Andy Waywell, 16

District 10 Male

My legs were cramping up from being tucked beneath my body for so long, but I didn't care. A soft breeze was blowing through the open window and my eyes were racing across the pages of my textbook. It was an old, tattered thing, but it held so many interesting secrets. The margins were filled with notes on the human body; just where to strike to get the most interesting reactions. I didn't know who the previous owner was, but I could tell they were like me. A crazy person.

I always had a fascination with bodies. The nerves, the muscles, the brain, the way they all interacted… it was incredible. I wanted to learn more, and so, at the age of 8, I killed our old cat Freddie to examine his insides.

My best friend Bryan found me on the floor with his feline entrails strewn around me. He screamed and screamed and screamed, and he never spoke to me again. That was the night my parents sat me down and explained everything.

Dad was a mortician, so he was comfortable around death. Mom was a Peacekeeper, and was also often exposed to injury and death. But they told me that not everyone was, and many people were afraid of killing, and of seeing the insides of a body. They wanted to support my endeavors, but I had to keep them secret.

I was glad my parents supported me. I really was. But sometimes I wanted to be normal. I wanted to hang out with my friends after school and play soccer or go to the library to study. I wanted to make connections with others and enjoy being with people. But nobody wanted to be with me.

I didn't blame them. I was scary. I killed for fun, when I could get away with it, and I viewed death as a means to an end. And a fascinating one at that. For my thirteenth birthday, my mom smuggled a criminal out of prison and let me kill him. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever done, and I cried when it was over because I knew it would never happen again. Mom risked her job to give me the best gift ever. It would be selfish to ask her to do it again.

On some days, I desperately tried to cling to a sense of normality. I was just a quiet kid who went to school and then studied and had dinner and went for a walk and went to bed. But on other days, I hunted for rats in the sewers and hid in the shed, cutting open their squirming, quivering forms.

"Andy!" my dad called from the kitchen. "It's dinner time!"

"Coming!" I called back. I placed a bookmark on my page and lovingly closed the book before hurrying into the main room on socked feet. Two plates were set at the kitchen table and I frowned. That meant Mom would be working late tonight.

"Were you reading?" Dad asked as he scooped pasta and meatballs onto my plate. I nodded.

"Good," he said. "You've got a great brain in your head. I'm glad to see you're putting it to use." And with a laugh, he rubbed my hair. I smiled and playfully shoved his hand away.

We chatted about his work as we ate. Dad was currently very busy and I wanted to help out, but he was hesitant to let me near the bodies, in case my urges took over. I understood, but it still hurt.

My parents may have accepted who I was, but I wasn't sure that I had.

Brielle Hyland, 17

District 10 Female

The warm, breezy afternoon had become a blustery evening by the time I was slipping out the front door. The grass shifted in the wind and dust swirled in the air around me. I kept my head low as I jogged through the garden and disappeared into the meager woods beyond our pasture gate. I didn't have much time tonight, but I would be safer than usual. All the Peacekeepers were busy preparing for the reaping tomorrow.

I made my way through the tall, wild grass, trying to keep my footsteps light. Usually, no one was out here, but after my encounter with Zachary Crall last month, I knew to be careful. The boy hated my guts, though I couldn't imagine why. I generally stayed clear of him, but when we crossed paths, I had no choice but to threaten him for his silence.

I didn't enjoy threatening or harming people. But in this world, you had to put yourself first. If I didn't do the work I did, my family would be left with almost nothing. We hadn't been able to afford medical care for my brother Lorne, and now he was dead. The Capitol didn't care for us. The family we worked for - the Cralls - didn't care for us. We had to fight for ourselves.

After about ten more minutes of walking, I reached the old farm. It was abandoned long before I was born, but it was a sprawling ranch property with plenty of barns and basements. And it held the entrance to my underground world.

I was twelve when I discovered the tunnels. A neighbor of ours lost his house and his life in a tragic fire, and an old journal was all I recovered from the smoldering wreckage. A journal filled with details of the tunnels beneath District 10.

According to the faded notes, they were used by rebels back in the Dark Days. People would send messages, make plans, and move troops beneath the hard-packed earth. But for the past five years, it was my domain.

Several times a week, I snuck into the tunnels to explore… and to collect. There were many hidden treasures down there, abandoned and unused. I took them out of necessity, not desire. It didn't make it ethical, but it had to be done.

I slipped through the back door of the farthest barn and opened the trap door in one of the horse stalls. I pulled my headlamp out of my backpack, switched it on, and then began to descend into the darkness.

Over the years, I'd been mapping the catacombs. I didn't want to get lost, and through my caution, I'd succeeded so far. Tonight I followed a familiar route. I had to walk farther, but there were still side rooms I hadn't explored.

The first two rooms came up empty, but in the third, I spotted a skeleton slumped in the corner of the room. There was an old, rusty knife beside it. I carefully tucked the blade into my backpack. With some polishing, I could restore it and get quite a nice price from the stalls in our underground market. And if my friend Milo accompanied me, we'd get more. People couldn't help but be charmed by him. It was one of the reasons I trusted him with the secret of the tunnels. Something I hadn't even shared with my own parents.

I managed to grab several other items on my trek, including a set of fancy silverware and a necklace with blue gems. And I made sure to keep checking my watch and my map. But by the time I decided to return to the old ranch, I was happy with my haul. After all the fuss of the reaping was over, Milo and I would sell the goods and I'd add the money to the collection I would give my parents when I turned eighteen.

xxx

Barney McDonald, 22

District 10 Escort

'What color should I go with… hmm?' It was a tough decision. My favorite thing to do was swap out my colored contacts based on my mood. It was like a mood ring, but way better. But I couldn't decide on a color! Bright green would be good, since I was excited, but a light purple to signify happiness would be good too…

After a final comparison, I settled on the purple. It would match my long purple braid perfectly. I spent ages combing the tangles out of my knee-length locks and I wanted to highlight the final result of my efforts.

I just finished up with my contacts when a door opened with a squeal. The Justice Building in District 10 was quite old and definitely wasn't in good condition.

"Goodness," I gasped. "That door sounds like a pained pig!" Then I giggled, pleased with my own joke. Darcia just smiled awkwardly.

"Get it?" I asked. "Because you have pigs here?"

"I get it," she said. "Very clever." But her expression was still pained.

"Will the others be here soon?" I asked. Darcia nodded and then pulled on the collar of her blouse.

"It's warm out," she commented. "Did you bring sunscreen?"

"No. Will I need it?"

"No offense, but you're deathly pale," Darcia said with a giggle. I laughed too because she wasn't wrong.

We didn't have time to say more though, as the other victors were arriving. Marietta, Belle, Una, and Signy all came in. Marietta had a wide-brimmed sunhat on and Signy was sweating.

"Hi Barney," she said, giving me a wave.

"Hi Signy! And hi everyone else!" I returned the wave, a grin on my face. Signy was always such a pleasure to be around. They all were, except for Belle. She was too serious.

"Are you all excited?" I asked. Signy flashed a thumbs up and all the other women nodded.

"Great!" I exclaimed. Then I caught sight of a cameraman at the window. "Oh! It's showtime!"

I stepped out the side door and onto the stage, where I was instantly blasted with heat. I could even see blurry lines making the ground shimmer. It was a scorcher. But I tossed my hair over my shoulder, put on my biggest smile, and swaggered to the podium.

"Hello swines and bovines!" I called. "Who's ready to show some District 10 spirit?" The crowd clapped halfheartedly, but I kept up my grin.

"Let's put our hands together for our past victors, and our lovely mayor!" I gestured to the Justice Building as the aforementioned women came onstage and took their seats. Once the applause died down, I spoke again.

"We've got a teensy little film to watch and then we can get to what we've all been waiting for. Please be so kind as to remain quiet during the showing. It's only polite, after all!"

The narrator's voice filled the square as we all watched the morbid movie. Really, they should make the film more happy and inspiring. The reaping was such a celebratory occasion!

When it ended, I was the only one who clapped. The sound echoed through the silent square and I trailed off awkwardly.

"So… shall we reap our gentleman?"

I rushed over to the glass bowl, fighting the urge to wipe the sweat from my face. I couldn't ruin my cow print suit! Instead, I occupied myself by swirling the slips around. Finally, I selected one and went back to the microphone podium to read it aloud.

"Andy Waywell!"

After a moment, the most boring-looking boy I'd ever seen came out of the crowd. He had plain brown hair and plain brown eyes and was wearing a dull red button-down and jeans. He climbed the stairs and stood silently beside me, his hands clasped behind his back. His face was blank.

Surprisingly, one of the Peacekeepers kept straining to look at Andy. And he was purposefully avoiding their gaze. Interesting… but I would have to unravel that mystery later.

"Welcome Andy! Now, let's reap your district partner!" I made my way over to the other glass bowl and quickly selected a slip. I was ready to be out of the heat. Back at the podium, I unfolded it and announced the name.

"Brielle Hyland!"

The girl who pushed through the crowd was striking. Her brown hair was tied back in a low ponytail and she had a dusting of freckles on her lightly tanned skin. But her most notable feature was her eyes. They were a dark green color, and had an intense steeliness to them.

She climbed the stairs quickly, a small, knowing smile on her face. She gave me a polite nod before extending her hand to Andy. He kept his eyes on his shoes as he shook it. I smiled. These two seemed like they'd make for an interesting pair.

"District 10, I give you your tributes: Andy Waywell and Brielle Hyland!"

Hi all. This chapter slowly wore down my sanity, since my L key is broken and these tributes have lots of Ls in their names. But I am managing... barely. I have the most ridiculous Frankenstein set-up, but I can type all the letters, so... success? Hopefully my patience lasts longer than it takes to get my laptop repaired. But anyways! Thank you to AlexFalTon for Andy, Paradigm of Writing for Brielle, and Willuna for Barney. All of these guys were fun to write and I think they're going to have an interesting dynamic. Please leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter!

Questions

1) Did you like Andy or Brielle better? Why?

2) Who has been your favorite tribute so far, and why? (not including your own)

3) What district would you like to be from?

Also, about a question in the last chapter; Jay and Leona are based on canonical characters from a different bestselling book series, not anyone from The Hunger Games. I still want to see if you guys can guess who their inspirations are. Some people already have.

Have a nice day, be kind to each other, and never stop reading!

- Fiona