Farlon Harlon, D9
It helps to have contacts. I didn't take anything at the Bloodbath because I didn't need anything at the Bloodbath. Seven kids died right there, bringing us a third of the way to the end. The Bloodbath had been the most dangerous part. A good half of your chances were based on luck. If I'd been by Nero or Eltara, I would have been dead meat. Torchy and Beth both thought they were hot stuff, but I didn't have any trouble with them.
The twist was announced a week before the Reaping. People needed enough time to decide who to vote for and all that. For my people, it meant time to prepare. Any of my friend group could have gotten picked, even if I had the biggest target. We called in a lot of favors all at once. Not to rig the votes- we didn't have that kind of power. It was more of calling in old debts, and getting rough faster if people didn't respond. We gathered the money together with the intent of using it on whoever got picked. Some of us were worried about getting betrayed, but that wasn't a problem for me. For all the enemies I had, I also had a few friends. Some of my buddies actually liked me, and others didn't want to incur retaliation.
My first sponsor gift was a knife- a switchblade, to be precise. It was the kind we were used to back in Nine. Some of the Gamemakers thought I was trained, but we didn't need training. I suppose I was trained in a way, but only in thing I had to know in order to survive. I'd been living the Games long before I got Reaped. We knew that the best strategy for a knife fight was not to have one, and if that didn't work, we knew how to win. The others also kept me supplied with the food I'd requested when we laid out our plans. I received two bread rolls per day, along with one bottle of water and a single vitamin tablet. If prices were the same as most years, I would be supplied for two weeks and be functional for three.
Last time we met, Emmalie tried to weasel her way into my operation. She wasn't as welcoming this time. She had a lot of things from the Bloodbath, but her only weapon was a multitool. All the same, it took a long time to do her in. Close-range fights are messy, defensive things. At the end, she tried to spoil it for me by screaming to attract attention as she lay dying. I took her things and ran.
Once I had Emmalie's food, my ideal plan was to wait for the other Tributes to starve. Of course it might not work on the Careers, but it had happened before. Two of them went down in the 23rd Games of simple hypothermia. My views on their survival skills proved right after a fire swept through the Arena and a single cannon sounded. That night, Eltara was in the sky. The other Careers followed sporadically over the next week. Nero and Frankie died the same day, and the interval between their cannons suggested mutual kills.
The firebug from Eight was the last one to go. It was common knowledge that the Gamemakers liked speedy climaxes after long periods of waiting, and we were as eager as they were. Neither of us wanted to spend another night with the dogs and leave the Victor up to chance. We both used short-range weapons, so we actively and conspicuously sought each other out. We met at sundown, but the sunset dragged on as we approached each other from afar. For a moment, I wondered whether it was an artificial sun or whether they just stopped the sky.
Torchy had the longer reach, even with my knife. When he threw the first punch, I dove underneath it and stuck my knife into his leg. When he lifted the other to kick me, I squirmed between and behind him, staying out of range of his long arms. I stuck the knife once into his back, all the way to the hilt, and then jumped backwards as he turned. Then I beat a steady retreat, dodging his punches as he came at me, oozing blood. In time, his leg buckled and his breathing became labored.
After I knew he was down, I risked another strike. Then I waited, taking a few steps back as he crawled toward me. I would have made it quicker, but I didn't want to risk it. On the street, you didn't put away your knife until you saw a death certificate.