Socket Alexial, 17

District 3 1st Male

All through the night, I never take my eyes off the moon. Even when I'm so tired I feel like crashing down, I keep my gaze fixed on the glowing white orb. I must wait until the time is just right. I only get one shot at this. If I mess up, I'm dead.

I reach into my pocket and pull out the small vial of black liquid. I unfold the note that came with it, reading over it for the hundredth time as the other careers snore inside the cornucopia.

Socket,

This vial of poison is enough to kill two people. Do your work quickly.

I put the folded note back in my pocket and run my fingers over the cork of the vial. Sorghum is snoring loudly within the cornucopia. Definitely asleep. Cordaire and Maizie breathe steadily in and out, though it's hard to tell whether they're really asleep.

Fifteen more minutes pass as I listen carefully. It's been hours since I started my shift. They should all be asleep now. My belt full of knives. My mind is full of murder. And I'm ready to end the first stage of the final Hunger Games.

I creep quietly into the horn, making sure every step is as silent as possible. A cough builds in my throat, and I panic for a moment, but I manage to keep it down. Maizie is the nearest tribute. Her mouth is wide open, though she'll never speak a word again.

I carefully kneel down and twist off the cork. Then I drop half of the liquid down her throat…

"Fucker!"

I jump so hard that I drop the entire bottle into Maizie's throat. She wakes up choking and spasming violently as the poison does its deadly work on her body.

I don't stick around to watch as the life leaves her eyes. I turn around and race down the slope, dodging loose rocks and splashing down into the waist-high water. That was Sorghum's voice. Either I somehow woke him up, or he was awake the entire time, watching me suspiciously.

I swim with all the force I can muster. I'm a fugitive now. I don't need to keep fighting the other careers. I just need to survive until one more death occurs.

Cordaire and Sorghum follow behind me for a while, but I have the enormous advantage. They're sleep-addled and confused. Even so, they're angry, and that can be very dangerous. But three hours later, there is no sign of the trained tributes I once called my allies.

When the sun rises, I clamber onto the nearest land I can find and lie down on my side. Triumphant as I am, I'm in desperate need of rest. Who knows? Maybe the last death will come while I'm asleep, and I'll wake up to the hovercraft, ready to carry me out of this place.


Oshea Taverns, 16

District 3 5th Male

My hand lingers on my sword as I travel at Bryony's side. Thirteen tributes left. If I wanted, I could kill her right now and end the stage. She would stand a decent chance, but I'm still pretty confident I could take her down if I wanted to.

So what stops me from attacking her?

I'm honestly surprised she didn't abandon me last night, when the cannon shot woke us up. She turns her head away to judge the position of the sun, and my hand goes to my sword. I could kill her right now. I could end all this.

As the day progresses, the water drains faster than ever. By afternoon, the arena is almost entirely land. Only the extremely low-level areas are flooded with water, and it's easy to avoid them.

That being said, the newly-exposed areas of land are very goopy and sometimes slippery. That makes traveling in a coherent way a dizzying task.

When evening arrives, I make the kill that ends the first stage.

Bryony and I stop dead in our tracks when we hear the loud screeching noise of the duck mutts. At first, I suspect they're sent by the gamemakers to kill one of us, but when the ducks come near, it's clear that they're meant for something else.

The duck mutts are chasing two tributes: two members of the large group of kids who allied on the train. In a moment of sudden clarity, I realize two things. First, their names: Telata and Spurr. Second, the purpose of the ducks. Their job is to drive Telata and Spurr toward us, so that we can kill one of them.

They don't notice us until it's too late. Bryony lagging slightly behind me, I race out of the depths, my sword at the ready. Telata screams as my blade connects with her side, and she falls backward into the net of duck mutts, which begin tearing away chunks of her flash as she screams in terror and agony.

Spurr lunges toward me, roaring with rage. Then a zapping sound fills the air, and he stumbles backward. Electrocution, likely via his tracker. The gamemakers won't let him hurt me. There are twelve tributes left. No more death for now.

The fanfare of trumpets begins, and the voice of Phoenix Withers booms over the arena. "Cordaire Stevens, Socket Alexial, Milly Lockwood, Oshea Taverns, Laurisa Caver, Fusae Soccorso, Spurr Holwell, Sorghum Bunker, Bryony Withers, Othello Brooks, Harvey Reynolds, and Demi Claren, you have survived the first stage of the fortieth Quarter Quell, the one-thousandth and final Hunger Games!"

I made it. By strength, my force, and by hope, I made it. If I do say so myself, I was a fantastic leader to the group of tributes who trusted me. I think I have the traits of a victor. I just need to keep fighting until I get there.


Cordaire Stevens, 16

District 3 1st Female

Socket's betrayal still leaves my head spinning. Even so, I should have seen it coming. There always something that told me I couldn't trust him. Something told me he would be the first to leave. Maybe that's just hindsight being hindsight.

I always knew I could make it past the first stage. Being a career tribute basically guarantees that. This is where the real challenge begins. I have to let myself relax until Stage 2 arrives. I'll need my rest for then.


Socket Alexial, 17

District 3 1st Male

Well, well, well. Looks like I made it after all. I wake up to the cannon shot, then the fanfare of trumpets, then the sound of the hovercraft as it descends to take me away. Like waking from one dream into another.

I'm strong, I'm confident, and I know what I need to do to reach the victor's crown. Plus, I've got a few tricks left up my sleeves. Watch out everybody, because Socket Alexial is going to be your final victor.


Milly Lockwood, 13

District 3 3rd Female

When I was reaped, I stared blanky ahead. On the train, I stared dizzily out the window. In my interview, in the Stockyard, on my pedestal, I just stared like I would die if I showed any emotion. And as the hovercraft descends, I just stare forward, a look of completely indifference set deeply into my face.

It's hard to believe I really survived the first stage. Without Fusae's friendship, I would have gone insane. I have her to thank. I hope we get to spend some time together before Stage 2 starts.


Laurisa Caver, 17

District 3 6th Female

If Milly and Fusae hadn't been kind enough to give me those two rolls of bread, I would be dead by now. As the hovercraft descends, the only thing I can think of is food. As soon as I'm able, I know I'm going to gorge myself on anything I can find. The team of medics surrounds me, feeling me up and down, shining me with lasers as they search for any internal injuries they can heal.

I try to tell them I just want food, but they won't listen. No matter what I say, they won't even acknowledge me. It's a reflection of how the Capitol has always thought about us, and it's sad. But if they feed me, I guess I can't say I hate them completely.


Fusae Soccorso, 16

District 3 7th Female

I'm not completely helpless, so I have no right being as scared as I am. The first stage was just to weed out the weak tributes. The second stage is where the real challenge begins. I'll be up against the cream of the crop, the 25% of tributes who were strong enough to make it through the cracks.

I have to keep my mind steady until then. If I keep thinking about what's to come, I think I'll go insane. It's okay, Fusae. Breathe in, breathe out.


Spurr Holwell, 16

District 3 12th Male

Everything blends together into a terrifying blur. When I saw Oshea kill Telata, my vision was splotched red with rage. When I tried to tackle him, my entire body seized up, burning with the electricity coming from my tracker. I could feel myself lose consciousness. Now, I'm on a bed in a pristine white room, surrounded by medics with tools I've never seen before.

I guess I really made it. What a pleasant surprise. But I'll never forget about what Oshea did to my friend.


Sorghum Bunker, 18

District 9 1st Male

Tributes like Socket disgust me. A career never betrays his allies. A career fights aside them until the end. As long as I live, I'll have something out for him, even after Stage 1 is left behind.

I'm a third of the way done. I made it because I knew it could make it. I just need to keep it up. I can't let the paparazzi and the fame distract me from what my real goal is. I can't let myself go.


Bryony Withers, 18

District 9 4th Female

The scars that have been gouged into my soul with never heal. No matter how many bandages the medics apply, no matter how many wounds they clean, I will always be broken. As I fought, I undid my humanity, pulling it apart like a doll being unwound by a loose piece of thread. I will always life a half life. Never again will I wake up excited for a new day. Never again will I smile fondly at memories of the past.

Make no mistake, I'll keep fighting as long as I can. But as the team of medics surrounds me, I swear I can hear a cannon shot fire inside of me.


Othello Brooks, 18

District 9 6th Male

Desdemona always made me promise that I would go to her funeral if she died in the games. As the symphony of trumpets plays, the cold realization shatters me like glass. In District 9, funerals are always held instantly after the death of the tribute. I'll be stuck in the Capitol for months and months, waiting for all six parts of the first stage to finish. I won't be able to go to her funeral.

I broke a promise with Desdemona. I've never done that before.


Harvey Reynolds, 17

District 9 8th Male

Well, well, well. I guess you can survive as long as you want by lying low. In the entire first stage, I never made a kill, never exchanged a single word with another tribute. And I made it. I survived. That's not to say I'm just going to hide in the next stage too. I'll have to learn to fight. For the next round of training, I have to give it my all.

But until then, more rest sounds nice. In a nice bed, preferably. I have a feeling that wish will be granted.


Demi Claren, 16

District 9 12th Female

Staring coldly is what I'm best at. So that's what I do as the doctors feel me up and down, mechanically checking my vitals like I'm some kind of test subject. I will not let them see me weak. I will not give them that satisfaction.

Othello and I both survived. I hope we can form some sort of alliance in Stage 2. That is, if we're placed in the same group of thirty-six. Oh, that's right. In a matter of months I'll be going into another Hunger Games. I can hardly wait.


A/N: And so we come to our final twelve tributes! Please tell me your favorites, least favorites, or anything else. Thanks so much to anyone who is still reading this story. It's ridiculously ambitious, I know, but I like to think that someday I'll have the entire thing written. I really hope so, anyway.

Districts 1 and 11 are up next. Seen you then (: