Addie Child

I wanted to do all the crazy things the Games Building had to offer, but business came first. Also, bungee jumping was now banned after that Career boy did it a few years back, so I'd have to find something else.

I knew I wanted allies, and I knew who I wanted. I didn't care how many there were. Outliers needed to stick together. My first target was the first other Tribute I came across in training.

"Careers suck. Want to be allies? They can't fight everyone at once," I said to Zinnia. She was sitting in the middle of the room with her arms folded and a very determined expression. She thought a long time before answering.

"All right," she said.

"Want to come help me find more?" I asked. She didn't answer and glared stonily at any of the attendants who crossed her vision. I finally gave up.

Okay, that was a bit weird. Next time for sure. It was hard to keep my eyes on the prize when there were so many cool weapons and things to try. I had to take a break and clamber across the rope course. It was just too tempting.

My next target was Chase, who had been adding a thatch roof to a homemade shelter for ages. His arm was still in a cast, so that probably made things more difficult.

"Careers suck. Want to be allies? They can't fight us all," I said. He was so surprised he knocked over one wall of his shelter.

"Me? YES!" he said.

See, that was much better.

Inky Balboa

It was really cool to see all the different Tributes. They came from all across Panem, and we all had such different lives. I already knew I wanted an alliance, so I agreed right away when Addie asked me. She went off to get more allies, and I stuck around to see what I could find out. Mostly I wanted to know what sort of Arena to expect, so I could plan better. Obviously, the best place to find out about the Games would be by asking people who were there.

Tillo was first. I already knew her Arena, of course, since she was our only Victor. Hers was a huge shopping mall. That meant it might be inside, and in that case my biggest worry would be hiding. There were three other people in our alliance. Their mentors would be willing to help me out, too. The others might get mad if I asked, so I stayed away from them.

Zinnia's mentor Peppermint won in a mangrove forest. Her mentor Orchard won in a plain field, since that was the first Games. Eleven's other Victor, Mars, won in a cave Arena. So far, I'd learned that the Gamemakers liked the Arenas to be different. Ours would probably be something they hadn't done before. Maybe a factory? That would be nice for me.

Rory's mentor Bambi won in a wheat field Arena. That made four outdoor Arenas and only one indoor one. That might mean the Gamemakers liked outdoors more, or it might mean they'd want an indoor one this time for variety. Ten's other Victor, Cornflower, won in a tundra Arena. Her friend Fluvius said the Gamemakers didn't like that year because it was boring. They probably wouldn't make another Arena as harsh as that one.

Last of all was Chase. Nubu just won, so I remembered that his Arena was a jungle with dinosaurs.

After I'd asked everyone, I went over my information. Most of the Arenas were warm and most were outside. They always had some sort of food to make the Games last longer. I needed to do more research, but I had a good start. I'd hit up the library next. It was sure to have tons of information on all the Games. And it was a library.

Rory Harris

I didn't know how it was possible to get lost in a single building. Back home we had sprawling fields where you could go hours without seeing anything, but I'd never had a problem. Here, everything looked the same, and I was all turned around before I realized it.

I stopped by a sign and tried to figure out where I was. The sign was covered in rows and columns, and whenever I looked, they scrambled themselves up. It was impossible to follow which room was with what number. It wasn't helping at all.

"You lost?" someone asked next to me. I recognized one of the Victors from Eleven, but I didn't know his name. He was old, so he must have been one of the earlier ones. He stopped next to me and squinted at the sign.

"I never could read these things. Too many numbers and letters all close together," he said. I'd never heard of anyone being like me. I thought I was just dumb.

"Do you need glasses?" I asked. He smiled.

"No, that's not the problem. Tell the truth, I never learned to read more than a few words. It never came easy to me," he said. "They're all mixed up."

"Really?" I asked, and I was embarrassed I was so eager. "But you won anyway."

"You don't have to read to win. I was the biggest. But sometimes small people win too," the man said.

"I hope so," I said, even though I wasn't the smallest.

"Here, I think I can help you. I've been here so much I have it all memorized. You belong on the Ten floor, right? Let's get you back," the man said. And that's how I met Mars.

Zinnia Fraser

I didn't talk to Peppermint or Orchard. I knew they were only trying to help, but I was too mad. I knew it wasn't their fault, but I was so mad I didn't want to talk to anyone. I wished there was more I could do to show how wrong this all was. I wanted to run out of the building or tear off the wallpaper or something. Anything to get people to see.

I knew a few things from back in Eleven, like how to go hungry and how to find plants. I didn't want to try anything else in the training room. I didn't want any of them to pat themselves on the back and say how nice they were for helping me learn things. They didn't get any credit for teaching me how not to die when they were the ones killing me.

I'd made all the ruckus I could. I disrupted the parade and I refused to go out and mingle with the gawkers waiting to see a real live Tribute. Who was soon to be a real dead Tribute. I hardly left my room except for meals. There didn't seem to be much more I could do, and it was endlessly frustrating.

But sometimes nothing is the most powerful thing you can do. So next time the Avox knocked on my door to call me for dinner, I didn't open it. I let her keep knocking until she finally fell silent and scurried away. A few minutes later, Pepper opened the door.

"Hey, what's wrong? Chowtime," she said. I shook my head.

"Are you sad or something? Because I don't know what to do if you are," she said. I looked out the window.

"Fine. If you get hungry, ring for room service," she said. But I wasn't going to. I read once about something people used to do forever ago. It wouldn't make any sense nowadays. But I was about to bring it back. I'd just started the first hunger strike Panem had seen in decades.

Chase Strata

"It's almost better. See?" I said to Nubu as I flexed my arm. It wasn't in a cast anymore, just a soft bandage. He flashed me a thumbs up.

The Games were actually good for me. Looking back, I was really sick. If I hadn't gotten Reaped and sent to a real hospital, I would have died. I was still probably going to die, but it was like being on hospice. I got the best stuff in the world for the few days I had left. I loved all the amazing food and the crazy stuff people in the Capitol thought was totally normal. It was the opposite of everything I'd ever known. I wished my mother could be with me. If I did win, I hoped she lived long enough to see it and come with me.

"Are there any lighthouses in the Capitol?" I asked Nubu.

"There aren't any lighthouses in all Panem. There haven't been for ages," he said.

"Oh," I said. I was glad Twelve was so backwards that my mother didn't know that.

"Maybe there are some left," Nubu said thoughtfully. "Come on. Let's look." He swiped his hand and called up the computer screen projected on the wall.

"Search: lighthouse," he said, and the screen blinked. Lines of text and pictures of lighthouses filled the wall. An orange and black one caught my eye.

"What's that one?" I asked. Nubu enlarged it.

"It's still up. It's a museum," he said. He found it on the GPS and I got a bird's eye view of it. I wasn't really there, but it was still wonderful to see it.

"Your mother likes these, right?" Nubu asked.

"Yeah, we always wanted to see one," I said, still enthralled by it. Nubu swiped around a bit and something clinked in the room service chute. He lifted the door and picked it out.

"Here. You can write her a message and I'll give it to her after the Games start," he said. He handed me a little picture of the lighthouse with lines on the back so I could write on it. She was going to love it.