Heart of Darkness: the Forty-Fourth Hunger Games

Chapter 2

Hero Nolan- 18

Life worked out perfectly when my parents named me. Maybe that was a little egotistical to think. I didn't mean it that I was this mythic hero with great deeds and the respect of nations. I just meant I wanted to be a hero. That was why I started training in the first place. The volunteers were the greatest heroes of Two. They fought the Games so the weaker children were safe. And even though I'd never tell anyone, there was another reason I volunteered.

A lot of times, the volunteers from Two took things the wrong way. Instead of volunteering to keep other people safe and win, if they did, by fighting fair, they enjoyed the fight. Like most people, I wanted to be the best, but I didn't want to do it unfairly. If there had to be a Games, I wanted to fight fair and never kill unnecessarily. In my heart of hearts, I volunteered just as much for the other Districts as for Two. There were a lot of Tributes from my home that I wasn't proud of. Some of us went farther than the Capitol ever intended. Some of us- like Pray- shouldn't have access to vulnerable kids.

"Why do you have to go? You didn't finish the story," Aurelia said. Along with my parents and my other sister, Eirian, she was here to see me off after I volunteered. Everything had gone off without a hitch, even though some Academy instructors thought I wasn't hard enough for the Arena.

"I'll be back in just a couple of weeks. It'll be a cliffhanger until then," I said. I'd been reading them a simplified version of The Iliad, and they were still waiting for Achilles to finally get off his whiny butt and fight Hector.

"We already waited a week!" Eirian said. "Maybe Dad will read to us."

"He can't do the funny voices," I said. They'd refused to listen until I assigned each character a different voice, which was how Odysseus got a Capitol accent.

I was glad to see they weren't worried. They were too little to really understand the Games, especially since we were from Two. The Games were something we looked forward to here, not something to be terrified of. They had nothing to worry about, and I hoped they never volunteered. They were good little girls. It was okay for me to risk my life, but I wanted them to stay safe.

My father took Eirian and Aurelia outside, leaving my mother to give me a few parting words. It took her a minute to find the courage.

"I know you want to do what's right, but I'm your mother and I worry about you. If you have to do something you're not proud of, sometimes that's just life. Don't throw your life away because of morals that belong in old books," she said.

I wished I could tell her I wouldn't. Instead, I told her the truth. "I'll do what I can. I have a good chance. Two has a lot of Victors. But if anything happens, make sure you have them close their eyes at the end."

Chrome Cabello- 18

My father lives for the Games. Every year is a parade of days leading up to the glorious weeks when he can sit in front of the television, screaming and cheering for whoever he chose as a favorite. He's not very good at picking. That makes life harder for the rest of us, since he tends to drink excessively and generally rampage through the house when he loses. We all wanted Ember to win, but it wasn't because she was from Two. It was just because he wanted her to win. He was the only one actually saying anything while the family was gathered to say goodbye to me. As usual, I was listening quietly.

"This is the proudest moment of my life," my father said, slapping me on the back. "I always dreamed this day would come."

The second part of that statement wasn't for me. While steadfastly refusing to speak to the daughter he'd disowned, Dad still managed to attack Ullie. The idea- his idea- had been for her to volunteer two years ago. Ullie was a stone cold fox. Not even Dad could tell her what to do. She found a ratty apartment across the District and was currently engaged to a fine young man. Dad had informed us we would not be attending the wedding. He wouldn't, maybe. I could do whatever I wanted if I was the Victor. Otherwise, he'd be right. I wouldn't be attending.

"I'm sure you'll do great!" my mother said. Her voice squeaked with the emotion she was trying so hard to hide from her husband. She kept her face turned toward me so he couldn't see the fear in it or the tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, don't worry about me. Why don't you and Jessie go watch for the train?" I asked. Neither my mother nor my little sister wanted to be here. Jessie trained at the Academy along with me, but she wasn't made for the Arena. She was a gentle, caring girl who just wanted to make her father happy. I knew if I didn't volunteer she'd do it to please him, which was the main reason I was waiting for the train. My father followed the two of them, since he hated my sister more than he loved me.

Ullie cut right to the chase. "Do this for you, not for him," she said. She took the rare opportunity to update me about her life, and I listened silently. There was a reason I was so quiet, and why I was seemed so unemotional. There were already plenty of words and feelings in my family.

Hero is... shoot, I'm too lazy to type this, so I'll paste it.

Hero is good looking, but in a nerdy, highly shy way if you know what I mean. He has dark brown curls that are kind of fluffy and frizzy because he runs his hands through his hair when he gets nervous, and dark blue eyes the color of sapphires. He's slightly under 6 feet, with an athletic, kind of willowy build. He has muscle, but not a crazy amount that it's disturbing to look at. He's just sort of all around athletic. Hero is the type of person whose eyes flicker back and forth when he gets nervous and he often has trouble making eye contact. He's Caucasian in race, appearing close to almost a German descent, with amazing bone structures. Dark lashes and brows that are slightly messy, as usual on a guy, and high cheek bones to die for covered with just a little bit of baby fat for roundness that he never grew out of. He looks really clean cut, or about as clean cut as you get when you're a Career.

It is important to note that I don't consider this a special snowflake description, since it's just an appearance. Those don't really matter and hardly even show up.

Chrome is a six foot tall sss. She has the expected Career physique, cool gray eyes, brown hair, high cheekbones, and tan skin.