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Crescendo


Crescendo: A gradual, steady increase in loudness or force.


Nirel Jackson, 17
District Eleven

Nirel really, really didn't want to get up. Getting up in the morning was always difficult, but this … this was worse. This could very well be the last time he ever slept in a bed, and it was just so damn soft. So warm. So comforting. Everything that his thoughts at the moment weren't. He could die in an hour or two, and he didn't want to. He wanted to stay here forever.

"Of course he can join us." Rose's voice from the other room finally roused him from his thoughts. He groaned softly as he sat up. Had she found herself another ally? Wasn't their group big enough already? His curiosity finally winning out over his desire to stay somewhere nice and warm, Nirel made his way out to join Rose and their mentor Aria, only to find Lucinda, Dario, Aloe, and Percy also piled into the room.

Percy smiled shyly. "Thanks. It feels good – being part of a group."

It won't when they start dying in front of you. Nirel kept the thought to himself as he helped himself to a generous portion of breakfast. The boy would probably regret his decision soon enough, but that wasn't Nirel's problem. Once the Games started, he and Baoba intended to get as far away from the other tributes as possible, as quickly as they could. With any luck, he wouldn't see Rose again for quite a while, if ever.

Not that there was anything wrong with her – or any of the others. She was quite a nice little kid. Which was why, all things being equal, he hoped he wouldn't run into her in the Games. He didn't want to have to kill her.

Nirel forced down as much breakfast as he could. It would have to last him a while, but he also didn't want to throw up right at the start, and his stomach was already churning a little from nervousness. Aria clapped him on the shoulder as he tucked the pillowcase corner he'd claimed as a district token into his pocket. "Ready?"

No. No, he wasn't ready. He would never be ready for this. But he didn't have a choice anymore, and it wasn't really a question. "Yeah," he muttered as Aria led them out the door and down the hall to the elevator. The elevator took them to the roof, where a hovercraft was waiting. The hovercraft that would take them to the arena.

One by one, the tributes filed in. Nirel caught Baoba's eye and nodded. Stick to the plan. Once they were in the arena, he would have sixty seconds to figure out where Baoba was, and to agree which way they should go. They'd both agreed not to rush into the bloodbath. If there was something close by, maybe they could grab that, but there was no point in rushing into the fighting right away. There would be plenty of time for that later.


Octavia Branshaw, 18
District Two

Octavia flashed Lyric one last wink just before the hovercraft door closed, then took a seat beside Quintus, who flinched a little as one of the attendants inserted their tracker. Octavia nodded crisply as the needle entered her arm. "What is that?" the girl from Nine asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

"Nothing to be worried about," her district partner assured her. "It's just so they can keep track of where we are."

"They used to use armbands," the boy from Seven said matter-of-factly, "but they had to come up with something else when one of the tributes in the Eleventh Games grew so thin from hunger that he managed to slip it off."

Octavia cocked her head. She hadn't known that. "What happened to him?" she asked conversationally.

The boy from Seven nearly jumped out of his seat in surprise, but recovered quickly. "He died of dehydration less than a day later. He was still in sight of the cameras and wasn't moving very quickly, so they never lost track of him."

"But if someone did manage to get their tracker out..." the girl from Nine started.

Her district partner shook his head. "You'd bleed to death from blood loss unless you knew exactly what you were doing. They put it in pretty deep. Besides, there are enough cameras, and there's a force field around the borders. You're not going to be able to disappear."

Interesting. So the boy was worried about his district partner trying to escape. Octavia settled into her seat as the hovercraft took off. The ride was short – shorter than she'd expected. By the time the doors opened, there was nothing to see. They were already underground – below the arena, whatever it was.

Their stylists met them at the hovercraft door, and she followed hers to a small room where her arena outfit was waiting for her. Octavia raised an eyebrow. There was a bright tie-dyed, long-sleeved shirt with a white "2" on the front, a pair of light blue jeans, white socks, and grey sneakers. Okay. Probably nothing too hot or too cold, then. No jacket, but long sleeves. There was also a black cap with a brim in the front. Probably sunny, and out in the open.

Octavia got dressed quickly. No point in spending too much time guessing; she would find out soon enough anyway. Her stylist offered her a hair tie but she shook her head and produced the one she'd brought for a district token – a simple red hair tie that she'd worn on her first day of training all those years ago.

It seemed like ages ago. It seemed like yesterday. Everything she'd ever done had led her to this moment, to this arena. Octavia took a deep breath as a voice directed the tributes to their platforms. This was it. This was really it. In a few moments, the Games would start. The fighting, the killing, the dying – it was about to be real.

Octavia grinned as she stepped onto her platform. Here we go.


Ebony Timberough, 18
District Seven

Ebony could see the sun before anything else, the morning light shining bright and clear. Slowly, the platform rose higher and higher, and she could see concrete. Streets. Buildings. Lamp posts. The cornucopia lay in front of her, but right now, she was more interested in finding her allies. To her left was the younger tribute from Two – one of the Careers, but one of the younger ones. Ebony breathed a sigh of relief as she looked to her right. Whisper was two places to her right, and Arti two places to his right. The girls from Five and Six were between them, but they seemed more interested in figuring out which direction they were headed than attacking anyone else. The girl from Six tucked something that looked like a bottle cap into her pocket and nodded emphatically. Apparently, they'd decided on a plan.

Then Ebony glanced behind her. Shit. It was definitely going to be hard to run that way. Stairs climbed up behind them, forming a semicircle around half of the tributes. An amphitheater. They could try running up the stairs – there were some aisles between the seats – but there was no telling how far of a drop was on the other side, or what there might be to land in.

No. No, better not. Okay. Different plan. Ebony met Arti's gaze, and saw that she was pointing off to the left. She wanted to run in Ebony's direction, rather than her own – probably because of the pair of Careers – the girls from One and Two – close by on her side. Ebony nodded her understanding, and Whisper seemed to agree.

The clock was already counting down. Fifty-five. Fifty-four. Fifty-three. She could see some sort of fountain on the other side of the cornucopia, and streets heading off in different directions. Lots of open room to run. Lots of different buildings to hide in. With a bit of luck, as long as they got away from the initial fighting, they could probably avoid the other tributes for a while.

One thing at a time. First, they had to get away. Left. They were going to run left. After the younger Career on her left was the boy from Five, who seemed to be communicating something to the girl from Eight two places away. Between them, the boy from Eleven looked ready to run, motioning to his ally over by Arti that they should head in his direction. Apparently they'd had the same idea as Arti – get away from the Careers, and then worry about the rest.

Past the edge of the amphitheater semicircle on her left was the boy from Nine, followed by two Careers. Shit. The boys from Four and Twelve were right next to each other. But maybe she would have enough time to get past them while they ran to get some weapons. They would have to get weapons first, wouldn't they? Ebony certainly hoped so. That would probably give her enough time…


Corin Palmer, 14
District Four

There was something almost reassuring about how the cornucopia was arranged. With so many things this year not quite going as expected – the reaping, the Career pack, some of the odd training scores – it was nice to see a typical cornucopia, stocked high with weapons, with larger bags in the center and some smaller packs and weapons spread along the edges. A dagger was the closest thing to her; she could probably reach it before anyone tried to attack her.

No, that wasn't quite right. People weren't going to be trying to attack her. She was a Career. Well, at least she was supposed to be. She was trying to be. And while Sebastian was on the other side of the cornucopia, Opal was only two places to Corin's left, and Octavia was right beside Opal. Between Corin and Opal, the boy from Seven was clutching a book nervously, maybe wondering whether they would attack him or whether they would want to go for the weapons first.

Corin glanced at Octavia, who nodded towards the weapons. Whether she meant that to mean that she intended to grab a weapon first, as well, or that Corin might as well grab something because she could handle the boy from Seven on her own, Corin wasn't sure. Maybe it didn't matter. Octavia could take care of herself, and for now, Corin was more than happy to let her call the shots.

Besides, the boy looked so scared…

Stop it. She couldn't afford to think about that. Not when her own life was on the line. Of course the boy was scared. They all were. Or at least, she certainly was.

Thirty-six. Thirty-five. Thirty-four.

Breathe.

Just breathe.

Finally, Corin caught Sebastian's gaze from across the cornucopia. He gave her a little thumbs-up and a big grin, then turned and flashed a smile at Lark. Corin could tell he'd said something, but couldn't tell what. Lark nodded in agreement, but he looked nervous.

Of course he was nervous.

He would be stupid not to be.

Focus.

To her right, the girl from Twelve was rubbing her hands together, flexing her fingers, maybe preparing to run and grab something. Corin hoped she wouldn't be reckless enough to go for the dagger. Beside her was the boy from Three, and then the boy from Eight. Both of them looked ready to run. As far as she remembered, they weren't working with anyone, so running was probably the best option for them.

She couldn't help wondering if maybe it was the best option for her, too. She'd been doing a good job of pretending, but she wasn't a Career. Not really. She didn't want to fight any of these people. She didn't want to kill the kids next to her. She didn't want to be here at all.

But she didn't have a choice.

Except she did. She could stay and fight like a Career, or she could run. It would be easy to run. None of the others would probably think to chase her. She could probably get away. But then what? If she didn't have her allies…


Squirrel Tail, 18
District Nine

Why did Elemeno have to be all the way over there? Malachi was only four places to her left, but Elemeno was so far away. Or maybe it just seemed a lot farther. It was only seven places, but he was surrounded by Careers. Squirrel glanced over at Malachi, hoping for some hint at what he was planning to do, but his face was unreadable. Maybe he hadn't decided yet. Maybe he was hoping she would make the decision for him.

Squirrel squinted in the sunlight, her gaze darting frantically from the other tributes to the surrounding area and back again. The arena was … well, not what she had expected. From the fact that they'd been practicing fire-starting and plant and animal identification, she'd expected something a bit … wilder. This looked just like the concrete back in the districts.

And the sounds … the sounds were different, too. Something seemed to be rumbling in the distance. There was some sort of ringing. A few birds chirping cut through the man-made noises, but one of the sounds seemed to be coming from … underground. Or maybe it was just the surface playing tricks with her ears.

And there was water – the unmistakable sound of bubbling water behind her. But when she looked, there wasn't a river or even a stream. It was some sort of circular concrete … thing, with water coming out of it and flowing down the sides, only to collect at the bottom. A flock of grey birds surrounded it, cooing contentedly, completely oblivious to the twenty-four tributes preparing to fight. Or preparing to run.

"Squirrel." Malachi's voice brought her attention firmly back to the weapons and supplies laid out before them. "Get ready." The voice was still counting down. Twenty-five. Twenty-four. Twenty-three. Squirrel's whole body tensed. Malachi had told her several times not to step off the podium too early, or it would explode.

To her left, two of the younger tributes – the boy from Six and the girl from Eleven – were preparing to run. The girl from Eight returned a thumbs-up sign when they signaled behind them, maybe letting her know where they were planning to run. But none of them had succeeded in getting the attention of the girl from Twelve, who was staring hungrily at the pile of supplies in the middle.

And it was tempting – all that food, just sitting right there in a pile. Food, supplies, weapons. It would be good to be able to defend themselves, wouldn't it? She might have time to rush in and grab something before … what? Before the Careers attacked her? Three of the Careers were surrounding Elemeno, anyway. If they attacked him, would she have time to grab something and help? Would it do any good?

Squirrel swallowed hard as the voice kept counting. She wanted to help Elemeno, but if she wasn't going to get there in time anyway, wasn't she better off just running? Eventually, she would have to think about what would keep her alive. She'd known that all along, of course – ever since they'd told her this was really a fight to the death. She just hadn't thought she'd have to make the decision this soon.


Dario Baretti, 18
District Five

Dario couldn't help a smile as the clock continued to count down. He couldn't have asked for a better arena. The streets, the sounds, the smells – it was better than he'd dared to hope for. Pigeons lined all the rooftops – fat, slow birds that would probably be easy to catch. He was pretty sure he could hear a clock tower chiming in the distance – somewhere nice and high to get a view of the arena. There was even some sort of subway underground – a good place to hide, a good place for an ambush.

It was perfect.

Two spots to his left, Lucinda nodded her agreement. Maybe she was a bit younger, but she was ultimately a city kid, like him. She'd probably been expecting to have to rely on her younger allies from Eleven and Twelve for some of the more wilderness-related survival skills, but this … this was the sort of wilderness that suited them just fine.

Percy, as well, looked prepared, glancing around, taking everything in. He and Rose gestured behind them, and Lucinda gave them a thumbs-up before turning her attention to Aloe, who was directly across the cornucopia from Dario. He couldn't see her very well, but from Lucinda's expression, she wasn't exactly thinking about running.

"Get the other two out," Dario instructed. "I'll take care of Aloe."

Lucinda raised an eyebrow. "You mean it?"

"Yeah." Did he? Maybe. Maybe he did. He certainly could take care of Aloe, even if she rushed right into the fighting. As long as none of the Careers got to her before he did. And even if they did, unless they took her out instantly, he would be able to step in and help her.

He could.

But was he really going to? Did he really want to risk rushing into a fight for someone who was going to have to die anyway? Of course, he could always tell Lucinda later that he had tried to help her, but that he had been too late.

Fifteen. Fourteen. Thirteen.

Maybe he wouldn't have to. Maybe Aloe's nerves would get the better of her and she would just run. Maybe no one would think she was enough of a threat to bother with. Maybe the Careers would pick someone else to attack. Anything could happen. Everything could happen. Right now, there was nothing but possibilities, but in a few seconds…

In a few seconds, he would have to choose. Dario clenched his fists, ready to run. First things first. He had to run towards the cornucopia anyway – at least for a moment – because the other option was scaling the amphitheater steps behind him, and that seemed like a bad idea all around. So he would have a few seconds to figure out whether anyone really was coming after Aloe, whether she really was charging into the fight. Then he could make his choice.

Ten. Nine. Eight.


And that's it for the pre-Games. Next is the bloodbath, and the killing starts. Well, probably, at least. I took the simulator for a few test drives with a fake cast to make sure the scenarios I added work, and a deathless bloodbath does occasionally happen, so I can't technically promise deaths next chapter, but ... soon, at least.

The arena map and cornucopia layout are up on the website. Shout-out to sherazade96, who predicted a giant theater. There are theaters involved, as well as opera houses, museums, parks, restaurants, libraries - basically, a downtown theater/arts district. Subway entrances/exits will appear on the map once I have a better idea of where I'll need them in order to facilitate tributes running into each other.

The last few district tokens and alliance additions are up on the website, but those alliances are probably going to start shifting around next chapter anyway. Anything could happen, and I have no idea whether any of these tributes are actually going to do any of the things they were thinking about in this chapter or whether they're going to just abandon their allies and split. I don't know who's going to fight and who's going to run, and right now I have no idea who's going to die.

Time to go find out...