Max DeLoria- District Six male (17)
Being Raleigh's ally was more like being her babysitter. Or, I guess, more like having a precocious little sister. Raleigh came from a ridiculously happy family. Honestly I didn't believe it was as happy as she thought it was. No family could be that syrupy sweet. In any case her enthusiasm and easy hope that everything would turn out all right made her seem younger than she was.
"Let's do something fun since this is our last night here," Raleigh suggested.
"We should probably spend this night with our mentors," I said. The training room was closed but there were still ways to prepare. I should have said that we should get some sleep but I knew that wasn't going to happen. No matter how much I tried to tell myself to rest, my body was through the roof with anxiety and adrenaline. I didn't think any of us, even the Careers, would sleep.
"We already asked everything we could think to ask," Raleigh said, shifting impatiently from one foot to another. "They can't do it all for us."
"And what did you have in mind?" I asked, knowing I'd probably regret asking.
"See, cars, just like District Six!"
Raleigh beamed as she pointed out the bumper cars lined up on the edge of a rink. I was so busy looking them over I forgot to answer. They were cars, technically, I guess, but they were nothing like District Six. They lacked most of the parts of a real car and they had flat bottom instead of wheels. I knelt down to peek under the carriage and saw the tiny wheels hidden underneath.
"You just crash them into each other?" I asked.
Raleigh jumped into one and it surged forward as she grabbed the wheel and pressed the pedal. "Yeah, like this!"
The car went off in an unexpected direction when I turned the wheel. Clearly it wasn't calibrated well and I was trying to straighten it when Raleigh rammed into me.
"Hey, I'm trying to figure this out!" I protested.
"Sorry, it's called bumper cars," Raleigh taunted as she circled around and crashed into me again. The car lurched to the side and spun in a half-circle as I desperately tried to right myself before Raleigh came for me again.
"I don't think these are road-worthy," I muttered as Raleigh bore down on me once again.
Brock Carver- District Two male (12)
It was a gift to be allowed to learn from Pray. She was going through some intricate martial arts moves and I could hardly pay attention because I was just so enthralled by the grace and efficiency of her body as it moved. It was like learning about survival from an actual wild animal.
"One night left," Pray said after she'd finished. Her claws made tapping noise as she restlessly clicked them against the coffee table. "I wish it was me."
"Let's fight," I blurted out before I could talk myself out of it.
"Right here? You better mean it," Pray said, already sitting forward in excitement.
"For that last bit of extra preparation," I said. Ever since starting with Pray my hope had been that just surviving training with her would make me strong enough to get through anyone in the Arena. If I could survive a fight with her then the Games would be nothing.
Pray set her claws down on the table stood and moved to the center of the room, out of range of the table with its sharp corners. The air in the room went thick as a switch flipped in her. She settled into a fighting stance so subtle the only way I could see it was how she seemed to consolidate herself into a slightly shorter and more dense frame. Pray was shorter than I was and she was also a lot older but that didn't affect her capabilities. Lean muscles, far more disciplined and experienced than mine, showed modest but prominent on her arms and more hid underneath her shirt and leggings. She hadn't had to fight for years but she still hadn't missed a day.
"Take your time. Get your little plan ready," Pray said. Obviously the best plan was not to fight her but since I'd crossed that bridge I had to aim for damage control. My best bet was to stay at the edge of arm's reach and more than anything else try not to let her get close.
"Thanks for training me and everything," I said.
"Kind of a weird time to say that," Pray said, a bit perplexed.
"Just before I forgot, I guess," I said. Pray gave me a narrow-eyed look, clearly thinking I was trying to throw her off guard. No, I was just awkward.
"If you want to thank me, win," Pray said. "Now are we gonna fight or what?"
I went through my plan and tried to think of what Pray would do first so maybe I could dodge some of it. I took a few minutes to psych myself up and then took a deep breath.
"Okay, let's go."
I woke up in bed with an ice pack sliding off the side of my head.
Zara Tovar- District Twelve female 15)
My family broke apart a long time ago. I never met my grandparents- two of them died of black lung, one of them from typhus, and one of them in an accident in the mine. My mother was gone before I was five years old, fading away from the inside and losing a bit more color with every cough. Then my father went and all that was left was me and Zander. Zander ran with the street boys and survived off petty theft. There were a lot more street kids than street adults. Zander's life would catch up with him eventually and one day he wouldn't be there anymore. That would leave only me. If I died, the last surviving bit of my family would be gone. It would be like none of us had ever existed. There would be only an empty house that someone else would move into and their story would go on while ours faded into nothing.
It was the night before the Games and I wasn't afraid. I was nervous, certainly- jittering with energy, tapping my fingers on the table as I pretended to watch some Capitol show about throwing parties, eyes glancing from place to place in the room like something very important was coming and I might miss it. I wanted the night to be over so the Games could just begin. Before they started, before I saw what would happen and knew the reality, it seemed like an adventure. I knew it would be awful but I couldn't shake the idea of seeing a new world I never would have known if I'd stayed in Twelve. I'd seen so many amazing Arenas filled with crazy things I never could have dreamed of. In the end it would crash down around me and I'd know the reality but until then the sheer novelty of it gnawed at my curiosity.
What if I win? It could happen. Someday I might be rich and famous and looking back at this night smiling at how little I was and how many things I didn't know about yet. And my family wouldn't be gone. Zander wouldn't have to steal anymore and we could be a good, respectable family. Everyone would know us. Our name would be famous. If I didn't it would be nothing. It was a lot of pressure for a fifteen-year-old girl.
Later on the circus kids were meeting to go over our plans and get out any last-minute questions or comments. I looked forward to being with other people. The expectancy and nervousness in the air made me almost sick to my stomach. Being with other people would water it down. We were all uncertain about what was about to happen but we could at least be certain we were going in together. It was good to have someone else who at least know my name and that I existed. If one of my allies won I hoped they'd carry that much with them at least.
Before I went to join up with my allies I gave myself a few minutes of quiet introspection. It was eerie to think of the other Twelves that came before me. Dozens of other girls had sat in this room, many of them on the very couch I sat on, thinking about how the Games were going to start tomorrow. I was so concerned about the world going on without me and when I thought back I barely knew anything more than a few names from the kids who had died before me. Last year it was a girl named Wren who died in the Games. I'd never met her before in Twelve. All I knew of her was her name was Wren Tyvol and she had black hair. I wondered what people would remember about me.
Go ahead and send in your votes if you haven't! Only a few chapters until the Games start so I'll start votes now so everyone has time. Since some people sent in five votes and it felt right I changed it so there are FIVE life votes and FIVE death votes per submitter (non-submitters can also vote and I count those votes at a reduced rate). Be as petty or methodical as you want and if you have any questions about voting go ahead and PM. Also vote for the Arena if you haven't yet. If you have, I have your vote written down.