Hello again, peoples! I originally planned on posting Districts 2, 3 and 4 together, but I haven't finished 4 yet and I am waaaaaaay overdue for updates. So, 2 in one day, Yay!
Just another note on Sponsorships: If you need to know anything more, PM me or check out my profile.
You've probably heard of IVolunteerAsAuthor, as he writes a lot of SYOT's, and does a really awesome job. Well, I have a tribute in his newest! *cough* #SupportAmeliaSteele *cough* *cough*
I do not own the Hunger Games. Period.
I hope you like Cordin and Infiniti. I think they're awesome.
Cordin Bolt, Age 16, District 3
I fought back a laugh as I slowly stalked away from the woman who was practically interrogating Zela. The woman was clearly distraught, and I knew why. She had caught Zela stealing bread from her store, but the quick and clever 16-year-old handed it to me as I sat under a table. As the large woman chased my friend from the shop, I filled my leather satchel with more food, and snuck out the door.
"Go ahead," Zela was telling the lady, "check my pockets. You won't find anything." The woman complied, and patted her down, upending pockets and opening her jacket. Not finding anything, the woman gave a large harrumph!
"I'm sorry, miss." She sighed, "Half the bread from that center table is gone, and you were the closest one to it. Sorry for the misunderstanding."
I looked at Zela's face, and she understood immediately. "It's okay, ma'am. However, that," She pointed at me, "may be the culprit." The woman turned and looked at me, her face looking at my bulging satchel and the smirk on my face.
"Catch me if you can!" I screamed. Turning, I bolted up the street, listening to the shouts and heavy footfalls of the woman pursuing me. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, and I laughed maniacally.
She chased me up the street, and people turned to watch. They laughed at the sight; a burly woman screaming at the top of her lungs as she chased a lanky boy up the street, a wild look in his eyes and giddy with excitement. Seeing the picture in my head, I laughed harder and sprinted down an alley.
Turning so my back was to a 5-foot fence, I stared at the woman, pretending to seem desperate for an escape route. Grinning, she stalked toward me, a wooden rod in her hand. A few feet away from me, I could see the hate in her eyes. She reared her weapon back to beat me, but before she could begin, I reached behind me, grabbed the top of the fence, and flipped over it.
Her screams tore through the air, and I didn't stop running until I got home. There, on the porch bench, was Zela, her bronze hair levitating in the slight breeze. "What took you so long?" She asked.
"Old lady tried to club me in an alley." I laughed. "Barely got away."
We both laughed for a good few minutes, but then bells could be heard tolling from the Justice Building. "Well, I guess I'd better go." Zela told me sadly. "I'll see you after I'm off work, okay?"
"Okay." I answered, "See ya later, Z." Smiling sadly, she turned around and began jogging to her house, which was a couple blocks away. After she disappeared, I turned and climbed a drain pipe coming off my house, into my bedroom window. There, I made sure the room was empty, and shoved the satchel, filled to the brim with bread, under my bed. Walking over to the dresser, I grabbed the clothes that I had laid out the night before and began getting dressed.
I was still shirtless when a knock came at the door. "Come in!" I shouted.
"Cord, are you done yet? You still haven't eaten and the Reapings are in less than a half hour." My older brother, Binary said as he entered. Binary was the older of my 2 brothers, at 21, and by far my favorite. We always get along well and he's the only one who knows my secret.
"It's okay, Ben. I'm almost dressed and I have plenty of grub for breakfast." I said casually.
He smiled. "What'd you score today, huh? Another pizza?" I shook my head, but smiled at the memory.
"Not this time, but I did pay ol' Ms. Kula a visit."
He gasped. "You stole from the bakery? How- Wait, Zela helped, right?" I only nodded. "Well, congratulations, we'll celebrate after the Reaping, if we don't get publicly executed for being late. Hurry up!" He winked at me and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
As I got dressed, I reflected on how much I truly loved Binary. He was 5 years older than me, but he was the closest I was to out of the whole family, consisting of my dad, Bug, who was 52, my mom, Lumen Kingston, who was 45, Binary, my other brother Gadge, who has the brain capacity of a toddler but had the age of 19, and my only sister, Tabby, who was 13.
My relationship with my father was interesting. Well sort-of. He really was an incredible dad, but I still stole from him. My mother was very protective of me, and I love her very much for that. I have never stolen from her because of those reasons. That, and she makes a mean chocolate cookie. My relationship with Binary is great, he's the only one I've told about my… addictions, and he has always been there for me throughout my life. Gadge is stupid. Tabby is the light of my life. She is the sweetest little girl and I love her so much. I would probably fall into a deep depression if something happened to her.
I smiled as I walked down the stairs of the 2-story house. Noticing nobody was home, I strode over to the door to leave. As I opened the door, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror in the front room; my nice dress pants and button-down shirt on top of my dark skin, black, curly hair, and brown eyes. Crazy how such a sharply dressed man could be such a talented thief, in it only for the thrill.
As I left the house, remembering to lock the door, I laughed at the ridiculousness that was my life.
Infiniti Reagan, Age 17, District 3
I woke up to bright, unfiltered sunlight flowing through my window. Not wanting to get up, I pulled the covers over my head in a desperate attempt to get a few more minutes of sleep. Right as I did, however, my alarm rang, long and loud, letting me know it was 7 o'clock and time to get up. Groaning, I climbed out of my nice, super-comfortable bed and dragged myself to the other side of the room.
I looked up at my large, 3-mirror vanity, inlaid with gold, and smiled. The only reason I had woken up so early was so that I could get ready for the Reapings. I wasn't volunteering or anything, of course, but I had to look my best for the big day. I wasn't afraid of getting Reaped; I had a 3 in 3,979 chance of getting Reaped. That's like, a .075%.
The only reason my chances were so low was because of my parents. Both my parents were well respected engineers, and therefore became extremely wealthy. My mother, Angeliece, began creating extremely useful equipment for all the Districts when she turned 20. She's been doing it for 20 years! My father, Mason, single-handedly developed the technology used in District 5's Turbine Dam 28 years ago at the age of 16. We were so rich, I never had to take out tesserae!
I had just finished getting dressed when I heard a pound at my bedroom door. "Infiniti!" A voice called, "You ready yet? Mama says we need to go in a few minutes!"
"Okay, Ry! One sec." I turned away from the door and looked at my reflection in the vanity. My long brown hair seemed curled just right, making the blonde highlights stand out a little more. Today, my eyes were a dark green, which got me a little nervous. The stupid scar running from my right earlobe to my chin was still a light red, even though I got it when I was 14.
Downstairs, the table was already set, Riker gobbling up his pancakes, giant pools of maple syrup surrounding his plate. Mama was at the griddle, making more pancakes. Papa, however, was nowhere to be seen. Figuring he was still at work, I sat down and began attacking my plate.
Before I had even finished, the doorbell rang. Ry got up and answered it, growling in frustration. "Infiniti!" he called, "It's for you!" I got up and walked to the door, where my friends Laci Jaxon and Bo Chips were waiting. Laci and I have been friends for years, ever since kindergarten. Bo's a year older than me, and lives next door.
"Hey Fin." Bo greeted, looking at me closely. "Ready to go? It's my final Reaping, and I'm ready to get it over with." I nodded and passed through the doorway, closing it behind me. Then Bo got serious. "Have you noticed your eye color today?" He asked.
"Why Bo?" Laci asked. "What's today's-"
"Yes, I noticed." I answered. "I was hoping it was my imagination." Bo and Laci seemed worried, and I knew why. My eyes change color from day to day. More often than not, the color "predicts" what will happen. When I was 14, there was a day they were dark green, like that day, and I was in a machine accident, resulting in my scar. A couple years ago, Bo's brother was flogged, and my eyes were dark green that day too. "Forget it." I said. "Let's get this over with, and talk about it later."
Voltage Nickel, Age 37, District 3
I sat on the stage in front of the Justice Building, waiting for the Reapings to start. Below me, children one-half to one-third my age were filing into their respective section. Most seemed afraid, others calm. The calm ones knew their chances of getting Reaped were slim, and those who were afraid knew that their chances of getting Reaped and surviving were even slimmer.
I won the 128th Games at the age of 15. Since my Victory, only one child had come home from the Arena alive, and she totally deserved it. However, even that was 17 years ago, when Athena Gizmo won.
Once it seemed as if everyone was filed in, the escort, Harpy Angels, walked on stage. Her bizarre appearance made me forget all about the Reapings and ignore her speech and the video. Apparently, this year, she tried to incorporate as much of the District as possible.
Her torso was covered in computers, phones, tablets, and other entertainment devices. Each one was a different color, make and model. The older ones played older games, and the newer ones had reruns of the Hunger Games, as well as projections of the various District 3 Victors. I recognized Matrix, Beetee, Wiress, Hecate, myself, Athena…
"And now, I shall Reap the tributes who shall be representing District 3 in this year's Hunger Games." Harpy started walked over to the Female bowls, which gave me a good view of her legs, which were wrapped in wires of all different colors, some glowing, some sparking, some perfectly fine.
"Infiniti Reagan!" She called. She waited looking out at the crowd, and I did the same. Finally, in the 17 year old section, a girl was pushed forward. Her white dress shirt was under a grey blazer and skirt, and matching shoes. After being pushed, she seemed to fall out of her shock, and, stone-faced, marched up to the stage.
"Do we have any volunteers?" Harpy asked, her hair forming into a blue question mark. Nobody moved. "Well then. The boys." She walked toward me, and selected a paper from each of the bowls. Please have potential, please have potential!
"Cordin Bolt!" Slowly, a boy emerged from the 16 year old section. He looked over to the 16 year old girl section, and seemed angry. Nearly all of them were looking at him, so I couldn't see who he was looking at.
As Harpy announced them, I looked over the boy. He seemed to have a mischievous gleam in his eyes, and his muscled legs made him seem like a fast runner. When Harpy turned them around into the Justice Building, I followed.
"So, Harpy." I whispered. "Who are this year's mentors?"
"Oh my, I haven't looked." She pulled out the two papers. "Let's see. We have the Victors of the 21st and 52nd Games, Matrix Volt and Ingrid Relbot. Looks like you're off the hook this year, Volt. I'll call the President and have them get started."
"Thanks, Harpy." I sighed. "I'm going to miss having you around here. I'm sure the next escort will be more than happy to let two more kids die."
"Well, you know the rules. "Escorts can't be over 40." Looks like I'm literally too old for this." We laughed until she had to get to the train.
Infiniti Reagan, Age 17, District 3
In the Justice Building, I sat in a light grey chair adorned in tufts of blue. I stared at the door for what seemed like hours, waiting.
After what felt like forever, the door burst open, and three figures walked in. Two were crying, and the third one was on the verge of tears.
"I'm so sorry, honey." My mother sobbed. "I don't understand! Your chances were near zero! This should never have happened! I'm so sorry!" I didn't know how to respond to that, and decided not to, figuring I'd break into tears too.
"It'll just be a few weeks, Finny." Riker cried. "You can stay alive until then. When you get back, we'll fly kites and-" A fresh wave of tears cut him short.
"Infiniti." My father finally said, tears welling in his eyes. "There are only 25 other people. Chances are, by the end of the first day, only half of them will remain. You can do this. Learn how to survive during training, and then train yourself with a weapon in the Arena. I believe in you." The four of us embraced, and they were ushered out by Peacekeepers.
As soon as they left, Laci and Bo walked in, both of them trying really hard not to cry. Laci gave me a hug, while Bo stood off to the side awkwardly. "You. Can. Do. It. Infiniti." Laci encouraged. "I know you can! You're smart, athletic, pretty- You can take the others by storm!"
"She's right, Fin." Bo added, "We believe in you. We'll try to send you something in the Arena. Until then." He took one big step forward and kissed my cheek, then he continued out the door.
"Oh, sure. Now he admits it." Laci stated, clearly frustrated. She turned and followed him, temporarily forgetting about me.
My cheek still burned from where he touched me.
Cordin Bolt, Age 16, District 3
As soon as I sat down, my whole family burst into the room. Tabby ran straight into me, crying. "Please don't go." She kept saying, "Ask them to pick somebody else." She continued to cry, chanting those same words over and over.
Gauge approached me, and I stared at him stone-faced, knowing what was to come. "You're a bloodbath." He said simply. "I hope you're killed by a Career, and they kill you slowly and mercilessly." He laughed at that, until he saw the glare my mother gave him. My parents were clearly afraid to speak, still wishing it was all a dream.
"Cord, I wish I could have volunteered for you, I really do. But apparently, the rules are against volunteering from 21-year-olds. I just want to say good luck. If you put your mind to this, you can win. Just like the bakery this morning." Binary said.
"Time's up!" The Peacekeeper said.
Zela never came. She had too much work to do. The one person I wanted to see most, and the Capitol took even that away from me.
So, I kinda wrote this a fair while ago (mostly) and did my best to finish over Thanksgiving break. However, I didn't get as much free time as I would have liked.
I'll try to get D4 up later in the week.
Questions!
Who do you like more?
Who do you think's going down first?
Any ideas for improvements?
Of the current 6 tributes, who'd you most likely Sponsor?
(For Cord and Fin's submitters) Did I do good on your tribute?
What's one thing you'd like to know more about me?
Zai jian! (So long for now in Mandarin)
-Lord Zagreus
