Ash Smith POV

I'd made it big. I messed up getting killed in the Bloodbath, but I could hardly have seen that coming. There were rules in warfare, and even in the Games. Of course they were all broken eventually, but District partners didn't kill each other in the Bloodbath. I didn't expect to see that cheat Mary Ellen again. The Capitol wouldn't pick her.

But anyway, I'd made it big. The Capitol picked me for the Resurrection Games. They wanted to see me fight again, and if I kept giving them a good show, I could have a permanent gig. I still intended to win and all, but I could potentially make this work better than they ever dreamed. As long as I kept myself popular, I could keep fighting and seeing new Arenas forever, as long as there were Resurrection Games. It was risky to the highest degree, but it was also a daredevil's dream.

I was even more pleased when I heard it was only Careers. We wouldn't have to worry about a bunch of wailing losers getting in our way and mucking up the works. It would be what the Games should be- a grueling deathmatch where we could test our mettle against the best Panem had to offer. It was going to be bigger than anything I'd ever done, and harder than all my training and my first Games. It would be the rush of two lifetimes.

Troy Cahill POV

This isn't how it was supposed to happen. I'd always been told I was supposed to fight and win for District Two. Only after I'd volunteered did I start to wonder if there was more in the world. I met the other Tributes and found out that maybe a life so singleminded wasn't worth living. It was too late to make friends in the Arena, and it didn't seem like it would be any better a second time around.

I was pulled between two possible outcomes. If I buckled down and focused, I had a good chance of winning the Games, even with other Careers involved. But then, we were all great fighters this time. No matter how hard I fought, there was always the possibility someone else could win. I wanted to make something of myself and find a life worth living, and maybe winning wasn't the only way to do that.

Winning was still the primary objective, but I could do more than that. I'd always been a competent leader. I could find some allies and make some connections. We'd already have a lot in common, and a lot of people probably felt the same way I did. If the worst happened and I didn't live, maybe I could count the eventual Victor as my friend. It was too late for me to ever live a normal life, but I could make it as normal as possible. I had a second chance at life, and I could live new things and see how much I'd been missing out on. Win or die, I was going to live.

Orren Daphne POV

I hadn't finished my mission yet. My body was ravaged, torn apart by that mutt, but I wasn't done. The ones above us took me and sewed me back together, sending me back to finish the job. I didn't know why I had to wait so long to get started. I was ready to begin now. My earlier failure didn't release me from my responsibilities. Even death couldn't keep me from my job. And I understood death well.

I didn't know any of the others I was about to see, but I could feel their sins already. They must have been terrible to put them in my jurisdiction. I scrolled through the faces on the tablet by my bed and looked into their hearts. There was a blond girl with almond eyes. I saw she was a liar and a gossip. I saw a tall, strong-looking boy whose toned body hid his gluttony. I noted all their faces and started to sort through who needed to be punished first.

They told me the others had all been here before. That meant they were all murderers. They slew innocents in their arrogance and depravity. My sins didn't matter anymore, since I was already dead. In an Arena of sinners waiting for condemnation, I was an angel. I was the Angel of Death.

Hunter Dubchen (Who is actually from One but I deleted that chapter to clear space)

I was paralyzed with uncertainty and indecision. I'd told Philomena I didn't want any visitors yet, and I wasn't sure I ever would. I didn't know if Tillo was even in the Capitol. It was a Careers-only Games. Felix wasn't here either, so she really had no reason to be. What had happened between us was a passing fancy, not the real love she found later. She'd be so different now. She had her own life and I would only be a distant memory.

Then there was the matter of my son. Truly he was more Felix's son than mine. He probably didn't care if he ever saw me again. It had been ten years since he was born, and I'd only seen him for the couple of days I spent in the Capitol before the first Resurrection Games. As tenuous as my connection was with him, I wondered what had happened to him over the years. He had such a singular upbringing, catapulting every year between the Districts and the Capitol. He was a celebrity from birth. The Capitol twisted people and perverted morals. Had they done that to him?

In just two more years he'd be eligible for the Reaping. The odds of one Tribute's child getting picked were nearly nonexistent, but I wondered if that mattered. It all came down to his mother in the end. If Tillo was a good little Victor, he wouldn't have to worry. Her demeanor in the Capitol told me more about her attitudes than her few words. I knew she hated the people she was forced to interact with. I only hoped she was good at hiding it.

All of that happened so long ago, but for me it was like yesterday. I'd traveled forward in time while everyone else lived life at a normal pace. I didn't know how different things were or if I still had any connections. I was in it alone.