Hunger Games: All-Stars

Chapter 4

UPDATE: It was Cordin who was supposed to have the cool outfit.

Wyatt Sparks

I died? I thought that would be the last thing I ever did. And it was Hermes, too. He must have been so scared and sick to do what he did. It broke my heart.

"Who won?" I asked one of the nurses. If it was Hermes, I could tell him I forgave him.

"Sky Levings," he said.

"She really did blow them sky high," I muttered. That crazy volunteer actually did it. "Is Hermes Track here too?"

"I don't think so. He wasn't popular with the test audience," the nurse said.

"Oh. They must have picked me for my looks, right?" I said.

"No. They enjoyed your humor," he said. Some people are hopeless.

Guess I won't be able to tell him after all. I didn't know what I would have said anyway. I didn't hold it against him, but it would have been unnerving to see him again. This whole idea was unnerving. All I had was optimism and good humor. That hadn't been enough then. Why should it be now?

"How did Hermes die?" I asked.

"He attacked Dominique and Myrtle. He killed Myrtle, but then Dominique beat him to death," a nurse said. Something tapped at me knee and I jumped.

"Your reflexes are adequate," a nurse teased. I didn't laugh. Didn't she know I didn't jump because of that? The last time someone touched me unexpectedly, my friend caved my head in. For the rest of my probably short life I'd never trust sudden movement again. Even if I won I'd be scarred. Jokes aren't supposed to be about people being scared. Jokes are supposed to make everyone happy.

"Can you go away when you're done?" I asked. They looked surprised.

"You don't want company? You're always so sociable," a nurse said. Another started writing something on a pad. I wanted to throw the paper out the window. I wasn't a test subject to be recorded and monitored. I was a boy and I was scared and hurting. They kept fiddling with my body. Didn't they care about my soul?

Emmeline Blythe POV

There was a respirator in my mouth and I was staring up from underneath warm water. My unclothed body bore no sign of the wounds that had killed me. My hand moved when I willed it to, and my skin was warm. Clearly the Capitol had revived me for some reason. I couldn't imagine all the others had died so closely that I survived the longest. Did they have some purpose for me that entailed faking my death? I turned my head to the side and saw figures bent over screens and papers. I leaned up out of the water and spat out the respirator.

"What's going on?" I asked. The heads jerked up and rushed over to me.

"You were eliminated," a doctor said. Judging from his presence, he was the head caregiver.

"Obviously," I said. "Why am I back?"

"Our most merciful president has decided to give you, among others, a second chance," he said.

"Why me?" I asked.

"One of the Gamemakers nominated you. He was impressed with your intelligence and felt your death occurred before you showed your potential," the doctor said.

"Is that how we were chosen? By nomination?" I asked.

"Some of you. The Capitol voted on the rest," he said. So it's a popularity contest.

"Who else did they choose?" I asked. Another doctor wrapped me in a gown.

"In order to show her liberality, President Galba approved fifty-seven of you-" the doctor started.

"Wait, fifty-seven? How many are Careers?" I asked. The doctor stopped to think.

"Fourteen," he said at last. It wasn't as bad as I feared. Even the Capitol loves an underdog. I looked over my body and saw some irregularities.

"Did you alter us?" I asked.

"We restored malnourished bodies to a basic healthy state," the doctor said. "You weren't augmented." So the Careers would be the same, but the outliers would be stronger. My odds remained much the same. Another man in a pale blue robe approached me.

"We know you must be very confused right now. I'm here to help you. Do you want to talk?" he asked. How nice- a therapist. Wouldn't want the murdered kids to get upset. I didn't have time for him. A thousand calculations were running through my head. I knew these first hours were crucial. Most Tributes would be confused and emotional. I understood what the Capitol had done and how they did it. There was no time for metaphysics. I had to start planning how I was going to survive this time around. I had a lot of questions.

Gordon Spokes POV

That wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to be the one who lived. As soon as the doctors told me what happened I was out for blood. They held me back as I ran for the door.

"Stop! We still have to check you," a doctor said. I tried to throw them off but they wrestled me back onto a bed. I saw another attendant holding my necklace over a plastic bag.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

"We can't keep this in a sterile room. It's full of biological contaminants," he said. He put it in the bag and opened a portal on the wall labeled "incinerator".

"No! Stop!" I struggled to sit up and held out my hands. "I'll be good. Let me have my token." The attendant looked at the doctor, who nodded after a moment. He handed me the necklace and I turned away from them to face the wall. They watched me for any violence, then returned to their work.

My trophies, I thought as I looked through the glass vial at the brown smudges within. I'd barely added to them at all during my last Games. I'd ended up a trophy for someone else, and it maddened me. But then, no one could kill me. I made the mistake of staying too close to the others in the Bloodbath. Really, I was my own victim. I turned back silently and looked for a scalpel to add my own trophy to my token. Of course they hadn't left any in my reach, but they couldn't stop me. I placed my first finger between my fangs and nipped a bit of flesh from myself. Blood trickled out and I set my finger on the mouth of my vial. Another trophy for my collection, and a symbol of what was to come.

"Hey!" one of the doctors yelled as something jerked my arm. I shoved the stopper in the vial before he could take it again.

"Code black!" the doctor called. The others rushed to his side and pinned me against the bed. I snarled and yelled as they strapped me into place and bandaged my finger. I heard snippets of their conversation as I struggled.

Insane.

Psychotic break.

Full restraints.

None of that mattered. They'd have to let me out for the Games. They'd chosen me and they have to reap what they sowed. There was going to be blood.

Cordin Magnetism POV

Wasn't I supposed to be dead? Dead people don't come back. Could the Capitol even do that?

"Cordin. Can you hear me?" someone said from outside the tub I was in. I blushed when I realized I didn't have any clothes. I tried to cover myself while I answered.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Am I still alive?" I asked. The doctor smiled.

"Yes. You did die, but you're getting a second chance," she said.

"Oh, that's nice," I said. "But how?"

"You were cloned from a tissue sample. It's more complex than that, but that's the idea," she said.

"Do I have to fight again?" I asked. The doctor's face fell.

"Yes. But don't worry. I'm sure you'll do well. I'll be rooting for you," she said. I didn't do well the first time. I thought of what I did to Abigail. I didn't do well at all.

"Don't worry about that right now. Just concentrate on getting back on your feet," the doctor said. I stood up and took a few steps.

"Everything seems to be all right," I said. I looked at the ground and shuffled my feet.

"Um... is Abigail here too?" I asked.

"I don't remember hearing her name mentioned," the doctor said. I felt bad for thinking it, but I was relieved. I wouldn't know what to say to her. How can you apologize for letting someone die? I knew I'd feel guilty for a long time, but there wasn't any way to make it better.

"I saw your Games," the doctor said gently. "It's not your fault. Do you want to talk about it?" before I could say anything my nose started to run and I started crying everywhere. The doctor held me in her arms and sat on the bed.

"It's all right," she said. "We knew this would happen. It's normal to react this way. I'm here to help with your feelings, not your body. I'll be here whenever you need me." But I'd need her most in the Arena. Would she be there?

Hailey Falkenrath POV

I knew there would be something, but I didn't know what it would be like. Would it be cloudy like Olympus? Fierce like Valhalla? Gloomy like the Underworld? When I saw it, it didn't look much like a fantasy after all. It looked more like science fiction. The portal must be really wet, too, since I was underwater.

"Are you an angel?" I asked the first figure I saw when I sat up. She looked like a normal person, but maybe she didn't want to scare me.

"You're not dead, honey," the woman said. "You're an All-Star." She explained what was going on and I thought I understood. It didn't make much sense. From what I understood, I had to start all over again. I'd been brought back from death like Eurydice and Orpheus, except that hadn't worked.

I didn't want to think about it. All the death and darkness I'd already been through once. Why couldn't they let me stay in the tree and be a peaceful nymph? They were so bent on removing anything beautiful in the world.

And what about me? What was I? The nymph had died back in the swampy forest. Back home I was just a normal girl with a lot of stories. Now that I had a second life, I could be anything I wanted. Anything can happen in the Capitol. If you don't like who you are, you just remake yourself.

I'll have to see the Arena before I know what I am, I thought. But then it all became clear. The Arena didn't determine who I was. I already was something new. I was something that rose from death and became something better. I was a phoenix- flaming and resplendent, triumphant and free. And I knew everything would be all right. Phoenixes always come back.

I'm doing the same alliance system I usually do. I already have two big ones set up:

1. Miall, Priscilla, Hunter, Kazuo, Farlon, Felix, Jean, Timber, Reiner, Whyte, Vera, Frankie, Shogo, Celestial, Yasmine, Lyte, and maybe Thompson

2. Adair, Hailey, Wyatt, Starling, Willow, Avariella, Celestial, Mousse, Dominique, Elara and Myrtle

3. The Jaybirds: Frankie, Apollo, Zach, Asper, and Calvary (Plus Xzavier)

Barley is alone, no word on the others.