Huxley Grunge, 18

District 3 3rd Male

I'll admit that I'm a little intimidated by Oshea. Alliances gradually form throughout the first few hours, but nobody has the nerves to approach the muscled ex-career.

I head to the kitchen, where there are at least fifteen tributes crowded around the fridge pulling things out and shoving them into their mouths. I manage to grab a bottle of sweet-smelling pink liquid that tickles my throat. I'm not that hungry, so I leave the food for the other kids and return to the train car to talk to Oshea.

"What's up?" I ask.

Oshea turns slowly away from the window. "Not much. Just watching the, you know, marvelous scenery."

I laugh a little and nod my head. Nodding is cool, right? "Can I sit here?"

"Sure, dude. What are you drinking?"

I set the pink bottle down on the table and stare at it. "I honestly have no idea. It's so sugary it feels carbonated." I turn my eyes to the bowl of candy that sits in front of him. "What are those?"

Oshea picks up a candy and rolls it between his fingers. "These things? Apparently they make you spit in six different colors."

These Capitolites, I swear. "I'm Huxley, by the way. How close do you think we are to District 9?"

"We can't be far," Oshea says, looking back out the window. It's actually less than ten minutes when the train comes to a stop. When that happens, another boy sits down at the table. He takes be a little by surprise, and I think I scare him a little, but he rests his hands on the table and takes a deep breath. He's here to stay.

"I'm Bolt Reuben," he says.

"I'm Huxley Grunge," I say.

"I'm Oshea Taverns," Oshea says.

From what little I've seen of Bolt, he seems like a kind of ditz. I find him to be particularly bad at holding a conversation for very long. The three of us are sitting in silence when the District 9 tributes pour into the train car.

I recognize all of their faces from the list that the peacekeepers passed around a few hours ago. Abilene, Basil, Cabot, Danton, Lena, Florian, Ida, and Oswald immediately rush toward the kitchen. The other tributes wander in circles around the entrance car, already grouping off into alliances. I find myself particularly interested in a conversation between Bryony and Liose, a boy and girl with the same hair color.

"What happened to your arm?" Bryony asks.

"It was a tractor accident," Liose says. "The thing went out of control and I fell straight off. I couldn't get out of the way fast enough."

Bryony winces, twirling a finger through her hair. "I'm sorry."

Liose does a one-armed shrug. At some point, Bryony and Liose must notice us watching them, because they come over and sit with us, squeezing in to make room.

"That was a little rude," Bolt grunts. Oshea looks a little peeved as well.

Bryony extends her hand. "I'm Bryony Withers. And no, I am not related to Phoenix Withers."

"And I'm Liose," Liose says. "It's soil. But backward. My parents had a unique sense of humor."

"Had?" I ask. Then I remember the tractor accident. "Never mind."


Katya Audrin, 18

District 3 10th Female

I've been standing in the bathroom for at least ten minutes, standing completely still in front of the mirror. I can't let myself cry because that would smear my makeup. I can't even squeeze my eyes shut. It's literally all I can do to stand there and stare into my ugly reflection until somebody else knocks on the door.

"Um… are you almost done?" they ask.

"Yeah." I flush the toilet and wash my hands, then run out of the ornate bathroom. One of the girls from District 9, Gwenith, stands there, shaking back and forth like she really has to pee.

"What the hell took you so long?" a nearby girl asks. "Gwenith almost pissed her pants."

What's her name? Milly Lockwood, I remember. She was one of the first girls chosen, with only Cordaire and Momenta coming before her.

"I… um… ate some weird stuff before the reaping."

Milly raises her eyes. "Oh really. Come sit down."

I realize Milly is sitting with someone else: the bald girl named Fusae. Even she's kind of pretty, with light blue eyes and naturally rosy cheeks.

I figure I should introduce myself. "I'm Katya. And I'm 18 years old."

Fusae wrinkles her mouth. "And where did you get all of that makeup?"

The real answer brings me only shame. I bought this makeup instead of food for my family. But I tell some lie about finding it in a drawer that was bolted shut. I shrug, saying I actually have no idea how it got there.

"Maybe it's haunted!" Milly says. "That's why it was locked away."

I decide to laugh things off. "Well, if it's haunted, I'm shit outta luck."

Gwenith flushes the toilet and steps out of the bathroom, sighing with relief. She sees me, and her eyes brighten. "Looks like someone's joined the group chat."

"Yeah. I'm Katya."

"I'm Gwenith," Gwenith says.

Milly slams her hand on the table, using a fake accent. "Milly Lockwood."

"Fusae Soccorso."

"How do you even spell that?"

"Two Cs, one R, one S."

"Wow, your name is complicated."

"I know."


Othello Brooks, 18

District 9 6th Male

Desdemona and Othello are the main characters of a play written over half a millennium ago. Othello and Desdemona are husband and wife. An evil guy named Iago takes Desdemona's handkerchief and puts it in another guy's bedroom, making it look like she's having an affair. Othello strangles her to death out of anger. The end.

Odd naming scheme, but I'm not complaining. It's a great conversation starter.

Desdemona and I don't feel the need to add anyone else to our alliance for most of the train ride. But when Silicon, the enormous boy from District 3, sits down with us, we can't really say no.

"So you're twins?" he asks.

"Yep," I say, looking at Desdemona a little nervously.

"Cool," he says. "What weapons do you like?"

"Swords, I guess," Desdemona says. When the academy came around to our school and let us try out weapons, we both did decently well with swords and knives. I've heard they're the easiest weapons, so that's probably why.

"Did someone say swords?" another girl says, sitting down with us. Her hair is literally the darkest shade of black I've ever seen. She looked so cold at the reaping, her eyes so filled with hatred.

"I'm Demi Claren," she says, and the name makes me shiver. "And swords are my shtick."

"Shtick?" Silicon asks.

"It's like, you know, up my alley."

I nod, not because I understand, but because this Demi girl seems pretty cool and I don't want to make her mad. When she gets mad, she stares through your flesh and blood into your soul.

The daylight is fading by the time we pass into the Capitol's borders. At the moment, we're only on the mountainous outskirts, so I can't see anything more than the tops of a few buildings. The train stops, peacekeepers flood in to search us for explosives or drugs or whatever, and the four of us slide down in our seats, bored.


Socket Alexial, 17

District 3 1st Male

"Fuck that kid. Fuck him," Sorghum grunts.

We have four careers this year. Four careers against forty-four others. The career pack doesn't typically accept ex-careers, but Cordaire, Maizie, Sorghum, and I were hoping Oshea would join us, just to raise our numbers and our chances. But instead, he ran off with Huxley, Bolt, Bryony, and Liose. Anti-careers. Stupid.

Sorghum places a hand on his forehead, frustrated. "Seriously, guys. He allied with a guy with one arm."

Sorghum is frustrated easily. But he isn't one to stay mad or hold grudges. He just needs to let off steam right now. Then we can get on to actual career business.

The girls, Cordaire and Maizie, were mostly sitting back early on in the train ride. But they've been talking and moving around more as of late. My guess is that they were planning to keep from becoming targets, then realized that kind of strategy is pretty much pointless with such a small career pack.

No matter what, we're all targets of the untrained tributes and even each other.

I tell myself that I just need to hold out to the second stage, where there will hopefully be more careers from other districts to join up with.

An avox comes around with a plate of multicolored cookies and invites us to take one each. I try to push the plate away, but the avox insists, so I take a pale purple one and shove it into my mouth, swallowing it in one bite.

"What flavor is this?" Maizie asks, slowly chewing on her lime green cookie.

"Mine tastes like vanilla," Cordaire says.

Maizie hums quietly. "Mine tastes like… you know that misty smell? Like when you smell a hose close up?"

Socket grudgingly chews his cookie, probably thinking about different tortures for Oshea Taverns and his allies. We talk for several more hours, going through weapons and game plans and strategy. We're careful not to mention too much, in case there are cameras recording us, which there almost definitely are.

The train stops on the outskirts of the Capitol, we're briefly searched for drugs or whatever. Then the four of us retreat to bed as curfew arrives.


A/N: I didn't include a POV for "throwbasket". Think of it as a bunch of kids of varying ages, all with relatively low scores. It's a tentative alliance; they don't completely trust each other, they just think they can survive longer in a large group.

Alliances:

Careers: Cordaire, Socket, Maizie, Sorghum

Anti-Careers: Huxley, Oshea, Bolt, Bryony, Liose

Beautiful Belles: Milly, Fusae, Katya, Gwenith

Shakespeare: Silicon, Desdemona, Othello, Demi

Throwbasket: Caden, Telata, Spurr, Kenneth, Teff, Lena, Ronan

Loners (For Now): Momenta, Taure, Kaicee, Tallie, Laurisa, Coco, Cache, Prota, Pad, Datum, Mitzi, Juliya, Aluma, Abilene, Basil, Olivo, Cabot, Danton, Elodie, Harvey, Florian, Secala, Ida, Oswald


Titus Andronicus Bacchus Hazel, 45

President of Panem

"Welcome back!" Phoenix Withers shouts into the microphone, beaming. "In just a moment, we will catch the first glance of our next forty-eight tributes, coming from District 3 and District 9!"

Phoenix makes a brief sweeping motion with his hand, gesturing toward the twelve youths sitting behind him: the twelve tributes from Districts 5 and 8 that survived the first stage. Which of the tributes in the chariots will soon join them?

"Without further ado, in comes our first set, Cordaire Stevens and Socket Alexial! Both careers, if I recall correctly. Those outfits have lots of gears, and are those sparks flying? Look at their smiles! And look at the muscle on the both of them. They're sure to go far. Momenta Clarence and Taure Sooks are out next, definitely a smaller pair, but packing a punch with those outfits made of computer keys. Unique and original: great! Next up are Milly Lockwood and Huxley Grunge, wearing two-piece metal outfits. Those antennas and black sunglasses make them look a bit like aliens. Maybe that was the point. Put your hands together for Kaicee Mitchell and Caden Yallenson! What are those sparkly pink outfits supposed to represent? Maybe the glow of a hot wire? Just food for thought. Tallie Chett and Oshea Taverns are out next, and wow, just take a look at those robot costumes! Metallic claws on their hands, boxy helmets. They sure look great, even if they may be a little heavy. Our sixth set is next out, made up of Laurisa Caver and Bolt Reuben, dressed as circuit boards. Average, if that. Although their wild hairstyles are somewhat interesting. I wish I could do my hair like that. Anyway, we can't rant about them all day. Now we have the pleasure of seeing Fusae Soccorso and Coco Dorsin. A girl who's bald and these games' only non-career volunteer, they're certainly a memorable set! That silver dress and suit look really rough. Anyway, Telata Landers and Cache Marksens! They're wearing pretty standard dress clothes, a tux and a sundress. Wow! Look at their sunglasses switch color! Prota Carys and Pad Nemrose are out next. They're both wrapped in some kind of thick cord; maybe computer wire? Memorable enough, but they're both sweating a lot. Our tenth set contains Katya Audrin and Datum Gemsie, wearing outfits made of glowing orange wire. How doesn't it burn them? Maybe the glow is fake. Yeah, I bet that's what it is. Mitzi Tanner and Silicon Blackmar are out next. Both very revealing wire outfits, that's for sure. Knotted strategically in certain areas, as you do. We like to keep the Hunger Games kid friendly. And our final pair, Juliya Bethe and Spurr Howell! Spurr is dressed as a computer mouse, and Juliya is dressed as… an actual mouse? That fur looks uncomfortable. Oh no! She's stepped on her tail! She fell out of her chariot! Don't worry, two peacekeepers have helped her up. She's back in the chariot. Juliya Bethe is officially safe once more. Thanks for listening, guys and girls! We'll be back in five minutes with District 9!"

I take a sip of my wine, momentarily closing my eyes as the last few chariots disappear from sight. "Welcome back, folks, with District 9! Out comes our first chariot, carrying Maizie Nash and Sorghum Bunker, the second half of the career pack! Those sparkly golden outfits are very appealing, if a little plain. Overall great work! Aluma Barton and Kenneth Spino aren't nearly as classy. Their outfits are made entirely of stalks of wheat. Watch them frantically itch themselves. Ouch, that's got to hurt. Say hello to Abeline Carron and Basil Huchra, wearing burlap. They look a bit like potato sacks. I think those gold pom-poms are supposed to represent wheat? Anything gold is wheat in District 9. Fourth set: Bryony Withers and Olivo Trunks! Bryony is rocking that silver dress. She's a pretty one. Olivo is a little smaller, but that doesn't mean we should count him out. Olivo, I'm sure you'll do great. Teff Stellar and Cabot Lampkin have silky blue tops and golden bottoms. I guess they represent the clear sky and the wheat field. It's almost like poetry. Next out is our sixth set, Desdemona Brooks and Othello Brooks! They're both very confident. Way to go, Desdemona and Othello. Confidence is key. I can't imagine how those plain white outfits represent District 9. There isn't really a law that says it has to, though. Creative stylists, that's for sure. Or lazy ones. But let's go with the former. Seventh set: Gwenith Lissen and Danton Robbins. They're dressed as tractors. Literally, we can only see their heads. Those outfits must weigh a ton. A "Danton". Please pardon the pun. Eighth set: Elodie Pike and Harvey Reynolds. Their entire outfits are completely brown. What the heck? At least the white looked good on Othello and Desdemona. Wait, what's this? Wheat coming out of the brown? I guess the brown is supposed to represent soil. I have no idea how that just happened, and it's more fun that way. Lena Munger and Florian Stone are out next, wearing relatively plain golden clothes. Not stellar costumes, but what can you do? Secala Wade and Liose Coster are dressed uniquely. Look at that shimmering rainbow cloth! Rainbow comes after rainstorm. Rainstorm makes grain grow. Ah, these stylists. Give a round of applause to Ida Gleaves and Oswald Downs, wearing a golden dress and suit. Come on. Get creative! And our final set: Demi Claren and Ronan Stuart! They both seem relatively confident. Put your bets on Demi and Ronan, fine people! Those scarecrow costumes are extremely detailed, even though all that straw must be itchy. Those pumpkin helmets are a nice touch. Wow, Panem! There we have it: the final Hunger Games tributes from Districts 3 and 9! Tune in tomorrow for the tributes' first day of training. Until then, it's Phoenix Withers, out!"