Piper Hagen

I couldn't be more upset that Mason has become the victor. Being victors of back-to-back Games, the two of us will be expected to bond. We're expected to become great friends. Out of the final five, Mason was the tribute I knew I had the least in common with. I think Swirl and I would have gotten along extremely well. We're both young tributes from outer districts who experienced great pain in the Games. Harvest- she had a sweet side, and being a non-career, I think we also could have bonded. Jessie was also a fourteen-year-old, reaped just like I was at that age. And Alexandrite- well, at least she was a girl. She was also very smart, which is what led me to victory last year.

Unfortunately, though, Mason won, and I don't think anyone could have played the Games more differently than I did. Mason relied on brawn. I relied on brains. Mason had seven kills. I had one. Mason was a career. I was not. Mason had allies. I did not. Honestly, we did nothing similarly at all. We're polar opposites. I think the only thing we have in common is that we both own a house in Victor's Village.

I take a deep breath and drum my fingers on my nightstand. I guess I just have to accept the fact that Mason won, and there's nothing I can do about it. Mason's the victor, and no matter how much I disagree with how he played the Games, I have to be nice to him. I mean, he's not the worst victor out there. He does have a heart when he chooses to use it, and he did refuse to betray his allies by not killing then in the middle of the night, even though they had plans to betray him. I think the problem might be that I'm scared of this guy. I need to remember that even though he may be seven and a half feet tall and pretty darn intimidating, I faced much worse things in the arena.

Thankfully, I have six months until Mason and I will meet. I left the Capitol right after Mason watched the recap of the Games, so the Capitol never had a chance to introduce us to each other. But during the victory tour, when Mason visits District Eleven, I'll be sitting on the stage behind him as he pretends to mourn the deaths of Cherry and Ryland. Plus, once the victory tour wraps up, we'll have the party at the president's mansion to look forward to. It was an absolute nightmare for me last year. I was forced into the spotlight as I met every since living victor who decided to show up. Being a recent victor, I'll be expected to go to this party for at least the next five years to welcome new victors to the 'family.' Honestly, all of these reminders of the Games are going to drive me into insanity.

Adameus Fletcher

My hands shaking, I knock on the president's door. It's been almost two weeks since the Games ended, and the fact that President Trekk hasn't wanted to speak me ever since is worrying me. He wasn't fully impressed by the Games last year, and I'm not sure how he feels about them this year. "Come in," I hear the president say. I open the door and come face-to-face with the man I fear more than anyone else.

"Hello, Adameus," President Trekk says upon seeing me. "Would you like anything to drink? Water? Coffee? Tea?"

"No thank you," I say.

"Okay," he says. "Then let's get straight to business. When I hired you a year and a half ago, I have to say, I expected the best from you. You were a very experienced and enthusiastic Gamemaker, and I felt it was time to give you a promotion."

"Well, thank you," I say, not quite sure how to respond to that.

"Yes, well unfortunately, you haven't quite lived up to my expectations. These past two years have been average, but they were nothing extraordinary. You've had your slip ups. For example, what were you thinking when you let Mason receive that note telling him that his allies planned to kill him?"

"The note specifically told Mason not to kill his allies," I say.

"The note recommended Mason to not kill his allies," the president says. "That boy had free will out there. He could have done anything."

"I suppose," I say, my words shaking slightly.

"I need you to listen to what I'm about to say very carefully, Adameus, or the consequences could be pretty severe. You need to step out of your comfort zone and make these next Games spectacular. You need to stop feeling nervous and man up. There's an old game that the kids of Panem used to play, where they'd have three chances to hit a ball. Every time they missed the ball, they'd get what was called a 'strike,' and if anyone ever got three strikes in a row, they'd get thrown out of the game. You have two strikes, Adameus, and believe me, you don't want to get to three. Head Gamemaker Trixie received three strikes, and you know what happened to him."

I gulp. Allen Trixie, the man who was the Head Gamemaker before I was, supposedly died of natural causes. "Allen was the Head Gamemaker for twenty-one years, but he grew soft as time went on. I killed him even after all of his great years of leading the Games. Don't think I won't kill you."

"Yes sir," I say. "I promise, I will blow you out of the water next year. You will not be disappointed."

President Trekk smiles. "I thought so. Now go run along. You have a new arena to create."

I salute the president and then walk out of the room, my heart racing. These next Games need to be spectacular, or I'll be killed. I have to get to work straight away, and start planning how I'll make the Games more bloody than ever. If I don't, these will be the last Games I'll live to see.

SIX MONTHS LATER

Mason Riley

I sit in the train and look out the window, waiting for District One to appear. Six months have passed and I'm on my way to the victory tour. A lot has changed during this time. Cameras follow me everywhere, as well as some fans. I've been approached by countless younger boys who have told me that they want to volunteer one day and win, just like me. My brother and sister have also gotten more attention, and my mom and dad have been praised for raising a total of three victors. I've had a lot of fun with all of this, but I'm hopeful that things will finally settle down after the victory tour. I need time to relax and prepare myself for mentoring in another six months.

At last, we arrive in District One. I'm shipped off to the town square, where the whole district stands, waiting for me to make my speech. It seems I have some fans in this district, but there's also plenty of Alexandrite supporters who are upset that I killed her in the final two. I look off into the back of the crowd, where Alexandrite's and Glint's families stand on separate platforms. Alexandrite's parents and boyfriend look very mournful as I explain what a respectable tribute she was. Her three older sisters, however, merely stand there twirling their hair and trying to look pretty for the cameras. Glint's parents stand on the other platform, holding up a baby girl that must be Glint's sister. When I talk about how strong Glint was, his parents glare at me with hateful expressions. I don't take it too personally. They're just upset that I'm standing here instead of their son. I'm sure they would glare at any of the other tributes, regardless of who they were, if they became the victor.

We leave District One in the morning, hours after the party at the mayor's house. From here, we travel to District Twelve. Both of the tributes from this district died in the bloodbath, so I don't have much to say about them. In District Eleven, the story is much the same, though Cherry did survive the bloodbath. I get to meet Piper Hagen, the victor of the 125th Hunger Games. We don't get a chance to talk, but Piper doesn't seem to like me much. As I give my speeches, she just stares at me with dislike in her eyes.

The two tributes from District Ten, Swirl and Osborn, were both pretty talented, so I mention that in my speech. I notice that Swirl doesn't have parents standing on her family's platform- just her four friends that were interviewed during the final eight. In District Nine, I say something nice about Harvest's strength in the Games as her family looks at me with sad eyes. I don't expect them to be happy with me. After all, I killed their daughter. I also killed Peter, the other District Nine tribute. So, this district really isn't happy with me- at all.

District Eight goes by without a hitch. The two tributes only lasted three days, and I had no part in their deaths. In District Seven, I say a quick word about Mapelle, since she made it to the final six. In District Six, only Peyton's mom and sister show up on their platform. I tell them how sorry I am for all the heartbreak they've had in their lives lately. I hope they know that I really do mean it. It's sad that the Hunger Games have torn their lives apart.

District Five is slightly interesting. Tadalynn was a casualty of day one, so I don't have much to say about her. However, I am the one who killed Eridan in the final eight. When I get a glimpse of his family's platform, I realize that the scene is an awful lot like the one in District Ten with Swirl's 'family.' Like Swirl, Eridan was an orphan, and four of his closest friends, including his girlfriend, are standing on the platform. His friends look sad, but his girlfriend is absolutely devastated. She sheds thousands of tears during the ceremony, and I find myself feeling a little bit bad for her.

District Four is another district that goes by smoothly. Both Marina and Sheldon died early on, and I had no part in their deaths. Much to my surprise, I actually have a lot of supporters in this district. I see many handmade posters being held up in the crowd that say things like, 'Go Mason' and 'District Four Loves You' and 'Mason is #1.' It's very comforting to know that people in another district respect me and the way I played the Games.

District Three is one of the lowlights of the trip. Both tributes were bloodbaths, so there's not much to say about them. I make my visit here very short since the district itself isn't very clean or nice looking. Finally, I touch down in my home district, almost the last stop in my tour. Like the people of District Four, many District Two citizens have made signs to support me, but it gets even weirder than that. It looks like a group of young teens has made themselves stilts

in order to be as tall as me. I find it pretty hilarious, and I hope those kids had fun learning what it's like to tower over everyone.

After I've scoped out the audience, I give my speech, thanking my district for all of their support. I manage to prevent myself from making eye contact with Jessie's mom and dad. I have never spoken with them, but I hope they understand that I had to kill their daughter to make it home. I know they'll probably hate me for the rest of my life, but I can't control their feelings. If they choose to simply ignore me for the rest of my life, I'm one hundred percent fine with that.

I have a great time at the party in the mayor's house. I get a good night's sleep in my own bed that night, but I unfortunately have to board the train again in the morning. The party at the president's mansion is tonight, so this time, several former District Two victors join me on the train. To name a few, my brother and sister come along for the ride, and so does frail old Enobaria. She really isn't into the party life, but since she was a mentor this year (and arguably the most respected victor in the history of the Hunger Games), it's customary that she goes. Besides, she'll be retiring soon, so she'll have plenty of time for relaxing back at her mansion when she reaches her nineties.

Before entering the party, my prep team fixes me up one final time. At last, I walk up to the president's mansion with my brother and sister on each side of me and my escort in front of me. I have a very interesting time at the party. I'm introduced to lots of weird food and lots of weird people. I meet plenty of past victors, most of which are drunk. I see Piper there too, moping in a corner with another young victor from the outer districts. I also get to meet the Head Gamemaker, Adameus Fletcher. He looks very jittery and nervous, but he manages to tell me to be ready to mentor next year, because it's going to be an awesome year. All in all, I have a pretty great time at the party, but I can't wait to go home when it's over. I don't want to waste a minute of my next six months of relaxation.

I don't have much to say because the next chapter will be up shortly- like a couple of minutes shortly because I'm almost done with it. It includes stats from this year's Games as well as important info for my next fanfic, which will be a SYOT.

Thanks for reading! :-)