I forgot Elara and Hadley! But now I should have all 73 first POVs done.
Asper Fin
They still hadn't forgotten. I was the star of the same soap opera that happened last time. I couldn't leave the training room without people telling me how brave I was to switch with my brother. I couldn't even imagine what my brother looked like anymore. I gave my life for him, and he was living it. I was still stuck in neutral.
Jay and his friends seemed to have a good alliance going. I didn't want to assume anything, and I was also okay with being alone this time. Alliances hadn't worked out for me, and I'd been around people for a long time.
I'd been away from my family so long that the whole volunteering thing didn't seem like a big deal anymore. I wished people would stop fussing about it. Except sponsors, they could still fuzz. All I cared about was getting home this time.
It was obvious I needed a better strategy. It seemed equally obvious that I was being too hesitant. Victory doesn't fall into someone's lap. I had to go out there and grab it. That might mean killing people. I had to be okay with that too. On one hand, I'd saved someone's life, so it seemed like it just evened things out if I killed someone. But on the other hand, that would negate everything I worked for. The real question was where saving my own life fit into the equation.
Miller Thresher
This was always the best part of getting resurrected. I was famished after being dead so long. There wasn't enough time to make up for all the food I lost.
I thought of my glorious victory as I ate. The first thing to get through was the Bloodbath. I'd grab supplies and a cool weapon, like an axe. Even though I could kill anyone I wanted, I'd be noble about it. I'd leave the younger Tributes to the mean Tributes so everyone could see how merciful I was. Then they'd cheer when I killed the murderers. From there I'd go after the others as they started to waste away from hunger. Naturally they wouldn't be as good at finding food as I was. They'd be skinny and weak in no time.
It was going to be nice to be a Victor. The ladies would love me even more than they already did. I could throw wild parties and have the run of the Victors' Village. It was about time Nine got a Victor. I was the perfect first.
Arden Grake
I was underwhelmed with the Capitol's decision to pick me again. I thought they had better taste. Pardon the self-deprecation, but I got eaten by a plant-eating dinosaur. In fairness, being eaten by any dinosaur was an epic way to go, but I was not recorded in the annals of the Hunger Games as one of the more memorable Tributes.
Perhaps it would work to my advantage. Certainly the others wouldn't think I was a threat. Most of us weren't even looking to fight. It was going to be a long ordeal in the Arena. It was those kind of long lulls that got Gamemakers bored. When Gamemakers were bored, they found ways to whack unlucky Tributes. And a joke worth telling once was worth telling again. Wouldn't it just be so funny if the same thing happened to me twice? I'd have to keep my eye out for Gamemakers more than for other Tributes.
I certainly wasn't proving them wrong about how exciting a selection I was. If I won, I'd be the saddest sack Victor since Toby. Eleven already had Mars. Looking at him, you'd expect him to be a big dumb guy, but he was endlessly sensitive and remorseful. Pardon my ungratefulness, but I found it impossible to muster enthusiasm for a second trip to near certain death. Call me a villain if you must. I just can't help it.
Ryker Merlin
Running wasn't enough. Two failures proved that. I had to learn something else. I didn't want to use a weapon. I already had enough to apologize for. But even though it seemed selfish, winning would help me repay my District. They were sad enough that I died twice.
I found my compromise in a bolo. It wasn't an aggressive weapon. It wouldn't kill anyone if I didn't throw it at their neck, and probably not even then. I was going to aim it at the legs anyway. That would trip my opponent and stop him from using his weapon until I could get away.
I was glad I didn't see anyone else at the bolo station. It would be my worst nightmare if someone used one on me. I was a messenger back home forever ago. Running was my livelihood. Probably by now, they used robots. It was a good thing I wasn't going back to that job, one way or another.
I didn't end up with an alliance this time. I'd be faster on my own, but I'd also be less protected. I thought I could still depend on my old allies to not target me, but the Games do things to people. They sure did things to me.
Hadley Kinneth
Skyler wasn't here this time. I wondered if anyone ever got to her family. No one from my alliance won. Kazuo couldn't have known about our agreement. Most mentors would have taken care of it, but Lena hardly remembered her own name. I wouldn't have known her name if she hadn't been from Six.
It was really too late to talk to them now, and I didn't have any allies to pool my message with anyway. I felt bad about it, but it was nice not to have to worry about it. It was all about me now. Everything else was so far behind it hardly felt relevant.
Skyler was always the optimistic one. It was harder to keep my spirits high without her. Optimism hadn't saved her, and it hadn't saved me twice. Maybe it was time to try realism. I was most likely going to die. If I did everything right, I had a slightly better chance of not dying. If I did anything wrong, it would kill me. There wasn't room for Skyler's mercy and forgiveness. The Games didn't have mercy.
Elara Angelo
I had a feeling this Arena was going to be brutal. Last Resurrection Games it was full of food. This time there were more Tributes and fewer killers. It was going to have to be like the desert Arena or the frozen one. But that gave me an advantage.
I was used to finding my own food. In Twelve, it was the only way not to starve. I worked on those kinds of skills during training, just to brush up. That and running. I had another feeling there were going to be a lot of mutts.
Last Resurrection Games a Career won. That seemed like a cheat. Resurrection Games were to give everyone another chance. The Careers already had advantages. Leaving the Careers out this time was about the fairest thing the Gamemakers ever did. Maybe Snow was going to be a good president after all.
It was odd how much I missed Myrtle. She was whiny and helpless and spoiled- but I still wished she was here. She changed over the Games, and not for the worse like most people. They refined her like fire. She never would have won, and I should have been happy she didn't have to die again. I could go on without her, even if it wasn't ideal. I was used to taking care of myself.
I need YOU!
The interviews are going to be really long if I do them normally. So instead I'll change them. Here's where you come in. If you were an audience member, what would you like to ask one of the Tributes? It can be any Tribute, and it can be serious or silly- anything from "what's your strategy" to "who's better, Godzilla or Gamera?" (p.s. it's Godzilla). If you want, send in a question for the interviews. It's probably a good idea to include a few to different Tributes so I can make sure there's no overlap. To get the full experience include a silly Capitol name for yourself, but I can make one if you can't. I still can't read reviews, so you can either PM them or hope the reviews work in time. I still have private sessions, so it should be a while, especially since those will probably take four chapters.