Porter Millicent Tripp- District Five (Unknown)
The Arena was lovely this year. The mountains around the Cornucopia dipped into pristine lakes ringed with pine trees. The slopes were covered in blackberry and blueberry bushes thick with berries. It was going to take a long time to find a Victor, and none of us were going to die naturally.
It wasn't the Careers this time around. One night, I saw the mutt that I later learned took more than half of us out of the competition. The moon lit its silhouette and I pressed close behind a tree as it sauntered across the slope above me. It was as large as a bear, but as long and sinuous as a mountain lion. Its ears were pointed and its massive paws had claws as wide as my fingers. It tail twitched in the air. Later that night, I heard its scream. It was always hard to tell whether the noises belonged to it or its victims.
This was all supposed to be a punishment, but I'd gotten a taste of something I never wanted to give up. When I saw the colors and the wonderful new styles in the Capitol, I fell in love. I adored my stylists and I relished each new and exotic garment as it slid across my skin. No two people ever looked the same, and something happened every minute.
I wanted to win the Games so I wouldn't die, but that wasn't what I thought about in the Arena. I wanted to win so I could be part of the Capitol forever. No more throwing boxes onto a train to make a living. I wanted silk and satin and rainbow glitter. I wanted to look beautiful and be adored wherever I went.
The days dragged on. I ventured farther and farther up my mountain, until the air was so thin I could barely breathe. The Careers would start from the bottom, and the mutt might be too large for the thin air. Between scares, there were long stretches of time when nothing happened. I set some blueberries on a rock and crushed them with another. I lined my eyes with dye and decorated my cheeks with dots, just like the style in the Capitol. They must have liked me as much as I liked them, because they sent me a jacket and a makeup kit. Then I loved them even more.
I thought it was all over when the last Career found me. I ran until I was backed against the edge of a cliff. The boy grabbed me to throw me off. I tried to pull away and he tumbled off with me. There was that horrible feeling when you fall backward in a chair, and then my stomach dropped out. I bounced off a rock on the way down and he lost his grip.
I thought it would hurt when I hit the ground, but I didn't feel anything at all. I couldn't move anything below my head. I cranked my head to the side and saw the Career boy lying ten feet away from me. His rib stuck out of his skin, and his breath bubbled with blood. He was twitching. Blood spread from underneath him, and rivulets of it soaked into my pants.
It was going to take a long time to find a Victor. One of us was going to die naturally.
The only thing I could find about about Porter was that she suffered a neck injury. Falling off a cliff does that to you.