Majesty Miraval- Wandering Souls D1

Of course heaven would be gears and metal. Or was it Hell where I was right now? On many days it seemed turgid to question the parasites. Pretty funny, though. Always funny.

"Are you ready for the resurrection Games?" the man with hollow eyes said. Shark teeth.

Resurrection. Zombies, then. What does the underside of skin look like all peeled off? Surely surely surely surely brown. Glued on. Like leather.

Resurrection means

Already dead

Kill kill again

Sirloin

Roasted

A joke is funnier if you can tell it twice

Calvin Heidi- A Night To Remember D1

This was all wrong. They shouldn't have picked me. I died in the Hunger Games because I volunteered for it. Crime, then justice. It was neat and all tied up. Yet here I was again, going back in for another round. Purgatory, maybe. I hadn't made amends enough and I had to go through it again. The medic said there were more than a hundred and twenty of us this time. That was a lot of people who hadn't made proper amends. But then, a lot of us were Careers. Most of us would be here a long, long time.

Malcolm Royden- Swing Vote D1

I was years younger than Gabriel. Weird that was my first thought. But it really wasn't that weird, I guess. Twins are weird in general. I'd never noticed the telepathy thing, but I'd heard about it from other twins. I wondered if Gabriel heard anything when I was dead.

My second thought wasn't about the Games either. It was that I'd been dead long enough people probably didn't remember me too well. Or at least, plenty of the people with me died before I did and didn't even know me. They didn't know I was poor. In a messed-up way, this was a fresh start. The odds were near-vanishing, with more than a hundred people here with me, but they were even.

Then, thirdly, I thought of the Games. I'd thought the one good thing about my death was not having to worry about any of this anymore. Even death couldn't free a Panemian.

Jynx Susurrus- Power to the People D1

Why did they even bother? I'd done this what, four times? And I hadn't won yet. Every time it became more clear that this wasn't about me having any chance of winning. The Capitol just picked which toys they liked to play with and dragged them out over and over again, scuffing them up and wearing them out and just sending them back to the factory to get remade when they were done.

"I suppose Victory's here, too?" I asked a passing medic.

"Oh yes, I'm sure you're impatient to see her," she said.

I mean, yeah, but... every time I saw Victory, it meant I was going back into the Games. Of course, any time I saw anything it meant I was going back into the Games. You know, I'm starting to think her name is badly chosen.

Grande St. Leger- Descent into Madness D1

I was starting to think Elissa was right. Here I was again, reincarnated once more. Was there something I needed to learn before I could "pass on"? That wasn't what her religion taught, but it sure seemed like believing in Sofreh hadn't gotten her anywhere either, since she was here again, too. Rather convenient that Sofreh didn't offer any long-term solutions. It was more a guide to living than an eternal cosmology. But it worked for Elissa and I didn't begrudge her it.

What is it, universe? What do I have to learn? I liked to think I wasn't a bad person. Okay, I killed people in the Games, but I didn't draw it out. They were going to die anyway. It wasn't my fault the Capitol made this Games in the first place. Career Districts just did what they had to in order to protect their own vulnerable. It wasn't fair to judge me for not being able to save everyone.

I swear if this is some bullshit 'overcome your fears' thing I don't want to get into Heaven. I did not ask to be born with anxiety and it wasn't my fault. The Capitol could fix that at any time with their weird medical voodoo. But nope, here I was again, still anxious and still waiting to die. If Heaven wanted me not anxious, then freaking do a miracle and fix me. Otherwise, let me into Heaven, damn it.

Rapture Kai- Over and Over D1

It wasn't a bad gig, really. Wake up, kill people, die, do it again. Maybe someday I'd win, but then I wouldn't get to kill people anymore. It was funny how I wasn't this bloodthirsty the first time around. It seemed like every time I got stuck back in here I was less restrained. Maybe it was because I knew they'd come back anyway. Maybe it was because I knew the only reason I kept coming back was the Capitol was entertained by my savagery. Maybe it just got easier, like every hit man said in every cheap novel ever.

I supposed I could do something different this time, just to switch things up. But what else was there? Run and hide until someone finds me, then don't get picked next time since I didn't put on a good show? Only go for "fair" fights and just end up dying early? When I got right down to it, I wasn't even killing all these people because I was especially violent. It was just the only way to keep myself alive.

Miall Piscot- Res D1

Why did they think I wanted to be here? "Oh, better bring back Miall so he can be with his sister again". NO! Don't bring back Miall! If he wins, that means his sister dies! If his sister doesn't die, that means he does! For mercy's sake, bring one or the other. Not both!

The door opened and someone entirely unexpected walked in.

"You too?" I asked, seeing Ember. But she looked older than I expected. Were they messing around with the cloning tech again?

"Not exactly. I won a while back," she said, clearly unsure how she should be feeling about all this.

"How long has it been?" Trepidation washed up inside me. Resurrection Games usually opened happened once a decade or so. Oh God, is my family even alive? Were we a hundred years in the future, totally alienated from the entire world we'd known?

"No, it was one of the special Games," she said. I was about to ask when she said, "Titian's." Never mind. I didn't want to know.

Helios Carnegie- Res

"What's this?" I knew I hadn't won the Games. That was one thing I was sure of.

"You've never heard of a Resurrection Games?" the medic asked. "Oh no, I suppose not. It's when we pick people to try again and clone them."

"Did you pick Hector?" I asked, hope budding up in me for the first time in... I didn't know how long.

"Who's Hector?" the medic asked.

"One of my training friends. He... had an accident in the Academy." I looked away, wondering if they were still calling it an accident. Hector deserved for people to know. I hadn't meant to, but I'd killed him. That was something I could never undo. But if I could see him again, if I could tell him how sorry I was...

"Oh, no. Only people who died in the Games, silly. Not training accidents." The medic's laugh cut me to my soul. He walked away as I didn't bother wiping at the tears. I was back, because I "deserved it". Hector wasn't. I took not only his life, but all his possible futures. Why would they make me do this again? Hadn't I done enough?

Submissions are still open, including District One males. I just wrote these to get things moving.