I had gone over our angle again and again. The doomed lovers bit got done a few years back, so that was out. We weren't related, so we couldn't say that.

"We're not together. We're just friends," I said.

"Best friends," Vera agreed. Fuschia's pen drooped.

"Really? Not even a little together?" she asked poutily.

"That doesn't even make sense," Vera said.

"Well then, what are you going to do if you're the final two?" Fuschia asked.

"That's not a very nice question to ask," Vera said. "I don't think we even know."

"Maybe we'll flip a coin or something," I said. When the time got closer, we'd make a plan, but for now, we were enjoying the time we had before the Games.

"Hey, is that Margo and Rapture kissing?" Vera said, looking over Fuschia's shoulder.

"What?!" Fuschia gasped. She turned around, and Vera snatched her apple and bolted. I scrambled after her and we hooted like hyenas as Fuschia wailed after us. We could have just said we were busy, but this way was much more fun.

Vera Busattil POV

Every night, Whyte and I met in one of our rooms to go over what we found out during the day. I spread out our chart and got ready to add some more lines to it. We knew out weaknesses. If we didn't write everything down and go over it in an orderly fashion, we'd skip all over the place and forget half the stuff before we studied it.

"All right, what do we have today?" I asked as we looked over our chart. All of the other Tributes' names were written on a sheet of paper, and they were all taped together to form a scatterbrained spreadsheet.

"Let's start with the other Careers," Whyte said. We concentrated- as much as either of us could be said to concentrate- on the first square, labeled Priscilla.

"I like Priscilla. She hardly seems like a Career at all," I said.

"Yeah, I've never heard a Career joke before. If we weren't allying, she'd be all right," Whyte said. We penciled in "Most likely to make Castiel laugh" after her name and moved on. Among the other comments were:

Rapture: Really good with axes. Try to keep him away from them.

Margo: Spooky. Fight with a weapon longer than a sword.

Alex: Not as mean as he pretends to be. Use long-range weapons.

Wyatt: Lol.

Haber: Don't leave alone with Whyte.

Skye: Stay out of bomb range.

Castiel: Biggest threat other than Careers.

"Nutshell version," I said when we were done. Whyte and I both preferred short explanations, and saying them aloud helped us concentrate.

"Margo and Rapture are the biggest threats. Alex and Priscilla are nice, but we still have to be careful. Other than the Careers, watch out for Castiel," Whyte said. Even though we were casual, we knew this was deadly serious. Not everyone was as friendly as we were, and when we were in the Arena we'd have to act more like them. Fuschia's words haunted me. Whyte didn't want to bring it up either, but eventually we'd have to face it. Neither of us would ever be ready.

I done messed up again. Myrtle was supposed to wear a stupid bird outfit during the Parade. Consider it retconned so she's wearing the bird outfit.