Thanks so much to all my readers and reviewers! You keep me inspired and make my dream bigger than ever before! And a special thanks to Rue sings songs, Shae Loves PeetaM, and MrsJustinBeibir123 for submitting some awesome tributes to make the 88th Hunger Games even more epic and awesome! Rue sings songs submitted Jarrica Vellics, Drake Hemsington, and Vale Gremps. Shae Loves PeetaM submitted Lindi Reiter. And MrsJustinBeeebir123 submitted Gilzira Tappington, Miklisho Maccoll, and Turnfina Starr. I submitted the rest. But please, give those three awesome people some credit and compliments for creating these awesome characters. Now let's hope they survive! Under the chapter, I will be giving links to the profiles of those three people so you can send them a message or check out their stories, which are all amazingly amazing! OK, here's the chapter. And may the odds be ever in your favor….

Chapter 5: To the Capitol We Go

*NEWLY UPDATED JANUARY 10, 2020*

Marcus and I climb onto the train in silence, his arm now taken care of and me having gotten over the initial shock of being a tribute. I'm all business now, an aggressive killing machine on a hunt for my prey. 22 people will die in these Games, and I will be the winner with my beloved Luke soon enough. Our plan is foolproof. We would be unstoppable in that Arena. From our long list of sponsors to our awesome performance of our love for each other, we would be so unbeatable the others would just kill themselves quicker to allow us to win. Alright, maybe not the last part, but we will be unbeatable. And the Capitol will insist there be two Victors. They can't deny the perfect couple access to them for the rest of their lives.

Immediately, Artemis has dinner ordered and our bags brought to our compartments. My parents brought my bags on board, and I know when I open it I will have everything I would need in that bag. I yawn and walk into my compartment, which is almost as huge as my room at home. I go to the bed, where my bag sits, closed and zippered. I open it up and find every piece of clothing I own that looks intimidating and sexy at the same time. They are exactly what I'm looking for. All my makeup is in a little makeup bag and my mom's knife is hidden under it all. I shove that in my bra, adjusting it so I know where it won't be detectable for later on. I walk into the bathroom, which has a shower big enough to fit 15 people at least and about a million different buttons I could push. I almost am looking forward to when I have to take a shower. But I refrain from taking one now.

A light knock on my door interrupted my gaping.

"Come in," I say calmly.

To my utter disappointment, it's Marcus, probably come to gloat about how he's a tribute and how he is going to kill me off violently.

"What do you want?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest, feeling the knife in there slightly.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to watch the rest of the Reapings. See who our competition is."He replies.

A frown is on his lips. He's being serious. And the way he said our makes me smile a little. It makes me feel like maybe I have a chance to become allies with him. Maybe he won't try and kill me until later on in the Games, and not at the Cornucopia. He'll snap back to reality soon enough.

"I'd love to go watch the Reapings with you. "I reply. I walk out of my room behind him and we travel down the hall until we find the compartment with the TV.

I sit down and Marcus flips on the DVD. How he has a DVD when they are on a tape usually, I have no idea. Maybe he's more committed than I thought. He flags down an Avox and orders a coffee with a shot of vodka for him and a tall mocha frappuccino with extra whipped cream for me. Again, I have no idea how he knows I like them, especially with extra whipped cream.

He picks up the remote and flips on the DVD and the screen springs to life. I see a luxurious place with about a million people standing around a stage. I know this place as District 1, where they make luxury items and specialty goods. I see a man take the stage and introduce himself, and I don't pay attention to anything he says. He calls the name of a boy, and before someone can answer or step forward, a white-haired boy runs forward and introduces himself as Miklisho Maccoll, and he is 16 years old. The camera shoots in for a close-up shot. He has white hair and piercing, yellow eyes.

"That would be from steroids," Marcus interjects. "When you're addicted to it, it turns your eyes yellow." He adds.

"And his hair is caused by?"I ask, pausing the video.

"That's just because he has bad taste in color," Marcus says, flipping his black hair out of his eyes.

I press the button and the video rolls again. The man calls the name of the girl tribute, and a 15-year-old girl named Silke Deprie walks to the stage slowly, as though expecting someone to come to her aid. Nobody does, and she mounts the stage, bursting into tears. The two tributes shake hands and then they're off, the girl having to be carried away by a Peacekeeper. "She'll be easy to kill, "I mutter. "Not even a real Career."

Marcus nods his head in agreement.

The camera shifts to District 2, and we see ourselves getting onto the stage. Marcus looks like an idiot how he's running because he comes from the back of the mob and pushes his way through. I, on the other hand, am right at the front, easily outrunning everyone. And that stomp! I look so badass. My mom was right. I look amazing volunteering.

Next, District 3 is shown with lots of electric towers. They are the district that creates electronics. A boy with black and blond hair and hazel eyes named Allen Schmitt comes on the stage. When asked, he says he is 12 years old; so far the youngest in this year's Games. I think about the little girl from District 11, Rue, whose name I have as my middle name. She was 12 when she entered these Games. I'd have to be there when he gets killed too. It made me sick to think about it. Then the girl tribute gets called, a 14-year-old girl named Gilzira Tappington. She's shaking in her shoes, and she looks nervous. Her red hair is messy and red eyes are getting tears welled up in them. I feel bad for her for a second. Then I snap back into reality.

"Freak," Marcus says sharply, pronouncing the k at the end with a distinct clicking sound. I nod my head, too afraid to ruin his good mood. Afraid he'll go back to wanting to kill me.

District 4 is barely anything more than water. The land is marshy, and I know I would hate to live there. Every person is wearing rubber boots, and I hate it even more. Their stage is raised above the ground, and it's a simple wood platform. I have a feeling it's meant to stay intact when the district floods. It looks like it floods a lot by the consistency of the moist ground. An old man with white hair and a beard to match rattles off the name of the boy tribute, a 15-year-old boy named Micheal Deluna. He has bright ginger hair cut short and freckles sprinkled across his face and around his blue eyes. The old man says the name of the girl tribute, and a girl shouts that she volunteers. A mother weeps openly, clutching the little girl that would have been going to the Games. The man asks the new girl for her name. It's MaryAnn Deluna, the boy's twin sister. Standing next to each other, there's no way to tell them apart. They have the same red hair, freckles, and blue eyes. The only difference is that the girl has a star-shaped scar over her left eyebrow.

"They'll stay together," I say. Marcus sends a confused look my way.

"Siblings always stay together in these things," I add.

The door to the compartment slides open and the Avox is back with our drinks. I take my frappuccino and wave him away. I'm not going grateful now. I am still the bored girl I was outside the Justice Building.

We keep watching the tape, now in District 5, where they create muttations. They're the same muttations that nearly killed my parents in their Games. I'll have a grudge with these people. The boy, Drake Hemsington, stands proudly on the stage, looking pleased enough to be going. A little boy tries to take his place, but Drake picks him up and hands him back to a woman, who I'm guessing is his mother. The mother gives a quick peck on the cheek and he hugs her gently. Drake has a thin red line running down his arm. The kid must have scratched him, and now he's bleeding. Then the girl gets called. Another girl pushes the first to the ground and strides up to the stage. She's confident enough to look like she owns the stage. She's a badass, and I can see that now. I am going to have competition with her. Especially when I see what comes next- she takes Drake's arm in her hand and licks where the blood is dripping. A small spot lands on her lips, and she licks it off with a smile.

"No. Way," Marcus gasps.

"She's a cannibal, "I reply, even more scared than before.

"That isn't allowed," Marcus mutters, and I helplessly nod. Sure, if she is eating people in the Games, the Gamemakers will take her out of them. But if she is just drinking blood...I'm not sure what they can do.

I feel the blood fade from my face. I'm sure I am beyond pale. That girl isn't in a Career district, but she certainly acts like it. She wants in with the Careers. I'll be the judge of letting her in. I'm the head bitch of that elite little group as of now. And I am sure as hell not letting a cannibal in.

District 6 is now showing on the screen. In this district, everyone is a medical worker. These tributes would be amazing at healing each other and their allies, making it harder for us to kill off people due to bad wounds. But if we killed them off, there would be nobody to help their wounded allies, and we would have less work to do. Yes, I am my dad's daughter, thinking up strategies even before we get to the Capitol. A slender woman with the fakest breasts I have ever seen stands on the stage, smiling with overly whitened teeth. She gestures to a glass ball where the names of the people are kept. She draws the name out and waves it around. Is this woman related to Artemis? They have the same style. She reads the name, and a silver-haired, hazel-eyed young boy walks to the stage, nobody saying a word. He's 12 at the most. No, he has to be 12, it's the youngest you can be, and he's young. He says his name is Marvin Langford. The woman waves him out of her way and draws the girl's name. A thin, weak-looking 12-year-old girl walks to the stage, holding back tears, and doing a pretty good job of it. She hides her face behind a curtain of dirty blond hair with brown streaks. She says her name is Vale Gremps. The woman makes them shake hands and they walk off holding hands. Those two better not be in love. That is for me and Luke to be doing. But then she swats his hand away, so I relax again.

District 7 is the home of the lumberjacks. The timber workers that give us wood for fires. I would love to burn them with their wood in the Arena. How ironic. A young-looking guy draws the names quickly. Both the boy and the girl come as they are Reaped. The boy's name is Alexander Hopkins. He's 16 years old and has red hair and hazel eyes. He's alright in the looks department, but the top spot is still with the guy on steroids, besides Luke of course. Anyway, the girl's name is Amber Evergood and she is 13 years old. She better be ever good at defending herself, or she'll get a knife through her perky little head. She has bubblegum pink eyes and lime green hair. She doesn't look like a lumberjack. Her eyes are the result of contact lenses, and her hair couldn't be that way naturally. I look forward to watching her die slowly and painfully. I'd let Marcus kill her because I don't want to catch the disease of her positive attitude. She smiled and waved at the crowd like a princess, except nobody said anything back. Silence greeted her. She shook hands with the boy and skipped off to their Justice building. The boy shrugs and sprints off.

District 8 is one of my least favorite districts. They make the Peacekeeper uniforms, which are crappy and boring. The girls that lived there were always stupid and clueless, and the boys were always ugly enough to be muttations. Neither of these appealed to me. Anyway, their mayor pulls out a piece of paper and reads the name. Phillipe Snodgrass, a spoiled looking 17-year-old guy, flips his blond hair out of his blue eyes and walks up to the stage, almost swinging his hips in the process. I have some choice words about him, and Marcus agrees. The girl is Leslie Nestern, a 15-year-old with short angled black hair and dark blue eyes. She stays silent. She says nothing. She shakes the guy's hand and looks bored. Dang, she's good. But I'm better.

District 9 seems to be another pointless district. They do nothing but process food all day. And they show for it. They are all fat and lazy and nothing about them says that they will ever amount to anything. I barely pay attention. The boy is named Devin Crane. He's 16 years old and has the best hair I have ever seen in my life. It's chestnut brown and has blond highlights, making him look attractive. And his eyes only add to the awesomeness. They are grey and brown at the same time. They change color with the light and they are extremely alluring. I'll have to be careful with him too. And the girl looks like I figured she would. A 12-year-old girl named Lindi Reiter who has stick straight brown hair with red around the roots. It just hangs there in her eyes, which I think are green. Yeah, they are glowing green. Creepy.

District 10 makes me a little less annoyed, but not much. The boy is named Beck Mason. He's perfectly weird. He has black hair with bright blue streaks. His eyes are red from contacts and he has a nose piercing, and he's 17. District 10 is livestock. They are farmers. Why did he look so….punk? He's not wearing overalls like everyone else, and he doesn't look very strong either. The girl looks weak too. Turnfina Starr. Gross name. She's 18 and looks about as interesting as a spot of paint drying. She's shorter than any other tribute I've seen, and she has plain brown hair and green eyes. Boring….

District 11 are farmers too. This is where it gets interesting. The boy didn't stick out to me. Jacob Hastings is ordinary. Not even worth mentioning really. He has brown hair and black eyes. He's 18. The girl is named Katrina Hayes, and she's 18 as well. She has black hair and green eyes. And she's Rue's cousin. Yes, and she likely wants to kill me because everyone remembers my mom for killing Rue. She didn't. We've been through this. I don't care. I'll kill her anyway.

And finally, we see District 12. I get to see if Luke is coming. The woman with lavender hair named Effie reads the paper, ladies first. A 13-year-old girl named Alice Dawson is the tribute. Nobody volunteers for her. She has short, brown hair, brown eyes. And then I see Luke volunteer. He looks wonderful. We all know what he looks like. He looks like a Greek God. But that's not the point. The point is we are headed to the Capitol, and Luke will be there. We can commence Phase 2 of the plan.

So, what did you think of Elizabeth getting mean? She made some really rude comments. Do you like it? Not like it? Tell me what you think. And here are the thank you's to my dear tribute creators.

Rue Sings Songs

Shae Loves PeetaM

MrsJustenBeeebir123

Thanks for reading, MrsLukeCastellan

PS. May the odds be ever in your favor!