Becca Roberts, 15

District Seven Female

I've started fires this way before, and I'm glad to find I'm still able to do it. The pile of twigs in front of me catches fire quickly, but that's because it's got barely any moisture in it. In the Games, the wood will probably be harder to start a fire with. But rain isn't exactly common in the Games, so I should be able to find some dry sticks and twigs. Assuming there's wood at all. No, there should be wood, I've heard they tried not having it once before and they all froze to death. So they won't do that again.

The trainer seems pleased, and I'm happy that I'll be able to replicate it in the arena, so I may as well go somewhere else. I get up and walk across to the obstacle course, where several people are waiting for their turn. There's the boy from Eight, and the girls from Three and Six. The boy from Five is there as well, and the boy from Eleven is doing the course at the moment. He's actually quite good. Probably a life spent in the orchards they must have there, since we don't have them in Seven. And I can't think of where else they'd have orchards.

The next kid steps up to do the course. He climbs the ladder to the first platform (because of course there's a ladder) and starts the course. He's from Five, I think, and from what I've seen, he's with the boy from Eleven. They do stations together and sat with each other at lunch yesterday. I can't remember either of their names. It's probably better that way, so that if I end up killing one of them it's not such a problem.

If I was killed, I wonder if it would make a difference if they remembered my name or not. Would I rather know they knew, or would I rather they couldn't be bothered to remember. Then it would be easier to blame them, I suppose. Someone I could fight back against, instead of being forced to live in silent fury. No one can fight back against the Capitol, but in the arena, you can kill anyone if you're strong enough.

So that's what I need to become. In the arena, I can just...

Anyway.

I need to be stronger. It's what Briar would have wanted.

I need to focus, I need to focus on winning this. That's what Briar would want. And it would definitely help if I could...set a career on fire. Because setting someone on fire will definitely help me feel better about watching my sister be murdered, and then because of that being forced to murder others to secure my own safety. The boy from Eight starts the course, scaling the ladder as if he's never climbed anything before.

He's from District Eight. I doubt they have anything to climb there. Not like at home in Seven, where there are large forests stretching for miles in areas around the District. I wish I was back home in Seven, with my parents. Silently angry, but relatively safe. Starving to death, but my death won't be broadcast to the whole country live.

I watch him try and traverse a net that's suspended from the ceiling. He's obviously struggling, often getting his feet caught in the net. I feel bad for him, but he's likely going to die, so there's no point getting attached to any of these people in any way. It'll be better if I try and cut them off. Including Cypress. Even if he's my District partner, I can't afford to form a relationship of any kind with him.

The girls from Three and Six seem impatient, and I can see why. The Eight boy is still struggling with the net, somehow having caught his foot and tangled it to the point he can't free it. He seems to be panicking, but I can't quite tell.

I can't watch this. The more I watch, the more human he'll seem, and the harder it'll be for me to accept his death as necessary. Because I need to survive. I won't be the second one in my family to die in the Hunger Games. I refuse. It won't happen. I won't let it. I have to win, so I can't let myself care about these other people. As much as I wish I could empathise with them like I have done every year until now. But it could cost me too much.

I'm brought back to what's happening around me by the boy from Eight finally making it off of the net. He then attempts to make his way across the balance beam, but I can already see he won't make it. He walks forward, but he's definitely slipping, and as I watch, he falls onto the floor. There's a dull thud, and a snapping sound. A couple of attendants run over and try to help him stand before carrying him out.

I was not expecting that.

The girl from Six begins to climb the ladder, although the girl from Three seems worried.

But this is great, because now I really feel bad for Eight boy, which is a problem. I need to remember that he isn't worth thinking about. Just like that scared twelve-year-old from Twelve. Or the pair from Nine who hugged each other at the Reaping. Well this is going brilliantly.

Six girl has made it across the net, and she pretty much runs across the balance beam. Then she has to make a series of jumps across various platforms, and then there's a wire, with a second wire suspended above it, to make your way across. I continue watching her, but I end up thinking about the boy from Eight again.

I just need to stop thinking about the others so much.

Arroyo Murphy, 17

District Four Male

I met my allies yesterday. My allies other than Klymene, that is. Storm from One, Mason and Omega from Two, and Trevor from Six. I'm still not sure about Trevor, but he's in the alliance now, thanks to Klymene. I like her. She seems nice, but she's too friendly to the other tributes. I tried to have a word with her last night, but we were interrupted by Coral and Zirconia wanting to talk to us. Apparently Moru doesn't want to talk to me until the interview coaching. Which might be my fault, but still. He should at least try and help me.

I am his responsibility, after all. If I die, and he doesn't do anything, Coral will probably tell people back in District Four that he did nothing. He'd get in a lot of trouble for it with the parents of kids at the academy. They'd be angry, and worried he wouldn't look after their own kids. And Coral would never let him hear the end of it. It's well known she dislikes Moru, and I guess I now know why.

"Hey Arroyo, you listening?" Asks Klymene.

"Yeah. I am." I reply.

"Good." Klymene says, and then continues on with the story she's telling Omega, Trevor and Mason. I've heard it before, but she still wants me to listen now, as she tells others. Storm is very clearly not listening, rather staring at where the boy from her District is sitting. They've not said anything to me since we were throwing spears yesterday morning. I think they're angry that I told their District partner to get lost.

I don't think she should care so much. He would have been a problem if we kept him around. Would have slowed us down.

On the other hand, Trevor keeps trying to talk to me. He seems alright, but he's still an outer District kid. When our alliance inevitably breaks down, he'll be the first to die. And Storm will probably be the decider between the deaths of me and Klymene and Mason and Omega. And then we'll kill them. And me and Klymene will be left.

I don't want to think about that. Because she has to die, so that I am the Victor. So that I go back to District Four in glory, and I'm welcomed back by my family and get to train the future tributes of my District.

And to prove that I can survive, even if I'm here earlier than I should have been. Even though I took somebody else's place in these Games.

"Oh yeah? I bet I can run it faster than you." I'm interrupted by Storm and Omega challenging each other, and apparently the others are encouraging it. Just showing off. There's no point, apart from to intimidate the other tributes, and we can't guess their speed. We'd be better off trying to intimidate them with weapons.

"You think? Why don't we try it after lunch?" Storm asks.

"Sure, if you think you have a chance." Omega replies.

"You're pretty confident, Omega."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Mason laughs, obviously this is all a joke to him. He probably expects it'll be an easy win for him. Probably thinks he's going to be the Victor.

"Mind if I join in?" He asks.

"Course not." Replies Storm. She's definitely gotten more friendly with the others over the past day and a half. Klymene has obviously made friends with everyone as well. And much as I like Klymene, I don't think it would go well for me if they decided they want me gone. District loyalty only goes so far. Omega seems alright, but I don't know how I feel about Mason. He's dangerous. I'll need to make sure I get rid of him quickly.

"Alright, you two, calm down. We get it, you're both fast. Now eat." Klymene says, obviously trying to calm down the two, and my mind falls back to the previous thought: who would Storm ally with? I think I can guess what the answer is now.

District Two.

Damn it.

Cassandra Noman, 15

District Eight Female

"So you're saying you've lost all four of them?" Chip asks. The look on his face is horrified, and I have to say that's how I feel. I was expecting bad, but this...

This is worse than what should ever happen to anyone. We've all lost someone, of course, but all of his siblings? The odds are definitely not in his family's favour. Poor kid.

"Chip, there's no need to say it like that." Cypress says.

"I'm sorry."

"Honestly, it's fine." Cypress tells him, and then goes back to eating his lunch.

"Why did you tell us that Cypress? You didn't have to." Asks Eryn. He stops eating and sits in silence for a minute. None of us say anything, instead waiting for his response.

"Why do you ask?"

"I-" Eryn stops for a minute. "I wouldn't have told you about-" Again, she pauses. No one tries to make her continue, and she acts like she didn't say anything. We wait, and after she continues eating, so do the rest of us. The conversation seems to be over now, and no one wants to start another, so all I can hear is the clinking of cutlery and the large amounts of noise coming from the careers' table. They're loud, rowdy and annoying, and I wish they would just shut up.

Of course, they don't. They either don't know or don't care about the rest of us, but my bet's on the second option.

"So..." I ask, "You think they know how stupid they're being?" I tilt my head in the direction of the careers.

Cypress moves his head sharply, staring at the careers with unrivalled hatred. "Of course they do. They think they're so perfect and brilliant. They think we're worth nothing."

"I agree. They could at least acknowledge us." Says Chip. I'm not sure if I want to be acknowledged by the careers. It's probably dangerous for them to care about us.

That's what Sash told us after the chariot rides: don't get noticed by the careers. The more of a threat you are, the more they want to kill you. Or the more stupid you look, the more likely they are to think of you as an easy target. I still wonder how Nylon is now. They brought him back in just before lunch, but he doesn't seem to be doing very well. But there's nothing I can do now.

I get what Chip means, though. I wish they wouldn't act like they're the only ones that matter, even if they are probably ten times more likely to win than the rest of us. And at the same time, I want them to be even more obnoxious than they already are, so I can continue to hate them for ruining my family.

"Even if they did, it would just be to mock us anyway." Says Eryn. All of us agree, and go back to eating. After a few minutes, I've finished eating, and I notice Rosa staring at someone limping towards us.

Nylon Wishart.

My District partner, who declined Cypress's invite to join the alliance.

What the hell is he doing here?

Cypress and Eryn have noticed too, now, I think, and soon Chip has seen him too. We've all stopped eating.

"Hey." Nylon says.

"Hey." Replies Cypress.

"You said you were looking for people." He says. When no one replies, he adds. "For your alliance."

"Yes."

"Can I join you?" He asks.

Is he serious? Honestly.

"Why didn't you join us when I asked you before?" Asks Cypress.

"I wanted to see my options." Says Nylon.

"Your options?" Cypress replies.

"Yes."

Cypress pauses. "Let me ask everyone else." Cypress turns to us, leaving Nylon standing awkwardly.

"I think we should let him join us." Says Eryn. "He seems alright. Just inexperienced."

Rosa nods, agreeing with her. So that's two votes out of five for letting Nylon join us.

"He seems like he'd betray us if he thinks it would help him." Chip says.

"This is the Hunger Games, Chip." Eryn replies. "And he's hurt his leg. You really think he'll be a problem?"

"Fine, whatever. Do whatever. What do you think, Cassie? He's your District partner." Chip shoots back. It's out of character for him. Normally he seems nice, tolerant. But not right now. I think Nylon showing up, leg damaged, asking to be part of our alliance, has rubbed him the wrong way.

"He's a good kid. He doesn't seem to know stuff that he should know about the Games. Give him a chance." I tell them. "So three of us want to let him in. That means he's in, right?" Cypress nods. "Just out of interest, would you have let him in?"

"Yes." Cypress replies. "I wouldn't turn him away." He turns back to Nylon. "You're in."

Nylon nods his head once, and then goes to sit down next to Cypress. He doesn't look at all uncomfortable around us, even those who aren't from his District. He's definitely missing some of the information he should have. Like how to act around people who could be killing him in a week. But he's part of our alliance now, which means that we officially have six members now.

The same number as the careers.

Which means half of the tributes in the arena this year are in a large alliance. Interesting. This is not a normal occurrence.

But this is not a normal Hunger Games.

Colby Pitt, 18

District Twelve Male

There are too many alliances this year. Sure they'll tear each other apart after a while, but from what I can see there are four of us going by ourselves. The girl from Seven and the girl from Five. The boy from One.

And me.

There's a couple of District pairs, and two pairs from different Districts. Then there's the careers, and finally another six person alliance, which appears to be held together by Cypress, the boy from Seven. So he's the one I have to get rid of. Then the alliance might fall apart. But the careers have to be a priority, and that alliance probably has the best chance of getting rid of any of them.

I focus back on the spear in my hands, which I've been training with all day. I've definitely gotten better, but at the moment, I'm not where I want - no, where I need to be.

Maybe I should try throwing it again. See if something changes this time. I grip the spear, and throw it towards the target, where it lands awkwardly in the upper arm.

I'm not killing anyone with that, am I?

I try again and again, each time hitting the target, but without much success consistently hitting somewhere that would kill a real human opponent. Somewhere in the back of my mind, something is telling me that it's okay because I have all of tomorrow, but the private sessions are tomorrow, so I'll only have the morning anyway. I think. I don't know how long the sessions take, so I could have more time. Or less time depending on how things work out. I need to focus in this.

I pick up another spear, and throw it at the target again, this time hitting it in the abdomen. Which is good, apart from the fact that I can't do it consistently.

Again.

I throw the spear, and this time it hits the target in the shoulder.

Try again, Colby.

I pick up another spear and hurl it at the target. It misses.

Your father would want you to try again, Colby.

This time, when I throw the spear, it hits the shoulder again.

At least I hit the target.

I try again, and although inconsistent, I do seem to be improving. The head trainer yells out that there are five minutes left of the training day. I pick up the spear, ready to throw it, but when I do, it clatters to the floor.

So much for improving.

At this point I'm tired of trying, even if I need to. I have tomorrow anyway. And maybe I can get the Capitolites to like me at the interview. It'll be hard though.

As we head back up to our floor, it's awkwardly silent. There's nothing for me to say, and of course Rosa says nothing. When we get back to our floor, I head back to my room and lock the door. I don't want to talk to Selene, or either of the Stylists, who will go on about how I should be honoured to be in the bloody Capitol in the first place. When I don't want to be here. At all.

Instead, I watch the streets of the Capitol through the window. The bright, overpowering shades of green and orange and pink are horrible and unnecessary. But the sky is pretty. I think I heard Selene mention a balcony. I could go looking for it, I suppose. There must be a better view of the sky from up there.

But right now I don't want to move from my seat at the window, even if all I can see are people I hate, even though I don't know them at all. Isn't their indifference to my suffering enough of a reason, when they live happy lives, never needing to worry about anything. Isn't the death of my brother, the deaths of my parents worth some attention?

Apparently not, when they continue on with their Hunger Games and their orders to mine dangerous areas. Who cares if one poor kid from District Twelve lost his family, if it means they can continue living their shallow, privileged lives? Not the Capitol, that's for sure.

Someone's yelling for me to come and eat dinner. I think it's Selene. I go, but reluctantly, and when I arrive I sit down without looking at her. Instead, I sit and stare at the table, until I'm brought food by one of the avoxes. When I found out about the avoxes, I was horrified. Apparently the Hunger Games aren't enough for them, they have to cut out people's tongues. I wonder how Rosa feels about it.

Poor girl.

I didn't want to abandon her yesterday morning, but I didn't have a choice really. She would only hold me back. And she has an alliance now, with Cypress. I think I've seen her around the District, but she's merchant and I'm from the seam, so I never really cared. And she's the mayor's daughter, I'm sure of it now. The more I look at her, the more I see the mayor's face.

It's slightly disturbing. But I don't need to think about that now. Instead, I go back to eating the Capitol food. It's delicious, but I can't help but wonder how many people suffered so that I could eat it.

Well, here we are after the second day of training. It's shorter than previous chapters, but due to events IRL I haven't been able to write as much as I'd like. But here we are with four more tributes: Becca, Arroyo, Cassie and Colby. The next chapter should be out on the 25th of March, and I'll be back then. Goodbye!