District 4
Linda Scully
My earliest memory is of being taken for a ride on a fishing boat, but it probably wasn't my first time on the water. I think I was about three or four at the time and most citizens of District 4 learn to sail before they can walk. Not literally, of course, but we are exposed to the sea from an early age. Ours is the fishing district; it is our job to supply fish and other seafood to the Capitol.
We are also one of the three Career districts, the districts where kids grow up training for the Hunger Games, though we don't take it quite as seriously as Districts 1 and 2. Even so, our tributes have done fairly well in the Games over the years, especially in arenas which contain a lot of water. Our most recent victor, Annie Cresta, even won because she was the best swimmer out of the five tributes who were still alive when a Gamemaker-induced earthquake broke a dam and caused a flood. The others - both from District 2, the boy from 5 and the girl from 9 - all drowned, but Annie survived. However, she hasn't been quite the same since she saw her district partner killed in front of her, so she doesn't have to act as a mentor the way most victors do.
I am District 4's girl tribute in the Seventy-third Hunger Games; my partner is a boy named Harbor. Right now, along with the other tributes, we are waiting for the start of the tribute parade. Being from District 4, we are dressed in sea-themed costumes. I'm wearing an ocean blue crop top and skirt, made from a flowing fabric to imitate the waves of the sea. Both have been decorated with pearls and I'm also wearing a necklace of shells, with matching bracelets on my wrists. I'm barefoot, but the floor of the chariot is smooth, so it doesn't matter. Finally, my headdress consists of a crown of shells, arranged in graduated sizes with the largest in the middle and progressively smaller shells at either end.
I think of my family back in District 4, remembering how proud they were when I stepped forward to volunteer. Well, what else could I do? Our district escort, Cornelius Blaine, originally drew the name of a twelve-year-old who was at her first reaping. It wasn't anyone I know personally, but I knew I couldn't let her end up in the arena so young. So, when Cornelius asked for volunteers, I offered myself immediately.
Saying goodbye to my friends and family was hard. Even though I was raised as a Career tribute, this does not guarantee me victory in the Hunger Games. If I am to come back to District 4 alive, I must fight. I am skilled at catching fish with a spear; when I get to the arena, I must transfer that skill to my opponents. If I think of the other tributes not as human beings but as fish to be caught, it should make it easier for me to kill them. That's how I'm going to approach these Games.
Of course, I'll be part of the Career pack for the first few days, but, if I want to win, I'll have to be prepared to kill my fellow Careers if necessary. Even if it means killing Harbor, though I hope it won't come to that. But these are the Hunger Games and only one of us can survive, so I'll just have to hope someone or something else kills him first.
It's hard to believe I may never see District 4 again, never gaze out over the ocean, something I've loved to do since I was a little girl. Even if the Gamemakers send us to an ocean-based arena, it won't be the same. The whole thing will be artificial for one thing, not to mention that the water will almost certainly contain mutts of some description. And I've seen enough mutt attacks over the years to know they are a common cause of death among tributes; last year, both tributes from 4 died in this way, bitten by snake mutts whose venom was so potent that it killed its victims instantly.
But, if I'm prepared to fight and kill, there's a chance I may get out of the arena alive, especially since I'm a Career. That's what I tell myself as the chariots start to roll out onto the streets of the Capitol.
Harbor Quinn
As I wait for the tribute parade to begin, I find myself wondering if I will ever see District 4 again. But I quickly remind myself that there's a good chance I will; I'm a Career and they almost always have an advantage over the other tributes. I can handle a variety of weapons, so I should be able to take out most of my opponents easily.
First, though, we have to go through the annual ritual of the tribute parade. And that means being dressed up in costumes and paraded through the streets of the Capitol on chariots. Since my district partner, Linda, and I are from District 4, our costumes are themed around the sea. Linda looks absolutely stunning in her costume and I have to remind myself that we are tributes, that there is no point trying to get to know her better because, in a matter of weeks, at least one of us will be dead. At best, we can be allies, but even that cannot last.
My own costume consists of a pair of ocean blue swimming trunks, a necklace of shells with matching bracelets and a crown, also made out of shells. It doesn't sound very elaborate, especially for a Career tribute, but my stylist said she wanted the audience to see as much of me as possible. Having spent much of my life on fishing boats, I have developed a healthy tan and the training I have received in preparation for these Games has given me the kind of physique people in most of the other districts can only dream of.
But don't let my handsome looks fool you. As I already said, I'm skilled with various weapons and, when I get to the arena, I intend to make full use of those skills. I will not hesitate to do what I have to do in order to win, as I promised my family before I left District 4. If I make it to the final two, I will do my best to kill my opponent (no matter who it is) before they kill me.
And there's a special reason why I have to try and win these Games. At the earliest Hunger Games I remember, the boy tribute from District 4 was my uncle; his name was Bass and he made it as far as the final four before he got caught in a trap laid by the tributes from District 5. They were long dead by then, but, earlier in the Games, they'd stretched razor sharp wire between two trees, setting it at neck height. Bass, trying to escape from Enobaria (the District 2 girl who won those Games) ran right into it and . . . Well, you can probably guess the rest.
I was six years old then and I've dreamed of going into the arena ever since. That's how we're raised in the Career districts, but there was more to it in my case. I was going into the arena and I was going to win for Bass. So, when the chance to volunteer came, I took it, heading towards the stage the moment Cornelius opened his mouth to ask for volunteers to replace the thirteen-year-old boy whose name was originally drawn. He looked like he might have great potential in future, but I didn't think he was quite up to the Games at present. Better he wait a couple of years.
Anyway, I volunteered for these Games, not only for the kid I replaced, but for my uncle. If he'd lived, he'd be in his twenties now and I like to think he'd be cheering me on, willing me to win. And winning is exactly what I plan to do; I have no intention of suffering the same fate as Bass, getting myself killed when there are only a few tributes left. And, if I can keep my wits about me and make use of my skill with weapons, I might have a chance.
The chariots have started to move; I can hear the cheers as the tributes from District 1 emerge from the Remake Centre, followed by the ones from 2 and 3. I stand beside Linda as the District 4 chariot rolls out.