Author's Note
I do not own the Hunger Games.
District Twelve Female, Calida Blackwell, 17
Cali had always wanted to see one of the kiddies that studied under her do more than become a miner and go further than District Twelve.
She'd never expected that kid to be her, nor to be dragged from her home by peacekeepers to be thrown into a van and then a hovercraft.
One of the boys here she recognised, the goat boy with a habit of causing trouble. The other she didn't at first, though with some more thinking, she did vaguely recognise his face. He only spoke once during the entire journey, which didn't help her attempts to recognise him. The girl, meanwhile, just seemed to be confused about where she was, where they were going, and who the others with her were in general.
"It's Kai, isn't it?" she said to the quieter boy.
He nodded.
"Why don't you want to work with us?"
"Because he's weird," said the goat boy, shoving Kai in the shoulder. "He never talks, he always asks people, he spends half his time reading–"
Cali was beginning to understand why Kai never spoke to anyone. While many in the District were understanding of those different from them, many others were not.
"Look," she said to Kai. His Seam grey eyes found her identical pair. She leaned towards him. "Sometimes people don't want to talk to people, or just want to be alone. That's fine. But right now, we don't know where we're going, and it's probably best not to be alone."
Kai glanced at the goat boy.
"I'll make sure he stops being so aggravating," Cali said.
Kai nodded, fidgeting with his hands. Guilt glittered inside her. Oh. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I don't know any sign language."
Kai didn't look surprised, though Cali still felt terrible. If she survived this, she'd have to learn some sign, so she could still assist kids like Kai.
District Eleven Male, Bakula Kalanit, 12
Saigon didn't look his usual composed self. He was pale and trembling, his eyes wide. Every so often, he would glance at one of the peacekeepers all funny, and then look back to him and the others aboard.
"Have our parents done something?" asked Bakula.
"Your District has defied the Capitol. A price must be paid."
The hovercraft gave a funny little jerk and lowered, landing a thud that went straight through him.
"But what does that mean?" Bakula shouted as his cuffs were released from the bar.
The other boy, who looked a little older than him, glanced at him. "It means we're going to die."
The ramp lowered, and they were each grabbed by two peacekeepers each before being shoved into line.
"Let's go."
Saigon was at the front, and twisted back to look at them. "Bakula, Dove! We might be separated here, but we find each other later, okay? Find me later!"
"Move!" The peacekeepers holding him gave him a rough shove and he stumbled, almost going face-first down the ramp. One of the peacekeepers pulled him back at the last moment.
The peacekeepers marched him down the ramp. They'd landed in a huge hanger, with another two hovercrafts alongside his. More teenagers were being unloaded from their own holds.
"Let's go," said one of the peacekeepers holding him.
Bakula threw up on his shiny boots.
District Nine Male, Wolf Willows, 18
"Ready for landing," said one of the peacekeepers.
"Where are we?" asked the younger girl, bouncing her leg up and down.
"The playground."
The engines rumbled under them. The hovercraft slowed and dropped, then lurched as it came to a rest on the ground.
"Remain in your seats until released," said the female peacekeeper.
Wren leaned heavily against his shoulder, her golden hair fanning out across him. "I don't want to leave you."
"They can't keep us apart."
That was his biggest fear and would be Wren's biggest nightmare. Neither of them had ever been apart for long. And there were so many people here. Wren would hate it.
Two peacekeepers moved to grab him, while a third disconnected his cuffs from the rail under the seat.
"Don't touch me!" hissed Wren, drawing away from their hands. One man laughed and ruffled her hair.
"Feisty."
"She's not a dog!" complained the young local girl.
"Named after one though," grunted the peacekeeper.
"Move," said another, jabbing his gun into Wolf's back.
"Where are you taking us?" demanded the other boy. "You can't arrest us for something we might do! I'm not a criminal!"
"You're a player," said the peacekeeper holding him.
"I'm sure he gets all the girls," muttered the local girl with a grin.
The boy laughed. "Oh, tons. They just can't resist my poor, orphan studs."
"Let's go!" snapped the female peacekeeper, who seemed to be the one in charge.
They were marched from the hovercraft into a large hall. Around them, others were being shoved from their own hovercrafts.
"Players..?" whispered the local girl.
This looked more like the Hunger Games.
District Four Female, Arika Tulius, 16
She, Zale, Tristan, and Nixxie were marched from the hovercraft into a large, stone hanger. Two more hovercrafts were parked alongside theirs, and other teenagers being marched from them by peacekeepers.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
One of the peacekeepers jabbed her in the back with his gun. "Quiet, you!"
"I just–"
"Keep moving!"
She peered across at the other teenagers. They looked thinner and scrawnier than her, dressed in ragged clothes.
"Where are you from?" she called.
"District Six!" replied a boy from the other side of the hanger. The peacekeeper with him smacked him round the head with his gun.
District Six.
That probably meant the boy from the other hovercraft, between her and the one that spoke, was from Five.
Teenagers from different Districts. Arika didn't like where this was going. There was too many for the Hunger Games, surely, but the peacekeeper did say they'd been chosen for a game.
She was shoved through the metal door into a long, white corridor that lead down and down. They must be going underground. Or be inside a mountain. Arika wasn't sure.
She tried to look back at Zale, but the peacekeepers pulled her onwards. She had adored her brother when she was little. He was her hero. Now they did nothing but fight, and Arika wasn't sure she could rely on him.
District Six Male, Mercury Jezyk, 15
The other boy seemed to have mostly awoken by the time the peacekeepers dragged them from the hovercraft. One of the girls continued to spit and snarl insults, struggling against their grip on her.
"I won't be your entertainment, you fuckers!"
Mercury kept his head down as they were marched across the large hall and through a heavy door into a bland white passageway.
"Where are we going?" asked the other girl, the quieter one with the Rubik's.
"For preparation," replied the peacekeeper holding him.
"Fuck no!" snapped the louder girl.
"Preparation for what?" asked Mercury. There were other hovercrafts here, with others being dragged from them in a very similar fashion.
"The Punishment Game."
"Of course you twisted bastards would come up with something like this!" shouted the louder girl.
"Tell 'em, kid!" came an answering shout from somewhere, followed by a hissed, "Terro!"
"What does 'twisted bastards' mean?" asked another boy.
They turned down another passage before Mercury heard the answer to that.
They were marched down what felt like an endless white corridor, taking several twists and turns, until at last he was separated from the others and stopped at a door.
"In," grunted the peacekeeper.
District One Male, Marcellus Pontmercy, 17
The first room they entered was annoyingly bland, with nothing to say where he was or why. Marcellus glanced around.
"Please stand before the screen," declared a voice from the speaker.
Marcellus stepped up, holding his head high, and took the position. He'd always been so careful, when talking about less accepted ideas. Not like the Jetson-Brie family, who displayed their distaste of the Capitol in their very lifestyle. He liked to believe that he and his brothers were more careful than that.
"Place your feet in the circles provided."
Looking down, he found two marked circles on the floor. Warily, he set his foot on one. Nothing happened. He put his second foot in the other circle. They hummed and lit up with white light. Something flashed from behind the screen.
"Smile, if you want to make a good impression! This is your time to sell yourself to the audience!"
"Audience?" Marcellus muttered.
He'd assumed this was a prison, despite the frantic mutters of the younger girls while they were aboard the hovercraft. But if there was to be an audience…
He smiled and bowed low, offering a smile to the screen. "I don't know why I'm here, but it's only polite for me to greet those watching!"
"Let the camera see your best side."
He ran a hand through his dark hair, using the reflection from the screen to flatten out the worst of his unruly curls.
"May I inquire as to who the audience is?" he asked, holding a hand out to the screen.
"The audience wants to see who you are."
"I would like to know who the audience is."
The screen flashed white, and then faded back to black.
"Thank you for your cooperation. You will now be escorted to your individual preparation room."
District Seven Female, Sage Odin, 17
"Let the camera see your best side."
Sage blushed. She was used to keeping her head down and staying quiet, not showing off this way.
The screen flashed, and several images of her appeared on it.
"Thank you for your cooperation. These images will be shown to the audience. You will now be escorted to your individual preparation room."
The door opened behind her, and the peacekeeper entered again. Or maybe it was a different one. Sage had never really known when they were in their uniforms and helmets.
"This way," he grunted, taking her arm and leading her out. As she left, she caught a glimpse of another girl, small and dark haired, being marched up to the room she'd just left.
The peacekeeper marched her through the halls and around twists and turns. A few times she thought she saw another teen with a peacekeeper rounding a corner or making a different turn, but they never ran into anyone.
At last, they stopped at a door, marked as Player Twenty Three. The peacekeeper shoved it open and guided her inside. It led to a small room, with a glass box on the other side. He closed the door behind her with a very final sounding click.
Author's Note
Tribute list!
DISTRICT ONE
Female: Daisy Jetson-Brie, 15
District One Female, Prophecy Aster, 17
District One Female, Tatiana Silver, 14
Male: Marcellus Pontmercy, 17
DISTRICT TWO
Female, Aelianna Macedon, 18
Female: Freya Slate Harmon, 15
Male: Alexios Macedon, 18
DISTRICT THREE
Female: Rhea Trissu, 13
Male: Toshiro Micron-Bundar, 13
DISTRICT FOUR
Female: Abalone Pereira, 18
Female: Arika Tulius, 16
Female: Nixxie Cascade, 16
Male: Tristan O'Cleary, 16
Male: Zale Tulius, 18
DISTRICT FIVE
Female: Rusudan Murtov, 13
DISTRICT SIX
Female, Millicent Rivas, 14
Female: Venus Albryte, 14
Male: Atlas Anderson, 17
Male: Mercury Jezyk, 15
DISTRICT SEVEN
Female: Iris Fields, 17
Female: Phoebe Farley, 18
Female: Sage Odin, 17
Male: Falcon Farley, 18
Male: Micah Bradley, 14
Male: Terro Fields, 18
DISTRICT EIGHT
Female: Meredith Singer, 18
Female: Nadine Stitcher, 16
Male, Judas Ranaad, 18
DISTRICT NINE
Female: Amarine Feller, 14
Female: Wren Willows, 18
Male: Jarrod Palash, 16
Male: Wolf Willows, 18
DISTRICT TEN
Female: Aiolin Kalene, 12
Female: Ariel Haze, 15
Female: Laika Bergfalk, 18.
Male: Callum Tanner, 15
Male: Diego Butcher, 17
Male: Hunter Maren, 16
DISTRICT ELEVEN
Male: Atticus Rúgur, 18
Male: Bakula Kalanit, 12
Male: Dove Greenling, 14
Male: Saigon Kalanit, 18
Female: Cashew Murphy, 12
DISTRICT TWELVE
Female: Calida Blackwell, 17
Female: Sally Himmer, 16
Male, Gregory Reagis, 13
Male: Kai Branton, 13
Alliances:
District One Union: Tatiana, Daisy, Marcellus
District Two Unit: Alexios, Aelianna, Freya
Brotherly Love: Saigon, Bakula
Bullheaded: Aiolin, Hunter, Diego, Laika, Ariel.
Lying their asses off: Terro, Adrianna (+honorary member Micah)
Cold as ice: Falcon, Phoebe
Let's play together!: Greg, Sally
Team Four: Zale, Tristan, Arika