Jansen Redwood

Jansen didn't bother racing for a room. He knew there'd be enough of them, and he'd just crash in whichever bed was empty later on that night. What would actually benefit him right now would be to watch the Reaping Recaps. He asked Barton to turn it on, and he was more than willing to help. Jansen sat down with the escort, along with Johanna Mason, one of Seven's mentors, to watch and find out who the competition would be this year. Jansen knew Johanna's history with the games, and had heard that she would be able to find weak points in some tributes just by looking at them. He'd make sure to ask her how to do that for when he was in the Capitol with them all.

At the sound of the Panem anthem, for which only Barton stood up, Rachel and Carson came running out to watch with them. They knew a good idea when the saw, or in this case, heard it.

Districts One and Four didn't provide much surprise, but Jansen looked for those weak spots in a team. There was a girl from One who looked slightly less murderous than the others. But from District Two, Jansen saw an actual Reaping. A girl named Shantelle, who was clearly not a Career, was called to the stage, and she froze. Other than that every one of them seemed extremely dangerous.

"Is that a volunteer, from Five and Six?" asked Barton. Johanna smiled.

"Guess your Mariposa isn't so special anymore, Barton." Jansen figured Barton wanted to be able to brag about having a volunteer for once. Barton didn't look too happy. At that moment, Jansen saw Vale Green and Rachel's father, Colin, herding the rest of the tributes into the main car to watch the reapings. Vale had Reyes by his ear and Brantley by his hair. Jansen made a mental note not to disobey her.

Everyone already knew what to expect from Seven; they had lived it. Jansen saw Mariposa trying to hold back tears as she watched herself volunteer. He was confused. She out of anyone here shouldn't be the one crying over this. Had something happened between now and then?

District Eight's reaping started up. The first girl reaped was very small. Jansen guessed she was no older than fourteen. Laurel, her name was. But it wasn't her name that caused nearly all of the mentors gasp. The next girl Reaped was named Sarah Beta. Jansen looked at Rachel, who wore a look of pure terror. He knew she came from an enormous family, but could that really be her sister. His question was answered when she bolted from the room, followed by Colin and Vale. Johanna, the cold woman she was known to be, stayed put and continued to watch. Jansen wanted to go comfort Rachel, but the mentors were doing that job right now. Jansen could only finish watching the Recaps.

Mykal Duncan

Mykal had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to get back into her shared room with Rachel for a while, since the door was locked. She waited outside in the hallway for anyone really to let her use their bathroom. Barton had told them to go clean up for dinner, and she didn't feel like dealing with him if she didn't bathe.

The first one out of their room was Carson. She didn't care whose bathroom it was, so she asked him. He let her in after checking to make sure Reyes was okay with it. He let Mykal in and headed down to the dining car.

Mykal had thought Caron had cleared the room for her, but when she walked in, Reyes was still in just a towel. She skirted off to the bathroom quickly, wanting to get out of the way and give him privacy. She stepped over Carson's dirty clothes, which he left in a pile soaking in a puddle from the tub. Typical boy. She locked the door behind her, in case he forgot she was in here. It wasn't until she was actually in the tub that she remembered about needing a change of clothes. She finished up, quickly, and threw on the biggest towel in the room. She opened the door just enough to check that the coast was clear. No one was in the room, thank goodness, but Mykal's eye caught something on the floor.

She knelt down and picked up the neatly folded pair of green pants and matching blouse left for her on the carpet. There was a note on top.

'Didn't see you bring a spare set in with you. Hope these fit. They're from Alaine. – Reyes'

She was suddenly grateful for Reyes. Such a gentleman, she thought as she pulled on the clean clothes. The were soft and warm, and much better than her threadbare reaping dress. \

She must've taken longer than she realized, because when she got to the dining car, only Carson, Reyes, and Mariposa were left eating. The mentors were talking with the others in the main car, Rachel included. She looked better than she did before. Mykal sat down next to Reyes, who was eating a large piece of some strange green melon. Carson got up and left. Mykal hoped it wasn't her fault.

"Don't worry about it. I asked him to stay out of the room until you were finished." Said Reyes, passing her a plate of what looked like turkey.

"Thank you," she said. "For the clothes." He smiled,

"No problem, Alaine was the first person I found."

"How long was I in there?"

"Not long," interjected Mariposa, who was eating a slice of cake. "They just felt like eating out in the main car. I wanted to be closer to the food." She laughed, reaching for more cake jokingly. It looked good, and Mykal grabbed one for herself,

"Well, thank you again." She said to Reyes.

Rachel Beta

Rachel sat and listened as the other tributes questioned the mentors. She wanted to seem as if she was interested, even though all she could think about was Sarah. Her sister, reaped as a tribute, and for another district. Rachel begged her father to work with the mentor from Eight to get her sponsors. He didn't need convincing. He also didn't seem to realize that only one of his daughters could come home, if either of them lived long enough, If Sarah was fighting for Eight, then the double winner rule could apply to the sisters. Rachel didn't plan on letting her sister die.

She got up and left the room before the conversation actually ended. She just didn't want to sit through it anymore. Rachel crawled up into her bed and tried to sleep, but every time she got close to sweet unconsciousness, images of her baby sister, speared through, bled white, strangled and blank-eyed, clouded her thoughts.

She heard a knock on the door about half an hour later. She called for whoever it was to come inside. Brantley came inside and sat on her bed with her. She didn't really know the guy, so it was strange for her that he had come to see her.

"Ally with me." He said bluntly. Rachel sat up, and pulled off the blanket she'd been wrapped up in.

"Why?"

"Because, I know you'll be fighting for your sister, and you're not the strongest person out there. I can help you." Rachel wasn't sure if she could trust him or not.

"That's a reason for me to ally with you. Why do you want to ally with me?"

"You want the truth? Your dad is a Victor, a mentor. He'll be sending the sponsor gifts, and I figure a close tie to you and your sister will win his favor. He'll like that I'm protecting you." Rachel respected his honesty, but she wasn't sure if she liked his intentions. He was using Rachel and her sister to get to their father. Still, she was only fourteen, and Sarah was younger. They would need muscle.

"Fine," she growled. "But you hurt her, and I will kill you myself."

So, this chapter is a smidge shorter, with only three of the tributes featured. Sorry, but this was all I felt I could do with Seven. I'm starting on Eight now, the sooner the tributes reach the Captiol, the sooner the Games can begin.