Chapter 18
1134 Words
Hunter Duchen: 9
Emma Wolfe: 8
Avariella Hanson: 9
Mase Nary: 9
Abigail Fuse: 6
Cordin Magnetism: 4
Kisarna Talent: 8
Shogo Hara: 10
Skyler Dacher: 6
Gordon Spokes: 3
Hadley Kinneth: 5
Lyte Anderson: 4
Ashlyn Forrest: 8
Reiner Ludwig: 9
James Gray: 7
Tillo Peters: 6
Mink Abbey: 8
Demetria Rhye: 4
Felix Veau: 7
Calvary Warsaw: 8
Caleb Lindsay: 3
Willow Trill: 5
Jamie Coal: 3
Mary Sue Brooklyn: 0
Hunter: Who's the weakling now?
Emma: I should have been more forceful.
Avariella: You'll never be good enough.
Mase: Eh. Not bad.
Abigail: I have to do this.
Cordin: Every second that passes is closer to my death.
Kisarna: Was this really a good idea?
Shogo: "Wow, I sure have good ratings!" God help me.
Skyler: It isn't the worst score so far.
Gordon: Irrelevant.
Hadley: I wasn't that bad.
Lyte: Aww yeah!
Ashlyn: How did I do that?
Reiner: It's easier with mannequins.
James: I'm ready. Let's go!
Tillo: There's always hope.
Mink: Never saw me coming.
Demetria: They can't really mean it.
Felix: I did pretty good!
Calvary: I didn't show them anything I haven't known for years.
Caleb: That means they think I'm going to die.
Willow: I couldn't hope for more.
Jamie: I did way better than that!
Mary Sue: "What?!"
Demetria POV
It's weird knowing you're going to die. I dreaded every second that went by. For the first time I realized I only had so many left. I felt sick wondering if I was wasting my last days. I should be doing something worth doing or leaving something behind. I didn't want to be just another name in a record.
It didn't make any sense for me to go to the top of the building. I guess I wanted to go up and fly above all my troubles. I didn't find any peace up there, looking down on thousands of people who would never mourn me. I might have broken free and tried to fly one last time if Mariposa hadn't mentioned the safety measures. I turned around when I heard footsteps behind me.
"Oh, excuse me," the girl with blue-green eyes and freckles said. She turned to leave.
"It's okay," I said. I didn't mean to chase her off. She stood next to me looking over the railing. I wondered if she'd die much farther in than I would. For a while we just stood together.
"Do you think you can kill someone?" I asked. At a time like this, nothing was sacred.
"Maybe. People haven't been the best to me," she said.
"I know I can't. Do you think you'll win?" I asked.
"No," she said. It was as simple as it was true.
"Me neither," I said. We were quiet for a minute, and my eyes misted over. "I'm scared."
"Me too," she said. She seemed so much braver than I was. How could she be scared.
"Maybe... it wouldn't be so bad if I had someone with me. I've never had many friends," she said. She couldn't mean what I thought she meant. She was stronger than me, and older.
"If you want, I can stay with you a while. I don't know how long either of us have, but we can do our best," she said. She held out her hand, and I took it. No matter what, we won't be alone.
Hadley POV
The training room was closed since the interviews were over, but I could get around that. I didn't need weapons training anyway. It wouldn't do any good. What I could do was roam the Games building, running through the halls and up and down the steps. As I was sprinting down a hall, I noticed a television set into a nook. Polyphemus was interviewing family for some pre-Games shows. I was about to move on when I saw two familiar faces.
Daddy! I hadn't seen my father in eight years. He was paler and more thin, but he was still my father. The man next to him must have been Olivan. I wouldn't have known if he wasn't next to Dad. He was so much taller and more mature than my big brother. He had a whole new life now, and I wasn't in it. I wanted to burst through the screen and jump into Daddy's lap, but I was probably never going to see either of them again. Dad would never know that I sprang up and filled out. Olivan would never know that I could climb to the top of a tree in five seconds. It was like we weren't related.
I couldn't stop the tears as I leaned against the wall. My throat closed and my breathing, already fast from my running, became strained. All the hardship in my life seemed to fall upon me. I knelt in the hall and wept.
I don't know how long I was there when a voice broke in.
"Um, are you okay?"
I looked up and saw Skyler bent over me in concern. She was usually smiling and talking with someone, so it surprised me that she looked so upset.
"It's nothing," I said, embarrassed to have someone see me cry. My nose was probably all red and my eyes were all puffy. Skyler helped me up and patted my arm.
"It's okay. We're all scared," she said. For some reason, that just made me cry more, and I ended up tearfully spilling my entire story to her. She listened really well for someone so chatty.
"I'm not really your sister, but I'll do what I can. Neither of us is very strong by ourselves, and I know I'll go crazy on my own. Be my partner?" she asked. It didn't make sense for so many reasons. Only one person could win. I had to come back for my family. Skyler wasn't a fighter or a tactician. But I didn't need any of those things. I needed an ally.
That takes care of most of the alliances. I'll work on the "Career pack" before the Games start. I skipped the sessions because really, not much happens. I tried to establish in the training chapter any new or different skills Tributes had.
If you've been here before, you already know, but for you new guys: I take scores submitters send, so they might not reflect Tributes perfectly. For any Tribute with a range of scores provided, I round lower to match canon closer. You're in control anyway, so it's not important.
Gordon didn't have a score provided. He's more capable than a 3, but he creeped the Gamemakers out and they want him to die early. Mary Sue did nothing, trusting that she was so pretty the Gamemakers would want her to win and score her highly.
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