"Hey, Bea! Come join us!" 

"Don't call me that, District 4," I snap. Only two people get to call me Bea. 

"Oh, sorry," Sakura apologizes and takes a sip from her canteen. 

"Geez, Beatrix. Loosen up a little bit!" Marshall drawls, leaning back lazily onto his bag. 

It's amazing he got chosen as this year's male tribute. Always fooling around during training. Cracking jokes between lectures. Half flunking school. Though he's our best great archer, I'll give him that.  

Not that it's coming in useful. We only have four options of weapons. Knives. Whips. Giant mallets.  Spiked juggling pins.  Oh well. One less threat to worry about. 

The blaring Capitol anthem snaps me out of my brief thoughts.  

"Uh, guys? Is this some kind of joke? We're indoors. We won't be able to see the Fallen Tributes," Marshall pipes up. 

"There's a TV screen!" Sakura points to the wall behind me.  I turn around, making mental notes as they show the pictures of the dead.

District 3 and 6 males. District 7 female. Both District 8 tributes. District 9 female. Both from District 10. Trina from District 12- no. No names, remember? 

I know my weaknesses. My emotions.  Names give them humanity. Names make them people.  And real people, with hopes and dreams and personalities are that much harder to kill.  They're not just training room dummies. Not even animals.  

That leaves.....shit.  Math.  I hate math. Intelligence has never really been my strong suit. I'll leave it to someone else to do the calculations. 

"Nine gone, fifteen left. That means nine tributes to kill," Jasper calculates.  

The Capitol must be buzzing with questions, as the numbers won't add up.  If there are five of us Careers, shouldn't there be ten tributes to kill, if we include Cashmere?

 Not that I care.  I know I can win this without sponsors. I don't need to be saved by anyone else. And I won't cater to their petty needs. 

I just about open my mouth to talk- 

"So! Guys-" Jasper starts. 

"District 1, you interrupted me." I glower at him. That boy has some nerve. "I was thinking we should go tribute hunting." 

"No! That's a stupid idea. There's a freaking maze outside. We shouldn't risk getting lost. There might be traps out there too," Jasper argues. 

"So what? We're just gonna sit around eating popcorn and singing karaoke?" I demand. 

"I mean, we actually could. There is popcorn and I found a karaoke machine in the bleachers," Marshall intervenes.  

"Yay! Karaoke!" Sakura squeals. She is barely fourteen after all. Still a kid. Still wants to have fun.  "Some popcorn would be nice," Aidan agrees. 

Jasper smirks at me. "Since everyone else wants to do that, why don't you go?"

"Suit yourselves.  You didn't come here to be a loser. But I'm gonna go have some real fun." I give all of them a grin. 

Ok. That was a bit mean. Even coming from me. 

And I don't actually think it's as fun as I let on, but I need to make them feel like they're missing out.  Also heck, I am not going out there alone! I won't risk getting killed on the first night. Plus, I hate Jasper.   I want to wipe that smirk right off his face.  

Marshall and Sakura are already chatting eagerly about karaoke songs they want to do, while Aidan is gathering popcorn.  

I swear, I think I see Jasper give me the finger.  

I walk over to get my bag, and purposefully shoulder him real hard. He winces. 

 "What's wrong, does it hurt? " 

He grumbles profanities. Sakura gasps, while Aidan and Marshall hold back laughs.

"Shut up, Jasper. There are children watching!" I point to Sakura.  

"I'm not a child! I'm fourteen!" Sakura argues.  

 Trying to act all grown up.  All of them are.  When I was younger, I always thought the Careers were super scary. But now that I'm eighteen, I realize they're all just a bunch of immature kids.  Which means I have to babysit all of them until they die. Yippee.  

"Why'd you bump me?" Jasper argues. 

"I didn't bump you. You were in my way," I remark.  "Oh wait. Like this?" I do it again.  

Jasper raises his fists.   

Awwwww. How cute. Fifteen year old trying to look tough. Hell, he doesn't even have a beard yet. 

 I wonder what would happen if he grew a brain cell, I think.  Then I realize I must've said it out loud because Jasper's fist is an inch from my face.  

I grab his wrist and deliver an uppercut to his jaw. His neck snaps back and someone (probably Sakura) screams.  

"Beatrix! Stop!" Marshall yells from behind me. Jasper reddens and knees me in the stomach. I fight through the pain and- 

Aidan's in front of me.  No. I can't do it. Like Sakura, he's also fourteen. My brother's age. They both share the same black hair, olive skin and gray eyes.  And somewhere in District 2, Julio is watching this right now. To kill Aidan would be to kill Julio. 

Across from me, Sakura is talking to Jasper. 

"Beatrix." Marshall puts a hand on my shoulder. 

"Get your hands off of me," I snap. 

"Ok, sorry. Don't kill Jasper now. We have other threats to worry about. Besides, he's a good fighter," he continues. 

I nod. Killing Jasper later can't hurt. I need to preserve enough energy for the final battle.   

Aidan is still shielding Jasper from me.  I glare at him. He used my weakness against me. How dare he.  How dare he manipulate my emotions like this. 

But then again, I have to thank him. Killing Jasper doesn't exactly look good on my behalf.  It makes us Careers look weak.

"We're going hunting. Now," I yell.  They all nod, except Sakura. 

"Shouldn't somebody guard?" Sakura asks. "I can. We don't want our stuff to get stolen." 

"Marshall, you guard as well," I order.  I'm not keeping Jasper or Aidan out of my sight. 

"Let's go."   

***** 

The maze is bathed in bright neon lights that paint us in drastic colors.  As we go, Aidan drops flat red disks as markers.  He found them in his bag. They seem pretty pointless, but he insisted on doing something with them. The last thing  we need is to lose our way back.

My palms are sweating. Ugh. This arena is unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's so easy to get lost. But hey, fake it to you become it. If I act like I'm confident, I will be confident.  

Jasper and Aidan are lagging behind, talking to each other in hushed whispers. 

"Come on, boys," I snap, giving a sharp crack of my whip for emphasis. I must look pretty badass on screen right now.  

"Why should we do what you say?" Jasper taunts. 

"Still working on that braincell, I see," I retort, fingering my whip.  

Jasper growls, but catches up to me.   

 It's completely quiet. I guess the tributes are smarter this year. I spot a few abandoned bags. 

"We should check them," Aidan suggests. 

"No need," I argue. "People left them here for a reason. There's probably no good stuff left." 

"Let's check them," Jasper backs Aidan up. 

Whatever. He better not come running to me when I get sponsor gifts.  

"Suit yourself," I shrug. The two of them rummage through the stuff like lost dogs desperate for a meal.    

The light in this maze hallway is a neon bubblegum pink, true Capitol stuff. All fancy and superficial. And the mirrors are too. Each projects a different filter.  One gives me dog ears. Another turns me into a doll, with big eyes and radiant skin.  

I keep walking, squaring my shoulders back. A rustle catches my attention. It's ever so forgettable. But a person, definitely. And sure enough, in a large mirror, I catch the District 11 boy standing a few feet away from me. 

"Gotcha," I snarl and slash my whip at him. It catches him across the chest and he cries out in pain, crumpling to the ground. 

I raise my whip again, but stop. "Screw it," I mutter. My fists are a much better weapon. 

Slap, hook, elbow.  The boy delivers a bout of bloody saliva, and I grimace, wiping it off my face. I spit back.   Amateur.

The boy's attempts to fight back are disheveled and defeated. He must already be wounded. A last strike to the back of his head is met with the boom of a cannon.  Finally dead.  

"Eight left," I announce. I climb off him and search his jacket pockets for anything. He doesn't have a backpack. Quite underwhelming, to be honest. 

"Ugh, you smell," Jasper wrinkles his nose. 

"Yeah. of blood. Should I wear your scent as well?" 

"No, I don't think that's a good idea," Aidan admits. His eyes trace me uneasily. "Can we go back now?" 

The adrenaline has worn off, and the feelings of hunger and tiredness come back. I need to conserve my energy. "Yeah." I nod, and we follow the red markers back. 

Then it finally strikes me for real. I killed somebody. I ended a life. That kid had a family just like mine. Friends. A lover, even- don't. Don't think like that.   

I can't do this to myself. I need to stay focused.  But...part of me feels empty. The Careers made killing seem so....glorious. They enjoyed it. I'm supposed to enjoy it. It's my first kill, and I feel terrible.  

But I have to keep up the bloodthirsty maniac act. It's what truly sets me apart from the other Careers.  If I pretend I can kill, it will make it that much easier. 

The Cornucopia looms above us. From the open tent, I hear a sweet, lilting voice singing.  Inside, Sakura is hooked up to the karaoke machine, putting on quite a performance. Marshall is clapping along.  

"Hi Beatrix! Hi Jasper! Hi Aidan!" Sakura waves to each of us as the song finishes.

"Hey," I greet her.  I take out a loaf of bread and some dried fruit, listening to her. She has such a pretty voice,  and I can't help but smile...

Stop it.   Emotions will only get in the way of things.   

"I'm heading to bed," Jasper declares. The inside of the tent is lined with bleachers, and Jasper sets up his sleeping bag far away from me. 

"Me too." Aidan follows him. 

"Hey, don't leave me out!" Marshall follows me. I guess this is them implying they have an alliance within the Careers.  

Soon enough, all we can hear are their snores. 

Two silver parachutes float down. One lands in front of Sakura, one in front of me.  

My box is very, very long and slim, and inside I find a silver spear. 

Use it wisely. -E and B. I knew my mentors Enobaria and Brutus would have my back.

Bingo.  I cackle to myself.  All my threats, now eliminated. Marshall and Jasper don't have their best weapons. I could easily beat Aidan and Sakura. And even Cashmere, with her lethal knives....well, the odds aren't exactly in her favor. 

The Games are mine.  

 I don't see what's Sakura received, because I'm already drifting off to sleep.  

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed  that chapter! Did you like Beatrix's POV? Tell me what you think in the comments and remember to vote if you enjoyed!