Kendra Perone's POV – District 1 Female

At the beginning of the day, instead of the usual training hall, the tributes were required to go to a large waiting room filled with comfy chairs and nothing else. We were waiting for our turn to enter the training hall to show the gamemakers what we were capable of. All the days of training were leading up to this moment. After today, we would be given a ranked score that would help us get the sponsors we needed in the arena. Not that I was worried about sponsorships or anything. I was a career and I was in the Career Pack. Sponsorships were pretty much the only thing that I could guarantee would be there in the arena.

The only things really of note in the waiting room were a set of brown doors that led to the training hall and the peacekeepers that stood across the walls of the room. Each of them had their eyes on all of us, making sure we did nothing stupid, like tried to kill each other, escape, or something along those lines.

Immediately after entering the room, Ariail and I walked over to a few chairs near the brown doors. We were the first district to arrive, therefore, we had free reign to any seats we wanted. I was bored within seconds of sitting down. There was honestly nothing to look at and nothing to do. I couldn't train at a station, I couldn't read a book, and I was going to be forced to wait for them to call out my name for the gamemaker session. Thank whatever god was out there for letting District One be the first district to present. I doubt I would be able to wait if I was in District Twelve.

Ariail and I made no attempts to talk to each other, just the way I preferred it. This silence was ended though when the other districts started to arrive. Districts Two, Three, and Four came in simultaneously a few seconds after we sat down. Once they came in, Ariail immediately signaled to the other tributes in the Career Pack. The four other members started to walk towards us.

Fan-fucking-tastic. Another group meeting.

There was no point to constantly meet up with the other careers. Everyone in the alliance knew that we were all working together. We all knew what weapons we were going to use and we all had a general idea on what to do in the bloodbath. This was needless socializing, and I was not interested in it in the slightest. I may be willing to work with these people, but I did not want to have any unnecessary conversations with them. I had no interest in getting close to anyone again. I'd much rather we all be in our separate corners and not speak to each other.

"Good morning." Victoire greeted both Ariail and me with a smile. "You both ready for today?"

"We've all been ready before the first day of training. This will be just be a useless formality. We walk in, show-off a little, and collect our high training score and the sponsorships." Ariail declared immediately with a smug grin.

Ariail had a very condescending way of talking that pissed me off, but he was usually right on things like this. This was not something I was worried about, and this was coming from a girl who considered herself a paranoid, overly-cautious person in general. I had gone through training back in District One and had prepared for the Games during the past few years with my boyfriend, Matthias. Of all things, the fucking Gamemaker Session was the least of my worries.

"Any plans on what you all are going to show the Gamemakers?" Cascade asked as he and the rest of the Career Pack took their seats.

I shook my head in response, refusing to dignify that question with an answer. Yeah, ask about our plans for a private session with the Gamemakers. I'm sure we will all answer honestly.

"They are private sessions Cascade. It's none of your business." Alaska reminded him with an eye roll.

"We're all going to be working with each other in the arena anyway. It's not like we'll be hiding too much from each other once we're in there, so what's the fucking big deal?" Cascade snapped back at her, giving his district partner a glare. It wasn't much of a secret that they disliked each other. It was only a little less hostile than my relationship with Ariail.

"Nevertheless, they're private. None of us should share our plans." I spoke up, echoing Alaska's thoughts.

Cascade turned his head towards me before he sighed and looked downward, accepting that he was out-numbered in this little debate.

"Regardless of whether we intend on sharing our plans, remember this: everyone here must receive an eight of higher. If any of you get lower than that, you will be removed from the Career Pack." Ariail informed us sharply as he crossed his arms.

"Because getting an eight will be so difficult for any of us." I rolled my eyes at his decree.

Ariail glared at me in response to my sarcasm, which in turn caused me to grin. I was really starting to enjoy our little interactions. Ariail took himself way too seriously and it was so easy to get under his skin. It made him predictable: a trait that I really enjoyed in an ally. There was no doubt that later in the arena, I would be able to manipulate our 'leader' into doing something stupid to get himself killed just through a few taunts and words. This meant that I had one less major threat to deal with to win the Games.

"I'm not doubting anyone here, Kendra. I'm just reminding everyone about the score. We are the careers for this year and we have a legacy to uphold. It is essential we impress the Gamemakers, who have had to see many of different Career Packs over the years." Ariail informed me sharply.

Legacy? Ariail was entirely full of shit. Who honestly cared about living up to a legacy? I'm not trying to impress the damn Capitol audience or anyone back home. I'm here for the adventure of the Hunger Games and I was here to win it – both for me and for Zelena!

Nevertheless, I said nothing. Neither did any of the rest of the careers. With that declaration, the Career Pack fell into sweet, enjoyable silence. Being around the other careers was enjoyable to me when no one was jabbering on-and-on about whatever. I could only hope that during the arena, we wouldn't have any needless discussions like our damn meetings.

With nothing else to do, I turned to look around the room to the other tributes. The District Nine tributes were just walking into the room. Only three more districts were left to arrive. Once they arrived, then we could finally start this thing.

District Ten, District Eleven, and District Twelve: hurry the fuck up already!

My eyes turned back to the rest of the Careers. I began to study each and every one of them, as I did each day during the training periods.

Each of us had our own specialties from what I observed. Alaska was the fastest tribute amongst us and seemed the best at trapping – an excellent strength when hunting tributes. Cascade was the best with survival knowledge, which would make him a valuable tool during the beginning few days in the arena. Victoire was easily the best tribute here in regards to long-range weaponry. In close-range fighting, Ariail and I probably tied as the best tribute. Even though I would never admit this to his face, the two of us were very even in skill. I had to admit, a straight-up fight between the two of us would be very interesting. That would probably never happen, as I could easily manipulate him into killing himself off in a much safer way for me, but I couldn't help but be slightly curious about how we would compete against each other.

Nearly all of the careers were easy to predict exactly what they were skilled with. It made it easy for me to plan exactly how I would take them down later in the Games. The only real wild card was Lepolio, who seemed to be hiding exactly what he was capable of doing. That made him my one-and-only concern amongst the other careers. I had no clue what he was truly capable of. Until proven otherwise in the arena, he was by far the tribute I was most concerned about, and if any career had to die early somehow, I hoped it would be him.

After a few moments of analysis of my fellow careers, I noticed in my peripheral vision the tributes from District Ten, Eleven, and Twelve enter the room. A few seconds after they arrived, a woman wearing a white lab coat entered from the brown doors in the front. I couldn't help but grin in response. Finally. It was time to stop waiting. It was time for this session to begin!

"Good morning everyone. In just a few moments, the gamemakers will be ready to begin your private sessions. You will have five minutes to show your skills to the gamemakers and show them exactly what you are capable of. You can use the time however you want and use any of the weapons or skills you have may learned in the past three days. Do your best, because your training score will be based solely on how your private session goes. It is important for you all to stand out to ensure sponsors." The woman informed us in a rather condescending tone-of-voice, as if she was lecturing us on some news we didn't already understand. "Once the gamemakers are ready, I will call you all by name to enter the room to show your talents. We will be starting with the District One female and we will move our way down from there in girl-boy order."

I was first! Good. I didn't even have to wait for Ariail to go in: I could just show-off what I could do right away and get out. Right after, I would probably return to my room and go back to planning. Maybe if I wanted a break from arena preparations, I'd read one of the Capitolian history books. I had to admit, there were quite a few good, interesting reads here.

The woman walked back into through the brown doors. She was gone for maybe a minute before she returned. This time, she was holding a paper in her hands.

"Alright, the gamemakers are ready. Let's not waste their time, shall we?" She questioned as she looked at the paper. "Our first tribute will be Ms. Kendra Perone. Where are you?"

I stood up with a smirk, giving no verbal reply.

"Perfect. Right this way young lady!" She called out to me.

I rolled my eyes at the 'young lady' part, but made no comment to her. Instead, I turned my head back to Ariail and the rest of the careers. My eyes focused on my district partner as my smirk turned into a more malicious grin.

"Now Ariail, before I go, remember that you need an eight or higher or else you will be removed from the Career Pack." I told him in a very sweet tone-of-voice. "Don't want anyone holding the alliance back, do we?"

"Fuck off!" He hissed in response as he glared at me. Despite his anger, I heard Cascade and even Alaska snicker to themselves, much to the chagrin of 'the leader of the Career Pack'.

Feeling satisfied at finding another 'dig' against Ariail, I turned around and started to walk towards the Capitol woman and the brown doors.

The training hall looked no different than it had the previous days. All the weapon stations were there: each of which were still filled with a multitude of choices to use in combat. The only true difference in the room was the lack of Capitol trainers. Instead, in their place, was a large, wide desk that had a group of men and women sitting at it. They were the gamemakers. I recognized Head Gamemaker Brand and the gamemaker from the first day of training, Gamemaker Singed, sitting there amongst their co-workers. All of them were staring at me intently. They were all holding pens in their hands and had papers in front of them, most likely to take notes during each private session.

"District One female, Kendra Perone," Head Gamemaker Brand read off my information before he turned to face me, "you may begin whenever you are ready."

Showtime!

I ran over to the axe training station to show off my speed to the gamemakers. I quickly grabbed my first one and threw it at the first training dummy at the station almost immediately. The axe made direct contact with the dummy's head, splitting it in half before it fell to the ground in pieces.

I repeated this process nine times. I grabbed different axes and threw them at various training dummies. Eight of my nine axes came into direct contact with vital areas on the dummy. Each of them would be dead if they real life tributes. The ninth axe hit the training dummy in the shoulder. I cursed inwardly. If that was a tribute, they would be pretty wounded, but not dead. There was a chance they could still fight, meaning there was a chance they could still kill me. During the actual arena, I had to make sure my axe throws were ten for ten: that there was no chance I didn't kill my targets in one hit.

However, I was in the middle of the private session, and nine out of ten fatal axe throws should be impressive to the standards of the gamemakers. That had to have been a good opening impression.

"How much time do I have left?" I questioned them as I grabbed a hatchet from the rack of axes.

"You still have three minutes, twenty-seven seconds." Brand informed me.

Good. Still more time. I quickly gripped the hatchet before charging at another set of training dummies. I quickly started to strike at them, chopping off limb from limb in quick, forceful manner. I did not stop until I obliterated all of the dummies. They were all nothing more than pieces on the ground by the time I finished. I took one second to look at the work of my devastation and grinned. I was quite confident that I came across as a capable killer to the gamemakers now.

After that, I hurried over to the fire-making station and made a fire as quickly as I could. No matter what the other careers thought, basic survival skills were important and the gamemakers would factor it into their scoring. What good is a trained killer if they were simply going to die alone to the arena itself?

Once I finished my fire, I rushed over to the gamemakers' desk and started to recite all of the information I had on edible plants and poisonous plants. I noticed one of the gamemakers writing down everything I said word-for-word. He was most likely going to fact-check everything I said to make sure I wasn't bullshitting them.

A few seconds passed by before the Head Gamemaker stood up. He held out his hand, signaling me to stop.

"That is more than enough. Well done Kendra." He told me. "You are dismissed."

I nodded in response as I started to walk away towards the exit. Before I left, though, I made sure to take a look at the faces of the gamemakers. I noticed a lot of them writing notes down on their papers. Each of them had a very pleased, content look on their face. I could tell that my performance satisfied them. They all knew that I was definitely career material and worthy of a score to reflect that. I felt confident in my performance. That was only a taste of what was to come into the arena.

While there was a part of me concerned about Zelena and her safety, I knew that she would be fine. I was trained for the Games and that I was going to win the Games this year. I wasn't going to let myself get worried about her hypothetical death. She wasn't going to die and I was going to come back a victor after experiencing the adventure of my life.

I could hardly wait to enter the arena.

Ethan Neurus's POV – District 3 Male

"Mr. Ariail Bardineux, it's your turn." The Capitol attendant read off the second name. "Come this way!"

The District One boy, Ariail, stood up from his seat amongst his fellow careers. My eyes followed him. He marched over to the brown doors confidently. He already knew that he was going to acquire a high training score. We all knew. He had nothing to be concerned about. In contrast, I had a multitude of reasons to be worried.

"Ethan you're shaking." Stephanie noted with a frown on her face. "Are you okay?"

I turned my head away from Ariail and focused on the two tributes in the seats next to me: Stephanie and Icarus. I was very gracious that they permitted me to sit next to them and even more gracious to have them as my allies. It was a relief that I wouldn't have to face the gamemakers and the arena alone: I had the backing of my allies.

"I'm fine Stephanie." I dismissed her concern. "I'm simply anxious right now. This waiting period is torturous."

"Believe me, I understand completely." Stephanie sighed in agreement. She took off her glasses and started to wipe them off with a handkerchief in her pocket. Either they were dirty to a loose degree that I had not noticed or it was some form of a nervous tic of hers. "I've been freaking out about today all last night. All I hope is that I learned enough from the survival stations and my own independent studies."

"I am hoping too." I mumbled in response. "We need a high training score for our suits anyway."

Stephanie and I finished the blueprints of the armor suits yesterday and I was very pleased with the end results. We composed a design that I feel will be quite possible to create once we are in the arena. Resources will not be much of a difficult problem for the production of our armored suits. What will be difficult, however, will be receiving the tools needed to produce the suits.

We're going to need interested sponsors to supply us with the proper equipment to construct the suits from the resources. The easiest way to get these 'interested sponsors' was to get high training scores. It was essential that we were both able to accomplish this goal.

"Don't stress yourselves out about today too much. It's not the end of the world if you don't get a high score." Icarus commented to both of us.

"Victoire McBlock, come on up! You're next." The Capitol attendant read the next name.

I barely paid attention to the girl from District Two as she started to walk to the training hall doors. Instead, I remained focused on Icarus. I looked at him in surprise.

"Are you not concerned at all about today?" I questioned.

"No." He answered bluntly with a shrug.

I blinked in response before I finally was able to respond. "… I know that it was a joke and rumor amongst the other tributes, but now I really am starting to wonder about your humanity. You act in a manner that resembles a robot."

Both Stephanie and Icarus chuckled in response. He had to be playing up this 'emotionless' role due to the rumors. I think he took some enjoyment out of hearing the 'robot' rumor.

"I'm human Ethan. I'm completely flesh and blood, albeit slightly burned flesh." Icarus replied. "I just don't think it's in our best interest to freak out about things like high 'training scores'. Try and get a high score, yeah, but it's not the end of the world if you don't get one. Plenty of victors have won with abysmal scores. They're a prediction of your success and that's it: they're not a guarantee of how the Games will go."

Icarus seemed to have wisdom and was able to look at the Games from a very realistic point-of-view that most people couldn't. It was something I genuinely respected about him. I assumed his mindset came from his volunteer status. He was probably able to see the Games in a different way from myself, Stephanie, and the other reaped tributes, who felt doomed by the Games and were eagerly looking for a way to escape from the arena. I really wish I could see things through his perspective. It would probably make me feel more confident about this whole experience.

Stephanie nodded in acceptance. "You have a point, yeah."

"So I take it you are okay with receiving a bad score then?" I questioned him.

He shook his head in response. "I'm aiming to get a pretty high score, but it's not the end of the world if I don't. I'm not going to moan about it if I don't. That's just going to get me killed."

It was true. As cheesy as it sounded, attitude did impact things. I was going to have to work on my attitude and confidence if I wanted to stand a chance later in the arena.

"Lepolio Huang, please come up. The gamemakers are waiting for you." The Capitol attendant read the fourth name.

The three of us said nothing for a few minutes. I watched the tall District Two boy walk up without any visible emotion. Like Icarus and the other careers before him, he wasn't concerned about the private sessions or what his score would be. It was the necessary mentality. But here I was, still feeling anxious and was trying to stop myself from shaking. So why I could not calm myself down?

The next five minutes passed and the Capitol attendant read off the next name. "It's now your turn, Kaylee Harper. Come on up!"

I noticed Kaylee stand up from her seat next to the two tributes from District Twelve. She cracked her knuckles instinctively as she walked through the brown doors to the training hall. She, like the previous four tributes, looked confident. It was something about her I suppose. From our brief conversations, Kaylee never struck me as the type of person to be intimidated by something easily.

"What's your district partner going to do?" Stephanie asked me.

"I don't have the faintest idea." I replied with a sigh. "Most likely something with knives. I've spotted her at the station a multitude of times during the past few days."

"Is she any good?" She continued to question.

"I'm not completely certain, but she's most certainly superior to me. I'm rather atrocious with them." I commented in self-deprecation. "What are you all planning to do?"

Stephanie opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off by Icarus.

"They're private sessions. No need to be sharing too much information." He stated sharply.

As expected. While he did warm up to me personally and we could have a decent conversation, Icarus did not trust me. I still had no clue why. Was there something suspicious about me? I really thought I was behaving normally around them and was showing them that I was with them. I had no desire to betray him or Stephanie! I was willing to work with them the entire way. Although I suppose I was going to have to betray them at some point later in the arena, I guess. Only one tribute could be crowned victor after all. Still, that day would be coming much later. There was no reason to be suspicious of me now!

A few more minutes of silence passed before the Capitol attendant read the next name: my name! "Ethan Neurus, it's your turn."

I stood up from seat slightly hesitantly. I took a deep breath before mentally preparing myself. I was ready for this. I had to be like Kaylee and Icarus. I had to be like the Careers. I had to be confident.

"Good luck Ethan!" Stephanie told me with a smile.

"I wish you the best of luck as well." I told her, returning her smile with a nervous one of my own.

Icarus and I shared a brief look of acknowledgment before I finally sighed and walked towards the brown doors and the gamemakers.

"Ethan Neurus, your time starts now. Begin when ready." Head Gamemaker Brand informed me.

I gulped in response as I struggled to remember my manta. Be confident Ethan!

"Thank you very much Head Gamemaker. Now, if I could have a moment of everyone's time please." I requested.

If it was possible, the eyes of the gamemakers focused even more intently on me. I did my best to ignore it, lest I grow more and more anxious. Instead of looking at them, I pulled out a sheet of paper from my pockets: a copy of the blueprints for the armor suits Stephanie and I planned on making. I took a deep breath before speaking.

"If any of you are aware of my personal background, I am a robotics developer in one of the most prestigious factories in District Three. Machinery designs simply come naturally to me. I'm rather familiar with how to build robots and other forms of mechanics. I decided one of the best ways to increase the likelihood of my survival in the Games was designing something to keep me alive. With that in mind, I designed a suit of armor that I would be able to create during the Hunger Games." I informed them as I raised the paper. "In my hands, I hold the blueprints for my suit of armor. It has listed the necessary resources as well as the uses for the suit."

I approached the gamemaker table and held out the blueprints to the gamemaker on the far left of the table: a red-haired woman with a tanned skin complexion wearing some floral pattern dress. "I'd like you all to look at the blueprints, keeping in mind that a high score would guarantee its production and would ensure me the highest chance of returning home to my parents."

The red-haired gamemaker hesitantly took the paper and studied it intently. She quickly looked over it and passed it on. One-by-one, the gamemakers studied my designs. I noticed each of them looked impressed with the work. A proud smile developed on my face It was working!

Finally, the paper reached the gamemaker on the far right end of the table: Gamemaker Singed from the first day of training. After he finished it, he handed it back to me.

"I must say, the suit seems rather original. I'd be interested in seeing it in action." He commented neutrally. Then, a frown developed on his face. "Is that all you had to show us though? Did you not learn anything from the actual training stations here?"

The smile on my face quickly disappeared. Were… they not pleased with my designs?

I rushed over to the knife training station and displayed in, admittedly, bad ability at throwing them. Once I finished there, I walked over to the fire-making station and showed them a fire. The second I finished the fire, I noticed the Head Gamemaker stand up.

"Time is up. That'll be all, Ethan." He told me sharply.

I nodded in response. Before I turned away to leave the room, I studied the expressions on each of the gamemakers. All of them were writing down on their papers intently. What I did notice, though, was that the impressed look on their faces was no longer visible. Instead, they seemed a combination of disappointed and annoyed.

A frown developed on my face. Did I really look that bad to them?

Dejectedly, I slowly walked out of the room. In the back of my head, I knew I handled the private session poorly. I needed to impress them for the tools to build my suit of armor and now I failed. Based on the looks on their faces, I did not earn the high score I needed. I was most likely going to earn the low score that I most likely deserved. As my mother would put it, I failed like I usually did. I was nothing more than a failure.

All I could hope for was that Stephanie and Icarus would do better than I did… We haven't even gotten into the arena and I was already holding the alliance back. Just great…

Winnie Goldstein's POV – District 7 Female

"Alaska Dayte, please come forward. The gamemakers are waiting." The Capitol attendant stated.

The girl from District Four stood up and walked towards the brown doors to enter the training hall. She left the boy from District Four alone, who looked awkward sitting where five other careers were. Luckily for him, he wasn't going to be alone for too long: he was the next tribute on the list to be called after all. I was alone the entire time I've been in the Capitol so far, I was going to be alone the entire time of the waiting period, and I would remain alone for the remaining time during the Hunger Games.

Not like I minded it too much. The only two people I really associated with were Marv and Sherri and even with them, I was still very quiet and kept to myself. And here, most of the other tributes with me were older kids. I was the youngest here, with only the boy from Three and the two tributes from District Eight being close in age. Everyone else was fifteen or older and I had no desire to speak to them at all.

Perhaps I was being a little too judgmental. The two tributes from District Nine did try to talk to me earlier during the training days and they seemed like they were probably nice enough people. However, I simply couldn't talk to them. Maybe it was just me being ageist, but I had too many bad experiences with those older than me. They were rather scary at times and they always took advantage of me and Marv. They never cared: they would simply stab us in the back at some point. As a result of these experiences, I couldn't get over my distrust for older kids. They were all the same to me: just like my older brother, his friends, and Raegae.

"Cascade Bolt, your turn." The Capitol attendant called out the name of the last career.

Instead of Cascade, my eyes focused on Raegae. The boy was sitting next to the girl from District Ten, talking to her. Just from looking at the two, I knew he was being very obnoxious and she was sick and tired of him.

Raegae was, simply, a horrible person. He reminded me of my older brother, Daren. He was an older boy oblivious to the feelings of others who only cared about sex. Raegae talked about previous sexual encounters all the time and he was constantly trying to hook up with our escort, Autumn. He started almost the second he talked to her on the train. It was disgusting and improper! What kind of person was able to go up to someone that they had just met and ask them, word-for-word, 'Want to fuck?' He was a chauvinistic pig!

Somehow, Raegae seemed like a worse version of Daren. There were more things I disliked about him than being an older nymphomaniac boy who didn't care for others. The first time I met Raegae involved him sending bees after a girl littler and younger than him and my opinion has only grown worse with each passing day. He had been rude, he swore every second, and he had no filter whatsoever.

I was one to acknowledge my own faults when they were apparent to me and I definitely was aware that I had ageism. Once I became older, if I had the luxury of living after the Hunger Games, I was pretty sure I'd grow out of it. However, one thing I knew wouldn't change was my dislike for boys like Raegae. I was not going to miss him and I was excited for the actual Hunger Games to start just so I could get away from him.

A few seconds later, I took a deep breath and turned my head away. I got myself really worked up thinking about him!

"Stephanie Volk, come on up. Don't keep the gamemakers waiting too long!" The Capitol attendant spoke up.

The blonde haired girl from District Five took a deep breath. She adjusted her glasses as she walked forward towards the brown doors. After her, it would be her district partner's turn. Then it would be the two from District Six. Then it would be me!

Deep breaths Winnie!

I had an idea on exactly what I wanted to present to the gamemakers. All I could hope was that they would still be interested when it was my turn. My turn would be after all of the careers, the District Five boy that volunteered, and the two tributes from District Six that everybody seemed interested in. I was the first one to occur in what they would probably see as an 'uninteresting' set of tributes. That's the reputation most outer district tributes had. It certainly didn't help that I was twelve. They were going to perceive me as fragile and weak. There's no way they think I stand a chance to win.

Little do they know…

I would like to think I stood a much better chance than I did when I got reaped. I ate a ton of different foods on the train and made sure I picked up on a few pounds. I no longer looked malnourished and pathetically skinny. I then picked up on quite a few different tricks and skills during the training days. I didn't have enough time to perfect everything I wanted to learn, but I did learn a lot. The twelve year old tributes were usually seen as bloodbath fodder, but I was ready to show them. I was going to come back home to Marv!

"Icarus Bolt! Your turn!" The Capitol attendant read off another name.

I didn't turn my head to look at the lanky boy from District Five. Instead, I was focused on my own personal thoughts on Marv. This was the first time the two of us have ever been separated. There was not a single life in our twelve years of life where we were away. Now, it's been weeks since I've seen him and been with him. I missed him a ton. I missed spending time with him in the district doing errands together. I missed our walks through the forests of District Seven. I missed having meals with him whenever we could afford it.

My eyes started to become wet, which made me shake my head to the side. I was not going to cry here: not when it could make me appear weaker. But… God, I just missed my brother so much! I had to get home to see him. I had to get home to keep him alive!

On the train, I originally decided I was going to screw around with the Hunger Games. I was going to embrace my status as a possible walking corpse, enjoy my last few days of life, and then die in a rebellious manner in the arena somehow, hopefully in a way that would encourage someone to revolt. After hearing about the Quarter Quell twist though, I knew I couldn't die. A rebellion could wait a few more years. Right now, my one goal was to get back home to my brother.

It was a common stereotype that the younger tributes couldn't kill. We were just too weak and innocent: it was US who were going to get killed. That was one I was hoping to amend. I was more than willing to kill: I was ready for it. I was going to do anything to get back to my twin brother!

My thoughts were quickly interrupted as the lights in the waiting room began to flicker. It was only for a few seconds, but it was noticeable. What could have caused that?

Seconds after the light went out, the Capitol attendant read off the next name: "Could Alexandra Varas please come forward?"

The District Six girl walked forward confidently, her hands in the pockets of her pants. I was now the next female tribute. I closed my eyes in thought.

Deep breaths Winnie!

"Yo Winnie! What's up?"

My eyes widened immediately as I noticed the source of the voice: Raegae. My district partner was now occupying the seat next to mine with that same, sleazy grin on his face.

"Weren't you talking to the girl from District Ten? What are you doing here?" I asked aggressively. Normally, I tried to be polite in conversation, but I couldn't help myself with Raegae. He invoked a fury in me that I just couldn't quite comprehend. It had to be due to the similarities with Daren.

"Ugh, let's not talk about Maddison. Was just trying to be polite and have a civilized conversation with someone, but nooooooo, that just can't happen with anyone, can it?" Raegae groaned in annoyance. "Hate that bitch."

I scoffed at his wording. He hardly knew her! What person called someone they didn't know a bitch?

"What makes you think you'll get a civilized conversation out of me?" I asked him, rolling my eyes slightly.

"Well, you're my district partner. Just because we aren't allies doesn't mean you dislike me. All district partners have to have some good relationship." Raegae noted with a chuckle.

"No, it doesn't. I don't like you Raegae." I answered bluntly.

"Ah, quit fucking with me. I know deep, deep down, you and I are the best of pals!" He informed me.

"Booker Comston, it's now your turn." The Capitol attendant read the next name.

I couldn't even look at the District Six boy as he walked off. All I could do was glare at Raegae.

"Don't think you know me or what I think Raegae. You don't. You don't know anything. I don't like you and I never will." I hissed at him.

"Keep telling yourself that kid." He shook his head. "You nervous at all? You're next, y'know?"

"I know." I rolled my eyes. "No, I'm not nervous."

"Huh? Really?" Raegae gave me a confused look. "Weird. My little brother's your age and I'm pretty sure he'd be pissing himself if he was here instead of me."

I shook my head in frustration, saying nothing. I really did not want our conversation to continue. Raegae simply infuriated me.

The next five minutes felt like torture as I did my best to ignore Raegae's chatter. All I focused on was the training hall doors, hoping that the boy from District Six would hurry up and finish his damn private session.

Finally, my prayers were answered as the Capitol attendant finally spoke up again: "Will Winnie Goldstein please come forward? It's your turn."

I didn't waste a second. I jumped out of my seat and ran forward towards the door. I didn't give Raegae any time to react or any time to make a comment. Finally, I was away from him for a little bit…

Now I could focus on the actual Hunger Games for a little bit.

"Winnie Goldstein, your time starts now." The Head Gamemaker told me sharply. "Begin when you wish."

I nodded in response. Immediately, I headed in the direction of the knife training station. I made sure to run the way there. I knew I was quick and I wanted the gamemakers to be aware of it. Anything to raise my training score!

After a quick, thirty second display with throwing knives where I managed to hit roughly over half of my targets, I ran over to the survival areas. I made a fire as fast as I could using all of the supplies there. I finished it rather quickly and realized I had plenty more time to show off more of my talents.

The thought to show off more survival knowledge crossed my mind, but then another idea entered my head: why not I show the gamemakers what I was experimenting on during my last day of training?

I ran, once again to show my speed, over to the survival station on poison creation. Different vials were on display, showcasing multiple poisons unknown to most people. After researching, though, I knew exactly what they were. I grabbed a handful of vials, probably about five or six, and brought them over to the gamemaker table and placed the vials of poisons on the desk. Once I was there, I began reciting the different types of poisons found in each vial. I also then explained how I would create them in the arena with what types of plants and natural chemicals.

I was about to explain the fifth poison when the Head Gamemaker stood up. "That's all the time. Thank you for the display Winnie. You may leave now. Before you go, though, make sure to return the poisons back to the stand."

"Yes sir." I replied politely as I grabbed the poisons and went back to the poison stand.

A wave of relief went through my body now that my performance was done. Overall, I was pretty proud of myself. The gamemakers had to see that I was tougher than I appeared. I was especially proud about my knowledge of poisons. Everything about poisons seemed to click in my head. It was very easy for me to pick up. I knew I would be able to produce a few of the different types of poison once I was in the arena. All I needed to do was find the natural ingredients and I was set. It was just another weapon, in addition to knives.

These past few days, I have been working my butt off. Maybe it looked like I stood no chance to others, but I knew I stood a shot. The other, older tributes better not underestimate me. I was going to be the winner and I would make sure Marv was going to stay alive. No older kid was going to be able tell me otherwise.

Logan Faber's POV – District 10 Male

"Raegae Oak, come forward. Don't waste the time of the gamemakers!"

"Raven Bell, it's now your turn."

"Xander Lugar, please come forward."

"Demetriana Walser, the gamemakers are waiting for you."

"Jason Icarus, will you please come forward?

The names called out by the Capitol woman started to blend together after the District Four tributes. Once the careers were called, only the boy from District Six was interesting to me, and he was interesting for reasons other than being a potential threat. I was going to enjoy slaughtering him and that bitch from District Eleven with him.

One-by-one, all of my future prey left the room to show off some useless tricks they picked up during the training period. In some way, it was actually cute to a loose degree. They all thought they stood a chance.

Over-confidence was a vice that I was well aware I possessed, but I couldn't help but look at the rest of the tributes and feel confident. I did actually spend some time studying the other twenty-three tributes and, to my disappointment, most of them were weak. None of them stood out much with the exception of the careers: and even then, only the boy from District Two seemed like he would be a true challenge to me. He was going to be a very good fight. I couldn't wait to square off against him and hear his screams right before I killed him. Other than him, though, no one seemed to be overly strong. They were all weak for a variety of reasons. Either they lacked capabilities with a weapon or they lacked the heart willing to kill. Putting these two categories together, only the careers, the girl from District Three, the two tributes from District Six, and Maddison appeared as slightly threatening. Only ten tributes would actually be interesting, slightly challenging kills to me. The rest of the tributes were nothing more than useless filler and they would all die early.

Not that I particularly minded 'weak' prey. I often enjoyed hunting on the weak. People who were old and/or sick were two of my personal favorite types of victims during my killings in District Ten. When I made my first kill on an elderly human, a woman of around seventy years old who worked at one of the local district schools, I had never felt more powerful in my life. It was straight-up dominance and it was absolutely addicting. I had felt like an angel of death when I sliced off her head!

Angel of death. I couldn't help but smile at the thought. Religion was absolute bullshit to me: it was the work of the weak who fantasized about some meaningless afterlife due to their own personal fears of dying. There was no heaven and there was no hell: death was only thing there at the end of life. It was eternal and it was all-powerful: it was a repressive figure. If there was a god, it would be death itself, and I was going to be its own personal angel.

Ugh, I'm sick of waiting. These past few days in the Capitol have been as agonizingly slow as I imagined they would be. I was sick of all this bullshit protocol. The Capitol citizens just wanted to watch a bloodbath, so why couldn't they hurry up already and throw us into the arena?

I was getting really impatient. Too impatient. I nearly killed the girl from District Eleven two days in a rushed-frenzy. For the first time in my life, I acted out of instinct alone and tried to get a kill without any consideration of my surrounding or environment. That was actually scary to me. Usually, I was much more cautious with that. The last thing I wanted was to do was get executed myself! I had too many killing sprees, too many ideas, planned to throw my life away so soon. Yet, I was willing to risk my life and everything that I had been working for just one kill on some cowardly girl from District Eleven.

The wait for the Hunger Games to start was driving me insane. I needed to kill someone. I need one soon and I needed one badly!

"Maddison Holland, please come forward. The gamemakers are ready." The Capitol attendant spoke.

My eyes focused on Maddison as she walked forward towards the brown doors. She cracked her knuckles as she entered the door, ready to show what she learned to the gamemakers.

Hopefully, she learned more than I thought she had. I did want to have some challenging kills and I felt that Maddison could potentially be one. The entire point of entering the Hunger Games was to kill people who were capable. I wanted Maddison to be amongst that list. She appeared strong when I met her and with some training, she could have maybe become stronger. If she became as strong as I hoped she would, she would be one of my absolute favorite kills.

Regardless of how strong she is or not, I was ready to make her death as long and painful as I could. She was going to be the way I proved a point to everyone watching. Maddison was going to be fighting with the exclusive backing of our mentor, Julian. She would be receiving all the sponsorships and outside help. I was going in by myself with only whatever I got out of the cornucopia. I was ready to show Julian and everyone watching how someone truly strong should fight in the Hunger Games. I didn't need any outside help: I was going to win all by myself and I would relish in the death of my enemies.

A few more minutes passed by before the Capitol attendant finally spoke again. "Logan Faber, please come forward." She read off my name.

With pleasure.

I didn't waste any time: I stood up from my seat and walked excitedly into the training hall. Sitting in the waiting room with nothing to do but think about my future prey got me really worked up. I needed to release a lot of the aggression I built up.

I needed to kill something…

"Logan Faber, you may begin." The Head Gamemaker told me.

"Before we begin, I need to ask a question." I spoke up to them. "Do any of you have an avox that I may borrow for my training session? Preferably a capable one who could actually fight me. I want to spar."

The eyebrows of all the gamemakers widened in confusion. A few seconds passed before the Head Gamemaker nodded.

"We'll grant you your request. Zyra, do you not have an avox nearby that is rather muscular? Fetch him for us." The Head Gamemaker.

A gamemaker at the far left end with red-hair nodded. I presumed she was 'Zyra', but I really didn't care about her name. She then pressed a button on her table before speaking: "I just summoned him. My avox will be here shortly. In the meantime, show us what you can do."

I nodded in understanding. It was now a matter of killing time while I waited for him to arrive.

I rushed over to the scythe training station and grabbed the first scythe I could. Gripping it tightly, I turned to face the first training dummy I saw. Immediately, I swung at it, decapitating the head. Before the head hit the ground, though, I swung my scythe gain. The head was cut into half before it hit the ground in two pieces.

I spent the first few minutes of presentation slaughtering different training dummies. I made sure to show off different forms of my technique. I wanted the gamemakers to be aware of the many ways I could kill someone with a scythe. The use of the scythe was an art-form that I had mastered and I was eager to show off the full extent of my art.

It was a shame that the training dummies were not filled with blood or organs. The lack of leaking bodily fluids made my art-form more difficult for the common person to appreciate.

After a while, the doors to the room opened. There, walking through the door, was an avox. This was the first time I truly saw an avox in person, as our idiotic Capitol escort Jewel was morally against the idea of avoxs, so I made an effort to study him and memorize what he was like.

He was a boy who looked around twenty-two. He had very pale skin and was wearing all blue. There was a dejected look in his eyes and he was grinding his teeth, clearly wanting to say something despite lacking the capabilities. Just looking at him, I knew his type. He was the kind of guy with no filter who spoke his mind. He clearly said something the Capitol took offense to and he was quickly reduced to nothing more than a weak, voiceless avox. That was how humans worked. They anticipated the first threats and reacted before any harm was coming their way, destroying the life of someone who was potentially no threat.

After everything the Capitol did to them, avoxs were no humans. They were bitter husks, waiting for their death. I actually pitied him. Looking at him in front of me, I knew that I needed to give him what he desired.

Besides, I had made the request for his presence and my bloodlust was at an all-time high. I needed something to die right now!

I rushed to the boy at a rapid speed, before the gamemakers could say a single word. I quickly punched the avox in the face with my left hand, sending him backwards. He crashed into the door he entered from hard before falling to the ground on its back.

"Gamemakers, how much time do I have?" I asked.

"Y-You have a minute." The red-haired gamemaker who 'owned' the avox spoke up.

The woman continued to speak, but I didn't listen. I had only one minute. I had to make every second count.

I quickly rushed over to the avox's body and pinned him to the ground with my foot. He struggled to get up, but he couldn't. He was, indeed, muscular and I felt his attempt, but it was not enough to stop me. After a few seconds of letting him try, I quickly brought the blade of my scythe into his arm. I inched it forward into his skin slowly, watching the blood rush out of the wound. Eventually, after exerting enough force, my scythe sliced through the avox's entire arm: separating it from his body.

The avox stopped his struggling to get up at that point. He was now simply writhing in pain. I proceeded to kick him over so he could lay on his stomach. He was still alive and his mouth was wide open. He was trying so hard to scream in pain, but he couldn't. The Capitol didn't want him to talk, so he wasn't allowed to scream either.

I proceeded to replicated the previous process on his left leg. I placed the blade of my scythe against his leg and slowly inched it forward with more force until the entire leg was cut off. The avox continued to wince and squirm from the pain as he continued to try and scream. Tears started to flow from his eyes.

Normally, if this were a normal execution with a normal human, I would continue to stall my kill. Watching the life fade from their eyes was something I relished in! There was still a few seconds left in my gamemaker session and I could easily savor the kill for longer. However, I simply couldn't.

Avoxs were not human: not any longer at least. Instead, they were an example of how fucked up the human species was. They would go to the lengths of removing someone's ability to speak and forcing them into a life of servitude for whatever reason they justified. Because the avox was a criminal? Because he fled from his district? Because he was a potential threat? No matter the excuse, the reasoning was bullshit.

I quickly brought my scythe to his neck and cut it off immediately. At that point, his death was instantaneous. His body now remained in four severed parts, all lying in pools of blood.

For the first time in my career, I felt guilt about prolonging a kill. The avox definitely deserved the death that he so rightfully wanted, but I regretted torturing him. He wasn't a human: he was made from the product of human sin.

"Logan… you may leave now. Your session is over." The Head Gamemaker ordered.

I gave no verbal reply: I simply laid my scythe down next to the body parts of the deceased avox. I then rushed out of the room, not even bothering to look towards the gamemakers.

I was able to release my inner desire to kill for a few seconds, but this desire was now intensified even further. After seeing one with my own eyes and killing one, the very concept of an avox and their creation pissed me off. It invigorating my hatred for humanity even further.

I was glad I was entering the Hunger Games. Once I was finished slaughtering the twenty-three tributes, I would come back into society and begin my onslaught: both back in District Ten and in the Capitol. My mission wouldn't stop until every human was exterminated. The species needed to be eradicated and nothing was going to stop me from completing my mission.

Damien Brand's POV – Head Gamemaker

"Time is up. You may leave now Yaro." I informed the boy from District Twelve.

Yaro nodded in understanding. He bowed before he returned the knives to their stand. He then left the room.

The private sessions were done. All that was left to do was to compile the results and determine the training scores. Once we finished, we were done for the day and we could just go back home.

For me, personally, this was my least favorite part of the Hunger Games. The private sessions meant nothing in the actual arena. High-scoring tributes were prone to disappoint in the arena while low-scoring tributes were known for surprising the audience and lasting much longer than anyone anticipated. This was entirely a waste of time. Nevertheless, it was tradition to have these little private sessions and I considered myself conservative by nature. I wasn't going to be the one to break tradition of one hundred fifty years, even if I personally disliked it.

A few minutes passed as the other gamemakers finished compiling their thoughts on the District Twelve boy. Once they finished, I quickly cleared my throat.

"Alright, let's get this over with. We all don't want to be here any longer than we have to, so let's make this quick and start discussing the tributes." I informed them sharply.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Just like me, no one wanted to be here. After watching twenty-four tributes do performances for the past two hours and nothing else, we just wanted to simply leave. I had actually made plans to have lunch with my daughter, her husband, and her son. That was a much more valuable use of my time than some useless number score out of twelve.

"Let's begin with the District One girl, Kendra Perone." I started as I looked back at my notes. "Very impressive skills with the axe, both at range and in melee. She hit nearly all of her targets. She also displayed very good understanding of survival knowledge."

"I fact-checked the information on edible plants. It all matched up. She knew her stuff." One of the younger gamemakers, a man with dyed green hair named Luis Zac, commented.

"She stood out very well. A score of nine suits her." Singed stated sharply.

We all nodded in agreement. I quickly wrote the number 'nine' next to her name.

"Any disagreements on the same score for her district partner, Ariail Bardineux?" I questioned.

"None." Zyra commented with a shrug. "Superb use of the sword and a very agile fighter. He definitely deserves that score."

No one else spoke against this decision. A smirk crossed my lips as I wrote down a 'nine' next to his name as well. I loved it when there was no disagreement about the ranks. It made this whole process go by much faster.

"Victoire McBlock, the District Two girl, outperformed both of them though. She showed a much higher understanding of more weapons. Her skills with the crossblade boomerang were impressive." Singed noted with a shrug. "She's easily the best long-range fighter here and she seems capable even in melee-range. She earned a ten."

There were no disagreements here again. I quickly wrote a ten by her name.

"Now for the District Two male, Lepolio Huang." I repeated his name.

"How many of you would object to giving him an eleven?" Singed questioned.

The gamemakers were silent in response. It was rare to give out scores higher than tens. Only a handful were handed out each five years. We wanted a high score like that to actually mean something. Nevertheless, no one spoke up in disagreement.

"I'm fine with that." I finally answered for everyone, writing down the number eleven next to Lepolio's name. "He showed a mastery of multiple weapons and survival skills. In addition, he has some of the best swordsmanship I have ever seen in tributes during my entire career, if not the best. He definitely deserved his score."

"Now on to one of the boring districts." Zac commented with a laugh.

Most of the gamemakers laughed in agreement. It was no secret that District Three was not a fan-favorite amongst the Capitol. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but scoff.

"Kaylee Harper, the girl from District Three, should get a seven." I stated sharply.

The laughter stopped. They all stared at me, processing my suggestion.

"I suppose." Zac commented with a shrug. "She was good with knives. But I do not feel her district partner deserves an even remotely high score compared to her. I'd give him a three at best."

"A three is being generous to the boy, but I'll give it to him." I shrugged as I wrote down the scores for each District Three tribute.

"For District Four, I feel like they both deserved eights." Zyra commented as she looked at her notes. "Cascade was very skilled at spears, hand-to-hand combat, and had a surprising amount of knowledge of different poisons. Alaska, on the other hand, was very fast, skilled with knives, and was great with nets and knot-tying in general. They both excelled and will be skilled, if slightly unorthodox, members of the Career Pack."

"That's a fair assessment of those two." I nodded in agreement as I wrote down 'eights' next to their names. "Now for District Five. I say we should give the girl a five."

"That's fair." Zac nodded in agreement. "Decent knowledge of survival skills and about average with a sword. Average score for an average tribute."

"Her district partner, on the other hand…" Singed started to speak.

We all remembered the display the boy, Icarus Bolt, gave us. After showing some brief knowledge of survival skills, he displayed his knowledge of electricity by using some of the wires in the survival station. In the process, he somehow found a way to shut off the lights in the training hall and the waiting room. He then used that acquired electricity to blast a training station, completely electrocuting it and turning it into nothing more than burnt ash.

"I presume that must have been what the gamemakers years ago felt when Beetee Latier was in his private session." Singed continued to speak. His voice made no attempts to hide how impressed he was – a rare feat, considering I have known him for years. He wasn't easily impressed with the words of 'intellectual' tributes like Icarus. "He earned himself a ten with that performance."

"Ten it is." I recorded the scores for both District Five tributes. "Now for District Six?"

"Eight for both of them. Alexandra Varas is the fastest tribute here, to put it bluntly, and she is very skilled with a bow. She's second in long-range only to Victoire. In contrast, Booker Comston has the best hand-to-hand fighting skills here and displayed a good knowledge on all different types of weapons." Zyra mentioned her opinions.

No one disagreed with her statement, so I wrote down their scores. I remembered that there was some animosity between both of the District Six tributes: I wondered how they would react to getting the same score?

"The girl from District Seven, Winnie, was actually impressive for her age." Zac noted. "Would a score of six be too much?"

"No disagreements here. An average, slightly-above score for her." I agreed. "I also feel her district partner, Raegae Oak, deserves the same score."

"No objections here. He clearly has his strengths, but overall, I felt he was solidly average. Nothing stood out about in particular other than his hand-to-hand combat and his skills with staffs." Zac answered.

I quickly wrote the scores down for the District Seven tributes. I then quickly glared at the other, quiet gamemakers. "Only Gamemakers Zyra, Singed, Zac and myself are actually participating in this discussion. I realize that we all do not want to be here, but do none of you actually have an opinion?"

Most of my fellow, quiet co-workers did not respond. They simply looked downward in embarrassment after being called out. One, though, looked at me. It was the newest, youngest members to the team: a quiet, brown-haired boy of twenty years named Azir Shurima.

"The girl from District Eight, Raven Bell, earned herself a five while her partner, Xander Lugar, earned himself a four." He told me.

"Fair assessment." I nodded in agreement. "She was knowledgeable on survival skills and adequate with a slingshot, but nothing too special. The boy was rather mediocre over all with the exception of fire-making and traps. Any objections?"

No one disagreed, so I wrote down the scores for the two. Only four more districts left.

"Demetriana Walser and Jason Icarus from District Nine both deserve a score of six in my opinion." Azir continued. "Above average in terms of survival knowledge and some basic skills overall. Nothing too special though, so a slightly above-average score."

"While I agree with that score for the girl, I feel Jason deserves a seven." Zac noted his disagreement. "He showed defensive capabilities as well and was able to move some rather heavy objects in the weight-lifting area. He outperformed his district partner just slightly."

"I'm inclined to agree with Zac." I noted as I wrote down the scores 'six' and 'seven' for Demetriana and Jason respectively. "On to District Ten."

"Eight for the District Ten girl. Maddison was most impressive in knot-tying and agility. She also seemed very skilled with a rope, which isn't a normal weapon you see in every Hunger Games." Singed noted. "I'm very interested in how she will perform in the actual arena."

"I would agree with that assessment." I nodded in agreement. "As for the boy…"

All eyes focused on Zyra. I noticed her eyes look towards the door where her avox was murdered.

"I am sorry about that, Zyra." I apologized. "When I allowed his request, I assumed he was simply going to spar it. I didn't expect for… that… to happen."

"Don't apologize. He was an avox: he can be replaced." She replied with a shrug. I suppose that was true. "Nevertheless, I knew that avox quite well. He was definitely physically strong, so for Logan to overpower him so easily said something about Logan's physical strength. Furthermore, that scene was… simply graphic."

We all nodded. I actually paled slightly back at that thought. I've seen some fucked up shit in the private sessions, but I never actually witnessed a fucking murder before. I was quick to dismiss the boy from District Ten the second he was finished.

"He's definitely a killer, and he should have a score to reflect that." Zyra was the first of us to speak after a minute of silence. "An eleven is what I propose. I would say to give him a twelve if he displayed some knowledge of survival skills, but he didn't. But based on killing prowess alone, he deserved an eleven minimum."

There were no objections. After watching that bloody scene, I think we all knew he earned his high score.

"… now, on to more unmemorable tributes." Zac joked, trying to lighten the mood in the room. "Fives for both Bane Darnell and Florina Everett?"

"I think Florina earned a six, in my honest opinion." Azir commented. "In addition to a good amount of survival knowledge, she was very capable with her scythe. She seemed much more capable with her weapon than Bane did with his."

"Did anyone else think Bane was hiding something from us though?" Zyra questioned. "He seemed almost too uncomfortable with his knives. Something was suspicious about him."

"I would agree that he was suspicious. He seemed very aware of what he was presenting to us: more so than most other tributes. However, we can't give him a score based on some hypothetical skills he may or may not have. We grade them on what they showed us. If he wants to hide some of his skills, then so be it. But for now, I agree with both Zac and Azir. Bane Darnell earned himself a five while Florina Everett earned herself a six." I stated sharply, writing the corresponding scores for the District Eleven tributes.

"Now, last but not least: District Twelve." Singed spoke up with a shrug. "They were both above average. Six for both of them."

No one voiced any disagreements, so I simply shrugged and wrote down a 'six' for both Emery Aspen and Yaro Hailstien.

Author's Note: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! :)

To summarize the last point-of-view, here are the training scores!

Kendra Perone - 9

Ariail Bardineux - 9

Victoire McBlock - 10

Lepolio Huang - 11

Kaylee Harper - 7

Ethan Neurus - 3

Cascade Bolt - 8

Alaska Dayte - 8

Stephanie Volk - 5

Icarus Bolt - 10

Alexandra Varas - 8

Booker Comston - 8

Winnie Goldstein - 6

Raegae Oak - 6

Raven Bell - 5

Xander Lugar - 4

Demetriana "Demi" Walser - 6

Jason Icarus - 7

Maddison Holland - 8

Logan Faber - 11

Florina Everett - 6

Bane Darnell - 5

Emery Aspen - 6

Yaro Hailstien - 6

Those are the training scores! Agree? Disagree? Any surprises? What did you think of what you saw in Kendra's, Ethan's, Winnie's, and Logan's private sessions?

We are so close to the arena that I can hardly stand it. We only have two more chapters until the actual Hunger Games starts. As a result, I finally had to settle down on a bloodbath. After revising the list approximately twenty to thirty different times, I have a planned bloodbath list and order of death. Hopefully none of you will be disappointed with it. It's going to actual hurt to kill off some of these marvelous tributes that I received. :(

On the topic of bloodbaths, I'm just curious what you all think. Who do you think is going to die? I'm just really curious about everything. We're getting closer and closer and I want to know!

Anyway, I'm beginning work on the next chapter right away. I'll see you all when I finish it! :)