Jason Hendrix, 14, District 12 Male
Thalia's nice and all, though I've been thinking I'll be better off if I just ditch her.
I mean, it would be mean, but doesn't everyone have to be a little mean to exit the arena. It's just being a little mean to be nice in the future, right?
But Thalia won't let me out of the alliance without a fight, and that girl will beat me easily, unless I have two things, a good weapon and the element of surprise.
She's sleeping in today, much to my luck, so I slowly climb down from the rollercoaster, and my feet touch solid ground.
My eyes start sweeping the terrain looking for anything useful, a stick or a rock or something like that. Hiroto stabbed someone to death with a sharp rock when his knife was stolen last year. Harvey from our gang gave Jenson a good scare with a rock last year, it was funny but a little creepy at the same time.
I find a few relatively sharp rocks, and a long stick. I have an idea of what to make already. I grab a handful of sand, shove it in my pocket, and start climbing up, hoping that Thalia won't be awake already.
When I'm up, she's still out cold. At this rate, I bet the Gamemakers have interfered, and are giggling over my confusion now. I'm not taking it for granted, with some effort, I tear a respectably long strip off my shirt, and place it to the side, checking on it every three seconds to see if it's blown away. While doing that, I have my stones and stick at the ready, and I scoop the sand in my right hand, and pour a bit of water from our bottle into it, hoping it'll make a paste like the trainers did with the dirt in training.
It doesn't. It just makes wet sand. I growl, then regret it when I look at Thalia's sleeping form. I hurl the sand and rocks over the edge, mad, and I just settle with sharpening the stick into a sharp point, like a mini spear, and I realise that the strip of fabric, originally made to stabilise the mini axe I was about to make, is useless. I decide that I'll just tie it around my wrist as a good luck charm, but when I look for it, it's gone. I hope that's not a bad omen or anything.
I shake off all doubt, not even worrying that my knife is gone yet, it's probably fallen or something, but I'll look for it once her cannon fires. I bring the stick up, and plunge it down, expecting blood to fly out.
But nothing. Thalia is kneeling, facing me, breathing deeply, the knife and a saucepan in her hand. Darn it. I mentally facepalm for forgetting there were perfectly good weapons, and taking all that effort to construct a new one.
"So, you really want to end it like this, Jason?", she asks, a hint of malice in her voice, "It doesn't have to end like this, we could have gone our separate ways, had you only asked."
"Thalia, I know you're a nice girl, but I seriously need to win," I reply confidently, "And it's too late to leave like friends now, isn't it?"
"Yes."
She tackles me to the ground, and I try to stab her with the stick, but she knocks it out of my reach with the pan. It'll end now. I hope it won't hurt.
No. I won't leave Jenson yet. Using all my strength, I punch her knife arm back, and hold the other one back. I snatch the knife, and her shocked eyes well up with tears as I close mine and thrust the knife up into her neck. I'm lucky, too lucky, and as her cannon booms, I realise I'm crying as well.
Thalia Anderson, 16, District 9 Female
No. They need me to protect them, what are they to do? I try to whisper out a few more words to them, but my throat won't make noise, as my vision turns red.
Cerise "Cerys" Cepheus, 11, Orphan (or is she?)
Orphans.
I hate them.
Ever since a Five orphan killed my supervisor, purely by luck, the only person I really looked up to in this job, I've hated their ragamuffin faces.
And that's why I'm not sticking to the plan. I'm supposed to track down Mimi Liang, and kill her. Something about this crazy rich sponsor who was mad that her tributes mowed down two kids who he'd spent a lot of money on a few years back. I don't really care why, I'm getting money, and that's enough for me.
And I really don't care how I get the money either. As long as I can convince the higher-ups that the ragtag children I followed out of the orphanage that night were rebels, then I'll be fine. Besides, the Victor may prove useful in the future. Then I'll be hitting two birds with one stone, venting my anger for orphans by killing this random group that I found in the woods, and getting a huge pay to cover costs for a few months.
Though, it's a blessing that I was able to pinch a large coat from a stall nearby, so I don't have to keep making excuse for having a hand firmly stuck to my side. They must be at least somewhat suspicious, but they haven't asked me, thank goodness.
I reach a hand inside my coat and pull out what will kill the what, five orphans who escaped? A small, sleek, silver handgun. I have backup ammunition in my pocket, stolen off a Peacekeeper (I know I'm fighting for the Capitol here, but one stolen ammo pack won't make our side weaker) and I'm ready to go.
I saw the mandatory viewing today. That reaped sister that they hold so dear is dead, killed by the tribute from 12, barely older than myself. That'll be almost as painful as the bullets themselves. And they have no idea.
"Cerys!", exclaims Amelia as I come back, "We were looking for you!"
"Don't run off like that again," added Wheaton with thinly veiled anger in his voice.
"We're gonna see Thals on the big screen today!" exclaimed Harry, "It's gonna be so fun!"
"That'll be great," I say, "But can we please do a little something first?"
"Like what?"
"Like this," I pull out my gun, and my pathetic orphan wail becomes my true voice, glorious Capitol accent and all.
"Hands up," I order, "And it'll be quick and easy."
"Who.. what are you?", Amelia half screamed, half whispered. I pull off my red wig to reveal my electric blue hair, done none other than in the Capitol.
"Cerise Cepheus," I reply with a smile, "Capitol hit girl, and your worst enemy."
"I knew you couldn't be trusted!", roared Wheaton, "And know you're going to kill us?!"
"Maybe," I say, smirking, "Now, this isn't the Hunger Games, but I apparently still need to give a good show."
"B-b-but why us?", Sophie wails, "We didn't do anything!"
"I'd say running off to live in the woods twice is frowned upon by the Capitol," I reply, "But onto the first course. Your sister's dead."
I'm greeted by a chorus of wails and cries, and Harry's confused stare. I smile and wink at the grieving children, and begin to exaggerate Thalia's death.
"The Twelve boy raked the dagger down her neck, and she passed out, and he cut her into half with it, it was very long, and there was so much blood! Then of course, the Careers came, and the Twelve boy high-fived them, and they began cutting her up into little pieces…"
"NO!", screamed Amelia, "THALIA WOULD NEVER LEAVE US LIKE THIS!"
I empty a bullet into her forehead, and she falls to her knees, and her siblings look at me in shock.
"What?", I ask, "You didn't just think I came here to tell all of you the news?"
"You're a monster," Wheaton replied menacingly, pulling out a crudely made bow and a single arrow. He fires, and I dodge getting a fatal wound, but wince when it hits my thigh.
Nevertheless, I fire a quick bullet into his head. The twins, Sophie and Andrew, try to run, but Sophie collapses when I terminate her brother. I can re-educate Harry, he can be a Peacekeeper or something. Sophie can starve in the wild for all I care.
As I haul a silent, crying Harry to the Justice building, I smile. I will always hate orphans.
Which sometimes means I hate myself.
But not now.
Zeus Technik, 15, District 3 Male
What's not to love about finally kissing your dream girl?
Well, for one, there's the televised deathmatch, and the probability that we're going to die in a day or two, and a bloodthirsty pack of trained killers hunting us, who I suspect are legitimately insane.
But other than that, romance is cool.
Persephone is up bright and early, examining the taser. I greet her, and give her one of the two remaining egg tarts.
"I'm still not really used to waking up outside," she commented. We moved from our little hiding place out into a grassy clearing where some little-kid rides were placed. It was pretty cool, but also sort of hard to guard.
I hug Decimal when she wakes, and she grabs the other egg tart after I find a single apple at the bottom of our bag.
"Trade my egg tart for your apple?", Decimal asks.
"Sure."
I toss the apple to Decimal, and she catches it. Persephone gasps for some reason.
"What happened?", I ask, "Are the Careers coming?"
"No," she said, "I usually read fiction, but I found this book about Ancient Greece, a place ancient in ancient times, hidden in the library at school, which I borrowed.. One of the things I read was that if you throw an apple to a girl in Ancient Greece, it's a marriage proposal, so Zeus, you technically just asked Decimal to marry you."
"Well, why the heck not?", she replies with a grin, "Zeus Technik, I accept your marriage proposal!"
"I have to admit, I didn't think I'd get married today," I comment, "but that would be really great!"
We smile, and three parachutes fall from the sky. One is labelled Decimal Techstone, another is labelled Zeus Technik, and the last is labelled Persephone Frostine, with a note taped to it.
"To Persephone," she reads, "Tell the lovebirds to open their packages away from each other, and follow the instructions. What is in your package is self explanatory. To Zecimal, congratulations on your upcoming wedding! From Z. Wheeler, E. Fidela, V. Nixie, Q. Commodus and S. Mahan."
"Well, you heard the mentors," the younger girl said cheerfully, " And remember, don't look at each other until everyone, including myself, is ready."
I go off a fair way from the camp, and open my package quickly, not wanting to be away from my allies for too long. I find a note on top of a dark bundle, and read it:
To Zeus,
Surprise! You're having an actual wedding! Change into this gear, and come back when Perse calls you. Just saying, it's going to be a Capitol-tradition wedding, not the one you do in Three, so people can understand better.
Your escort,
Venus
I change into the outfit as fast as I can. It's a white dress shirt with a collar, a blue bow tie, a black jacket, and black cargo pants. It's not as sophisticated as some of the suits I'd seen in the Capitol, but it was good for the Games. I smile as I hear Persephone call my name, and I run to the clearing to see Perse in a frilly pink shirt, her locket, and matching leggings, a red box in her hands.
"So, Zeus," Persephone said to me, an excited smile on her face, "Just come up and stand right here. Okay, Decimal, you can come in now!"
I gasp when I see Decimal. She is beautiful. She walks up in a white knee-length dress, white leggings, and silver combat boots. She stands opposite me, looking excited and somewhat baffled that this is a thing.
"We are gathered here today to observe the union of Decimal Techstone and Zeus Technik, two star, moon and galaxy-crossed lovers who had the unfortunate luck of meeting in a televised deathmatch," Persephone begins, "We don't have time for vows and all that, so Decimal Techstone, do you take this tribute as your unofficially wedded husband?"
"Yes."
"And Zeus Technik, do you take this tribute as your unofficially wedded wife?"
"Yes."
"By the power vested in me by the Capitol, bless Aquilo," Persephone finishes, opening the red box to reveal two rings, an unnecessary but somewhat cute touch, "I declare you unofficial husband and wife. You may now kiss."
Our lips meet, and we share the best kiss I've ever had. I'm happy. But it's shattered by a scream from our ally, and the sounds of footsteps.
"Run!", yells Decimal.
And we do.
Mindy Desperationis, 18, District 11 Female
I have been hungry for blood.
Well, that was that brown gunk in the knife pit yesterday but it could have just been mud. I instinctively reach into my bag and feel the fur of my arena token, my stuffed bear I made with the skin of Cyan The Corpse's dog. At least my dumb sewing lessons were good for something.
So I was happy when that lovesick freak Eridan called a hunt, which is probably the only good thing he's done in his life. I have my knives ready to stab the nerds and the tiny girl who follows them around. I just have to hope that none of the others steal the kill.
They're wearing these weird costumes. Heck, the dude even had a bow-tie! They're dumb. But hey, death is death!
After about half an hour of running, we have to take a breath, and they've disappeared into the arena.
"Well, what are you dumb excuses for tributes doing lazing around?", I say, "Let's skin those kiddies and roast them on the fire!"
"We have bigger fish to fry," replies Eridan, "Literally. Jett got sponsored one."
"Who would sponsor someone a fish?", asks Velvet, "That's just dumb."
"Maybe they want Jett to stink us to death!", replies Natalie, and the girls laugh.
"Enough, all of you! Get back to camp and fry that fish!", commands Eridan.
"No, YOU listen!", I yell back, slashing my knife at an ally that happened to be nearby, "I am going hunting for them. I don't care what you idiots do, just stay out of my way."
I storm off as a cannon fires.
Gemma LeBrilliant, 18, District 1 Female
Mindy slashes my brother's chest with her knife, and Jett crumples to the ground. I scream, but no words come out of my mouth.
I rush to my brother's side, and hold his hand. Both of us are crying.
"Jett, I'm so, so, sorry I couldn't save you," I whisper.
"It's okay, he whispers back, "Win for me. I love you, sis."
"Forever and always," I reply, but the cannon fires. Ihug his limp body and cry and his blood gets in my hair. I don't care if Careers aren't supposed to cry. I just lost my brother, by best friend in the whole world.
Eventually, the hovercraft has to pick Jett up, and I whisper goodbye as I grab my bag, my quiver and my bow, and leave the pack. I will avenge my brother, no matter what it takes. Mindy messed with the wrong tributes.
Thorn Debrasker, 13, District 10 Female
Two cannons today. I'm in the Top 10. I smile as I walk into the arcade building, spear in hand. I can win this. I will win this. And Iris and I will live in the Victor's Village, and I'll make sure my family won't even get to the doorstep of the house.
I'll move in next to Hunter, our only victor, he's nice. I have no interest in men, but I'll probably adopt a child. I'd hate someone to not have a family, like me. Life will be good as a victor.
But first I have to get through this. I take a bite out of an apple, and put it back into the nearly empty basket where it came from. I'm going to need more food, and I think all the sponsor money went towards my food, my water and my spear.
I get to the Cornucopia, anxious to grab some supplies, and run to the Horn. I'm picking up a bottle of water when I hear them coming back. I run around to the pointy end of the horn, and duck behind it, hoping no-one sees me.
Becoming a Victor is harder than I thought.
Persephone Frostine, 12, District 6 Female
I'm huddled near a rollercoaster, my sponsor clothes ragged and my normal clothes back at camp. When Zeus and Decimal told me to run, I did. The only things I have left are the taser, which I kept with me at all times, and my token.
I lost my allies while sprinting away from the Careers. I hope that cannon wasn't theirs. They swept up a backpack, and I thought I'd be with them by now. But I'm not.
I steel my mind and stand up. This is not a death sentence. This is an adventure, and I'm going to go on it. I've got my taser, it'll be okay. I'm going to find my allies, and go back home to my family.
A small parachute falls down, containing a bottle of water with a smiley face drawn on it. That would have sapped up all my sponsor money, so I'll use it only when I need it. I grin at the sky, and give a thumbs up.
The other tributes might think they've already won, but I, Persephone Frostine, will triumph.
First of all, sorry for the lateness. I hope the chapter made up for it!Eulogies:
12th Place: Thalia Anderson, District 9 Female - Stabbed by Jason
Thalia! You were going to be my victor, but then Cerise happened and Jason stabbed you and you're dead now, sorry. I enjoyed writing Thalia, and her alliances were great! At least she'll get to see some of her siblings! Thank you Birkaran for an amazing girl.
11th Place: Jett LeBrilliant, District 1 Male- slashed by Mindy
Okay, I didn't write Jett as well as I could've. I made a bunch of mistakes while reading his form (like making a friend with the same name as his father) but the worst one I made was writing that he knew Gemma would die if he was to win, and was fine with it. That is not right. Jett was dedicated to his sister, and loved her more than anyone in the world. Sorry ThomasHungerGamesFan, Jett deserved better.Also Dead:
All of the Anderson siblings minus Harry and Sophie- shot by Cerise
Sorry guys.
Gemma's happiness (for now)- died with Jett
Double sorry. Well, another chapter complete, and we get closer to victory! If you're still wondering what the heck is going on with Cerise/Cerys, tune in for Fantasies Swept Away! Zecimal is a thing now! And I have no clue who will win! Thank you for following Moon Skies!