Anthony Morgan, District Four male (18)

A lot of people were probably laughing at me. A Career, learning about death? Wasn't that what we planned all our lives for? I guess no one really knows it's going to be different when it happens to them until it does.

I didn't even know how to make sense of it. There was so much to work through. Nero was gone. He was one of us. He was a Career. Sure, Ceto died in the Bloodbath, but Ceto had never connected to any of us. She had her own agenda and never tried to be part of the alliance. Nero was one of the team. Losing him was like losing Nailah or Allure, even if Allure could be a bit extra sometimes. I would lose them too eventually... or they would lose me. The best-case scenario at the end of this Games was that one of our alliance was its sole survivor.

People always talk about the stages of grief. I didn't know where guilt fit in there. There was nothing I could have done to help Nero but I still wished I'd tried. No one who hadn't gone through it could know what it was like to look your friend in the eye and turn your back on him. Maybe Nero and I only knew each other a few weeks but we'd still started a friendship. And even if you'd never met a guy, even if you hated him, you still wouldn't want him to get eaten by a snake. I couldn't sleep the night after it happened. I wondered how long it took, and how long he was alive for, and what it was like the moment after I ran and he knew he was going to die alone. Somewhere out there there was a snake that still had Nero inside it. In the fitful moments I slept I dreamed about what his body would look like as more and more time passed. There was a snake out there with a lump in its belly. Eventually it would be sooth again.

It really made me reexamine the choices that got me here. Looking back I'd always been trying to rationalize it. I'd known that it wasn't right to kill people. I joined the Academy because it was the thing cool kids did. When I got picked I just thought about what a compliment it was and then if I backed out I'd be a coward. I told myself it was to make a better life for my mother but that wasn't even true. She was an Avox and always would be. Even if I won the Games the most I could hope for was her not getting executed when they found out about her. Really I'd done all this for nothing.

There was nothing for me here. I'd gotten myself into this and it was too late to fix. People as strong as Nero died in the Games and that meant I could too. To even have a chance of winning I'd have to keep killing people when I knew it was wrong. Probably it meant someone else would kill me eventually. I couldn't even blame them.


Porsche Romeo, District Six female (17)

I stood below a banana tree with my arm up as Martin carefully inched out on a branch to knock loose a cluster of fruit. I wasn't underneath the cluster trying to catch it, since I'd probably get knocked flat if twenty bananas fell on my head. I was just reflexively holding my arms up like a dumb scarecrow.

"Careful," I called up, acting out the cliché from every movie ever. Of course Martin was going to be careful. It wasn't like he wanted to tumble out of a tree to his death. During all this, Preji was ten feet away winging rocks at a lime tree. Scurvy is no joke, kids.

"Yeah, of course I'm gonna be careful," he said. He nudged the bananas, which swayed. He shoved harder and they dislodged and fell. I stepped out of the way, even though they weren't going to hit me, and they plopped onto the ground, one of them bursting.

As I bent over to pick up the bunch of bananas, another one hit the back of my head. Ow, Martin! You hit me with that one! I turned around to tell at him. He was pulling his finger across his throat. I hit the deck.


Martin Jackman, District Seven male (15)

If I hadn't been up so high in the tree all three of us would have died. The Careers didn't give themselves away. The only reason I saw light glittering off Nailah's bow was that she didn't think to cover it from above. Even then it was just a fluke. Just one of those lucky moments that means life or death for a Tribute.

Nailah was too close. She would hear if I called a warning to my allies. I thought quick and grabbed an underripe banana. I threw it at Porsche's head, praying she wouldn't yelp. It was her lucky day, too- she turned around with her mouth open to yell at me and I frantically swiped my finger across my throat. She got the universal message and threw herself down without a word, wriggling into a tangle of tall grass at the base of the banana tree.

Preji, I thought. We both looked at our remaining ally, who was still trying to shake some limes loose. The banana branches hid me from Nailah and I could only hope she wouldn't look too close and see Porsche in the grass, but Preji was completely exposed. Porsche looked up at me and I pointed out the direction Nailah was coming from. Porsche tried to silently signal Preji with one hand exposed, but he had his back to her.

My heart sank as I saw Nailah hear the noise of the rattling lime tree and change direction. I plucked another banana and threw it near Preji's feet, but he didn't notice. Please, Preji, this one time don't get mad. I picked up another banana and threw it at his back.

"Hey!"


Preji Soultier, District Three male (17)

I jumped up to grab an overhead branch, just barely snagging it between my fingers. I shook it and could see the limes were about to come loose. If I just angled it a little different we'd have some really sour but still edible food.

Something hit me in the back. "Hey!" I said as I turned around to tell Martin to aim more carefully. But I couldn't even see him. And Porsche was gone, too. Did they run out on me? No, Porsche can't run at all.

I was still trying to figure it out when the arrow hit me. It was probably covered in some horrible poison that would make me sprout blisters and turn green. But for once I didn't complain, since it went through my head and killed me before any poison could.


Porsche Romeo, District Six female (17)

There was no warning. Preji was glaring up at Martin and then there was an arrowhead sticking out from his eye. He fell like a dropped doll. I lay in the tall grass with my hand over my mouth, pressed against the tree and wishing I was a statue.

Nailah appeared behind him. She walked toward me and I started to shake. She'd seen me. I couldn't run. I couldn't beat her but I was still going to fight.

Nailah walked over to the pile of bananas between me and Preji. I watched from five feet away, sick with nervous energy, as she stopped and bent over it. She took a vial out of her pocket and poured out some thick liquid onto each banana. She grabbed a leaf from the life tree and smeared it in, careful not to get any on her hands. She stood up and I waited for her to look over in my direction. She took a look around and walked away.


Nailah Nebit, District Two female (18)

Preji must have sensed me somehow. What kind of idiot heard someone in the Arena and called out to them? Oh well, it made life easier for me.

I noticed a pile of bananas lying near Preji's body. I thought about taking them but then had a better idea. The Careers had plenty of food. A passing outlier, though, would snatch up the bananas in a heartbeat. Out of all the supplies at the Arena there had been a nice arrangement of poisons. Most worked by blood contact or ingestion but a couple of them were topical- perfect for delayed traps. I took a vial from my pocket and carefully smeared the poison on each banana. Anyone who picked them up was in for a nasty surprise. I took another look around and set off. No use hoping for more targets. A little prick like Preji wouldn't have any allies.


17th place: Preji Soultier- shot by Nailah

So many little things came together in this scenario. Martin being in the tree so he had a longer field of vision and saw Nailah. Porsche being right under the tree so she could immediately see Martin signaling. Preji being a bit farther away so the branches hid Martin. The Rejects allying after the Bloodbath so Nailah didn't know and look for Porsche. Preji being short-tempered and getting annoyed when he thought Martin clumsily hit him. Preji's personality played a part in his death but it wasn't the easy way out of killing him by him being a jerk. It was just an innocent reaction in a very not-innocent environment. I kept Preji through the Bloodbath because it would be easy to kill him but there was no reason the Careers would target him. Instead he got away and it was a routine hunt that did him in, like so many other Tributes. Preji was kind of nasty but let's face it, some people are like that. Most people shy away from ugly flaws since they want their Tributes to win, so thanks Sputnik-Holly for taking one for the team.

Timeline: Third day. No changes in location so I won't put up the whole chart.