Hey guys! Here is the next chapter. It's kind of a filler chapter, but I tried to use the POVs of people we haven't heard from before. Hope you like it:
Avella POV (D7)
"Corin, you know that one of us is probably gonna die, right?" I ask, gulping and tucking a strand of curly hair behind my ear. My eighteen year old brother looks at me, his big green eyes wide with alarm. I immediately feel ashamed for voicing my thoughts.
"Avella, you know that's not true! There is still that rule that two tributes can win if they're from the same district!" Corin pleads with me desperately. "The odds can still be in our favor!"
"Are you even mentally here? The odds are not in our favor! We are siblings in the Hunger Games! Think about how dramatic that has to be: the Capitol citizens are probably saying 'Oh, that chick has to kill her brother soon, let's watch' or 'Hey Corin is going to stab his sister to death, I'm not missing it.' Do you honestly think that they are going to let us both live and let this be the most boring Hunger Games yet? Grow up and stop dreaming, Cor." I snap. Corin turns his face stonily away from mine and again I am flooded with shame. My brother slams the "7" button on the elevator and we fly up toward our floor. When the elevator doors open again my brother storms ahead of me. "Corin, wait!" I scream. Our mentor, Cheri, looks concerned along with our insane escort Bobbi. But Bobbi is now blaming me and Cheri is more sympathetic.
"How could you?" Bobbi shrieks shrilly. "Now you've gone and gotten him all upset!" She lets out a sound of frustration. Cheri, who's twenty-seven and as fierce as she was in the Games, turns on Bobbi and says some things that shouldn't be repeated. Then she comes to me. I am at first afraid that she will yell at me but instead she puts a muscular arm around my shoulder.
"It's okay kid. Sometimes men are just … sensitive. Your brother is having a sensitive moment right now. It'll pass." I look over at her and she gives me a motherly smile, tucking a strand of her cropped blonde hair behind her ear. "Night kid." She gives my shoulder two pats and walks off to her room. Bobbi, humiliated and flustered by Cheri's outburst, has already retired to his room. Corin has disappeared to God knows where. That leaves me alone in the hallway, tears streaming quietly down my face, with only the faint sound of the elevator dinging to keep me company.
Colt POV (D9)
"I know you like her." Iota looks over at me as she presses the "9" button on the elevator.
"What are you talking about?" I plaster a confused look on my face, alarmed that she saw through me.
"The girl from Five. I saw you staring at her." Iota smiles at my attempt to hide from her. "You could do worse," she adds encouragingly.
"I just thought that she would make a good ally, is all." I say defensively. Her green eyes smile even when she stops. Finally the doors of the elevator open and I walk hastily out of the elevator. Unfortunately, Iota follows me.
"Just tell me if you like her! You can trust me." She looks at me and forces me to stop by grabbing my elbow. "C'mon Colt, please?" I look at her dark brown hair and innocent green eyes. I really do want to trust her, but I can't trust anyone. These are the Hunger Games, for Pete's sake! But you know you would trust Celsie… An annoying little voice in my head says.
"I don't have to tell you anything, and I don't have to trust you," I snap, leaving a confused and possibly slightly angry Iota looking at me.
"Whatever," Iota snaps. "See you later then." With that Iota walked to her room. Great, you big dolt. You went and POed your district partner. I walk into my own room and flop onto the huge bed, shedding my ridiculous deer horns. I flip on the T.V., hoping to distract myself from Celsie and Iota. The only thing on is some stupid Capitol soap opera about a plastic surgeon falling in love with his best customer and she cheats on him with his biggest rival.
"You don't understand, Chaz! Nothing happened between us," A woman with vibrant red hair, dyed pale skin, and orange eyes pleads.
"How can I ever trust you again, Lirra?" A handsome doctor with a Roman nose, slightly yellow skin, and orange hair says, looking Lirra straight in the eyes. Lirra's orange eyes fill with tears and she runs out of the room crying. Chaz the Doctor looks at the camera above him and sinks to his knees. "WHAT HAVE I DONE?" He yells with a phony voice.
"Lame," I say and turn off the T.V., heading to the bathroom. I peel off the rest of my deer costume and step into the shower. One portion of the wall was covered in buttons, all saying something different: warm, cold, hot, rose, floral, scent, wax, exfoliate, etc. I press random buttons and am attacked with a sticky purple substance, hot wax, and scalding water. I hurriedly turn the shower off and press the warm button. A pleasantly warm stream of water shoots through the nozzle. When I step out, I see a silver plate on the counter. "Where's the blow dryer?" I think to myself, unconsciously placing my hand on the plate. Instantly, I feel a sense of electricity rush through my body. Looking down in surprise, I see that my whole body is dried and my hair combed.
Knock! Knock! Knock! My head snaps up as someone knocks on my door. I throw on a robe and open the door a little bit. It's my mentor, Grey.
"Dinner's ready, Colt." Grey simply says, walking back through the hallway. I throw on a pair of khaki pants and a blue t-shirt, the first clothes I grabbed, and race down the hallway into the dining room. Iota is sitting there in a green sundress and Grey is sitting across from her. Her own mentor, Artemis, is sitting beside her. Our escort, JoJo, is sitting at the head of the table. I take the seat next to Grey and flash a look at Iota. She meets my eyes and I silently tell her that I'm sorry. She looks away and nods, just a miniscule little nod. But it's a nod of forgiveness. And assent to being allies.
Drew POV (D10)
I walk into the elevator, following Evi, my district partner. Everyone cheered when we raced by, and I know it wasn't for me. Average Drew, the fifteen-year-old who would go nowhere but the average District Ten job: crunching numbers. Average Drew, who would never get any grades at school except for the average ones. Average Drew, who would never get any girls to like him except for the average ones. But on the other hand, here was Evi Trint, anything but average. I decided that I want her to win. I voice this thought to her as I press the "10" button.
"What about you, partner? We're in this together, remember?" On the train, Evi had announced to me that she wanted to be allies. I thought she was crazy but I agreed anyways. I would last longer with Evi.
"Well, I still want you to win. If you get home, you can do great things, things that you wouldn't be able to do if you die because I hold you back." I give her a pointed look.
"Look we're not even in the Games yet. You can't think that way until we are in the arena." Evi thinks for a minute. "You still won't be able to think that way in the arena anyways." The elevator door open and Evi and I walk out together, I match my pace with hers. I feel good that she's my ally. Safer. "Well, partner, I don't know about you, but I'm going to change." Evi breaks off of her course down the hallway and into the bedroom assigned to her. I hear the bathroom door close and the shower turn on. Sighing, I go into my own room and turn on my own shower, shedding my white tux. Average Drew, Average Drew, Average Drew… That thought repeating in my mind as I let the warm water engulf me.
Kiki POV (D11)
"Why'd ya do it?" Kin asks. I turn my dark brown eyes to his light brown ones.
"What?" I ask, pushing the "11" button in the elevator with my tanned finger.
"Volunteer for that girl. Who was she, anyway?" Kin asks, looking genuinely curious. A stab of pain cuts into my heart. I gulp.
"My sister. She is my sister." I admit, gulping down a batch of tears.
"I thought you said that you were alone in the world," Kin says. One time, when I was ten, Kin's mother came up to me sympathetically, tugging along a twelve-year-old Kin. She asked me where my family was, and I replied that I was alone in the world. It was basically true; I had been living alone on the streets for three years.
"I am. But I have a family, it's not like they died or anything." Kin looks genuinely confused. "I ran away. I was seven." By now the doors are open and I am in the hallway, speedwalking away from Kin and his questions.
"I'm sorry if I upset you!" Kin hollers at me. But it's too late. His questions have already sent memories from my torn childhood reeling around my head. I have to lie down or I will have a breakdown or something. I run into the room with my name on a placard on the door. I fly onto the bed and face my past.
"Daddy! Please help me!" A little girl, paper thin with dull brown hair and dark brown eyes, cries to a tall, dark-haired man. He turns to look at her with the same dark brown hair that she has. She is trying to pull two large boxes of diapers into the house with her skinny arms.
"Kiki, what have I told you, Daddy is a busy man. I work everyday in the fields and I get very tired. Now bring those boxes in and shut the door. Daddy's cold." The man sits into a worn leather chair and cracks open a beer.
"But Daddy, I work in the fields too! I work longer than you do!" The little girl pleads.
"Kiki, shut up and bring those boxes in!" By now the man is standing and his eyes are flaming, the girl's eyes are too. A littler girl, about five, with black hair and blue eyes has wandered down the stairs, holding a teddy bear.
"No! I wish I didn't even know you!" The little girl with the boxes screams and sprints away. The man pulls a shotgun off of the mantle and shoots at the ground where the little girl ran.
"Good riddance!" The man shouts and slams the door shut. He turns and notices the black-haired girl, her blue eyes wide, huddled by the stairs. "Get up to bed you worthless girl!" He screams.
Three years later
A girl with brown hair and eyes sits huddled in the stoop of an abandoned shop, wearing tattered clothes and hiding from the Peacekeepers. A tall woman with tanned skin and dirty blonde hair comes up, pulling a boy, also tanned, but unlike the woman he has dark hair. The woman looks closely at the little girl in the stoop and her brown eyes go wide as the girl shrinks away.
"Who are you sweetie? Where are your parents?" The woman asks.
"My name is Kiki. I am alone in the world." The little girl says, her voice surprisingly raspy for someone so young. The woman's eyes go wide with tears as she puts her hand on the girls back.
"Come with me sweetie. You can stay with me and my husband." The woman says and Kiki goes with her, somewhat hesitantly.
After dinner with the Cryers, Mrs. Cryer brings Kiki to her room, next to the dark-haired boy's room. A large window is on the opposite wall from the door. After Kiki hears everyone go to bed and sees all the lights turn off, she opens the window and drops to the ground, running off into the night. Looking back, she sees the boy looking at her through his window.
"Thanks Kin." I say quietly, never daring to say those words before, even though that happened four years ago.
30 Minutes Later: Corin POV (D7)
After the confrontation with my sister in the elevator I ran away. Like a coward I ran away from my sister because I knew that she was telling the truth. And now I am here alone on the roof, I don't even remember how I got here. I lean over the edge and let tears fall from my eyes. After about ten seconds, the drops bounce back up and splash me in the face. I laugh in spite of myself and dry my green eyes.
"Always thinking about their tributes' safety, huh?" I hear a voice behind me. Startled I turn around and see a girl with bronze-blonde hair and pretty green eyes. A wry smile is on her full lips. Startled, I notice that I am still in my green tree outfit, my tan chest and most of my legs exposed.
"Uh … hi?" I say, surprised by this girl's appearance. She smirks at me, squinting her green eyes while giving me a once over. I notice that she has changed and wiped her makeup clean. Oh, crud, I think to myself, noticing that I even left my makeup on. Blood rushes to my face, but luckily, I think that it's too dark for the girl to notice.
"Evi, Ten," She extends her hand boldly and patiently waits for me to shake it. I take her hand, surprised by how soft it is. She looks at me with one eyebrow cocked, and it takes me a second to realize that she is waiting for my introduction.
"Oh, uh, Corin Hightree." I smile, and realize that I forgot my District number. "Seven." I hastily add. Evi smirks again.
"You know, they sicken me," Evi vents, joining me at the edge of the roof.
"Who?" I ask, very confused by this strange girl.
Her eyes narrow and her full lips twist into a scowl. "The Capitol. They murder defenseless kids and get away with it."
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not defenseless…" I say, mimicking her smirk.
Her scowl turns into a smile. "Ya know, you're all right, Seven."
I smile back at her, the faint sound of an elevator dinging audible in the background.
All right guys, here is the rules for sponsoring:
1) It can't be your own tribute
2) I decide when to send your tribute the gift
3) You start out with $500,000
4) Every review or PM you send in will get you $100,000
5) After the interview I will give you a list of the prices of gifts
6) Gifts will increase in price as the Games go on
7) You can sponsor anyone between now and the end of the Games
Keep reading!