Irina Sokolova, District One mentor
I hadn't thought about how utterly chaotic my first Resurrection Games would be. Every District had a different way of handling it, with the Ones kind of floating from Tribute to Tribute offering their expertise as it was relevant. My heart went out to Lancia, who was essentially the sole mentor for ten Tributes. In any case, at least the tube day was relatively peaceful. Miall and Priscilla were holding hands. Alsace and Lyon were roasting each other about being the first to die, their thin voices betraying their fear. Unique was shakily petting Skraps. And a lot of us were just silent.
Kazuo Braun, District One mentor
It never stopped being weird seeing Arielle. I kept getting older and she was always eighteen. It always felt like time had glitched and I was the one who was out of the stream. She wasn't with me in the tube room, of course. I was clustered with the rest of the One mentors as our mentees called out how many they'd kill in the Bloodbath, and how no matter what, One had to bring it home. I supposed the other Districts were doing the exact same thing.
Ember Steiner, District Two mentor
Valerian sat over the edge of a chair, her leg bouncing staccato against the floor. Artemis and Shale huddled in a corner, seemingly drawn together by the earliness of their Games and their newness to the Resurrection Games.
"Why don't the guys get a hat?" Arroyo complained, looking at the little white hat the girls wore.
"It's not very useful," Cierra said, turning it over and inside out.
"It's not very fair, either," Arroyo grumbled.
Pray Jager, District Two mentor
Tuesday was going to die in the Bloodbath. It didn't take a genius to see it. She was half as strong and half as focused as the others. Jessie would, too- I didn't know what Fable saw in her. Of all of them, Chrome might be the one.
Ava Hanson, District Two mentor
I didn't usually feel so claustrophobic in the tubes room. Then again, there weren't usually a dozen people here. It was probably rude, but I stayed close to Lottie. Surely all the other mentors could take care of the others. No one would judge me for wanting five more minutes with my friend. She gave me a hug before she went in. I think she was more sad for me than for herself.
Gidget Ford, District Three mentor
Ten Tributes and three mentors, two of which had no idea what to do. Wiress had been withdrawing more and more every year since she'd won, and Beetee was hardly a social butterfly either. That left just me to drift between Tributes, offering encouraging words and last-minute assurances. I couldn't help but think they'd all be for nothing. A hundred and forty-three Tributes, and just ten from my little District. They had as much chance as I did when I was in the Games.
Acee Hal, District Three mentor
My son had black hair just like I did. I wondered if he looked like me from behind. I'd never seen myself from behind, so I wouldn't know. I wished I loved him more. It was like visiting a gravestone, seeing him in front of me. I knew what had been lost but I hadn't felt it at the time. Now it was just an empty marker where a son should have been.
Shane Donegal, District Four mentor
Patrick and I tried not to make eye contact as he sat by the tubes and I sat by the door. I didn't want to seem unfair, even if he was the only reason my stomach was in knots. None of the others tried to talk to me. One of the good things about mentoring Fours was they always thought they could do it on their own. Just like I had.
Careen Ellis, District Four mentor
Daisy and Mahi were doing a little clapping game. Some of the others looked on in disgust, but most of the Tributes seemed oddly invested in it. Both of them, even Daisy, knew what was about to happen, but they refused to let it stop them living every moment of life they had. It didn't seem like the game ad any ending. It was like neither wanted the other to be the loser.
Vera Busattil, District Four mentor
I was a bad person. I looked out at all those faces and didn't care. My daughter wasn't with them and if she wasn't with them, I was happy. Isabella was in her office now, preparing statements and angles for whatever the Bloodbath held. She didn't have to look behind her. Nothing was going to hurt her. I was at peace.
Beth Crissino, District Four mentor
This was it, then. The last moment I was responsible for them and the first they were responsible for themselves. No one could win the Games for you. In the end, your life was your own. I'd done my job. We would see if any of them could do theirs.
Erwin Jackson, District Five mentor
Aurelia wasn't here. In the sea of faces turned upwards towards the tubes, all I could think about was the one who wasn't there. Aurelia wasn't going to be in any more pain. I could bear it, all the rest of the deaths, on that one seed of comfort.
Sky Levings, District Five mentor
I shouldn't have been thinking about Hadley. She wasn't even from my District. It was just that she'd volunteered, just like I had. I wondered if she regretted it like I did. She didn't even get a victory out of it. It might have been her watching from the sidelines, and it might have been me stuck in this cycle of death and rebirth. It chilled me.
Lancia Audren, District Six mentor
I sat on the floor, my legs bent out at the knees and my torso leaned forward until my nose almost touched the floor. I couldn't bring my Tributes home. The best I could possibly do was one of them, and the odds were slim. I couldn't give them anything that would save them. There was always something, though. I could lead them through some stretches. Maybe they'd be a little spryer in those first few minutes. Maybe it would save a life, or give someone thirty more seconds. I gave them the last thing I could.
Hades Rodriguez, District Seven mentor
It might be someone like me who won this time. The Careers always had the advantage, and this time the numbers, but Resurrection Games Arenas tended to be more complicated. It might be an indoor Arena, with more places for people like me to hide. Someone might take my record and be the new youngest Tribute. I'd been praying for it for years.
Loki Saberhagen, District Seven mentor
None of them came to me. They sat alone, staring at walls, or they asked one of the other mentors questions. In a way it made it easier, and in a way it made it harder.
Clair Mushroom, District Seven mentor
Oaken and I sat silently in each others' arms.
Tillo Peters, District Eight mentor
I'd tried not to remember them. For the most part it had worked. After so many years seeing children die, they started to blur, and I let them. For whatever reason, it was Lacey who stuck with me. It might have been how small and innocent she looked next to the others. More likely it was her sister back home.
Nassor Doyle, District Nine mentor
Jeanie and I locked eyes only once during the wait. I didn't see any condemnation in her eyes, but I also didn't see any friendliness. I was just another reason she was here again- not the largest, but still a reason. I looked away quickly and she didn't look again.
Randy Mills, District Nine mentor
The golden band glittered on Dominique's hand. I'd helped Wyatt pick it out, since I'd known more about the regulations that he did. He'd wanted an opal in it, but we hadn't been allowed to include a stone, since it might have been used as a weapon then. So Dominique's ring was a delicate ribbon of two intertwined golden strands. It was almost pure gold, both more glamorous and more fragile. I wondered if their hands would touch before they died.
Calvary Warsaw, District Ten mentor
Anjou looked so pathetic all by himself. Most of the Tributes were alone, but he was the only one who looked abandoned. I had to admit he hadn't given any of the girls any trouble, and his whining had greatly decreased. I guess everyone is capable of change, even if most of us never do. I didn't trust him, but I almost wished he had more time to grow.
Bambi Kirkland, District Ten mentor
The white clothing suggested an indoor Arena. The material was durable but not especially strong- more uncomfortable than durable, perhaps. The shoes had sturdy grips underneath them, like the Arena might be made of ice. I worried for anyone who tried to pivot too sharply. It seemed like if they did their legs would snap at the knee. Once they got started, though, they could run for miles.
Cornflower Fields, District Ten mentor
It wasn't a nice thing about me that I was happy to see some people come back again and again. The world changed so quickly, and it seemed I was the only one left behind. I wasn't proud of the comfort it gave me to see Felix always looking the same. Of course I wanted them all not to die, but I did admit I benefited from this. No change, just the same faces, over and over and over.
Hlenn Rambutan, District Eleven mentor
It really was a resurrection for Stevie, wasn't it? There were people out there whose lives were so bad getting Reaped improved them. At home she and Callum would have been separated and lived out their lives in jail, not even able to see each other. Here she got to live and die with him. Isn't that what they say- til death do us part? They were far beyond that.
Nubu Sanders, District Twelve mentor
Gaius stood rigid, only his knees slightly bent. Peach and Elara sat on a bench, not talking to each other but still supporting each other. Usually I had to fear losing two Tributes in seconds. This time it could very well be eight.