JER's Tournament/Eighth Act: Before The Games

It's the same deal; I will tell my story and others may tell it when the time comes.

Tournament: Day One, 5:00 AM-7:00 AM
Some of the Tributes can't stand the tension of being in the Tournament, so they get nightmares that wake them up early. For some, it doesn't really bother them, but then again...

As JERealize
I was tied to a stone slab as they planned out my torture. They whipped my chest, set my hair on fire, and even kept slamming nails through my fingers. They were Alexis, Eduardo, Ariana, and Yoselin, and one more... my old colleague... willing to nail a metal stake through my eye... she wouldn't dare... but she did...

I woke up at 5:03 AM, horrified out of my wits. The only thing to make it worse was, the Tournament begins today, and the only way that I was going to win was to kill everyone else.

I ordered breakfast, but decided not to have it delivered by an Avox, since I want to enjoy free air before I enter the Arena. I left my room, my suite, my building, and headed over to the Central Training Area's third floor, where an Avox insisted to bring my breakfast to me while I was standing in the elevator. I let the Avox go ahead, because this may be the last bit of servitude given to me in my life.

As I returned, I decided to wait in the California Suite main room until all the others woke up and came out of their rooms, which took shorter than I thought, seeing that we all came into the main room by 5:30 AM. "Let's have a little meeting," I suggested to the other three Tributes, and after they ordered breakfast, they sat down with me.

"This is the day where everything begins," I start. "We are all Californians, and we are all Tributes, but let's remember that we are all allies. We need to prove that California is always on top, and--"

FableWarrior stops me. "We get it, okay?"

"We can't forget it," IRH argued, "especially when Elivaalova and I are there for each other."

"Yes, that's always true," Elivaalova added. They walked out of the suite together. That meant FableWarrior and I were left all alone, and I didn't trust FableWarrior one bit.

As Resen Havar
I don't know why Stronton wants to get me revenge... oh, wait. Wasn't he in that race back in 2009? Well, I guess I know why he wants me. However, I have to kill him before he kills me.

As for Dural Celan, we used to have an alliance, but it broke a few days ago. I decided, then and there, not to forge any more alliances outside of my group, especially when Cato and Clove seem so reliable. In order to prove my worth, though, I should make a killing in the bloodbath. As for Hortie Ninke, I think he's holding us back, so I'll let bloodlust take its course.

I have no idea what to do at this time, so after I eat breakfast, I decided to run around the building a few times. Once I came back inside, it was 6:12 AM, and Cato and Clove gave me a look of irritation, as if they can't stand me at all.

"We have been waiting for you," Cato told me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"There was something we need to tell you..." Clove warned. "I think you might be getting too attached to us."

"What do you mean?" I wondered.

"We don't want you to ally with us just because we were read about many times in Katniss' memoirs," Cato informed. "We just want you to ally with us so we can actually survive..."

"We're not here to greet our fans," Clove added. "With that in mind, we just want to... make sure you're a true ally."

"As of today, our alliance is postponed," Cato told me. "That means, we'll be out for your blood until midnight tonight. If you survive our wrath, then you will be our ally. Can we agree on that?" Cato waited for me to answer.

I had to figure out what to answer with...

Finally, I came up with my answer. "Fine. I accept." Before they could say another word, I left, frustrated at how hard this decision shall haunt me. I have guaranteed two temporary enemies instead of keeping them both neutral for a lot longer.

As Finnick Odair
Almost a week ago, I was being gnawed on by mutts in the Capitol's sewers. This week, I ended up in some sort of nightmare, since 379 others are out to kill me.

To tell you the truth, I wish I stuck with the mutts.

It seems like everyone was adding some extra training to their schedule before they have to go to the Arena. If they get any better, I'd be knocked out of the top 20, and I'm barely holding on as it is. I've decided to do something about it and bring as many of my true friends to a special meeting outside.

"We all seem to have a problem," I addressed everyone once we all gathered, "as we were either facing death or living happy lives, and ended up here in the forms of the selves that were in the Games. I've decided that we should form an agreement to help each other whenever we are around. It does not require as much dedication as if we were allies, but we won't try to attack each other until we are in at least the top 50. Do any of you agree to this plan?"

Annie and I weren't the only ones who were in this conversation I set up. Katniss, Gale, and Peeta apparently were in the same ordeal, so they had to come along. Also, they told me that six others were also caught in these Games, but only Thresh and Rue from District 11 came over. I only know what they showed me on television, but if Katniss knew them personally...

"All seven of us?" Gale asked. "I guess it sounds reasonable, but these Games are nothing like... I don't know..."

"Nothing like the Games I was forced through... twice?" Peeta filled in.

"Gale had his hardships, too, Peeta," Katniss reminded Peeta. "Don't get too carried away."

Peeta composed himself. "Okay."

Rue added another statement. "The only problem we have is that we end up turning against each other when there are fewer and fewer Tributes."

"That's the thing. We all know that that will happen if there was an alliance," I informed. "However, we're only holding an agreement to not get in each other's way until there are very few Tributes left."

"Why can't we form an alliance?" Katniss asked.

"I keep telling you, we can't get too attached to each other," I warned. "Only one of us can win. That's the problem."

"Why can't we?" Peeta asks me.

"Isn't it obvious?" Annie points out. "This isn't Panem anymore. We've somehow ended up in something much more frightening. We'll have to accept our fate soon enough, but as of now... We need this agreement so we can last longer. What do you say?" She waited for a response to be choked out.

Thresh finally spoke. "I'll join the agreement. We are still human. We all need help when it counts."

Gale spoke up. "Wait, you can't be serious about this decision. We're all going to perish sooner or later, and I can't even trust people like Thresh to watch my backs."

"Well, you're going to hold up your end of the agreement on this one," Thresh answered. "However, the rest of us all know how to survive, and personally, I think you might actually be the weakest link in this agreement. If you want to leave, let me kill you first."

"What? You can't!" Katniss replied.

"Listen, Gale," Peeta requests. "In truth, you know about survival more than I do. However, we are both very much equal, only with a few differences." He turns to me. "We'll join your agreement, provided that we two form our own alliance and you five form your own."

Both Gale and Peeta left the scene. I will never know what fate will become of them...

As for the rest, they eventually formed an alliance with each other, and the agreement is created, though it is currently unstable. I have no idea what to do next...

As Dark Matter
Everyone must have woken up, because my mentor, Yesare Dernes, had just told me to go to the Exclusives Center since we are all leaving for the Arena. I had arrived inside the building where someone guided me to a hovercraft that lay on the roof of the building instead of inside the building itself.

Once I arrived, they inserted a tracking chip into me, and I took a few seconds to look out on the Training Center while they were at it. The Training Center was hovering over a desert this time, with a river twisting its way through he landscape. For a moment, I swore that the landscape was moving...

They dismissed me, and I went inside the hovercraft. I had to stay there for a while... The only thing was, I wasn't very much alone, as they had brought me my laptop computer, which I thought I had left it back in my room.

I was completely conditioned by Yesare Dernes, my own, separate mentor, on her floor, the twentieth floor. She had let me train just after I had returned from the Parade. She recreated my image so well that I never want it to change again. I had only left her floor for the Parade, Training, Interviews, and Rivalry battles (if I was in a battle). No one except Yesare knows my former identity, and that includes no one but Yesare. Even I don't seem to remember what I was before...

I used my laptop to recheck the Training Scores, since it seems too shocking to believe that Sedra Alsypse would beat me in that category. Even with the rechecking, Sedra was still two points ahead of my score.

However, there's still some chance for redemption. The website said that they'll launch our Progress Scores, which tell everyone who is the most likely to win based on their progress. It gets launched when there are 96, 48, 24, 12, and 6 Tributes, so I must guarantee that I make it through those milestones.

I keep studying by seeing the other Tributes' stats, and them I find her. There she was, with an impressive score of 86. I should remember her. Yes, I saw her a while ago. She was... she was...

Oh, I can't believe the web browser crashed! Now how am I going to remember her? She seemed so important!

"How are things?" a voice startled me. I turned around to find Yesare Dernes, my mentor and friend, by a door to another room. "I thought you would want to sit with the pilots of the hovercraft."

"I thought I saw someone I knew on the browser," I answered.

"You already knew everyone who will be participating," she reminded me. "Why do you need to remember one more?"

"It seems like this one mattered... even more than Sedra Alsypse." I would never say that phrase again.

"Don't worry. She'll die on the first day," she assured.

"She had an 86... wait, you didn't know that she would be a girl..." I began. However, I felt something pierce my arm, and then I fell asleep.

As Cream Donahew
Here I am: in a room with a window opening up to the desolate landscape we were passing through. It seems like the perfect place to sacrifice in the name of the cult... if only there was a rock to shed the blood of the sacrifice on.

However, I think that the heat's getting to me, because even I'm not immune to the sun's demanding heat. I'm not even sure that this place will be the Arena we will fight in. If it is, it seems kind of shabby, nonetheless. I know that this seems like a good place for an Arena, but it seems like everyone will die in there in at least three days.

Also, I'm not close enough to the Top 20 than I want to be. If I want to ensure my dominance over this terrain, I need to make sure all the others are killed off, though that may be a problem. Mason Joiner is planning on upgrading from 'third wheel' to 'main character' in the Franco Toledo-Jesus Chavez rivalry. Nicole Yuan will likely be dragging us all down. That's to consider without mentioning Bliss Diamonds...

She received a Training Score higher than mine, but only by one point. This wouldn't concern me, but as far as I know, the last High Priest was a girl, and she was tougher than I was, and let's not forget that she was murdered a few years ago. The Tournament will be no different, but I will have to figure out if we are landing here, in the desert.

"No, this is not the place," the pilot confirms. "Please return to your room or else we'll have to deal with you."

I left with less understanding of where we were heading. Since we weren't heading to the desert, where were we heading?

As Cristian Valencia
They say that this entire event we're competing in will be shown around the world, and that almost 3 billion people will see it. So, when you figure it out, 3 billion people will watch 379 people's deaths.

Since the odds are not in my favor, this means that I will be one of the victims. However, I'm not going down on the first day. I've trained too much for this. I'll off the Espinozas to prove my worth beyond my Training Score of 64. From there, I will find everyone else, and while they sleep, I'll plant a few snares around them, so once they wake up, there's no escaping death at my hand.

However, there's the phrase "easier said than done". In my case, that means that I must survive the first few days to move on to my plans. In this Tournament, Training Scores are failed prophets, which provide surprises for each Tribute once the truth is revealed.

Our fleet of hovercrafts have flown past the Mojave Desert and into the Inland Empire. I have no idea where the Arena could be, though we have traveled for hours. Just then, our fleet flew into dozens of openings carved onto a mountain. We were about to arrive in the Launch Room. However, it seems like the tunnels go on and on...

Another thought strikes me: Will this be the Arena?

As InsertRandomnessHere (11:03 AM)
This is clearly odd for a tunnel: I can now see subway tracks beneath the hovercraft. There can only be one possible explanation: The Tournament will be hosted in a city... and I have a good idea which city it will be...

As Nelle Elteriz (11:04 AM)
We are about to reach our positions, at long last. The hovercraft lands in a large landing deck with a steady hum. All four of us NY Tributes were ordered off the hovercraft. After facing California, I need to kill California... because... they... asked for it...

As for New York, I'll deal with them once it's time, but as of now, I need to survive the bloodbath, no matter how many Tributes come at me...

As Primrose1444 (11:07 AM)
We were taken to a room, all four of us Massachusetts Tributes. All 95 states/provinces/territories were assigned one where all of us can launch. However, someone told me that we may launch from the same room, but end up on different sides of the Cornucopia. If that's the case, my friends and allies will not be reachable for a while or even at all.

My stylist gave us our Tribute outfits, which were your basic Army uniforms (like they couldn't think of anything original). After putting it on, I still had a lot of time, so I waited...

As Anon... (11:22 AM)
Why do we have to wait this long for the Games to start? There was nothing to do but watch the so-called 'Tournament Preshow', where Selto Mandani discusses what to expect in the Tournament. I wish he would just kill himself, already. He is so irritating.

As Luke Heart (11:29 AM)
It seems like it would take an eternity for the Tournament to start. I don't have an eternity...

It seemed like the others thought that same thought, because the Gamemakers already ordered us into the tubes. They say that they would instantly make time skip itself for us Tributes, so that in one minute, it would be 11:59 AM. I'm good with that plan...

I was ordered into the tube, and there I went...

As Elivaalova
"Welcome to the first ever North American 'Hunger Games' Tournament!" Selto Mandani's voice boomed all over the starting point, which seems to look like a football stadium. Why are we starting here?

379 other Tributes circle the golden Cornucopia, and all of them are as lost as I am. I decide to look for the other California Tributes. JERealize was standing just across from me, and IRH was about 50 Tributes to the left. As for FableWarrior, it took a while for me to notice him pulling out something from his pockets. It was his token, a gas mask.

Why would he need it now when we weren't going to be gassed... at least, not today? He prepared to throw it my way. What was he doing?

Fifteen seconds remain, and he's still eyeballing me. He then throws it at me, or rather, below me... The mines! That clever psychopath decided to take me out before the Tournament begins.

Five seconds left, and it's still coming. Please, let the timer run out. Please, let the timer run out. Please, let the timer run out...

Three... Two... One...

(explosion; gong)

Deaths

 * 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0.07 seconds before the Tournament begins (BT): Elivaalova (California, 380th Place)
 * Cause of death: Mine explosion caused by pressure from FableWarrior's token being thrown at it