My Hunger Games, Game 2: THE REBELLION

Chapter 3, Pre-Game

Billy held the knife to his stomach. The situation was hectic, a crowd of people were around him, all sending him different messages. 

. . . 

It began with a whispered, "Hey, Angel."

"Something wrong, Billy?" Angel, a very pretty blonde girl, said to him. 

"Uh, can I talk to you alone?" 

"Yeah. Of course." She smiled at him.

He pulled her over to the side of the room. "I need you to talk me out of it."

"Talk you out of what?"

"Killing myself."

"You were going to kill yourself?" Angel nearly shouted. Everyone heard.  

. . . 

"Go die with your untrained friends and see if I care." Marlee grinned at Billy. This was strange. She wasn't the nicest of Tributes, but this year, everyone had been getting along, in a way...so far. 

"Oh you little..." Angel began. 

"Why not?" Billy said. He had a distant look in his eyes, he looked quite ready to get it over with, "I'm just going to die anyways."

Angel looked at him sideways. She obviously understood his pain. "Billy, if you're going to die, die with a purpose. Don't kill yourself." 

"It doesn't make a difference." Billy looked sideways at her, lifting the knife up again. 

Violet ran up behind Marlee and tried to pin her, shouting "Take it back you flu-like little cockroach!" but Marlee just tossed her off with a big, direct "No."

"If you kill yourself," Angel explained, "You're giving up too easily. You're going to go down with a fight...besides." - She lowers her voice to a whisper - "There's a rebellion, you can survive, you can live. Fight for it." 

Marlee pulled out a knife and grinned at Billy again. 

"You can go to hell with all of them." She told Billy. 

Billy sighed. With relief, relief that someone was letting him do what he needed to do. "It's not like anybody cares." 

"I care," Angel's voice almost broke, "Violet cares" - Violet gave Billy a thumbs-up of agreement while trying to hold Marlee back - "Edin cares. Apsen cares...Teddy cares."

Gamemaker Z marched in, the angriest she'd ever been in front of the Tributes. "What's going on here?" 

"Violet's going to be dead soon if she attacks me!" Marlee shouted back. 

Gamemaker Z ignored her. "What's going on?" She calmed her voice down, but it was actually scarier than anything else. That calm, unwavering voice. 

"That's it," Angel said, ready to charge at Marlee, "Lay off." 

"And Billy's considering suicide." Marlee said happily. 

"And Marlee's being a pain." Angel cut in. 

"You'll all be dead, okay?" Marlee interrupted, shouting, "All those people who you claimed to care are going to die!"

"And I'm not tolerating it." Angel finished. 

"This is a death match." Marlee laughed. 

"I really don't freaking care!" Angel got angry, her face spelling out the thought That was the last straw. 

"This wouldn't be the first time I've tried." Billy said.

"We're all dying anyway!" Marlee was getting unhinged, and Gamemaker Z was waiting, watching, still unwavering, "Why not get it over with?! There's no point anymore!" 

"Because I'm going to fight!" Angel didn't allow Billy to answer, she answered Marlee's question for him, "Billy you better not kill yourself..."

"My point exactly." Billy said this in response to Marlee's rant about there being no point. 

"Fight all you freaking want!" Marlee growled at Angel. 

Angel screamed back "I don't care if I die, at least I tried!" 

"Everywhere I go," Billy looked at Angel and Marlee starting to fight, "People die." 

"I'm going home no matter what!" Marlee yelled, and then sneered at Billy, "And yes, Billy, people die here - it's a death match."

"Wait," Gamemaker Z said, in that quiet, enraged voice, "Are you telling me" - Gamemaker Z is starting to laugh now, laughing horribly, shaking in her black boots, circling the Tributes like a rabid animal - "that Billy's considering suicide, and Marlee is cheering him on, saying there's no point?"

"Pretty much." Angel said, stepping away from Marlee. 

"Uncalled for, Marlee," Gamemaker Z warned, "Billy...don't. You have a better chance than you think."

. . . 

Billy walked out of the Training room, into the next room across the hallway, only to try again. 

. . . 

Angel found him, of course. 

. . . 

And it wasn't too late. 

But it was just late enough. 

. . .

He was still alive. 

But Angel thought he was dead, and preceded to stab herself in the neck. 

. . . 

Both Tributes lived. 

. . . 

But the rest were affected by what they saw.