I know I still have a few stories still left unfinished, but when the idea suddenly came to me last night I knew in an instant I had to write this.
Chapter 1:
Her stylist taps his fingers underneath his chin. She stands as straight as she can and raises her head holding it up high as he instructed. Cinna nodded Katniss a final farewell as the glass encased around her and the platform beneath her feet slowly began to rise.
The platform steadily rises until she is in complete darkness. "And remember this. I'm not allowed to bet, but if I could, my money would be on you." Katniss smiles and allows the words that Cinna had spoken to her not a min ago to soak giving her the hope she needed.
For about fifteen seconds Katniss found herself in darkness until she feels the metal plate beneath her feet push her out of the inclosed cylinder glass case, and into the open air.
The bright sunlight dazzles her vision and she is only conscious of a strong wind with the hopeful smell of pine trees.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!" said Claudius Templesmith, his voice booms all around Katniss.
Sixty seconds was he only given amount of time for each tribute to stand on their metal plates before the gong releases them. If anyone were to step off before the minute is up land mines were sure to blow off a leg, or two.
Katniss uses the sixty seconds to take in the ring of tributes all equidistant from the Cornucopia, a giant golden horn shaped like a cone with a curved tail, the mouth of which is at least twenty feet high, spilling over with things that will give a tribute life in the arena.
Food, containers of water, weapons, medicine, garments, fire starters were some of the things likely to be inside the bag strewn all around and inside the Cornucopia. The value of the supplies decreases the further they are from the horn.
Katniss fought with herself wondering if she had the guts to actually go in the horn and fight against the other twenty-three tributes for the supplies she knew she needed, but it would go against what she was instructed not to do.
Her mentor Haymitch, had instructed her to find a source of water and forget about trying to fight her way through the Cornucopia. Day 1 in the games always resulted in a bloodbath with most if not half of the desperate tributes being hacked and killed by the Careers.
Katniss notes that her and the other tributes are on a flat, open stretch of ground. A plain of hard packed dirt. Behind the tributes across from her, she can see nothing indicating either a steep downward slope or even a cliff. To her right lies a lake. To her left and back, sparse piney woods. Katniss knew that was where Haymitch would want her to go. Immediately.
She can still hear his gruff voice in her head. "Just clear out, put as much distance as you can between yourselves and the others, and find a source of water."
But Katniss found it very tempting to just run in the Cornucopia and retrieve what she knew would be beneficial for her survival waiting there before her.
Katniss honestly had her mind made up with finding the source of water as her top priority, until her eyes landed on the bow and arrows.
Her eyes never leave the silver sheath of arrows and the bow that was resting on a mound of blanket rolls. The bow was already strung up waiting to be engaged. Waiting for me to grab them and run like hell, she thinks.
The girl noticed Peeta from at least five tributes down her right, he's quite a fair distance from her, still she can tell he's looking at her. The bright sun was still in her eyes and she couldn't tell if the boy was shaking his head at her or not, but the gong rings out while she thought over it.
She lost them. She had lost those precious seconds to retrieve the bow and arrows, thinking about stupid Peeta. Katniss takes off for the Cornucopia with every other tribute coming in from all sides of her.
The only thing she could afford to get in her haste was a sheet of plastic and a loaf of bread. Katniss who was still angry at Peeta for distracting her knew she couldn't leave empty handed. She sees a bright orange backpack that could hold anything inside.
The boy from District 9 reaches out at the same time for the pack that Katniss had her eyes laid on. For a short time she grapples with the boy for the pack until he coughs, splattering her face in his blood. Katniss stands back quickly repulsed from the warm, sticky spray coating her skin.
The boy slips down to the ground exposing the gray knife sticking out of his back. Already other tributes have reached the Cornucopia and were spreading out to attack.
Katniss looks up into the dangerously smiling face of the girl from District 2 who was running towards her, one hand clutching a half dozen knives, The only thing Katniss knew about her was from the brief observation she did from the training center. She had seen the girl throw knives once before, and she never misses. And I'm going to be her next target if I don't run.
Picking up the orange pack Katniss makes a dash for the woods, for safety amongst the trees. She didn't have to look back to know the girl with the knives was right on her heels who could kill her in only a matter of seconds.
With one strap from the pack on her shoulders, the whistling sound of the blade moves towards Katniss fast, and reflexively she hikes the pack up to protect her head. The blade lodges in the pack not a second later. Both straps are now on her and she makes for the trees.
Katniss knew the girl wouldn't pursue her any further and that she will be drawn back to the Cornucopia before all the good stuff was gone. Thanks for the knife.
At the edge of the woods Katniss turns to survey the field. About a dozen or are hacking away at one another at the horn. Several lie dead already on the ground, but she couldn't see Peeta's body amongst the fallen ones.
For the tributes who have taken flight were disappearing into the trees or into the void opposite Katniss, but the girl took of running again so that the woods have completely hidden her from the other tributes.
Katniss maintains a steady jog for a while wanting to be as much distance as she could from her competitors. She had lost her bread in her struggle with the boy from District 9 but managed to stuff the plastic in her jacket sleeve and folds it neatly as she walks and tucks it into her pocket.
Freeing the knife from the front side of her orange pack Katniss notices that its a fine one at that, with a long sharp blade, serrated near the the handle, which will come in handy for sawing through things, so she puts it in her pocket.
"It's not nice to take what isn't yours." Katniss whirls around seeing the girl from District 2 behind her. Damn, why didn't I hear her earlier?
"What isn't mines? I think it should belong to me since it was thrown to try and take my life in the first place." Katniss backs up to put more distance between her and the other girl who was slowly getting closer.
The District 2 girl still had her hands full of knives and Katniss notice that was all she had with her. So she must have taken after me the second I had my back turned from the field and she didn't even try to go back for the other supplies like I thought she would.
"You look surprise to see me. What, thought I was gonna let you get away just because you dodged my knife and ran with your tail between your legs into the woods?" The girl smirked at Katniss. "Are you planning another escape right now?"
Katniss cursed under breath of course she was thinking of away to get out of this situation. I need to think fast before her pack comes looking for her, and then I know I wouldn't stand a chance.
Even if she tried to run the girl would already have a knife in her before she could turn around and she was pretty quick on her feet. Katniss watched the girl tighten up her unique bubble pony-tail as she tried to decide which part of her body she wanted to carve up first.
"Hey where's your lover boy at?" The girl looked around as if expecting Peeta to jump from behind a tree any minute now. "Whatever we'll find and kill him eventually, but ladies first of course."
With her left hand holding the rest of the knives the girl left one to in her right, the one she was going to end Katniss's life with. Katniss in a surge of fear tries to make a pointless escape, but of course the girl has her on the ground after she had only take one step.
"Oh no, are you scared?" The girl buries Katniss's face in the soft earth as if trying to suffocate her in the soil. "You should be, it is me who will end your pathetic life after all, and I promise you want have a fast death either."
Katniss tries to get up but the girl despite being smaller than her had more muscle packed on and use them to keep her pinned face down on the ground. The girl roughly grabs a handful of Katniss's braid tugging her head back so they were cheek to cheek.
"I think I will start with your face it looks too good to be worn on you." The girl licks a trail with her tongue up Katniss's cheek. "You taste so good too, damn I could lick and bite your cheeks all day if you had that long anyways." Katniss yelps out in pain when the girl takes a sharp bite on her cheek.
"You crazy bitch if you're going to kill me then do it, and spare me your lunatic speeches." snarled Katniss.
The cold edge of the knife makes its way across her neck and Katniss knows her end will come unless she can think of a way out of this. Even if right now the odds don't seem likely in her favor she was still determined as anyone to live.
"Hey wait stop!" The District 2 girl stops her motions with the knife long enough to hear what the girl laying under her has to say. "You have a final word or something? Go ahead speak loudly so your grieving family will hear you."
"You know my training score I got an eleven." The girl throws her head back laughing at Katniss.
"Yeah I know alright, I bet you sucked one of those Gamemaker's dick to get it huh?" "I guess if I were poor who knows I may have done the same thing." Katniss could almost feel the other girl leering down at her. "Was is Seneca Crane, the man seems to pay special attention to the lady tributes so I've heard?"
Katniss glares up at the girl with nothing but hatred. "I didn't suck anybody's dick to get anything. Why should I when I know I"m better than you anyways?" The girl puts more pressure on the knife that was still being held against Katniss's throat.
"If you're so much more better than me then why I am the one who is on top and you on bottom?" Maybe it was the fact that her back was becoming numb from having the heavy girl sitting on it, but Katniss was sure she felt the other girl grinding into her.
"You're better than me when I'm the one with your life in my hands?"
"Wait please I just don't want to die and I could be a valuable resource for you and your Career pack." pleaded Katniss.
The girl pulls her knife from Katniss's throat in shock. "Are you saying you want to join our pack?"
Katniss strains to look back at the girl, and instantly found herself lost in a sea of green that was staring back at her. "Y-yeah I do, I didn't get that eleven for nothing now did I?"
Katniss watches as the girl tries very hard to think over her offer of an a alliance. "Okay, but I don't call the shots, Cato does, and it will be up to him if you can join or not." Katniss looked shocked at the girl sitting on top of her who readily accepted her offer as if she really wanted to. The girl gives Katniss a final caress with her tongue on her cheek before letting her up.
"You better hope the odds will be in you favor fire-girl, because the second he says no I want waste any time carving my name into that lovely face of yours." The girl pushes Katniss with her knife back into the direction of the place she tried to put as much distance as she could from, back to the Cornucopia where the other Careers are surely to be waiting.
Katniss uses the back of her hand to wipe away the saliva left by the girl wondering what in the hell she was getting herself into.