Day 9: Memories
Kirin Ignatius 16 District 1
5 years ago – District 1
I confidently slide a rook up the bored to put myself in checkmate, I played against myself to the best of my ability but I couldn't stop that move for sure!
Suddenly I feel the impact of a baseball bounce off the side of my head!
"It's time to play ball!" My twin brother Jirin yells, why is he always so hyper at this time of day?
Irritated, I turn to my brother, it's almost like I'm staring at myself in the mirror, we look so similar. However, we couldn't be more dissimilar, he is a loud, hyper, social boy whereas I prefer to stay in my own company… just thinking.
"I told you not to disturb me during my game…" I growl.
He shrugs, collecting the ball in his hands again and bouncing it up and down.
"Why do play against yourself anyway?" He asks.
"It's a bit weird."
"I told you… it's because I seem to be the only intellectual in my whole District! I can't find anyone else that's even a match for me"
He impatiently wipes his nose.
"Oh well… time to play ball!" He insists with a smile.
His smile makes my body feel relaxed and I smile back at my bro. He may get on my nerves but I still love him.
I stand up and follow him outside until we reach a field, his platinum blond hair stands out amongst the green like a snowflake, as does mine I guess. We always like to come here, the is a single tree that we can sit under to watch the sunset dip below the grass.
He playfully tosses the ball to me and I catch it firmly in my hands.
"Mum and dad are gonna make us sign up at the academy tomorrow," Jirin mentions.
"I know," I reply.
"I think I would have a shot at winning but I just don't have the personality to get the Capitol to like me," I explain.
I throw the ball back to him and he catches with his left.
"That funny… I don't think it would be hard for me," he laughs.
He throws it back and I catch.
"Maybe not but actually winning just might be," I mock.
"Hey!" He complains.
I throw the ball at his face and he narrowly manages to catch it.
"I guess you got a point," he shrugs.
"If only there was a way we could enter together… like girl and boy twins or in one of those quarter quells… I bet we'd make a great team!" He half-heartedly suggests.
I chuckle at his suggestion, catching his throw at the same time. Then an idea begins to form in my mind, it's a stupid idea… it will never work… would it?
"I know that look," Jirin observes.
"What are you thinking?"
Day of the reaping – just before the reaping's
"We have paid off a driver, he's waiting to take you on-board," I say to Jirin, rubbing him on the shoulder.
"This is the last time we can be seen together if this is gonna work," I remind him.
"Yeah yeah… we have to live the act I remember," he sighs.
I give him a warm smile, our differences ended up being an advantage after all!
"When we meet our District partner in the trains, I wanna show off with that little trick we practiced remember?"
"Uh uh," he replies.
"So when you're acting as me… just try to not be so…you ok?" I suggest awkwardly.
He stares me down, slightly annoyed but he knows I'm right.
"Ok I get it smartass," he says rolling his eyes.
The night of training day 2
I'm sat on my bed in my room, reading. The door swings open and Jirin enters our room after completing training day 2, quickly shutting the door behind him. I briefly make eye contact with my brother before he collects his ball from the desk, his childhood ball that we used to play with. I try not to feel a little nostalgic, that fateful game of ball is what started all of this after all.
I point towards the mattress we've hidden in the closet.
"You should get to bed," I say.
He begins bouncing the ball off the wall.
"Why? It's not like anyone can see us?" he questions.
"That's not the point you…"
"Have to live the act yeah I know…" he groans.
Agitated, he bounces the ball off the wall again.
"It's just…you're the only person I can be myself around anymore," he complains.
I ignore him and continue staring at my book.
"Oh by the way I brought the District 12 girl into the careers," he states casually.
"You did what!?"
"It will be a good idea, trust me," he smirks.
"That wasn't your call to make," I argue, raising my voice a little.
"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot… It's gonna be your name plastered all over the victor memorials not Jirin Ignatius!"
"I don't have time for this right now," I mutter.
"I'm not going to let my plan, 5 years in the making, be ruined by your impatience!" I exclaim.
"Your plan?" He retorts.
Suddenly, there is a knock at the door.
"Kirin?"
Oh shit it's Olana.
I shoot my arm towards the closet and Jirin quickly takes cover inside, closing the door behind him.
I take a deep breath, fix my hair and crack the door open. Olana is standing there looking slightly suspicious.
"What's up?" I ask casually.
She pushes the door open, barging he way in and begins scanning around the room.
"It's just I heard voices from your room."
"Yeah, I often talk to myself out loud. It helps me plan is all… I'll try to keep it down in the future," I lie.
Present day
During the whole time loop situation, it gave me plenty of time to find the darkest room possible to execute my plan. I scouted out this entire maze, nobody can stop me now! Of course the capitol will find out but the head game maker Tiberius loves playing games with people, so hopefully he can appreciate mine.
Jirin thought I was going to save him but that was never really an option. Yes, it is hurting me inside that this cost Jirin's life but there cannot be victory without great sacrifice. He knew what he was getting himself in to after all.
But still was it all worth it? Was winning worth losing my only remaining brother? Maybe those times watching the sunset together under the tree are worth more than any of this. I keep thinking this to myself as I wipe away a single tear from my eye.
"Is that a tear I see there?" Emmy chuckles.
I shake my head.
"What? No! Never!"
Lenita Young 18 District 1
I scoop the last remaining salad into my mouth from my ration bag that I have saving. Speaking of food. It has been running low lately. I will have to resort to eating more meat I guess, even though I kind of hate it.
Salacia is sitting opposite me in the room, her glimmering trident is always rested on her lap just in case. She told me what happened with Olana so I don't blame her honestly, also I did just stab my district partner in the back yesterday but she's got nothing to fear from me unless we are the last two.
"I wish the gamemakers would just force us together already, I want to get this over with," I say, chewing the last of my salad.
"Be careful what you wish for," she comments, taking a bite out of a sandwich.
I chuckle slightly at her comment.
"Don't worry, between the two of us, taking out the rest of them should be a…a piece of cake," I say.
"No thanks I just ate," she replies.
"No it's just a saying it means it will be easy."
"Oh."
She smiles cheerfully.
"Yeah I think we make a great team!"
I toss my food bag to the floor.
"I know it's gonna be one of us two that wears that victor crown… who are you most looking forward to seeing in district 4?" I ask, with the slightly awkwardly feeling that I will be getting in her way of seeing that person.
The question seems to take her off guard as she ponders it, she really has to think about the answer doesn't she?
"Well I guess I'm looking forward to seeing some of my academy friends again," she mentions, her face tilted down in a kind of melancholy as she says it.
No mention of her family, from what I remember from the interviews she might not have the best relationship with them. As bad as it sounds, I'm kind of glad. It will mean I won't feel so bad if I have to kill her.
"What about you?" She asks.
I know exactly the answer to that.
"I'm just looking forward to seeing my dad and to reassure him that he hasn't lost another family member," I answer assuredly.
She smiles faintly.
"I'm sure us working together is going to bring us both closer to our districts," she says.
I keep thinking about my dad, one of the original reasons I volunteered is because of how bad I always felt about the way mom died. I know he doesn't believe it's my fault but if I win this then I will no longer believe it either.
Jia Yang 15 District 8
After the events of yesterday, we discovered another place to lay low. It has rooms to hide in, beds, chairs, desks and plenty of room
I've been sat on one of the desks for a while, twiddling my thumbs. I haven't cried all day today, I don't know why. I haven't been able to. I guess I just feel empty inside, I'm trying to come to terms with what happened and if it truly had to go that way. I think I'll never truly know the answer to that. His last words will never stop haunting me "I think I'm scared", he didn't want to die and yet he died for me because I couldn't face it myself… it was never supposed to end this way.
Ryker appears from one of the rooms, rubbing his tired eyes. Considering he's been in the hunger games for years, I think I understand that.
"Looks like we should be good here for a while," he reassures me with a warm smile.
I nod blankly.
"Anyway, I'm gonna head to bed now, Wrenna was asking for you by the way," he mentions.
"She's still awake?" I sigh.
"Uh huh… let me know if you need anything," he says.
"Thanks," I say, patting him on the shoulder.
I head into a big room, filled with shelf upon shelf of books. Wrenna is lying in her bed, still with the light on.
"Are you not asleep yet?" I ask.
I sit down on the side of her bed.
"I can't sleep," she complains.
"Why not?" I ask, trying to put on a comforting smile.
"I'm scared of what's out there," she murmurs.
I take a deep breath and nod my head.
"It's alright, I'm gonna look after you, I promised remember?" I say, giving her another big smile.
My mind suddenly goes back to Pat! I got used to checking on him every day to see if he was not in danger but of course I don't have to do that anymore… I feel my eyes sink in sadness.
"You look sad," Wrenna comments.
I look back up at her and quickly smile again.
"Everything's gonna be alright, trust me," I reply, shaking my head.
She gives me a smile in response, the first time I've seen her do so since I first met her back in the training days.
"I told you that you were gonna be my big sis remember?" She reminds me.
"Yes you did," I reply, looking her dead in the eyes.
She begins resting her head and slowly closes her eyes.
"What happened to Pat wasn't your fault…I hope you know that," She murmurs.
"I wish that were true," I answer.
"It is and soon enough you will find out," she says.
Moira Alice Halloran 14 District 6 female
I rapidly shake Evangelo awake, I can feel my heart beating loudly in my chest.
"What is it?" He stammers, barely awake.
"I can hear people in the other room… there are voices coming from the room next door to me," I explain.
He stands up out of his bed anxiously rubbing his soft hair. He rushes across the room and retrieves a spear which he has rested against the wall.
"What did they sound like?" He whispers.
"They didn't sound very old… I don't think it's the careers…" I whisper back.
He takes the lead in front of me and slowly cracks the door open.
"Careful," I whisper, rubbing my hands together.
I takes one look outside then quickly slams the door shut. He turns back, breathing heavily, his eyes wild like they have just seen a ghost!
"What is it?" I question.
"Yeah I think we'll leave it till tomorrow," he answers.
Cassius 30 (The Capitol)
The lift slowly descends into the control room, as soon as I exit it I feel myself go through a kind of bubble. That's because time in here doesn't follow a linear path. We can observe multiple possible timelines at once although only one will be the true outcome and even that is mostly out of our hands, although of course we have our ways of controlling the arena.
The biggest time split came on day 6, man that was a stressful day at work. There were so many to keep track of! The district 1 boy and 5 girl working together to survive that trial was unexpected.
There are so many workers wondering about the room, all this to make sure the timeline that the audience view is the right one. This technology could have changed the world but instead we're using it to play games with people's lives… oh well.
I notice Tiberius standing in front of the main monitor, looking unusually concerned. I join him by his side.
"That district 8 boy messed up the original timeline," he mutters to me, agitated.
"What about Wrenna?" I ask.
"I Slipped her that key two days ago like you asked," I continue.
"Yes and then she gave it to Pat and he…"
"Gave it to Jia," I finish his sentence.
He turns his head and shoot daggers out his eyes, I forgot he hates being interrupted.
"Wrenna will fix it though… she always does," I say.
"She better," he replies.
Hey guys so not that much happened in this chapter however I thought I'd take this time to go back and explain a few things but it will probably just end up creating more plot confusions idk XD. Also if you reread training day 1 you might find it pretty interesting…especially Wrenna's pov.
What are your thoughts? This story is almost coming to an end and I have a lot of plotlines to wrap up so wish me luck! haha
Deaths
Day 1
24th: Jameson Wright (District 10 male) Killed by Olana Peronia – Neck Snapped.
23rd: Ryland Fields (District 9 male) Killed by Dante Orchard – Stabbed in the eyes.
22nd: Alistair Birch (District 7 male) Killed by Kirin Ignatius – Stabbed through the heart.
21st: Tomlin Beckett (District 3 male) Killed by Achilles Castille – Spine snapped.
20th: Kaia Telm (District 3 female) Killed by Salacia Myer – Impaled by trident.
19th: Cherry Ennedes (District 11 female) Killed by Lenita Young – Shot by arrow.
Day 2
18th: Clara Labeau (District 9 female) Killed by Achilles Castille – Stabbed through the torso.
Day 3
17th: Dante Orchard (District 12 male) Killed by Moira Halloran – Hung by the neck.
Day 4
16th: Maverick "Rick" Colver (District 4 male) Killed by Achilles Castille – Throat slashed.
15th: Emerson Ingles (District 7 female) Killed by Salacia Myer – Impaled by trident.
Day 5
14th: Aleksandar 'Alek' Boltzmann (District 5 male) Killed by statue mutts – Stabbed.
Day 6
Emmy, Pat, Jia, Ryker, Wrenna, Lenita, Achilles, Kirin (multiple times and all reversed)
Day 7
13th: Alma Kaur (District 12 female) Killed by Emmanuela Chai – Throat slashed.
Day 8
12th: Achilles Castille (District 2 male) Killed by Salacia Myer – Impaled by trident.
11th: Olana Peronia (District 1 female) Killed by Kirin Ignatius – Impaled by katana.
10th: Pattern Fredericks (District 8 male) Killed by mutt – Slashed by pincers.
Day 9
No deaths
Remaining tributes
District 1
Kirin Ignatius (2 kills)
District 2
Lenita Young (1 kill)
District 4
Salacia Myer (3 kills)
District 5
Emmanuela Ruby Chai (1 kill)
District 6
Evangelo Goku Katsaros
Moira Alice Halloran (1 kill)
District 8
Jia Yang
District 10
Wrenna Chimes
District 11
Ryker Shenal