CHAPTER 8

The first four districts have gone by now, and I'm ecstatic. The excitement of the Capitol crowds around me has not gone. It has not dimmed. Every single person in the crowd is just happy to be here, basking in the brightly coloured floodlights and the wonderful sights of the tributes.

Now for the District 5 redheads. They emerge from the stables and my eyes widen. They glow, sot and gentle in a contrast to the floodlights above. Amelia Pond, the girl, is wearing a knee length dress, coloured soft yellow, but there's a soft glow to it. She's wearing a crown of lights, the same yellow colour as her dress. She's a light bulb, softly illuminating the stadium. Her fiery red hair is loose and wild behind her, which adds an edge to the sweetness. I like her, and I can't put my finger on why. The boy from 5, Ron Weasley, is wearing a black unitard thing, made of thick, bulky material, with a fiery red lightning bolt across the breast. The bolt's the same colour as his hair, and it works well to create a sense of electricity. I get the same feeling of loyalty from him as I did at the reaping. He has a secure gaze, and I know he'll be a valuable ally. Not the obvious victor type, but the games are different each year. The resemblance between him and Amelia strikes me again, and I could swear there's some sort of family connection there, although they make no move to acknowledge each other.

District 6 is coming. This interests me greatly, as I missed them (and district 8) at the reaping. Their chariot rolls out of the stable and I immediately notice that they're siblings. They have the same straight dark hair, the same blue eyes, which are so bright I can see them from my seat, and they're both immensely beautiful. I fumble around with my programme and find their names. Alec and Isabelle Lightwood. They're definitely siblings then: I was right. Isabelle is wearing a long grey dress with large black belt. The dress, upon closer inspection, has a distinctive tyre pattern. District 6 is transport, so that makes sense. The boy, Alec Lightwood, is wearing a kind of armoured vest thing, actually made out of tyre. He has arm guards (tyre) and a skirt sort of thing (made of tyre strips). I've seen similar costumes before in the ancient books. There was a type of soldier that used to wear similar dress… Romen, I think. Or Roman. Either way, that's who he looks like. And now I know who the District 6 tributes are.

District 7 now. It takes me a minute as I try to remember their names… Ah. Hook Captain is the boy. It's an odd name, but I've heard stranger. And… Clarisse La Rue. I watch them with interest and then my eyes widen in shock. Hook Captain, the boy… He's missing a hand. In its place, he has a long silver hook. Bloody hell, he won't be allowed that in the arena. He could take someone's head off with it, although I suspect that right now it's just for show. His eyes are dark and I feel ever so slightly threatened by him. Clarisse is glaring out at the sea of citizens that surround me. This is her angle I assume. Angry. She's wearing a huge dress, made of leaves stitched together, the colours setting perfectly against her brown hair. Hook's wearing a green shirt, brown cape, and black trousers. They're both wearing the same headdress: A crown made of twigs, almost like a birds nest. The costumes aren't the most spectacular I've ever seen, but they're good, and they're enough to send those chills down my spine as I see them in the flesh.

District 8's carriage pulls out of the stadium doors and I crane forwards to a look. Quickly, I glance down at the programme, finding their names. Sam temple and Hermione Granger. I only get a brief glimpse at them as they go by, but it's enough. Sam's tall and athletic, but whilst he's handsome he's wearing a deep seated frown, like he's trying to solve something way over his head. Hermione Granger is pretty, but in a far less exotic way than someone like Isabelle. She has light brown hair, boarding on frizzy, but it's been tames into perfection. Her dress is long, made of all different kinds of material, stitched carefully together. It looks less like patchwork, and more like a smooth rainbow of different fabrics. Sam's wearing a shirt made of the same combination of materials as Hermione, but he's wearing black trousers and a cape too. I can't help but try and remember if there are always so many capes in once precession. One thing's for sure though, now that the tributes have been seen wearing them, the views in the Capitol will barely be able to contain themselves. Every cape in the Capitol will be gone by the end of the week. By the end of the games however, only the victor's fashion choices will be accepted. No one likes a loser.

I stare out at the crowds surrounding me, trying to think of a way out. It seems impossible. All I can seem to concentrate on is the fact that I'm going into the games, and that I'll be dead. Which is frustrating, because I know that much. If I could actually solve the problem, rather than just think desperately about it that would be great. As of yet, however, I haven't thought of anything. Hermione is waving to the crowds around us, and I can sense she's as uncomfortable with this as I am. Neither of us deals well with such enthusiastic and bloodthirsty attention as this. I wonder if the Capitol knows what they're doing. I suppose it's never really real to them: They never have to give up their children and they never have to enter the games. The most they see of us is through a screen. They don't know what it's like to be in that arena. Admittedly, I don't either. But within a week I'll know exactly what it feels like to be a tribute. Because that's what District children are really. We're not cared for. We're expected to fend for ourselves. The adults can't help.

We are the sole pieces in the Capitol's games.

THANKS FOR READING! :D Reviews mean a LOT to me, so I'd appreciate it if you could just give even a little one :) But because I know some of you are unfamiliar with the characters in this, I thought I'd share with you the stories that they came from, so you could get some sort of idea of what they're like :)

District 1

Male: Cedric Diggory = Harry Potter

Female: Alice Kingsley = Alice in Wonderland (return to underland)

District 2

Male: John (Doctor) Smith = doctor Who (10)

Female: Clara Oswald = Doctor who (11)

District 3

Male: Sherlock Holmes = Sherlock

Female: Molly Hooper = Sherlock

District 4

Male: Percy Jackson = Pink foo foo bear goes to market

Female: Annabeth Chase = I was joking, they're both from the Percy Jackson series :)

District 5

Male: Ron Weasley = Harry Potter

Female: Amelia Pond = Doctor Who (11)

District 6

Male: Alec Lightwood = TMI (the Mortal Instruments series)

Female: Isabelle Lightwood = TMI

District 7

Male: Hook Captain = Once upon a time

Female: Clarisse la Rue = Percy Jackson

District 8

Male: Sam Temple = GONE

Female: Hermione Granger = Harry Potter

District 9

Male: John Watson = Sherlock

Female: Guinevere Pendragon = Merlin

District 10

Male: Jack Harkness = Doctor Who (9-10) and Torchwood

Female: Tally Youngblood = Uglies

District 11

Male: Luffy Monkey = Once Piece (anime)

Female: Dekka Talent = GONE

District 12

Male: James Moriarty = Sherlock

Female: Teresa Runner = Maze Runner

Don't be put off if you don't already know the characters, even I don't fully know some of them, so just read on anyway :)

Lucy xxx