The 25th Hunger Games

BONUS DAY 6.5- Sariel

I leaned back in my chair, my gaze drifting away from the television screen in the front of the room. The shot was back to the Career Pack, or whatever you wanted to call them. There was only really one Career left among them. What a strange turn of events for the Quarter Quell.

I glanced around the room now, wondering what everyone was thinking. We were in the Viewing Room, built specifically for mentors to watch the Games. There weren't many of us left now, with only seven tributes still alive from six different districts. Although the mentors without tributes still occasionally hung around, we were now the regulars.

From what I could tell, the mentors that were left either wanted their tributes to win or didn't care about them at all. I had no understanding of the latter.

One clearly wanted their tributes to make it. They had two left, and the boy, Ciruss, just left the Career alliance. As of yesterday, he had been dating his district partner, and Rosie was devastated that he left her. Personally, I thought the kid was finally using his brain. The entire Games, he's been talking about sacrificing himself for the Laurel girl. Now maybe he had a shot of winning.

Even though it was the truth, thinking that caused a knot in my stomach. If Ciruss, or even Laurel, won, that meant Noah was dead. I couldn't let that happen.

Next, there was Mags. She was the oldest out of all of us, but only because she won her games at a young age. She clearly had experience mentoring. Mags talked up her tribute like crazy, and not all of it was horsecrap. She genuinely liked Emmit, and now so did the rest of the Capitol. He was a contender for Laurel's heart, too. Why was everyone so fixated with this girl?

Still, it was better than them being fixated with Noah. Then we'd have a problem. Luckily, no one even knew where she was. I hoped that meant she had a strategy and planned to hide until the last possible moment. Come out as a threat when they least expected her. That sounded like her, right?

At the next district over, there was Ginger's mentor. She had been allied with Noah for a few days, but it fell apart after half the alliance was killed off. Half the alliance. It was a lot to take in. Rolilinda lost her male tribute in the scuffle, killed by Noah's original ally.

After Midnight killed Ryker and soon after was pushed off one of the pillars, Eight pretty much lost all hope in winning. He rarely came in here. Despite Woof's lack of faith, Sai was in with the Careers. He also killed one person, which was probably good considering this kid had the confidence of a fish. If he stuck with his group, he would make it pretty far.

Another tribute on the weaker side with a strong alliance, Saira was doing much more than I expected. She came from District 6 and was the sister of another former victor. You could never tell though. Toren was all bulk and looked ready to kill you at any moment. Saira was just a little thing who had only killed by luck. You couldn't tell they were related by their relationship, either. Toren hardly paid attention when she came on TV and never said a word to any sponsors. Dulce did all the talking for her. That couldn't be any easy case to make, though. The only time this girl really lit up was when she was talking to Ciruss. She should hope nothing happens to him anytime soon.

And that was all of them. Noah had some serious rivals, that was for sure. She knew what she was doing, though. I could tell. She knew she was better alone, and soon she was going to prove it.

"You seem like you're deep in thought," a voice behind me said. I turned to see Livia lounging on a chair not far behind me.

I managed a smile. "It's the Hunger Games. Isn't everyone deep in thought?" I said in order to avoid the real question.

Livia was the mentor from District 3. She won the games two years before I had. Although she wasn't anything remarkable, she was excellent at reading people. After I entered the Victor's Circle, we immediately became friends. Nowadays, we only see each other once or twice a year, but we keep in touch. This year, both of her tributes died in the bloodbath. I was surprised to find her still in the Viewing Room.

"Very true," Livia agreed, moving up a seat so we were next to each other. She stole a glance at the television screen, which was zoomed in on Saira and Ciruss bickering over a dream of some sort. I quickly tuned it out. "The Games look like they've been going well for you," she commented casually.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'd say so. I'm really hoping Noah will win these." I managed to stop myself before saying anything else, like why I wanted her to win so badly.

"She's got some competition," Livia pointed out, looking at the screen yet again.

There was no arguing with her there. Killing six other people wouldn't be easy, especially with two alliances around. The odds were not looking good. "Livia, can I ask you something? And get your honest opinion?"

"What's up, Sar?"

"Do you think," I asked slowly, "Noah has a chance? I know as her mentor, I can be biased. But do you think she could win?"

She seemed to ponder over this for a moment, weighing everything in. Finally, she answered me. "Not on her own. But with you on her side, maybe. If she believes in herself as much as you do, you'll have nothing to worry about."

Apparently my feelings had been more transparent than I thought. I still thanked Livia as she went to make conversation with another mentor.

All that was left now, then, was for Noah to have some faith. She could do that, couldn't she? She knew what she had to come back to. I could only hope that would be enough to keep her going.

I made a promise to myself to send Noah a gift within the next day or two. She had enough sponsors for now to get her something, I was pretty sure. Although it would really be for her, I also wanted her to have something from me, to keep the both of us sane.

"Hey! Everyone quiet! There's an announcement!" one of the mentors hissed. The room immediately fell silent. All eyes, mine included, fell on the screen, desperate to find out what was happening.

The TV switched from shots of all the different groups with the same announcement booming in the background. I knew the voice well, and it was obvious what they were telling the tributes.

"There will be a feast held tomorrow morning at sunrise. It will take place at the Cornucopia, and all tributes are invited to attend. That is all."

I let the words sink in as the cameras showed Emmit, Laurel and Sai all looking at one another. Then Saira and Ciruss discussing what they would do. Finally, Noah was grabbing her bags and heading toward the Cornucopia early.

She was going to the feast. And I wouldn't be there to stop her, to warn her that the Careers were already waiting, to make sure she was safe. That's what scared me the most. It was like watching Anita attack her all over again. We were both helpless, and this time, no one was on her side. Except me.

After the announcement came and went, the talk was all about the feast. What would be planned? Would it be a fake out, or a real meal? Another bloodbath? It seemed everyone planned on attending. Since hoping Noah wouldn't go at all was out of the question, I could only hope she would go ready for a fight.

A/N: This chapter is not part of the Hunger Games contest. It's sort of just a bonus, telling what Sariel's been up to in the Capitol. It's also an update on the other characters and alliances. This was fun to write, especially since Sariel kind of has no filter. Enjoy!