District 12 female – Fox Harlow, 12

Run away from the bloodbath. Stay and get equipment to help yourself later. Have allies. Don't have allies. Make people like you for sponsors but have a target on your back... make people not care about you and have no one after you...

Thoughts of how I was going to win the Hunger Games were spinning around in my mind in an infinite loop. I didn't want to think about the possibility that perhaps my sister and my friends wouldn't be able to convince enough people to vote for me and I'd end up still being executed. The idea of the Hunger Games was scary, but an execution had a guaranteed fatality.

I was lying on my back on the floor of my cell, staring at the ceiling. It was mid-afternoon on the day before the reaping. I had placed a vote the other day, just voting for random people from my school who I didn't care about. What would I do if another girl's name was called? I would be executed. Head gone... blood everywhere... Lysa upset... me dead...

No. It wouldn't happen. I had faith in Lysa to be able to get me into those games. For now, I just wait to lay in my cell and slowly go into madness, hopefully only for one more day before I went off to the Capitol.

As the hours passed by, my anxiety only grew stronger. I knew I had to distract myself from these morbid thoughts, so I got up and began pacing around my cell, trying to shake off the feeling of impending doom. I needed to focus on the game plan, on the possibilities that lay ahead.

First and foremost, I had to survive the reaping. If Lysa's efforts succeeded and I found myself on that stage on reaping day, I needed to be ready. I would calmly make my way onto that stage and give a small smile and nod to the camera. I knew that no one would be rooting for me at first, because I was twelve years old and from District 12, so I wanted the potential sponsors to be impressed by my maturity at the reaping and therefore thinking that I'd have game.

Being calm and not making a scene would also not draw too much attention to myself, which would mean the other tributes wouldn't place a target on my back.

When I got up off the floor and stood up, I felt my legs rocking and yellow spots appeared in my vision. It took me a second before I could see properly again. I'd constantly been feeling dizzy since I arrived at the prison. Some other prisoners said it must be because of the lack of food here, but it wasn't like I got to eat that much when I was at home, so that didn't make any sense. Maybe it was because of the stress of execution and now the stress of the Hunger Games.

If I got reaped into the Hunger Games, that would mean that just tomorrow night I'd be all dressed up in some coal miner outfit and on a chariot with my district partner, being shown off to the Capitol like a show pony. Maybe they'd expect me to dance and sing for the Capitolites. I hated singing and dancing.

The prospect of performing for the Capitolites was unsettling, but I knew I had to play the part if I wanted to gain sponsors and increase my chances of survival. The chariot ride was just the beginning; the real challenge lay ahead in the arena. I had to strategize and stay one step ahead of the competition.

I spent the rest of the day planning my approach. I decided I wouldn't form any alliances in the arena. While allies could provide support, they could also be a liability, and forming connections could paint a bigger target on my back. I had to rely on my own instincts and skills to navigate the deadly challenges.

As evening approached, I sat down on the cold floor of my cell and closed my eyes, trying to steady my breathing and find some semblance of calm amidst the chaos of my thoughts. I focused on my sister Lysa, hoping she was making progress in swaying the Capitol's favour. I imagined her charisma and charm captivating potential sponsors, presenting me as a determined young girl from District 12, worthy of their support.

The next morning the other prisoners and I were taken out of the prison together and towards the town centre for the reaping. It felt like all of my organs were in a washing machine inside my stomach, and that every single person in the district was staring at me. Maybe they were. Almost everyone knew who I was. The twelve-year-old girl who had killed her sister's ex.

I walked into the line of girls and scanned the section of sixteen-year-olds for Lysa. I couldn't see her anywhere, so I wouldn't be able to get a nod of confirmation that enough people had voted for me. The suspense was killing me.

The escort came onto the stage once we were all ready and, in our lines, and I felt my stomach flip again. This was it... the moment of truth. Would I be executed, or would I be saved by the Hunger Games?

The escort was providing us with the long history of Panem, and I wanted her to just get on with it. I couldn't deal with waiting a single second longer. I needed to know. Finally, finally, she looked down at her tablet to announce the female tribute.

"The female tribute from District 12 is Fox Harlow!" she called out through the microphone.

I let out a long breath of relief, then made my way out of the line and towards the stage. Once I was up there and the escort was announcing the male tribute, I looked out at the crowd and finally found Lysa. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she wasn't looking at me. She was looking off to the side as if she couldn't even bare to look at me.

I shook hands with the boy who'd been chosen, then went into the goodbye room. Lysa and my parents came in first, Lysa still in tears. My parents had been extremely disappointed after finding out what I'd done to Lysa's ex, and they seemed quite uncertain about me going into the games, but Lysa seemed to have hope.

I wrapped my arms around her and tried to stop myself from crying. I could have cried in her arms all day, but I knew they only had a small amount of time before they had to leave and I had to get on the train to go to the Capitol. But I still held onto my sister until the peacekeepers kicked them out and sent the next set of people in, my three closest friends, Alby, Fleur, and Yara.

Alby threw her arms around me as soon as they came into the room. She was my best friend in the whole world, having stayed by my side every day since we were toddlers. Fleur and Yara tried to encourage me, but part of me wasn't feeling too great about going into the games anymore.

But, at least I wasn't going to be executed...

District 12 male – Zevran Karras, 18

CW: Sex

I had just railed the man I was supposed to be killing. Now, as I lay down beside him, both of us panting, the thought of just killing him right there crossed my mind a million times. But I couldn't. I didn't feel much for Vang other than a mutual physical attraction, but how was I supposed to kill him?

As I lay there catching my breath, my mind raced with conflicting thoughts and emotions. This mission had already taken a toll on me, and I couldn't afford to let my guard down now. Vang was on the top of Gray's list of people for me to kill, and if I didn't finish the job, I could lose my home and job.

Despite the tangled mess of emotions, I knew I had to be decisive and focused. It was a matter of survival, and the Gray expected nothing less than success. Killing Vang had been my mission since the beginning, but now that the opportunity was right in front of me, I hesitated.

As Vang's breathing began to steady, he turned his head and looked into my eyes. There was a moment of vulnerability that flashed across his face, and I saw a flicker of something beyond the ruthless façade of a peacekeeper dropout that he usually displayed.

"Are you real?" he asked me in a whisper.

"Of course I'm real," I responded, with no real emotion in my voice.

"You're so hot, Zevran."

"I know," I said.

"Everything about you... your face, your body... your dick..."

"Alright, Vang," I said, shuffling away from him a little. Maybe he did love me after all. God, love. What a disgusting concept.

"I want you again tomorrow night," said Vang. "Can we meet at yours?"

"No," I said, my mind immediately going to Gray. God, imagine seeing the guy you want your best assassin to kill come into your home with your best assassin. "Absolutely not."

"Well, I can't do it here, my girlfriend's going to have friends over," he said.

"Where is she tonight?" I asked.

"Out with her 'friends', apparently," he sighed. "I don't think she loves me."

"Do you love her?"

"I prefer you, Zev..." said Vang.

"OK, well, I should head home," I said, pushing the blanket off and grabbing my pants off the floor.

"Now?"

"Yes, now," I said.

"Oh, OK..."

"Bye."

Maybe I was a little rude to Vang sometimes. But I didn't like to get emotionally attached to anyone, as an assassin. It just wasn't in my nature. Plus, I was generally a rude person. Warmth wasn't a word in my vocabulary.

So I didn't wake up next to Vang the next morning, I woke up on the hard floor of Gray's home, where I woke up every other morning. I was going to go out to 'hunt' for Vang as soon as I was up, but Gray told me that I had to stay because there was a compulsory viewing of the Hunger Games.

I stared at the tiny projector screen in the middle of the house, squinting as President Snow made his way onto the screen, beginning to greet the citizens of Panem and going on about the reasoning of this Quarter Quell thing. Finally, finally, he told us that the twist was that each district would vote in their tributes and that the voting would open the next day.

I didn't really have any worries about being voted into the games, since I never showed my face when I was killing people. I was an assassin in the shadows, after all.

The day felt unusually long as I waited for the right moment to slip away from Gray's home and find Vang. The compulsory viewing had left me anxious and distracted, knowing that the Hunger Games would inevitably change everything in Panem once again. But I couldn't let that deter me from my mission. Vang's life was on the line, and my survival depended on successfully eliminating him.

As the sun began to set, I managed to find a moment of solitude and quietly escaped from Gray's watchful eye. My mind raced with thoughts of Vang and the strange encounter we had shared. It bothered me that he seemed to harbour feelings for me, but I couldn't afford to let emotions cloud my judgment.

Navigating the dimly lit streets of the district, I eventually found my way to the run-down building where Vang was holed up. My heart pounded in my chest as I approached, my hand instinctively reaching for the concealed weapon at my side. But as I stood outside his door, I hesitated once more.

What was I doing? Why couldn't I just get it over with? I had never struggled like this with a target before. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of loud voices inside. His girlfriend and all her friends were there. I couldn't kill him... it was an excuse not to...

I knew damn well that I was capable of hiding from everyone else and killing him swiftly as I made my way back towards Gray's house.

The reaping day was the following weekend when we'd all find out who had been voted into the Hunger Games. Gray had been pestering me all week about Vang, but I just brushed it off and told him that I couldn't find Vang.

I borrowed some clothes off of Vang the previous night to wear to the reaping, including nice black dress pants and a vermillion-coloured dress suit. I would have worn my own clothes, but Vang had more money than I did and therefore nicer clothes and most of my own clothes had stained blood on them from my many assassinations.

I lined up with the other boys my age and looked up at the escort, not really paying attention to what they were saying and just looking down at the ground.

The female was announced, and I didn't even look up to see her. I wouldn't take any risks in showing my face, even if here I was seen as a random citizen of District 12.

And then the male was announced, and it was... me. Zevran Karras. How was I meant to stay under the radar now!? I was off to the Capitol, and all of it would be on live TV.

God, the Capitol had a stick up its ass. I hadn't taken the voting seriously so maybe that's why they'd put me into these dumb games. But then, as I was making my way to the stage, I caught a glimpse of Gray, and his smile told me everything. He was doubting me because I wasn't killing Vang, and maybe he thought I would kill him. So he'd gotten everyone to vote me in.

He was doubting me, and now I was doubting myself. And I never doubted myself, that was not in my nature. I shook hands with the girl, whose hand was the tiniest hand I'd ever seen, then went back into the goodbye room.

Vang came in first, distraught. He pressed his lips against mine and started to go on about how he felt like the world was taking away the one person he cared about. And though I wouldn't admit it to his face, I cared about Vang as well.

After Vang left, I thought there wouldn't be any more visitors, until someone else walked in. A girl who I hadn't seen since I was fourteen, yet I would always recognise.

Rena Kadaris. Gray's daughter.

And, after Vang, on the top of my list of people I was meant to kill.

Well, all of your tributes now know that they are off to the Hunger Games. Who's your favourite? Has that changed since the introduction chapters? Who do you think will win? Who do you want to win?