Chapter 9 - Final 8

D1 Citizen - Alfred Opulence - 72

This isn't the first time I've been interviewed by the Capitol, but it'll probably be the last. The last time I was in the situation was over 30 years ago, during the 17th games, when my son was the tribute, and the eventual Victor.

'So what are your opinions on your sons training score?' The Capitol interviewer asks my daughter in law. 'Well we're obviously very proud of Victor's high score, if a little annoyed that a seventeen year old got the same.' She replies.

'And what do you feel about Victor following in your footsteps and being the leader of the career pack?' My son, Lawrence, looks directly at the camera to say his response. 'I am naturally very pleased with Victor, and I'm glad to know that the tactics I used to win my games will still win the games today.' As he finishes his sentence, a small smile appears on his lips.

'So clearly Lawrence is convinced Victor is going to win. What are your opinions Alfred?' I smile as I begin to respond 'Everyone knows that Vic is coming home this year, it's impossible for him not to. The 4's are already dead and the 2's are young siblings. Of course there is his district partner, but they have training partners their whole lives and Victor will be able to predict her every move. I'm confident that I will see my grandson again.'

'Finally, Joseph, what are your thoughts on Victor currently coming first in the predicted placements from the Capitol?' The boy says something about his best friend being strong, and being able to pull through, as I try to remember what I said in Lawrence's interview. I can hear my late wife's quiet sobs when she heard his predicted was 3rd. She didn't think our boy could make it home.

I hope she believes this one can.

D1 Citizen - Chrysoberyl Medura - 10

As what feels like the whole neighbourhood piles into my living room I hear the Capitol man shout 'Action!' before turning to mommy and daddy. 'Sapphire scored a 9 in training, any thoughts on that?' Mommy replies: 'Naturally we wanted her to get a score in double digits. However, we are still incredibly proud of her, and we know that even though she didn't get as high a score as we hoped, she can easily pull through and win these games.'

Next he turns his gaze to where Saph's friends are sitting and asks 'What do you think of her 1 kill, did you expect her to have more by now, less?' Sapphy's girlfriend (Desiree) quickly answers. 'I think her kill count is what I'd expected from her. She had a solid bloodbath kill, and is waiting for further on in the games to up her kills.'

'So how many kills do you think she'll total at?' He asks in the same direction. 'I think 3. Her bloodbath, obviously. One of the outliners that are left and then whoever she faces in the finale.' Sapphire's best friend Lula replies.

'Finally, Chrys. What do you think about your sisters alliance with Victor.' I smile nervously before answering 'Well, I think that it's really nice that Sapphy and Vic are allied. They know each other really well and it makes me happy that the district 1s are sticking together! I just hope that Saph remembers that she has to make sure Victor doesn't win so I can see her again!' I smile brighter once I finish my little speech.

The Capitol man thanks us as he leaves, and I shake his hand politely. He looks a little bit like he wants to laugh, but the door shuts before I find out if he ever does.

D2 Citizen - Marcus Aurum - 16

I duck my head as I enter Carlos's home through a low doorway and I feel myself swallowed up by the depressing atmosphere. This is the kind of scene you would expect to see in an outer district, not a career one. I always forget that the Bridges are a mining family, as most of the kids that train for the games are from peacekeeper and weaponry owner families like mine.

As I go and sit down I feel the chair wobble slightly, and start hoping that it won't randomly collapse. The Capitol interviewer positions himself in front of me before asking. 'Carlos got an 8 in training, the lowest career score. Have you got anything to say about that?' I consider for a second before replying, 'It's not that surprising that Carlos got the lowest career score, after all he has the disadvantage of being the youngest, at only 16, and when you compare it to all the other tributes he still got a score in the top 8, showing that he is a strong contender.'

As I finish my answer he looks over to Natalia and asks 'What do you think about Carlos volunteering 2 years early?' She looks around nervously before answering 'I think that he definitely had skill, and after the failures of the last few tributes, a younger volunteer is definitely going to do some good.'

D2 Citizen - Tiberius Bridge - 49

I hold my breath, I have a feeling he's going to ask about Carlos and Carlotta. But suddenly his gaze shifts over to my wife, '3 kills as of now, joint highway with Victor, what do you think about that Catrina?' She breathes an audible sigh of relief before answering, 'I'm incredibly proud of my daughter for her kill count, she had the highest number of bloodbath kills and took out someone that had been a previous issue for the careers.'

I see him turn to me and say 'Carlotta got an impressive 11 in training. Is this what you expected?' I smile slightly before answering 'Not that I didn't expect my daughter to do well, but after volunteering a year early I thought a 10 was the highest score she was going to get. Clearly I was wrong, as she managed to top the leaderboard along with Victor.'

Satisfied with my answer the interviewer questions my wife next 'A predicted placement of 2nd, that's impressive for a younger career, do you think Carlotta will achieve her predicted place, or that she will go on to win?' Catrina glances towards me before saying 'I think that Carlotta has enough skill to win. However I'm not sure if she will make the choice to pull through.'

'That brings me nicely onto my next point!' The interviewer says - making my heart drop. 'Obviously Carlotta and Carlos are siblings, how do you think this is going to affect the outcome of the games?' I feel my eyes prick with tears but I look directly into the camera as I answer, 'My daughter could easily be the Victor of this years games. But as any older sister would, she loves her little brother with all she is. And if they - as I predict - make it to the finale together, then there is no way, in any district of Panem, that Carlotta would be the one returning home.'

As the interviewer and his crew trail out of our house I feel my wife's arms around my waist. 'I wish there was a way out of this…' I hear her whisper, before l reply 'So do I Catrina. So do I.'

D7 Citizen - Jack Palmer - 16

I trail into the office of 7's community home, thankful to be given time off work. In the cramped room I see a Capitol interviewer, surrounded by cameras, and I stop in my tracks. 'Hello John! Please, take a seat!' I look at him awkwardly before muttering, 'Sorry sir, but my names Jack. Are you sure I'm meant to be here?' He looks at me closely, before quickly asking 'You are Tegan Birch's friend correct?' I respond slowly, 'Um, I'm her ex-boyfriend.' He nods he head in response. 'That's who we needed, why did you make it so difficult Joe?'

I sigh and look around the office, wondering if I'm going to be on my own. Thankfully I don't need to ask this question as I hear a cameraman say 'Only one person on her list! How depressing!'

'Right James, Tegan got an impressive 7 in training! Anything to say about that?' The interviewer queries. 'Not really' I see him glare at me, 'Um, it's pretty nice that she got a good score, I guess she's had lots of practice using an axe from growing up here in 7 and that impressed the gamemakers…' I trail off at the end and see his disappointed face.

'Two kills so far, did you think Tegan had it in her?' He asks, before I answer honestly. 'The Tegan in the 52nd Games is not the Tegan I knew. Maybe she's changed or maybe I didn't ever know the real her but my Tegan wouldn't be able to hurt a fly. Clearly this version of her is a very different person.'

'Tegan's latest stunt was when she cried out: Jack! Oh Jack! What do you think of me now!' I nod wondering where he's going with this. 'Do you think the change that has overcome her has anything to do with you?' I hear myself quietly answer 'When we were, a thing, I guess I would sometimes tell her to grow up. Something along the lines of it's a dog eat dog world and stuff like that. I'm not sure but maybe when she was reaped she finally took what I said to heart…'

I trail off but this time I don't see disappointment in the interviewer's eyes. Instead I hear him say, 'Thank you Josh, maybe Tegan can make it past her predicted placement of 6th and make it back to 7!' He says cheerily, although any moron could tell he didn't believe it.

The cameras are cut and I'm ushered out of the office, and sent back to work. A thought lingering in my head:

Do I really want Tegan to come home?

D9 Citizen - Terrey Dagan - 19

The atmosphere of our little home isn't happy, and that's to put it lightly. Mam is lying on the floor, staring into space and occasionally mumbling to imaginary people. Maudlin's sitting restlessly on my lap, completely oblivious to the situation we're in.

I see the Capitol camera crew look at each other, confused by Mam's decided place to reside. I notice Casper's friend Bernie trying to fight his way through the interview crew and as a small gap opens up he runs to sit next to me. From what I can remember he's part of one of the religious families, but he seems like a sweet kid.

'A four in training, the lowest of the final 8!' The interviewer states 'Any thoughts about that?' He directs his question to Bernie. 'Um, I think that he didn't do too bad, he got two more points than the lowest scoring person and was barely below average. Considering a seventeen year old got a 5 he didn't do that badly.'

The interviewer gives him a look of sympathy, as if saying 'If you really want to believe that I'm not gonna stop you!' And then turns his attention to the little girl on my lap. 'Your brother is allied with Matt from district 10. How do you feel about this?' Maud looks at him blankly and quietly asks me where Casper is, before I hear my mam start screeching.

'CASPER! DOES THE BOY HAVE CASPER?' She screams as the interviewer shuffles backwards. 'So Ms Dagan, are you upset with your son's choice of ally?' She starts clawing at her hair before yelling 'DOES THE BOY HAVE CASPER?! DO YOU KNOW WHERE MY CASPER IS?!' I see a cameraman look to me for help, and I point to the old wooden stairs that lead up to our little bedroom.

The camera turns back to Maudlin as two of the Capitol guys pull Mam upstairs. As the interviewer repeats his question I feed Maudlin a short line. 'Casper is nice and his friend is nice. I'm happy they're together…' she hides her face in my chest as the bright light of the camera flashes.

Finally the interviewer directs his question to me, 'A predicted placement of 8th, do you think your little brother will be the next to die?' I pause before answering. 'Although I hate to admit it, I think we all know that Casper isn't returning to 9. I don't doubt that he could outlive his predicted place but honestly if he has to die it might be kinder for it to be sooner rather than later.'

I wipe my eyes and hear the interviewer cheerfully exclaim some closing words. Just as the Capitol crew leave our home I hear Mam start yelling.

D10 Citizen - Eria Sable - 18

'Interview day!' I whisper to the baby in my arms, as Austin ushers us out of our room. As we walk through to the packed living room I pull Fawn close.

This isn't gonna be easy.

'An 8 in training - a career score. How do you feel about your sons impressive training performance?' The interviewer asks in the direction of Matt's parents.

'We're obviously very proud, a good score can get sponsors.' Bruce (Matt's father) says. His wife then carries on, 'We were all quite scared it would make Matt a target, but I don't think that was the case.'

The interviewer nods when she finishes and turns to Blake and Austin. 'What do you think of Matt's current alliance?' He asks.

Blake speaks up, 'I think his alliance with Casper really shows how kind he is. He chose to protect a little kid - risking himself.' And I see Austin nod in approval.

'Finally, Eria. It's not often we have a married Tribute, let alone one with a child! Tell me, what do you think of Matt's predicted placement?'

'Well my fiancé Matt is very skilled, so I'm not surprised he had a predicted place of 4th. But I think he can beat this prediction and win the Games, after all he has his whole family - including his daughter - rooting for him.' I finish and see Austin meet my eyes and smile.

It can't have gone to badly then.

The Capitol crew quickly pack up, and before we know it we're on our own again. The only thought in our heads being:

Can Matt make it home?

D10 Citizen - Tilda Bullock - 14

Last, and probably least, the Capitol people trail into Bella's house.

Her Aunt Martha and I sit looking awkwardly at each other before the voice of the interviewer cuts through the silence.

'Martha, your niece achieved a 6 in training, quite an impressive score for a 14 year old. What do you think of that?'

She slowly responds, 'I'm glad she didn't do badly. She got a good score for a young outliner, I just hope this leads to sponsors.'

Next the man addresses me saying, 'Arabella has 1 kill, are you at all surprised by this?'

'I'm pretty surprised I guess. But I don't think Bella really knew what she was doing, her survival instincts kicked in when she threw the knife, and when she… ended the boy from 3 it was a mercy kill more than anything.' I look down at the floor when I finish.

'Finally, Arabella has a predicted place of 7th. Do you think this is accurate or will she do better?'

I decide not to let Martha voice her opinion, which mostly consists of 'Arabella's gonna die' and say, 'It would be difficult, but I think Bella can make it home. She has motivation, and clearly some skill, so I think it's not impossible for me to see her again."

All the adults in the room look at me with pity, but I ignore them and smile at the camera.

It's the least I can do for my best friend.

This chapter has been written for ages, and I thought I uploaded it lol. Anyways, I know this is a bit of a filler chapter, but I like seeing the games from 'Another' Eye' (I'm very proud of that chapter 6 reference) and however much I love the tributes they can get a bit repetitive. As of right now I'm about halfway through chapter 10 (although that means nothings cos I'm very unreliable) but I'll try to get it out soon!