Odeda got two POVs because I wrote hers thinking she needed one and didn't realize until I was done. No use wasting a POV, so I just added hers and wrote the others who needed one. Hence this chapter is longer than normal.

Odeda Titan POV

Everybody was curious about how the Career pack would turn out when we were all Careers. In the end, there was a pack after all, and it was the best of the best. It wasn't the biggest- just three people. There was me, Akari, and Venus. All the same, it was one of the strongest packs the Games had ever seen. Weirdly enough, there weren't many alliances this year. A lot of us were going it alone. A lot of us were stupid, since they were basically saying they were strong enough to fight a handful of alliances made up of seasoned killers. They had no idea what they were in for, and by the time they found out it would be too late.

I only hoped the Bloodbath didn't take too many victims. More specifically, I hoped everyone else in the Bloodbath didn't take too many victims. Not because I wanted them to live or because I thought the others would make things more painful. Heck, no. I wanted there to be enough people left that the Games would last a long time. I wanted to savor the hunt and enjoy every last kill. I never thought I'd get another chance at the Games, and I was going to enjoy every second.

It was unbearable waiting through the rest of the endless pomp and circumstance for the Games to start. I still had to get through the interviews and the last few days before the good stuff started. I could dabble in the training room or pick my first targets, but it was all dreadfully dull. Let the Games begin and long live Panem!

Glaudius Gold POV

I thought I was tough until I watched the recaps of Games that took place after my death. I didn't know what happened. When I went in, the Academy was a last resort. It was for people who were scared they would get picked and who wanted some insurance, or people who wanted to play at being brave gladiators. The children that came out of there now were monsters. They killed for fun and for glory. They thought there was glory in murder and they competed to see who was best at it.

The change came about so quickly. It started on a playground Arena with a girl who shot an arrow into a cowering boy whose voice hadn't even dropped yet. After her win, murderers conquered the next half-dozen Games in increasingly savage ways. I'd seen Crag around the Capitol, but until I watched his Games I didn't know the way he smashed childrens' heads into wet pieces. The Games had always been about death, but before, it was almost random. Most of the victims died of exposure or dehydration. The murders were usually acts of terrified passion or the depradations of a few depraved individuals. Before, "Hunger Games" referred to the Tributes trying to stave off starvation and malnutrition. Now they referred to the Careers and their hunger for blood.

I was trained, but this was something else. The greatest thing for some of these Careers wasn't to win, but to kill. I'd only volunteered for a chance at riches. I never wanted this. Was it karma? I was willing to kill for a big enough prize. Now I was up against people who were willing to kill for no reason at all.

Tally Sandpiper POV

I was such an underdog it wasn't funny. I knew how to shoot an arrow and how to heal wounds. Most of my opponents knew every weapon in the Training Room and their only worry was which one to use first. If Ole hadn't allied with me, I knew I'd have died in the Bloodbath.

What was there to even go home to? I was engaged when I volunteered. Heron told me I shouldn't go. He wanted a quiet life with me, not fame and riches in the Capitol. He got his wish after I died. I was happy he found someone else, but it was just one more thing that cut me off from my old life. All I had was the Capitol and the Games now. My only purpose in life was something I wasn't even good at.

Only a miracle would let me win. I was better off sticking with Ole and helping him as long as I could. I still wanted to live, even when the line between death and life was so blurred. The odds seemed insurmountable, but that didn't mean I could give up. I had to focus on one problem at a time. I might not be able to win the Games, but I could make it through one more day.

My priorities were clear. First of all, I was going to stay away from Orren. I would rather run to the Career pack and slap one upside the head than see him again. If it looked like he was going to get me, I didn't trust myself not to fall on my arrow. Second, I was going to avoid the others as much as I could. It seemed obvious, but a lot of them were probably spoiling for a fight and might cluster together. Ole wouldn't object to a quieter strategy. There were only two of us, and we were far from the most bloodthirsty.

Other than that, all I could do was try my best. My strongest advantage was that everyone knew how timid I was. They'd be looking for a grand fight, not a dull kill. In a Games that was all about killing, maybe I could win by simply surviving.

Chantal Ivingin POV

I'd died twice, and each time had changed me. Before I died the first time, I always underestimated myself. I was never the front-runner in my first Games. I fought battles I knew I could win and I kept clear of the pack. The second time, I was bolder. I knew how far I could go and when I reviewed the tapes of the first Resurrection Games, I was considered one of the villains in the Capitol. I wasn't the worst- that would be Rapture- but I was a bad guy, one of the ones to be scared of.

This time, I wanted to do even better, but I was more scared than in the first Resurrection Games. I was scared I wouldn't match up to my second performance. I was scared I'd fall flat and this would be my last chance. I'd had three chances at the Games. At any moment, the audience could get bored of me. If I wasn't a fan favorite, I wouldn't get picked again. Each looming death brought more pressure. It wasn't about the other girls anymore. It was about my life.

The second time, I was angry. I resented the others for underestimated me and I felt dark gratification that I was powerful enough to be feared. I wanted to claw my way to the top and light the Capitol ablaze with my strength and ferocity. This time, I really just wanted to win. I wanted to be the best after so many trials, and I wanted to live. I wasn't out to get any of my opponents. I was after the crown, and whatever happened before I got there was only because someone got in my way.

Ash Smith POV

One moment you're here, the next you're gone. That's how things can go in the Games. You can be killing and running amok one second, and then you're dead. No second chances and no time-outs. Mary Ellen taught me that.

Things were going to be different this time. I was going to spend less time goofing off and more time training. The alliances were all messed up this year and I didn't intend to get mixed up in that. Obviously, I couldn't trust anyone.

I had this much going for me: everyone thought I was a joke. I was the Career who died in the Bloodbath. I could make that work. If everyone thought I was a brainless jock, they'd never see me coming. It meant I had to keep up appearances until the Games started, though. Even while I trained and prepared, I had to look like I was partying and wasting time. I had to look as stupid as I was before my first Games. I didn't think that would be very hard. It was in my nature to underperform, even if I did get picked for the Games. The only difference was that this time, it was a show. I was here to win this time, and nobody would know until it was too late.

Charmaine Vale POV

I didn't want to go. I didn't want to hear the countdown again. I didn't want to see the bloodshed as we all ran for supplies. I didn't want to hide and fight for my life against two dozen other killers. Most of all, I didn't want to see what horrible mutts there were this time.

We weren't allowed to leave the Games building, but we were allowed to contact our families... those of us who still had them. Of course I asked right away if I could video call my mother. She picked up before it even rang a second time. Her face appeared on the screen and my chest clenched.

"Mom?" I said. She looked a little bit older, but she was the same as she'd ever been. As soon as she saw me she started crying, and then I lost it.

"Baby, are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm okay. I mean, I died, but I'm better now. Are you mad at me?" I asked through tears.

"Of course not. I wish you were here. I love you," she said.

"But I didn't win," I said. How could she not be disappointed?

"I don't care about that. I just want you home," she said. It almost made me feel worse that she cared so much. I didn't want to break her heart again. What was I thinking when I volunteered?

We must have talked for hours after that. We talked about everything from my room back home, which was just as I'd left it, to what I was supposed to do in the Games (which included not running into the Bloodbath and being careful to keep my clothes dry). After a while it seemed normal, like I was just talking to my mother. I treasured every word, and I knew I'd be calling back soon.

Mist Hastings POV

One of the women in the Capitol poisoned me. She had two men hold me down and she stuck a needle in my arm. She left me to die.

Nothing happened at first. Things just got quieter. There weren't so many people in the room. I felt like the people who were always chasing me had finally stopped, and I didn't hear so many people talking. Everything was clearer, and I knew why I was always scared. Another woman came and joined me in the room.

"Hey, Mist. How you feeling?" she asked. Her voice didn't echo like it did before. I wondered where Troy had gone. Maybe back to his grave.

"All right. You're my mentor, right?" I asked. I'd seen her before. I thought I'd died after that, but that didn't make any sense. A lot of things didn't make any sense.

"Is there anything weird in the room? Like am I on fire or something?" the woman asked. It seemed like that would have been normal before, but now it sounded silly.

"No," I said. I tried to think about what had happened before. It didn't seem silly when I remembered people fighting and children dying. The Capitol must have messed with my memories. They were always changing people. I remembered one thing more than anything else.

"I killed someone," I said. He was on fire. It was a long time ago.

"We've all killed people," the woman said. I was right about the world. It was full of murderers and hunters. I couldn't be sure of anything.

Kaliana Reese POV

After training and all competition that came along with it, I was relieved when it was time to get ready for the interviews. My last interview was the highlight of my time in the Capitol. Seutonius was the only one here who really cared about all of us. I always wondered how he ended up in that job and I hoped he didn't feel guilty. We all loved him, and we knew nothing was his fault.

"You haven't met Harlequin, have you?" one of my stylists said as she applied my makeup.

"No. Who's that?" I asked, smudging my lipstick. The stylist tutted and reapplied it.

"She's the interviewer, silly," she said. I jerked my head and smeared the rest of my makeup.

"What? What happened to Seutonius?" I asked.

"He's like a hundred years old, honey. He doesn't work here anymore," she said. There was no reason for it, but I wanted to burst into tears. I didn't care who Harlequin was. She wasn't Seutonius. I was stuck in the Capitol with a bunch of Careers who trained twice as hard as I did and the only thing that made the days worthwhile was gone. He'd have told me to be brave. He'd have said I could win it, and I would have believed it if it came from him. I wondered if he still watched the Games. I almost asked if he was still alive, but I couldn't bear it. He had to be. He had to be alive so he could still be rooting for me. Then I would know I could win.

He was still alive. I was sure of it. And that meant I could win. I didn't have to be scared. I was trained. I was strong. I could win.

That leaves me with Orren, Jynx, Priscilla, Mary Ellen, Hunter, Victory, Daisy, Marley, and Aversa before the Games start. I shall write them after the interviews. This chapter ended up with a theme of the Tributes who were less trained and more nervous. It just sort of happened.

Mist just got shot with the strongest anti-psychotic medication known to Panem. She won't have access to it in the Games and will be back to her old self by the time she gets to the platform, but it's neat to see what she might be like if she didn't deal with severe mental illness.