This is when things really start getting dramatic, so be prepared...

I also wrote this in one day. Maybe that's not a lot for some people, but I have the sleeping habits and motivation of sloth, so... thanks, caffeine!

District 10

Buck Hayford

My eyes crack open much too early. I don't even need to look a clock to know that it's not time to get out of bed yet. The room is pitch-black, and I can't see anything apart from the small crack in the curtains, which lets in some of the light from the street below. Nevertheless, I've woken up and can't fathom drifting back to sleep now that all of the dreaded upcoming events are flooding into my mind. Training scores, the interviews, seeing the Careers (although, it's more of me trying to ignore them while they glare daggers into my back).

Last night over dinner, Arabella brought up how "fortunate" I was that all of the Capitol loved me and thought I'd do well. But I'd so much rather be in her place, where everyone has really low expectations of me and the Careers completely ignore me. It would be so much easier to get through the Hunger Games without six trained people with weapons hunting me down. And I know that I don't have a lot of talent; I'm strong and know how to use a machete… that's it. I think the Capitol is so used to outer District tributes being weak and incompetent, that they have really high expectations whenever someone who can lift something heavy is Reaped.

I've made the mistake of watching a few channels where hosts talk about each tribute, and all of them are expecting me to get a nine or higher. I personally would be shocked if I got a seven. I think my skill would get me a six at best. Which means that when I get a six or so, Cupid Bloke and everyone else will be severely disappointed and any possibly sponsors will drop.

As for the Careers, it's too late to get on their good side. They were suspicious of me the first time they saw me get Reaped, and maybe if they had just ignored me until the training score reveal, things would have been okay. They could have realized I was not at all what they expected and just dropped their interest in me. Then they could ignore me the entire Hunger Games and I get through it without a major target on my back.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Because on the first day of training, the first time I met them, the girl from District 1 invited me to join their alliance. I had barely trained yet; we had done the mandatory activities, and I only got a few minutes to demonstrate my strength and experience with a machete, and the girl wasn't even in our group. She was with Districts 1, through 4.

But despite that, the minute after lunch ended, she approached me right before I was about to try hand-to-hand combat and invited me to be a part of the Careers. I was surprised, flattered, but mostly terrified. Because what choice did I have? No matter what I said, things would end badly for me. If I said yes, I'd be an outsider, weakling in their alliance and would be the first they would attempt to kill off when we parted. I saw how Kana and Markus were treated when they joined the Career alliance in the 247th Hunger Games.

But if I said no, they would be mad and I would be hated by the most powerful group the entire Hunger Games. Again using the 247th Hunger Games as reference, I saw how Aurum was treated when she ditched the Careers during the Bloodbath.

Either way, the minute those words came out of the District 1 female's mouth, I was doomed. I would be on the Careers' bad sides the entire Game. So I made an impulsive decision and decided to go with my initial plan - go solo.

At this moment, I've convinced myself that refusing to align with them was a major mistake. The past one and a half days, I've had to deal with all of them glaring at me the entire time. If this how they act during training, I would hate to see how they act during the Hunger Games. I bet they don't get met with rejection too much - they're probably all from rich, spoiled families and get everything handed to them. I'm sure the Hunger Games will come as a nasty shock when they realize it isn't all glory and fame and a fancy new house in the Victors' Village.

I laugh at what I imagine will be their expressions when each of them realizes what they've gotten themselves into. I'm not being unrealistic right now, either - I've watched every Hunger Games since I was six years old. Every single time, there is a moment when each Career realizes how terrible the Hunger Games actually are. Sometimes it's the minute someone dies; sometimes it's when their friend dies; maybe when they finally kill someone else. For the more psychotic Careers, it happens when they die and realize that they are conquerable.

Not too long from now, all of the Careers that currently despise and wish death upon me will come to the same realization. The Hunger Games won't be as easy as they all think, so they should probably stop laughing about it.

District 9

Savanna Davison

Hadley's arrow pierces the target, but it's not close to the center. He barely made it to the outer ring, and we're not very far away. He notches another arrow, looking very disappointed in himself.

"Barely onto the target… I'm terrible at this," Hadley mutters under his breath, struggling to notch another arrow.

"You've only been practicing for an hour, give yourself a break," Axel says casually, and fires an arrow at the target. It's only a few rings from the center. He sees the rest of us watching him in admiration and he shrugs. "What? I have good aim."

Axel has already proven himself to be a much stronger competitor than I initially assumed. He may be small and physically weak, but he's surprisingly adept in some skills. He's fast (although, not as much as Linen) and really good at aiming weapons. And when we tried darts and blowguns, he was more than competent; he was amazing. He hit the center of the target nearly every time, and shrugged it off as if it's something you can easily pick up in a matter of minutes.

When we first formed this alliance, I assumed Hadley would be the strongest member. He's the oldest by a lot, and pretty strong for someone so short. He also knows how to use a sickle from working out in the fields in District 9. So I don't think it was unreasonably for me to predict he'd be the most talented member of the group.

But despite this, Axel's the strongest. He was going to recruit his district partner into our alliance, so we could have another older tribute, but apparently, she has already teamed up with some other tributes so we don't get to add her. I'm sure she would have been a nice addition - she seems pretty strong.

Linen is, unfortunately, also a skilled tribute. She may not have the weapon or physical strength of Axel of Hadley, but she is extremely quick on her feet and good at hiding and climbing; all of that agility stuff. I'm not sure how she could benefit us with those strengths, except possibly stealing food from other tributes; but she has more of a chance than the rest of us if we encounter a tribute.

Which leaves me - I'm still not sure what my strengths are. I can swim, which is something none of my allies can do, but how is that supposed to help? Even if we get a water arena, that skill barely helps. It could help me, if the arena flooded or something, because then I could survive, but I can't do anything to benefit my allies. I've proposed that we all practice swimming, but Axel suggested we move that to the back of the itinerary. His view was that in the chance the Gamemakers gave us a water arena, they'd also give us those flotation belts, so we wouldn't drown. He said that it would make more sense to focus on the things we know we'll need to use. Everyone else agreed, which is why we're learning archery.

I'm also a decent climber, but not as good as Linen, who scales up trees like she's a squirrel or something. I'm okay at memorizing plants and starting fires, but no better than Linen of Axel, who both have excellent memories. I'm not great at making shelters or starting fires, but that's difficult for all of us, so I don't feel too bad about that. Axel's terrible at both, which makes me feel a bit better about not having his weapon skills.

But I have absolutely no fighting skills. We briefly tried hand-to-hand combat and wrestling, but quickly learned that the only person who had any promise was Hadley. Linen was okay, but only with dodging. When it came to actually inflicting damage, her lack of strength made it so she barely made any damage.

We've gone through almost all weapon stations (excluding the really obscure or useless ones, like whips and shuriken). We've used axes, throwing knives, daggers, bows, crossbows, swords, and clubs, and I have not shown a hint of talent at any of them. We knew the last one was a long shot, but nothing else had worked. Each of the other members of my group have found at least one weapon they felt comfortable using, except me. Axel's obviously great at distance weapons, especially darts, Hadley is good with swords and sickles, and Linen has a talent for knives (throwing and melee).

Hadley suggested that we try some of the more rare weapons to see if any of them fit me, but I brought up the point that in the rare event I found one, it would be a waste of time for everyone else and it's unlikely that it would be placed in the arena. So we went to archery, instead. At this point, it seems like I'm the worst in the alliance. I bring no skills and am a liability. I doubt Hadley would kick me out, and he definitely wouldn't kill me, but it's not reassuring to know the rest of your alliance is being held back by you.

"We should probably try another station," Hadley says after his next two arrows both miss the target completely, and bounce of the metal wall behind the target.

"Good idea," Linen says; she's equally as unskilled with a bow. She might have been better with one had it not been for the fact that she was too tiny to find one that fit her. She's been using a bow much too large for her, so it's been difficult for her to handle.

"How about tridents?" Hadley suggests, and the rest of us wince.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea," Axel says. "Most of the tridents over there are huge and heavy."

"Not all of them," Hadley reminds him, and trots over to the trident station before the rest of us can reject the idea. I trudge over, feeling very skeptical that any of them will work for me. If I can't even use knives, which are the best for someone my size, I doubt a trident will suit me.

Hadley begins sorting through the different tridents. They're mostly different sizes. There are some really long ones, some short ones. Most of them seem too heavy for me to handle. Hadley selects a short trident with a thick handle. I'm sure he's going to be focusing on close combat rather than throwing; he seems to be more skilled with melee weapons. Axel and Linen (both looking as skeptical as me) also select tridents, both are very short.

Axel and Linen both throw their selected tridents while Hadley begins beating up a dummy. Hadley isn't as good with a trident as he predicted, and struggles to remove the trident from the dummy's gut. Axel's trident doesn't even reach the target and skids along the floor. Linen is okay at throwing it; at least her's hits the target, but it isn't close to the center. I decide that I don't stand a chance, and lean against the weapon stand to watch them practice.

However, Hadley notices me not participating and stops practicing. He walks over to me, looking concerned. He doesn't have his trident in hand, since it's still lodged in the dummy and he's having trouble removing it.

"Why aren't you at least trying to use a trident?" he asks, sounding a little insulted that I'm not pleased with his chosen station.

"Because I know it will be pointless," I shrug. "We've tried a bunch of weapon stations and none have worked out. If knives and crossbows don't work, why would a trident?"

"Still… you should at least try. What if this is the perfect weapon for you and you don't know because you haven't tried using it yet? I know it's a long shot, but what's the risk of trying? What are you going to lose by trying?"

"The little confidence I have remaining," I mutter, and earning an annoyed look from Hadley. "Fine," I say, standing up straight. "But in the definite chance that I'm terrible at this, I'm going to stop."

"Fine," Hadley agrees. "Just practice for at least a few minutes - long enough to know whether you're good or not." Hadley turns to the weapons rack and begins sifting through for a possible trident I could use. While he does so, my mind wanders off. I haven't talked to any of my imaginary friends in a while… well, Everett showed up last night while I was trying to sleep. And Violet briefly appeared to state her disapproval on my chariot costume, which was a loaf of bread.

But other than that, I haven't seen them much. I've been spending a lot of time with Hadley, which means the only long periods of time I have alone are at night when I'm sleeping. My imaginary friends rarely show up when I'm with other people, which is good, because I don't want to look like I'm talking to myself. Well… technically I am, but it doesn't seem crazy to me.

"Here," Hadley says, thrusting a trident at me handle-first. I take it, surprised by how small it is. Its length is about the same as my wingspan, so not very long. It's even lighter than it looks, as well. I step back from Hadley to weigh it in my hands, then twirl it around. It moves very lightly, to the point where I think it should be classified as a different weapon than a trident. "What do you think?"

"It's so light…" I murmur, still admiring it.

"Are you going to practice?" Hadley asks. I nod. "I would spar with you, but I don't think that's allowed and… I'm having some trouble removing my trident from the dummy. You could get the trainer to spar with you. They're covered in armor for this purpose and only use weapons with rubber tips."

"Really?" I ask. The trident the instructor is holding looks very real. He's currently trying to help the girl from District 7, who keeps on glancing at us nervously. I think she's overwhelmed with the number of tributes who just entered her station.

"Do you want me to ask him for you?" Hadley asks, reading my mind. I nod gratefully; Hadley knows how shy I am, and I wasn't looking forward to forcing the instructor away from the District 7 girl.

I watch as Hadley wanders over and begins talking to the instructor.

"Hey, will you spar with Savanna?" he asks, pointing at me.

"Soon… right now, I'm kind of busy with Zaira…" the instructor begins, but Zaira cuts him off.

"I was actually about to leave," she says. "You can go help her." Zaira sets down her trident and wanders off. To my relief, the trainer walks over with his trident, which apparently has a rubber tip.

"Don't worry, it's rubber," he assures me and flicks the tip to prove it. The point bounces, which definitely reassures me. We move away from everyone else so we won't hit anyone and begin sparring.

He thrusts the points of the trident at me, but my jumpy nature allows me to step aside in time. I push my trident at him, but he uses the handle of his to knock mine away. While my trident is off to the side, he attempts to jab at me again, but I spin the trident around and knock it away. We continue like this for some time; the lightness of my trident definitely benefits me. I'm able to move it around way quicker than I would with most tridents. I mime a jab at his leg, which he goes to block, and meanwhile, I stab him in the chest. The points bounce off his bulletproof vest, but it would have killed him had he not been wearing it.

"Congratulations," Hadley says, grinning his crooked smile. "I told you you'd be good with a trident." Both Linen and Axel look pleased that I finally found a weapon that suits me, but no one's more pleased than I am. I smile at my trident with pride; I'm no longer a liability in the tribe. Now I can help out… and I have a chance to survive.

District 5

Macey Aderyn

I hate everyone here. Well, everyone except for Tracey. I know that every time someone looks at us, they're just marking us off as Bloodbaths. I can tell by the relieved look in their eyes. I swear, even a deaf twelve-year-old missing both his arms would look at us and think, "at least I won't place 24th. That two-headed girl will definitely die before me."

I get where they're coming from, but Tracey and I aren't hopeless. We may be at a disadvantage, but we could survive. If we make it out of the Bloodbath, then we could live off the land and avoid other tributes. Tributes have won by outlasting others; that could be us. Our deaths aren't definite. And I'm sure as hell not going to give up. I know Tracey doesn't have much confidence in us, which means I have to be the optimist, here. Currently, I'm listing all of the Victor who won on luck and survival knowledge."

"Merida Howes from District 7 - she won her Hunger Games by outlasting everyone else. Velvet Wayke just stayed under everyone's radar the whole time, and she won. We're definitely under everyone's radar. Everyone has really low expectations for us, so it's not like the Careers are going to be hunting us down or anything."

"Uh-huh," Tracey says, still sounding skeptical. I hold the curved metal in place while she attempts to attach the string to it. We're at the fish-hook station, which is unoccupied other than us. The trainer seems very excited to have us here, since she doesn't seem to get a lot of tributes. I'm not surprised. I think 'fish-hook making' isn't a top priority for most tributes. This is one of the stations that most tributes don't bother with, along with 'edible insects'. Even Tracey and I have wandered over their yet - most people don't want to eat bugs until it's necessary.

In fact, the only person who's been over there the entire training period is our creepy District partner. Dennis finally took a break from his axes and swords and headed over there this morning. He's not over there anymore, so I assume he got bored and resumed slicing dummies open.

I hear Tracey squeak and her hand lets go of the string, which she almost got knotted on the hook. I look up, and see Dennis standing in front of us, grinning creepily.

"Have you finally finished eating bugs?" I ask him, my voice clearly dripping with disgust. Dennis seems unfazed and continues to grin creepily at me.

"Yes. They were delicious; I wish they were alive, though. The squirm of the bug as I stick it in my mouth… the crunch as my teeth crush it… the legs twitching as it dies," Dennis sighs in bliss at the thought, and pretends to gnaw on a dead bug. A few days ago, this comment would have really freaked me out, but after living with Dennis for a few days, this has become normal, to the point where I'd be freaked out if he said something that wasn't completely messed up.

"I bet you're going to become a cannibal in the Hunger Games," I add. Dennis shakes his head in disgust.

"No, of course I wouldn't!" he exclaims. I don't believe him at all - a guy this creepy would not be opposed to eating human flesh. "I mean, it's way too difficult to eat people alive! And after their dead, what's the point? Maybe I could slowly roast them alive…" he scratches his chin thoughtfully. At least Dennis is back to being predictable and normal… for Dennis, of course.

"Freak," I hear Tracey mutter under her breath, which shows how much she hates Dennis. Tracey usually doesn't say anything bad about anyone. Even if they're the worse person ever. She still tries to convince me that Alexandros Divine has redeemable qualities. I'm the one who insults other people - Tracey is the one who tries to see the good in them. Dennis seems to wrapped up in his own thoughts to hear her.

"I would roast you guys alive, but I've already chosen how I want you to die. Who do you think would taste good?" Dennis asks us, scanning the room. "Maybe the girl from District 7?"

"You're disgusting," I say, trying to ignore him by reading the pamphlet on making fish-hooks out of rocks. Dennis leans in very close to us. He focuses on me; I suppose he thinks I'll be the easiest to rile up. He's right, but I try to ignore him. He gets really close, so I can smell the crushed bugs in his breath.

"Do you want to know how I'm going to kill you?" he whispers, inches away from my face. I grimace and recoil, trying to get away from him. However, he just follows me, so it doesn't do much good.

"No, I'm fine," I say. He tells me anyway.

"I'm going to cut you apart. I'm going to use a battle axe to slice you right down the middle, and separate the two halves. You should thank me. This way, you'll be two separate people instead of a two-headed monster." The insult makes me leap to my feet in rage. Unfortunately, Tracey did not expect this or stand up along with me. With only one leg holding us, we quickly tilt to the side and crash to the ground. Tracey uses her arm to blunt our fall, but we still crash to the ground.

My elbow hits the hard floor and pain shoots up it, but I ignore it. It will definitely turn into a noticeable bruise later, but I don't care. I see Dennis smirking down at us. He seems to repeatedly think it's hilarious how we're stuck together. He laughs at us whenever we struggle to do something, and while I've managed to ignore it thus far, it's seriously starting to get to me.

"Stand up," I hiss at Tracey, and use the bench we fell off of to pull us to our feet. When we're once again in sync, I let go and begin cursing at Dennis quite loudly. He takes it all with a calm, amused expression on his face, which just fuels my rage even more.

Why can't anything I say get to him?

"You know, even if you somehow win, what are you supposed to do when you get home? I'm sure your family hates you - I bet they think you're a fucking creep! Your mother probably wishes you've never been born!" I shout. I see something change in Dennis's expression; he's no longer watching me explode with an amused smile. His face goes cold, and I know I've struck a nerve. He takes a step forward, angry now. He's no longer calm and entertained; he's still collected, but pure rage burns behind his eyes.

"Don't mention my mother," he hisses through gritted teeth.

"Oh, why not? What wrong with your mom?" I ask with fake sympathy. "Does she hate you? Is she dead?" Dennis looks even angrier now.

"I swear, I'll hunt you down the first chance I get. You won't have a chance. You're all cocky now, but you won't be when you're cut in half and your guts are spilling across the arena floor. Your other half ill be six feet from you, so you can't even die with your other head close to you," Dennis shouts. The rest of the tributes have stopped their activities and are now watching us. I'm about to respond to him, but Tracey beats me to it.

"I'm not her other half, damn-it! I'm her sister. We're not a fucking two-headed person, we're siblings! You have to smallest mind I have ever seen, and that's saying a lot. I fucking hate you! You're not going to survive the Hunger Games, I don't know why you think you are. Nobody as evil as you ever wins, because nobody wants them to! Everyone hates people like you which is why you get killed off and never make it out of the arena!"

I'm in so much shock from hearing my sister scream and cuss and spit absolute hatred at someone else that I'm speechless and can't think of anything to add onto her rant. Dennis looks a little surprised, then a chilling grin spreads across his face.

"I can't wait until the Bloodbath."

District 4

Lucretius Marlo

It's just Noelani and me now. It had been Cecelia, Noelani, and I for a while, because Cecelia and Noelani are inseparable and Cecelia is the only Career who respects me, but now it's just the two of us. Cecelia, Noelani, and I were practicing with swords, but then Trajan came over and began shouting at Cecelia about something. We tried to ignore the two of them bickering for a while, but eventually, it got really uncomfortable so we snuck away. Neither of them noticed our absence.

We're now at the trap station, which is much more interesting than expected. I've been focusing on more of the weapons, so I'm surprised traps appeal to me so much. I'm hunched over a net, knotting the edges to a rope that's supposed to release it when someone walks into the tripwire. The knots aren't difficult; every District 4 citizen, regardless of their aspired profession, learn different knots by heart. It's literally part of our school curriculum.

"Wow, you're really good at knotting," the instructor, Avitus, says to me. He watches my fingers work the rope nimbly, and I can't help but grin in pride.

"Thanks. I'm from District 4, after all." Avitus then notices Noelani, and turns to gushing over her knots, which irritates me slightly. My competitive nature jumps into play and I attempt to tie my knots even faster. However, I don't think I'll be able to compete with Noelani. She's definitely not as fast as me, but it's really impressive how she's somehow tying knots at a speed that would be impressive even for a regular tribute.

Only having one arm, she is forced to use her elbow to hold down the rope as she pulls the other end to tighten it. I briefly attempt to tie a knot with only my dominant hand to see how difficult it really is, and it turns out, it's pretty damn difficult. I give up after the rope out slips from under my elbow and flies across the table. I go to collect it, my face burning, but no one mentions it. Avitus is too busy complimenting Noelani, and Noelani is still pretending I don't exist. She's nicer to me than before, since she's no longer insulting me at every turn, but she's still cold to me.

I sit next to her again, resuming my knotting, now with two hands. I glance up from my work, and notice Cecelia and Trajan still arguing at the sword station. They both look very enraged; Trajan's hands are flying all over the place and a lot of Cecelia's dirty blonde hair has come loose from her ponytail. It's hanging around her face, but she doesn't seem to notice or care.

"Do you know what Cecelia and Trajan are arguing about?" I ask Noelani.

"Yes," she nods. I expect her to explain to me what they're arguing about, but she stays silent. It's very passive-aggressive. After a minute of silence, I talk again.

"Will you tell me what they're arguing about?"

"No."

I groan and roll my eyes. Mercury literally would not stop talking about what a great girl Noelani was. When I was considering Volunteering, one of the things that swayed me was the assurance that I would not be going into the arena with an idiot or a monster. Mercury talked my ear off about how nice (and hot) she was, and in my mind, I thought, "it's great that my District partner will be such a swell girl!" Except, I didn't use the word 'swell' so it didn't sound as stupid.

But so far, all Noelani has shown me is bitterness. I get that she's disappointed she's not with Mercury, but she should probably be thanking me! She clearly liked him, so now she doesn't have to see him die. And I'm probably a less threatening tribute than my brother, which ups her odds. I would think that she'd have come around to me by now.

"What's your problem?" I demand. Noelani stares at me, surprised that I finally lost my cool.

"Huh?"

"I've been really nice to you so far, and you've been a complete bi...bad person to me," I say, my voice wavering nervously at the end. She's glaring daggers at me.

"Nice save," Avitus mutters under his breath. We both ignore him.

"I understand why you were mad at first, but it bothers me that you haven't forgiven me yet. It's not that big of a deal that I volunteered instead of Mercury. And I think my reasons were okay. I wanted to prove myself - I'm sure you can understand, considering your missing arm puts you at a major disadvantage and everyone expects less of you because of it," I shout.

Noelani doesn't say anything, but this time, it isn't passive-aggression. She's a little bit speechless, but she seems to be thinking. I pause, my large nostrils flaring. I'm a little bit afraid of what she'll say, because despite her missing an arm, I'm still afraid of her. I run over a thousand possibilities of what she'll say next in the silence that ensues, but what she does say was not one of the things I expected.

"I'm sorry," she says quietly.

"Huh?" I ask, shocked. Avitus looks very uncomfortable, and tries to distract himself by playing with a loose bit of rope.

"I guess I haven't been very fair to you," Noelani sighs, and my brown eyes widen even more. I would not have expected any of this to be coming out of Noelani's mouth in a million years. She seemed like the type of person who would not apologize if she was being tortured and all she had to say to be free was 'I'm sorry'. "I was just surprised, and then upset, and then…" her voice trails off and she blushes.

"You know what? I think I'm going to go to the bathroom," Avitus says, standing up. "Will you guys miss me? No? Alright, I'm out of here." He rushes off before either of us can respond.

"I'm not going to explain everything to you, because it's really complicated and I'm confused about most of it, but… the main reason why I was so mean to you was that I was upset I didn't get to go into the arena with Mercury… your brother," Noelani says.

"Why, though?" I ask, regaining my voice after a few minutes of stammering. "Why would you want to go into the arena with someone you got sort of attached to?"

"I trusted him. I knew we had each other's backs in the arena, and we had a plan, and then suddenly, our strategy got thrown out of the window when you volunteered. It was all kind of confusing, and I felt really alone and lost," Noelani admits. Then she stiffens up and stops talking. It looks like she didn't mean to spill that much information.

"Okay," I finally say. My knots lay long-forgotten in front of me. "Well, I'm willing to be your ally. I can have your back."

"It's not the same as with Mercury," she says. "I've known him for ten years. I've known you for less than a week."

"Well, I've heard about you for ten years," I remind her. "And I bet Mercury's mentioned me a few times. It's not like we're complete strangers. I'm honestly surprised we hadn't met prior to the Reaping." Noelani shrugs, still looking hesitant.

"I still don't trust you all the way."

"Okay, then you can trust me a little bit," I suggest. "We don't need to have known each other for a decade to trust each other. I trust you completely."

"That's a little hasty," she winces.

"Well, are you going to betray me?" I ask her. She shakes her head. "Then I'm right to."

"Don't expect me to trust you completely."

"I don't."

"But I'll trust you a little bit," Noelani smiles. It's very small, but it's the first time I've seen her smile at me. Which is definitely good. Maybe Mercury was right. Maybe Noelani isn't a bad person, after all.

District 1

Cecelia Hart

I storm away from Trajan, practically throwing my sword back at the weapons rack. It knocks the entire weapons rack to floor, which makes a lot of noise. I'm pretty sure most eyes were turned on Trajan and me when we were arguing, but now they're definitely in this direction. The noise startles me, and I consider picking up all of the swords, but avoxes have already rushed over and begun re-organizing everything.

I look at Trajan, and he scowls at me. His sword is tucked under his arm. Light from the fixture overhead glints off the shiny metal and shines in my eyes, bothering me even more, for some reason. I turn on my foot and head over to the trap-making station, rage pumping in my veins.

Noelani and Luc are sitting around the table, working on impressive traps. The instructor isn't anywhere to be seen, which is surprising, since most places in the training center have a trainer stationed at them at all times. I fall into the chair next to Noelani, groaning. Instead of working on a trap, I watch Trajan, my hate for him growing.

Most of the time, District partners get along fairly well. They're the most common type of alliance, and even if they don't align, they usually get along well. District partners killing each other is very uncommon, since your own District usually hates you afterward; and it's just seen as common courtesy to not kill someone from your home.

But I seriously hate Trajan. There are a lot of people I don't like, but Trajan tops the list. Everyone else comes nowhere close. If I had two bullets and a gun and was in a room with Alexandros Divine, my abusive father, and Trajan, I would shoot Trajan twice.

I was just practicing my sword skills with Noelani and Luc when Trajan came up to me. He told me that I needed to add Sprucen Willes to the alliance, and if I didn't, he would kill me before the Hunger Games began and take the role of leader and add Sprucen Willes to the alliance anyway.

I didn't believe his threat, so I said no. Then he said some stupid nonsense about Sprucen being a wolf or something like that, which reminded of me of our first conversation, on the train, when I realized how much I really hated this kid. Everything only escalated from there, when Trajan started yelling about how pissed he was that I got to be the leader and I was shouting at him because I thought how stupid his whole "separating the wolves and sheep" thing is.

"Are you going to make a trap?" Luc finally asks. He and Noelani both have really nice traps so far, so I think it will be fairly easy.

"I guess," I say, looking around. "Where's the trainer?"

"He got uncomfortable when we were arguing so he made up some lie about having to go to the bathroom and hasn't been back since," Noelani says, and she and Luc both laugh. I'm really startled by the fact that they're getting along, and it must show on my face, because they laugh even harder. I am relieved that they're getting along, though. I like both Noelani and Luc (although, I prefer Noelani by a considerable amount) and it's been sort of awkward when the three of us train together.

"Are there any pamphlets or anything of how to create this trap?" I ask, looking around the table. I sift through all of the clutter on the table, but don't find anything.

"Unfortunately, no," Noelani says. "I'll show you, though."

Noelani begins explaining how to make the trap, which is way more complicated than I thought. When it comes to tying knots, I'm a complete disaster. I fumble with the rope, and keep messing up and having to start over. Noelani is very patient and good at explaining, but I'm terrible at this. Finally, she takes the rope from me.

"Here, I'll just do it," she says. I breathe a sigh of relief, which is quickly replaced by amazement at how great she is at tying knots. Her fingers move gracefully, and she doesn't even hesitate when threading the rope through the loop. She grins, blushing slightly, when she sees me gaping at her skill. "We tie a lot of knots in District 4," she explains. Even so, it's incredible how great she is. I'm so in awe, I forget to be embarrassed that a one-armed girl is a better knot-tyer than me.

She finishes tying all of the knots, and hands the project back to me, but I refuse.

"I'm hopeless," I admit, which is something I don't often do. I'm usually very determined to complete every task I start, but I think trap-making is a lost cause. I'd much rather watch Noelani work on her project than do it myself. "I'll just watch you continue."

"Okay," Noelani laughs a little self-consciously, but continues on with her project. I watch in awe as her and her single arm manage to create a trap far better than I could, even if I had ten arms. Her wavy auburn hair falls in front of her face and she's forced to stop the project to push it out of her face. When she does, the knot she was tying comes loose again and she's forced to start over. She doesn't complain, just redoes it.

How does she have so much patience? I don't think I could stand having only one arm; I'd get annoyed so fast. Maybe her patience is one of the reasons I already trust her so much.

When I volunteered, I promised myself I wouldn't get attached to anyone. Unfortunately, I think I'm already breaking that promise.

District 12

Quinten Fredericus

It's lunchtime, but I don't touch a thing on my plate. The only reason I grabbed food is that it's mandatory. We're forced to stand in line and get lunch, because they want us to eat, but it's not like they can force-feed us or anything. I suppose it's ironic that I'm homeless and live in District 12's forest, which basically means I never have a full stomach, but now, when I have fantastic food sitting in front of me, I can't swallow a single grape.

I feel incredibly anxious right now, and whenever I think about what's coming next (which is often) I begin to feel faint. Next, we have the private training sessions, where we'll have to perform our best skills to the Gamemakers and they'll score us; whatever score we get basically determines how many sponsors we get in the Hunger Games.

I've been scouring my brain all day for a possible skill I could demonstrate. The problem is, I don't have many skills. I have an incredible array of survival knowledge from living in the woods, but that rarely impresses the Gamemakers. They usually only care about weapons; at least, that's what Rachel's mentor, Hayden, said.

Gemma was much kinder, saying stuff to boost my confidence, but I think Hayden's right. The Gamemakers don't care how many poisonous plants I know or the quality of shelter I can build. We only have fifteen minutes, anyway, so I don't think I'd have time to demonstrate my impressive shelter-building.

"Can we sit here?"

I look up, startled at the sudden question. The boy from District 8 and the girl from District 7 stand in front of me, holding lunch trays.

"Uh, sure," I say, and they sit down across from me. I'm really uncomfortable around other people. I live in a freaking forest, I don't have the best social skills.

I don't remember the District 8 boy; to be honest, he's completely slipped my mind. I don't remember his name or anything about him. The only way I know he's the District 8 boy is by process of elimination. I do remember the District 7 girl. We've met once or twice, and I feel like I should remember her name. It was something like Zaya or Zara… something with a 'Z'. She's really pretty. I like how her copper hair frames her face.

"I'm Quinten," I say, mostly to the Eight boy. I don't want to direct it to the District 7 female, in case she thinks I've forgotten that we've introduced ourselves to each other before, and thinks it's rude or something. I don't want her to think I'm rude.

...I'm really overthinking this.

"My name's Felix Camacho," the District 8 boy says.

"And I'm Zaira Quentin," she says. The moment she says her name, I remember it. My guesses were close, but slightly off. She doesn't seem to think me introducing myself was rude… which I suppose it wasn't, now that I think about it.

"Are you nervous about the private training sessions?" Felix says, shoving spoonfuls of food into his mouth. I'm nervous to respond at first, but Zaira nods, which makes me feel better. "I'm still not sure what I'm going to do…"

"Neither do I!" I exclaim, a bit too enthusiastically. I was so excited that I wasn't the only one plagued by this problem, that I came off a little manic. Felix looks a little overwhelmed, so I shrink down in my seat, embarrassed.

"I think I'll just wave some axes around for a while," Zaira decides. She turns to me. "I'm a lumberjack back in District 7, so I have some experience with axes. You're from District 12, right? Do you know how to use a pickaxe and stuff?" I shake my head.

"I live in the woods, so I'm not a miner or anything."

I don't even think about the words until they leave my mouth. When they do, my eyes widen and I freeze, astounded that I just let it slip that I'm homeless. Felix looks a little surprised, but Zaira is thrilled.

"Me too!" she exclaims, even more manic than I sounded. Tributes at nearby tables turn to look at us.

"Really?" I ask, shocked, as well. Zaira nods enthusiastically.

"You have to join our alliance," she says. She then remembers Felix, and turns to him, apologetically. "Sorry… can he join our alliance?" Felix is still a little surprised after discovering that both Zaira and I are homeless and live in illegal territory, but shakes it off and smiles.

"Of course. The more the merrier, right?"

We launch into a conversation about our homelives. It's clear Zaira and Felix haven't discussed it much, which is great, since it allows me to catch up on old information pretty quick. I don't think any of us have the best parents, so we sort of glaze over the topic. Felix says something about his parents being unsupportive and doesn't go into much more details, while Zaira quickly mentions that she's an orphan and then we move onto a more light-hearted topic.

We decide to list the good things about our District. Zaira and I enthuse about the woods, but since Felix's from District 8, he doesn't have a lot to contribute in the discussion of the woods. But we do have a fun time describing the wilderness to Felix. Zaira's a really good storyteller, so she handles most of the descriptions, but I add in a lot of details about animals, which she doesn't seem to have a lot of experience with.

We get so wrapped up in our conversations, when hardly realize the time passage. So it comes as a shock when two Peacekeepers march in and over the intercom a voice says, "Could Trajan Seth please enter the gym for his evaluation?"

Next chapter, things are really going to start to get interesting. We only have a few more chapters until the Bloodbath, as well. If my quick calculation is correct, we only have seven more chapters until the Bloodbath, including the short chapters involving the mentors. It's going to be difficult to kill off any of these tributes… except one. Guess who :D

I'm even getting attached to some of the villains, which isn't good. And when I say "villains" I don't mean the characters that are kind of villains, like some of the Career pack. I'm talking about the tributes that are in almost everyone's dislike/hate column.

I don't think many alliances are left to be formed pre-Games, but I might create some inner-alliances and stuff. I'm also going to create some inner-alliance drama and rivalries, specifically in the Career pack. I always love reading/writing the chaos in the Career pack, because having so many determined, dominant, sometimes insane tributes in one group is bound to cause some drama.

Savanna's weapon of choice being a trident may seem weird right now, but it has a reason... the reason doesn't make a lot of sense, but I'm going with it.

Let me know if you spotted the reference to the Office :)

QUESTIONS:

1. Which argument from this chapter are you most excited to see continue in the arena?

2. Did you expect Noelani and Luc to get along at any point during the story?

3. If you could save one tribute from the arena, who would you save?

4. What are your training score predictions (who will get the highest, who will get the lowest, etc.)

5. Do you think Kade will make it into the Career pack? Do you want him to?

ALLIANCES:

Cecelia/Trajan/Glitter/Glorian/Noelani/Lucretius/Kade?
Cecelia/Noelani
Macey/Tracey (obviously)
Tristana/Arabella/Yael/Rachel
Axel/Linen/Savanna/Hadley
Zaira/Felix/Quentin

SOLO:

Lennox
Nikola
Dennis
Ruce
Buck

- Lilah