Irwin Murdoc, age 18

District 4 Male

Maybe me wanting to volunteer was stupid. Sure, I had trained in the Academy, but I wasn't one of the chosen volunteers. I wasn't even sure how many male volunteers there were, considering the number of girls who volunteered. But I had to do this. Zale needed me. My poor little brother had home dying from who-knew-what, trying to lift everybody's spirits by saying that he was fine, that he felt better as the days went on, which obviously wasn't true. I couldn't fail him.

Then again, I knew I would have to kill in order to get back. Kill young children who were ripped away from their homes and families, and most likely wouldn't return. That thought made me want to back out, like it had for the past few days. Young kids didn't deserve this. They should be running with their friends, playing and generally being happy. Not quivering in fear, praying that they weren't chosen for a death match. It was disheartening, even for a bloodthirsty trained killer to see.

But I had my plan for the arena and everything else before it. I was going to be fine.

On stage, Elba recounted the girl tributes. One of them was still crying. Desire to comfort her, to give her a squeeze on the shoulder and tell her everything was going to be fine flickered inside me, and I tried my best to dampen it. I was going to be that girl's fellow tribute. Chances were she was going to die in order for me to win. I couldn't let my emotions get out of control.

"And, now, the boys," Elba said, and skipped to the boy's reaping bowl. She plucked a slip out, and pranced back to the microphone. In the instant before the name was read, I thought of everything I was leaving behind. Zale, my two sisters, Yara and Ariva, my father. I wished my mother was here so that she could send me off to the Capitol with a final hug. But she died three years ago, in childbirth with Ariva.

"Hermit Yuri!" Elba announced. Instantly, my hand shot up.

"I volunteer!" I shouted, and ran forward. I could do this. I had to.

Maxwell "Max" Moore, age 17

District 4 Male

Who was this kid, and why was he volunteering? I looked more closely, and recognized him as Irwin Murdoc. He was part of the Academy, but wasn't one of the chosen volunteers. He was always called "soft" and "weak." Was that why he was volunteering? To prove everybody wrong?

If my mother knew I was thinking thoughts like that, she would kill me. She was absolutely obsessed with good manners and being polite, which was the complete opposite of the Academy. When I was chosen to volunteer, it was like two totally different aspects of my life clashed together. There was my mother telling me to be polite all the time, and there was the Academy breathing down my neck, telling me to slaughter everybody in that arena, or risk being killed by somebody else.

Not the best combination in the world.

On stage, Elba was congratulating Irwin on volunteering. She just kept babbling on and on, and I felt the annoyance from all of the other boys around me building. Even my own tolerance of Elba was crumbling. Elba may have been passionate about her job, but she spent way too long talking with the tributes.

I glanced over towards the girl's section, with hopes of finding my girlfriend, Rose Harbor. She wasn't very happy that I was volunteering (that girl could hold a grudge for a very long time) so I wasn't surprised when I saw her just staring straight ahead. I looked away, disappointed. Hopefully, she would come visit me to say goodbye. I wanted to put things right between us.

Elba was choosing another boy's slip. She plucked one out after stirring the papers around for a minute or two, and skipped back to the microphone, unfolding the paper as she went.

"Isle Verano!" Elba said cheerfully. I shot forward, into the aisle.

"I volunteer!" I yelled. I bounded up the steps, and overlooked the district. Rose was trying her hardest not to look at me, and I felt the stres of my family burning into me. My older brother, Blake, who missed out on his last chance to volunteer last year, and my little sister Cora, who was never a part of the Academy. They all looked proud of me.

And I knew that knowledge would help me to the crown.

Nemo Dabney, age 16

District 4 Male

Next. I was going to volunteer next, and take that arena by storm. I was going to kill so many tributes, and return home, a champion of District Four. How hard could it be?

Sure, I had met some of our victors, and they had said winning wasn't all it had shaped up to be. Some of the victors, namely Marina and Schooner, were traumatized by their victory. They were weak. Weak victors equaled victors who weren't good victors. They weren't worthy of that title.

But I was. I was a perfectly capable Career who was going to bring the crown and glory back to Four.

Elba was still blabbing on to Max. What's your name, why did you volunteer, blah, blah, blah. It took forever, and I was becoming antsy. I just wanted to break free from this throng of people and get up on stage, and bask in the glory that volunteering comes with.

Will you hurry up?

"Alright, and now for our third male tribute." Elba picked a third slip, and I tensed to run. Time to volunteer. It was my turn. I could barely wait.

When Elba got back to the microphone, she only had time to unfold the paper and open her mouth before I screamed, "I volunteer!"

The crowd parted around me, and I rushed towards the aisle, all eyes in the district on me. I smiled confidently, trying to show everybody that I was going to win this year. District Four's status may be going down the tubes, but I was going to help boost it.

If Four won this year, we would be great. So we had to win. It was that simple.

And I could win.

Rhodes Ronny Mallowsweet, age 13

District 4 Male

I rolled my eyes at the boys on stage, my face distorted into a sour expression. The Games were wrong. Anybody who trained for the Games was a moron. They were throwing their lives away for a chance to do what? Kill children? Have a slim chance of returning victorious? It was all wrong. This would never happen in America. Never.

America was all about democracy and accepting everybody. They would accept immigrants from other countries because they were kind people. Panem may have been built on the grave of the United States, but America needed to come back. Would there be a Hunger Games back in America? Exactly.

The New Americans was the group that I was a member of. I had joined a few years ago, but got my older sister, Alazya, to join with me, and because she was older, she was more respected than I was in that group. We started riots and such, and had other branches in other districts, but I think our branch had the most power behind it because we were a Career district. We were closer to the Capitol than the other two districts with branches - Six and Nine.

To spread the word to all the districts, I was going to volunteer.

Well, that wasn't the only reason. To spread the word about the New Americans was one, but I also wanted to stop some bloodthirsty, Career brute from volunteering. I wasn't going to kill. I wasn't going to ally with the Careers. I was going to spread the message and die in defiance of the Capitol. Because screw them.

Elba selected another slip, and I grasped the rope that was penning me in with all the other thirteen year olds, ready to slide underneath it. I had to beat this next id to the stage. I couldn't let him up there. My stopping this bloodthirsty Career could help elongate some poor kid's life in the arena by another day or two.

Elba unfolded the paper but didn't have any time to read it when I yelled, "I volunteer!"

Shawn Naylor, age 14

District 4 Male

So far, none of the kids who worked for me were reaped. That was good. Those kids were really sweet people, and the only reason they got into my illegal business was because they needed money to help their families. Well, and I did have to do a little bit of manipulating, too.

Sure, there were other, legal companies for repairing boats and sails, but people came back to us because of our quality. Adults only care about the paycheck they'll get at the end of the day. There's nothing compared to the perfectionist drive of a young child.

Looking up at Elba on stage, I bit back from telling a few snarky jokes to the boys around me. When people looked at me, they saw an illegal business owner who hated authorities. What they didn't know was that I loved telling jokes and just generally being sarcastic. Humor made a tough life a little bit better.

Although with a fantastic family like mine, life wasn't all that bad.

I loved my two parents with all my heart, and they loved me. With all of that love going around, the fact that I manipulated half of the kids who work for me didn't seem to blend in with the rest of my lifestyle. But I had to do what I had to do.

"And now, for the fifth male tribute!" Elba said, and walked to the reaping bowl. Fear nibbled at my gut when Elba held up the slip. Even though I had only taken out two tesserae, the thought of being reaped left me terrified. I just had to hope that it wasn't me, it wasn't me...

"Shawn Naylor!" It was me. Desire to run to Mama, to have her enfold me in her arms took over, and I waited for the volunteer to step forward. It was only when the Peacekeepers came for me that I put on a smirk and pretended not to care.

But I did care. I wanted to be in Mama's arms, safe and sound.

Losho More, age 14

District 4 Male

Last night was fun. My friend, Barksdales, had a party in honor of, well, I'm not really sure what, but it was a great party. Both Caeli and Iona were there, and I was so close to spending some quality time with Iona, but she refused, mainly because she wanted to "protect my innocence." There were some drawbacks to pretending to be innocent.

However, I did happen to start two fistfights, break up a budding couple, and set my two admirers at each other's throats, so I'd consider that a job well done.

In everybody's eyes, I was the little guy who knew nothing about getting older, nothing about what happens during the teenage years. I was an innocent little angel in a world of darkness. That couldn't have been further from the truth. The only one who really knew what I was capable of was my brother Martin, but nobody believed him whenever he would tell people.

And, to sweeten everything, I had my own backup squad of trained Careers, so when somebody looked at me funny, I would act upset, and one of my "bodyguards" would threaten the kid until he or she would leave with a terrified look on their face.

Manipulation was the key to surviving the Academy when you weren't all that good. The only thing was I was the only one who knew that, so I got my pick of backup.

On stage, Elba was picking another paper, the last one. Almost all of District Four's tributes were chosen. She crossed back to the microphone, and called out the name, "Losho More!"

Me? Shock ran through my blood, until the realization that I could use my young age as an advantage for the sponsors. Quickly, I whipped up some tears as I stumbled to the stage. I was going to play the "cute little reaped saint" angle my entire journey in the Capitol.

And nobody would stop me.

I'm in such a good mood right now. Pats are on to Super Bowl LII! Yay! Haha, anyways, thanks to:

maddyodair for Irwin,

Foxfaceisthebest for Max and Nemo,

SparkALeah for Rhodes,

Jaylinne for Shawn,

and Norbus95 for Losho.

I hope I did them all justice! Today's song is Havana by Camilla Cabello and Young Thug.

So, nothing new, really. The District Two poll is still up, and will be taken down next chapter. I think my updating days will be Sundays, mainly because I've been updating on Sundays for the past few weeks. Next chapter is the females from District Five! We're officially done with our Careers!

-D9T