All-Stars: Non-Careers

Chapter 16

Wow! I think this is the biggest.

Alinta Fintan

I was super excited to see Silver got picked too. Right away I started telling her everything that happened after she died.

"I almost won! I got third place. After I got shot, Nubu found me and stayed with me until I died. Guess what happened after that!" I said.

"What?" she asked.

"This is so cool. My cannon went off, see? Nubu hid me under some branches and took the arrow out of me. He held up to his chest and waited until Victory found me. She thought it was his cannon so she walked right up. He bashed her with his shield and stabbed her with a machete and won!" I said.

"I wish I could have seen it," Silver said. "How would you feel about some more allies?"

"You want to get a bunch of other little kids, don't you?" I said. Silver was such a mama bear. It was always "help the children" or "they're so scared". We're not as scared as she thinks. But it is nice to have an ally.

Alice Silvin

It was great to be with Anise again. Even after the spider got her, she didn't really feel gone. I thought she went to Wonderland at first, but I think I was wrong about that. She wasn't really a normal person like me. I saw her again when I was about to die, and now I knew what she was. She was a guardian angel. That's why she wasn't afraid to die. She just went back to her world. It looked like Silver was one, too.

Mouse wasn't an angel, but he was still cool. He kept pestering me and talking to me. I was starting to think he liked me.

"So, you seeing anyone?" he asked.

"I was just dead! And I'm twelve years old," I said.

"Really you're way older than that," he said.

"Nice try, but that would mean you're really old, you cradle robber," I said.

"Drat," he said.

"Next you'll say I only live once," I said.

"I already died once. My heart can't stand to stop again. Have mercy," he said.

Oh well. You only live twice.

Addie Child

How did I end up with the babysitting brigade? My allies were a bunch of little kids and their two self-appointed guardians. This was a charity case, not an alliance.

They were making me look better. And sponsors liked an underdog story. I didn't want the little squirts to die, either. They were nice kids. I'd do what I could.

If I wanted sponsors, I needed to play the game. I knew about gymnastics, but this was no time to get rusty. I practiced on the agility and rope courses so when private sessions came, I'd be ready. The stronger Tributes wouldn't target me because I could do a cartwheel, but the ones looking for the easiest pickings would keep looking.

Last time there was a Resurrection Games, they pulled out all the stops. There were the insane mutts and the crazy number of Tributes. They wiped out half a dozen Tributes at once in huge battles. My alliance didn't seem ready for any of that.

Silver Flower

It was good to see Alinta was so cheery. I was more scared than I wanted anyone to know, but I tried to push past it and keep going.

I already knew I wasn't going to win. It wasn't because I was a noble angel ready to lay down her life. It was just that there were seventy-four of us, and only one lived. My odds would have been minimal even if I had been a Career. I was a statistic waiting to happen. I wasn't ready to die because I was so brave. I just knew it was inevitable.

And if I was going to die, I could make it as worthwhile as possible. At the very least, all but one of my alliance would die. I wondered which one of us would win, if any. All of them deserved it. I didn't want to play favorites, but in my heart I hoped it was Alinta. She was so positive and brave. I never wanted her to get snuffed out again.

Tawny Stallyon

Most people were impossible to understand. I got Cornflower, though. She didn't look me in the eye, either. We didn't say much to each other, but it was okay to sit in the same room together. I got that vibe from her I always got when I was around someone else like me- "my people", I called them.

Mouse wasn't one of us, but he was careful. He obviously knew something was up, probably since he'd been mentored by Cornflower before. He stood tilted a little away from me when he started talking, so I didn't have to look at him.

"Some of us are getting up an alliance. Since you're from Ten too I thought I'd ask," he said. "You don't have to be with us all the time, though."

I couldn't win the Games all by myself, especially with so many people. If I had to ally with someone, it would be nice if it was someone I knew.

"Okay," I said, and I walked away. After a minute, I was worried I did it wrong. People like it when you broke off a conversation slowly. But Mouse didn't care, so I was okay.

Incense Balboa

Five bundles of grass. Make sure they all line up and they lay exactly on the side of the table but not over it! Five more bundles of grass.

I was trying to make a thatch roof for a shelter. It was hard when the thoughts kept coming back. I was going to die in the Bloodbath if I didn't smooth out my pants five times just right. If I left crumbs on my plate I'd fall off the platform and blow up.

You killed someone last time. How could you have forgotten? You killed someone. You're a murderer. You're going to Hell. You're a horrible person.

I couldn't bear to watch the tapes and see if the thoughts were right. When Silver asked me to join her alliance, I thought she'd gotten the wrong person. When she asked again, I said yes before she could change her mind. I kept looking around at all my allies to make sure they were still there. I made five thatch roofs. That way they wouldn't die.

Mouse Parentii

I had become a man. How did I know? Because Alice was the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. She didn't have cooties after all. Whatever she had, I wanted it. She was kind enough to grant my request to take her to get ice cream, and it was the best date I ever had.

"Thanks for coming with me. It was fun," I said as we ate crazy rainbow creations covered in sprinkles and candy. We sat on the tall spinny chairs because those were the best.

"I had fun too. Let's do it again tomorrow," she said. I put my hand in my pocket and fiddled with something.

"I know it's really early, but we don't have much time. I was wondering if you'd be my girlfriend," I said. Alice blushed.

"I've never had a boyfriend before," she said.

"I've never had a girlfriend before," I said. Alice spun back and forth on her chair.

"Okay," she said.

"Great! I got this from Fluvius," I said. I pulled a plastic butterfly ring from my pocket. When I put it on Alice's finger I stole a kiss on her cheek. That's how I became a man.

Anise Haeffele

I couldn't do it again. I kept thinking of what happened last time. The fangs that stuck into me. The venom that turned my insides into mush. The horrible dark nest and the sticky cocoon around me. Nothing could be worse than that, but surely there was something worse and the Gamemakers had already prepared it.

I didn't know how Silver did it. She rallied the children like everything would be okay as long as we were brave. It wasn't going to be like that at all. I couldn't even look at her when she found me by myself.

"I'm scared too," she said.

"What?" I said.

"You don't have to feel bad. I'm scared too. I only keep going because I have to. There's a lot to be scared of. What really matters is what a person does anyway, even though they're scared," she said.

She sounded so much older than she really was. I was still scared, but I wanted to look at it like she did. I had reason to be scared, but I could keep going. No matter how scary it was, I could pushing one more time. They couldn't bring me back three times. That was it. That was the thing that was worse than the spider.

Ree Morning

Silver's alliance looked really nice. I was excited when they asked me to join, but I had to do something first. I found Junie at the first aid station.

"Hey, it's good to see you again. I hope things go better this time," I said.

"Yeah, me too," she said. "It was fun while it lasted, though."

There was silence for a minute. I knew what Junie was thinking and I didn't want to rush her. Her voice was usually cheerful, but it was hollow when she next spoke.

"We could ally again if you want," she said. That was what I came here to hear.

"This time I think you should go without me. I have to walk my own path," I said. She tried to hide it, but I could tell she was relieved.

"Oh, okay. Good luck," she said.

"You too," I said, and I went back to my new alliance. Junie and I were friends in our first Games, but things had changed. She was in it to win this time, and I was still a terribly long shot. I would have slowed her down. She was on her way up. Me, I was happy to play with my allies.

Peach Unk

Silver had her head screwed on the wrong way. Her alliance was a bunch of kiddies. I was big mean nasty Peach, the rebel from Twelve. I don't know what possessed me to say yes.

After that, I felt much less rebellious than before. I'd never heard of a rebel babysitter. I ventured forth into the Games building to rebuild some street cred.

Of course there was a tattoo parlor in the Games building. It was time to get that back-alley ink after all. Except the Capitol wasn't a back alley.

I don't know what I expected, but it hurt like a witch. I must have called the artist every name I knew. He took it like a champ. After he was finally done, I had a wicked-looking pickaxe sunk into a pile of ore on my arm. The tiniest bit of a diamond peeked out.

Like most tattoos, it had a story. I was the pickaxe, sharp and hard and off-putting. The ore was the Games. The little bit of diamond that the axe was chipping out, that was victory. It was rare and hard to get to, but I was going to tear it out one piece at a time.

Chase Enders

Anything could happen in a Resurrection Games. I could even win. I had so many great allies. We'd take care of each other. Mutts wouldn't want to attack us because there were so many of us.

I stayed at the fire-making station. Fire meant light, just like a lighthouse. I'd already seen one, so I'd lived the dream, but I still like light. And there was so much more I could do with fire. I could heat up the alliance and make water safe or cook food. Fires would keep mutts away, and our numbers would keep the mean Tributes away.

I also practiced with the swords. I wanted to make sure I could keep my allies safe. The big heavy swords made me feel like a knight. I wouldn't have to actually kill anyone. They wouldn't want to mess with me and my alliance. We were going to do so great.