Helios Carnegie- Res D1M (18)
I didn't want to be back. I had my brave face on and I was already planning the nonchalant boasts I'd share during my interview, but I didn't want to be back. While I was dead was the only time I didn't have nightmares. Hector would never get his chance at the Games because of my careless mistake, and I had to keep getting chances I didn't even want. Neither of us could rest in peace.
Makara Khed- Res D2F (17)
When I heard Two was making an Academy to prepare people to go into the Games, I thought we couldn't get any more evil. It boggled my mind to think of the elite of Two in their ivory towers, so bored with their privilege that they chose the conditions poor people like me would have given anything to escape. And not only that, but to send their children. I thought hardly anything could be more craven that that, and I'd been willing to volunteer just to keep one of them away from their intended victims. But then I woke up in a hospital bed and found out no matter how far you dig, there's always further down. Even our deaths weren't enough for the Capitol. They'd give us life again for the sole purpose of re-killing us.
Wangari Kariuki- Res D2F (18)
Everyone has regrets, but honestly I thought mine might be bigger than some people's. We all faced the balance of work and family in our lives, but with my choice I'd lost both. I'd told myself I could have it all, giving my son a better life after I won the Games. I saw now he would have had a better life with a mother.
The medic's smile was strained as he came to check on me. "So, uh. It's nice it hasn't been too long since your last Games. I'm sure your son will be..." He forced his smile bigger. "Really happy to see you."
It was strange how distant I felt from myself, and from the noise wailing from the medical machines freaking out as the layers of meaning came to me.
Kamau Kariuki- Res D2M
Mom was going to be really upset I died. I never thought I'd be happy I got Reaped, but it was a good excuse. At least I didn't sign myself up for this. Now I just had to deal with what everyone else in there with us was going to say about me being in the Games with my mother. Talk about embarrassing. I should really have been more excited or emotional about seeing her again, but I was four when I lost her. All I remembered was the tone of her voice and how one time we went to the zoo. I was mostly just weirded out about how I was about to see my mother, but she was going to look more like we might be classmates. In my heart of hearts, I was really, really, really scared I was going to think she was hot.
Rapture Kai- Over and Over D1M (18)
There were, if I was counting right, fifty-eight Careers, just going from the Career Districts. Clearly there wouldn't be one set pack, and it was just as clear that it was critical that I be part of the strongest one. Sure, Diamond and I would eventually split off on our own, but for the first portion of the Games we would need allies just to not get dogpiled.
"So how do we want to go about this? Highest placements? Well-rounded set of skills? Alphabetical order?" I asked Diamond as we sat lounged on my bed. For once I was envious of the outer Districts. Twelve only had seven representatives this year. They could actually fit in their lounge without tripping over each other.
"Seems like we should look for some of the more... dedicated Careers," Diamond said delicately.
"I suppose they would last the longest," I said.
"It's not that." Diamond rolled over onto her stomach and gave me one of those "knowing older sister" looks. "You kind of have a reputation, if you know what I mean. The more, I don't know, "principled"- she made air quotes with her fingers- "Careers might object."
"Well, let them. They want to throw their lives away because of their poor little feelings, all the better for me," I said. Say what they might, I had no patience for Careers who "grew a conscience". We all volunteered for this. We chose this life. We didn't get to throw it away and become nauseating little penitent angels because we had second thoughts. We were what we were and we should have the self-respect to own it.
"I get it," Diamond said, holding up her hands. "It would just be pretty inconvenient if everyone decided to make us the symbol of their noble turning-over-of-a-new-leaf and killed us to show how changed they were. God, some people are so ironic."
"So we should pick all the meanest, nastiest Careers for our alliance?" I was already warming up to the idea. We wouldn't have to worry about that one ally whining about us doing our job. We would probably have fewer sub-alliances to worry about, since the more brutal Careers tended to be loners. It would also be a less stable alliance, which sounded like a disadvantage but meant an earlier breakup and more time for me and Diamond to be on our own after the volatile first section of the Games. I wasn't here to make friends. I was here to kill them.
Emma Wolfe- In Your Hands D1F
I wasn't surprised when Margo approached me. We'd never interacted too much but I'd always had a distant respect for her frankness and acceptance of herself. She didn't kill to make herself feel stronger or to gain the respect of others. She enjoyed hunting, so she did. I'd always thought this was the best possible world for her to live in, where she had societal sanction to be herself.
"So, you joining the 'nice' Careers or the 'mean' Careers?" she asked. "Or something else entirely?'
"Oh, we're already self-segregating. Lovely," I said. It came as no surprise that factions had been rising up as I caught up with Calvary. At this point there wasn't much more training could teach me, so we preferred to use this time to eke out what little friendship we could. I was too embarrassed to tell her, but I was secretly delighted Calvary still wanted to spent time with me after all these years. At first I'd thought we were just an odd couple forced together by the Games, but it seemed I really had made a friend in the unlikeliest of ways.
"Well, we may not be using those names, but one huge Career alliance has Akari and the other has Cinderella, so... I call it as I see it."
"Are you with the mean Careers?" I teased. Margo wasn't mean, but she wasn't nice. Margo would go with the group who didn't judge her for not feeling guilty about killing, and that would have to be the mean Careers.
"What can I say, I am what I am," Margo said, tossing her hair and smiling nonchalantly. If there was anyone here who honestly did think of all this as a game, it was Margo.
"I have to admit the mean Careers will have a better chance," I said. I'd seen what "nice" Career packs turned into. People paired up and started to put each other before the group. People grew morals and tried to tell themselves they could win the Games without doing "that", "that" being whatever they personally decided was crossing a line. To be perfectly cynical, these lines were never drawn along "nice" and "mean". They were drawn between people who put their survival before anything else, and people who didn't. I had no qualms about my own stance on that matter. Calvary never had, either. Our friendship had survived so long not on the faith that we would never have killed each other, but on the mutual respect that both of us would have.
"Call me mean," I shrugged. And Margo only smiled.
Laken Dervissey- Wandering Souls D4M (18)
It was like some young adult author's conception of a war room. Some ten-odd teenagers sat hunched around a table deciding strategy for the first skirmish in a war.
"Any particular targets?" Chantal asked. "We going on like a buddy system like the Vietnam Games, or what?"
"Out of the other pack, I'd say Jynx and Victory are the most dangerous, since they're pretty close," Tulsi said. "But honestly, there's not really any one hard hitter there. It's going to be more a battle of attrition."
"In that case, we should work on securing the Cornucopia," I said. Careers, myself aside, didn't do well without supplies.
"The Career Res'es have historically been in developed Arenas," Emma pointed out.
"So it's more about who gets the weapons," Margo mused. "Honestly I'll just find a weapon somewhere anyway, or make one. It would be good to get them, though."
"Imagine if the two Career packs fight each other so long and so many of us die that some outlier wins in the end," Faust mused.
"Or one of the smaller alliances with Careers in it goes under the radar until we're both small," Arielle said.
"So we should court the smaller alliances a little, or at least not antagonize them. They might let us absorb them at some point," Tulsi said.
"That sounds good," Cyrene said. She seemed oddly unconfident.
The longer we discussed, the more unsettled I felt. This wasn't like my last Games. In the jungle, there was one large alliance, with the rest of us sniping from afar like guerrillas. This was closer to a classical war. The numbers were higher and the sides were more clearly drawn. This wasn't like the fights I had back home, with their sudden starts and quick endings. I couldn't think short-term like that anymore. Wars were about strategy and long-term planning- things I wasn't experienced in, though I might or might not find out I was good at it. Such large, intricate machinations weren't in my wheelhouse, and I was starting to think it was better for me to just lay low until the numbers died down. It struck me then, with a slightly ironic amusement, that I was thinking just like an outlier.
Faust Xantina- We The People D4M (18)
I didn't really think of myself as a bad guy. Most people didn't obviously, though I suspected Rapture and maybe Tulsi and Chantal did. I just thought of myself as someone who wanted to survive. A Career in a crowd this big couldn't go it on their own. They'd be a target for their own kind and also for outliers who banded together precisely to survive people like me. Ironically, it wouldn't do to be the strongest or the most competent, either. It was better to be in the middle of the pack, which was where I somewhat unfortunately found myself. Fortunate for my chances, but not so fortunate for my pride.
So I found myself in the mundane but necessary position of feeling out my allies. Several of them were from later Games than mine, so I had to get to know them from the start. Tulsi seemed confident, perhaps edging into arrogance, but it might be she really did live up to her evaluation of herself. Talise seemed to have some sort of chip on her shoulder, which I'd made a note to myself to ask Shane about. Laken had an unusual approach for a Career, but it had gotten him far. Even as I scoped, I wondered what my allies were thinking of me as they scoped me back.
"I don't even know," I confessed to Shane after training hours were over. "There's so many things to think about. What's your advice?"
"I don't want to name any names, but I think Rapture is shifty," Shane said.
A single laugh burst out of me at how mundanely obvious and frank it was. "I don't think Rapture trusts Rapture," I said. "Oh, before I forget. Is there anything unusual about Talise's Games? It's hard to explain but she seems... over-achievey."
"She wasn't the first pick," Shane said. "Actually, she wasn't even the third pick. The evaluators thought her partner would win and picked the female based on compatibility. Look how well that turned out, though." He shrugged.
"Oh," I said. I hadn't seen that coming, but it made sense in hindsight. She was playing herself up and pushing herself so much because she thought we'd look down on her. I didn't know about the others, but I didn't think we had any place to judge when we'd all died too. It wasn't like the evaluators had even been in the Games. It was easy to make predictions from the safety of the Academy.
"I don't think you need me to tell you this, but probably don't mention it to her," Shane said. I didn't find it condescending advice. Sometimes things seem so obvious you don't even think to mention them, but there's always someone who makes it necessary.
Arielle Ermin- 28th Hunger Games D4F
No one looked at us askance when I said Chantal and I were going to go review some Games footage to get some info on our competition. We went into my room and left a bunch of them to carry on strategizing. Once we were out of earshot, all bets were off.
"So, no need to beat around the bush. Clearly we're two of the cream of the crop. We're all going to make sub-alliances, and I'd rather be with the best."
"Charmed," Chantal said. "I must confess I return the sentiment." With our repeated high placings (despite our disappointing failures to ever actually win), we'd proven ourselves as part of the elite even within the elite. I wanted Chantal with me rather than against me, and I was proud she thought the same about me.
"I like the look of the rest of our allies, though. I think we should stay put until we crush the other packs. Unless our pack gets crushed, of course, in which case let's jump ship."
It was refreshingly honest to be so blunt. We both knew we had no loyalty to our pack or to each other. If either of us showed weakness, the other would pounce on it. It was like something I learned back in high school economics class, which had been unexpectedly interesting for me. One of the things we learned about was comparative advantage. Even if two companies were in direct competition, sometimes they both benefited by working together. It didn't mean they ever stopped competing, though.
"Then again, if we're doing this, so will the others. I'm trying to think of who might pair up, but it's hard to tell," I said.
"Maybe Laken and Margo. I don't really know why I think that. Just a hunch," Chantal said.
"At least they both use close-range weapons," I said. I was a little jealous sometimes of people who could kill someone without having to get close to them. I could throw my trident, sure, but I felt naked without it.
"And neither of them is the strongest," Chantal said. "Not to underestimate them, though."
I nodded. Chantal had experience with that. A lot of people had underestimated her. Pray never did, which was one big reason she'd won. A lot of people had underestimated Pray as well, which hadn't hurt her Games, either. It was something of a regret of mine that Chantal's and my performances largely precluded that now.
Margo Caspian- Over and Over D2F (18)
What a world to live in. What a bright, beautiful world full of things to see and experience. I wasn't even mad I had to live it piecemeal, to be honest. I got to see flashes of different times and different people, with all the passing trends and movements that came and went with time. Every time I came back, the Games building was new and different. I met new escorts and stylists and became part of the latest beauty and style trends in every parade. I could never get bored in a life like this. There was movement and novelty and sensory overload everywhere I turned.
My allies sometimes seemed confused by how nonchalant I was about my lives and my deaths. I just valued living life over having life. It was what drew me to hunting, too. It was the thrill of chasing another life and forcing myself into it by the pursuit and the destruction. Wasn't it better to live to the edge and die with a burst of action rather than limping to a slow and vapid end? They say your endorphins go wild right before you die. How many people out there had experienced that last ecstasy because I'd finally reached them? I hardly expected thanks for killing people, but I did pride myself in the grand and glorious end I gave my quarries.
It must be frightful to be an outlier. I'd experienced pain, and regret, and failure, but I'd never been much for fear. If I won, it meant I was the best. If I died, it meant someone else was better. I didn't have time for half-measures. But to be an outlier, to value quantity of life over quality of life, to spend decades longer than me on this world but decades shorter than me living it, would be frightful. It was what I imagined it must be like to be a mouse.
What a city it must be to live in, the Capitol. I sat on the roof, dangling my legs over the edge, my excitement dulled by the force field that kept me safe. The stars were blotted out by the lights shining from every which way. To my left there was blaring electronic music from some party- probably the building with the three blue spotlights waving around. Ahead of me, some other building was playing softer music from some genre I'd never even heard before, most likely from after my time. In my lap I held a paper boat containing a spicy hero smothered in delicious sauce and lying across greasy fries. Back home, if I hadn't volunteered, I'd be in a quarry somewhere. Every day I'd see the same gray stone. I'd come home covered in dust and collapse sorely into bed to be able to get up the next day. Perhaps someday I'd retire and live in some tiny house with sufficient but tasteless food. I could live eighty years, or maybe longer. I didn't regret leaving it for one second. Eighty years meant nothing to me. I'd give it all away a thousand times for these instants of the sublime.
Cyrene Longuemare- Let the Good Times Roll D4F (18)
The others had talked to me all the time at first. It seemed I had a reputation for cleverness and strategy. I gave noncommittal, hesitant answers. Slowly the questions tapered off, and then I started to feel the furtive glances sent my way. No one wanted to say it, but they were feeling it. Some of them were disappointed. Some of them were relieved. But as the days passed, I knew they were accepting it. Something had gone wrong in the cloning process, like it had a few times before. Cyrene wasn't the same anymore. They were better off putting their faith in someone else.
As I was putting on my act, I was making other observations as well. None of my allies were incompetent, though I suspected Margo was here for a good time rather than a long time. I did think of myself as the smartest, but it wouldn't do to get too puffed up. When the idea of an accomplice came to me, I didn't set it aside. I mulled it over and after some thought, I concluded it was for the best.
Tulsi was doing her yoga when I sidled up to her in the training room. "What's this?" I asked innocently.
"Just some yoga, to stretch get my mind in gear," she said. It was somewhat dismissive, but not condescending. I was impressed to see she wouldn't let down her guard even if she thought someone had lost their edge.
I looked at her steadily. "I didn't really get cloned wrong, by the way. I'm just faking."
Tulsi's face didn't change. She didn't even interrupt her pose. "Why would you tell me?"
"A poisoner is always a target, even if she's weakened. I needed a partner and picked you, for a lot of reasons. You have the plant knowledge to see through me. You're smart enough to figure it out on your own. You have reason to hate poisoners so better to get you on my good side. And you're strong enough to be a good ally."
"And you presume I think the same about you," Tulsi said.
"I'm betting my life on it," I said.
Diamond Kai- Res D1F (18)
"Do you ever regret all this?"
I didn't know what I expected Peridot to say. She'd never seemed anything but enthusiastic about the Games. Seemed like a long shot to expect anything nuanced from her.
"Not really," she said. "The trauma wasn't great, but infinite money buys you a lot of therapy."
"You don't think it made you into someone you don't want to be?" I asked.
"I wanted to be rich and famous and the best of the best," Peridot said.
"But what about the people you killed?" I pressed.
She looked at me with a little annoyance. "You going soft on me? They were going to die anyway. It doesn't matter who killed them."
"No, I'm not going soft. It's not even me I'm worried about." I didn't know how to go on. "It's not the killing. It's just... did you enjoy it?"
Peridot let out a breath. "That's a dangerous path to go down. I have plenty of friends who did, and plenty of mentees. It's not a good idea- it takes away your edge. Instead of looking to win, you start looking to kill. It's distracting. I suppose it makes the recovery easier, but it also makes it less likely."
"Rapture seems to enjoy killing," I said. It felt good to say it out loud. Even if Peridot laughed at me, I just wanted to get it out.
"He does seem to be a bit on the eager side," Peridot said. "Not that it's doing him much good."
"He didn't used to be like this," I said. "He was such a sweet little kid when we were younger."
"He should have stayed that way," Peridot agreed. "He would have been better off."
"Do you think he could go back?" I asked, a little timidly. I knew it was stupid even as I said it. Going back to that now would only get him killed. Then I'd have no brother at all.
Peridot looked at me with compassion I'd never seen in her before. "It's too late, kid. As far as he's gone? It's too late."
"That's what I thought you'd say." It came out softly, like I was speaking at his funeral.
"I gather you're having some second thoughts of your own," Peridot said.
"I don't entirely regret the whole volunteering lifestyle. I guess I'm just second-guessing my priorities," I said. I didn't want to die. I wasn't going to throw away my life for some harebrained idea of being noble and upright. It was just I was learning there were some things I might not be willing to do. Or even to condone.
Tulsi Sa- No Way Down D4F
So I was in an alliance with a poisoner. Past me might not be proud of present me, but maybe future me would be around to reap the benefits. Cyrene's plan did have a lot of sense to it. She planned to keep up her charade for quite some time, doing the bare minimum to be a useful ally and gathering info and materials before she even started trying anything. Most interestingly, she had plans for a very subtle offense. She'd suggested I look into slow-acting poisons with her, so we could weaken our allies instead of quickly killing them. We came to the same conclusion pretty quickly: that we should curry favor with the "nice" Careers, and eventually maybe even pull a switch.
"We're a good pair to do it. You died so unfairly they might feel bad for you, plus you didn't have time to make many enemies. I'm the poor disabled simple girl whose brain was scrambled and now she's no threat. Maybe they won't believe us, but fortune favors the bold," she'd said. Cyrene was nothing if not bold. So I found myself playing both sides in a very delicate balance of power.
Cierra seemed like an easy target. From what I'd heard, she was both friendly and insecure. She'd always considered herself one of the weaker Careers. It would mean a lot to her just to hear someone thought she could do it, even if I'd died earlier than she had.
"Ooh, nice!" I said as I walked past her in the training room. She was practicing with her sword, and I didn't even have to lie. She did have skills. I kept it that simple, just the one comment and a passing smile. No need to go overboard. I wasn't trying to play any weird mind games. I just wanted to stick in her head. It was like commercials. Everyone always said commercials didn't work on them, that they'd never go buy something just because they saw an ad. That wasn't the intent of an advertisement. They knew you weren't that simple. They also knew that the next time you were in the market for that product, the first name you'd think of would be from the last advertisement you saw. I wasn't trying to get Cierra to randomly decide I was trustworthy and awesome. I just knew the next time she thought of me, she'd fleetingly think "she seems nice", while the other Tributes were just neutral.
I didn't make any more moves that day. It would just be obvious if I passed by every one of the rival Careers and buttered them up. A little goes a long way, just like poison.
Chantal Ivingin- 28th Hunger Games D1F (18)
Along with Shale and Chrysolite, I was among the oldest of the Tributes, chronologically. The Capitol looked similar in a lot of ways to when I'd first seen it, but there were some major changes I hardly knew what to make of. In my day, we'd used computers projected on a wall or on the floor, but nowadays there were holographic images just hanging in the air. I didn't know how the light just somehow knew when to stop. And the predictive technology was so much better. It felt like the computers could just reach into my head and know what I was trying to say.
The accents were another thing. I felt like I was in a different country sometimes. I'd heard weird accents before, like the Tributes from Twelve, but this was something else. Even my fellow Ones sounded different to me. I was starting to get paranoid that I sounded like some peasant from the Middle Ages to them. And the slang- oh, the slang. Did people even use dictionaries anymore? I didn't like feeling like a grandmother.
At least the weapons were the same. Surely explosive projectile weapons had advanced, but we didn't have that kind of firepower in the Arena. A spear was still a spear, to my relief, and a sword was still a sword. As far as I could tell, fighting styles hadn't changed much, either. There seemed to have been a shift from a more formal approach to a more street-fighting style, likely born out of adaptation driven by trends found in Victors, but I could still recognize the moves. I should have found it depressing that killing was the one constant, but I didn't care enough for navel-gazing.
I wondered how long it would take to feel at home again if I won. Surely the super-rich still lived a similar life. The particulars of furniture or decoration might change, but decadence is decadence. Money can't buy happiness, but it can get you pretty close.
Talise Cicero- Wandering Souls D4F (18)
I wasn't sure why I felt so defensive all the time. I'd lasted farther into the Games than plenty of my allies. Tulsi seemed to have confidence in herself and she'd died just days into her Games- not that I blamed her, since it was something no one could have seen coming. It was quite the detriment for the outliers that someone had tried it, since we would likely be in a developed Arena this time and we'd know to watch out for that trick. It was unfortunate the people who pulled it off hadn't even won.
Self-pity is just a distraction, I told myself. Whether or not the Academy believed in me had no importance. Most of the time the people they picked didn't even win. There were so many unknowns, both in testing and in the Arena. The proof was in the pudding, and while I hadn't won, I'd proven formidable. So I should let the past go and focus on the Games.
It felt weird seeing some of my old peers with me from my first Games. Irina had won, of course, though I did resent how she did it with so much help. It must be nice to have friends to carry you, even if she did most of the carrying. Brock was too young, though he would certainly have an advantage if they also planned a younger Resurrection Games. He'd barely even have competition. Malcolm was here, but we hadn't talked much. I was surprised Alice wasn't back. She'd made such a splash and lasted so long. I wasn't interested in seeing Juniper again. Funny how I was insecure about the Academy not picking me, but I didn't feel at all insecure about him being here. Guess they made two mistakes with us.
A hundred and thirty-eight Tributes. And I had to have the confidence to believe I could be the best of all of them. It didn't make sense that I felt better about everyone who wasn't from my year. I guess it was because the Academy had never compared me to them. This would be the first time, and it was entirely in my hands.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Next up is voting for the wildcards. Since there are already so many Tributes, I'm going to start with three votes per reader. If I get an unexpected amount of support for these Tributes I'll increase the number, but for now pick three you want to see in the Games and we'll see who the lucky trio are.
Mary Sue Brooklyn- In Your Hands (Twelve)
Kuma Swain- Into Thin Air (Eleven)
Leo Serrocold- 28th Hunger Games (Eleven)
Osiris Horatio- We The People (Ten)
Zetan Thompson- Power to the People (Seven)
Vextrix Webb- We All Fall Down (Eleven)
Hadley Kinneth- In Your Hands
Hoban Tam- We All Fall Down (Eleven)
Brenna Segale- Child's Play (Eight)
Rigel Aspen-Let the Good Times Roll (Seven)
Lucius Petrol- Into Thin Air (Six)
Marrow Holstein
Sky Larch- Wandering Souls D12F
Mink Abbey
Jacquard Crock- No Way Down D8M
Perfecta Flawless- Killer Vacation D1F
Gary Stu- Killer Vacation D1F
Archimedes- Killer Vacation D3M
Maeve- Killer Vacation