MIKE MOTHRA- Beth Crissino
There wasn't even anyone to be mad at. If someone had killed him I could have gone to get them, but clearly it wasn't Kade who did this. Mike was killed by a mutt, or died of infection, or slowly starved to death while unable to care for himself because of his leg. All the while I was halfway across the Arena, unwilling to kill him but too much of a coward to care for him and risk my own life. That was something I would always have to live with.
Kade McNamara, District Eight female (13)
I probably had a brain-eating amoeba, like the girl from the African Games. That was my first thought, as I pushed up on my arms from where I'd been lying exhausted by the edge of the water. I pushed up and looked behind me. The water had gone back as quickly as it came in. There was just a little stream surrounded on both sides by the flattened greenery and dredged-up silt that marked where the huge river had been. I was half-dry, though my clothes were still damp. I flipped myself over onto my back and sat up.
How do you know if you have a brain-eating amoeba? I put a hand up to my forehead. It didn't feel hot. I rubbed at my nose, trying to trigger a sneeze. They went up your nose, right? If it wasn't in my brain yet, maybe I could sneeze it out. Ugh, how gross would that be? I imagined an amoeba flying out my nose in a lump of snot and squirming around on the ground. I coughed and then cleared my throat, grateful to not feel the leech crawling back up. Just how many bugs are in me right now? I'd heard poor kids from the outer Districts sometimes got worms and things like that. Probably I already had at least one. I felt like throwing up when I thought about an actual worm in my guts. I looked at my stomach and wondered where it was.
The Anthem blared, scaring me half to death. I looked up at the sky and saw one single face. Mike was dead. I hadn't know him much, but he was my District partner. I never imagined I'd be the last one from Eight. I'd definitely never imagined I'd be in the final two. That was what this was, right? Valencia and I had had a hard time keeping count. I started counting off names on my fingers.Laken just died not long ago... Zeb too, right?Was Dahlia dead? I wasn't sure I remembered. Beth was still here, I thought. Maybe it was me and Beth.
Then Beth is hunting me.
It scared me into sitting upright. If I was the only one left with them, then Beth was hunting me. She was a Career. She came here to win. Somewhere out there, Beth was looking for me, to find me and kill me. She had those three-pronged knife things she used and when she found me she would stab me with them. I looked all around me, half-expecting to see her between two trees. But I probably wouldn't see her, would I? She'd see me first and I wouldn't see her at all. My throat closed up and I put my hands to my face to cry.
I can't believe I lasted this long. It seemed almost unfair I should live this long when I was only going to die anyway. But I did last this long. Maybe it was just luck, or maybe I was stronger than I thought. I'd outlived people I certainly thought were stronger than I was. And I wouldn't even be the first. No one thought Loki wvs the strongest, but he still won. Or Meenah. You could win the Games by thinking of something smart. I could win the Games by thinking of something smart. I just had to think like Valencia.
Valencia. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought about her. Valencia was dead. The guilt doubled when I thought about her son. What was he going to do? He was an orphan, just like in my storybooks. But in the storybooks orphans turned out to be lost princesses. In real life they just went to orphanages. If I got out of here, I could take care of him for her. She'd done so much for me.
So how was I going to do it? I started thinking about what I had to work with. I'd want to stay away from the water, since that was Beth's thing. There were the trees. I wasn't too good at climbing them, but I was smaller and lighter than Beth. There was the wildlife. Maybe I could find the tiger and lure it to Beth somehow. I could make some sort of trap, or disguise myself with mud and sneak up on her. All of them sounded silly, but there had to be something. I thought about it all day- while I was drying out my clothes, while I was gathering fruit to eat, while I was trying to filter water while admitting it was probably too late and I might as well drink it and hope I could kill Beth before I died of whatever germs were in there. I thought about it all day, and right when I was lying in bed waiting for daylight, I thought of my plan.
Isabella Busattil-Disney, District Eleven female (18)
It was what Mike would have wanted. It sucked that I felt bad being sad about it, but it really was the way he would have wanted things to go. And I didn't feel as bad about it as I might have. Mom mentioned over the years that sometimes strange things happened in the Games. She'd seen her own share of them when she was in the graveyard Games. She said every once in a while she woke up at night thinking about how she knew all the things the Capitol had made there hadn't stayed in the Arena. She didn't think they were in her closet, necessarily, but she knew they were out there somewhere in the world. And not all of them were evil. You could just ask Randy about that- and I had. It was more than I could have dreamed of that Mike would find his way to those cracks between worlds the Capitol dabbled in. So I missed having him with me, but I couldn't entirely mourn for someone I thought wasn't entirely dead.
In any case, my philosophical musings were interrupted by my duties. It seemed my first task as master of ceremonies was to assist in the preparations for the newest Victor. With only two possibilities left, the powers that be were preparing press releases for both options. The Capitol loves nothing more than its image, and the "spin" around the Victor was already in full swing. I looked down at the tablet in my hand and scrolled through the pages of direction.
ALPHA SCENARIO: ELISABETTA CRISSINO
-Avoid explicit mentions of training Academy while subtly emphasizing that Four is a favored District due to loyalty to the Capitol
-Downplay outer-District allies- focus on Beth's alliance with Isabella
-Ample mentions of Beth's sponsors and their role in Beth's victory
-Down-home angle: Beth's swimming classes and community involvement
-Tragic backstory: Death of Beth's mother
-Begin conducting interviews with family promptly so publicity team can scrub and sanitize footage
-Suggested angle: Four's own Elisabetta Crissino has fought her way to the top and won the Hunger Games! Through their shrewd alliances and her own grit and cleverness, Beth has outlasted several hostile opponents and proven she has what it takes to be counted among Panem's best. From the sunny beaches of Four, where Beth teaches the next generation the ways of their District, Beth has followed in the footsteps of courageous Victors before them and is welcomed into the Capitol.
BETA SCENARIO: KADE MCNAMARA
-Focus on Kade's Capitol modeling career, emphasizing that the Capitol has been rooting for their darling
-Heavy focus on Capitol sponsors- they are the main reason Kade won
-Tragic backstory: alliance with Valencia and Valencia's dying gesture toward Kade
-Future spin: Kade's young adulthood and maturity in the Capitol
-Identify models Kade has worked with to tease future romance
-Underdog angle is always a favorite with viewers
-Work with Kade's mother, who is skilled in interviews and public relations
-Meet with Priam Steed and Tallulah Tulle to assist with cover stories, photoshoots and television specials using highlights from Kade's modeling career
-Collaborate with Eight's Angora Chenille concerning fashion line inspired by Kade
-Collaborate with Rhoda Hamilton and Randy Mills concerning cosmetics line inspired by Kade
Suggested angle: Delighting audiences across the nation, young underdog Kade McNamara of District Eight has survived the horrors of the Hunger Games and will return to her adoring fans, who have followed the young starlet's career since her debut in [PLACEHOLDER TEXT]. This is only the beginning for Kade, whose innocent good looks and spirit will continue to thrive under the nurturing of the Capitol. What's next for Kade? Business collaborations? A new image as she matures into a young woman? First romance? The world is her oyster.
It occurred to me, as I read, that somewhere out there was a dossier about my career. I'd been the favorite from the start. No doubt there were galas and speeches and reams of paperwork about my victory and subsequent Capitol debut. I wondered just how much time and money had gone into it. I'd never been big on politics, but I couldn't help but think it was enough to provide for hundreds of the starving people all over the nation. But no, this was obviously more important. Polyphemus had altered the Capitol's plans for me, but I was still going to spend the rest of my life in front of a camera, governed by public relations and my "image". I wondered what percentage of my words, for the rest of my life, would be read from a prompter. Some things were still my decision, though. While my fashion would no doubt be heavily influenced by the powers that be, I'd already decided on my own signature item. I pinned on one single earring and as I went out to face the cameras, at my ear there fluttered a little moth.