Last training day, hooray! These POVs could get SUPER repetitive, so I decided that to cure my boredom, I would throw in a plot twist. I was so excited by the twist that I literally wrote the majority of the chapter in two days (because honestly, I haven't really worked on this chapter for the past couple of weeks).

This chapter's shoutout goes to Team Shadow simply because they haven't killed of my blind tribute yet even though I've barely reviewed their story. :)

District 1: Ariana Angel, Age 15

I wonder if Aquarius is thinking about me right now.

I lie awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. It's a little ways past midnight at this point. I really need to get to sleep- after all, today's the last day of training- but no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get comfortable against the soft pillows and blankets the Capitol gave me.

The kiss Aquarius and I shared in the guest room keeps replaying in my mind, over and over again. My life back in District 1 feels like a million years ago, despite the fact that I've only been in the Capitol for a few days now. I miss my home. I'm starting to really regret volunteering. I was never super fond of the idea, of course. Killing children has never appealed to me. But I guess I never really thought about trying to avoid volunteering. The Hunger Games were always a part of my life. I didn't think there was any way to change it. And I guess deep down, I always wanted to make my family proud of me. I wanted to prove myself to them, to show them that I had what it took to be a victor.

I guess this is the first time that I've truly realized that I could die.

District 3: Scorpius Herin, Age 16

I read the riddle over again for what feels like the thousandth time.

A window cleaner is cleaning a window on the 25th floor of a skyscraper when he suddenly slips and falls. The screen in front of me reads. He has no safety equipment and nothing to soften his fall, but he still survives. How can this be?

I let out a groan of exasperation. This is so stupid! I consider giving up for a moment, but I remind myself that I need to practice solving problems like this so that I'll be prepared if I come across a riddle in the arena. I take a deep breath and stare at the words for a long time.

Suddenly, an answer comes to me. I begin to furiously type out my answer: He was inside while cleaning windows. I wait. After a moment, the screen flashes green. It was right! I can't help but cheer in excitement.

Grinning with pride, I tap the screen, moving onto the next riddle. I suddenly notice someone else's presence behind me, however. I spin around and come face to face with Juno Armstrong.

"What are you doing here, 3?" She asks, her voice full of hostility. I sit up straight and meet her death glare, shooting her one of my own. She only seems amused by my actions, though.

"I'm doing logic puzzles, actually." I respond defiantly. "They help you think. You should try it sometime. Maybe it'll make your peanut sized brain grow to the size of a walnut instead." Juno lets out a snort of laughter.

"You think that logic puzzles are going to help you when I kill you in the arena?" She asks with a chuckle. I feel anger boiling up in my chest, but before I can respond, she punches me in the face out of nowhere. I yelp and fall backwards, landing on the ground with a thud. Juno explodes into fits of laughter as I shake my head, dazed. I open my mouth to say something to her, but before I can, someone else lets out a shout.

Oh, God. Out of all the people, it had to be her.

"Hey!" Jessica yells, running to me. "Leave him alone!"

District 3: Jessica Rastik, Age 17

I sprint towards Scorpius, my hair flying out behind me as I go. What are you doing?! My head screams at me. I ignore it and continue to run. "Hey!" I call out to Juno, who's standing over Scorpius with a smirk on her face, as I go. "Leave him alone!" Juno turns, surprised. Her eyes fall on me and her grin grows wider.

"Are you coming to save your little boyfriend?" She teases.

"She's not my girlfriend." Scorpius growls from the ground. It cuts like a knife, but I hold my ground.

"If I were you, I'd back away right now." I threaten, though my voice is higher than I intended it to be. "You don't want to get on my bad side." Juno cackles.

"Oh, no." She mocks. "I'm so scared. You're right. I should be terrified of a little wimpy girl from District 3." My vision turns red.

"You think you're so great just because you're a Career!" I snap. I'm half-consciously aware of other tributes watching the argument, but it doesn't faze me. "Well, news flash: you're not as amazing as you think! You strut around the Training Center as if you own the place and bully people wherever you go, trying to cover up the fact that in the end, you're no tougher than anyone else here. I bet you'll be the first one to die once you get into the arena, though. You being a jerk won't help you in the Hunger Games."

Juno snarls and throws a punch towards my stomach. It's wild and out of control, however, which makes it relatively easy for me to block. I then proceed to hit her in the gut. It's not hard, but it's enough to make her stagger a little. Juno looks shocked for a moment. She stares at me, than turns and struts away. "You'll be the first one I kill in the arena!" She shouts over her shoulder as she walks off.

I smile, knowing that I beat the all-powerful Juno Armstrong in a battle. My smile soon falls when her words sink in, though.

What have I just done?

District 12: Beckett Roy, Age 17

"Um… Beckett?"

I pause from my sword training and turn around, wiping the sweat off my brow. A young girl, I think from District 11, stands in front of me. Her district partner stands behind her, looking a tiny bit irritated.

"What is it?" I ask. The girl shifts back and forth on her feet.

"Well…" She begins. "I was wondering if…" She hesitates, then blurts out, "Do you want to ally with us?"

The question takes me by surprise. I never really considered joining an alliance. They're pretty risky, after all. But there are some pluses to having allies, too. And I doubt that these two tributes will betray me. They seem pretty trustworthy.

"Alright." I finally agree. The girl smiles enthusiastically.

"Great!" She says. "My name's Angelica, and this is Cole." She nods to the boy behind her, who grunts and stares at the ground. "Do you want to come with us to the fire building station?"

"Sure." I say, shrugging, setting down the sword I was holding and following them away.

I hope it was a smart decision for me to join them. After all, it could mean life or death for me in the arena. And Sasha is counting on me to come home alive.

District 10: Maylee Templeton, Age 15

"I think we need to come up with a plan for the bloodbath." Jon tells me as he bites into a sandwich. I nod, absently playing with the spaghetti on my plate. "Only one of us should go into it." He continues.

"I can go in." I interject. I don't like the idea of Jon risking his life to save me. But he shakes his head.

"I'll do it." He says. "I don't think I could handle it if you died in the bloodbath."

I roll my eyes. "I won't die." I assure him. "I'm pretty good at slipping through things unnoticed. I'll be fine. Trust me."

"I don't want you to get distracted, though." Jon argues back. I scoff angrily.

"I won't get distracted." I say. "I can do it!"

"I can't let you go in there alone!" Jon says.

"I don't need you to protect me!" I shout at him. "I'm not a toddler!"

"But I don't want you to die!" Jon yells. "I could never live with myself!"

I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. Then I randomly blurt out, "I love you."

There's an awkward silence. Then Jon murmurs, "I love you too."

District 5: Kala Haggart, Age 16

I've been spending a lot of my time in training with the boy from District 6, Nathan. He doesn't seem like the most… skilled tribute out there, I guess. He's really nice, though.

"Could Tom Shavel please exit the Training Center?" A loud, booming voice announces. I glance towards the boy from 8, who begins to slowly make his way away from the station he was at.

"I wonder what that's about." Nathan says from beside me, tugging his knife from where it's sticking out of a dummy's heart. I shrug. For a moment, the two of us train in silence. Finally, Nathan says, "Would you like to be my ally?"

I cringe. I was hoping he wouldn't ask about that. I think that even if he were to somehow survive the bloodbath, he'd be more of a burden to me than anything else. But he's so sweet…

"Sure." I say. Nathan beams and hugs me, which I return with surprise.

"You won't regret it." He promises me, pulling away and facing the dummy in front of him once more.

I hope I won't.

District 4: Marine Grey, Age 16

I fill my paper cup to the brim with cold, clear water from the cooler in front of me, gulping it down in a matter of seconds. Beside me, Juno does the same, panting. We've been practicing together for almost two hours straight, and finally, we both agreed that we needed a break.

Juno's pretty cool. I've been spending most of my time with her, as she's the only Career member I can actually tolerate. The District 1 tributes and Nemo are all way too soft, and Octavian is always acting like he's better than everyone else just because he's the leader of the pack, which can really get on my nerves. I considered becoming the leader, but at the last moment, I decided against it. It has its perks, of course, but it automatically paints a target on your back, and that's the last thing I want in the Hunger Games.

"I can't believe that District 3 girl dared to talk to me like that!" Juno rants. She's been upset the fiasco with Jessica since this morning. I can't help but smile a little. After all, it's kind of funny.

"It doesn't really matter," I point out, shrugging, "Just kill her in the arena."

"That's what I told her I'd do." Juno assures me. "She's going to regret messing with me."

I throw my cup in a trash bin near me. "You ready to train again?" I ask her. She nods eagerly, and together we walk back to the row of dummies we were practicing on earlier.

I realize that maybe, just maybe, I've found myself a friend.

District 8: Tom Shavel, Age 14

"Could Tom Shavel please exit the Training Center?" The intercom above announces. I sigh, aggravated. What is it this time? Hopefully it's nothing very important. I have training to do, after all.

I walk slowly to the elevator and press the button. The doors slide open almost immediately, and I step inside. I frown. They never told me where to go. I hesitate for a moment, then click on the button that reads D8. After that, I wait. A soft melody plays from a speaker on the wall. It's actually kind of annoying, and I'm tempted to smash the speaker into a million pieces, but I decide against it. I don't want to have the Capitol on my bad side.

Finally, the elevator opens up, and I walk into the room in front of me. I immediately notice that the lights are off and the curtains are closed, which gives everything a bit of a creepy effect. I look around me, but it's too dark to see much of anything. A shiver runs down my spine as I realize just how easy it would be for someone to creep up on me in here. Relax. I tell myself. The Capitol won't kill you before you get into the arena… I'm pretty sure, at least...

My thoughts are interrupted as a tall, thin man steps out of the shadows. He has short brown hair and glowing purple eyes, and a smile tugs at his lips when he sees me. I realize suddenly that I know him. I know him all too well.

"Tom Shavel, is it?" Drago Malik, the head gamemaker of the 48th Hunger Games, asks. I nod nervously. I'm starting to get freaked out. What's going on?

Drago chuckles at my horrified expression. He snaps his fingers, and on que, two thick bodyguards enter my line of view. A third man stands between them, his head down. After a moment, he looks up at me, and I can't help but gasp at what I see. The man's light brown eyes are hollow and sunken into his skull, and there's a wild look to them reminding me of someone who's seen too much. His hair is dark and tangled, a line of stubble forming above his lip. He seems oddly familiar, but I can't put my finger on why…

Oh my God.

"...Son?" Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.

It's my father.

I stare at my dad, unable to completely process what I'm seeing. He's here. He's here. He's actually here…

My dad begins to run to me, his arms opening up for a hug, but before he can reach me he's held back by the bodyguards. He kicks and thrashes, but it's no use.

Drago claps his hands together, grinning maniacally. "Well that was a fun family reunion, wasn't it?" He says. He turns to me. "You're probably wondering why I brought your father here to see you."

I ignore him, my attention focused on my dad. I find it hard to speak, but I finally croak out the words, "Where's mom?"

Drago sighs. "I was getting to that if you would just let me explain." He says impatiently. "As I was saying, your parents were just recently caught in the act of attempting to assassinate our dear President Haza."

The words come like a punch to the stomach. "What?" I whisper.

Drago nods matter-of-factly. "Your mother was killed on the spot, of course." He explains. "We decided to keep your father around, however. We figured he'd be of some use to us. He gave us quite a lot of information, didn't you, Marco?"

My dad-Marco, I guess- hangs his head with shame. Drago laughs. "He's no longer a necessity to us anymore, though. President Haza gave me specific instructions to torture him in the most painful way possible. And there's no greater pain than fighting against your own kind for the entertainment of others."

My stomach drops. Is my dad coming into the Hunger Games with me?

"And so, alas, I made the decision to send your father into the Hunger Games." Drago says, confirming my fears. "It's a shame, Tom. I can tell you're a survivor. You could've very well been a victor. But unfortunately, the game rules state that with the exception of quarter quells, only 24 tributes can enter the arena. With Marco going in, we have to… dispose of one tribute. Unfortunately, that tribute is you."

Before I can even register what's happening, one of the bodyguards takes out a gun and points it at me. I'm frozen with fear as he pulls the trigger. He's shooting me. Oh my God. I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die…

The bullet hits me in the heart, sending a dark stain of blood spreading across my shirt. I stare in surprise at the wound before toppling backwards.

"Son!" I hear my dad scream.

Everything goes dark.

District 4: Nemo Fisher, Age 18

"All tributes, please gather in the middle of the Training Center for a special announcement."

I set down the axe I was holding and pause for a moment to catch my breath. Something's wrong. First, the boy from 8 was called to exit the room. Now all of the tributes are being called together for a "special announcement". I don't know what's going on, but I don't like it.

After a minute, I begin to make my way towards the center of the giant room. I see most of the other tributes doing the same, looking confused. By the time I reach the middle, most of the others are already there. I'm surprised to see Drago Malik standing in the midst of them, an evil glitter in his eyes. There's also a dirty-looking man behind him. In a way, he reminds me of the District 8 tribute who left earlier. This whole situation is just getting weirder and weirder.

After a little while of waiting, Drago surveys the crowd to make sure everyone's present, then begins to speak.

"Good afternoon, tributes." He greets us. "I'm sure you're all very confused as to why I'm here right now." There are a few nods of agreement. Drago pauses, letting the suspense build up, then continues.

"It's quite a long tale, and while I'd love to give you a full account of everything that happened, I'm afraid we simply don't have the time. But long story short, this man-" He jerks his head to the person behind him- "has attempted to murder the president of Panem. Of course, he didn't succeed. Our security easily outsmarted his dim-witted district mind. But we needed to find a way to punish him in the worst way possible. And so I decided that the best way to make him pay for his actions would be to send him into the Hunger Games." I look around, trying to see what the reactions of some of the other tributes are. Most of them are staring at the head gamemaker with wide eyes full of terror and confusion. Drago smiles, looking amused. "We didn't want 25 tributes to enter the arena, though. But it just so happens that this man's son, the District 8 male, was Reaped for the Hunger Games himself. Like I said before, I was given the orders to make a cruel punishment. Going into the Hunger Games is only part of it. The other part was watching his son die… right in front of his eyes."

There are whispers as the tributes begin to realize what this means. Drago nods. "Tom Shavel is dead." He announces. "The man before me, Marco Shavel, will take his place in the games."

The auditorium is completely silent for a moment. Then a ripple of murmurs passes through the crowd, some excited, some fearful. The boy from 6 is crying softly, and the 8 girl, Alyxandra, seems to be struggling to hold in her tears. I hear Marine whisper to Juno, "One down already! Now things are getting exciting." Jessica, the girl from 3, glances over at the pair with a look of disgust on her face before turning away, a single tear rolling down her cheek. I just stand there, unable to completely comprehend what I've just heard. He's dead. He's dead. He's dead…

He had to die at some point for you to come home anyway. I remind myself. Still, I didn't expect it… I didn't expect it to happen so soon…

WIth the announcement made, Drago begins to walk away. Before he leaves, however, he spins around and says with a cruel smile on his face, "May the odds be ever in your favor."

Oops.

25th Place: Tom Shavel- Shot in the heart by one of Drago Malik's bodyguards

This was not part of the original plan. For a long time, I was going to have Tom die on the first night, where he would get into a fight with Scorpius and eventually get killed. However, when I decided to throw in the plot twist, I realized that he would work best with the idea that was forming in my head, so his life ended here. Tom was definitely one of my favorite tributes, and his more depressed view on life was something I really enjoyed. I also felt like he was the easiest character for me to write in these games. As much as I loved him, however, I could never see him as my victor. At least he got to see his dad before he died, though, which is really all that he wanted in the end. Sorry, IciclePower33, but at least you can still cheer on Alyx!

Wow. We just got out of the training days and we're already one man down. Honestly, I have no idea how I'm going to kill of 23 more of these tributes, they're all so amazing. :o

Alliances:

Ariana/Blaze/Juno/Octavian/Marine/Nemo

Carlina/Albin

Livia/Alyxandra/Wyatt

Angelica/Cole/Beckett

Maylee/Jon

Rois/Erin

Kala/Nathan

Loners (for now):

Jessica

Scorpius

Verin

Marco

If any of you didn't understand the whole plot with Tom, at some point I'm going to be posting another chapter that will be placed after the chariot rides giving a POV about the attempted assassination of President Haza. I'll also post an author's note at the end explaining the entire series of events to clear up any other confusion you might have. See you at the Private Sessions! :D