Disaster Dominoes

by The Awesome Novice Writer

They failed in the past. We live in the present they created. We'll fight for our future. *Discontinued.* *Summary in the process.*

3. Goodbyes

"The music at a wedding procession always reminds me of the music of soldiers going into battle." -Heinrich Heine

District One

Griffin Holloway's POV

As the peacekeeper in front of me kept on telling me that I could only see one person at a time and I could only be with them for a minute or so, all I felt was irritation. I just wanted to tell him to shut up, that I knew how this thing worked, that I was not stupid.

But by the time I was about to say it, he was done blabbering. He had turned his back towards me and was walking out the door. I grunted in a mixture of satisfaction and annoyance. Fine, be that way, I didn't need you to tell me how to say goodbye anyway.

I sighed and tried to relax as I felt specific parts of my body start to jerk about.

By the time I had taken my second breath, I heard the door open. I looked up to see my father walk in. And in his arms was Alura, my three year old little sister. Seeing her enter the room made calming down an even bigger priority. I didn't want her to get caught in the middle of a fight.

My father I didn't care about. He could get punched out by me and I wouldn't care in the least. But Alura, Alura was someone that I did care about.

"Hi son." My father said to me with the slightest trace of a smile on his face, something he rarely did since mom had died two years ago.

"Father." I answered with a little emotion as possible, as he didn't even deserve to be talked to on the same level as my little sister. I looked at Alura and flashed her a smile before saying, with more emotion. "Alura."

"Ti-Ti." She said happily to me. Ti-Ti, her official name slash nickname for me since she could speak. She couldn't say my name when she first tired, so she decided to call me something simpler, easier to pronounce. And since she first called me that, it stuck. It was cute, made me feel good.

"Father." I said still looking at Alura who was reaching out for me. Like she wanted to play with me again, like I wasn't going to be sent to my death. Which I wasn't, I was going to come back, and I don't know if she knew that, but I was coming back for her. I was going to come back a victor, and then we could play with anything she wanted for as long as she wanted. "Take care of her."

"I will." My father said like I had told him he was incapable of doing such a thing. Which he practically was. I was angry at him for that. I was the brother, not the father, for Alura, he was, and yet, who raised her? I did, not him. Me. I did everything while he just sat around in a slump and watched as someone else filled the father role of his daughter.

I was only asking him because he was the only choice at the moment. My other choice had his hands full and he, as much as he was a good care taker, wouldn't be able to aid Alura to the best of his abilities.

I gave a sharp exhale of bitter air towards the man who dared call himself our father.

Even though I didn't like saying anything to that man, there were things that had to be said. Especially in this situation.

"Useless."

"Cretin." The old man immediately countered, making me feel heat building up in my face. How dare he call me that! And he should be talking, he hadn't done anything with his life for the past two years! He had only been a burden, nothing else.

I quickly pulled back my right hand, curled my fingers into a fist, and threw said fist straight towards his face, only to feel the force of falling lead smash against my hand. My father had retaliated with his own fist, and both our fists had bashed against each other with such force that it would have broken anyone else's fingers. But of course, I wasn't just everyone else.

"Boy!" I heard the stupid peacekeeper who spoke jiberjaber moments earlier shout into the room. "You want to be ejected from this room in a couple of fucking seconds?" He asked as he pointed a rectangular, box like object as me as the front of it crackled with blue lightning. "Or do you want to see your next visitor? Either way, I don't mind."

I snarled at that peacekeeper for acting as tough as he thought he was. He was at least four inches shorter then I was and didn't look nearly as strong as myself or even my father. That, and he was nearly as old as my fifty six year old father. If he didn't have that weapon he was nothing. One on one, unarmed, I could easily beat him.

I gave an angry sniff at the two old men, giving them both glares.

I watched as my father took my sister away from me, as their time with me was up, and lead her out of the room. But not before I saw him turn back towards me and said a final word of farewell.

"Dragon." I heard him say before the door closed behind him.

Just hearing the name made me want to punch him in the face. I hated my older brother Dragon.

Dragon. That guy who was always the top dog of the family, the one that always got the attention of everyone while I was just viewed as his little brother. It was always well done, Dragon, and you're so good at this, Dragon. Compliments flew in his direction all the time, while no matter what I did, I was always being compared to that bastard, and it was irritating that I could never living up to his talents. And it was irritating that it was always about him. Well, I was going to show him, I was going to be what he couldn't be, a victor. He may have been older when he went in, but I'm better them him, I wouldn't die, I would come back and be the one people talked about. I was going to be the son that mom could be proud of.

Mom. I felt a pain in my chest thinking about her, causing me to gently take hold of the simple rope necklace around my neck. A momentum of her.

Even though I hadn't exactly lived up to one of my promises to her, I was going to fulfill my last promise to her. It was only by a year, so, what the hell.

The next person that appeared in front of me was Marq and his little four year old brother, Matt. Marq, my best friend, and only friend. As Marq bumped into the peacekeeper escorting him, I thought of how we were alike in a way. We both raised our younger siblings, we both lost someone precious to us, except he lost both his parents to the sickness that happened two years ago while I only lost my mother.

"Hey Griff." Marq said to me smiling partly out of embarrassment from shoulder bumping the peacekeeper that was manning the door.

"Hey Marq." I said back returning the smile.

"So," Marq said looking around the justice building taking in the scenery. It was a nice place if I say so myself, better than most of the places in the district even. "Going into the games huh, I could never do something like that." That was true, Marq wasn't the bravest person alive, but the games weren't for everyone, like most of the poor district kids who shit their pants upon entering the arena. But Marq was needed here, his brother needed him, and if Marq had somehow gotten reaped into the games, I'd of volunteered for him anyway.

"Hey," I said getting to the point. "Take care of Alura." I then felt something hit me in the shoulder before hearing Marq say.

"I will dude. At least, I will until you get back. Because really, the biggest, strongest, most skilled kid in District One can't lose in the arena when he has a sister to take care of."

I nodded, knowing that what he was saying was true. He and, to a lesser extent, my father, were only going to take care of Alura until I got back from the Capitol as a Hunger Games victor. Still, it felt good that someone would be checking up on my sister and making sure my near useless father actually took care of her.

I couldn't help but feel grateful to my best friend.

It was then that he had to leave, his time was up. I watched him walk out, partly because I was worried about him, he was hitting stone arches and tripping over the smallest things. But he managed to make it out okay in the end.

Alura, Marq, Matt. They'd be one happy family, even if I didn't make it. Alura and Matt, they'd be happy together, even if I wasn't there. But that chance was slim. I was going to be there, and I'd see that all of them lived happily. I gently rubbed mother's rope necklace and thought of her. I'd win for her as well. That was a promise I was going to keep.

Lynsa Fylar's POV

"You're lucky nobody tried to volunteer besides you!" My father shouted at me, like he almost always did. "If anyone even thought of volunteering this year, you wouldn't have even stepped foot on that damn stage!"

"But I did." I told him to show that I wasn't scared of him, only to get hit in the chest by his hard fist, knocking the wind out of me, causing me to fall to my knees. If only the peacekeepers didn't stand watch outside. Personal time to spend with my parents? More like personal torture time. Why couldn't they watch what was happening inside to see if something like this was happening and stop it?

"Don't back talk to me like that!" My father raged out at me. "The other tributes out there are bigger than you, even though you're eighteen!" He shouted while waving his arms around in a fit. "And you never wanted to train! What makes you think that you'll be able to beat that Griffin fellow? Or the District Two careers? Or District Four? Or the loser tributes? I bet you couldn't beat a twelve year old from District Twelve if you had a sword and they had no arms!"

I hate swords, they were clumsy and I'd rather kill them with an arrow instead. That was what I was good at. And I may be small, but I was stronger than some of the girls in this district. And I did train, just not up to their extreme standards that I felt were impossible to reach.

I managed to stand back up straight and look into my father's eyes that were always full of hatred towards me.

"I'll win," I told him fiercely. I wasn't going to back down just because him and mom beat me and made fun of me. "Then you'll see that I'm not just some little weak girl." My father looked like he wanted to hit me again, and I braced myself for it.

"Time's up!" A male voice shouted. I opened my eyes and saw more anger flood into my father's eyes. He was about to hit me, but that peacekeeper interfered. Thank God he interfered, I didn't want to get punched again, by my father of all people.

Next came my mom, which was about the same thing as my father. She told me that I couldn't do it, that I was weak, that I'd die in the bloodbath if I wasn't in the career pack. She managed to hit me twice before her time was up as well.

I was used to having my parents hit me and tell me how useless I was, but it still hurt. They were my parents and from what I've seen, parents weren't supposed to abuse their kids. It made me wonder why my parents were so different from the other district parents.

Next came my twin brother, Evan. Winner of the games from two years ago.

"Did mom and dad hit you again?" Evan asked worriedly. Out of my family, he was the only one who didn't abuse me, and the only one in the family who generally cared about my well being.

"Not too much." I fake smiled to him. "But I'm fine. Really." I didn't want to worry him too much. And I tried to show that I wasn't in too much pain, even though mom and dad were extremely strong, and pain radiated all over my torso area.

"I'm sorry." Evan told me looking like it was his fault that he couldn't protect me. But it wasn't his fault, he couldn't be with me every time something happened, and he shouldn't feel the guilt he had every time something happened. He was being too hard on himself.

My twin then looked up and smiled at me before saying. "That's a nice dress." And before I knew it, he started to leave.

The next thing I knew, the door had opened and Evan and Apollo looked at each other dumbstruck. It was like they didn't expect to see each other. And really, I don't think they did. But on the other hand, it was kind of funny seeing their expressions as they slowly walked around each other, not taking their eyes off the other.

As Evan left, Apollo entered.

"Hi there." He said to me sweetly as he closed the door behind him.

"Hi." I answered. I thought of Apollo, and how we meet at the training center. Back when I didn't have very many friends, and when I just needed someone to love. He gave me the love I needed. The one that mom and dad never gave to me. I was grateful for him, because Evan was too busy getting pushed by our parents to become a victory, and he hardly spent any time with me.

Who knows where I'd be without him.

"Are you scared?" He asked.

"Yes." I whispered truthfully, feeling as if I could tell him anything. And that was all I needed to say, because before I knew it, I felt his arms wrap around me. I then felt sad that I was leaving him. My best friend, who had given me everything I needed. What if I didn't make it back? I then felt tears build up in my eyes as I cried my heart out on his chest. I might love the Hunger Games, but at the same time, I hate them. The death, the glory, the way they made people. I hoped that I didn't meet someone like my parents in there, or some other psychotic tribute with a fetish for blood.

After crying with Apollo, and feeling a little better after that, I meet up with Areina, a girl who doesn't train, who I admired, because unlike most girls in the district, she doesn't want to be a victor. She didn't have to worry about dying young, or getting strong, skilled, or think about how your life would have been wasted if you didn't get on the stage on time to volunteer. I envied her so much.

Then next came my other friends, then came school mates, then came acquaintances. I was so happy, and so sad that people were coming to see me. I never even knew that may people knew me. That those people cared about me. Now I wish I had taken more time to know them. And I would, if I came back. Which I would, for them, for my friends, for Even, for Apollo. For all of them.

District Two

Helena "Howl" Draconix's POV

"Helena!" My mom shouted to me clearly displeased with me. "Your father and I are extremely displeased with your decision to volunteer!" I knew it. They always put me down because of my size. Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm not dangerous. I hated the way they thought that I couldn't take care of myself if I got into a fight. "Why are you doing this!?"

"So that I can show you all that I'm not some harmless little girl!" I angrily shouted to my mom to show that I mean business. "I'll show you that I can be a victor too, and at only twelve!" I was going to show her that everyone in this family, even me, could be someone to be proud of.

"That has got to be the worst decision you have ever made!" Mom shouted clearly annoyed. "Because of this, you'll come home in a coffin!" I smiled at her before telling her.

"You're just jealous because I'm going to win at the age of twelve, something that you could never do." And this was going to be the best decision that I ever made. I wasn't going to come home in a coffin, I was going to come home a victor, just like almost everyone else in my family.

"UGH!" Mom shouted clearly irritated with me. No, she was just jealous that I was going to be the most famous member of this family. Maybe even all of history! The thought of that made me want to tell a history book to get ready to remember my name. I felt my cheeks rise with the thought. "Why do I even bother trying to talk to you?"

"Time's up!" A peacekeeper shouted.

"Perfect timing," I told mom as I continued to smirk at her. "You were just about to lose this conversation."

"And you're about to lose your life!" She shot back. "Just remember that if you die, this family is going to discard you as both a daughter and a sister." She reminded me before leaving. As the door closed I thought of how everyone underestimated me just because of my figure. God. I may be small and thin. But mom wasn't that tall, and Elektra wasn't that tall either, and she was a victor. Fuck. I was always the underdog of this family. Why didn't anyone see me as victor material?

"Howl!" Called out a voice. I looked up to see my seventeen year old sister, Athena. "How's it going?"

"Be better if mom and dad didn't think that I couldn't win." Though really, I was going to have them eat their words when they saw me in the post-game interview. Athena's face fell into a frown as she heard those words.

"Sorry to hear that. I mean," She then started to smile again. "How could they think that this little thing could lose?" She said before she started to ruffle my hair. I pushed her hand away while smiling at her, covering up my mild soreness she just made towards her.

"This little thing is going to be the greatest victor ever." I told her confidently. And I was. There has never been a twelve year old victor before. I was going to be a living legend. I wasn't just going to make history, I was going to be history.

"Hope so." Athena said before leaving. "See you in the Capitol little Howler."

I hate being called little. Before I could say anything back to her, she was gone. And in her place came Azael, my nineteen year old brother. The charming and attractive one of the family that the girls flocked to. But I didn't think so, he's a jerk sometimes.

"Hey there little girl? What you doing here? You lost or something?" He teased. I didn't find it funny, I found it lame and annoying and over done.

"Very funny." I sarcastically told him before quickly adding. "What do you want?" Azael sighed.

"Just want to see how my little sis is doing." He told me with some sensitivity in his voice.

"Sure," I said looking away from him and crossing my arms, annoyed with him. "Sure you are."

"Look, sorry about mom and dad and everything, okay? Just, don't think about it right now, okay?"

"Fine, I'll try." I told him thinking of everyone's reactions when I came home victorious. Then he left. Short visit.

Next came in my fifteen year old brother, Xephyr.

"Elecktra couldn't be here," Xephyr told me as he was coming through the door. "But she told me to tell you that she's upset with your decision, same as me." Can't say I was surprised. I was being underestimated again. Why do they all do this? What the hell is wrong with me? How am I so different from everyone else? Except my size?

"Geez," I told him, irritated that neither he nor Elecktra didn't like me volunteering. "It's my decision." Xephyr might have my respect and he might be my favourite sibling, but that doesn't mean he can treat me like everyone else.

"You should have waited three or six years." Xephyr told me. "That way, we wouldn't have to see you die."

"I don't need six years," I told him calmly. "I don't even need one year, I'll win, and then everyone will know not to underestimate me again."

"Well," He said smiling. "If that's the way it is, show them whose boss." Yeah, I thought happily, that's why you're my favourite. Thanks for saying that bro. "Oh yes, Athena and Azael forgot to say, win, or we'll kill you personally."

"Tell them that won't be necessary." He nodded his head before leaving.

Next rushed in three people. First I saw twelve year old Aurora, then thirteen year old Nexus, followed by fourteen year old Ares. My three best friends.

"Hey!" A voice shouted behind them. It was the peacekeeper guarding the door. "One at a-" He started, but then seemed to instantly re-think his words. "Forget it." He then closed the door before my three friends crashed into me sending me to the floor laughing.

"There's our victor!" Aurora shouted cheerfully. Unlike my family, at least she's good to me, one of the things I really liked about her.

"Damn straight!" I told her, feeling the pleasure of people that actually thought that I had a chance and didn't judge me on my decision to compete.

"I can't believe it, this tiny thing's beating me!" Nexus shouted in what I guessed was jealousy.

"Don't call me that non-volunteer baby!" I retorted as I grabbed him into a headlock and started to rub my knuckles against his head. He tried to fight out of it, but I held firm.

"Says the one that broke the reaping bowl!" He said as he struggled against me. "Can't you do a proper combat roll?"

"Says the guy who's not going to win the games before me!" Thinking that he had enough, I let him go. He rubbed his head in mild pain.

"Can't beat her there." Ares told him. "No matter what you say or do, she'll always win first."

Ares. "That is, if she wins." I pushed him back before laughing confidently.

"I'll win, you can bet on that, unlike someone." I said looking at Nexus.

"Yeah... Well... I'll..." He said struggling to find his next words. "I'll volunteer next year."

"I still beat you." I told him, not even having to think before responding.

"Hey, shut up." He responded quickly, but with the despair of feeling defeated. Yes, I win again.

"Guys, we're going to run out of time." Ares told the group before they all pulled themselves together and became serious. That was when Ares pulled out an emerald green notebook from his jacket pocket. "We got this, for you."

"For some reason, Ares kept on insisting we get the emerald coloured one." Nexus interrupted. And that made me think, did he feel the same way I did? Did he feel for me what I felt for him? I was never sure. Was this his way of saying it?

"I thought that was best." Ares quickly said. "Anyway, we want you to write about your adventures, so that when you come back, we can write stories about the young victor of Two."

"Plus you love writing, don't you?" Aurora said.

"Thanks guys." I told them happily, thinking that this was a better token then some useless trinket. "I'll write down everything, then, I'll be back and we'll be playing again."

"You better not lose." Ares told me before the peacekeeper told them that their time was up. As all three of them left, I held the notebook close and tight to my chest. They believed in me, they all did. That's why I loved them so much.

Lucifer Despar's POV

"I've trained my whole life for this," I told my mom who was standing there worried about me, even though there was no reason to. "I'll be fine, who's going to kill me? That little girl that volunteered with me? Some untrained tribute from Twelve?"

"The other careers." My mom answered. She was worried, so worried about me that it hurt me just thinking about it.

"Don't worry mom," I said trying to make her feel better. I didn't like seeing her like this. "I can take care of them, and if I can't, I can run away, I can run forty yards in just over four seconds, they won't catch me."

"But what if you get into a fight?" My mom asked. "You're not going to be the strongest one out there." I couldn't think of that, the best thing I could tell me mom was

"Strength doesn't mean everything." It was at that moment that the peacekeeper guarding the room told her that her time was up. Mom left, dad entered. I just hoped that what I said to her made her worry less.

"Son." Dad said proudly as he opened his arms and gave me a big huge which I returned. "I'm so proud of you boy."

"You made me into this." I told him happily, glad that he wasn't in the same state as mom was. "A future victor." That's exactly what he did. He pushed me and pushed me to train. But I knew that it wasn't just for him, it was for me as well. So that my future would be good, perfect maybe. I was going to prove that my dad was good trainer, that I was a good fighter, and bring glory to this family.

"I know that your life was uneventful," My dad told me. "But you'll see that it was worth it when you win." I had known that for a long time. Most of my free time was spent training, and I had known that it would eventually make me a victor. Eventful times could come after my victory.

"The Draconix family isn't the only family that can win in District Two." I told my dad, thinking that that family was getting too cocky for their own good. I mean, volunteering at twelve years old, how cocky could you get? "Other families can have victors here, like us." Their little girl wasn't going to stop me. With my experience and training, I would be the next victor. I wasn't the biggest, or the strongest, or even the smartest person in the world. But what matters, is how you put everything together. My dad and I broke free before looking at each other and smiling.

"You make me so proud." My dad told me. I had him to thank. If it weren't for him pushing me, I'd never have made it this far.

"All thanks to you dad." The peacekeeper then told dad that his time was up and he had to leave. Dad gave me one last farewell, then he left.

Next came my friends, first Thor, then Lan, then finally, Mikov. We talked about how I was going to be a victor, how I spent my life training for this. We joked about how that Draconix girl was too cocky for her own good, joked about life. Talked about what would happen if I didn't live. That scared me the most. What if...I didn't come back?

District Three

Nessa Christine Johnston's POV

"I'm so sorry Nessa." My mother cried. "If only I were younger I'd volunteer for you." If only I hadn't been chosen. I couldn't go in there, there were eighteen year olds who trained for this, compared to them, I was nothing.

"I'm sorry for being reaped." I told her, not feeling well for putting her through this misery. "If I hadn't-"

"You can't choose to be reaped or not," My mom told me while still crying. "It was just...bad luck." More than bad luck I thought. It was a miracle that I lived, it was the opposite to be reaped now. It was almost like fate wanted to take that miracle away. And from the look in my mother's eyes, she could tell it was the same.

"Mom, I was a miracle right?" I asked her. My mother wiped her nose on her shirt sleeve before answering.

"Yes." I was born prematurely. I wasn't supposed to live. I'm not supposed to her here right now. But here I am, living, right now, making everyday a joy for my parents.

"Well," I smiled, thinking of something good. "Maybe another one will happen. Maybe I can get through the games." That seemed to make my mother feel better, because now she was smiling. She was still crying, but smiling at least. That made me feel better.

"Maybe." My mother breathed. "Hopefully." It was then that the peacekeeper told her that her time was up. I didn't like to see my mother like that, but at the same time, I didn't want her to leave.

"I'll win mother!" I shouted to her as she was going to the door. She turned back and faced me as I shouted. "I'll win! I'll come back home and show you that I am a miracle!" I meant every word of it.

I saw my mother smile before my father entered the room and the door closed behind him. My father smiled at me before saying.

"That's what we want to hear." Father then walked up to me before saying. "You know, your mother wasn't that much older then you right now when you were born."

"I know." I told him. Mom was fourteen when I was born, that in a way, was something. "She's something all right."

"Yeah," My father said looking up to the roof. "She is."

"Father." My father looked at me before saying.

"Yes?" Even though it was a long shot. Even though it was almost unheard of. Even though there were monsters in the barbaric games. Even though I was weak, unskilled, and not all the healthy. I said.

"I will win. I will win. I will return. And we'll be together again." That, was a promise. A promise that I was going to go through with.

"I'd like that very much." My dad said to me.

I'd like it very much as well.

Zap "Tharizdun" Philistone's POV

"I'll kill all of you!" I shouted at this whole fucking district. They thought they were safe from me just because I was in a straightjacket, blindfolded, and had a muzzle on!? They were wrong and foolish to think that. I was going to come back here after the games, and murder each and every person who dared do anything to me. They deserved nothing less.

I felt things hitting my body. They were probably hard objects. I wouldn't know, I couldn't feel pain. I was never hurt in my life. Not when I was burned, not when I was stabbed. I never felt pain in my life. Not physically, not mentally. I didn't feel anything when I burned down my home, killing my parents and my younger siblings. I wasn't sorry. I did that so that I could live alone and do my hobby in peace. So getting hit with objects was more of an inconvenience than painful. "Get over here!" I shouted at them. "I dare you! I dare you! I dare you!"

They wouldn't though, they were all too scared of me. And why shouldn't they? I was the reincarnation of a god. The ancient literature had described me perfectly, and what they described was a chained god of evil. A great god named Tharizdun. That's what I was, a god, not some boy called Zap.

"Go and die!" A voice shouted.

"This is your retribution!" Another shouted.

"Hope they spear your face off!" Another shouted.

Weak. That's what they were, weak. Too scared to face me themselves, so they stayed in packs, picking on anything they thought was defenceless. Like a pack of rats running from anything that came too near. They couldn't stop me, nothing could. Because. I. Am. Invincible.

And when I came back. The first person to go would be that thirteen year old bitch that ran away from me and told on me. I thought of how I was going to kill her as I got dragged away by those so called peacekeepers. Oh yes, she was going to pay. The images of what I would do to her played out in my mind, and it offered me some glee as I was being hounded by these inferior beings.

District Four

Evaline "Eva" Ellery's POV

As I stood in the middle of the justice building, I thought of what I was going against. Real careers, not like me. District Four, a half career half non-career district. If only I was reaped last year, there were volunteers for those two reaped kids. Only if. Those thoughts filled me with dread.

"Hi Eva." I heard a deep voice say. I looked over and saw my dad standing not twenty feet away from me. I looked over and smiled at him. He had made it. He got out of his depression, even just for a bit, to see me off. That alone, was worth smiling for.

"Hi dad." I responded happily. Ever since mom died, he hadn't been doing so well. I had to help him fish and everything. Not that it was bad, it had become more of a routine chore between the time I had started, and now, even though there were times that I just wanted to throw everything away and just quit. Plus, I knew that he wasn't mentally fit for the job. At least fully.

My father sighed and scratched the back of his head before saying.

"I know I haven't been there for you and Macey lately, but I just want to say, I'm proud of both of you."

"Dad," I said not wanting him to go back to the former shell of himself. "Please don't go back into depression, please take care of Macey."

"I'll try and get back to work." My dad told me. I knew it wasn't a guarantee but it was better than nothing. A start, and maybe it would lead him to getting better. We then just stood here looking at each other until the peacekeeper told him it was time to leave.

I would have liked more words with him, but I guess this was all that needed to be said.

Macey, my thirteen year old sister, came in next. And I didn't know what to say to her.

"Eva!" She shouted to me sadly. "You're coming back aren't you!?" I didn't know how to tell her that I didn't think that I was coming back. But I couldn't tell her that could I? So I put on a fake face and lied.

"Of course I'm coming back." I said putting on the fake smile. I'll be strong in front of her at least. "I'll come back for you." Macey seemed to cheer up dramatically when she heard this.

"Really?" She said in extreme happiness. The smile on her face, the way her eyes lit up from my lie. I just couldn't tell her the truth now.

"Yeah." I told her kneeling down to match her height, telling her that I was being serious now. "But until I come back, make sure you take care of dad, don't let him slip back into depression." She needed to do that, because I knew what would happen if he slipped back into the pit of sorrow, and it was anything but good.

"Okay," Macey told me. "I'll try." I then leaned forward and gave Macey a big hug.

"I love you Macey." I told her. She was practically my life. I did everything for her. If my brother Timothy hadn't died, I'm sure he'd be here as well. Macey and I stayed with each other until the peacekeeper told us that our time was up and she needed to leave.

I watched Macey exit the door while thinking that I was probably never going to see her again. That she was going to watch me die on T.V. But I wasn't going to let that happen, I was going to come back for her, no matter the cost. Even though I knew that the odds weren't exactly in my favour.

The next person that came in was my best friend Flora. We've been best friends since I could remember. She ran up to me and wrapped me around in her arms, which I did the same with her.

"I'm sorry Eva." She said sadly. "I'm sorry that you have to go through this."

"It's okay," I told her trying not to cry from both this and Macey's visit. "Better than someone else going."

"No, not it's not, unless you chose to go in it's not."

"Flora-" I started.

"Eva," Flora interrupted. "Win, just win, for everyone you care about, just, win." Flora then let go of me and held out a bronze fish shaped pin. "I didn't want Ruby to get anymore upset then she already is, and Ryder didn't want to exchange any bad words with you." Ruby, Flora's little sister. Ryder, my neighbour. They should have just come, it would have meant a lot to me. "They all chipped in to get you this though, to remind you of your district, who you're fighting for, so you won't forget." She handed me the pin before I wrapped my right palm around it and squeezing it, feeling the smooth metal inside my palm.

"I would never forget." I whispered, feeling that everyone around me was telling a dead girl to come home. It wasn't a good feeling. But I'd try to win, for them.

As the peacekeeper told Flora to get out, I couldn't help but think that I'd like one last swim in the river behind my house, to remember my mom by. Even if she drowned in it, it still held more good memories than bad ones.

Shoney Germoal's POV

The first person to enter the room was my older brother, Galex. As soon as he entered the room he ran towards me and picked me up in a giant bear hug that nearly suffocated me. I was frightened so much that I screamed in a frightful voice for him to put me down. God he was powerful. Lucky for me he realized his mistake quickly and placed me back on solid ground. I hope he didn't break anything of mine. I needed to be in one piece where I was going.

"Well look at you now!" Galex shouted proudly. "You're one step closer to become a real career! Now all you have to do is show your skills to the other careers and hope that they'll let you in the career pack!"

"Hooray for me." I monotonely told him. If anything, it should be Galex here, not me, but I thought, what the heck, it's not like any other time would be better. And I always wondered what it was like in the arena.

"Don't be that way Shoney," Galex cheerfully said smiling at me. "You've trained for this, you should be happy, after all, you volunteered for this."

"Yeah," I said with as little emotion as possible. "Guess I did." I'm just wondering what the games are really like, that's all. Let's not make a big deal out of this.

"Listen," My brother said grabbing my shoulders. "You're going to win."

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

"Because of this." My brother said before taking off his favourite leather bracelet and putting it around my left arm. "Now you'll have to return this when you come home." I didn't get it, he was always mom and dad's favourite, why was he treating me like this? "You will come home." He said fiercely.

"That makes one of us." I blankly told him.

"Shoney." He said looking directly at me with a serious look on his face. I didn't like the looks of this. "Say you will win and mean it."

Aw man, do I have to? Fine, whatever.

"Guess I will." I told him feeling that he really thought that I could come home alive, and who knows, maybe I will. "Guess I will." I said for real this time.

District Five

Alexander Natas's POV

They hated me because I'm an Albino. They loved to make fun of me because of my white hair and red eyes. That fucking warden placed me in a cage and charged people to look at me.

Those bullies, the warden, just about everyone in this district had done something to me. I wanted to kill them all in the most painful way possible. I wanted their blood to cover the streets of District Five. Nobody would be safe from me once I returned, not the men, not the women, not the children. They all contributed to my suffering, they can all be victims of it. Then after I killed them all, I'd set this whole damn district ablaze and watch the flames eat everything in its path. I felt myself smile as I thought of the bloody carnage I'd create. Yes, that was a delightful thought.

I heard the door behind me open and heard a deep voice shout.

"Hey freak! You've got a visitor!" Who'd come to visit me? Whoever it was I'd kill them. For now, I was immune, they couldn't kill a tribute before the games. How wonderful, a warm up victim before the games start. I turned around and saw the only person in this world that I didn't want to kill. The one that really talked to me and listened to me. Gabriel Ann Gel.

"Alex." He said as the door behind him slammed shut.

"What do you want?" I asked harshly. Even though he was maybe, just maybe my only friend, I still didn't trust him. He was with them, he was part of them. But even through all that, he was the only person that mattered to me. The only person that cared for me since my parents died when I was six.

"I want to know if you're okay." Gabriel told me. Shocker.

"I'm having some nice thoughts to calm me down," I told him while slowly walking to him. "I'm thinking of how many people were going to die if I come back." I told him, liking every word I heard myself say. "Wouldn't that be a great sight? All that red running down the streets? That's your favourite colour isn't it? Red? Or maybe it's orange. Which ever one it is, I can arrange to have it appear. Red for blood, orange for fire." Gabriel looked like he didn't know what to say. But that didn't matter, he never really knew what to say.

"Alex," Gabriel said not even looking at me. "I'm going to miss you and all, but I just have to say that, even though the games make you kill other kids." Gabriel took a pause before saying. "Try not to lose the humanity this district took away from you." I didn't know if it was the right thing to do, but I didn't care at the moment. I leaned towards Gabriel and kissed him. Gabriel seemed started at that because he backed away from me quickly. He then looked at me with shock and confusion in his eyes.

"That's what normal people do when they're going to miss someone that means something to them right?" I asked not knowing if Gabriel would answer or not. He just seemed too in shock to answer for some reason.

"Okay you!" A peacekeeper shouted from the entrance of this room. "Time's up! Time to go!" I then saw him walk to up Gabriel and grab him by the shoulder and start forcing him away from me. I wanted to break his arm to stop him from taking the only person who mattered to me. So long Gabriel Ann Gel, I thought. Hope you live long enough to see this district run red with the people's blood and watch the orange flames consume everything in its path.

Valerie Snake's POV

"But daddy," I screamed at him because of this unfairity. "Why did I have to be chosen!? Why couldn't someone else be chosen?" My daddy sighed stupidly before saying.

"Because you were the one chosen, there's nothing anyone can do about that." That was no excuse, there were ways to get around this.

"Well why didn't she just choose someone else!?" I exclaimed. It's simple, all they needed to do was either choose another name or someone volunteered for me. "I mean, she could have just chosen someone else right?" Daddy sighed again. I hated when he did that, he did it often for some reason. Being the mayor I guess was stressful, but did he have to do it so often?

"You can only not go into the games, after the escort reapes you, if someone volunteers for you." He told me.

"Well then why didn't anyone volunteer for me!?" I asked. I was never meant to be chosen anyway, why did life have to be so unfair?

"You can't ask a person to volunteer for you." Daddy said again.

"But you could have bribed them." I told him. I just didn't understand what was going through his head at the time, it was so obvious what to do. But at the moment, all he did was do the annoying sigh he always did.

Valerie Snake's dad's POV

What did I do to deserve this, I thought. Why couldn't my only daughter just accept what was happening without making a fuss? I better get out of here before she started to have a temper tantrum that was as bad as her when she was six years old. I think that hit to the head affected her a bit.

"Time's up!" The peacekeeper that hit her over the head shouted. Perfect timing.

As I watched the peacekeeper drag away my daughter as she continued to cry out for my help, I began to think about what was going to happen to her. She was undoubtedly going to get killed off in the arena, as I knew that she didn't have a chance of winning.

And while she was spoiled rotten, unfriendly, and due to lacking a better word at the moment, stupid, I couldn't but think that she was my one and only daughter.

As she got dragged through the doors that lead to the train, I couldn't help but feel a sense of emptiness inside me.

I missed her already.

District Six

Ricky Coler's POV

"Ricky," My mom cried out as she held me in her loving arms. "Why did it have to be you?" It's just the way it is mom.

"It happened." I told her returning her hug. I could tell that she couldn't bare to see her only son go into the games. But it happened to someone every year. As much as I didn't like going myself, I knew that there was nothing that could be done.

"Don't die will you." My mom begged to me.

"I won't." I whispered to her.

Her time then ran out and she was forced to retreat from me. Then dad came in and he acted the same way as mom, sad. But at least he wasn't crying and hugging me. I was going to miss both of them, after all, what were my odds of coming back?

Rayne Page's POV

The first person to come forward to say goodbye to me was my older sister. Good luck was all she said when she entered. Thanks, was all I replied to her before the room fell with silence.

That bitch didn't say anything after that and just played with her fake red hair while staring at the ceiling and tapping her foot, like she'd rather be anywhere else in the world. It pissed me off that she was acting like that, acting like she was forced to say goodbye to me and I wasn't worth her time. I knew that she'd rather be spending time with some horny, sex deprived guy in exchange for money.

I really hated her. She falls in love with the idiots in this district before getting pregnant and having abortions with her unborn kids. Pitiful. I hate her so much.

Then at last, her time was up. Thank God, I couldn't stand the sight of her. Having her in the same room with me any longer and I don't know what I would of said or done to her. I mean, that's some nice jewellery she was wearing. Sure it was mostly fake, but bracelets with gems were still gems. They were worth something to someone.

The next person that came in was my brother. This was a surprise. He was never around me a lot since he had moved out of the family house.

"Hi bro." I said to him wondering what he was doing here. Was he here to be like older sis and just say good luck or don't die?

"Hi Rayne," he said sadly. He then walked up to me and presented me with a black leather bracelet with a fine wooden charm attached to it. "Rayne," He said placing it around my arm. "You have to win this, you just have to." I then felt sadness creep up on me. He thought that I was going to win. It made me feel sad that he had that much faith in me.

As he tightened the bracelet around my arm I felt like crying. And just as quickly as he came, he left. Did he not want to spend more time with me then necessary? Or was that all he needed to say? I didn't even get to think about that, because now I saw my father and my little sister Zlata.

Seeing them, especially Zlata, looking at with sadness in their eyes, looking as if they were going to cry made me lose it. I have almost never cried in my life. I have more fingers on one hand than the number of times I've cried in the seventeen years of my life. But this was just too much for me, seeing father and Zlata there looking at me like they were going to lose me was just too much for me. I didn't like seeing them like this.

My father hugged my around my body while five year old Zlata could only hug my leg. That was all the comfort I needed from them. We stayed like that till the peacekeeper dragged us apart.

The next person to enter was my only friend, Zee. I hated the freckles around her nose as it made her look weird, but right now, it comforted me just to know that she had came here to say her goodbyes. She looked shocked to see me in my current state, but that was understandable, she had never seen me like this. And seeing father, Zlata, and Zee, I thought of what my brother said, that I had to win. And I was now going to win, so I could come back to them.

District Seven

Sami Lavisa's POV

Dad was 'too busy to see me,' as my nine year old twin siblings told me. Knowing dad, he probably didn't want to say goodbye to me. That was understandable, who'd want to say goodbye to someone forever? I didn't want to say goodbye to Gracie and Jhono, who were talking about what they were going to do when I got home from the games. They said that I might surprise people with my smartness. They said that I'd be smart enough to survive the games.

I liked that optimism, but I knew that what they were saying about me returning was most likely untrue, sad as it was.

"Hey big sis," Jhono called out to me. I looked at him and smiled wondering what he was going to say. "You will come back won't you?" I didn't know how to tell him that I wasn't going to come back, that I wasn't going to live through those horrendous games. I didn't want to tell him that. So I picked him up and nodded my head. He seemed happy about that, because he then presented me with a braided bracelet with three strings. One string was black, another white, the last one was a tan colour. "This is for you." Jhono told me as I used my free hand to take hold of it.

"It's meant to represent the three of us." Gracie told me as she pointed to the black string.

"That's Jhono because he's the bad one in the family."

"No!" Jhono screamed out "I'm white! You're black! I'm the good one!"

"I'm white!" Gracie screamed out at Jhono

"I'm white!" Jhono shouted at Gracie. I pointed to the tan one to try and soothe out the current situation, those two always fought, it was up to me to defuse it.

"What's this tan one mean?" I asked, hoping that it would distract them enough from fighting with each other.

"That tan rope's you!" The two of them told me in unison, seeming to instantly forget what they were fighting about. I was thankful that they wouldn't be fighting much more during my departure. The last thing I wanted was for them to feel guilty. To feel that they could of done something other than argue while their sister was going away.

The three ropes they handed to me, they were made to symbolize us together. It was a powerful symbol. I felt like crying when I thought of it. I had raised them ever since mom got too sick to take care of them. And dad's too busy to take care of them, as he was almost always working. The two of them really only had me to take care of them along with each other, so it was my responsibility to take care of them in the place of my parents. How would they react when one of those strings broke?

I picked up Gracie and held the two of them in my arms. The two of them were getting too heavy for me to pick up and hold, but this could be the last time I held them. And I was going to make the most of it.

Bo Heatherfield's POV

The Hunger Games. The killer games. The murder games. Whatever you want to call it, that's what they were to me, just one, big, killfest. That's where I'll be in a few days time. I don't want to kill anyone, and I don't plan on doing it, even if that's what people say you have to do in the arena. I'll hide. I'll hide until everyone has died fighting each other or died of other means, that's how I'll win. I just hope that that plan won't go wrong and I'll have to kill somebody. The thought alone sent chills down my spine.

I heard the doors burst open as I saw Floopy run across the room and fling herself onto me and nearly made me fall over due to her sudden appearance.

For a fourteen year old girl with little muscle, it surprised me that she could almost take me off my feet.

"Bo!" She cried out as I stumbled and regained my footing after a couple of steps. "Why did it have to be you that got picked?" Because it was my fate? I looked at her and saw tears spilling out of those green eyes of hers. Seemed like everyone was crying today. Me, that Sami girl, now her. I looked away before she started screaming out. "Why did it have to be you!?" I don't know, why did it have to be me? Why couldn't it have been someone else? She then kept on going how it was unfair that I had been chosen instead of any other person. But why did it have to be anyone anyway? It's unfair to anyone that's picked.

When her time was up, the peacekeeper had to drag her out because she refused to leave. But the peacekeeper finally managed to pry her, actually, more like beat her off me, before dragging her out of the room I was in. I didn't like his method of getting a girl to let go of me, but really, what could I do?

The next person to enter was Luke.

"I'm sorry about all this." Luke said looking at me and around the room. "I should have volunteered for you." No, you shouldn't have, you did the right thing by staying quiet. I wouldn't want you to be sent to your death. You're like a brother to me, and it would have pained me for you to lay down your life for me. "I'm just, sorry for not being for you there more."

I shook my head at him and smiled. You've done enough for me already Luke. You may be muscular, but could you fight like careers? I don't think so. Besides, you have to take care of Floopy. Jimmy can't do it himself, because Floopy's a very stubborn girl. Only Luke has the energy for her. "I mean, how will you survive?" I then covered his eyes with my hand, telling him that I'd hide from their sight. But Luke didn't get it and said that he wanted to see me. I removed my hands from his eyes.

Then he started trying to comfort me by patting my back and telling me it was going to be alright. That all I needed to do was kill the last tribute if I played my cards right. But I didn't even want to think about killing. I didn't tell him that though. When his time was up, he patted me on the back one last time before saying good luck and leaving, but not before I saw him holding back tears in his golden eyes. Those golden eyes that I feared were taking a toll on his life.

The next person to enter was my adopted father, Jimmy. He had taken me in because he was my family's friend, and that's what friends do I guess, take care of each other. I was grateful for everything he had done for me.

"Hi Bo." He said to me through his thick beard. I nodded to him, letting him know that I was saying hi back. He looked like he wanted to cry, but he was holding it in. "I'm sorry that this happened to you." I'm sorry that this happened to me too.

Jimmy sighed before saying. "You know Bo, ever since your family died of sickness and I took you in, you've become like a son to me." Like Luke? "Like Luke." Jimmy said like he was reading my mind. I smiled, happy with that thought. For someone almost sixty, he did a lot of work raising Luke, Floopy and I. "So it pains me to see you off." I pause came before he said yet again. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry." I whispered to him. His eyes then shot up like I had done something amazing. But then the peacekeeper told him to get out because they were on a tight schedule. I then saw tears flow from Jimmy's eyes, and that was the last thing I saw from him. "Sorry." I whispered again. I'm sorry.

District Eight

Dav Ander's POV

"I shouldn't have been reaped." I told Ronald. "I shouldn't have been reaped." Why couldn't have been someone else? It should have been someone lower than me, but no, it had to be me. Why? This wasn't right.

"But it happened." Ronald told me.

"I know that stupid," I spat at him. Thanks for stating the obvious. "Why do you think I'm here?"

"Well your aunt Mia is happy for you," He told me. "She thinks that this will make you into a man or something."

"Do I look like I care what Mia thinks?" I asked him. How could she think this was good for me? I was never supposed to be chosen, this shouldn't have happened.

"You could at least care a little," Ronald told me. "I mean, she did take you in when your parents divorced and neither wanted you."

"True." I told him. Aunt Mia did take me in when my loser parents didn't. And I was glad for that. Mom and dad were poor, so they could never get me what I wanted. Aunt Mia was rich, she could get me the stuff I wanted. "But fuck, what could possibly make me a better person in the games?" That's what I thought, what did Aunt Mia think would happen to me in there?

"I don't know Dav." Ronald told me not knowing the answer as well. "I don't know."

December Juliet "Ember" Varen's POV

Why did it have to be me? Why couldn't it have been someone else? Maybe this was what my ancestors up above cooked up for me. My father stole from a merchant, so maybe because of that shame, higher up powers wanted to pay him back. He was now a peacekeeper in District Three, he wouldn't even know about me going until it showed me on T.V. How would he act? How would he take it? I wouldn't know, because he could never see me again anyway. What was he thinking about? Was he wondering if I got reaped? Was he thinking about mom? Or was he thinking about pretty daughter June? I came out of my trance when Kastin came through the doors.

"Kastin!" I called to her waving my hands to her. Kastin saw me and ran up to me.

"How are you?" She asked shyly.

"Not good," I told her truthfully. "I'm about to be sent into the games, the thing I hate most in this world." Kastin looked down looking embarrassed that she even asked. Maybe that wasn't the best choice of words.

"I'm sorry." Kastin whispered.

"No, I'm sorry." I told her. "It's just, I'm going to go into the games and such."

"Yeah, sorry about that too." Kastin and I talked for a little while until her time was up.

Next came in Maura.

"Boy!" She shouted suddenly. "What bad luck to have been picked!"

"You're telling me." I sighed, why did it have to be me?

"Why do they even have the Hunger Games anyway?"

"Because they feel like it?" I told her, even though I didn't know the full answer. The Capitol said it was punishment for the first rebellion, but was that all it really was?

"Is that all?" She asked. I shrugged my shoulders. I didn't know.

"Well, I hope you make it back here, we're going to miss you."

"I'll miss you all too." I told her. She then looked surprised before she held out her hand and I saw something black in it. I screamed loudly as I saw what it was. It was a spider! I fell down and backed away quickly. But all Maura was doing was laughing.

"What's so funny!?" I shouted in fright as I looked at the spider in her palm.

It's fake." Maura laughed as she dropped the black spider down, that's when I noticed it was plastic.

"That was a cheap trick!" I shouted to her, angry at her cheap trick. "You know I hate those things!" Why did she have to do that to me? She knows that they scare me to death!

"Well," Maura said with a smug smile while helping me to my feet. "I won't know when I'll see you again, so I've got to make the most of it." By the time she helped me up, her time was up and she had to leave.

"That was a cheap trick!" I shouted back to her as her and Jackson passed each other. Jackson looked at her before facing me.

"What was that all about?" He asked curiously.

"Fake spider." I told him, still kind of mad that Maura had scared me nearly half to death.

"I see." He replied.

"Why did she do that?" I asked. "She knows I'm deathly frightened by them.

"Well, you know her." Jackson told me. Yeah, I did, she was like that, not all the time, but still. Jackson and I talked until his time was up and he had to leave. But before that happened, he gave me the bracelet that we had made when we were twelve. We made it to give to the one that got reaped, if we got reaped. It had three charms on it. One was a small white and green china button with swirls and a small hole in it to fit a chain through it. That was made by Kastin. The second charm was a star painted with green and white strips. The third charm was simple, red metal star. It brought back memories of when we were twelve. When we were invincible from the reapings. When we were all alone, together. Now it was going to be all gone for me. Why? Why did this have to happen?

Then an unexpected sight occurred. I saw my sister, June. What was she doing here?

"What does little miss perfect want?" I asked her, not feeling the best of emotions towards her. But then I saw her start to sob. Why? Didn't she hate me? "Why are you crying?" I asked.

"Because I'm sorry, that's why." June told me still crying. She walked up to me and gave me a big hug. "I'm sorry that I treated you like shit." She said to me "I really do love you, even if I never really showed it."

"You never really showed it." I told her. After all, she was the one that mom and dad liked most. Because she was better looking and better at sports then me.

"I know." She whispered "I know, and I'm sorry." We then broke apart. I saw her eyeing something. I followed her gaze and saw that she was looking at the bracelet. What did she want with it? I then saw her look at her right hand before lifting it up and pulling off a silver ring with an emerald on it. Something that mom had given her as a present. She pulled the ring off her pinkie finger, took hold of the bracelet, and put it on the bracelet chain. Why was she doing this? She never acted this way before. "Bring it back when you win." She told me looking at me square in the eyes.

"How?" I asked. "How can I win?" June shrugged.

"I don't know." She told me. And how could she, you'd never know what would happen in the games. "You're the smart one, I'm sure you can think of something."

District Nine

Talliana Messine's POV

I never thought that I'd be reaped. I never even gave a thought about it. I never signed up for tesserae or anything. Guess it was just bad luck that I got picked.

The first person to walk into the room was my mother. The person who works even when she isn't supposed to. She does her job as a homemaker, then helps out the district when she has free time, she was always busy. I don't know if it was because she was a person that wanted to help around, or because she wanted to make some extra money. Either way, it was her decision, and I didn't mind that she did what she liked doing.

She told me that she was saddened by me getting reaped, she said that I had a better chance of not getting reaped because I never signed up for tesserae. But luck wasn't on my side this year.

"It's not your fault mom," I told her while trying to get her to relax. "You did everything you could, things just, happened." She really did everything she could. Because of her and dad working, I never had to sign up for tesserae. Mom then asked about how she was going to live without me. Who was going to look after my seven year old brother and sister when her and dad were at work? And how was she going to live knowing that doing everything she could wasn't good enough? "Hey," I told me trying to cheer her up again. "Look at it this way, if I win, we'll never have to work again." That seemed cheer her up before her time was up. I couldn't stand to see her like that, I'm glad I made her feel better before she left.

The next person to come in was my dad. Being an owner of a small factory, he didn't have to work as much as mom, but he worked a lot to make sure that I never had to sign up for tesserae. To make sure that none of us in his family needed to sign up for tesserae. We talked for a bit until our time was up. My seven year old siblings came in next. If I won, Wynter and Fyntrain would never have to worry about signing up for tesserae, we'd live a life of luxury.

"Hey sis." Wynter said. "We've got something for you." She then presented me with a white plastic anklet.

"We made that for you." Fyntrain told me. I looked at the simple made anklet before looking to my siblings and smiled at them.

"Thanks." I told them before hugging both of them. It wasn't much, but they brought this for me, and I couldn't be happier with them. Then their time was up.

The next people to come in were my friends. One at a time, they told me that when I came back, they were going to hold a huge welcome back party for me. And it wasn't going to be a small party where we only hold once in a while, where five or ten of us have to chip in small amounts of money each for our little so called party, but a huge party. A real party.

I'd like that. I really would. If I could get through my worst nightmare first.

Arrowe Winter's POV

"Why'd you volunteer!?" My mom shouted both angrily and sadly to me. I could see that behind all that rage she was pushing towards me, was sadness. "Why'd you have to lay down your life!?" She continued to shout at me.

"Mom," I started explaining to her, trying to get her to calm down. "I thought this through, I know what I'm doing." I had a plan, a good one, one that was bound to work in one way or another. Well, maybe not. But it was a risk worth taking. High risk can equal high reward if played right, and I was going to play it right.

"You sent yourself into a death sentence!" Mom screamed to me. "I know you're a risk taker but this has gone too far!"

"No I haven't mom." I told her. "I'm not going to die. I've got a great plan and it's going to work." I wanted to explain my plan to her, but she cut me off by placing her hand over my mouth, silencing me.

"You just don't know when to quit don't you." My mom said quietly. "You think this will set a good example for your sister?" Fay. Sixteen year old Fay. She'd never do such a thing, volunteer. When mom removed her hand from my mouth, I told her

"She'd never volunteer, she knows better." Because no one but me is willing to do something as daring as this.

"What if your plan goes well and she thinks that she can do the same thing?" The shock then hit me. I never thought of that. That's when the peacekeeper told my mom that her time was up. But before she left, she told me not to end up like dad.

Dad, he liked taking risks too, but that's what lead to his downfall. To take a shortcut while walking in the mountains, he took a dangerous path, and got his food stuck between two rocks, and starved to death. It was days before anyone found him. Dad. I'm sorry to say this, but why did you have to be so stupid? You could have freed yourself, and yet, you didn't. I couldn't understand your decision to just hang there and starve to death.

The next person to come in was my older brother Transton. People say that we look a lot like each other. Maybe, I was around him so much that I didn't notice. But if there was one thing that I did notice, it was that he didn't have one black eye and one green eye. He only had bright green. Unlike me.

"What's up bro?" He asked. He tried not to sound worried, but he couldn't fool me. I knew what he sounded like when he was worried.

"Nothing much," I told him calmly, trying not to make him worry so much. "Just putting my genius plan into action." Transton looked curiously when he heard that.

"And what is your genius plan?" He asked wondering what my plan was. I was glad he asked, I didn't have a chance to tell mom why I volunteered, and I knew that Transton would understand.

I then told him my plan with great detail, telling him everything I wanted him to know. Mostly, only careers volunteer, and they're recognized throughout the Capitol. The same with some other volunteers, like in the seventy fourth Hunger Games, that Katniss girl. My plan was to volunteer and act confident, and that in turn would get people to recognize me, and in turn, that would gain me sponsors.

"Plus I like taking risks." I told him at the end.

"So I've noticed." He said while smiling. He then shook his head side to side while still smiling.

"You're one crazy bastard you know that?"

"So I've been told." I then saw him take off one of his earrings. A small golden hoop with a small onyx stone dangling from it. He unhooked it from his ear before passing it over to me.

"That's your token," He told me. "Remember us while you're drowning in sponsors." I don't know if he meant that literally, but when he said drowning, I couldn't keep the fear out from my mind. Drowning. "Oh hey hey hey." He said apologetically. "Sorry, I forgot that you fear, you know."

"It's okay," I told him. "You forgot."

"Time's up!" A voice shouted. That peacekeeper.

"Fay sends her love." Transton told me while leaving. "She said that she shouldn't say goodbye to you, because you're coming back." And while the door closed, I thought of Fay. She had so much confidence that I could win. Knowing that, I felt as if she had said it to me in person.

District Ten

Max Starling's POV

"Why did I have to be chosen?" I asked my dad who was standing in front of me in the justice building. "Why did I have to be chosen? I don't want to go into the games, it's scary. I'm only thirteen, I don't stand a chance against those eighteen year olds or the careers. I can't go against them, I'll die. Why me?"

"It just happened Max." My dad told me. "You got picked and that's how it is." Yeah, that's how it is, someone has to be picked every year. But why did this year's tribute have to be me?

"How can I go against those other tributes? That Life Lee doesn't look like much, but she's older than me, bigger than me, stronger than me most likely, in fact, I think all the other tributes are going to be older, and bigger, and stronger than I am. It's not fair, why couldn't an older kid have chosen instead? Why-"

"Be quiet Max! Stop crying!" My dad shouted at me. I was so surprised that I did stop. I looked at him as he shouted at me. "Complaining won't change anything! I don't want to hear another complain from your god damn mouth! God, if you mother heard you I don't know how she'd react." Mom, she died birth giving birth to me. Why did she have to go? It seemed that because of her death, my life wasn't as good as it should have been. I started to cry harder just thinking about her.

I've never seen her in person, only in pictures, how would I know how she'd feel? Dad took a long, hard sigh before talking to me again. "Look son," He started to tell me in a calmer voice. "I'm sorry for over reacting, but you just can't change stuff like this."

"Yeah," I said to him understanding. "I understand." Just like how I was here and mom wasn't, I couldn't change that. "It's just that, I don't want to go into the games. I'll be killed out there."

"Max, if there's one thing that you can do better then other kids, it's that you can go a long time without food."

"Yeah!" I shouted feeling instantly better. Now that I thought about it, if there's one thing that the careers can't do, its go hungry. If they go hungry, they get weak. "Yeah, I can out starve the others! And then when they're all weak and tired, I can easily kill them, and if I'm lucky, I won't even have to do that." I saw my dad smile at me

"That's what I want to hear, you in high spirits again." I then saw my dad reach into his coat pocket and pull out a small piece of tree bark. He handed it to me, and I took it. "When you're in the games, take out this piece of bark, and think of home, think of your mom."

"Yeah." I told him thinking about mom. "Mom wouldn't have wanted me to die. She gave me life, I can't shame her for that. Dad, I'll win, and I won't shame mom's death for giving birth to me. I won't waste her sacrifice." Then with as much confidence as I could build up, I told him "I will win, for mom."

Life Lee's POV

"Life!" I heard Laurel shout from the door way. I looked at her through the tears in my eyes. Every year on this day, she had to see kids get reaped. Now this year, it was me, and to make it worse, today was Laurel's birthday. It was like fate was playing a cruel trick on Laurel.

She ran up to me before grabbing me around my body, her head reaching a little below my chest. "Don't die!" She cried. "Please don't die!"

Dying, I've had enough death for a lifetime, and yet, fate just had plans in store for me. Just like they had plans for my whole family. First was my sister, Faerie. My sister who I'd play with, swinging her around me as I held onto her knees until we were both red faced and tan from the sun. But then one day, when we were playing, our horse, Den, took the life out of her. Old Den stomped on my sister, dislocating everything that was in her body. I remembered the sound of the hooves hitting her. Twenty four times he hit her, then on the twenty fifth, ended her life when he crushed her skull with a sickening wet crunch.

All that remained of her was a pile of red paste and broken bones.

"Why did it have to be you?!" Laurel cried out.

Yes, why did it have to be me today? And why did it have to be Papa that died earlier than he should of? The man that would let us ride on his back and play tag with my sister and I if he wasn't busy working. But then things took a turn for the worst, Papa died by getting shot. Twenty four times bullets entered his body, then the twenty fifth exited the back of his skull.

And for what? Grandma died around the same time as he did. But at least she died of natural causes. She had lived her life. But Grandpa was too full of sorrow to go without her, so he found a way to take the pain away. Somehow, he managed to get a supply of morphine, and started to feed on it. Papa and I found his body, yellow and pussing on his bed. Guess how many needles he used. Twenty five.

"How will I live without you!?" Laurel cried. I then wrapped my arms around her body as I thought of Mama.

I didn't like grandpa because he was a shady man. How else could he have gotten that morphine? But Mama tolerated him, so I tolerated him as well.

She loved all of us, and she didn't stop caring about us until the day she died. The doctors told us that she died of cancer, whatever that was. And when the doctors said that she only had a limited time to live, they sent her into isolation. Isolation without food. Then next time we saw her body, she was full of maggots and flies. They said it was from the cancer. But I knew that it was from starvation. And that forever left a hole in my heart that's never been filled. She was gone but not forgotten, that's why I wore the faded blue dress she made me, even though it is a bit too tight, and I also wore her old work boots and her old jacket. To remember her.

"You have to come back," Laurel cried. "Even if it's just for me, you have to come back." Laurel, the little girl I've taken care of, like a little sister. "Like all those stories you used to tell me, we could be like princesses and fall in love, and be happy. We could run away together. We can be happy, can't you see? We can be happy forever. Please, just come home." And there I stood, embracing Laurel. She just reminded me so much of my sister, Faerie. I then started to silently pray that I'd come back for her. Suddenly, she started praying as well. I hated that I couldn't think of anything to say, I only cried harder as I thought, why didn't I see that I was still loved all this time?

District Eleven

Angel Hale's POV

"Hide, that's what you can do." My two older sisters told me. They somehow managed to convince the peacekeeper to let them both in at once so that they could both say goodbye to me. At least they came to say goodbye, I knew that dad wouldn't want to say goodbye to me, even before they told me that he didn't care if I didn't make it back or not. I had expected that. But really, maybe it was better that he didn't come here.

"But I can't hide forever," I told them thinking of the sick traps that might be in the games. "If there's not enough fighting going on, they'd send something in or something."

"Well then move away when that happens."

"Nooo. Really?" I told them sarcastically. "I'm just going to stay there and wait to be mauled by mutts or burn to death by fire." Like I was stupid enough to stay in the place where the traps were being activated.

"Well, I'm sure you'll think of something, you're both brave and smart." I smiled at them, thinking about what they had said to me.

"That I am."

"Hey, do you still have-"

"This?" I said holding up the bracelet with mom's name engraved in it. I knew they were going to ask that.

"Yeah." They said looking at the bracelet.

"Don't worry," I told them. "I'll survive, mom's death won't be in vain." And then, their time was up.

I was going to win so that we could live, so we wouldn't have to relay on dad anymore. We could live without starvation. We could live without the abuse from dad. I could make everything better for us. I would make mom's spirit proud.

Next up was Katie, one of my best friends. We talked how we were going to miss each other and how life wouldn't be the same without each other. Time passed too quickly with her, and before I knew it, she was gone.

Then came Samantha, my other best friend. She told me she was going to miss me and I told her the same.

"What will you do for the games?" She asked. "You can't fight head on with the other tributes, especially the careers." Of course not, they'd kill me.

"I'm not going to fight them," I told her before explaining my plan to her. "I'm going to hide until there's only two of us left, then kill the last tribute when they least expect it." I knew that wasn't a very nice thing to say, but, when faced with either dying or returning home, the choice became easy.

"If it works that way." She told me. Yeah, the gamemakers will make that difficult. "So, you going to team up with Aerin? The same Aerin that's in our class."

I knew who Aerin was. I knew who he was the second his name was called. He was a great person who got my attention for what he did for people, us included. He was nice and caring, and I was certain that I could trust him.

"I think he'd make a great ally." I told my friend, but also thinking of something else as I thought of him joining me in an alliance. "But do you think he'd want to join me?" I really didn't want to get rejected by him.

Aerin Sevani's POV

With two parents, one older brother, one older sister, one younger brother, and two younger sisters, the justice building was a place of sadness. I was leaving, and they wouldn't know if I was coming back or not. But despite this sad moment, they gave lots of encouragement to me, they told me I was going to make it because I was strong and knew how to use some weapons expertly. I was glad that not everything they were saying was all doom and gloom, as there was enough of it already.

I told them I was going to make it, I was going to make it through for them. Because being poor in District Eleven with eight people in a family is hard to live on. With the winnings I'd get, we'd never go hungry again. We could afford enough food to never be hungry again, with some to spare. With the winnings, we could hire people to work on our farm, and pay them well, then at least they won't be hungry as well. Same with their families, and who knows, maybe that money will spread. Yeah, winning would increase the well being of not only my family, but other families as well. That was a thought to keep.

"You're coming back aren't you?" My six year old younger sister Cassie asked looking at me with sadness in her eyes. I didn't want to leave her, or anyone else. But I had to, having even one family member go was going to be hard on the family.

"Yes," I told her smiling down on her. "And when I do, we'll never be hungry, we'll be living the good life." Living in District Eleven is hard, even when you sign for tesserae, because sometimes, you don't even get it. And my older brother, he can't even sign up for tesserae anymore, making it even harder for us. He may be safe from the reapings, but that doesn't mean he's safe from starvation. But at least he's safe from the reapings. And since he's of age, he can work on better paying jobs. If you could even call them better paying jobs.

"The good life." Cassie repeated, while perhaps thinking of the good life. But then her time was up and she got escorted away from me. While she was walking away, I shouted that I'd do everything in my power to come back to her. I was going to come back, for her, for my parents, for my brothers and sisters too.

"Tell them I'll be coming back!" I shouted to her as the door closed behind her.

Next came one of my best friends, Ben. We talked about what was going to happen. He told that because I was strong, I was going to win. He also said that I wasn't as strong or skilled as a career, but I was better at starvation than them. Which was true, most of the times when the careers lost, it was because the cornucopia got destroyed or something killed their food supply. Maybe being from here would give me a huge advantage against the careers.

Next up came Thorn, my other best friend, who nearly arrived too late while wheezing heavily due to the incident during the reapings.

We talked, much like I did before with Ben, we talked about what was going to happen. But not about the games, about the district. What was going to happen to my family and such? I told him that I was going to win for them. The headband around my head that was made out of brown cloth, while being stained with blood and memories, was going to remind me that I needed to win for them, so that they could live the good life that they always wanted.

The good life everyone desired.

"You know that this isn't fair, right?" Thorn said to me with so much seriousness I wondered if he was angry or just stating his mind. "You were not supposed to be reaped."

"They made a mistake." I told him, thinking of how my family and I thought that we were safe from the reapings this year. But the district made a mistake, and considering how huge this district was, it wasn't too surprising. Still, this was the first time anyone seemed to of seen something like this occur. "And there's nothing I can do about it now."

District Twelve

Evanlyn "Eve" Scott's POV

"They don't want to say goodbye to you," My older brother, Hale, told me as sat down beside me. What? They don't want to say goodbye to me? Well that was a kick to the face. "Because they believe that saying goodbye isn't necessary, because you'll make it back." Suddenly, all my pain and sadness disappeared as it got replaced by relief. They did care about me. And did they really think that about me? Sure I could do things, but did they really think that I could make it out of the games?

"Did they really say that?" I asked wondering if they really said that.

"Yep." My older brother told me. "They think you're invincible. Our younger brothers and sisters at least. I mean, because of what you do, and you do get away with it." He was talking about me stealing.

I stole things from peacekeepers and the mayor, then sold them to people at the black market. If you could even call it a black market. Basically it was just a small gathering of other people in the district doing illegal things, and people willing to pay for their goods. I heard that around sixty-five years ago, it was easier to do illegal trading, 'till the districts rebelled. Now it was just a pitiful gathering in the ruins of the firebombing. Nobody bothered to try and repair the site of the previous black market, or what used to be called the hob. I didn't blame them, if they made another market as big as that, the peacekeepers would be on it in no time. And the only thing that would be accomplished was another pile of rubble.

"Only because I don't get caught." I told him. Speaking only the truth. "They should know that." If I were to ever get caught, I would get whipped until they could see my spine. Either that or killed. And I couldn't afford either of those, I had a family to take care of. Three younger siblings. And Matthew, my twin brother.

Then there was Hale, my older brother, who was safe from the reapings but still wasn't safe from everything else that happened in the district. Who got crippled from the accident that killed mom and dad.

"That's why they think you're invincible." He told me. "Because you never get caught." He then gave a little laugh that was more of a happy, not so serious laugh rather than a real laugh. "And because of that time with Tara."

Tara. I took a knife wound to the shoulder for her. Some jerk thought that she had stolen food from her. She got so mad that she pulled out a knife and was about to slash her across the neck, but I jumped in the way and took the slash to the left shoulder, leaving a scar that never healed. It was painful and still itched from time to time, but worth it. My sister hadn't gotten killed, but at the time, I wasn't sure I'd be able to say the same.

It was a good thing that a group of peacekeepers saw what had happened, otherwise who knows how it would have turned out. The merchant got whipped for assaulting me, after that, she left us alone.

"Let's hope I'm invincible enough to make it back eh."

"Yeah." Hale said sighing with worry. "Do you have a token?" He asked.

"Yeah." I told him before showing him my ankle bracelet with a red feather cut down in size for it to fit comfortably on my ankle. "To remind me of you guys." It wasn't much, but it was my token, and I will remember them with this anklet.

Silence then fell over us for a couple of seconds before I told him. "I won't lose, I can't afford to." Then at that moment, his time was up. Hale then had to struggle out of the building with the crudely made crutches, leaving me alone with only my thoughts. I can't lose I repeated to myself. I just can't. Not with my family at stake.

Colin Aldrin's POV

So I got reaped and nobody volunteered for me, so what. I was going to win the Hunger Games because I was smarter than everyone else. I was able to see things that nobody else could see and think of things that nobody else could think of, because they were all stupider than I was.

Those that lost were idiots that didn't know anything, but I wasn't an idiot, so I wasn't going to lose. I'd get a bunch of sponsors and easily slide through the games and return home before I knew it.

A/N: You know what's kind of hard? Having material already here and written. It makes editing a little harder just knowing that everything is just... There. But then again, all I really wanted was mostly minor edits until the bloodbath.

I will never give Colin a proper goodbye :( Damn it Ricky, I'll never be able to give you one either :(