Gaius McClellan- No Way Down D12M
With this many Tributes, the Games was not a fight. It was a war. There was a completely different set of expectations and strategies, and strangely enough, it actually increased my chances. As a militia fighter, that was what I was trained for. We were used to fighting massive amounts of rebels with only the sparse and outdated equipment the Capitol gave us after Peacekeepers got something better. We fought dynamically and strategically, always adapting to the environment.
In a situation like this, I needed numbers. At the very least I needed a fire team- one leader, one gunner, one assistant gunner, and one scout. Preferably I would have more than that, since four people couldn't do much against the two burgeoning Career alliances. But I'd see what I could get.
The next question was cohesion. I couldn't make a team of just any random Tributes. This team needed to last through mortal peril and survive even after losing members. There had to be something that kept us together past animal instinct for strength in numbers. I could look for Twelves only, but there just weren't many of us to pick from. Also, that sort of clannishness might make others turn against us as exclusive. Perhaps it was out of emotion more than anything else, but I found myself wanting to approach those who had been somehow cheated- abandoned by sponsors, targeted by Gamemakers, killed by uber-mutts. Being with others like ourselves would give us the motivation to push one of us to victory, even if we couldn't be the one. Just so long as someone won it back for the cheated ones.
Toddward was the first name that came to mind. Partly because it was a really weird name, but mostly because he had certainly been unfairly put-upon. He was one of a handful of Tributes who'd been killed by gunfire, something no one could defend from. He'd also been quite charismatic and popular before his death. We needed someone like that to be the voice of our alliance. When things looked hopeless, someone like Toddward could inspire us. That was something so many people overlooked. So often it wasn't how strong a fighter was. It was how much they believed they could win.
Toddward Howard- Swing Vote D9M
As one might expect, the Games Building had a sprawling arcade. As one might also expect, they had a most ghoulish, but admittedly well-made, virtual reality Hunger Games game. I felt a bit macabre playing through a few times, but how was I supposed to resist something like that?
Plans and ideas ran through my head as I played through various arenas, fiddling with the controls to change the amount or type of mutts and the training level of the Careers. The arena around me was an abandoned temple that seemed to be a mishmash of different cultures. It went on for levels upon levels underground, the mutts getting more nightmarish as I descended. It seemed like it would be a viable means of training, since the apparatus was advanced enough that I could feel the ground underneath me and interact with every object I'd tried so far. I'd even scratched at the wall just to discover the paint flaking off and remaining so after I left the room and returned. I wondered if the Careers had this in their academies or if that was pushing the Capitol's favor too far. Anyway, if we could just set up some hybrid LARP/AI Games for the Capitolites, maybe that might be enough to supersede the Games.
I disengaged myself from the pod, upon winning the Games, to see Gaius in the arcade with me. He was pretending to be interested in some retro side-scroller game, but his painful awkwardness and unfamiliarity obviously betrayed he was here for something else. I was the only other Tribute I could see around, so it didn't take a genius.
"Oh hey. You like games too?" he asked innocently.
"Yeah. I like Day of Defeat," I said. "How about you?"
"That one's pretty good," Gaius said.
"Aha!" I crowed. "No one likes Day of Defeat. You're a fake gamer!"
Gaius blanched, then smiled. "Yeah, I've honestly only ever played like three times. I just wanted to meet you."
"Luckily I do more than play games. You looking for allies or what?" I asked. I was a friendly sort of guy. I could at least hear him out.
"I'm gathering together some of the Tributes who got cheated. I got dogpiled by the Careers since I had some military training. You got shot, which is pretty hard to defend against."
"That sounds pretty cool. I haven't had any better offers," I said.
"What are you going to do if you do get one?" Gaius asked.
"Probably leave," I said with a rakish smile. "But I probably won't get any."
Deciduous Stowercraft- Swing Vote D7M
Not much in my life had prepared me for something like this. I had my boyfriend Jude with me in my alliance, along with Tyler, who was... sort of my boyfriend. I hadn't intended to cheat- how could I have seen it coming that my comatose boyfriend would come back to life and so would I and also so would my other boyfriend I only took up with after my first one was pretty much dead? We'd have a lot less stress in Panem if the Gamemakers would just write soap operas instead.
"Do you think the Capitol would ever allow two Victors?" Jude asked. For him, everything was back to normal. Tyler had been pretty quiet and standoffish since we all came back. He knew about Jude, of course, since I'd mentioned him in our Games, but as far as Jude knew, Tyler was just some guy I'd befriended. Neither of us was sure how to break it to him or even exactly what we were breaking.
"No," Tyler said.
"Maybe," I said at the same moment.
Jude glanced between us and turned to me. "It's definitely not very likely, I guess. It's just there are so many people here, you know, in love, and maybe they'd let someone have a happy ending for once. It wouldn't do them any harm."
"I guess we can dream," I said. The words felt fake in my mouth. No matter what I said, I was lying to someone. I didn't see how there could be any way out of this. If I was braver I might have floated the idea of a triad, but that just seemed disingenuous. I was the obvious center, and I felt like a total narcissist even thinking about it.
"I'm gonna go try out the axes," Tyler said. He left without looking back.
"Finally," Jude said. "Tyler seems like a nice guy, but I'm glad to have some time with you."
I tried to respond, but for the life of me, I didn't know what I wanted to say.
Maxson Deloria- Swing Vote D6M
The knife station had quite an impressive collection. The survival knife I held had a six-inch blade with wicked-looking jagged waves on the sharp side. The tip curved upward- the attendant said it was a blood trench to keep the handle from getting slippery. I wondered what the fastest way to kill someone was. Was it really as easy to slit someone's throat as people thought? Did the blood come out fast, so it didn't hurt too much? Or if you got it right into the heart, did you die pretty much immediately? I was worried it might glance off the ribs. I didn't want it to be painful.
"You've been looking at that a long time without using it." Gaius' comment seemed casual, though I wondered if he was looking at me a little too intelligently.
"Just trying to figure the fastest way to kill someone," I mumbled.
"Who you trying to kill?"
I hadn't pegged Gaius as so perceptive. He seemed smart, sure, and certainly strategic, but hardly personable. He certainly seemed to think he was on to something, and I didn't think he'd be swayed easily.
"Just seems like the easiest option sometimes," I admitted. "I'm sure I'm not the only one."
"Honestly, I won't bullshit you. I think most of us have thought it, and we might not be wrong," Gaius said, leaning against the knife table. "I guess it just seems like there's more to fight for."
"I'm tired of fighting and I can't win anyway," I said. Always the platitudes. "There's so much to live for"- like dying in the Games. "Life is worth living"- so I could work fourteen-hour shifts in a factory until my joints are nothing but bone on bone. "You'll be letting them win"- I would say they won before I was born.
"It's your life. It's the most personal choice any of us have, and no one can take that from you. But for what it's worth, you got cheated. I did, too, and so did a lot of us. I think if we support each other, we just might be able to get one of us home. Maybe not me, maybe not you either, but one of us. One of us, for all of us."
I finally looked up from the blade. "You really think so?" I asked. I'd heard through the grapevine about Gaius. Word was he was some sort of paramilitary expert. Of all of us, he was one of a handful who had a real chance.
"I believe it's possible. That's all I can guarantee," Gaius said. Maybe possible was all I needed.
Jude Sylvus- Res D7M
I'd never imagined life could be so good. Before the Games, the last thing I remembered was mortal pain all over my body from the tree crushing the life out of me. I'd barely had time to register what looked like someone running away from the scene before all I could think about was that I was dying and I had so much unfinished and would Deciduous even know what kind of person I was?
It seemed like another lifetime now. Looking back, my rebellious streak seemed so childish. All my conspiracy theories about the Capitol trying to kill me were nothing but a stupid kid thinking he was so much more important than he was. The Capitol was the one who'd brought me back. Because of them, Deciduous and I had this chance to be together. There was only one problem...
"Babe, I have to talk to you about something."
Deciduous straightened up from where he'd been leaning on my shoulder, both of us watching a silly action movie on the wallscreen in our lounge. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's about Tyler. I know you really like him, and I wasn't sure how to tell you, but he's not good for you," I said. There was so much more I wanted to say, but I didn't want to overwhelm Deciduous, so I started off gently.
"What do you mean? He never did anything to me," I said.
"You're so trusting. It's one of the things I love about you. But there are people out there who will pervert that. He's not a good guy, babe. I watched the tapes. I saw how he manipulated you into an alliance. He just wants what you can give," I said. It broke my heart how someone could do this to the man I loved. Deciduous deserved so much better.
"He didn't manipulate me. We just became- friends," Deciduous said, with a weird pause like he'd forgotten the word.
"Please, you have to trust me on this. We can get through this on our own. Even if they won't let two of us win, we can get one of us home. Just you and me, together against the world."
Deciduous scooted to the next cushion over. "He's not like that," he said, his eyes pleading with me to agree.
"Okay. Just consider it, will you? Maybe he's an okay guy. Even so, he doesn't love you. I love you. We know each other, and we know we'll take care of each other. That's all we need, right?"
Theo Wondderoo- Open Arms D8M
"I didn't get cheated," I said. Sure, it wasn't really ideal that a tree squished me to death, but it was just bad luck. I didn't feel like the Gamemakers put that specific tree there with the intent to kill me. It was just one of those things. It was nice of Gaius to think of me, but I was hardly a victim, at least not any more than any other Tribute.
"Oh." Gaius was taken aback at my response. "Glad to hear that, I guess." He looked back at his allies clustered across the room at the edible plants station. "Honestly you seem like a cool guy, so you can still join if you want."
"Who's all with you?" I asked. Gaius and I walked across the room to meet his allies.
"This is Todd," Gaius said of a nice-looking young man with curly brown hair.
Todd put out his hand and I took it. "Hey, buddy," he said.
"Then here's Max," Gaius said about a shorter boy who looked like he belonged on a movie poster about delinquent teens. Max waved shyly.
"And here's Jude and Deciduous. They just joined," Gaius continued.
"Nice to meet you," Jude said enthusiastically. Deciduous seemed preoccupied and just nodded.
"Hi, I'm Theo Wondderoo. Yes, that is really my last name, I didn't pick it. Now I suppose we all say a fun fact about ourselves?" I joked.
Todd raised a hand. "I like science fiction," he offered.
"No way! What kind?" Everyone else winked out of my head. Had I found a fellow... nerd?
"I like the military stuff. If you don't have two thousand pages of lore, you're wasting my time," Todd said.
"Oh my gosh, I love that stuff! Do you like Galactic Marines XM5?" I asked.
"Do I like Galactic Marines XM5? Does Gunny Mannix love pulsar pistols?" Todd responded.
"Well now I want to read it," Maxson commented.
"They probably have minifigures in one of these stores," Todd said.
"I usually just get generic ones and paint them over, since they're cheaper," I said.
"Ah, a man of class and craftmanship," Todd said.
"So I gather you're joining the alliance?" Gaius asked.
"Are the rest of you as cool as Todd?" I asked.
"No," Todd smirked.
"We're pretty cool," Jude said.
"Probably not," Maxson said.
Gaius wrinkled his nose. "Define 'cool'."
Tyler Alvarez- Swing Vote D10M
Deciduous had made his choice. Jude had announced he was going to the Stadwatch, and Deciduous was welcome to join him. Deciduous had looked between us- Jude eagerly staring at him, me refusing to give him any help- and guiltily slunk after Jude. Well, I didn't care if he felt guilty. He'd made his choice and I wasn't going to run after him. It hurt- it hurt more than I wanted to admit even to myself- but I would go on without him. It was stupid of me to get into a relationship in the Arena and just delusional to think he'd pick someone he just met over his boyfriend of months. As far as I was concerned, we might as well never have met. I'd do my best not to kill Deciduous, but the rest was on him. There was one day left of training for me and Vulpes and the new gang to get our plans together, and I needed to keep my head in the game.
"Hey."
I set down my axe and turned to meet Jude.
"What do you want?" I'd left him and his boyfriend to their business. There was no need for him to come over and rub it in. If he tried, I was leaving.
"I just wanted to tell you to leave Deciduous alone. If you give him any trouble in the Arena I'll end you," Jude said, jabbing a finger at me.
"How?" I asked.
"What?" Jude scowled.
"How you gonna kill me?" I looked down at Jude- quite literally, since I was significantly taller. I looked down at his skinny arms and his unmarked skin, feeling no need to comment on my own shirt stretched over my muscles or my carefully cloned scars.
"Just leave us alone," Jude said, after a sullen pause.
"All right," I said, and turned back to the axe table.
"Don't ignore me!" Jude rushed forward to get all up in my face.
"I said I'd leave you alone. Maybe leave me alone?" I said. God, it was lucky Deciduous was so cute, or I'll kill this guy just to shut him up. Honestly, I might end up doing it. If he acted like this all the time I was genuinely afraid he'd abuse Deciduous.
"What's your problem?" Jude demanded.
I backed away, putting my palms up to ward Jude away. "I literally do not have a problem."
Jude's fist shot out and smacked into my cheek. It hit the bone, jarring me but almost breaking Jude's thumb where it was tucked inside the palm incorrectly. "Ow," I said, backing away more.
Jude rushed forward and shoved me. I stumbled backward and looked around for any Peacekeepers that might escalate things way beyond control.
"He doesn't want you!" Jude yelled as he kept punching. I tried to hold my temper as I swatted off some of the blows and endured the others.
"What are you doing?!" Deciduous came running across the room. He grabbed Jude's arm. "Stop it!"
"See? He's nothing but trouble," Jude said.
"He's not even doing anything!" Deciduous cried.
"Thank you," I said, rubbing at my bruised cheek.
"What? Come on, 'Cid, don't be like this," Jude said. There was a bizarrely sincere spark in his eyes.
"Like what? A non-insane person?" Deciduous asked. He sighed and let go of Jude's arm. "I don't think this is working out."
"Alright, I get it, I'll leave him alone," Jude said.
"That's not what I mean." Deciduous looked right at Jude. "I think you should leave me alone."
"What? You don't mean it," Jude said. He reached out for Deciduous and Deciduous waved him off.
"Just give me some time, at least," Deciduous muttered. Jude shot a glare at me and ran out of the room.
Deciduous turned to me with the most embarrassed, vulnerable half-smile I'd ever seen. "So, uhh, I don't suppose you'd let me come crawling back?"
I smiled, a little bigger on one side since my cheek was swollen. "I suppose I could do that."