The Fourth Quarter Quell

The Train

Paisley Rae's Perspective

I took glances out the window as we pulled into our last stop before the Capitol, District Twelve.

We were rushed into the train first, being from One. Then we stopped to pick up each pair of tributes from each district in ascending order. We were allowed to mingle with each other but I sat on my own the entire ride.

I decided it was good to get up and stretch for a bit. As I stood up, I saw Eli laughing away with the Careers from Two: Crystal and Daniel.

Ugh. Can Eli please die in the bloodbath? Can I be the one to kill him? Curse him and his stupid hair that's perfectly brown and his stupid ocean blue eyes and...wait what.

And who did this Crystal girl think she was? She sat there twirling her hair around her finger and laughing at everything Eli said. Girl, you're from Two. Stop acting like a girl from One.

I ran a hand through my hair and decided to join them. Besides, Career pack sticks together. I put on my most dazzling smile and stroll over to their booth.

"Hi, guys!" I said cheerily. "Can I join you?"

Eli scooted over in his seat grudgingly but spoke up once I was settled. "So enough fun and games. Let's get serious. Four of us for an alliance?"

"Oh yeah." Daniel nodded. "They're gonna fear us."

"They always do, Daniel." Crystal rolled her eyes. "Every tribute is afraid of the Careers."

"Well, they'll have a reason to be afraid of us especially." Daniel smirked.

"Until then," Eli said. "Let's just let our label scare them off for now."

I smiled at Eli for once. He and I thought alike in the sense that we both wanted to get to the Games; we both wanted to be feared. And boy, will those tributes fear us once they see what we can do.

Jo Stevens' Perspective

I sat at a table with Ryan. My head rested on his shoulder as his arm was wrapped around my waist. I blinked a few tears away from my green eyes.

"How did we get in this mess?" I whispered.

"The odds weren't in our favor, Jo." Ryan whispered back.

The odds. Never have I hated an idea so much than I do the odds.

I sat up straight, wiping my eyes. "We have to win, Ry."

Ryan exhaled. "Jo, you know how hard it is--"

"There can be four victors this year and we are going to be two of them. Got it?" I hissed.

Ryan nodded. "Okay."

I sighed in relief. "Okay."

"If we want to stay alive, I suggest we make some friends." Ryan suggested as he turned around in his seat, looking around the tributes. The two tributes from twelve had boarded a few moments ago so the train was officially in its way to the Capitol.

"What, you mean make an alliance?" I asked.

"Yep." Ryan said.

"Okay but with who?" I questioned.

Ryan slipped out of seat without a word. I, stunned by his actions, quickly followed him. He sat down a few booths away.

I awkwardly slipped into the seat next to him and smiled at the two tributes sitting before us.

They both were midconversation with one another. However, their eyes were frozen on us.

Ryan cleared his throat. "Hi!"

Blank stares.

"Um, I'm Ryan and this is Jo." Ryan pointed to me and I waved in greeting. "We're from District Seven and--"

"You wanted to form an alliance." The girl finally spoke. She had dark brown hair and grey eyes. She looked around my age, maybe fifteen.

"Yeah. You guys in?" I said. "You both know that with four of us we have a better chance of surviving. And there are four victors so the four of us stay alive if we keep each other alive, we can all go home."

The girl and the boy looked at each other. They tacitly spoke their opinions and turned to face Ryan and I again.

"We're in," The boy said. "I'm Colton and this is Penny."

Penny, the girl, waved. Suddenly I recognized her as the girl who volunteered for her best friend.

"Great. Now what's the plan of attack?" Ryan asked. He and Colton began to converse as Penny and I practically spoke telepathy.

My green eyes shot her a message that read: sorry about you and your best friend.

Her grey eyes glinted as her message read: right back at you.

With that, a tear slipped down her cheek and she focused her vision outside the window.

Mandy Hemmings' Perspective

My newly formed alliance and I sat at a booth far from the others.

"So, just to clarify, it's all six of us?" The boy from Four, Mike, asked.

I nodded. "The six of us until the end."

"Sounds like a plan." Sophie, the girl from Ten, said.

"Now we need a game plan. We only have two days of training. Well, more like one and a half. We should walk into training on the first day with a set plan of what we can check out." Isabella thought. Her blue eyes had set back into their glittering blue expanse as she had stopped crying about an hour again.

"So, basically, what're some weapons you guys are used to?" Isabella continued.

DJ, the tall guy from Eight, shrugged. "I don't really know a lot with weaponry. But I think a long range weapon, like a bow, would be better for me."

"Yeah, same." Sophie agreed.

"Okay, so you guys hit up the archery stations. What about you, Isabella?" I asked.

"I'm good with a set of throwing knives." She answered. "That way I could throw one and run."

"I'm good with them too, but Id prefer a spear considering it's like a trident." Mike said.

"What about you, Logan?" I asked.

"I'm fine with whatever. I'll pick up some sword fighting skills." He said.

"I'll try some dagger work but otherwise, I can help set up traps and hunting and stuff." I told them.

"So it's settled. We each pick up a different type of weapon. But don't forget about things like shelter building and plant deciphering and survival skills." Mike explained. Even though he was fifteen, the guy was a good leader.

I smiled at my alliance as we sat chatting about possible arena settings. I looked around.

No doubt the Careers sat farthest away from the rest of the tributes, conspiring about their murderous intentions. A group of five girls sat together; one of which I recognized as Mike's district partner, Annalise. Then there was the best friend duo from Seven who had partnered with the tributes from Nine.

I faced my group, exhaling silently, Then,however, I sat in somber silence. All five of the people sitting around me seem like fantastic people.

Too bad that if four victors are allowed, two of this group will have to die.