Crixus Anjou, 18
District Eleven Male


Crixus was surprised by his motivation over the past week. This was the first time that he'd ever had this much motivation for something all at once. And to be perfectly honest, he couldn't quite figure out why. It wasn't like there was anyone at home whose life stood to be made better by his victory. And Crixus had never been a particularly competitive person, so he didn't think that there was just some magical new competitive streak that had appeared. Something had to have happened to cause the generally slothful and uncaring Crixus to participate in the challenges. Regardless, Crixus kind of liked feeling energized. It was a new feeling for him.

The question was whether he could maintain it.

Crixus wasn't holding his breath.

Not having had time the day before, Crixus prepared to begin his mission: talking to Silas. He hadn't interacted with the Career boy the day before, but he knew that having a big-name ally working to help take down Aviel would probably be good. And what bigger name would there be than a Capitol competitor? Especially one who had already been wronged.

Crixus wandered through the courtyard area until he found Silas talking with a couple of other people. As far as Crixus knew, they weren't in the middle of too important of a conversation, or at least one that couldn't wait a few minutes. Crixus's problem was an immediate problem; there was no way that theirs was immediate as well.

Cautiously, Crixus approached the three competitors. "Hello. Would you mind if I spoke to Silas for a moment?"

Silas glanced at their companions. "Sure. We can call it a day for today," they concluded. "I feel like we're just talking around in circles."

"I agree, to be honest," said Sol. "We should pause for now and figure out something more concrete before we come back together. But either way, there's not much else we're going to be able to do before we get back to the Capitol."

"And I need to go bring Lucy back home," Amazon chimed in.

"So we'll talk later this week. See you guys!" smiled Silas. They nodded to Crixus, and the two began to walk deeper into the forest.

"What were you guys talking about?" Crixus asked.

"We're working on some stuff with training," Silas explained vaguely. "So, Crixus, what's up?" they changed the subject.

"Well," Crixus began intelligently. "Have you noticed anything strange happening in the Events?"

Silas thought for a second. "Honestly, not really," they responded.

"Are you sure?"

"If you're asking me, then no. Do share with me what is actually happening."

"Well, there are a group of us who strongly believe that someone has been sabotaging the Events."

Crixus watched the gears begin to turn in Silas's head. "A Gamemaker?"

"Oh, no. A competitor."

"So, why are you telling me?"

"Well, we want a big name on our side," responded Crixus. "Especially someone who has been sabotaged by this competitor."

"What? When was I… how was I…"

Now their gears were really turning. Crixus watched as Silas tried to piece things together. "Remember during the Twelve morning challenge when…"

"…when Aviel ran into me," finished Silas. "But how could you tell? How did you know? Is it actually him?"

"Well, I didn't see it. But Sharen did," finished Crixus, having led Silas into a clearing in which Sharen was waiting.

"Yep," Sharen jumped in. "I saw everything. That one plant you were definitely missing? Aviel had taken it when you two collected each other's ingredients."

"So that's where it disappeared to…" Silas murmured.

"Correct." Sharen let the news sink in for a moment. "So, we're looking to stop the sabotages and make things right so that nobody can mess things up for the rest of us. Are you in?"

Silas debated for a moment. "Yeah. And I can probably get two more people to help."

"Excellent." Crixus and Silas sat down. "Everyone else should be here in a minute and we'll catch you up, Crixus."

After a few moments, Aelyx and Nell appeared in the clearing, with another kid close behind. "Hi, guys! This is Morrel." Morrel gave a shy wave. The three sat down, completing the circle.

"So, Nell, how did your mission go?"

"Well, I didn't get to talk to everyone. I started with the oldest competitors and moved down. But with the challenges and whatever it took me a while. I basically totally ignored Liana, because there is no way that Aviel would sabotage the President's niece, and I haven't done Ventus yet. Or Henley. She seemed like she was dealing with the Rochas mess. I also didn't have enough time to get to the twelve and thirteen-year-olds, but Morrel was pretty sure that something was up, even if he wasn't exactly sure what was up."

"Yeah," Morrel chimed in. "It took forever to find my packages during that conveyor belt package. That just… struck me as very odd."

"Well, buckle up, my friend," smiled Sharen. "Let me fill you in, and then we'll start coming up with a plan for how to stop it."


Amazon Brown, 18
District Four Female


Amazon returned home from her meeting with the other Careers (how she despised using that name, but it was the only one that made sense). Sol was right; they really weren't making any progress. And while Amazon felt motivated to help fix the problem, she really needed a more precise task, one that could be done while she was at home taking care of the house and the baby. That was what she enjoyed doing, after all, and while she fully understood the magnitude of the situation, she was much more interested in doing things that she enjoyed now that her parents couldn't stop her, rather than dwell for too long on a past that she honestly didn't want to remember.

When she got home, Violet's daughter Lilac was waiting for her. "Hi, Lilac! How are you today?"

"Doing well," she smiled.

"Got any exciting schoolwork for today?"

"I mean, not really. I always Skype in with my tutor while I'm working with Lucy."

"Were you always homeschooled?"

"Yes. Well, for high school, at least. It is just easier when you're doing a lot of government duties to be homeschooled."

"Do you want to be doing government duties, though?"

"You know, I haven't decided quite yet. But I like to sort of try at least. It's kind of like taking on the family business, you know? And government doesn't meant that I need to be a Gamemaker. I could be a Capitol representative in the districts. That would be cool."

"That would be cool. OK, well, I leave you with Lucy. Have a good day, lovebug!"

"Say bye-bye to Mommy!" Lilac made Lucy's hand wave a little bit. The baby gave her mom a big smile as Amazon left the house.

As she made her way to the courtyard, Amazon heard yet another song play.

Let's spread our wings now
Do anything now
Somehow we came this far
I've got a choice now
I hear your voice now
Singing inside my heart
Let's spread our wings now
Into the sky now
Let's reach up to the sun
Soon we will see we're
Living the dreams of
Our generation

These songs were really throwing her off. But, as they'd determined the day before, if they were playing in the Arena, they had to be important. Amazon attempted to remember its words as she took a seat at a table in the courtyard, waiting for the challenge to begin.

"Um, Amazon?" she heard a small voice in her ear.

Amazon looked to her side to find the little boy from Three standing at her side. "Hey, Alexei. What's up?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. Come sit."

Alexei took the chair next to Amazon. "So, you have a boyfriend, right?"

"Well, we're married. But yes. I know what you mean," Amazon smiled.

"Do you have trouble sometimes being in a relationship publicly?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, last night, something happened with me and this girl. And it felt really really special. Like, we've been flirting with love for a while but last night I felt it. I really felt it! But… I don't know what'll happen if I say that I love her."

"Well, why are you scared?"

"I don't know if I can be in a relationship with someone who lives so far from me. And I don't know if I'm ready to be in a relationship, period."

Amazon looked at the boy with a tender expression. "Relationships can be hard. So if I'm right, you think you love her, but you don't know if you're ready to be in love?"

"Yes."

Amazon thought for a moment. "Let me tell you something, Alexei," she said, looking the boy directly in the eye. "By telling me about your concerns, it tells me that you have a big heart. And that's very important. When you have a big heart, you know how to follow it. I don't want to tell you that you should or shouldn't date this girl, or even love her, but I will say that, if you pay attention to your gut, you'll know the right answer."

"Is it OK if we try and it doesn't work?"

"Yes! Everything is OK to try. That's part of growing up."

"But what if we're not friends anymore if we try to be in love and it doesn't work?"

"Are you friends right now?" Alexei nodded vigorously. "Well, you might not be friends anymore if you date. But that's a chance you might have to take to take the relationship farther."

"Oh." Alexei fell silent.

Amazon put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm telling you, Alexei. You will know what to do, I promise. And it's OK if you don't. Love isn't supposed to be easy."

"Thanks, Amazon," he smiled sadly.


Myranda Lidano, 18
District Two Female


"Good morning, competitors! It's time to get started on our second week of competition! If you have not already, please put on your attire for the morning challenge and meet us in Competition Zone Two."

Myranda had been a bit hesitant to put on the uniform for the day: a miner's uniform. In Two, being a miner was the lowest possible place you could be if you were working in an industry-related job. Obviously, the top was the trainees and trainers. Then came Peacekeepers and their teachers and trainers. And on the lowest tier were the miners. Being a miner meant you couldn't figure anything else out to do. Even being in a non-industry role, like being a shopkeeper or a regular teacher for the ten kids who didn't train, was better than being a miner. It was the lowest of the low, with the goal being to find a way out.

The one good thing, Myranda had to admit, about being a miner was that you could still feed your family. That was why Two had the lowest involuntary unemployment rate of any district. But it still was certainly not preferable.

Reluctantly, Myranda donned the miner's outfit, which was bright blue, of course, a red safety vest, and a red helmet. Then, she sheepishly made her way to the competition zone. What would her friends and family think, seeing her in a miner's outfit?

The setup for this challenge was quite unusual. Twenty-eight giant blocks made out of… something stood in a circle, with walls separating them. Next to each slab was a giant pick-axe and a large rectangular bin with lots of smaller slots. Clearly, this was literally going to be a mining challenge.

Great.

"Good morning, competitors! As you may have guessed, today we will be honoring one of the closest districts to the Capitol geographically: District Two! Today, Two is responsible for masonry, the production of various construction materials. This can mean making bricks or mining and shaping stone. And mining stone is exactly what you're going to do today. Well, sort of.

"Within those giant blocks are a number of smaller, unbreakable blocks within your color. All you need to do is get those blocks out of the larger brick. You will have one hour to extract as many bricks as you can. Here's the catch: within all of your blocks are smaller blocks of other competitors' colors. If you extract any block that is not yours, that block counts for your competitor. Are there any questions?"

"What counts as a block being extracted?" asked Alexei.

"More than half of the block should be visible, and the block should be totally loose from the larger block. If you are unsure, place the block in your rectangle counter, and we will determine whether or not it counts for you. Any other questions?

"The challenge will begin when I sound the horn. Good luck!"

Myranda was focused and ready to take all of her anger out on the block. But then she looked across the way. Directly across from her, as usual, was Chloe, who looked comical in her helmet that clearly wasn't sized correctly holding a pickaxe as big as she. To Chloe's left was the little girl from Eight; she was still wearing all black, despite the fainting escapade of a few days before, but her wall was set up in such a way that it kept her in the shade. She also had a cooler and a fan in her section with her. To Chloe's right was…

Liana.

Myranda really didn't want to admit it, but she had enjoyed her sex with Liana. It had been quite fun, actually, and Myranda would gladly do it again. That girl knew how to deliver what others were looking for. And she did have a certain beauty to her; Liana's grey eyes stood out against her pale skin and dark hair. Myranda admired that Liana was so strong-willed, so persuasive, and so much her own person. She would be the perfect girlfriend.

No. Not a girlfriend. Definitely not a girlfriend. An ally, a connection.

Not a girlfriend.

Suddenly, Myranda realized that the horn had sounded, and that literally everyone else had started hacking at their blocks.

Damn it! Liana and Myranda weren't even officially dating, but she had already hindered her progress.

This was why Careers didn't fall in love.


Nell Edwards, 14
District Six Female


Now that the challenge was over, Nell was totally ready to check in with some of the other competitors. Between the morning and afternoon challenges, she had three people on her list: Henley, to see if she, as a spy, had noticed anything, Damien, to see what he knew from the outside world, and Ventus. Having seen the way Ventus interacted with the kids, Nell had a feeling that he wasn't to blame. But she wanted to interview him to get to know him a little better. Nell felt bad that she had judged Ventus so much for his prior actions back home, and that she'd totally led Aelyx down the wrong path as a result. Now, she needed to get to get to know Ventus better to rectify her wrongs.

But first, Henley. Nell spotted the older girl coming out of her house, and intrepidly bounded over to her. "Hi Henley!"

"Hello, Nell."

"Can I ask you a question real quick?"

"Sure. What's up."

Nell took out a notepad and gave it a dramatic flick. "I just like to do that for the journalist flair," she admitted with a smile, pulling a pencil from behind her ear. "Now, I have heard rumors about some… funny business happening during the Events."

Henley raised her eyebrows. She had not yet heard any of this. "Oh?"

"Yes. Apparently, there has been some mention of sabotage."

"Like what?"

"Like stealing packages or a screw and holding on to them for quite a while during the challenge until the targeted competitor has been significantly set back."

"Well, I haven't heard anything of the sort."

"Have you, yourself, been sabotaged?"

"Not as of yet," Henley admitted.

"Well, if you see anything, let me know! This is gonna make for a great scoop," Nell slightly fibbed as she flipped her notebook back to the front. "Thanks for your help, Henley!" And she darted away.

Next was Damien, the new kid. Damien was a complete mystery. In almost every free moment, he was either competing in a challenge or in his house. Nell hoped to crack the code, and to learn a bit more about the kid. She approached the house next to hers and knocked on the door. It creaked open. "Hello?"

"Hi! Are you Damien?"

"Yes."

"I wanted to introduce myself to you! I'm Nell, the Six female."

"It's nice to meet you."

"Can I ask you a few questions really quickly?"

"Yes," Damien smiled. "Do you want to come in?"

"Sure!" Nell took a step inside and sat on the couch in the living room. "So I guess first, I want to know about your time at home. What do you do?"

"Well, I'm pretty normal, I'd say. I go to school. I do gymnastics out of school too, which is fun. We used to be pretty poor, but now, thanks to my mom's new job, we live in a slightly wealthier section of Five, which allowed me to get involved with gymnastics!"

"That sounds like a lot of fun! So you've been watching the Events at home?"

"Of course. We couldn't not. It's kind of cool to watch something and then BAM! Be a part of it!"

"Have you noticed anything weird going on in the Events?"

"Hm." The gears began to turn in Damien's mind. "You mean outside of what happened with Rochas? Well, I think you're talking about what's happening with Aviel."

Nell cocked her head. "Go on."

"Oh, it's the main storyline the Events editors are playing with. I'm guessing that the Capitolites are eating it up."

"Would you be interested in trying to stop it?"

"I don't think I'll have the energy to, to be honest," Damien admitted. "Competing in so many challenges so quickly will take a lot out of me."

"That's quite fair. Well, have a good day, Damien! Good luck!"

"You too."

So, Henley had no knowledge of what was going on, and Damien almost had too much knowledge. Nell certainly wondered where Ventus sat, but really wasn't as concerned about that. She needed some sort of evidence that he was good to fully get Aelyx on her side. Henley might help, but she probably had other stuff to do that were spy related. Aelyx, who had no other mission on which he needed to focus, would be the perfect person to join them. But she needed to make sure that he knew that Ventus wasn't all bad. Nell had missed Ventus's interview as it was directly after hers, and she had a feeling that Aelyx also wasn't paying attention to it. Maybe he had said something especially redeeming there.

Nell approached Ventus's house. "Hello?" he said, cracking open the door.

"Hi, Ventus! Can I come in?"

Ventus, who generally didn't spend a ton of time with the other competitors, was surprised. "Why?"

"Because I want to get to know you." And because I need you on my side.


Another Sunday, another update! What did you think? What will Alexei and Myranda choose to do? Will Nell get Ventus to join her side?

I haven't been able to write as much as I would have liked over the past couple of weeks, but I'm hoping to get back on it and push out a couple of extra chapters over the next few weeks!

Have a great week!

goldie031