Blitz Shrapnel, 18

District 2 Male

Nervous moths fluttered in Blitz's gut as he punched in the elevator code. He'd spent much of the morning debating whether or not to accept Yale's invitation, and against his better judgment, and his mentor's advice, he was going to see his brother.

Brother. It was absolutely insane. How could he not have known? Did his parents know and not tell him? He doubted it. His gut feeling was that Dr. Kirsten had lied to them, as well as him. And it made him angry. The people he should have known and cared for were going to die. It was absolutely unacceptable. For the first time, he found himself questioning the Games. None of this was fair.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, where he was met with a cool summer breeze. The smell of flowers was in the air and he could hear wind chimes clinking. But a hacking cough rose above the other sounds.

Blitz almost backed out. He wanted to dart back into the elevator, but he forced his feet to move forward. He walked around a small greenhouse to a sitting area, where Yale was. His brother was sitting cross-legged on a bench, wrapped in a thick coat. He wasn't as thin as he was when he arrived in the Capitol, but he still looked frail. He was wearing gloves and a protective face mask.

"Hi Blitz," Yale said. Blitz nodded stiffly.

"Sit down," his brother coaxed and Blitz found himself obeying. He sat down in a creaky teak chair and just stared openly. Yale's eyes wrinkled, as if he were smiling.

"What is your family like?" he asked. Blitz blinked.

"They're wonderful parents," he found himself saying. "Mom is a doctor and dad owns a quarry. They always supported me with training, and with whatever else I wanted to do. I'm lucky to have them."

"That's amazing," Yale said. "I wish I had parents like that. I wonder what our birth parents are like?"

Blitz shrugged at that, not having an answer. Speaking to Yale was odd. His brother seemed so positive, and it wasn't an energy Blitz was used to. But despite the strangeness, he found that he enjoyed it. It was almost refreshing.

"What are yours like?" Blitz asked. Yale's expression darkened.

"They were very cruel to me," he said quietly. "They just used me for money."

"So you were poor?" Blitz asked. Yale looked up.

"Everyone in 12 is poor. Is it not like that in 2?"

"Some people are poor. Some aren't. The poorer people tend to work in the quarries."

Yale nodded.

"I'd be a terrible quarry worker," he said with a hoarse laugh, holding up his stick-like arms. "Could you imagine me holding a pickaxe?" Blitz felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth.

"You would probably be crushed," he agreed. Yale laughed.

"Is Wyler coming," Blitz asked. Yale shrugged.

"I'm not sure."

"I hope he does," Blitz admitted.

"I do too," Yale said.

But Wyler did not come.

Zander Kline, 21

District 8 Mentor

Zander barely remembered waiting to get his scores, even though it was only four years ago. It was crazy to think about, really. Four years ago he sat in this same room while Caesar announced his capabilities to the world. And he didn't even remember what his score was.

In fact, most of the pre-Games were a blur in Zander's head. He remembered allying with Nikolai and Keegan and Gamma, but he didn't remember anything in particular about their conversations or what stations they worked at. He did remember Gamma's scream as a spear sank into her back.

Biting his lip, Zander forced the memories away. More and more recently he'd been getting caught up in flashbacks. Kelsi said it was because everyone processed trauma differently. Woof said it was because he was slow. Needless to say, Zander liked Kelsi better.

Agnes had gone to fetch Theo and Colette a few minutes ago, but just as he began to wonder what was taking them so long, they came into the main room. Theo looked tired; his shoulders were slumped and there were bags under his eyes. But Colette had a grin on her face.

"Zander!" she said when he looked up. "Agnes said we could do facemasks!"

"Really? That's awesome!" he cried. Agnes was grinning.

"Come on," she said. "We still have about ten minutes."

Soon the three of them were in the main bathroom of the apartment. Agnes began to fish through a large drawer and eventually produced a large box filled with different creams and moisturizers. At the bottom was a stack of sheet masks.

Zander selected a purple one meant to make your skin glow and then helped Colette apply one that helped with acne. She looked quite funny, and he couldn't help but laugh. She giggled alongside him.

Putting on his mask, Zander titled his head back and let the soothing chill spread across his skin. Spa days always made him feel better when he was stressed or sore from a hard modeling shoot… or a different gig. Sometimes he'd bring his friends along, but usually he'd do them alone.

"Hey beauty gurus!" Kelsi called from the other room. "It's about to start!" So, with their masks still on, Zander and Colette followed Agnes back into the living space.

Caesar's face appeared on the screen and Zander settled back on the sofa beside Theo, whose face was pale with worry. He gave his mentee's shoulder a quick squeeze.

"Hello all!" Caesar cried, waving and smiling brightly. "Today we're here to present the scores the Gamemakers gave this year's wonderful batch of tributes. And remember to tune in tonight for the interviews! Now, let's get started."

Helios Carnegie with a score of 9!

Regina Soto with a score of 10!

Blitz Shrapnel with a score of 10!

Mozu Striker with a score of 9!

Wyler Kline with a score of 8!

Lana Rose with a score of 7!

Sam Nkata Creek with a score of 9!

Adelind Genoa with a score of 9!

Dieter Weiss with a score of 2!

Fritz Poco with a score of 6!

Josko Makinë with a score of 6!

Ellie Porter with a score of 6!

Marcus Taylor with a score of 10!

Lavinia Danse with a score of 7!

Theo Wondderoo with a score of 5!

Colette Reilly with a score of 4!

Alrik Garrison with a score of 8!

Gaia Branson with a score of 5!

Ray Phillips with a score of 5!

Thalia Caerwyn with a score of 5!

Noah Brimms with a score of 9!

Fallon Blake with a score of 5!

Yale Morley with a score of 2!

Saoirse Brennan with a score of 5!

A recapped list of all the scores was put up on screen and Theo let out a sigh.

"Nice work," Zander said, giving him a little shake.

"You too," Kelsi said to Colette, but he could tell that the younger girl was unhappy. Her facemask had slipped lower at some point, making her look even sillier than before. Zander bit his tongue to keep from laughing.

"I got a 4!" she said, eyes wide. "No one will sponsor me with a 4!"

"I got a 4," Zander said suddenly, the memory rushing back to him. His district partner, who scored a 6, had laughed at him. Kelsi had reminded him that interviews mattered just as much as scores, in order to reassure him. He even remembered feeling somewhat disappointed, since he really did try.

"Oh." Colette's voice trailed off as she looked at the floor. Then her mask slipped all the way off and hit the floor with a wet plop, and even Theo had to laugh.

Fallon Blake, 18

District 11 Female

A 5. She scored a 5. Not a bad score, no, but she couldn't help but wonder what Fritz did to earn a point higher. She didn't seem all that skilled. And Dieter got a 2! Why was he even in their alliance?

District loyalty, probably. Something that District 11 didn't have this year. Noah was a Career, and Fallon didn't like or trust him. She wouldn't even if he wasn't a Career. He was just an asshole overall.

"Stop frowning," Isis scolded, tapping the table to get Fallon's attention. "You're going to get wrinkles."

"She's 18," Autumn said, not looking up from her book. "And she's going to die. She can frown as much as she wants."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Fallon snapped, scowling.

"Sorry. It's just that, statistically, you-"

"Alright, enough. All of you," Seeder said, interrupting the impending argument. Fallon bit her tongue to stop her retort. "The interviews are this evening, and I want to present Fallon in one piece. So leave her be."

Autumn mumbled an apology, but Isis just let out a humph and stood from the table.

"Well, I will be checking on Noah. He and I will work together first."

"Poor Noah," Fallon said, her voice dripping with false sympathy. Isis's face went red, but she stormed away instead of responding. Autumn smiled the slightest bit.

"No more quips, please," Seeder said, putting a hand on Fallon's shoulder. "We need to get to work."

A few minutes later, the two of them were in a more private parlor area. Seeder sat down on the plush pink sofa and sighed.

"Fallon, you're-"

"Impolite? Abrasive? Rude? I've heard it all."

Seeder frowned.

"I was going to say that you're not everyone's cup of tea. And for your interview, that won't work in your favor."

Fallon rolled her eyes. They weren't going to get anywhere. She wasn't going to change herself for an audience that wanted to see her die, and Seeder wasn't going to let her be her usual self.

"If you could just put a hold on the sarcasm…" Seeder said slowly. She had a pained expression on her face. Fallon snorted.

"Why do you even care?" she challenged. "Autumn is right. I'm going to die."

"You might not," Seeder pointed out. Unhelpfully, in Fallon's opinion. She flopped back on the other couch and threw her hands in the air.

"This is pointless!" she cried. "No one is going to like me. No did at home. No one will here. Why bother?"

"Your allies like you," Seeder said after a moment. Fallon looked at her, confused. Did they? They were nice to her, but Fritz was nice to everyone. That didn't count. Thalia was awkward, but she wasn't mean. And Theo complimented her once. No one at home did that.

"But I didn't try to get them to like me," Fallon reminded her mentor. "They knew what I was like and were nice anyways."

"You know what the Capitol is like," Seeder said. "Can you be nice anyways?"

Fallon fell quiet. Could she? Could she pretend to like a place of shallow, rich child murderers? Foster couldn't, and he died. And Fallon really didn't want to die.

"I'll try," she told Seeder. Her mentor smiled sadly.

"That's all I can ask."

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great Christmas, and if you don't celebrate, I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I definitely did! I've been putting off this chapter because presenting the scores can be kind of tedious, but I think adding Zander's POV helped. And I like writing Zander, so here he is! Also, thank you so much to everyone who is reading and reviewing. It means so much to me. And we're so close to the beginning of the Games! Two more chapters! I already have the bloodbath planned and partially written, and I am so excited.

Questions:

1) Why didn't Wyler show up? (the wilder the theory, the better!)

2) Did any of the scores surprise you?

Current Alliances

Careers:

- Regina
- Helios
- Mozu
- Blitz
- Adelind
- Sam
- Noah

Girl Power! (and Dieter and Theo):
- Adelind
- Fritz
- Dieter
- Theo
- Thalia
- Fallon

District 6:
- Ellie
- Josko

Happy Gals:
- Colette
- Gaia

Loners:
- Lana
- Wyler
- Danse
- Marcus
- Alrik
- Ray
- Saoirse
- Yale

Have a nice day, be kind to each other, and never stop reading!

- Fiona