The Revenge Games
Ellie Green:
I stand in the audience waiting to learn my daughter’s fate. This is not how this was supposed to happen. The Rebels are holding one final hunger Games with the Capitol’s children. They think they need to teach us a lesson about how it feels to watch innocent children fight to the death, but isn’t that why they fought us in the first place? What we need is not a lesson. We already experienced a powerful one when the war came to the Capitol. Many of us already know what its like to suffer without our every want quenched, and even to see people we know and love die watching helplessly from the sidelines.

As if from a distance I watch as our new leader, President Paylor, and Effie, the once District 12 liaison, step onto stage. After the introduction by President Paylor, Effie begins with “Ladies first!”, however, its clear her hearts not in it. She sees the wrongness of this. How will we ever have a peaceful nation again if we keep taking sides and always trying to “teach a lesson”? Effie starts drawing names. There will be 12 girls and 12 boys reaped into the Games, just as before. I hope against hope my daughter isn’t reaped, though it seems pointless. Her name, along with the other government descendants’, is in that big bowl of fate 10 times more than the other children. This is not fair. I tried so hard to protect her from the government’s cruelty but in the end I can’t hide from who my father is. What he did. I was twenty years old and fit to be in a government career when I learned the truth about my father’s job. His official title was “District Representative” despite the fact that all he ever did was tell President Snow how best to make life in the districts worse, not better. I haven’t talked to him since. I became a baker and raised my daughter with compassion and equality and the truth. Now I hope she will realize that what I taught her applies to who she thought were the “good guys”, the Rebels putting an end to injustice, are now not that different from President Snow. Hungry for Revenge.

I hold my breath as Effie calls the last name. “Eliza Green” and I watch with terror as my brave 12 year old daughter walks to the stage to become a sacrifice of revenge. This is not the Hunger Games. This is the Revenge Games.
Eliza Green:
My stylist wishes me luck and I step into a glass tube that will lift me into the arena. The arena outfit this year consists of gray hiking boots, cargo pants, a t-shirt, and a zip-up jacket. They are all worn and dirty, even though I just received them.
A voice says “Thirty Seconds to countdown” and I feel myself being lifted up into
the arena.
I stand on the usual gray pedestal. As my eyes adjust to the light, I pick out a few vague details of my surroundings. We are in a wide-open meadow that's almost an exact circle. All around the circle there are different features; a beach, a forest, a field of corn. Some black dust floats on the breeze past my face, and a lesson we had on the districts in school surfaces from somewhere deep in my brain. It is coal dust. I turn my head slowly around and see an orchard, various factories, even a power plant, and finally understand. These are the districts. I wonder what we will encounter when forced to retreat into them.

I prepare to run as a voice booms from every direction at once "FIVE...FOUR..." I glance around at the other tributes. Some look determined; more look terrified. "THREE...TWO..." the voice continues. Will one of these other unlucky capitol children murder me in the next few minutes? Will I murder them?
"ONE"

Then I am running, faster than I ever thought I could, towards the cornucopia. I will not let these stupid Revenge Games change me. I have to do something. But what?
When I reach the cornucopia a few tributes are already engaged in combat with each other. None of them notice me at first, and I just stand there looking at the monolithic structure in front of me, full of weapons that I may use to kill someone. Or someone may use to kill me. Then as if of its own accord, my mouth starts moving. I sound, surprisingly, very steady. Determined.
"Stop!" I yell, "can't you see what they're doing to us!? Do you want to be murderers? Is that who you are? Don't let yourself be a piece in their games!" I pause for a minute realizing that now most of the other tributes around me have turned their attention and weapons from their individual fights to me, their new opponent. Maybe its too late, I can't save them. Stupid I tell myself. Now they're all going to kill me, but before I can begin to defend myself my body goes numb and stiff as a board. A hovercraft is taking me away, but why? I haven't died yet. On the ground, the other tributes suddenly turn around and go back to fighting amongst themselves, as if I was never there. I am pulled up into the hovercraft and regain control of my limbs, although now I am surrounded by Rebel Peacekeepers, headed by President Paylor herself. What is going on?
"I just want to confirm this Miss Eliza Green, but what, exactly were you trying to do? “
Again my brain shuts down and my mouth takes over. Here stands the woman that plans to ruin my life. She could’ve had me shot by now, yet she just looks at me expectantly. I start talking fast before she can decide she doesn’t want to hear what I have to say and gives the order to shoot me.
“Do you even realize what you’re doing?” I burst out, “What’s the reason you started fighting against the Capitol in the first place? Wasn’t it the Hunger Games? Unfair treatment of the districts? You may have won the war, but you certainly haven’t changed anything.”
Still, President Paylor just stands there smiling at me. This is it, I think to myself, she’s going to kill me, but then all the peacekeepers lower their guns in unison and Paylor says “Congratulations. You’ve passed the test.”
Wait, what did she just say?

“That’s the kind of attitude we need to rebuild this country.”