Without much Chance, The Tale of the 89th Hunger Games

I simply imported this to get more readers. So enjoy!

''Something to get me in that writing spirit again. Read and comment if you feel the need to.''

Drake was just turning 17. Most tributes from 9 had little sucsess, and Drake felt he was no different. When reaped into a games of utter terror and suspense, Drake had little to say, but knew he had to prove his worth to the district, and the distrusting president...

Chapter 1: Reaping Day
"Drake, up! C'mon Drake!" my sister says, hitting me with a pillow. I groan, and rise up. "Reaping is in 20 minutes! Better get ready!" she says, before sliding down the stairs. She was lucky, being just a mere 9 year old child, safe from the reaping.

I myself am 17. Most tributes in my district were reaped at the age of 13 or 14, which is why we had such a low victor percentage. Combined with the fact the district is urban with a lot of grainfields doesn't help us by offering any skills in the games, and the fact the capitol call us "District 11 2.0" doesn't help either.

"C'mon Sally." I say as I walk downstairs. I had been left by my parents, and me and Sally had been living on the edges of the District in a small shack. I was a tough worker and most people respected me, which is why I could afford food and water.

As usual, I lead Sally to one of my friends, Lucus, who is an older man who I help on a daily basis. Sally calls him "Gramps", and he normally takes care of her when I work long nights. Then, I get in line to get sorted. I get my finger pricked and slump over to the 17 year olds section.

It takes about 2 minutes for the capitol escort to walk up to the stage. On the tv screen, it displays horrors of previous games, where it shows our tributes' deaths in their games. It was on last year's games, where our tributes were mutilated by careers in the bloodbath, like the 5 previous years.

"Welcome District 9. On this day, two lucky individiuals will get to honor their tribute in a games!" The escort says. Someone yells "Boooooo!", but I see them get dragged of by peacekeepers. The escort then says, "For such a rude display, I'll begin drawing.".

She goes over to the girls' bowl, pulls out a slip, and struts over to the microphone. She unfolds the slip, and reads aloud "Delilah Peters!". A girl with long brown hair walks up to the stage. She is only 13, and I feel my heart pang in sadness.

The escort walks over to the boy's bowl, pulls out a slip, and struts over to the microphone, again. "Drake Samerus." she reads. I decided to try and get sponsors early by sizing up and walking to the stage. I was noticeably larger than the previous male competitor, since I stood at 6'1. I needed to prove I would be a deadly tribute.

"Your tributes, Delilah Peters and Drake Samerus." the escort reads, as we soon begin to leave.

Chapter 2: The Capitol in View
After telling Sally to stay with Lucus, the peacekeepers told me it was time to go. I knew this might be the last time I saw her, but nonetheless, I was put on the train. "Drake..." a quiet voice says. I see Delilah, and answer "Yes?". "Do you wanna ally?" she asks. Didn't see that coming. "Yeah, sure." I say.

"So Drake and Delilah, how does it feel to represent District 9?" Our escort asks. I grunt, and Delilah says "Quiet frightening.". We don't have a mentor, since the last one was killed in the Victor's Purge. Meaning we haven't won since the 67th Hunger Games.

Most of the capitol don't bet high on us. We hardly ever survive past the first day. We hadn't come close to victory since the 79th Hunger Games, 10 years ago when I was just 7, when our female tribute placed 5th out of 24.

Our escort suddenly leaves. I take a bite from the apple, and decide to take a nap before I get to the capitol. I walk into the bedroom, and the tv shows Caeser Flickerman commentating the 81st Hunger Games. "The first move for the feast has been made, and she looks like she's going to get away, Oh, nevermind. And another cannon sounds in the arena." he says, and the face of the District 10 Female appears behind Caeser, the time of death reading 09:4:21:11. I click the tv off, and fall into a dreamless sleep.

I am shaken awake by Delilah. "We're here..." she says. I groan, and try to smile to the cameras. Soon as we get off, our stylists whisk us away to begin cleansing us and dressing us for the tribute parade. Hopefully they do something clever.

I am quickly cleaned and prepared, before I suit into my outfit. It's a sleveless leather jacket with brown cargo pants, with grain symbols printed on them. I sigh. A plain outfit won't help me gain sponsors. I see Delilah walk out, wearing garb similar to mine.

I get my first look at the other tributes, as I load onto my carriage. As usual, Districts 1, 2, and 4 have the most fit looking tributes. District 5 has a female tribute that could probably join the careers, and District 10 has a very tall male tribute. The other tributes look just about as they would every year, District 11 and 12 being malnourished, District 6 and 8 looking like they know they're bloodbath fodder, District 7 looking very deadly with an ax, District 3 having nerdy tributes.

The chariot moves forward, and I wave to the crowd. I know I can't really do much, but I finally am glad when the chariot stops. The president gives a speech, and then it's off to my tribute quarters.

"So here it is!" Our escort says. I am in shock. It is large, and looks like a fancy place. Delilah is just as surprised. "Now, off to bed, you gotta train tomorrow at 8 in the morning!". I go to my room, and fall into another dreamless sleep.

Chapter 3: Training
When I walked into the massive training room, the size was astounding. Delilah was just about in shock as myself. In each door, two tributes walked out, each from ever district. Their district number was imprinted on the shoulders of the short sleeved training outfits.

"Alright... Drake, what should we start out on?" Delilah asked. I thought about it... being from 9 has taught us nothing about survival. "Survival section." I say, and we start to walk over there. The trainer teaches us how to start a fire, and dismisses us.

I start to then take notice. Naturally the careers are situated at the weapons station. District 4, normally the weakest of the careers, seem to be the best ones this year, and their leader is the female from 4. I then start to take notes on them for when I had to eventually face them.

District 1 Male. Flawless with a spear. Deadly in ranged and melee combat. District 1 Female. Deadly with throwing knives, doesn't look like much of a probem in melee though. Distirct 2 Male. Good with a mace, however doesn't offer any ranged skills. District 2 Female. Dangerous with a bow. Need to watch out for her. District 4 Male. Probably the second most deadly career. Master with a sword, and not too bad at a distance with a throwing ax. District 4 Female. Leader, most deadly. Great with a trident, and also has a net to entangle tributes.

After I get done noting the careers, the lunch bell rings. I sit by Delilah. Most tributes sit by themselves, except the careers who sit at a table, talking loud and not caring that only one of them will possibly survive. "I hope the arena isn't water." Delilah says. "District 4 is by far the most deadly, and water will make them even harder to deal with." she finishes. I look at the odds board so far. All the careers have high odds. My odds so far are 17-1, probably cause I haven't shown any combat skill. Delilah's are 20-1. Every other tribute has odds of 11-1 all the way through 30-1 (owned by the boy from 11.),so we're about average.

After training is over, I head back to my quarters. I decide to watch something. I click it over, and it's a first in on the games. "And right now, the odds board are constantly changing! So far, our highest odds are owned by Amina Soursia, with an odds of 3-1!" Caeser says excitedly. So that's the 4 Girl's name. After Caeser gives a long reviuew, I turn the tv off and head to sleep.

Chapter 4: Becoming a target.
I grabbed a weapon from the rack. A machete. It was simple to use and was lightweight. I could make good slashes and stabs with it. "Woah. Drake, your doing pretty good!" Delilah says. "Thanks." I reply. Delilah is sticking to a dagger, which she is mediocre with.

The careers have recruited the 5 Female. The tall male from 10 falls from the net climbing, almost reaching the top. The careers snicker at him, and then turn their attention to me. They probably thought "another weak tribute from 9.". Well not this year.

I began hacking at the dummy, slashing it. I step back, before thrusting into it's chest. The careers walk on without any noise. Showed them up. My odds have noticeably changed to 12-1, so now I am more of a threat.

This time at lunch, Delilah is absent. She suffered frostbite after trying the arctic survival simulator. They said she would be present at the interview tomorrow. I notice the careers pointing at me and whispering among themselves.

I was surprised later on when I made the Hunger Game's News. "Drake Samerus. District 9. This tribute has had the best improvement of odds. Maybe District 9 still has some fight left in it." Caeser announces. I feel proud, and fall into a sleep of me being crowned victor.

When I see Delilah tomorrow, I ask her about the arctic simulator. "It was cold! I could see my breath in mists, and most of the wood was wet! I only lasted 3 minutes before they took me out for frostbite." she answered. Today was where I proved to the gamemakers about my set of skills.

I was waiting to be called. District 6's female had came out, crying. The district 7 male came out with a look of satisfaction. The district 8 female came out wet, and when her District partner asked why, she said she drowned while trying to swim and that they had to send in paramedics. Other than the careers, these tributes were no threat.

"District 9. Drake Samerus." A robotic voice says. I stand up, and Delilah says "Wait.". I stop, and she reaches up and kisses me on the cheek. I can tell I'm blushing, and she says "For luck.". I walk in the training center. Still shocked.

"You have 5 minutes to select your presented skill." the gamemaker said. I first go over to the survival station, making a hearty fire. I then climb the ropes, and go to the combat station. I take the machete, and being cutting down dummies. I bow, and leave as soon as the alarm buzzes.

"...hahahaha! Priceless!" Claudius says as Caeser just gets done telling him a joke about his pet cat. I am sitting in the living room with my stylists and escort. Delilah looks nervous. She smiles when I look to her, when the scores start. "Now I don't want to keep our eager viewers waiting with idle chatter. Let us proceed." Caeser says.

"First up, District 1-Marvin, a score of 9. Petunia, a score of 9. District 2- Josh, a score of 9. Raylee, a score of 10." I don't pay attention to District 3. "District 4- Matthew, a score of 11. Amina, a score of 11" Caeser says. Both 11's... rare occurence. District 5's career gets an 8 and the male gets a 6. District 6 has a 5 and 6, District 7 has a 6 and 7, District 8 has a 4 and 6. "District 9- Drake Samerus, a score of 8." Caeser finally says. "Wow Drake!" my escort says. "Delilah Peters... a score of 5.". Delilah looks shocked, then upset. She starts to tear up.

I walk over to violet, and pull her into a hug. "Score's don't mean much..." I say soothingly. She sobs into my shoulder. The tall boy from 10 gets a 7 and his district partner a 5. District 11 has two 4's, and District 12 has two 5's.

Violet then goes to her room, and I hear her sobbing. I walk into my room. A thunderstorm has brewed up outside, and the tv goes static. I sigh, and head straight to bed. I got to sleep, this time my dreams troubltes with many images.

Chapter 5: An Interview with Caeser.
"Use your charm and good looks to astound the crowd!" My stylist says as she suits me up into a fancy white tuxedo and black khakis. "Contrast is key! Now go give them a show!" she says. I stand in line and watch the interviews. Marvin is comedic, and Petunia is charming. Josh talks loudly and intimidating. and Raylee does the same. Matthew says he's ready to go and he has confidence in these games. Amina is shocking. After giving a stunning performance, she claps her hands, and her dress transforms into an aqua bikini. I can see the males in the crowd cheer and shout, their eyes widen in surprise.

When she walks off stage, the male in front of me gives a wolf whistle to Amina. She winks at him, but I know she's trying to blind him in the games. After the District 8 female is booed off the stage for trying to be like Amina, I am sent up to the stage.

"You know him all as The one with the most surprise, but we know him as Drake Samerus!" Caeser announces, as the theme blares. I strut out, yelling out "Whoo!", trying to take a career strategy. People clap, and I take my seat next to Caeser.

"Well Drake, it seems you've surprised us all with training and all." Caeser says. "Certainly did." I say confidently. "So anyways, what have you proven by doing so?" Caeser asks. "That District 9 isn't full of weaklings." I say back. "Tell me... what were your first thoughts of the reaping?" he asked. "They were just another obstacle to overcome." I say. Caeser smiles. "And lastly... who are you winning for?" he asks. "My sister Sally... and my best friend, Delilah." I say. "Give it up, for Drake Samerus!" Caeser says, and everyone roars and cheers.

When I see Delilah, she's blushing. "You didn't have to..." she starts. "But I did." I reply. She smiles, then hurries out onto the stage.

On my way back to my quaters. Amina stops me. "You think your so clever, think you've got these games in the bag. Well, you don't! These are my games! I am the one to be crowned victor! If you think your going to take it from me, your wrong! Watch your back, Drake, because your the first one I come after!" she says, storming off.

Chapter 6: The BLOODBATH
After loading a hovercraft and being inserted with a tracker, I was in the prepping room. I was given a grain gold colored hoodless rain jacket with a short sleeved matching undershirt, and rough cargo pants with black laced boots.

"Expect a wet arena." my stylist says. I get in the tube, and it begins to rise. The bright sun blinds me as I reach the top, and when my eyes adjust I am spaced out from other tributes. The cornucopa is in the middle, a small marsh surrounds it. About knee deep to me.

To my left I see the 5 Male, and to my right is the 11 Female. I spot Delilah 3 pedestals to my left. "60... 59.. 58..." the countdown begins. Tributes have nervous glances going, exluding the careers who have a fierce look aimed straight at the cornucopia.

"43... 42... 41..." I point myself towards the cornucopia. Time is getting close to being up. A bunch of people were about to die. Hopefully I wasn't among them. "30... 29... 28..." the countdown continued. Just a matter of time.

The voice ends, and 10 seconds display above the cornucopia. The sound of a drum beating echoes, and the number changed to 9. This is it. This might be my last sight. I look to Delilah who looks very scared. A horn goes off, and the bloodbath begins.

I am running to the cornucopia. My boots squish in the muddy swamp as I get slowed down. I am one of the first to get out and reach the cornucopia. I grab a machete and sling a backpack over my shoulders just as more tributes arrive.

Carnage surrounds me. Tributes attacking each other, blood splattering. I witness the first death of the games as the District 12 Female gets impaled by one of Marvin's thrown spears. I begin to make a move to escape, when someone tackles me.

Thrown on the ground, I see my attacker, the male from 7. He has an ax strapped across his back, and is punching me. I throw him off me and unsheathe my machete, and dig it into his abdomen. He's tougher than I thought as he gets back up. Before he takes his ax off his back, I stab him through the chest. He falls over.

I see Matthew turn a crate to go finish off the District 3 Male whom he threw over it. I see Delilah struggling in the swampy waters with the District 6 Female. Mud is splashed on her face as she fights for her life. I run over towards her.

Delilah gets her head forced under the water. I arrive, before throwing the District 6 female under the water. I pull Delilah up, who gasps. "We gotta move!" I say, begining to run off. We begin running when I hear a splash next to me.

Delilah coughs up blood, and falls into the water. A trident potrudes out of her back. I see Amina come after me, followed by Josh. I sniffle, knowing Delilah is gone, as I run out of the water. Most of the tributes have cleared out from the cornucopia.

I run off down into the forest. I look to my left, seeing the tall boy from 10 give me a death glance before climbing up a tree. The horn fades off, signifying the bloodbath's end. Then, the cannons. '''BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!'''

9 deaths... one of them Delilah. When I think I'm a good distance from the cornucopia, I sit down and investigate my backpack. String, a dagger, some matches, dried fruit, and a canteen of water. I've got basic supplies. Enough to keep me good for a couple of days.

That night, the anthem played and the faces of the deceased appeared in the sky. First up was the male from 3, followed by the boy from 6, boy from 7, girl from 8, boy from 8... I almost cried when I saw Delilah up there as well... followed by the girl from 10, boy from 11, and girl from 12. The anthem ended, and the night ambience continued.

Chapter 7: Progressing Through
With 15 tributes still out to get me, I knew I needed to win this. For Delilah. Amina was going to pay. I was going to make sure of it.

I traveled around the arena. The sun shone brightly over the oak forest, as I moved onto a meadow. I found a small pond in the center of it. Perfect place to stay, a constant water source and an open meadow for hunting and trapping.

By the afternoon, clouds covered the sky. A rumble of thunder signified rain. This open meadow wouldn't provide much cover, so I decided to go back into the forest. When I got in, it started. Pouring down on the arena, becoming a torrent.

It stopped about an hour later. Probably to drive tributes into the forest. I heard voices. Crap. Careers were thinking the same thing. I needed somewhere to hide. I saw large tree. Knowing I had mediocre climbing skills I knew I wouldn't get very high. But hopefully high enough to get away from the careers.

"Tributessss! Come out!" Amina sang. I wanted to jump down and kill her, but I had to win for Delilah. "Ivory, go find your district partner." Amina said to the girl from 5. Her partner was no threat, all he was good at was camouflage and using a knife. Why would they want him?

"There! Up in the tree!" Josh said, pointing to a tree 3 trees away. The girl from 7 was hiding in it. "Come on down tree girl!" Raylee taunted. "Marvin... ready that spear!" Amina said. The girl from 7's face became in fear. She made whimpering sounds as she tried to climb higher.

Marvin had his spear out. He reared back and through it. It sailed and speared the girl in the arm, pinning her to the tree. She cried out in pain, and the careers laughed. I was horrified. How could they enjoy the pain of a 13 year old girl?

"Alright, enough fun. Finish her." Amina said. Marvin readied another spear. He threw it and I winced as he let it go. I heard a sickening sound of flesh being stabbed into. The spear pierced her chest. She looked up to the sky, her eyes with no life in them.

'''BOOM! '''Her cannon soon sounded. Raylee, the smallest career, climbed up and secured the spears and took them back to Marvin. The careers soon left. I decided to stay in that tree that night. The fallen appeared, and showed the girl from 7. I soon fell in a disturbed sleep.