Gabriel Alderyne (District Two Male, age 17)
The sky is green, and I can hear rumbling and screams in the distance. There are tornadoes forming everywhere. I don't know how any of us are going to get out alive.
I pack up my bag as quickly as possible, then hug my arms around myself. I guess I'm trying to give myself the ilusion that everything is going to be okay.
Nothing is going to be okay.
As I run, I think about where might be a safe place to go. The river, maybe? Not the poppy field- I'd fall asleep. And this grass field's not terribly great either. I make up my mind. River, it is.
I finally break through the grass onto a dusty dirt path. It's not as dusty as it had been, though, and when I look a little closer, I see it's not actually that dirty. It's made of brick. And the bricks are yellow.
I chuckle. It's not like I know all the stories from before the Dark Days, but this one's kind of infamous. It's especially popped up these last few years. Which makes sense, now, because this arena is based off of the Wizard of Oz. I'm a little confused, as to why no one had noticed it yet, but now everything is so clear. The tornadoes that picked up Dorothy to take her to Oz. The little village off the side of the road- the midget village. The poppy field. And the yellow brick road.
The only things missing are the animals and the emerald city of Oz.
I pick up my pace. Somehow, I start to think, I'm going to run into one of the two, and I'd much prefer it to be the Emerald City than I would the flying monkeys or the Wicked Witch. So I follow the yellow brick road.
I have run long distance before, for training, and the cross-country team at school. In high school, it'd always been my least favorite part of the day. When I was little, though, I loved to run. It was thrilling. I loved feeling the wind in my hair and the slap of my shoes against the road and the knowledge that I could win, and I even loved the straining in my lungs and the burn in my calves. I try to conjure the eleven-year-old version of myself in my head- the one who enjoyed running and had no cares in the world.
Obviously, I've matured so much since then, and it's a little bit naive to think I'd enjoy running now, of all times. If anything, I'm indifferent. The only positive feelings I have are that my feet are taking me further and further from the tornadoes with every step. But the tornadoes are catching up, and they're coming fast.
I round a corner. Is this where I die?
If I do die here, I guess I feel really bad for the Four girl. Abby, I think? She's got a mission from the Careers to kill me, because they tagged me as a threat. And I don't think Peridot or the others will have any mercy when they see my face in the sky unless it's because of Abby.
I might as well just let her kill me.
Breathing hard, I keep running, but start to scan the horizon. If I can find Abby and whoever she's with, maybe I can spare her life. I've pretty much given up on living, myself. I can't run from these tornadoes forever. But if I find Abby, maybe she'll have a chance.
In the distance, I see the towers of a great green city. The emerald city. I force myself to stop staring. That's not my mission- my mission is to find Abby and spare her life.
And speak of the devil, I see her and Peridot heading in the opposite direction from me. I start to wave my arms frantically.
As if the Gamemakers can tell there's drama coming, and they want to see it instead of death by tornado, the tornadoes subside. Peridot points to me, and Abby shakes her head. I jog toward them. Abby says something I can't hear.
As I get closer to them, I can start to understand what they say.
"A deal's a deal, Abby. As close as I am to you, and as wary as I am of actually going through with this, he has to go. And it's your job. I won't hesitate to kill you if you don't kill him."
Again, Abby shakes her head. "I can't."
And that's when I hear a great rumbling behind me. I whip around. The tornado is barreling closer, closer, closer, and it's much faster than any runner ever. It's so loud.
I turn back to the girls. I doubt they can hear me, but I scream at the top of my lungs. "Run!" I tell them, and then I'm enveloped in the noise.
BOOM.
Aqui Schmidt (District Four Male, age 17)
I can't believe Abby and Peridot got away from me. Scratch that. I can't believe I let them get away.
The tornadoes seem to be leaving me alone, which is a little surprising, but makes a lot of sense. It's like, I'm really the last one here who wants to do any killing, and maybe the Gamemakers know that they want me to stay around and do that killing, because I've not come across any real problems since the girls left. Sure, the rumbling is really fucking annoying, but like, it's not like it's killing me.
It did kill someone, though, and I can't help but hope it was Peridot.
She's deadly, not just with weapons, but with her poison too. And her charming good looks. All put together and wrapped up with her way with words, she's a pretty little package of death.
I'm not denying that I think she's a threat. That's pretty obvious, or at least, it should be. She killed Heron, after all! I don't know, I just want her gone. Ironic how she turned out to be the biggest problem for me, not Gabriel.
I'm kind of just walking at a leisurely pace. The tornadoes seem to be leaving me alone, and there's not really much else to worry about, besides the other tributes. But I think they're all pretty caught up in the tornadoes. I almost start to hum as I walk, but think better of it. I have to be the cold, stoic man that the Capitol thinks I am, not the little boy that my mother thinks I am.
I don't know what I think I am.
Oh, god, that's a scary thought. I push it to the back of my mind, but it keeps punching everything else out of the way and making itself known. I give in. My mother probably thinks I'm her little boy. My former allies think I'm a bitch. The Capitol thinks I'm a cold and stoic killer, and the other tributes shrink in fear when they hear my name. But who am I?
Am I Aqui Schmidt, top model, the one with the cheekbones? Am I still a child? I certainly don't feel like one, not with everything that's happened. I run through every thing I'd ever considered myself to be, and none of them still fit me.
Only one thing sticks out like a sore thumb...
I am Aqui Schmidt, killer.
I shake my head. A death match is no time to go through an exestencial crisis, that's for sure. I make my brain shut up as I walk down the pass, gnawing on a stick of beef jerky. The tornadoes are still nowhere near me, so that's nice, but I can hear the rumbling growing louder. It's a little unsettling. I hope they haven't destroyed my camp because the only bag I brought with me is not going to be enough to survive for long.
I scrunch up my face. I can't worry about that. I can't worry about things, period. All I can do is survive.
I break into a run. I've always loved the feeling of running. It makes me feel powerful. It's not like I need to get away from something or someone, so it's honestly a bit more of a jog, but nonetheless running feels good.
It's then when the tornadoes start to scare me. One particular one in the distance rumbles low, and heads toward me. It's huge and it's spinning and it's tossing debris out of it.
The tornado spins closer and closer, and I don't know why. I'm the Capitol's most valuable asset! I can kill people, whereas the rest of the tributes are cowardly and scared. It comes still closer, and my eyes widen in shock. This is where I die.
The noise is so overwhelming. It's so loud, and I think if I make it out of this alive, I'll be deaf. I can't hear anything except the rumbling. And then the tornado starts to pick up the grass behind me, and a rock or something hits my arm, flung from the spinning tower of debris.
I can't run fast enough. It takes me over, and I barely have time to think.
So. Who am I?
Aqui Scmidt, dead man.
BOOM.
Delancey Pinefield (District Seven Male, age 15)
If I'm being honest, I regret ever agreeing to leave Solder's alliance. We had a plan to let the other go at the final eight. At the time, I thought it'd be for the best, but with all the tornadoes it's just scary. I can't believe I let Solder leave.
But what's done is done, and I'm walking down the path away from the carrot field because we'd played a game of rock paper scissors to decide who got to stay and I lost. Whoops. Solder did give me all the carrots he'd had, though, and I don't think it was because he felt bad for me. I think he genuinely wants me to do well.
Which is nice, because if I can't win, I want Solder to. He's my closest (read: only) friend in this sick arena.
Since we've parted, another cannon has gone off, and I can't help but hope with all I have that he's okay. That he's not been picked up by a tornado and whirled around in the noise and hit by debris and destroyed. I can't do anything about it if he has, and that's really scary. I can't do anything but hope and wait.
I shake my head, snapping myself out of the thoughts. It's not healthy for me to be thinking about others. As much as I want both Solder and myself to make it out alive, it's not realistic, and it won't happen. And if I want to be the one to make it, I need to be selfish.
I pick up my pace, walking a little faster, but not fast enough that it'd be considered a jog. The tornadoes rumble in the distance, and I guess it's a little sick that instead of a Feast they chose certain death for at least two of us. Or a lot sick, I guess. I don't really know. I don't know much of anything at this point, since I've gotten so little sleep and so little food, and the fear is overwhelming my brain. It's like I can't think about anything except food, sleep, and staying alive.
A tornado rumbles closer, headed towards me, and I break into an adrenaline-fueled run. It's for nothing, though, because just as my heart starts to pound faster than my feet, the tornado swerves direction and veers off to the left. What a cruel trick of the Gamemakers, I think, and I roll my eyes as I slow back to a walk. I hope that's all they want from me, is a little fear.
Who am I kidding? To the Gamemakers and the Capitol, a little fear means a lot of entertainment. I'm sure the children of the Capitol are laughing at me at this very moment, trying to figure out how I could be stupid enough to think the tornado was going to kill me. Because, of course, the Gamemakers must have told the announcers whether it was headed my way, and they definitely told the Capitolites.
I think back to my family in District Seven and hope they were told that too.
Reaching behind me as I walk, I pull a carrot from the side bag and bite into it. It crunches satisfyingly, and I smile. In this arena, I've taken all the little victories I can, because I'm sure the biggest Victory will not be mine. I'm one of the two youngest tributes left alive. The only other fifteen-year-old, if she's not dead yet, is soft spoken Camilla, who I know doesn't have enough bite in her to make it all the way. There are still Careers, and the Twelve girl. I can see any of them killing me. I think the only person I can't see killing me, besides Camilla, is Solder.
I don't know why. I know for sure that he wants to go home, and that he wants to make it up to Nokia's family and not let them down. He could kill me, and I think if it came down to it, he would.
Although, it looks as if he might not have to worry about it, because there's another tornado barreling toward me.
I scream and start to sprint, dropping my carrot on the floor behind me. It's forgotten. I won't need it. The pounding of my feet on the dusty yellow path isn't calming, like it was when I ran back at home, but it's terrifying. With every step, every thump, my death comes barreling toward me in the form of a tornado.
I throw a quick glance behind me and put on even a little more speed—
but it's futile, because all of a sudden, I can't hear, and I'm being lifted off my feet and I can't move and I can't hear and I can't do anything, and—
BOOM.
Just here to let you know that, one, my Victor is no longer so heavily based on reviews, and two, I'm getting rid of chapter questions because no one answers them anyway.
8th Place: Gabriel Alderyne, District Two Male: Killed by Tornadoes
Gabriel was fun, but I used him more as a device to advance other characters and the plot than explore his own character. Sorry about that. I'd have loved to explore him more, but with the 24-character limit, it's hard. May he RIP.
Family Fact: Eirene, Gabriel's little sister, was devastated when Gabriel died. She made a pledge to never support the Hunger Games when she learned how he was killed, and upheld this promise until the day she died.
7th Place: Aqui Schmidt, District Four Male: Killed by Tornadoes
Aqui was interesting. He was one of my villains, and often I struggle to write villains. Aqui was no different, but I still liked him. After all, what's a story without an antagonist or two? May he RIP.
Family Fact: Aqui's family was shunned after he died. They forgave their son, but the District never really forgave them.
6th Place: Delancey Pinefield, District Seven Male: Killed by Tornadoes
Oh, Delancey. He was my last submission, and I liked him so much that when I got him was when I closed submissions. I really enjoyed exploring his relationship with Solder and with other tributes, like Kiara. May he RIP.
Family Fact: Harley, Delancey's twin, took his death extremely hard, but got better about it after a period of grieving. She was never the same, though.
#WeHatedAqui: Peridot, Abby
Loners (not an alliance): Solder, Camilla, Beulah
Dead and Gone: Heron, Gabriel, Katie, Nokia, Aqui, Solario, Kiara, Jack, Aino, Delancey, Taffeta, Sonny, Demetrius, Duroc, Bri, Barric, Tilly, Ethan