Dionysus Bacchus, District One male (18)

The air around me grew wet as I dragged Gigi down a path into what became something of a rainforest. The area around the Bloodbath was warm and somewhat humid but this new area was clearly meant to be a stereotypical rainforest. Something about it reminded me of the one I'd read about way back in middle school. The Azamon? No, the Amazon. I always got that one wrong.

Once I was sure we were a safe distance away, I let go of Gigi. She tripped at the sudden lack of support and landed on her butt, scuttling away and throwing her hands over her face.

"Nononononono-" she pleaded, tears- ewww and snot- streaking her face.

"You're my ally now, okay?!" I blurted. No, be more assertive. "You're my ally now!"

Gigi gaped up at me, trembling like a baby deer. "W-what?" she asked.

"You're my ally now. We're partners," I repeated.

"What? W-why?" Gigi stuttered. Her arms were still up but they no longer shielded her face.

"I'm ditching the Careers. I want to try something else," I said.

"But why would you-"

"They didn't want me, okay?!" Gigi flinched at my sudden yell and I looked around sheepishly to see if any Careers had heard my outburst. I continued as she sat in stunned flabbergasted silence.

"They thought I was a drunk. Which I am, but not anymore. I know they were gonna come for me after the Bloodbath so I made up my mind to get out. When Ceto went for you I saw my shot to get rid of her and find an ally to watch my back so here we are." It came out all in one rush, me confessing my harebrained scheme to a terrified girl from Five. It sounded even crazier when I repeated it in my head.

"For how long?" Gigi managed. She slowly got to her feet, watching in case I made any sudden moves. Not that there was much she could do if I did...

"At least until the Careers are gone, I guess," I said. I hadn't really thought that far ahead. Truth be told I'd been half-sure this would all blow up in my face and I'd die in the Bloodbath.

"Then what?" Gigi asked.

"I mean, I guess I'll kill you. This is the Hunger Games. Sorry," I said.

"But it would be kinda bad if I died before that? Like, then maybe the Careers would kill you while you were sleeping?" Gigi was already wiping her face off and straightening herself out. I was impressed to see her still-pink eyes were already starting to flicker with what I guessed were plans and negotiations to keep herself alive.

"Not too bad but I kept you this far so I guess it's clear I do want you a little," I said. "Not like that, but you know. I'm not gross."

"No, you seem like a nice guy," Gigi said with a straight face, which was also impressive. She wasn't going for the suck-up angle but seemed to be settling into a mild, unassuming persona to just keep her head down and stay on my good side. Smart. "So you got a plan for the rest of the Games?"

I thought back to what Enigma had told me about survival. "Let's try to find some water. Then somewhere to hide. Then food," I said. I'd grabbed a backpack before I killed Ceto and it probably had some good stuff in it. With all the supplies around in the Arena it would probably turn out to be a year where even Careers could easily survive outside the Cornucopia.

Gigi looked up and scanned the treetops around us. "You think bananas grow here?" she asked.

"I think it's the Amazon. Monkeys live in the Amazon. Monkeys eat bananas," I offered.

"Sounds reasonable to me."


Oberon Murdoch, District Nine male (17)

It was all going to be luck. All my preparation and most of the Games was going to come down to luck. I knew that as soon as I heard that Kjole was dead. Kjole was the strongest of our alliance and stronger than not a few of the Careers. None of that mattered when a Career had a weapon that could kill you when you were fifty feet away. Being strong didn't save Kjole. It didn't save Des. It didn't save Bess. All that mattered was where you were standing when a Career fired a projectile.

"It doesn't seem real," RJ said as we kept up a fast walking pace away from the Cornucopia. We'd already passed through a doorway and come out into a separate room of different plants. The ceiling in the room was so high I could barely make out the ribbing between the panels. It wasn't as warm, though it was still warmer than it would have been back in Nine. There was more open space, which made me feel uncomfortably exposed, but there were scattered rocks and trees that could provide us some cover. And best of all, there was a clean-looking little stream running between the rocks.

"Yeah. I thought she'd be at least one of the last three," I said. I hadn't been allowing myself to consider the possibility of my own death, but if I had, I would have thought Kjole would win.

"That too, but I meant all of it," RJ said. "The Games. The Bloodbath. That there are really kids just like us who came here and actively kill people."

"It's all weird, isn't it," I agreed. It was like an out-of-body experience. I was in the Arena. I was in this place. It just didn't seem real. I'd never seen anything like the curved stones or the tiny trees or the sand pits with their etched lines. I'd never expected to see anything like it in my life. It was just not real.

And what was happening wasn't real either. Six people had just died, judging by the cannons that had gone off not long ago- cannons that meant the Careers were done at the Bloodbath and would now be spreading out to hunt. That was another surreal truth. There were people hunting us. Right at this moment there were people trying to find us so they could kill us. I'd had a hard life. I knew there were bad things in the world. It was just mindblowing how far down they went, right into the heart of our culture.


Preji Soultier, District Three male (17)

The bottle I'd gotten from the Cornucopia was empty. I felt like it wouldn't have killed them to fill the bottle. But it was fine, I could find some water myself. At least there were lots of fruit trees around. I saw some coconuts far up in the branches, though it would be difficult to get that high. Nothing in life could come easy.

I finally smiled a little when I saw a little pond encircled by decorative stones. There was a fountain in the middle that bubbled the water up. I thought I read somewhere that the more water moved the cleaner it was, so that was probably a good sign. I stepped out of the greenery to fill my bottle just as two people stepped out of the greenery on the other side.

"Hell in a handbasket!" And that was how I knew it was Porsche.

"Oh, it's just Preji," Martin said beside her.

"Oh, it's just Martin," I jeered back. Naturally those two would end up together. It wasn't like anyone else would ally with them.

"You two setting up here?" I asked.

"Depends. Are you?" Porsche asked.

"Like I'd want to share a room with you two," I said. The last thing I needed was a cripple and a fake cripple.

"What makes you think we'd want to share a room with you?" Porsche shot back.

"We just gonna keep doing this back and forth?" Martin broke in.

"I'm just here for some water. Don't give me any trouble, all right?" I asked as I abruptly bent to fill my bottle.

"Good god, were you born on the wrong side of the bed?" Porsche asked.

"What's your problem? What, I have a lot to be happy about in a deathmatch?" I asked. I couldn't believe how rude and blunt some people could be.

"And life's just a barrel of monkeys for me when I only have one and a half legs?" Porsche shot back. "And yet I don't walk around constantly looking like I just ate a bee."

"My life's pretty easy," Martin muttered as he stood to the side.

"I'm gonna get some water too unless it inconveniences Your Majesty," Porsche said. She bent awkwardly to scoop some water into her canteen.

"We're probably gonna stay around here, since there's lots of food," Martin said.

I sighed. "I guess there's enough room for both of us."

Martin glanced at Porsche and got a mischievous grin. "If we're both gonna stick around, why don't you come stay with us? Safety in numbers and all."

"Me? Ally with you?" I asked. I was insulted at the idea but I did have to admit it would be safer to sleep at night with three people keeping watch.

"Yeah," Martin said. "It's not like anyone else is going to ally with you."


Since the Como gardens have a few different rooms, here's a lowdown of who's where so far:

Careers: Around the Cornucopia (mostly ferns and trees)

Oberon and RJ: Japanese gardens

Dionysus and Gigi: Rainforest garden

The Rejects (Martin, Porsche and Preji): The North garden, which has a lot of fruit trees.

All the rooms are a lot bigger than in real life and also some of these rooms are outside in real life.