Owen Lang, 18
District 9 Male

"BOO!"

I scream as soon as I enter the train. Both of my mentors stand at the entry, and as the door opened for us to enter the train, they both popped out in front of us and scared us.

"Why the hell would you do that?" I ask, my heart rate pumping faster.

"Well, you need to have some fun before you enter those terrible games, don't you?" the lady asks.

The man nods his head in agreement. "Yeah. This is never a wrong time to laugh!"

I frown. I look next to me, and the girl that is my district partner seems to be shaking like crazy. "Are you okay?" I ask her.

"Ye-, Yea-, Yeah, I'm fine. I think." Her voice shakes with every syllable. Poor girl. We follow the mentors inside the train.

"This is wonderful! It's so…" I start. "Expensive!"

"Isn't it just?" The lady says, smiling wider every time she talks. The train itself has to have more luxury and beauty than all of District 9 put together. Just thinking about it, this is probably poor and ugly for Capitol standards.

We follow the mentors through the carriages. Amora or whatever my partner is called is still shaking, a little less, but still shaking. I do feel bad for her.

"Okay, ladies and gents! Take a seat." Our male mentor smiles, gesturing towards the large glass dining table. We sit down, males at one end, females at the other. "So before we start, I am Bran and this is Val!" Bran says, pointing to the lady.

She gives another large smile. I'm starting to think her smile was surgically altered to be bigger, I shiver at the thought. "Yes, we're your mentors, and we're here to tell you how to win!" Val says.

I look at Amora and she is looking down through the glass table at her feet, ignoring the conversation. "Well, how do we win?" I ask. I need to win so I can come home to Marie. She is probably getting beat up by dad right now.

"Do you have any strengths?" Bran asks.

I think for a second. "Well, I'm pretty strong as I've been working in the fields my whole life. I'm also not afraid to kill; I will do whatever it takes to come home."

"Good! Finally a brave tribute, something to work with!" Val smiles. "What about you Amora?"

We all look at her. She starts squishing her stress ball faster and faster as all eyes in the room fall on her. "I don't have any," she says. Her voice seems so soft, yet so broken.

"Come on now, everyone has something that they are good at?" Bran says encouragingly.

Amora changes her facial expression from a frightened look to a now angry one. "No, I'm scared, alone, and not ready to die."

"Amora come on—" Val starts, but Amora cuts her off.

"No, I'm going to die. I didn't want this! Please, I just want to go back home and fall in love."

I notice her starting to shake more, it's almost unnatural. I feel bad, she must be traumatized or something happened to her for her to be like this.

Bran frowns. "Amora-"

"NO!" She screams at him before storming out of the room, tears running from her eyes.

"Poor thing," Val frowns. But not for long—as she quickly changes the frown back into a smile. "Anyway, so you're not afraid to kill? That's good! Do you want allies?"

I stop, a little taken aback by her sudden emotional change. "Maybe, they could help," I admit to her.

"Oh, that's just great!" Bran smiles. "While you kids were in the Goodbyes, we were watching the recaps. We think we found a potential ally group for you!"

"Really?" I reply. Just how fast everything is happening has caught me off guard.

"Yes, take a look!" Val points at the TV on the other side of the room. I look over and see a picture of me and 3 other boys whom I assume are my suggested allies.

"Who are they?" I ask.

"So first is the boy from 8. His name is Oliver. He looks strong just like you, and he seems like a good guy." Bran takes a deep breath. "Next is the boy from 11. His name is Frost. Even though he looks scared, he looks cautious and very smart. The boy from 12 is your last suggested ally. Though he's skinny and weak, he looks very fast and brave."

"What do you think?" Val smiles at me as the TV turns off.

"Well I mean they look like good guys, but how do we make this happen?" I am a little unsure.

"Well, as soon as we saw this potential group we contacted the other mentors from their districts. They should be showing the boys this as well!" Bran answers.

I think for a second. "Well everyone there has something that they can contribute to making a good team," I say slowly.

"Yes exactly what we thought." Val smiles. I nod in agreement.

"So are you in?" Bran asks almost desperately.

"Fine, whatever can help me win!"

They both smile at my decision.

Olivia Calvert, 14
District 10 Female

Austin's charming smile welcomes me onto the train. He takes my hand and helps me up as I step on. His hand is soft and moisturized, and his smile is wide, which makes me want to love him more. Of course, he doesn't know this. I'm just a depressed friend to him.

"There you go, my lady!" He smiles. It makes me feel like I am the only one in the world.

"Thank you, kind sir," I reply, giving him a small giggle. Without people around, I can truly be myself without having to look sad all the time.

"After you!" He gestures for me to walk further on the train. I obey, thanking him, and start to walk inside. He follows behind me as I walk through the corridors trying to find our mentors or someone that can help us. We finally make our way to the main living area and find our mentors sitting on a couch facing a large TV.

"Welcome, take a seat!" the female smiles at us. I think she won the 193rd games by pretending to be dumb and scared but ended up being strong, brave, and smart. "My name is Cheyenne, but you can call me CC!"

"Hey there, I'm Austin and this is Olivia," Austin responds to her.

I give a small smile too. I need to get to know her before I show who I am, for the time being, I am just going to be the small, weak, and scared girl that everyone already knows.

"Cool! This is Saylor." She points to the young man sitting next to her. I already know him. He won last year's games and was one of 3 tributes to survive the mountain slide that came down on the Bloodbath. He was very badly injured and he took a long time to heal. After he did, though, he had a small fight with the 2 remaining tributes.

I look at him, expecting a smile but he's just shaking and whispering to himself. Poor guy.

CC smiles at us. "Just let him be, it may take him a while to get talking again! Until that happens, though, we have work to do."

"What do we need to do?" Austin asks eagerly.

"First off, are you going to be allies?" She responds quickly.

Austin and I both turn our heads and look at each other dead in the eyes for a second. I smile. He nods.

"Yes, we are going to be allies!" Austin says.

CC starts smiling. "Oh good! It's much easier mentoring tributes who can get along compared to ones that want to kill each other!" CC laughs at her joke. She notices my frown and turns silent. "Okay first off, strengths, what are you guys good at?"

I look at Austin unsure and he nods for me to speak. "Uh, I can work well by myself, I'm kinda strong and am good with animals?" I say to CC quietly.

"Good! That's really good Olivia, well done!" She gives me a warm smile. She seems nice but too energetic and loud for me. I think I will stay in my shell for a bit longer. "And what about you Austin?" She nods at him.

"Well, I guess I have a unique way of thinking, I am fast and not afraid of crowds," He replies.

"I like the last one. People often forget that mental strengths count and that being brave in front of people will help get sponsors!" CC smiles, congratulating Austin. Great, looks like I'm not going to get sponsors then. "So, now that I know your strengths let me work out a plan for you guys, it should be ready by dinner!" She smiles at us. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"Do you know what the arena is?" Austin asks eagerly.

CC laughs at his answer. "No of course not silly boy! Anything else?" Austin frowns at her.

For some reason, this popped into my head. "Where are the escorts? Aren't they meant to come on the trains?"

"Oh, no. For some reason, the Capitol didn't want them coming with us. They'll meet us at the penthouse, though!" CC smiles before standing up and leaving the room with Saylor.

"What do we do now?" I ask Austin.

I watch as his face thinks for a second. It's so adorable. All his facial expressions make me smile and feel warm inside.

"Do you want to look around the train or get changed?" he asks.

I don't need to think about it at all. "Let's walk around!" I smile at him. Any extra and free time to spend with him before we die would be amazing.

"You're awfully happy today!" He laughs at me. Oh no, I forgot that I am meant to be sad around him. When I act all sad, he changes himself just for me and to be sad around me to make me feel comfortable, instead of him just being his charming self. But right now, it feels as it's all gone, the acts and who we pretended to be were gone. "Yeah, I don't know, I'm happy I'm going to die!" I laugh at him. He chuckles at my joke. I try to ignore the feeling but it gets harder, every good time I spend with Austin is one more time I am going to remember when I die.

Frost Vermier, 16
District 11 Male

You can't describe Honey, my District partner, in only one word. Not only is she super brave, but she is also kind and gentle with everyone. She is like the mother you never had. Which is weird seeing that she is younger than me. But at the same time, it's not. I on the other hand might be strong and tall, but deep down I'm scared and worried.

"Welcome all, you just got a ticket to enter the train that will lead you to your death!" I turn and see an old man hanging out of a window. I watch scaredly as he drunkenly waves at us smiling, pointing, and laughing at us like we are animals in a zoo.

"Enter if you want to die!" He screams. He looks old and drunk. He looks almost scary by the way he screams and hangs out of the window. His smile looks murderous and terrifying like it wants to snap your neck while he is hugging you.

"SEED! STOP THAT, YOUR GONNA SCARE THEM!" I hear a female voice that sounds like a rather angry scream. The man called Seed gets pulled from the window. I look next to me.

"He looked odd, to say the least," Honey says.

"Yeah, I know, right," I agree. We keep walking until we get to the entry of the train where a middle-aged lady waits for us.

"Hello, I'm Ivy, your mentor!" She smiles. I can't look away from her. Her eyes are so blue it's magnificent. Her dark skin looks so soft, and her hair is long, dark, and wavy. She can't be real. I refuse to believe her beauty is real.

"Yes, I am real, just a few surgeries in the Capitol to enhance some stuff." She smiles. It's like she just read my mind. "Anyway, follow me inside!"

I and Honey follow her inside the wonderful train. I feel overwhelmed by not only her beauty but the train's beauty as well. She leads us into a large room that looks like there has been too much money put into decorating it.

"Take a seat," Ivy smiles, gesturing at the main table. I sit down next to Honey, both of us facing Ivy. "So, first off, how are you feeling?" she asks.

I look at Honey.

"I'm ready. I am brave, so I'm not scared to enter this head-on," she says. Smaller, younger, and braver than me? C'mon, Frost! Step up your game!

"Good, but remember it's okay to be scared or nervous. That's completely normal." Ivy smiles at us. I kinda remember her games, her beauty earned her so many sponsors it was unbelievable. She had practically every sponsor on her side, even if she wasn't the best with weapons. She won because she had everything she needed to win. Plus, she wasn't injured or tired at all thanks to her looks.

"I know, but I'm not. I promised my ki—um, friends, that I wouldn't be scared," Honey answers in a stern but calm voice.

Ivy turns to me. "Okay, and Frost, what about you?"

"What about me?" I ask a little taken aback.

"How are you feeling about the games?" She asks.

I snap out of my gaze. I didn't need to think, and I didn't need to lie. Lying won't get me far. "I'm scared, I don't know how I will go," I answer honestly.

"Okay, that's fine. But I have two questions." Ivy gives a calming smile. I nod. "If you don't mind me asking how does your prosthetic leg work?"

Again, I feel taken aback. Not because it's rude, but because it's normal for me. I have forgotten that I have one, it's just a part of my everyday life that I just forget it's there.

"Frost?" Ivy says, interrupting my slight daydream.

"Oh yeah, so when I was seven my leg had its circulation lost when it got tangled in some ropes. I had to get it amputated. I was on crutches for about 5 years until a Capitol doctor came around here. He was nice and gave me a prosthetic leg." I answer.

"Anything else?" Ivy asks, looking intrigued.

"Well, apparently it's very outdated for Capitol terms but that doesn't matter to me. It works fine and does the job. It doesn't give me any ad or disadvantages to anyone else." I finish.

"Nice!" Ivy smiles once again at me. "And, one last thing are you up for allies in the arena?"

I look at Honey who shrugs. Why would she ask only me? It doesn't bother me though. My answer is easy, I don't need to think about it at all. "Yes, I want allies," I answer.

Ivy shows her large whitened teeth when she smiles. "Good boy!"

I knew I wanted allies as soon as I got reaped. Being around people makes me feel safe and secure. Having numbers and a team in a deathmatch will help. Even though eventually we would have to split, I know that I could survive.

"Well, let me show you who could be your future allies in the arena!" Ivy gives another large smile and turns on the TV.

Vivian Coleman, 16
District 12 Female

Oh. My. God. I almost scream when I walk onto this train. I have no idea why it's here but apparently, we need to go on it? I'm not complaining; it's beautiful, just like the ones we had back at the Capitol!

My district partner Ladon seems awestruck. "Oh wow, this is something else!"

"What, have you never seen it before?" I ask him.

"Well, I'm not from the Capitol like you, sorry!" He snaps at me.

How rude. I raise my chin and prance out of the room, I don't want any bad vibes on me, I'm happy and no one will change that. I walk through the carriages making my way to the main room easily remembering them. I get there and see a pretty young lady and a little old man at the dining table. They smile at me as I enter and I wave at them; oh, how I love waving to people!

I take a seat next to the lady and put out my hand for them to shake. "I'm Vivian but you can call me Viv!"

The man shakes my hand. "Hello Vivian, you seem like you're from the Capitol, not District 12?"

I laugh. "Of course I'm from the Capitol! My family moved here a while ago!"

"Any reason?" The lady asks.

"Well, my father died, and the Capitol graciously sent us to live here as a repayment for his services." I smile at them. I watch as they exchange glances. "What?"

"Oh, nothing darling, nothing for you to worry about!" The lady smiles at me. "I am Acadia and this is Arran by the way!" she says.

"Okay." I don't have anything else to say. My attention span is small and this is getting boring. "Why am I here?"

"Why are you here?" Arran asks.

"I don't know, that's why I am asking you!" I respond.

"You are here for the Hunger Games!" He smiles at me.

I frown at him. "Not you as well… why do people keep saying that?" I say.

"Because it's true!" Arcadia says.

"I do not believe that for a second!" I say to them. If that was true I would be dead, because I'm pretty sure you die when you go into the Hunger Games.

"Hello there!"

I turn and look at the source of the voice, it comes from the door. It's Ladon. Not him again; he's so dumb.

"It took a while to find my way around the train, it's massive!" He smiles and sits down next to me.

"Ew, please don't!" I frown at him. He smiles but stays put. Ugh, why doesn't he listen? "Fine then!" I say loudly. I will just leave. I stand up and walk out of the room, ignoring them behind me.

"I don't think she understands!" I hear Arran say behind me.

"Yeah, she would think this is a joke. I can't believe she doesn't know what happened to her father!" Arcadia responds.

I ignore them. They are no help at all. I am going to find someone that can help. Maybe an Avox can tell me what's happening; they usually help people.

A/N: omg final train rides! what did you think of them? next chapter it chariot rides and u know what that means...first look at the capitol and tribute interaction! ahhh im honestly sooo excited u guys have no idea tbh!

okay just wanna let y'all know that me and a friend are working on something really special! i cant wait for you guys to see it and i just know its gonna be amazing! stay tuned for more !

also if you didn't know i have a discord server yayayaya! so if you have discord and like the story then join! exclusive updates and fun talks will be on there so you don't want to miss out! the link is in my profile bio XD

also if you have any questions or theories or anything about the games, let me know and put it in the review section! i really appreciate every single review and it makes my day :) so pls leave one if you can xd

okay now for the chapter questions:

1. who was your favorite train ride and why?

2. who are you excited to see in the chariot rides?

3. what do you think of the boys alliance and how do you think it will go?

hope you enjoyed this chapter and cant wait for more, thanks for reading as well !
- cartier