umpa lumpa

8/14/2019 Umpa Lumpa

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...and I ran away again. It seems like it's the story of my life, doesn't it? I keep

running away from the sons of the big three who are just a few years older

than me. Of course this time I still had the dignity of an excuse- I was going to

help get the thena !arthenos statue to "amp #alf $lood. %till the truth was

shining like a &egas signboard in front of me. I was running away because I

was embarassed and couldn't bear the pitying looks coming from ason (race'sdirection. Percy's safe.)e'd do anything for the ones we lo*e. +hat was the

main reason I had come all the way here. It was a pathetic one- !ercy would

ha*e been safe without my help, he was perfectly capable. $esides, he had

nnabeth. ow that he was safe, the pain of watching the happy couple was

too much for me to bear. (oing through +artarus was probably an extreme

*ersion of couple therapy. ou become closer watching o*er the one you lo*e

and protecting them from their fears and nightmares.Just how close did

Annabeth and Percy become in their journey through Hell? aybe I had just

been a*oiding the truth. !ercy had jumped into +artarus because of nnabeth.

/efinitely a sign of a serious relationship.

Imagine carrying a billion cdonald #appy eals. ow imagine ha*ing to

protect them from hordes of ra*enous children while carrying it from one place

to another. ll the while feeling like your sur*i*ing on *apours. +hat's exactly

what carrying the golden thena statue was like. pparently it was like a

shining beacon calling out to the monsters ')eak and tired demigods here0

"ome and get them0'. 1eyna was a good fighter. %he had a lot of other faults

but I admired her for that. $ut e*en she couldn't keep fi*e *icious cyclopes,

three hellhounds, a minotaur and a hydra at bar at the same time. )here did

(aea get these monsters from? )e had closed the /oors of /eath. 2*en

though they died once we stuck a blade into them, we still had to stick a bladein all of them at least once. ot an easy task when you feel like a 3ombie and

you ha*e to split you're attention between them and a shining gold statue. +o

do that, you would need to be a god or something. 4nfortunately, 1eyna was

not a god. %o despite feeling exhausted from transporting a million pound

figurine and two demigods all the way from (reece to 5rance, I threw myself

into the fray. 2*en as a pocketknife expanded into a full length stygian iron

sword, I jabbed *iciously at a cyclope. It ran backwards into it's fellow cyclope

and I stabbed both of them at once. It's okay. It's not Tyson. 5or the first time

in months, the monster crumbled into golden dust and didn't reform. +hank the

gods, or more accurately us demigods who had closed the doors of death.1eyna had started looking desperate in her battle with the hydra. %he hadn't

cut any of it's heads off so they hadn't multiplied. %till, they were wea*ing

around distracting her in her fight with the bull man. 4sing the last dregs of

my %on of #ades powers, I forced the freakish hellhounds back into my father's

kingdom. %pending this last bit of energy was too exhausting. It was like

coming off a sugar high. I didn't e*en ha*e any energy to roll away when one

of the hellhounds picked me up with sharp teeth. %he tried using her own


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*ersion of shadow tra*el. +he gods only know how it reacted with my %hadow

powers. ll I remember is the darkest black I ha*e e*er seen filling my *ision

and slumping to the ground.

I hit the ground feet first. y first conscious thought was this is definintely not

the nderworld.lthough, uniformed men were herding people into lines , thepeople in the lines were children instead of the normal elderly that died and

waited in "haron's waiting room. +he air here was different too. Instead of the

warm and slightly stale air that floated through #ades territory, the air here

was cold and o*erly perfumed as if to hide some nasty secret. 1ight in front of

me 6)ell not right in front of me, there were two kids in front of me. I mean in

front of the kids7 was the second gudiest stage I had e*er seen- +he first being

that horrible stage in which the two giants had planned to kill me on. +his

stage was made of car*ed white marble and was studded with as many jewels

as !ersephone's garden contained. 2*en from here, I could tell that most of

them were fake. #ey0 It comes with the territory of being a %on of #ades.

&el*et carpets lined the steps leading up to the stage. man in a suit that was

nearly as expensi*e as "haron's took centerstage on it. $eside him stood a

blonde man and woman who looked so alike they must ha*e been siblings.

$arbie and 8en stood so stoically and silently, they may ha*e been statues.

y demigod mind didn't allow me to stare at the stage for long. It dragged my

attention to the line I was standing in. +he children around me were leaning

slightly away from me- so slightly I doubted they e*en noticed. nother %on of

#ades thing. If self-preser*ence is a priority, it usually kicks in when you stand

next to me. 2*en in "amp #alf-$lood where e*erybody carries around weapons

and has killed at least once, they tend to keep their distance. It made it really

hard to fit in anywhere. $ianca had felt that problem too. I knew that it had

contributed at least partially to her decision to join the hunters. 5or a thirteen

year old who was always slightly ostraci3ed, a group of girls offering sisterhood

is a dream come true. oral to all other demigods 9 ake friends or when a

girls only club comes offering you membership, you're going to accept it and

end up dying.

:ike all demiods, if my life was a book then it would be a tragedy. It would be

written in ncient (reek 6for the con*enience of other /emigods7 and the first

few chapters would be blank 6courtsey the water in 1i*er :ethe7.+he library in

ew 1ome was full of books like these 6 not the blank pages- that's prettyuncommon7. aybe a hundred years down the road 6assuming the world was

not taken o*er by (aea and her minions or the +itans7, the 1omans in "amp

upter would use my life story to teach demigods. If I e*er got a say in writing

it, I would make sure this moral was included keep innocent girls from being

lured into /iana's trap. I shook my head to stop thinking about one of the

saddest chapters of my life. I had no idea where I was and I was throwing

myself a pity party? Instead I focused on a whispered con*ersation a few feet


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away from me that went a little like this9

$oy ; 9 our sixteen now. ou gonna make a run for the stage?

$oy < 9 ah0 o materials, no *olunteering. I don't plan to sur*i*e on s=uirrels

and pine needles.

$oy ; 9 6tauntingly7/on't tell me your scared.

$oy really bad

word that $ianca would kill me for knowing>

t this point a man in a white uniform broke the fight up *iolently. I couldn't see

what was going on but I could feel the second boy's life ebbing away. #ad he

really been killed just for arguing? girl next to me grabbed the nearest thing

to her to steady herself- that thing happened to be my arm. #er brightly

painted nails dug into the soft leather of my jacket lea*ing irreparable marks.

sideward glance confirmed she was in tears. s subtly as I could, I remo*ed my

arm from her grasp. I don't like to be touched. )hy hadn't anybody done

anything to stop them? )hy hadn't I? Oh0 right I could feel the fear in the

crowd flickering like shadows. +hese men in white uniform had power. )hat

kind of cra3y world had I landed myself into? If I was heroic and bra*e like

!ercy, I would ha*e swung around and killed them. $ut I didn't. I was a coward.

I was in a strange new world and only had a sword that didn't work on mortals

anyways. +he collecti*e fear in the crowd, which I had always been sensiti*e

too, had paraly3ed me. +o stop myself from descending into self-hatred, I

thought about the con*ersation that had resulted in the death of the boy.

pparently to *olunteer for something, you had to run towards the stage. Itwas usually an honour to do so, but this year it wasn't because there were no

'materials'. nd materials were needed for people from one to win- something

which the dead boy was. )eird.

:adies and (entlemen of /istrict One0 )elcome to the reaping for /istrict

One this third @uarter @uell. +his day of the year is a day for repentence and a

day for thanks. %e*enty fi*e years to this date , as part of the +reaty of +reason,

the #unger (ames were brought into action. /espite the 1ebellion agianst the

"apitol during the /ark /ays, the generous "apitol ga*e the children of the

/istricts a chance to win honour and glory for their district and fame and

fortune for themsel*es. said r. $illion /ollar %uit. #e spoke like he had all the

time in the world and people had nothing better to do than to listen to him. ll

his sentences ended a pitch higher like he was asking =uestions. %omething

about the way he spoke put me on an edge.+he words sounded innocent

enough but I could almost sense the utter lack of con*iction in his *oice and

the warning he seemed to be gi*ing.It seemed to be a pattern with this place.

%parkling and perfect on the outside, e*il and corrupt on the inside. :ike


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monsters hiding under the mist. y suspicions were confirmed when the

mayor, a se*ere looking lady with dirty blonde hair and strangely black eyes,

got up to read the +reaty of +reason. %he desciribed *ery graphically a bloody

battle between a '"apitol' and thirteen /istricts. )hen the thirteen districts lost

the war, the "apitol punished them harshly. In essence, the "apitol bombed

/istrict ;A as an example and threw the country into a dictatorship. +heydi*ided and con=uered by ha*ing two children between the ages of ;;-;B

reaped from each of the remaining twel*e districts fight to their deaths in an

arena. +o add insult to injury, the children were told they were winning glory for

their district.

+hen the mayoress ceded the mike again for the guy with the fancy suit. %he

made her way to the glass bowls that were o*erflowing with slips. nd now,

it's time for us to see who will ha*e the honour of represening /istrict One in

the #unger (ames. s always, it's ladies first. #e paused dramaticaly and

reached into the bowl to pick up a slip. In a way that would lea*e the phrodite

girls giggling, he smiled and she called out /iamond cken3ie. girl with

dark brown hair wearing a long dress in a bright green walked onto the stage

where she stood facing the audience. %he had emerged out of the line of

se*enteen year olds but next to the fake jewels and e*en faker opulence of

the stage , she looked tiny. ny *olunteers? 5or the first time, since the

second hunger games, there was no flurry of hair and colouful clothes as girls

between the ages of ;C and ;B ran towards the stage. Or at least that's what I

understood from the whispers passing around me. urmurs of doubt and

confusion rang through the audience. 2*en on stage, confusion was e*ident on

each face. %till no girl made an effort to mo*e towards the stage. :ooking

considerably shocked but not altogether unpleased, the man continued as ifnothing historical had happened nd now for the gentlemen... . +his time he

grappled with the slips in the bowl for a few minutes. ll in an effort to secure

more camera time from the tele*ision crews that were filming li*e next to the

stage. +here was probably some =uota he had to fulfil. +his time the chosen

slip read ico /i ngelo

I fro3e in the middle of an /#/ induced foot tapping. #ow was my name in

there? I wasn't e*en from /istrict One0 !nly the "ods.$ecause how else would

my name e*en end up in there? !asting on his trademark 'I'm scary. %tay far,

far away from me' expression he walked towards the stage. If the tele*ison

wanted a reaction, they were definitely not getting one. I just knew that this

wasn't airing on just mortal tele*ision, it was probably on #ephestus +& too.

+he (ods of Olympus weren't his greatest fans. Of course, they'd lo*e to see

him fight for his life in an artificial arena against real humans instead of

mortals. $ut then they were (ods- watching mortals fight and die was probably

their sort of entertainment. ll of them had supported the games at the

"olusseum in their 1oman forms. r. / had enjoyed watching his fa*orite


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campers fight for their li*es. In fact he had demanded a sacrifice in exchange

for some help.%o logically, I shouldn't ha*e been surprised. $ut I was. +his

betrayal was like getting a 3ap from +halia- 4npleasant and shocking.

Of course it could ha*e been the 5ates. +hey did hold a grudge against the

demigods. I wasn't sure which idea scared me more. If the 5ates had writtenthis for me, there was no way I could escape. On the other hand, the (ods

were supposed to be family. I had fought for them, bled for them and e*en

faced my biggest fears for them. ow, because they're bored of sitting on

their thrones and arguing about pointless things like who's the most powerful ,

I ha*e to kill for them or maybe e*en die for them? I had once talked to :uke's

ghost. I was kind of curious to see the guy who !ercy would ne*er talk about

and +halia ne*er shut up about. 5or a guy who was the host to r. 2*il himself,

:uke was pretty normal. %till e*en in the span of a fi*e minute con*ersation, his

grudge against the gods showed. #e had talked about his failed =uest.

pparently he had been gi*en one of the same tasks as #erecules but had

failed it. #e seemed more bitter about the fact that it was a hand-me-down

=uest instead of the fact that he had failed it. In his words ' demigod. +he

fates must hate you if that's what you're born as. 5ace it kid, the gods are

bored and their fa*orite form of entertainment is their kids. +hey don't really

care about us.' t that point I hadn't belie*ed him. $ut now I remembered what

he said and understood. )e're mortals. +o them, our lifespans our unbelie*ably

short. +hey would rather ha*e us die young and in an entertaing way than a

few decades later and boringly. +hey must ha*e run out of other forms of

entertainment as well. ou can only laugh about Deus's crooked nose for a

couple of centuries before the joke gets old.

I stood silently on stage as the creepy lady asked for *olunteers again.

!ointless. 2*eryone knew it was just for show. If no girl had *olunteered, why

would a boy?. ay the odds e*er be in your fa*our the man next to me

wished. I'm a demigod, the odds are ne*er in my fa*our. %tupid, stupid

mortals. +hen it was time to shake hands with the eerily perfect looking 8en-

$arbie brother-sister duo. +hey both had long blonde hair and cold blue eyes

that kind of reminded me of my father's. +hey had seen death, they had

caused death and wouldn't be particularly troubled if I died. s I shook hands

with the brother, his eyes calculated exactly how long I was going to li*e. I

had seen that that expression in only one other pair of eyes. +hose eyes had

been grey and e*en though they hadn't been turned on me, they still sentimaginary spiders crawling up my spine. ot that I was going to tell nnabeth

that. I wouldn't tell this blonde man either. +hey didn't mean me any harm, but

they would still use anything they could against me mercilessly. +he sister's

eyes contained an emotion that I hated e*en more- pity. +he warmth in her

eyes contrasted with the chill in her hands. %he must ha*e dunked her hand in

an ice bucket before handing it to me to shake. ice try, ghosts ha*e e*en


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colder hands. +he pair regarded me as silently and solemnly as his father's

ceremonial guards. In their minds, they were probably placing my body in a

coffin. eah right, I wasn't going to die so easily I was a bit surprised when the

girl- /iamond offer me a hand to shake as well,but I took it anyways. #ow sick

were these people, if they wanted me to shake a person's hand who I was

supposed to kill? /iamond wasn't exceptionally pretty or strong looking but shelooked in control of herself. %he was short. :ike shorter-than-:eo &alde3-short.

It was kind of an ego boostE despite being only ;F and G months, I towered

o*er her. #er hands didn't shake, she didn't do the whole leaning away thing

and she e*en managed a brilliant smile which would ha*e completely thrown

me off if I was so inclined . $ut her smile was just a little to wide, her eyes just

a little too bright and her posture was completely artificial. o matter how

good she acted- it was still an act. If I had to compare her to a demigod, it

would probably be a daughter of phrodite. '5ake it 'til you make it', !iper had

said something like that. +hough she was nowhere near as dangerous as

!ercy, ason, :eo, nnabeth or e*en #a3el, she was a pretty accomplished

demigod. In fact, she often wrangled her way out of fights that e*en !ercy

would ha*e strugggled to win. I didn't respect daughters of phroditeE they

were shallow, *apid, petty and manipulati*e but I respected the power that

!iper commanded. :ong obser*ation of people told me that /iamond posessed

the same skill. It was unlikely she could charmspeak me, but she would be

sneaky. If she got under my skin, I wouldn't e*en notice and she'd ha*e no

compunctions about back-stabbing.

)e made a single file line as we walked down the steps. +he mayoress first,

and then the two look-alikes. fter 8en came /iamond and I followed her. +here

was no way I was going to gi*e her my back as a target. +he mayoress pausedto pick up a bratty looking child and hook her arm through a dark haired man.

Ob*iously her family. %urprise, surprise- looks like tweedledee and tweedledum

were part of her family too. +he "apitolite knew them too. /iamond and I

stood awkwardly towards the side as hugs and kisses were exchanged. It

wasn't strictly polite, but 6I'm going to pretend that that the 1i*er :ethe

washed away all memories of manners7 I ea*esdropped on them. 5rom their

fascinating and scintillating con*ersation I learnt that the mayoress and the

look-alikes were siblings. +here names were %atin, "ashmere and (loss.

"ashmere and (loss were the mentors for the tributes 6me and /iamond7. I'm

not e*en going to pretend that I wasn't a little jealous of the easy banter and

tearful goodbyes. I don't remember much about my mom but $ianca always

mothered meE she would probably tell me to remember to brush my teeth. nd

my dad? (od's0 I don't e*en want to think about his *ersion of a goodbye. #e

would be all awkward and gi*e me way too much money so I could look after

myself. !ersephone and /emeter would turn up to celebrate me departure and

they would remind me that I make a beautiful flower and I should eat cereal if I

want to stay human. +he closest I got to banter and tearful goodbyes is


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probably +halia, !ercy, nnabeth and +yson. $ut no, none of them would cry 6 I

think I'd be freaked out if they did7 and I'd rather !ercy not think of me as his

younger brother. fter it was o*er /iamond cleared her throat %o, can we go

to the ustice $uilding. I need to say goodbye to my family too. In some cases

this would sound like a fair sentence to say when on the way to your death.

#owe*er the slight snobbishness and whining tone of the *oice made it seemlike the most self-centred thing in the world to say. o. ew policy-no

goodbyes anymore. said the man in the white uniform. #e had popped up just

in time to hear the tail-end of the con*erstion. $ut that's not fair0 (loss and

"ashmere got to say goodbye to their family and they're not e*en going to

fight. %he had a point, but again her tone worked against her. Our mentors

and the mayoress looked amusedE I doubted she was going to be taken

seriously again. +he peacekeeper looked confused- as if he was unsure

whether he should be amused and disgusted with the girl tribute or annoyed

and angry at the family which had got a chance to say goodbye. #e settled for

%pecial circumstances. It won't happen again. and a glare. +o make /iamond

pay for his confusion, he grabbed her arm roughly and started hauling her

away. /on't you dare gi*er her a bruise. %he needs to be gorgeous for the

opening ceremony. "ashmere said as she hurried as fast as she could with

high heels on. +he "apitolian loped along with her easily- he wasn't wearing

high heels. +hat left me and the male mentor whose name was (loss. #e

gestured for me to walk with him. 4nwillingly I joined him. #e clasped my

shoulder and hissed =uietly into my ear '%mile. +he camera's don't like grouchy

tributes.' +hen pretending he had told a joke he laughed loudly and mo*ed his

hand away from my hiked shoulder. I fake smiled but I doubt anyone was

con*inced. I hissed back,I don't like to be touched.. y smile became less

fake as I watched the shock roll into his eyes. $ut he respected my feelings forthe rest of our walk and kept his distance.

Our walk wasn't long. I got the idea that the walk was more for the benefit of

the cameras. +hey wanted to 'see' the tributes. %o, I kept my smile on by

thinking happy thoughts. +hat blue haired guy with the big camera would ha*e

to listen to ustin $eiber on repeat. +hat woman with lime green talons and

parrot like beak sho*ing a mike into my face would ha*e to run through a

cactus patch naked. ust harmless little happy things. I also resisted the urge to

gather the shadows around me and disappear entirely from their *iew. 2*en

the mist couldn't hide that properly. I'd be grounded for years and I'd ha*e to

play with the "ereberus fot the rest of my life. 4gh0 Our walk ended when we

boarded a sleek sil*er train with se*eral compartments. +hank the gods the

filming did too. I was just glad it wasn't a plane. Deus would probably strike any

plane with me on it out of the sky. +he train was the most luxurious thing I had

e*er been in. "onsidering I spent H years at the :otus "asino and a week on

the rgo II , that's saying a lot. If possible, the train had combined the


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plushness and luxury of the :otus "asino with the comfortable and useful

technology of the rgo II. +he upholstery was lined with *el*et, the curtains

were made of silk and the fixings were entwined gold and sil*er and studded

with real gemstones. %il*er screens and buttons hid under shimmery drapes on

all possible flat surfaces. )hen the drapes were pushed away, the screens

came to life and displayed high definition images of a well lit skyline andbrightly lit streets crowded with multicoloured ants. +he train was so long, I

was allowed my *ery own compartment to sleep in. +here was a manual for me

gi*ing instructions on changing the room. $ut I'*e always been a trial and error

sort of guy. $esides, just reading the microscopic print was gi*ing me a

headache. %o I experimented by pressing combinations of buttons on the wall.

I was finally able to dim the room till it was as dark as my room in my /ad's

palace and changed the image on the screens to a garden filled with jewels

and flowers. I drained the room of any smell and let it become a few degrees

warmer. I switched on a song that reminded me a bit of +hree /ays (race and

put it on an endless loop. #ome, sweet home. Only one thing was missing. I

flipped random switches on and off until I found a menu. I poured o*er it until I

found something close enough to a fries and a burger. y *ery own #appy

eal substitiute. %omething told me that I would need to pick up the small

happinesses where*er I could in the next few days.

)hen (loss came marching up to the room to call me for dinner, he raised an

eyebrow. It's a bit depressing isn't it? he asked. I looked around. o I

surprised myself by answering honestly. It's a bit like my room at home.

h0, #e looked a little lost for words. I put on a half smirk which I knew had

the tenedncy to dri*e people to suicide. It also doubled up as a reason for

people to shut up. %o, would you rather ha*e "ashmere or me as a mentor?(loss asked. #e was the kind of person who didn't like silence. I shrugged to

tell him I didn't care. I, on the other hand, was the kind of person who liked

silence. #e continued to fill the silence "ashy would be a better mentor if your

strategy is based on getting sponsors before the (ames. I had wondered who

was the older sibling. +his was the perfect time to ask without looking like I was

showing too much interest. /id she mentor you? I asked as smoothly as I

could. es, she did. %he was a great mentor. 2*en better big sister. I could

hear the adoration and lo*e in his *oice. ealousy washed o*er me. "ashmere

had looked after her younger borther like $ianca ne*er could. +he words were

out before I could stop them, I had a big sister. %he left me. I don't know

whether those words were a warning for (loss or if I simply wanted to test his

reaction to the implication that his sister might lea*e him. +hat's the

unfortunate thing about sisters. +hey get married and lea*e you. :ucky for me,

"ashmere has no plans of marrying. #e told me , completely ignoring my

implication. I ga*e a half snort $ianca ne*er wanted to marry. +hat was the

problem, wasn't it? If she had, she probably wouldn't ha*e died. %o she ran

away to the #unger (ames to escape a marriage? (loss's *oice was soft,


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almost gentle with understanding. It wasn't pity in his *oice, it was sympathy. I

had no idea how he had automatically jumped to such an outlandish

conclusion. $ut I guess it was more reasonable than her joining an all girls

hunting club with a promise of immortal sisterhood and then dying before

celebrating her fourteenth birthday. #e took my silence as an affimiti*e. I didn't

bother to correct himE we had already reached the dining room.

/iamond and "ashmere were already in the dining room when we reached it.

+he amusement with which the latter had regarded the former with, had long

dissol*ed into irritation. )hy can't I ha*e a gold glitter costume just like you

did in your (ames?, whined /iamond. )ith the air of someone who was telling

a two year old not to play with kni*es, "ashmere explained, $ecause you ha*e

a different styilst who already has a plan for you. different one. $ut it would

match my eyes., /iamond emphasi3ed her statement by pointing to her light

brown 6admittedly, almost golden 7 eyes. (old eyes are a sign of e*il., I said

before I could stop myself. "urse the /#/. In an effort to correct my

statement I said, I knew a guy whose eyes turned gold whene*er he did

something really horrible. I was rewarded with a curious look from the

"apitolite, (loss and "ashmere and a hydra sali*a-like glare from /iamond. I

shut up. +here was no way I was going to say anything about :uke here. :uke

was like a "amp #alf-$lood %ecret. +hat meant mortals and 1omans were

ne*er going to hear about him. +hankfully, the first course of soup arri*ed. +he

smell of the turtoise soup was tantali3ing, but as a demigod there was

something he needed to do before eating. 2xcuse me, can I ha*e something I

can burn something in?, he asked the ser*er as politely as possible. +he

ser*er nodded but ga*e me a 'what the hell, dude' look. 5unny, e*erybody at

the table was gi*ing me that look. I did what I do best- I ignored them all.)hen the ser*er brought back a steeply sloped metal bowl with a candle fixed

in the middle and a matchbox, I was relie*ed. I looked at the matches with

some trepidition. I was way out of practice. I had been spoiled by :eo &alde3.

)hen you ha*e fireboy, you ne*er need matches. +here was no way I was

going to ask anyone here though. I'd rather the train go up in flames. fter

wasting two matches, I was able to sacrifice a small portion of the soup and a

part of the steak and mashed potatoes. #ather$ hel% me.ust 'cause you burn

stuff doesn't make you the boy on fire., /iamond snarked. +he room went

silent. (loss's knuckles were white from clutching the table. "ashmere had

dropped her ga3e and was ner*ously twirling her hair. 5alco glared at /iamond,

/on't talk about stuff you don't understand. #e sent a glare at the food which

had gone into the fire too. Ob*iously, I was missing something here. obody

made any effort to explain what I was missing. +hey just went back to eating

but their was a strained silence. I pushed around the food on my plate but ate

*ery little. !ersephone's pomegranite seeds really did help in curbing hunger. I

guess "ashmere noticed because she said, ico, you're about to go into the

Hunger (ames. +his year will be worse than usual because there are no


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supplies. o weapons. o water. o food. 2at while you still ha*e food on your

plates and stop wasting it by burning it. I'm not wasting it by burning it. It's

religious.,my *oice sounded offended. %he had insulted a practice that was

centuries old and that was half of my genetic makeup. Of course, I was

offended. I could understand the other part of her scolding though. I had a

good excuse for that too, I'm practicing being hungry for the #unger (ames..%he smiled in that way adults do when a little kid has done something hilarious

but didn't say anything else. I continued eating *ery little and just listened in to

the con*ersation about /istrict ;. I learnt that the "apitolite's name was 5alco

and he wasn't as fake and stern as he looked. I learnt that "ashmere lo*ed

both males at the table- and in *ery different ways. %he wasn't a blonde with

no brains eitherE %he seemed to excel at reading people. (loss was =uieter

than his sister and was more of a book smart kind of guy. ore physically

intimidating too. /iamond's mask fell se*eral times through dinner. %he was

scared and her fear seemed to express itself in whinyness. %he knew she

wasn't *ery resourceful and had little chance of getting many sponsors. %he

was determined to get as much information about those two as she could. It

hurt her that she could possibly die but all her mentor's would talk about was

whether the food ser*ed the training centre or in /istrict One was better. I

could understand where she was coming from. If I hadn't been in more

dangerous situations, I would be panicked as well. s it was, mortals were

hardly any trouble at all. #a3el had taught me the basics of mist manipulation

and I was confident I could deal with the mortals with it's help.

+ip for any demigod who suddenly finds himself in the


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asked for, a slightly da3ed but admittedly strong girl walked onto the platform.

ot that I liked admitting that. %he looked messier than usual 6she was usually

a paragon of organi3ation7- her hair was hapha3ardedly pulled back into a

messy ponytail and her clothes hung slightly off her too-thin frame. %till, there

were none of the haunted effect that falling into +artarus gi*es you. #er grey

eyes were confused and sad but not terrified or self-hating. %he ga*e herchallenge clearly, fight to defeat with a dagger as the weapon of choice,

but the words sounded stilted and fake. lmost as if she was reading a script

for the first time. $ut in the duel, her mo*ements were graceful and practiced.

+he other seasoned warrior cried uncle in a span of about thirty seconds.

(lares followed the blonde to her co*eted position. nd nnabeth "hase

became a fellow tribute in the games. y mind spun like a car after a collision

with a similar si3ed car. +hen like a passenger, it stumbeled around drunk and

confused. bubble of hysterical laughter threatened to bubble out and I had

to clamp my lips together to keep it from emerging. 5alco noticed but he must

ha*e taken it for fear or something. #e let it pass without comment.

+hankfully, /istrict A passed without any surprises. girl named arissa obs

who was about my age blinked owlishly behind her glasses in an effort to blink

away tears. +he commenter praised her 'stylish curls' and stupidly wondered

where she had gotten the authentic curls done. I couldn't refrain from rolling

my eyes, I just couldn't. #er district partner was a thin wiry guy with a

matching shock of red hair named ark. +he commentator gleefully announced

that the two were cousins. I would ha*e been more surprised at the "apitol's

open joy at making family fight against each other- if I wasn't still reeling in

shock. +he male *olunteer from district F made me feel as if an ;B-wheeler

cargo truck had slammed into me as opposed to a economy si3ed car. !iercing

sea-green eyes, touseled black hair and tanned skin were my mentale=ui*alent to a huge truck- enough to stop me from mo*ing around. #e took

the place of a shaking ;; year old and graciously accepted the whispered awed

thankyou. nother little boy caught up in !ercy hero worship. #is *olunteering

was recie*ed much more graciously than nnabeth's had been but there was

still a look of shock and confusion dancing in those killer eyes. +his time my

horror had to be clearly *isible and jarringE "ashemere took one look at my

expression and said ou ha*e a lot going for you too. #e's probably just a

pretty face. +he words were pretty ironic, since most people would consider

her a 'pretty face'. 2*en more ironic was the fact that !ercy did not just

possess killer good looks, he had killer skills to back them I wondered if hisreaction at seeing me was as similar as mine was on seeing him. +hen I kicked

myself for e*en thinking about it. #e'd be worried about me-just like any other

younger brother. $ut then he'ld be more worried about his precious nnabeth. I

was so caught up in my inner turmoil, I missed th district H an district C

reaping. I was only jolted by the shock of seeing a sil*er tiara on a mess of

black hair. +halia had *olunteered for a ;A year old girl with a striking

resemblence. 4nlike !ercy and nnabeth, her face was clear of confusion.


12/12

Instead stormy anger brewed on her face in he form of a mar*ellous scowl. #er

district partner was a short and stocky brunette with a closed off face.

1egretting missing district H and C, I resol*ed to pay more attention to the

rest of the tributes. In district B, a ;K year old named 8elly wore a gaudy blue

silk dress and ribbons. !ale skin, a thin figure and fri33y blonde hair made her

look like a doll- beautiful but ultimately breakable. %he burst into tears halfwayupto the stage. +he male tribute, /usk, looked a lot like :eo. #is hair was a

shade lighter but his grin was friendly and slightly maniac. One thing *ery

different was his clothes- he was wearing a clean starched tuxedo instead of a

t-shirt and grease stained jeans. In district G a ;C year old Indian with fly hair

kept clenching her fists and relaxing them o*er and o*er again. #er cornfower

blue eyes were wide open with fright. #er district partner, (rant, was no better.

ner*ous tick made his eye flick but his smile looked genuine enough. In

district ;, an ;; year old boy with purple eyes and reddish-brown hair smiled

and laughed as he took his place on stage. )ith horror, I reali3ed that "harles-

that was his name, was mentally retarded. #is ;B year old district partner

looked at him with disgust shining in her icy brown cat-eyes. ot that she

amounted to much either- she was barely any taller than the little guy and was

as thin as a rail. In district ;;, both kids were darkly skinned. +hey had huge

eyes and looked like the pictures he had seen in glossy pamphlets of star*ing

kids in frica. +hey were able to manage rueful grins for the camera, though.

%till at ;B years old, they had a high chance of winning. In district ;

umpa lumpa

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