Trigger Warning: A panic attack (sort of) and substance abuse.

Modus Pigeon, 13, District 5 Tribute POV

My district partner - Splendour - won't stop glaring at me. Now that Becky isn't around to torment me, my anger has subsided almost completely. Now there's only fear.

I try to go about my day normally and pick up a few survival skills, hoping vainly that they'll help me survive. But the Careers single me out on their way to the boxing station.

"Hey, Splendour," a boy with a mane of golden hair says. "Here's the kid who took out the alliance with a train."

"I know. He's my district partner." Splendour answers.

"Think that's bad?" A girl asks. "My district partner had zero kills. Zero."

"Nobody asked you, Drachma," the first boy snaps, before leaning in to hiss at me. "How well do you think you're going to do, brat? Do you think there'll be any trains to save you?"

"No," I cry, overcome by fear. I'm not sure why. The small, logical part of my brain knows that they can't touch me until I'm in the arena. But my logic isn't enough to stop the emotions just bursting through, out of control.

I curl up on the floor, trying to find my breath as sobs tear through me like freight trains. The world distorts. The echoes of Career laughter ring in my ears.

Suddenly, I hear a girl's voice near my ear. "Hey, Modus."

I feel like I'm waking up from a really long sleep. Maybe I blacked out earlier.

What I'm certain of is that I'm cranky.

"What?" I ask.

"Want to join our alliance? You look like you could use some help."

"Go away," I growl. "I hate everyone."

"Suit yourself," the girl chirps. "If you change your mind, you can always let us know."

"C'mon Lacquera," Another girl says. "He's not interested."

I hear the girl walk away but I don't bother to raise my head and call after her.

Allies are terrible. If there's one thing I've learned from my games, it's that alliances always end in betrayal.

Navara Audi, 17, District 9 Tribute POV

I don't know where to go straight away. Luckily, Renault does. He directs me towards the running track and I break into a sprint.

Slow down, Navara. Renault's voice in my head says. Pace yourself.

So I slow down a little.

From what I can remember from my old life, I was never into running like Renault was. I remember running away from things and I was pretty speedy. I think I killed a few people but my memories are dark and hazy. I'm not sure I'll be able to do it again, especially since there are so many Careers.

Renault doesn't remember killing anyone. He just likes running.

As I run, Renault gives me more pieces of advice.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Find your rhythm.

Move your arms. They give you momentum.

Now go and get a glass of water. You're dehydrated.

I'm grateful for the voice in my head. If I didn't have Renault around, I'd feel lonely and I'd have to look for other allies.

I think I had an ally last time, a girl from District 12. I think I watched her die.

I've watched a lot of people die. I've seen a lot of blood. But sometimes my life before the games and my games and Renault's games get confused in my head, like a blurry photograph.

But I don't want to think about the past. For now, I can just speed around the track and get better and better at running away.

Charon Regatti, 18, District 6 Tribute POV

Everyone around me is supposed to be dead.

I can see the pulse of the living in all of them but it's weak. Unnatural. I know I need to kill everyone who's been brought back to life. That's the only way I can restore balance to the world and rescue my love from the clutches of the yellow-eyed man.

I practice with a scythe for as long as I can, imagining what I'll be able to do with it in the future. Imagining the beauty of a soul tearing itself free from a body and travelling to my love, to Death.

I'm going to kill as many of the twenty-one others like me as I can, so things go back to the way they were.

At some point, I start to feel shakes and a craving for the Reaper and his silver needle. I push through as much of it as I can until I'm allowed to go back to the Reaper and feel the power flow through my veins again.

"Come, save me," I hear Death's voice ring in my ears as I drift into the the swirl of visions. My heart leaps when I see her. Even though there are thin, silver chains wrapped around her wrists and white roses woven into her hair, there's a smile on her face.

I move a bit closer to her, reaching for her hand. Unlike last time, there's nothing pulling her away from me. I feel her ice-cold skin against mine. She pulls me into her arms, the links on her chains clinking.

Until the vision fades, I'm happy.

Finally, we've reached the end of the training chapters. I didn't expect to move this fast but I've had a long weekend. These last three tributes are all underdogs of a sort because they've all had cloning issues. Modus is struggling to process his intensified emotions, which means that he can't see that Lacquera is just trying to help him, Navara is actually taking advantage of the extra memories she has and learning Renault's best skill and Charon is rapidly getting addicted to morphling.

Next up is the private sessions. It's going to be quite a long chapter and I'm going to be quite busy this week.