Writers' Games - Free Falling {CLOSED}

Cloud Maize's Interview

Nothing. I hate everyone.

This answer is slightly more honest than the last one, but I'm still not truthful. "My family, I guess." That's a lie, or three quarters of a lie - I miss Zea a little bit and I know that if I made it out of this hellhole, myself, her and her boyfriend Barley can live together in the Victor's Village, safe and out of reach. That's if she doesn't become a pretentious idiot halfway through the games, that is possible. "And the work." No, I hated the work. Every day, doing the game stuff and gaining nothing but a backache and impatience.

"Who stands out the most this year?"

Now I wish I'd tuned in more slightly, let the mumbles form into words. Who is the biggest competition? Who poses as a large threat to me? Who forces the vigorous me to cower away slightly? "Bryan?" My voice comes across as slightly perturbed, misleading. It's not like he's that big of a problem, but I know the sooner he's out the way, the safer I am towards the end.

"Are they your biggest threat?" Sequin asks, pursing her lips as she flicks her hair.

Nodding, I breathe in. "Yeah," I let out the breath in a sigh. "Although not by too much. In all honesty, other than the Career pack, I'm not feeling threatened. Some years, I've seen outer laying districts dominate in terms of performance and appearance."

"Why?"

Why? Because he's this year's alpha male, right? "He just has the ability, you know? We see them every year. Both from One and Two have the ability to slit someone's throat in their sleep without disturbing another; it makes me slightly envious," I admit. "But if I take them down, I think I'll have an even bigger chance?"

"How much of a chance do you think you have?" Sequin asks, firing questions from left and right. It stresses me out, but as long as I'm pleasing the Capitol, keeping myself out of dare, I'll be okay. No one will pull a trigger next to my temple.

I can't help but shrug. "Quite a big one," I say, coming across as slightly arrogant. Not that it matters; the Capitol citizens adore domineering, haughty personalities. "I'm certainly not the weakest one here, I'll admit that one."

Sequin nods, looking at me in the eyes again. As she flicks her pink bangs out of her eyes, she asks a question I could answer ten times over: "Who do you think the weakest tribute is?"

"Is?" I say. She must mean 'are', right? "Look, I'm not gonna point out names, but face it: Careers, people like myself and those couple of underdogs are the only ones making it to the top eight," I point out, biting my tongue only to a certain extent. "I couldn't pin point just one person," I say softening the harshness of my voice. That was a little crude of me, I'll admit.

She nods, leaning closer to me; catching a whiff of her clingy perfume, I suppress a cough, not wanting to stand myself up; also not wanting to act atrocious and have myself slain. "What gives you an advantage over these weaker ones?" She asks, twirling the long pink stands of hair between painted nails: alternate, neon yellow and navy blue.

"I'm brutal," I say, flexing my muscles towards the crowd. This is me, this isn't a sugar coated sweetheart; this is Cloud. "Unlike most, I'm not afraid to take a life. Callous, vigorous, I'm not hesitant to fight or brawl."

"Do you have any weaknesses, fears?" Sequin asks. No dismal feelings surface. "What are your biggest ones?"

"My weakness is that I can be reckless," I admit. Not that it matters - I'm the biggest chance at achieving victory for Nine since the last Victor. "But I don't have any real fears, I guess?" This confused feeling swept over me at that point, flooding me with weird thoughts. "A fear," I say, sighing. "Could I count early death? I wanna make it in the games."

But I don't give a damn about going home.

"So," Sequin coos, continuing to twist her hair further and further. It's already curly, why does stephe need to spiral it further? "Why do you deserve to win?"

I don't.

"Because I have what it takes to win," I state. "Think about all those Victors who win by chance; I could storm the arena and I deserve the win I'm gonna receive." Am I being too arrogant? "This isn't a game of luck, this is skill based. If you don't have the courage to pick up a knife and kill someone, you don't deserve to make it out, no matter what the circumstance."

"Last question," Sequin carries on, as if nothing has happened. "Are you in an alliance?"

"Not a chance," I snort. "Everyone here is weak or too stupid to be in my alliance. Just because I have authority, it doesn't mean I'm gonna boss others around. What's the point?" My breath is slightly shaky. "Who needs people to get through life? I certainly don't!"

Sequin holds my hand, stroking my palm as we stand up and she lets me exit. "Cloud Maize from District Nine, everybody!" She screams, letting the crowd roar as I leave and the female from Ten saunters onto the stage.

Thank god that's over. When does the killing start?