Rowena Aspen- District Seven male (14)

Someone was watching me throw axes. I felt the eyes on the back of my head. Since it wasn't an especially creepy feeling I gathered it wasn't a Career- that, or my psychic abilities were really crummy. I pretended to look at a very interesting nothing on the wall so I could peek at whoever it was.

Isn't that Beetee's kid? That was rough. Poor guy already had to go through the Games and now this. Not trying to say anything, but the math isn't mathing. Looking at Ai's complexion compared to Beetee's, and the fact that I'd never heard about Beetee having a partner, I was going to go ahead and guess he was adopted. Rough life, kid. First his family dies and then he gets Reaped.

Maybe the kid saw me peeking or maybe he just worked up the nerve, but in either case he started over. I set down the axe so I wouldn't spook him.

"Hey. You're pretty good with those," the boy said.

"Thanks," I said. "You're Beetee's kid, right?"

"Yeah. Ai," he said.

"Did Beetee rename you or is that your real name? It's just funnily fitting for Beetee's kid," I said.

"No, that really was my name. It IS fitting though," Ai said.

"So what have you been learning?" I asked. I wasn't opposed to some allies. I was kind of looking for people near my age anyway.

"I already know some stuff since Dad was always worried this would happen," Ai said. "I kind of want to learn throwing knives, too."

"Oh, that sounds super fun! I bet I'd be good at it," I said. "We should go try."

"Really?" Ai smiled. "I thought people might count me out since I'm young, but I can do a lot."

"What, you angling for allies?" I asked.

"I'm looking, yeah," Ai said.

I shrugged. "Sounds kind of fun." He seemed like a cool guy. If he turned out to be a terrible ally I could just ditch him.

"Wow, just like that? I thought this would be harder," Ai said.

"I like to go with the flow," I said. "You looking for more than one, though? I guess I should have asked that first. I was thinking I want maybe two or three allies."

"That's all right," Ai said. "I'm hoping to maybe get an older ally too. I'm probably a tough sell but at least I'll get lots of sponsors because of Dad."

"Oh, I didn't think of that. We'll be living in a tent and eating steak," I said. If this turned out right it could be better than home, except the people trying to kill me part. Sometimes people at home got crushed by trees. That's kinda dangerous.

"Maybe people will be impressed you can throw axes," Ai offered.

"They should be. I'm really good."

Josie Stone- District Twelve female (12)

I wasn't looking for an ally so much as I was looking for a mark. No one would get a strategic advantage from being allies with me. What I needed was a sap- someone soft and sentimental enough to want to help a little girl. There was a good chance there just plain wouldn't be any and I would be out of luck, but I had to give it a shot.

My first thought was the animal girls. The Four girl, the Ten girl and the Five girl had banded together and they looked more like a gaggle of girlfriends than a strategic alliance. I could fake liking animals. I did like animals as much as the next person. I didn't just run around kicking puppies or anything. What held me back was the sneaking suspicion of people who couldn't shut up about animals. Animals are cool but some people seemed to compete about how much they could value animals above humans. I like puppies but if it was me or a puppy that thing was getting stomped. Luckily for my PR, I didn't think stomping puppies would be part of the Games.

One of the nice things about being small is most people don't look at you. I could take some peeks at my competition and most thought I was just a curious or maybe nervous kid. This wasn't to say I was some mastermind cunningly spying on the others. I was just trying to figure out who might want to ally with me, like plenty of the others were.

From what I'd heard from Nubu, Lana and Tommy weren't looking for allies. That took care of them. My ideal alliance would be a couple of people my age and then one older person. The people my age would be meat shields and the older ally would be my protector. Most Careers wouldn't go for us right away because we're not a threat anyway. That would give me time to make some plans. Anyway, my first possibility was Cactus. He seemed strong and intelligent but also very personable and charming. He'd get us sponsors and he could keep us safe. Then I saw him look at Yarrow as she passed by and I went cold. He'd thought no one was looking and his eyes had gone sharkish. It was a soulless flat stare that I'd seen before. Most people that struck up a conversation with a little girl were friendly or concerned. Some of them were something else. The kids like me who couldn't see that right away didn't get to my age. I looked away from Cactus before he could see I'd made him. I didn't need that kind of trouble.

Speaking of Yarrow, she seemed to keep to herself. Same with Taylor, who hadn't said a word all day. Not that I was being sexist about this. I was looking at the fellas as well. Enzo, who hadn't left the firemaking station although he'd clearly already mastered it, didn't strike me as the intelligent or reliable type. Trayne seemed laid-back and capable, though, if his encounter with Dorian meant anything. I'd keep my eye on him.

"Good shot!"

I looked over and saw Robbie giving Ai a single clap at the throwing knives station.

Oh? An older Tribute who likes kids?

"Thanks!" Ai smiled and they high-fived. "Ready for lunch?"

Ohh? An older Tribute who's already allied with one little kid? I didn't need to look anymore. My alliance had already started.

Ai Latier- District Three male (12)

Maybe I should have been spending more tiime with my allies and less with my dad, but... did I have to say it? If Dad thought it would make a real difference he'd bring it up himself.

Tomorrow I'll invite them to our workout, I decided. That would give me some social time with them. Dad and I had had our workout routine for years. It had been meant to stay healthy and keep a basic level of cardio ability but now it might be life or death. It curdled my stomach thinking of my morning runs with Dad and comparing that to what running would be in the Games.

"I know this is hard, but you need to be prepared for leaving your alliance," Dad said during our cooldown. It was easier to talk during yoga than during cardio.

"But they seem nice," I said, though I already knew where this was going and that he was right. Josie and Rowena seemed really cool, but not cool enough to die for. Surely they thought the same as me. Probably at least one of us wouldn't even survive the Bloodbath. I guess that would make leaving them easier.

Dad's voice was both tender and resigned. "I know, squirt, but I want my boy back."

"Well until then, they seem nice," I tried again. "Josie's kind of immature but Rowena is really cool. I honestly think she really wouldn't betray me unless she absolutely have to. I guess you can't ask more than that."

Dad didn't have to say anything for me to know it wasn't Rowena he was worried about. Of course I'd thought about it, too. What kind of strong older kid wants to team up with the kids' table? Was using us for sponsors? Trying to get us all in one place for easier kills at the Bloodbath? I couldn't even be mad if he was using us for sponsors. We were using him for his strength. And I doubted he'd go to all that effort for Bloodbath kills. It would make him a target for the Careers and they would kill us for him if he just ran away.

Dad would kill them for me. I wasn't scared or thrilled by the thought. It had just come to me that Dad was very much smart enough to somehow game the sponsor system and he very much would to keep me safe. He wouldn't even hesitate. It felt a little guilty about how secure it made me feel. It was just not every kid had a father he was that safe with. It was a morbid way to think about it but it was true.

"I'm going to try to come home for you," I said.

I knew Dad wasn't trembling because of the pose. He was trembling because I'd said "try".

Robbie Emmer- District Nine male (18)

Generally the Tribute pair from a District had some meetings alone with their mentor and some together. It was a bit awkward, since Amberlynne and I weren't allying, but we were still friendly so it wasn't too bad. As Amberlynne went through a few things with Nassor I took the opportunity to focus on the weird but delicious meat soupy sauce thing we were eating. It was spicy, both in a hot and a fragrant way, with spices I'd definitely never heard of. It was a nice warm bright yellow color like eating the sun.

"How about you?"

I looked up with a little embarrassment as I noticed Nassor was looking at me.

"Me? Uh, I made some allies," I said. I hadn't been sure how to broach that topic. My allies weren't exactly the strongest of the bunch.

"Oh, good!" Nassor looked so enthusiastic I felt guilty. "Who?"

"Well, Josie's really smart. She's been working on the water purification station."

Nassor's expression shifted just a little."Okay. Anyone else?"

"Ai's going to get us a lot of sponsors and he already has a lot of skills since Beetee taught him." Ai was probably my most conventionally valuable ally so I was counting on him to make our alliance look stronger.

"Any allies closer to your own age?" Nassor asked politely.

"Rowena is fourteen," I said.

Nassor gave a sad but also a little amused smile. "I suppose Tommy is part of this too?"

"No, not him," I said. "He said no."

Nassor tried to think of something to say as Amberlynne tried not to smile.

"But Rowena knows throwing axes," I added. "And not just like she's seem them since she lives in Seven. She worked in the lumberyards and actually used them."

"Well that's nice," Nassor allowed.

"They'll probably get lots of sponsors," Amberlynne offered.

"You know people are going to die."

Amberlynne and I both looked down at our plates. I could hype up my alliance as much as I wanted. I could try to say that we had unconventional skills and this was really a good thing. Nassor was my mentor. He had to tell me the truth.

"It's not fair," I said. Yes, I knew people were going to die. It didn't make it right to just watch it happen. Ai and Josie and probably Rowena were going to die if someone didn't help them. Weren't they important enough to try to save?

"It won't be fair no matter what you do," Nassor said. I could hear the memories in his words. I couldn't deny what he was saying because he'd been there.

"It's not fair to leave them to die. I can help them and at least I'll be doing what's right." My chest was tight as I spoke. I knew it was hopeless. I wasn't stupid. It still didn't make it right to leave children to die. I was almost certainly going to die anyway. What difference did it make to anything but my integrity?

"It's your life." There were so many ways to hear that and Nassor left it open for me to decide. It was my life and I shouldn't throw it away. It was my life and it would be ending if I did this. It was my life and that meant it was my decision.

"Sometimes underdogs win," I insisted. Usually they didn't, or they wouldn't be underdogs. We all hope for the plucky long-shot to win it all and usually they don't but we all hope this will be one of those times they do.

"I've seen it happen," Nassor said, smiling just a little. No one had thought Soleil would win, or Hades, or plenty of others. Most Victors were the same cookie-cutter Careers but sometimes the little guy won out. Even if we didn't, I still tried. That was something to be proud of.