Juniper Triton- District Four male (18)

Crazy what a change of scenery could do. In the circus I always felt accepted but just sort of distant. In the Careers I felt like a lie. With Christobal in our abandoned church hideout I actually felt at home. I could picture an alternate universe where I just lived in the old West for some reason in an empty church with some guy I met a few weeks ago- just hanging out and playing piano and talking about random stuff. I felt bad thinking it but the Arena was the best time I'd had in years.

If I get out of here I'm going to make some changes. After finally embracing myself and not trying to live up to images cast on me by other people I never wanted to go back. If I won the Games I was going to lounge around doing whatever I wanted. And I was going to make some real friends. It sucked that I already knew it wouldn't be Christobal. We were two ships passing in the night and whichever of us survived, the other one wouldn't. All we would have was these few days of friendship and the loss that came after them.

"What's your talent going to be if you win?" Christobal asked.

Wow... I never thought about that. "I guess swimming or something. That seems really inconvenient though unless I live at a pool. Maybe I'll just do a cop-out talent like poetry." Not that all poetry was a cop-out, but mine definitely would be.

"I guess if I win the entire Games my mom will be so excited she won't care if I make music," Christobal said. "But I do really love my mom so if she is mad I'll do poetry or whatever too and just play music when I'm alone."

"If it's one of the Career you think it'll be Alice or Talise?" I asked. It was so funny how their names matched up like that. What were the odds?

"Alice is more violent but I feel like Talise is more strategic," Christobal said. He pondered for a moment. "I'll go with Talise."

"I'll pick Alice then. Whoever lasts longer between them, winner gets bragging rights," I said.

"Bold of you to assume we'll both outlive one of them," Christobal said.

"Well look at Mr. Sunshine over here," I said. We had enough food left in my supplies for about two days if we didn't eat hardly anything. Then we'd have to sneak back into town and look for supplies. And that was assuming the Career ladies didn't come force the issue before that. The smoke on the horizon suggested they'd burned the whole town down- smart move. They'd probably come to check out our building soon and we'd have to either hide or run for it. I didn't like our odds in a fight.

"Lovely night," I said, standing by the window and looking out at the sunset. It wasn't the same as seeing the sun dip down until the ocean swallowed it up but the desert had its own austere beauty. I was a long way from home, a mermaid in the desert. I would be glad to see the water again.

Tyler Alvarez- District Ten male (18)

It didn't take a genius to figure out that if one building was still standing all off by itself then the Careers might be in it. I'd seen them moving around the Arena but I'd never been able to get close enough to use the shotgun. I did discover the very disturbing information that they were poisoning all the water troughs. I would have to find an alternative source of water.

I crept up to the old church as the sun was setting and the dusk made it easier to sneak. I waited at the corner while I tried to figure out a plan. It would be extremely satisfying to throw the door open and blow them both away, but these were Careers I was dealing with. Surely they had the door secured and I would just get myself killed doing something stupid like that.

But what about the window?

I crept almost on hands and knees along the wall out of sight until I was underneath the window. I waited there, shotgun clenched against my chest, until a shadow told me someone was right beside me. Too close to miss, even if I didn't have a shotgun. I rose and saw a Career. Not the Career I'd expected but a Career all the same.

Christobal Chanel- District Eight male (16)

"Lovely night," Juniper said, leaning against the windowsill.

The building exploded all around me. There was a noise twice as loud as the guns in the Cornucopia and the wood floor shuddered underneath me. I stumbled backward, landing on my butt in a daze at the sheer loudness and violence of the noise. At the same moment Juniper came apart. A spray of red mist and chunks blasted backwards off him like he'd stepped on a land mine. He spun inhumanly, his arms pinwheeling out as he flew backwards from the wall and landed in a ragdoll heap. I faintly registered a blur of movement at the window and then there was nothing but Juniper in a heap of shattered glass.

I ran to Juniper, my ears ringing and my heart pumping faster than I thought possible. I turned him over and saw there was no possibility of surviving the injuries that had ruined his entire upper half. He was breathing, shallow movements that made strings of flesh around his mouth flutter like tiny flags. I didn't even bother trying to stop the blood or some other useless gesture. I just took his hand.

Juniper Triton- District Four male (18)

I didn't know what happened. I knew I was dying but not why. My face felt so oddly cold. Christobal was holding my hand and I was grateful for it.

This is real. I'd put on so many faces and tried to live so many lives. I'd lost track of what was real and what was fake but this was real. I was really dying. Valentine would really live because I had taken his place. Christobal was really with me. He was really my friend.

11th place: Juniper Triton- point-blank shotgun blast

Funny story, Juniper and Deciduous' submitter thought their placings would be flipped. Juniper was a last-minute addition to let me start writing. But the votes choose who they choose and Juniper was given time to grow. Sadly the votes suddenly turned against him (he did pretty well all the way from the start). I really wanted Tyler to be able to use that shotgun but the Career ladies both had too many life votes so I did the bext best thing and used Juniper. Thanks QueenofFunerals for making a mermaid and then going with the flow when I turned out to need a merman instead. Honestly I kind of liked it better this way.

Sorry for the short chapter. I finally got done with my second 6-day marathon of overtime and I am DONE for a while! No more overtime for at least a week. I feel like garbage and I developed a tic so I should probably stop.