All-Stars: Non-Careers

Chapter 9

I found Jake's story and added him.

Kazuo Braun

I looked over the list one more time and smiled.

"There's no one from One, right?" I asked the others.

"Right," Peridot said sulkily.

"This is so bogus. I'll go stir-crazy. They have to let us send someone," Azure said.

"If there's no one from One, I don't have to mentor, right?" I asked.

"You got it, babe," Peridot said. "We're stuck in the bleachers watching outlier losers sing kumbaya."

"Great! Then I'm going home!" I darted out the door and ran for the hills.

Pray Jager

No no no. I am not waiting around knitting doilies while the others have all the fun. If I don't have any mentees, I'll steal someone else's.

"Heeeeey, Lena," I said to the 'ling-pusher from Six. She looked at me like we'd been best friends for years.

"You and Toby have four Tributes to mentor. That's a lot, right?" I asked. She pinched a lock of my hair in her fingers and rubbed it. For once, I ignored it.

"How about I help you out and take a few off your hands? Then you have more time to paint swirlies or whatever," I said. I nodded my head as I did and Lena mirrored the movement.

"Great! It's a deal! Thanks," I said, and I left her waving at my back.

Acee Hal

Triage, triage. Gizmo and Emmeline were tier one. They had good chances even if I did nothing. Electra and DeMarcus were tier two. If I devoted energy and time to them, I could improve their already present chances. Wyatt was tier three. He was a nice boy, but his chances were minimal and I couldn't improve them. I had to focus on the ones I could possibly save.

DeMarcus, Wyatt and Gizmo would be with Beetee anyway. That left Emmeline and Electra for me. Either one could win. My input might very well be the deciding factor between who came closer. That's what triage was. It was choosing life or death.

Careen Ellis

Bullcrap! My first year as mentor was the Resurrection Games and I got one Tribute! Things got even weirder when I met Vera.

"So... you're like thirty years old," I said when I met her.

"Yeah, I guess," she said.

"I'm eighteen. Guess I'm your mentor anyway. Even though you've done this twice already," I said.

"Yeah, but you won," she said.

"Thanks," I said. At least one of us was confident. "I think you know the drill by now. So, keep doing what you've been doing? Except dying, don't do that."

"See, that's great advice. You're a fine mentor," she said. Darn tootin'.

Sky Levings

Why did they keep sending Sarla back? I didn't want to be the one responsible for showing her how to survive. Wasn't it enough to kill her without defiling her grave?

At least Skyler and Lyra had a chance. Lyra was tougher than she looked and Skyler was competent.

"This is a Resurrection Games. I think the most important thing to prepare for is the Arena. It's going to be weird. And so are the mutts. I think we all remember what happened last time," I said. Snow was even worse than Galba. I suspected he wanted to show her up, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

Pray Jager

"All right, Six, are you ready to win for once?" I barked at Addie, Velvet, Ree, Hadley, and Lyte.

"Where's Toby and Lena?" Velvet asked.

"Off shooting up somewhere. You get me this time," I said. Ree looked awestruck and also like she was about to cry.

"I don't think so. Find someone else," Lyte said. He walked out of the room without waiting for my answer.

Well what do you know? Six did have something with guts. And he walked out on me.

Sequoia Wilson

Panem's history was in front of me. Decades of Games were staring back at me and it was horribly unnerving.

"All right, anyone have any questions?" I asked.

"Can we call our families?" River asked.

"Yeah, it'll be good for ratings. We'll behave," Junie said. Ever stayed quiet. It broke my heart, since her family had probably moved on.

"I'll see what I can do," I said. I had no idea what the rules were. But this was a Resurrection Games. There were no rules.

Tillo Peters

What a mix. What a mixed-up hodgepodge. I had an overgrown porcelain doll, a nutjob bean-counter, a sexist she-pig, an indomitable crusader, and one fraidy cat. I was out of my league even if I did care. Whoever was going to win, it was a mystery for me. Out of my group, my money was on... maybe the bean-counter? I just hoped it wasn't the she-pig.

Crag Steiner

If Pray could do it, so could I. My Tributes- all right, the ones I stole from Chimera because he wasn't around and he was a pansy anyway- weren't the most inspiring bunch. However, I could remember a few kids who started at the Academy as hopeless weaklings and developed into something worth training.

"Playtime's over, everyone. As of now, you're in my boot camp. It's going to be hard and painful and everything you hate. At the end, one of you might earn my respect. Ready?" I bellowed. Silence reigned as the Tributes looked at me in terror. We were off to a good start.

Bambi Kirkland

All three of my mentees were nobler than I was. Castiel actually killed himself so someone else could win. Rory died saving his friends. Felix was trying his best to be a father for one day every five or so years. I would have gone to my own mentor for comfort, but Cornflower was better than me, too. She didn't kill anyone.

I had to focus on the positive. I killed two people. If I brought back two Victors, I could make it up. If I needed these Tributes to live as much as they did. No more thinking about death. I needed to think about life.

Pepper Wilson

Mars was taking care of Apollo. I wanted to see him every second of every day. I didn't want to look at him at all. I wanted to help him train. I wanted Mars to do it so if I lost him again, it wasn't my fault.

I couldn't do it again. Having him with me only made the memory of not having him more painful than the actual experience. Seeing him was a reminder that I only had him for a few days.

When I won, I thought I beat them all. Even the Capitol couldn't kill me. Now I knew they could still break me. They were so close.

Nubu Sanders

Jack took one look at me and wandered off into the unknown. I would have stopped him, but he was giving us all the creeps. Peridot from One asked if she could help Beth and Beth was totally into it, so she left as well.

"This is Nubu, everyone. He's the best Victor. He helped me before I died," Alinta helpfully introduced me to everyone.

"He could have helped you not die," Peach said. Alinta glared at her like a thousand suns.

"I was already pretty much dead. Rude," she said.

"He showed me a lighthouse," Chase added.

"I want to see a lighthouse!" Mouse said. Hopefully before the Games started we could do some training.

Jake Diaz

One minute I'm getting stabbed by a playing card, the next I'm in a hospital bed. Panem is weird.

"Good morning. Are you feeling all right?" a man asked as he walks to my bed.

"I guess. That's really not the problem," I said. "What's going on?"

"They told me to be extra careful with you. You're the oldest one here. You're older than me!" the man said.

I thought this was Wonderland. Now it's Rip Van Winkle? Why couldn't they just kill me normally?

"Look, am I dead or not? I don't have time for this," I said. Actually if I'm dead I have plenty of time.

"You were dead. Now you're alive again for the Resurrection Games," the man said.

"Heck are those?" I asked.

"Every few years we bring a bunch of dead Tributes back to see who will win," the man.

I've lost it. I'm nuts. "Oh, cool. Wait, every few years? What year is it?" I asked.

"It's been thirty-nine years."

It appears the mentors have decided that if Snow breaks rules, so can they. Most of the other Careers are also trying to muscle their way in and are already planning to raid Pray and Craig. Toby and Lena are enjoying their inadvertent vacation and are graffiti-ing the Games building. Chimera is gone because he was so brokenhearted about Diggory that he has requested a year off to mourn.

Charlene's submitter decided she'd be better in a normal Games where she'll get normal representation and not get lost among, at last count, 74 Tributes. That gives me a break too, so I don't mind. 73 is a little easier to write at least. I anticipate there will be a huge Bloodbath this year.