Charmaine Vale POV

I cried out and ripped the blankets off me. I expected to see the welts all over me and to feel the fabric scraping against them and tearing them open, but my skin was smooth. I didn't feel the poison in my blood and my muscles weren't seizing up anymore.

"What's going on?" I asked the woman by my bed. I couldn't have won. There were so many other Tributes left, and I was the weakest Career. I only went in at all to make my mother proud. I couldn't win for her. I couldn't even stay alive.

"Aren't you lucky? You're part of the second Resurrection Games. I'm sure you'll like this one. It's all Careers, just like you," the woman said.

"Resurrection? How is that possible?" I asked. The Capitol couldn't do that. They didn't control life and death that much, or none of them would ever die. The woman shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm an escort, not a scientist. Probably something to do with clones," she said. I was a clone? How did that work? Was I really the same person? Clones are something out of science fiction. They were no more real than aliens. I didn't understand any of it.

"Now this may come as a shock," the woman said. I didn't know how anything could shock me after that, but it did. "This is the fortieth Hunger Games."

I've been dead thirty-two years? What about Mom?

"Where's my mother? Is she.. alive?" I asked. She wouldn't recognize me after all this time. The woman took a pad out of her pocket and pressed a few buttons.

"Let's see... Naima Vale. Look's like... she's alive!" she said. I thought of the last time I saw her and how different she'd look now. I wondered if she even thought of me and how disappointed she must be and pressed my fists to my eyes as I cried.

"Oh dear, what's wrong?" the woman said. Everything was wrong. I only went into the Games to make my mother proud. I never wanted to go back. I just wanted to see her again.

Victory Amarinthine POV

Honestly, it was more embarrassing than anything else. All the Capitol would still be agog over the last Victor, and he was the one that killed me. Next time I saw Nubu I didn't know whether to shake his hand or throttle him. But then, I didn't expect another life in this game, and this time around I knew to do things differently.

"Jynx is here too, isn't he?" I asked. Of course I wasn't surprised when Philomena confirmed it. They'd want the two rivals from One to duke it out again and hopefully kill each other this time. But this was a new game, and I had different plans.

Like it or not, Jynx was my most valuable ally in the Resurrection Games. We knew each other's strengths and weaknesses and he was the only one I knew wouldn't betray me until the final two. We both wanted a final, uninterrupted duel. The only way to ensure that was to be the only two left. We both wanted the other alive, unlike anyone else in the Games.

"All right, practice round's over. This time for real," I said as I got out of bed.

"You're taking this much better than most of my Tributes," Philomena commented.

"Yeah, I am much better than most of your Tributes," I answered. I dearly hoped Jynx had the same idea I did. The only thing more embarrassing than getting killed by Nubu would be asking Jynx for an alliance and getting laughed out of the room. The Games make strange bedfellows.

Diamond Kai POV

Anything was better than that monster. Even Hell couldn't be worse. But I'd been through this before, and I knew it wasn't the afterlife I was sitting in. Watching me die twice wasn't enough for the Capitol, and I knew I'd find my little brother here, too. I could hardly call him my little brother anymore. He was still younger, but we were both about thirty years old in real time. He wasn't a baby anymore.

Philomena had to cajole me out of the room to meet Rapture and the others. I wanted to stay where I could see all the walls and know nothing was coming. I hoped the Arena was urban this time around. I never wanted to see another cave or another night again. If I couldn't see what was around me, it might be the monster.

Rapture looked as happy to see me as he had the first time, but it just broke my heart to meet him again. I didn't want him to be here. I wanted him to be a Victor. Meeting him again just meant losing him again. Over and over I couldn't save him. No matter how old we got, I'd still always feel like his protector. I never did my job, and I was a coward to hope I died first again.

Olivine Martinez POV

I should have been humiliated when I came back to life. I'd lost the Games and I'd shown the world that Olivine Martinez may have been a fighter, but she wasn't a winner. Instead, I saw the positive straight away. I'd lost, yes, but Panem thought I was worth bringing back to life. They saw me as a contender, and I was ready to prove them right.

I asked about Cierra more out of curiosity than anything else. She was stronger than I'd thought, but I didn't expect her to last long in a Careers-only Game. She was far too kind and trusting. We all remembered about her and the Wonderland girl. The meek weren't going to inherit these Games. These Games were survival of the fittest.

I didn't expect the Careers twist, but I liked it. Winning these Games would more than make up for my first showing. If I beat the best of the best, I would be the Uber-Victor. Perhaps I'd lost a battle only to win a war.

It was wonderful to be burn-free again. It seemed impossible that I'd ever taken smooth, pain-free skin for granted. I felt like a million bucks, and I was ready to get back in the fight. Last time, I'd been the last Career standing. Time to repeat that performance.

Chantal Ivingin POV

If I could keep going up, I'd win this time around. It was funny to look back at my first Games, so long ago. I'd entered to show a bunch of snobby girls that I wasn't who they thought I was. By now they'd be middle-aged and burned out. Meanwhile I was still in the public eye, not that I spared any thoughts for them anymore. They were so far behind me I could barely remember their faces. This third time around, I was doing it for me.

The first time, Pray killed me. There was no shame in that. She could have killed anyone. The second time, it took two to take me out. After Pray that was almost a downgrade, but it was still impressive. I planned to continue my successive improvements by winning this time. The all-Careers twist was going to make things more difficult. I'd have to pick my allies carefully. The pack was going to be interesting this year. It was likely there would be multiple, and they might overlap. The Games might look more like gang warfare than guerrilla warfare.

I was glad Kazuo won my last Games. Career pride and all. We'd been having a few lackluster years, but this time we were guaranteed a Victor. The inevitability of it diminished its impact slightly, but the difficulty of the Games would make up for it. I didn't care what people thought of me anymore, but I still planned to win. For myself, and for no one else.

Priscilla Piscot POV

"Can I see Miall yet?" I asked Philomena.

"This time it's only Careers. Isn't that exciting?" she said.

"Yeah, cool. Can I see Miall?" I asked.

"I expect the Arena will be especially spectacular this year, too," Philomena said.

"Yeah, whatever. When can I see Miall?" I asked. I didn't care about Arenas or mutts or any of that stuff. Philomena can be such a ditz.

"I know you're very brave," Philomena said. There was an instant of confusion, and then my heart stopped. I heard it beating, but it wasn't working anymore. My chest rose and fell, but I wasn't breathing. My eyes started to leak, and I trembled.

"I want to see him," I said. My voice was soft and empty. Philomena wouldn't meet my eyes. She dabbed at her nose with a handkerchief.

"It's just us girls this time. Won't that be fun?" she said. I could hardly understand the last few words, since she melted down mid-sentence. She looked so devastated I wanted to comfort her, but I resented her for it. I was the one who lost her brother. She should be comforting me.She should have been the strong one. Goodness knew I didn't have any strength left. I wasn't even sure I had any life left.

Miall wasn't requested, so we got this tearjerker. Also, Charmaine's mother didn't have a name I noticed, so I just filled one in because the line flowed better that way.

Since the pre-23 Games are largely mapped out in this universe, not all the details fit. A lot of the Careers submitted originally to this story have histories that don't line up, so I'll use what does and sort of dance around what doesn't.