The First Annual Hunger Games

by Elezia Odair

O'Hara Ferguson, a young girl from District 4 is sent into the first annual Hunger Games in order to fight for her life, her love, and her honour. This is pretty graphic, be warned.

The first annual hunger Games

We have lost the battle of the Dark Days. We have tried everything there is to try, but the Capitol is much too strong for even us. District 13 had abandoned us, and for their troubles, has been obliterated. I sit now in front of my cracked television watching the Capitol seal arrive, as we in the districts learn the punishment for our troubles. I hear the anthem play, and my whole body trembles. I see the young president step out onto his balcony. He can only be in his early twenties; his hair is white and his eyes bright pink, there is not a wrinkle to be seen on his face, and I am assuming there are none under his white presidential robe either. This president is very tall, and frighteningly muscular for his age. When he speaks, he speaks slowly, as if to a city full of retarded children, rather then the twelve districts whom one year ago had his father's head.

"My name is President Snow. President Caratacus Snow. And my father, who you, the district people, have brutally murdered, left this as your punishment. Each district is to send two teenagers both male and female between the ages of twelve and eighteen to the Capitol once a year, for a sporting event. The event will take place in an arena somewhere in Panem's wilderness. The reward for winning this event is to have the winning district showered with prizes, such as food, and other luxuries. The title of the annual event is The Hunger Games. Each child is to stay here in the Capitol for exactly one week, in which they will be trained and prepared to partake in the event. Each child is to be chosen by random, in a lottery of sorts. It is a great honor to be chosen to enter the Games. Now, the reason I am giving you these Games, is a result of the Treaty of Treason. Because you, The Districts, have put up such a painful fight, at such a costly price, we will not destroy you, however we do have a few new rules that you must comply with. Each District will be presented with what we call 'Peacekeepers' they are a military team trained and prepared to handle any kind of outbreak; they are also apart of the local jurisdiction. If crimes are committed within a district, the peacekeepers are the ones who deal out consequence. Also, travel between districts is now completely cut off. No one is allowed to visit the other districts, unless on official duty. Now, I will not be giving out the entire Treaty live on television, because I can already tell that my audience is getting bored of me. So instead, lets focus on the Games. Each district will be sent a Capitol Escort, who will do the lottery in which the children are selected. The whole event of the reaping will be broadcasted on television, just as the Games will. Now I want these games to come as a surprise to you. So I will end the broadcast now. Thank you Panem, this is your President."

I shake my head in complete shock, and then slowly I realize that me, at the young age of 15 will be headed off to the Capitol, that is… if I am chosen. I run quickly out to the front of my home, and onto my family's dock. I sit out looking at the ocean; they once called it the Pacific, but now, it is just Panem Ocean West. I hear my father calling me from inside.

"O'Hara" He shouts "Get your ass in here!" I stand and wander over to my father. He looks at me and opens a letter he reads over it a few times, his expression stony, before he opens his mouth to read to me.

"Resident of District Four your child, O'Hara Ferguson is in the selected age group to attend the First Annual Hunger Games. She is to follow the rules below, and if chosen, she will receive further instructions from there." He stops reading and hands me the official Capitol paper so I am able to read the rule chart on my own.

1. On July Second of this year you will enter the city square in front of the Justice Building you will then enter the roped section that reads fifteen

chosen you will have 4 hours to say goodbye to whoever comes to visit. Each person coming to visit may only have a one-hour slot.

3. Because you are fifteen you will have your name entered into the drawing four times. Entries are cumulative, by age beginning with twelve year olds having one entry

There are only three rules written on the paper in the fancy Capitol script. I guess they want this thing to come off as a huge surprise to whoever is watching. I give the letter back to my father and I look him in the eyes and whisper

"Daddy, if I get to go to the Capitol, whatever kind of Games they have planned for me. I will not let you down." He gives me a sort of half smile and then sends me on my way.

My father is a hurt man. My mom was pregnant when I was 6 she lost the baby, and in her blind agony, fell off one of the fishing boats that she was working on. The Mayor officially had stated that it was an accident, but I know it was suicide. My father, is a good man, he tries to work as best he can to put food on the table. But I have been out on the boats since I was 10, I'm usually the one catching fish and feeding him. I tried hating him at first, but that nearly put me over into starvation. So I have changed my hatred into an undying love, that I would do anything for him. He is the only reason I survived the loss of my mom.

I get up out of my seat and wander over towards the front door of my house, being from one of the richest districts in Panem, I have a large enough home in fact, my home was built for four. But, after my mom died, the Mayor didn't have the heart to send us out. As I head to the closet to put on my Capitol grade swimming shoes, the mirrors catch my eye. I am a tall girl, I stand at roughly 6 feet, and my muscular build puts me at an astonishing two hundred pounds. I wear what every citizen of District Four wears, excluding only the Mayor who has to wear a black business suit almost daily. I wear a blue spandex top that fits me perfectly; it has lower cut neckline, in order to keep me cool. And a blue miniskirt of the same material, I wear knee high socks, which are made from nearly paper-thin material. All of District Four's uniform is Capitol issued, the blue accents my pale skin, the paleness is unnatural for 4's residents, because we work out in the sun all the time, my eyes are frothy sea-blue, just like majority of District 4. I let my eyes travel away from my body and up into my mess of hair. Being in 4, the salt in the air just ruins any kind of hair, so my hair hangs dead and limp in strands but it's not the way the it looks, as much as it is the colour of it that is so astonishing my hair grows with blonde bangs, while the rest of it is black. Not even the District 4 doctors can explain such a strange phenomenon.

I walk out the door and head towards town, to go visit my boyfriend Nathan, He's in my year at school, when I go for my leisure swims, he generally joins me, And whenever we're not busy doing other things, we're always together. I run up to his house and I find the door is open, which is usually an invitation for me to enter; Nathan's family absolutely adores me. When I walk in I can smell lobster cooking on the stove, I run up to Nathan's older sister to find out what's cooking.

"Hello, O'Hara" She exclaims surprised, but in a good way.

"Hey there Keeva" I respond with enthusiasm "Is Nathan around?"

She pokes at the lobster in her pot and nods toward the basement. Nathan's house is significantly larger then mine, since they have roughly six people in their family. Most of them old enough to start moving out, Nathan is the youngest, him and his sister Maggie are twins, most people call her Maggs though. Both of them are fifteen. I run down the twelve steps until I arrive in Nathan's bedroom, he's laying on his bed, sound asleep, I smile at him and crawl in beside him and wrap my arms around him. He's been my boy for a very long time. We've been "together" since year ten at school. His skin is hot when I touch it, my chilled uniform must wake him up, because as soon as my entire body touches him he wakes with a start, confused as to who might be touching him he flips over and faces me. His smile is perfect; he has a mess of curly hair, long, but not long enough to be illegal. I smile at him, lost in those icy eyes, forgetting my real reason for coming over here. He's not as muscular, or as tall as I am, in fact, he's kind of tiny. But that boy is strong. He can carry me, which is a feat in itself. I kiss him once and once he pulls away I remember why I came. My eyes lock on his for a moment and I sigh.

"You must have been awake for the broadcast." I say.

He looks at me and then looks at the tiny clock that sits beside him.

"It's ten A.M. If there was a broadcast this morning, I missed it."

I sigh and explain what the President had said. He looks at me worriedly

"O'Hara, this is the Capitol we're talking about, there is no way that this is just some sporting event. It must be best that we do not get involved"

I walk over and check his calendar, it reads July 1st. Nathan rolls over and climbs out of bed, wearing nothing but a pair of loose blue shorts. Even our undergarments are Capitol issue; we all must be uniform, always. Our undergarments and our outer clothes, all except the winter uniform, are completely designed for use as swimwear. Though no one in District Four wears their outer clothes into the salty ocean. He dresses in he boy's uniform, a blue spandex t-shirt with a neckline that covers his collarbone, and a pair of blue shorts, and black Capitol sandals. The girls are able to wear the sandals as well, but I like my shoes and socks better.

"Come on then, I'm going to check my mail." He mounts the first step and I quickly follow behind him. When we arrive at his mailbox he opens it to find three letters, one addressed for him, one for Maggs, and another for Keeva. His other three siblings are already too old for selection. Then just as he goes to open his letter we hear the siren that indicates a Capitol train is pulling into the station and a mandatory greeting has been set.

Out of requirement I wander over to the station, Nathan's hand in mine. We arrive at the station just as the high-speed train pulls in. I watch curiously as a team of 30 men and women dressed in white uniform dismount. And then one woman dressed in white with a golden crest on her breast stepped out last of all. One thought came to my mind, as I saw these people in their Capitol clothes.

"Peacekeepers" I cover my hands over my lips in shock that I had uttered that out loud and out of turn. The woman with the golden crest caught my eyes. She glares at me and walks away. I shudder by her mere presence. I turn to Nathan, and then I hear the Mayor tap on a microphone and speak.

"Please welcome the new Peacekeepers of District Four"

Then he walks away, as if nothing in the world could matter to him anymore.

Nathan and I walk toward the beach, and I strip off my garments and slowly descend into the warm waters. I swim away all of the fear that the peacekeeper had instilled in me. Nathan and I swim together for hours upon hours when finally I here Keeva call out to us.

"NATHAN, O'HARA! IF YOU GUYS WANT LUNCH YOU BETTER COME HOME NOW!"

I peek my head over the top of a rolling wave to see her making her way back home. I make a mad dash towards the shore, sure that the lunch offered will be of the delicious smelling lobster I had set my eyes on earlier. When I walk into Nathan's front door the scent hits me like a wall. It's amazing, and I'm excited, I love lobster, even more then I love the rare delicacies that come from the Capitol, and lobster is very common here. I pull in a chair next to Nathan and dig into a bright red lobster that sits before me.

After eating I thank Nathan's family and tell them that I regretfully have to go I walk back to my house and find my father sleeping in his bed. Worried, I wake him and ask him if he needs to go to the hospital. He shakes his head no and then falls back into a deep slumber. I fear he may be drunk.

I wander towards my television set and turn the dial on, It's the usual Capitol run programming, but it keeps me entertained until I finally fall asleep.

Throughout the night I hear the sounds of construction, this is odd because boat building is usually done in the large warehouse on the outskirts of the District, so what ever is happening is new.

I wake up in the morning, feeling very ill at ease. The construction noises I had heard before were frightening to say the least. I sit up in my bed, and wrap the cozy blankets around me. I know what today is; today is the day that I must go wait to see if my name is drawn in the lottery. What did they call it, the reaping? Whatever. I wander outside of my bedroom and see my father frying some fish over the stove.

"Dad, when do I have to go to the square?" I ask, impatient to get the ball rolling and the day over with.

"Two hours, you might want to walk in with Nathan, you never know what might be going on." I take this as a signal to get out of the house, so I walk over to Nathan's place.

On the way I catch a glimpse of the square, which has been transformed into a huge celebration, a holiday like feel, there were cameras perched on every rooftop though, and a large wooden stage constructed in front of our Justice building. When I reach Nathan's home the door is closed, so I ring on their doorbell, Nathan answers and brings me into his arms. I hug him until I come to the realization that he's sobbing. Curious I look at him.

"Nathan… darling, what's wrong?" He sniffs twice and trough his stream of tears he looks at me. "It's Keeva, she went out last night to watch the fireflies over the hills, and the peacekeepers took her away!"

I am so shocked by this realization that I'm not exactly sure what I am to do. I stare at Nathan in a half daze, thinking about the laws Keeva might have broken.

"Is there a curfew in District Four?" I ask Nathan, half knowing what he'll say to this.

"Even if there is, it's never been enforced by the Mayor. We should go speak to him about this."

We walk down into the square. And we turn behind the Justice building, which is where the Mayor lives. We ring his doorbell and he answers. He looks shocked to see us standing there.

"What a pleasant surprise, how can I be of service to you?"

We glare at him and then Nathan gathers enough courage to speak. He forms his words slowly, making sure he is not stumbling upon any of his syllables.

"Why. Has. My. Sister. Been. Arrested?" The mayor looks confused and stares at us for a long time before responding.

"Keeva, am I right? Well, she's been arrested for breaking curfew, I'm afraid."

Nathan nods his head and glares into the Mayor's distracted eyes.

"What curfew?"

The Mayor sighs and responds.

"For as long as I have been mayor of this district, and for as long as my father was Mayor before me. There has been a 9 P.M curfew, I've never enforced it because night life here is so much fun, but now that the peacekeepers have arrived it is their job to ensure that the curfew is enforced."

I sigh in disbelief.

"Then it is your responsibility inform the peacekeepers that the entire population has been unaware of this curfew, so then Keeva may be pardoned for her misunderstanding."

"O'Hara, I am afraid I am unable to do that, by informing the peacekeepers of the misunderstanding, I would lose my position as Mayor and be whipped for my ignorance." I was so inconceivably angry that I stormed off leaving the Mayor and Nathan to discuss the problem when I saw Keeva strung up against what appeared to be a wooden cross with a table laid across it. She was topless, and there was a peacekeeper standing over her holding a small microphone. She spoke into it.

"The entire population of District 4 will now come to the town square! We have a public presentation, and then we may begin with the ceremonial reaping process to select the tributes for the first annual Hunger Games."

I stood front row and watched the poor girl tremble. Keeva who was my best friend was trembling on a table almost naked, degraded, and scared. I could not do anything about it. The entire population then filled into the town square, and then the outlying streets that surround it. The peacekeeper then spoke out, and I noticed the flash of a golden pin on her shirt and I knew it was that woman I had seen at the train station. She spoke again.

"Hello District Four, I am you're head peacekeeper. Cicila Lyles, and this is Ms. Keeva McDonald and she is about to be the first of what I can assure you to be multiple whippings in this District. Now, Keeva has broken her curfew. Now, Mayor Karroten has assured me that you all have known about the curfew but poor Keeva here has not obeyed it. Such a pity."

She raised her whip in a swift motion and brought it down upon Keeva's back. She let out a loud shriek that filled the town square and her body convulsed on the wooden table. Then the blood flowed, it poured down her back, thick and bright crimson red. I generally don't know fear, but I learned it today.

The peacekeeper was about to bring down the whip upon Keeva again when the Mayor burst onto the stage.

"Stop!" He shouted at her and his eyes were filled whit tears "She has been punished enough. These people, they don't know what this is. This has been sufficient." The peacekeeper looked at him, grunted a soft sentence and walked away leaving the stage open for what they had called the "reaping" ceremonies.

A woman with bright red hair and an ivy green dress appeared on the stage, bubbling with excitement. She flattened her dress and the mayor sat next to her on a wooden chair on the stage. Then I heard a noise that sounded like a boat engine turn on. But when I looked around all I saw were men with cameras perched around on many rooftops, and I could only assume that these "reaping" ceremonies would be on television. The woman spoke, in a shrill, bright manner, thick with the Capitol's accent.

"Alright district four! Lets choose this years tributes!" She smiled and stuck her skinny fingers into the large glass bowl that set before her. Her smiled widened and said, "We have a male first!" She squinted to read the handwriting and then with a smile she announced "Nathan McDonald!"

His eyes widened in what looked like fear, as he approached the stairs he mounted with a silent bravery, and then the Capitol lady spoke again

"Would any of the boys like to volunteer for Nathan here?"

No one stepped forward.

She stuck her hand back into the bowl and drew name after name until she came across a female name and announced the pink print written on the paper

"Nicole Ashley"

I didn't know Nicole very well, but I knew that she would not be participating in The Hunger Games. When Nicole stepped up to the stage and the Capitol lady asked for volunteers I quickly raised my hand and shouted

"I volunteer! I want to go to the Games!"

The woman looked shocked and welcomed me onto the stage and sent Nicole back to the roped off section. The woman smiled at Nathan and I and we shook hands and walked into the Justice building into separate velvet rooms and waited for our goodbyes.

My father walked in first, he smiled at me and held me close, telling me that everything would be okay. That when I came home he would treat me to a huge lobster dinner, and if Nathan came home too we could live together. My father didn't say anymore he just stay there and hugged me until the end of the hour. Keeva came next she was sobbing, her blue shirt stained red with her blood. She told me not to get hurt, and to stay strong in the rough but beautiful Capitol. We sat and cried and by the end of the half hour she had left. I had a half an hour to myself before the next guest arrived. It was the head peacekeeper. This came as such a huge shock to me. But it's what she said that scared me to my wits end.

"You are not safe. You may not survive the next few weeks. But, each tribute needs a district token in the arena, I want you to take this"

The peacekeeper reached inside her shirt and pulled out a charm necklace, it contained two charms, a trident, and a number 4. She placed it around my neck. She stood by the door, wished me good luck, and then she was gone. I was alone again for about 45 minuets until the Mayor came and begged me for my forgiveness. I knew why he was so upset, because Keeva was punished so unfairly. He figured I was still raging against his unfair behaviors. Though, despite all the pain I know Keeva had felt I could forgive him, I was too afraid of the weeks to come to be angry at his corruptions. The bell rang and I was assisted by peacekeepers out to the train station. Nathan had looked a lot stronger then I did. He looked hard and seemed indifferent to his fear. I on the other hand looked frightened and clearly I had been crying. The cameras gathered our images. And then went black as we boarded the train. I ran into Nathan's arms and bawled. The woman from the reaping put her hands on our backs. She guided us into a room full of magnificent foods and I was absolutely blown away. Delicacies I have never seen filled the tables I was used to some of the finest fair in the country but, I had never tasted anything like this, what was laid before me was better then any fish, or lobster I could have ever seen in my life. Lamb stew laden with oranges and plums, Beans and rice covered in a strange fish cream. I was so impressed. The lady with the red hair had introduced herself as Sieanna Trinket. I sat beside Nathan and held his hand in mine as Sieanna told us what would happen in the next few weeks.

"You will be assigned each a prep team of beauticians and one stylist each, they will be designing your costumes for the opening ceremonies and your interviews, before the interviews you each will spend a week in training."

I couldn't even begin to eat the amazing foods set before me. I was frightened and stalked off to the bedroom compartment in the train. It wasn't long at all until Nathan had found my room and joined me in my bed we had slept like this many a time in his bedroom. His body was no stranger to me. I had fallen asleep and it felt like only a moment before the voice of Sieanna came into the compartment.

"It's going to be a great, great, great day!"

Right after a breakfast of sweet grain and hot chocolate, a delightful warm drink made from a powdery substance called Cocoa. We found ourselves in the shining Capitol, it was still slightly damaged from the war but it was just a beautiful, if not more so then what I had seen on television. Even just from the slight bits I could see from the train, I noticed that each cobblestone in the street was a different candied colour! Bright pinks and reds and yellows and oranges and blues and purples! It was like appearing in one of the cartoons that the Capitol sometimes airs on T.V. I saw the citizens of the Capitol standing by the train platform and a huge building. The train pulled in and the Capitol citizens were screaming. I waved in delight. I had forgotten all of my fear and I was honestly excited to be part of this game. I wasn't physically inclined, but I was still sure I could win, and go home and spend my life with Nathan. We would be married in roughly three years. As soon as we were both out of school things would be good for us. We were ushered by Sieanna into the large building. The elevator rushed us a few floors under the ground. I was taken aback by the sheer amazing speed of the elevator. We were ushered into the hands of our stylist teams. I was afraid of them, not honest to goodness fearful, just taken aback by their eccentricities. There were three members of the prep team, and one stylist who I would meet once I was set to what the prep team called "Beauty Base Zero".

The trio of beauticians circled me, and examined me. One of them picked up a handful of my hair she scowled in disgust. She looked at it and picked it through.

"Ugh! The salt has damaged this girl's hair beyond repair! Her rough ocean life must be so hard on her!" She was a girl with skin that looked as if she was dipped in a vat of gold. She had red eyes and purple hair. The capitol fashions were weird… and defiantly less then beautiful. The one man smacked her on the back of the head and raised his voice slightly.

"Vashina! Do not speak to her as if she isn't there! O'Hara, I am sorry for my comrade's behavior! My name is Eresin, and the shy one over there, working on the oil scrub is Amatrour." I nodded my head twice but remained silent. I wasn't hard work, but they stuck me in an oily bath, which seemed to erase all traces of salt from my hair when I got out of the bath they were holding wax straps and razors. I laughed. I was already perfectly smooth. Coming from my district shaving and being hairless is very important to being sleek in the water. There was no need to go at me with the wax, though I haven't shaved in a few hours so the razors were taken to every section of my body except my head, which was now soft and luscious despite its cropped length. They took my hair and its odd colours, Vashina looked at it and scowled. She really seemed to hate my hair. Eresin was right in there defending the beautiful blonde bangs, telling her that the odd colours would make me noticeable and easy to identify in the arena. My hair appalled Vashina and instead of going along with it, she threw her dyes and to the floor and the trio ran off to fetch my stylist. She entered the room. She seemed very foreign. She had dark brown skin, like the hot chocolate I had on the train this morning.

"Hello O'Hara." She said softly. She had such a strange accent. I was used to people with darker skin tones, but this woman's skin was so dark it was almost black, had the lights gone out she would blend in to the night.

"Hi." I replied softly. Her accent was so affected. It wasn't like the regular Capitol accent at all.

"Why don't you have a seat darling, here put your robe on? My name is Athala. I'm going to be your stylist. Now, the design we have for your costume is going to be very elegant. Because I believe that's the fashion angle we should play with you. It will represent your violence, but your beautiful grace at the same time. Now O'Hara. What do you think about waves?"

I was astounded by the idea of becoming a human wave. Athala was going to turn me into a real wave; my costume was made of real water!

Athala took me into a room lined with mirrors and made me take off my robe. I stood completely naked in front of her. My nipples hardening in the cold air, she asked put on me a clearish-blue rubber gown, and pressed a hose into the back. The gown filled with water and when I moved it looked as if I was water. But… my breasts were still very much exposed, and I can almost guarantee that this wouldn't go over well back home. Then Athala pulled out a thick piece of white foamy fabric she pulled it on me and it covered my breast. She coated the foam in a clear thick liquid. And pressed a white battery pack into the back. When she hit the button I heard a very soft whirring sound and bubbles started to come from my chest. The beauty of the bubbles that surrounded my head mesmerized me; I had lost myself in wonder before I abruptly came back into reality.

"We must go now." Athala spoke very roughly now, her chocolaty accent lost in a gravely undertone. I could tell something was wrong. She seemed afraid for me. Athala guided me through a large open door into a room that smelled like animal poop. That's when I saw it. Two bright blue horses, a driver dressed in the same blue and a chariot of the same wood we used on our boats. Nathan was standing there dressed in one garment. A tight rubber piece over his groin was the only bit of clothing I could see then I saw that it was just as fantastic as my gown. It was full of water and his bubbles seemed to be coming from his head. When I run towards him to embrace him I saw he was wearing a clear crown, which was only visible when I approached, I assumed the cameras would never pick it up. The driver ordered us onto the chariot. The flat floor and short walled wooden "chariot" had set my balance off. The only safety I had was to hold onto Nathan's hand. The horse began to trot slowly towards the entrance of what might have been a stable. My hands shook. My nerves taking over, Nathan had to squeeze my hand, the blood flow to my fingertips was cut off. There was a shock of blinding light and then I saw everything. The capitol, in all of its shining glory was lined with people dressed in strange clothing, their faces dyed their hair was colours I had never seen such bright pinks and deeper blues then I can guarantee I had never seen in the deep murky waters of my seas. Our horse ended up in a circle prancing around in front of a huge white house, I could only assume that this house belonged to President Snow. I had seen the house on television. The anthem of Panem played and I was overcome with a sense of happiness. I was so excited! I smiled and waved at everyone they blew kisses at me and threw roses in my direction. My name was being shouted over almost all others. "O'Hara! O'Hara!" My hair shook out when I flipped it. My smile was so large. My bubbles flew out all over my body and the hair that came behind me. Nathan's crown was invisible on the television and the bubbles that came from his crown came at twice the speed as mine. He left a long trail behind him, while mine floated along slowly. We were water. We were fantastic. I had never felt so amazing before. I knew that whatever this fucking game had in store I would fuck it up.

We were paraded around the circle for a while and then brought right back into our building. We were whisked back to our floor and allowed to watch the opening ceremonies on the beautiful flat screen television mounted on the wall. We looked even more stunning through the crystal display. Sieanna clapped and clapped and clapped and the Athala, who was also in the room, looked humble and shy. Though I could see under her dark skinned mask, that her joy was unfathomable. Then the dinner was served. I was given a large plate of pasta. Though set in front of me was one dish, there was what seemed like hundreds of other dishes that used red sauce. There was poultry covered in red sauce and cheese, and what they called veal in the same substance.

"What's veal?" I asked, directing my question to Sieanna. Though I had asked Sieanna, it was Nathan's stylist who had spoken. He was a very pale woman with what seemed to be bird's shadows in his eyes, and his nose looked almost beak like. He called himself Vulturan his voice was high pitched in squeaky.

"Veal, a cow slaughtered during its calf stage, in other words, a baby cow. The meat is tender and supple, one of the best fairs in the world, I'd think."

"Baby cow! Oh goodness! But, it is good isn't it? Perhaps then, I will eat it."

I pulled a piece of the meat off the plate and laid it on top of my pasta. I cut a small piece and placed it in my mouth. The flavours exploded it was so sweet, and so tender and I swear I had never anything so delectable in my life. I ate about 3 pieces of the perfect meat, when finally the food coma set in and I figured I should head off to bed. I informed Nathan of my intended slumber, and like a puppy on a leash he got up in the middle of his meal and trotted after me into my chambers. I hit the bed with a thump and slept for the entire night, only to be awoken by Sieanna first thing in the morning.

"It's going to be a great, great, great day! Training beings today!"

Training… Training for what I wonder.

As I sat up in bed, Nathan pushed me right over the side and I landed with a thump on my bottom as I hit the floor. Nathan laughed at me and then helped me up. I glared at him as he pulled off my clothing and smiled and asked me to do the same. We were both completely naked his erection touching my thigh. This was new to me, though it wasn't unwelcomed. His body was hot. Though, I could tell he wanted something from me, I was so shy, the idea of spreading my legs right here right now, was so overwhelming. I put my hands on his chest and shook my head. I couldn't have sex with him, not here and not now, not when so many people outside were waiting on our swift arrival. Though not one to leave someone unsatisfied I dropped to my knees. It was if he knew what I wanted and he sat down on the bed. His hand rubbing up and down on the shaft. I closed my eyes and pressed my lips to the head. A sudden taste of salt hit my tongue as I went farther down the head. I liked the taste, and I felt him move his hips, trying to push it in farther. I let him take control; he put his hands on the back of my head and pressed his body farther down my throat. He went too far, he made me gag. It had startled me, and that had finished me for the day. I was done, I was too nervous to begin with, and now on top of it all, he choked me. I might try again tomorrow, but today, that was just too much.

I walked over toward the shower and press a few buttons to start the water. I had locked the door behind me, and I heard Nathan knocking, apologizing.

"Go shower, you'll feel better, we can talk about this in private later." I said to him, much harsher then I had expected.

"All right, O'Hara if you think I should" His voice sounded in pain but, my throat was in pain too! If he hurt, then that's his own fault for hurting me.

After a warm shower I found clothes set out on my bed, it was a simple get up, black pants made of a strange material I had never felt before and the top was the same one I wore at home. But it was black, and thick material, rather then my nice blue I had been used to.

After I had dressed I set out to go to breakfast when I was pulled aside by Sieanna.

"You little whore. If word gets out that there is any sort of romance in between the two of you, any sort of sponsorship you will get in the arena, will be lost! If you touch him again in any way, I'll see to it that your training will be miserable!"

How did she know… cameras? Do they watch us even as we prepare. That doesn't seem right. Could she be talking about something else? As I walked into the dining area, I saw Nathan standing by the elevator in a dashing black training suit, similar, but not identical to mine. It was nice knowing that once again him and I would be completely uniform, well, almost completely. I loved him despite the trials and tribulations that we go through on a nearly regular basis. I took his hand and we entered the elevator and were whisked down, past the stables, past the make-up center, as the elevator darkened, we stayed in complete blackness for what felt like a whole two minuets. I could only assume we were at least one hundred feet under the earth's surface. It was only when I stepped from the elevator, I knew what the Peacekeeper had meant when she said I wouldn't survive.

There were weapons of every assortment. From my dearest tridents, to simple knives, to bows and arrows, and things that I could only identify because of the signs posted, such as the mace. We were ushered into a room away from the weapons; it was a large open room with three adjoining rooms. One had a pool in it. One had an obstacle course, similar to the one the fishermen's children had to use at school, back at home. How I wish I were home now. Though I felt wrong, I was excited, I almost taste my blood, and it was fantastic. Nathan squeezed my hand. The third door was closed. So we would not know what was behind it. As the other kids filed in, we saw everyone arrived in pairs, just as we did. A pair of tributes from each district, a boy and girl, chosen by lottery. It was disgusting. Just as the last tributes arrived, we were placed in a row. Boy, girl, boy, girl. Nathan and I were fourth, so I was assuming we were in order of the district we had came from. A man dressed in a white uniform went behind us and pinned our district number to our backs. Then a big man in a camouflage uniform ushered us into the third room, which appeared to be a dining hall with a stage set in front of it. The man saluted and a woman dressed in a white presidential robe appeared. I nudged Nathan and whispered in his ear.

"Could this possibly be the Presidents wife? What on earth could she be doing here for?"

The woman smiled at us and welcomed us. Then she asked us to sit. I had a feeling she was about to speak to us, and inform us of what we already knew, unless, because Nathan and I were the first to arrive, they had moved the weapons artillery away. Perhaps I was wrong, perhaps those weren't for us, but we were just borrowing a military training base or maybe they just didn't want the other 'tributes' knowing before the grand unveiling. The lady fixed her robe and then adjusted her hair. There was no microphone, so I guess this was all private.

"Hello, children it's a pleasure to have you all here to join us! Now I'm sure you can tell who I am. I am First Lady Serine Snow. Now all of you children will be attending the Games that I, myself had designed as punishment for your parents and relatives who decided to rise against the Capitol that kept them safe. Well they thought they were oppressed before! Wait until they see what happens to them now! Oh and guess what children, only one of you gets to go home after the end of all this!"

There was chaos, kids rose from the chairs and threw them to the ground in a mass confusion and rage. Only Nathan and I who managed to stay calm through all the pandemonium. And then the unthinkable happened. The kids were shot on the spot. The kids who would have been my competition were killed. Their red sticky liquid splattered into my hair and onto my face. There was such an amount that my whole face was soaked in blood. The guns they had used had obliterated the faces of my fellow tributes to the point where they were no longer recognizable. I shook, hard if I would live through the next few weeks, well, this would never be unseen. When I looked around, there was only one tribute from districts 1, 2, 5, 7, 9 left. 10 was obliterated completely and the 11 and 12 tributes had dove under the table once they had seen the guns brought out from behind the guards backs.

"Such a shame. It'll be so difficult to replace them at this point without ruining the surprise. Anyways. Now that you know the severity of your behavior here, you will not step out of line, or you shall each face the penalty of death. I'm sure I should inform you how these games work, and how training is going to be for you. Well, you will each be trained in many different combat skills, which you will use in the games. The idea is that you will kill each other in the arena, so that one may stay alive, and the winner, oh the winner becomes a huge celebrity, becomes rich beyond belief. While you children are here, we have workers in each of your districts building fabulous mansions for you and future victors. Training is simple. You shall not engage in training with any other tributes, but as you can see, we have multiple staff on hand who are willing to partner up with you to train, and no, they can not kill you, that is, unless you misbehave. The pool will be used for swimming lessons, and the obstacle course for physique tuning. Our weapons artillery is bountiful, as will the weapons artillery in the arena. But that is the only hint I can give to you as to the arena. At the end of this week of training, you will be placed in the gym outside, and there will be a table set up with a crew of me, and 11 other people who are known as game makers, and we will grade you on your training."

My tears streaked down my face, making trails in the dried blood. A young man in white came and silently cleaned my face of the blood. I thanked him and he just smiled at me. The lady told us to rise and head out into the gym to train. I headed right into the pool section with a bunch of different weapons I had never used before; I mean I was already a talent with the trident, so there was no need for me to use it. I had a mace, a bow and arrow, and a crossbow, I did notice that there were no power weapons; all our power was hands on. No guns, the only gun-like object that was there was the crossbow, and I had grabbed that one real quick. I figured if I was going to rock this, I was going to need to spend more time on my long-range attacks. I was slightly disappointed when Nathan didn't join me but instead went on to train with the tridents and spears and throwing knives we were accustom with at home. What bothered me more is that he didn't come swimming with me. It would be the last time we ever did this, and yet he didn't care. So I trained alone. There was a rack of swimsuits on a wall with numbers on them, I went to four and grabbed the bag with an F on it. When I pulled it out it was a golden, armored bikini. Why I needed this to train was beyond me. Once I had put the suit on a screen had appeared on the empty wall across from the pool. It was a young woman standing where I was standing now she was pointing to something across from me. I walked over to see ten wooden targets and a large red button. A voice then came from where the screen was. And a few black and white drawings showed pictures of what the voice was saying.

"Hello there. The targets you have acquired are to be thrown into the pool like such."

The voice stopped and seemed to wait for me to throw the targets into the water. Once I did, they were sucked to different spots on the walls and floor, and some of them floated on the surface, with the painted bull's-eye facing the water.

"Now when you press the button, a timer will begin. You will have one minuet exactly to destroy all the targets, without being hit by the lasers. Your suit will change colours if you have been hit. That's when you know you have been 'killed'"

Seemed easy enough. Boy was I wrong. It took me like twenty times to avoid the random shots from the lasers. I didn't even know where they were coming from. It would be just as if I was being ambushed by a large group of people with ranged weapons. I also managed to destroy all the targets, which by the way were also shooting lasers at me. After all the nonsense of the swimming pool, I changed and went over to Nathan who was sitting alone at a knot tying station. I glared at him.

"Nathan, we know how to do all that! Why don't you come with me and we can train with some ranged weapons or swords, don't you think that might be a better idea? Or we could even go to the plant station and learn how to stay alive despite lack of food." He could only sadly look at me.

"O'Hara listen, I don't want to seem rude, but I don't want to train with you, besides, we only have one week to train, would it not be best if we fine tuned our skills rather then try to get a bit of skill with weapons we may never even use. Besides O'Hara, I'm going home at the end of all this. Not you, me."

"Nathan… what are you saying? That you're going to kill me? That everything we've ever been through matters nothing to you now! What kind of person are you? I can understand you not wanting to train with me after what happened, but Nathan I'm just as skilled as you, and I'm stronger. If anyone is going home, it's me!" I stormed off. I couldn't believe him, he was being such an ass. It's not like I hurt him intentionally, was it? No, of course not. He hurt me; he deserves the brutality of having a loved one shun him.

I went to the plant station and I trained there for a while until I could name any of the plants the trainer lady had shown to me. Then an alarm went off and we were told to go back into the dining room where the other tributes had been murdered. When we walked in the bodies and blood had been removed from the floor, and a bountiful lunch had been set before us. We sat in order of our districts, so of course I was forced to sit next to Nathan. We were wordless the entire time. I ate my meal silently. It was a nice fish stew over rice, a common fair at home. I looked around and realized that everyone was eating something that would come from his or her district. And everyone was socializing, well everyone but Nathan and I. How pathetic. I was so lonely that I couldn't even talk to my district partner, my friend, no, my lover. I loved him, I know I did, but for the oddest reason, he ignored me.

The next day went by very similar to the first. The crossbow a lot better then I could before, which isn't saying much, but I never did catch on to the regular bow and arrow. And right before lunch I picked up the slingshot and used that on a few dummy targets, I wasn't very good with it though. When the alarm went off, we were not herded into the dining hall, but assembled in front of the door that leads from the elevator. When the tributes that would be filling in for the ones shot walked in. They looked abused and underfed. I knew they had been informed already, but as to not ruin the surprise for the parents, they waited until the train to begin the abuse. A boy from district three, he looked to old to be here, when I questioned one of the guards he looked around nervously and leaned up towards me.

"That boy is twenty, he was chosen because district three was so badly abused in the war that the age range for the games was depleted there he was the only one even close enough to be a thought."

I decided that because his district partner was a 12-year-old girl that he would not be interested in socializing with her and because he was only a district number away from me, we would be sitting next to one another at the dining table. Interesting, perhaps this would get Nathan to notice me again, to make him jealous.

We were sent into lunch and things went just as I had planned. The district three boy and I got along very well. His name was Lenix, I thought there might be something more here then just a friendship that's about to unfold.

"You know, O'Hara, I think I recognize you from a trip I took to District Four, right before the war."

I blushed and nodded, I don't remember seeing anyone from District Three, two years ago, but anything is possible.

The days blurred by and Lenix and I got to know each other a lot better. It was nice not to train alone. But then the day came when I would need to present the skills I had in front of the game makers, and First Lady Snow. I sat in the dining room and they called out each name, I was holding Lenix's hand underneath the table where Nathan couldn't see. When Lenix left I felt alone, and very scared, so I paced around a while. During the week the guards who worked on this floor had gotten to know me, as I had partnered up with them constantly, they knew I was no threat. Though I had a feeling if anyone else were to get up they would be pistol-whipped and knocked out. Then my name was called I entered into the room and saw the usual weapons artillery.

"O'Hara Ferguson, if you will step into the pool area and dress in the swimming garments set out for you, we will begin the water combat evaluation immediately. "

I walked into the pool area undressed and put on the golden armored bikini I had worn many times throughout the week, Once the garment was on me, a steel door and slid in place over the regular one and three cameras had dropped down from the ceiling. Then the voice I had heard at the beginning of training appeared.

"O'Hara, your first situation will be multiple long range evasion. Please step into the pool."

Once I was in the water a large tarp had drawn over the top with six holes randomly placed along it, I assumed were for breathing, I swam up to the surface and popped my head through one of the holes. The voice then appeared again.

"O'Hara there will be multiple lasers shooting at you, you must avoid them for at least one minuet or else you fail this section of evaluation"

I managed to avoid lasers for three whole minuets until the tarp had receded and the lasers stopped coming. I was then given long-range weapons and did water combat with those, and I excelled of course in the close ranged water combat.

I was then put to the obstacle course, which I was extraordinarily bad at, as I hadn't trained in a while on it. At everything else I was mediocre. The only thing I failed was speed, I was so slow, and perhaps the game makers favored speed. I was then allowed into the elevator. I was hoping to go into bed and sleep for a while, but instead I was taken to the remake center and placed into the hands of Athala and the stylist team.

I was shaven and waxed, as I hadn't shaven all week, my hair was much too long. My dress was silver and reflective, so when I was looked at I appeared like the sun bouncing off the water. We walked under what seemed to be a large wooden stage; I seemed to be standing on a metal plate, it had my name engraved onto it, I stood on the plate for what seemed like hours until we rose up into the stage. It was blindingly bright and the sounds of the audience screaming was deafening. Was this live? I wonder. We sat in the same order we sat in the dining room only two feet separated me from Lenix and another three from Nathan I was shaking in my high shoes. They were called up one by one, just as unprepared as I was. Finally Lenix was called. He stood. The interview man was so old, probably much older then my father, his name was Brutus Flickerman. His name was very suitable for him. He was so rude; he laughed at the shyness of some, and embarrassed some of the others. He laughed at the training scores of everyone. He made the tributes look awful. When Lenix stepped up for questioning, he took every single one of Brutus' blows.

"Lenix Macintosh, from District Three. I assume?"

"Yes, sir."

"So, Lenix, what skills do you have that might make you a prime contestant?"

"I'm smart, I won't let myself be caught unaware, and I can win using wit and cunning"

"Hah, what makes you so smart?"

"Well, sir, I have a thick memory and I am a quick thinker, it is hard to outwit me."

"So it seems."

"Yes, sir"

"So, Lenix, tell me about the miraculous score of what was it, ten?"

The sarcasm was thick in his edgy voice.

"Not only am I a swift swimmer, but my balance is uncanny and despite what you may think, they don't only test us on our physique"

The buzzer went off and it was time for Lenix to sit. I was worried about what kind of comment this asshole might make towards me. Brutus took one look at me, and then I knew that if I didn't stand up against him, I might be looked down upon. I would not take is insults. I would not just take it.

"O'Hara Ferguson. You look like a big competitor."

"Brutus, cut the crap, get to the point, insult me again, and I might flip."

"Oh, feisty isn't she. She'll be fun to watch play"

"Brutus, I don't respect you, interview me before I sit down and make a fool of you on live television"

"Right then, O'Hara, must be the District Four salt that makes her so bitter. Why do you think you might win The Hunger Games?"

"Well, Brutus, I'm feisty as you said, and I trained in a very wide verity of skills."

"Tell me about your training score, 10, must have trained hard then."

"Brutus, I am naturally skilled, I assume I lost two marks because I am slow, and I fell off the obstacle course, are we done here"

"We still have time O'Hara."

"That's nice Brutus."

I took my seat and about thirty seconds later the buzzer went and Nathan went up. He took Brutus's abuse as well. As did all of the others, I was the only one ballsy enough to stand up to him. I did bad, I should have let him insult me. I am a failure.

When the interviews were over we were escorted back to our building by Capitol guards. I went right to my room and curled onto my bed, I cried until I heard a firm knock on the door. Athala came in and sat on my bed. I hugged her and pressed her dark hands against my pale skin. She was so cold against my hot cheeks.

"Dear O'Hara. You're okay, everyone loved how you stood up to him, and you're the talk of the city. Everyone loves you, don't worry O'Hara, you won't die. They can't kill you now, not this late in the game. Would you like to come watch the interviews?" They must have been running the interviews again. I sat on the couch far away from Nathan and watched. When I came up, Athala made me beautiful, but on my own, I looked stony, no one could read into my mind, while everyone else was made frightened by Brutus asinine behaviors. Even old Lenix looked nervous and younger then his twenty years. He was so pretty in his electric suit. His hair was spiked and he looked, literally shocking. Originally he has a mess of curls, though long, didn't fall down his head, rather then stayed atop of it, he had deep brown eyes and he was shorter then me, but he also could pick me up. I think I loved him. I knew I would have to protect him until the very end, when I would make the choice to die for him to go home.

I went to bed with a small dinner of bread dipped in hot chocolate; I was full but only because my stomach was tightened due to my nervousness. Sleep evaded me. I heard Nathan walk in. I sat up and he sat beside me.

"O'Hara, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I let you go, I'm scared O'Hara, I don't want to go back. Can I sleep with you O'Hara, please?"

Nathan, the boy who shunned me during training, who told me in public he hated me and no longer wanted to be my boy, wanted to curl in bed with me the day before we left to kill each other. I couldn't say no, the boy was nearly in tears. I lay down and said nothing, he took my cue and lay next to me, holding me, just as it had been before the Capitol had broken his heart and taken him away from me. The comfort and warmth of his body lulled me into sleep, and the only thing that awoke me was Sieanna's knocking on the door and her ever so cheerful "It's going to be a great, great, great day!"

It was a blur, Nathan was whisked away from my room, and Athala came in and dressed me in a simple one-piece almost see-through jumpsuit. She brushed my hair and lay my blonde bangs nicely in tune with my dark black hair. I looked simple and naked. I was walked through the building, as we arrived at the elevator Nathan and I were whisked into separate tubes and brought up into a hovercraft. We were knocked out and awoken only when the Hovercraft touched down. Athala told me that during the time I was asleep, they inserted a tracking device in my forearm, I touched the bruise to prove her theory, she also informed me we had been flying for about six hours, in the northwest direction. Perhaps we were over an ocean, and the whole arena would be underwater.

We were ushered into an underground compartment. A glass wall separated us. Athala handed me a package, which I assumed carried my clothing. When the clothing was given to me I was wearing my district uniform, but rather then blue it was pale green almost beige, I hugged Athala and she kissed my cheek

"Goodbye, O'Hara, it was such a pleasure being your stylist, and I can't wait to see you after the games. Crowned as our first victor"

"It's not goodbye then Athala, but if it ends up being up to me, the boy from District Three will win"

She kissed my cheek again and with that we were told to stand on the metal plates that were seemingly identical to the ones I had seen during our interviews. A voice then came over the underground speakers. It was a pleasant female voice.

"Please do not step off of the metal plates until you hear a gong sound, if you attempt to step off the plates, they will explode, which will kill you in the process."

With that we rose. A blinding light hit me and just then I saw the arena, I wondered what my mother was thinking just now, as she saw the vast empty field set before us, when an ominous voice came from what seemed like everywhere.

"Surprised everyone? Well, Citizens let me tell you what is about to happen. Your children are going to fight one another until only one survives. It should be a fun show. Don't you all think?"

Just then the gong sounded and I hopped off of the plate. They lowered the plates back into the earth and then in the center of the field a circle opened up and out came a giant cornucopia, identical to the one we filled at home with fish during catching season. But rather then bounties of fish, I saw bounties of weapons. I located three weapons I needed to get my hands on, and all three were right in the center of the cornucopia, and that's when I saw my chance, everyone else was still dazed. I ran as fast as my slow legs could carry me and I grabbed the mace, a trident and a crossbow. Also very near to my grasp was a backpack, I grabbed that quickly as well. I went to run away to find out what lay beyond the field, I could have sworn I had seen water near the edge. I never got to make it that far. I was stopped by a big boy from District Ten, I grabbed my mace and without thinking I reacted on my instinct and swung, my whole body shuddered as the spiked ball made contact with the boy's skull and the red slick blood sprayed my face and the white sticky substance of his brain left a stain on my uniform. I ran as fast as I could so I could make it back to where safety lay, in the water. Could I have been wrong, perhaps it was the heat causing me to see radiation, rather then the sweet, cool water. I ran for about twenty minuets. With each footstep I became unsure, the ground was flat, the image of what I assumed to be a river seemed to stay the same distance away no matter how much I ran. When I turned to look back, I could see all the way back to the cornucopia and farther, I might as well have been staring all the way to the ends of the earth as far as I could see. Then I realized where we were. The prairies, they were abandoned when the Capitol started testing nuclear weaponry, they must have been planning this since before the war, or else they wouldn't have had time to clear away the radiation left by the tests. I heard once that the prairies were the only place you could see your horse run away for two days straight, and I believed it. I was too lost in thought to realize that I had run right into a rushing river. I literally only realized when the current knocked me off my feet and I got hit with the butt end of the crossbow. I held up the bow and realized I didn't collect any bolts for it. I figured I would make camp on the opposite side of the river where I could see everything. I would sleep the night, and begin my assault tomorrow. It was unfortunate that there were no trees; I could get more distance with my crossbow. Useless crossbow, why did the supply me a bow without bolts. I moved along the river, which was significantly bigger then I had originally figured. When I reached the opposing side I sat in the long grass and opened up the pack, and to my surprise, I realized my salvation lived inside this pack; I received a tent, a package of 100 bolts, a sleeping bag and about three pounds of food. No wonder the pack was so heavy. I began setting up the tent; I had to use four of my bolts to hold the tent down it was big enough for two. After I set up I realized that my next step was fire, though, how could we make fire without wood. I guess I can just eat this stuff raw, I put a pinch of the food into my mouth and I instantly spat it out, this wasn't food, it was flint, enough for a fire. But I needed wood, just as I figured it out, I noticed piles of driftwood floating down the river near my camp, and under the wood, was fish!

I fished for most of the day and used my flint to light some of the driftwood I had dried and ate like a king. In the morning I would go find Lenix. I slept well and the food was good, the only problem was I had to eat everything fresh. Once I had awoken and crawled out of my tent, I realized that I had a gang of tributes on my trail. The good thing about this arena was I could see everything. I packed my things quickly and was on the run again, I wasn't one hundred percent sure, in which direction Lenix would be in but I knew he would be in the exact opposite direction of that gang. I ran and I ran and I continued running until the gang of tributes was far out of my sight. I kept running until I crashed into a second river, well at least it seemed to be a second, or perhaps as I was running I blindly went in circles. I looked around and saw kids doing their own things and I wondered where Nathan might be. I continued walking through the river until I arrived at a camp very similar to mine I decided I would load my crossbow and wait for whoever set this camp to return and decide to either kill or ally with the kid.

It took about an hour before a little boy wandered into my trap. I had hidden low into the grass the uniform given to us was a perfect camouflage with the grass. I aimed my bow and I called out to him

"Friend or Foe?" He practically jumped out of his skin and with a stutter in his voice he announced

"I have no weapons, I am unarmed, please come out, I am no threat to you."

I rose from my position, with my weapon raised. I looked at him and lowered my bow. A smile rose from his lips and he spoke

"I know you! You were the girl who shouted at Brutus! You… you inspired me!"

A smile came to my face and I couldn't help but laugh

"You're Mr. Jack Boyle aren't you? I remember you, the very quiet boy, you're from district twelve aren't you?"

"Yes, I am O'Hara."

I turned around to look at his tent, which was a huge mistake, because the next thing I remember is being hit over the head and waking up almost three hours later.

I woke up groggy, and slightly out of it, I remembered being hit. Jack Boyle had hit me and stole my weapons. My crossbow, my mace, my trident, oh my precious trident… I was tied to a post where Jack's camp had once been. I looked off in the directions I could see, and nothing was visible except for tributes off in the distance. I assumed Jack had run in the direction opposite of my face. The heat of the sun was burning down on my face and I was thirsty, Jack had not only taken all of my weapons, but my supplies too. I was at a loss for words, that twelve-year-old boy who seemed so shy had ruined me. I wouldn't win these games. I was going to die here, tied to a wooden post in the middle of the prairies. I closed my eyes and waited to die, maybe I could fall asleep and let it come, painlessly. Just then a parachute with a small box tied to it fell from the sky, I pulled at it with my feet, and knocked it open with my toes. A bright red lighter fell out; maybe if I could pull it near my hands I could light my binding ropes on fire and get free. I managed to get the lighter near enough to my hands, bound at the bottom of the post and I pressed the button. The flames licked the rope and my binds had fallen from me, but the fire had hit my clothing and I needed to roll to put it out. While I was rolling I noticed the post light up. A signal, showing everyone I had survived, or perhaps not, maybe showing Jack I might have died.

Walking along the trail that led behind the fire, I caught a glimpse of something glittering in the sunlight, way in the distance I saw my trident's silvery glitter, Jack was ahead of me. A distance away but I was still on the right trail. I was running low on energy, the only weapon I had was my lighter, and that couldn't kill anyone unless they were bound. It seemed that Jack had stopped moving; because every step I took I could slowly see the trident's silver even more clearly. I was about a hundred meters away when I saw he was setting up a camp. The grass was long so I got onto the ground and hid, I was surprised that he wouldn't suspect me in this situation for the second time. But he had the advantage; he had weapons, my weapons, and the ones that made me undefeatable at that. I crawled until I was a mere twenty meters away and stayed on my belly low to the ground, I waited there until nightfall when he went to bed, before I would kill him with my stolen goods. Night came and I crawled closer to his tent. I could hear him snoring inside. What an idiot, I crawled into his tent and saw a line of rope. He would see the same fate he tried to punish me with. While he slept I tied his hands and feet, only once I had finished had he awoken. I pulled him out of his tent and onto the ground. His face was all the satisfaction I needed, he was petrified of me, good. I tied him to the post he used to hold his tent up and I started talking to him.

"Hello Jack, surprised to see me?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what is about to happen to you?"

"No."

"You're going to die, Jack. I'm sorry, but you could have had me as an ally, a good one too, but you chose to wrong me, so I'm afraid you can't survive anymore, and I'm not about to make this nice on you, you're going to get hurt Jack, very badly."

He began crying and shaking, but I knew it was just a ruse. I left him on the ground to go begin collecting my weapons and supplies. I grabbed my pack which still contained all of my bolts and tent, my crossbow was sitting, unused against a wall of his tent, my mace was missing, but my trident was sitting in the grass just outside the tent, I walked back over to the boy tied to the post and began questioning him.

"Jack, you have ten seconds to answer my question, or I start breaking your fingers. Where is my mace?"

He sat there for about a second before he stopped sobbing long enough to get out the word

"Underneath"

I walked over to the tent and sure enough there was a huge bump in the tent floor where I assumed my mace was. I unhitched his tent and tossed it aside and picked up my mace. I then walked back over to Jack.

I put some tinder underneath his feet and grabbed his left hand and pressed it into the right, I then used my trident to spear his hands to the ground, and his screams were satisfying. I shot two bolts into his feet with my cross bow before I paused and asked him a question.

"Where is the knife you used to cut the rope, and what did you use to hit me with?"

I was greeted with only screams before I saw the knife sitting in his belt. I grabbed the knife and set to work on his face. I cut his eyebrows in perfect slits so the blood would blind him; I carved my name into his forehead above his eyebrows. And then I used the lighter to light the tinder and I waited and watched as the fire started around him. I stood and watched as his flesh started to burn, and his screams started to become more pained. Then they stopped all together, and I knew, I had just killed a twelve-year-old boy. I threw up, I made myself sick, but in the games, you live or die. I had to survive, and maybe the burnt corpse could send a message. The fire still raged and the scent of burnt flesh reeked inside my nostrils. I was ready to look for Lenix; I needed him, I needed an ally, I couldn't allow myself to become subjected to trickery anymore. I walked back to my river. It looked bigger then it did before, and the wood supply seemed to be diminishing. I decided I would follow the river and see if I could find anywhere to set camp, somewhere safe against predators.

I walked for what I assumed to be a good six hours when I came to a rock enclosure that I hadn't been able to see from the other side of the arena. I checked around the perimeter and saw no threats. When I walked inside the opening though, I was greeted with the scent of sweat and blood.

"Hello?" I called out to the smell. I was greeted with the sound of a girl screaming and the grunt of a male caught by surprise. I ran in the direction of the noises, wanting badly to preserve the life of what sounded like a little girl. When I reached the location of the noises, the smell had knocked me back onto my ass. Someone had recently been having sex in here, but that wasn't what was so surprising, it was the smell of Nathan, and the blood. I drew my crossbow and stalked around the area, the cave was coated in blood and I nearly stepped on the little girl, from district One, a thirteen year old. She was naked and bleeding from he mouth and her genitals, she had been raped, and the scent of Nathan's body was clearly an explanation of whom, but now I wanted to know why.

"O'Hara" I spun on my feet and was greeted by the messy curls of the boy I once loved. I shoved my loaded crossbow into his face and I shouted at him.

"Get on the ground, Nathan, or I will shoot you!" He dropped to the ground and put his hands on his head. He was naked as well. I knew he had done it, what a pig.

I pressed my cross bow to his head and readied the trigger, but it wasn't enough, just to kill him. He deserved worse. He deserved to be not only dead, but also tortured in the worst of ways. But how would they think of me at home. Killing my boyfriend, but wouldn't they know? Wouldn't they have seen what he did? I hated him. Wouldn't they hate him too? I need to put my fear of rejection at home behind me; I need to avenge this girl who had no choice. He had the choice, and he ruined it. He had chosen against life, wouldn't he assume he would go home dead? I think so. I dragged him outside so the cameras would get a good view. I pressed him against the ground and shot bolts into his hands, pinning him to the ground more bolts into his feet. He was immobile, his body mine to command. I smiled at him, he didn't scream like the other boy, but he cried, I knew he would, nobody could withstand four bolts shot into them without tears. All the better that he was naked. I had access to whichever part I wanted. I took out the knife that I had received from Jack and set to work on his abdomen, there were plenty of ways to hurt a boy without killing him, I wonder what Lenix would think of me, if he saw me, so animal, murdering without remorse, he would hate me, I know that well enough. But he won't see me like this, of course not. My first cut was his nipple, clean off, that made him scream. I laughed, my remorse was nowhere to be found, and I was killing in cold blood. No, this boy deserved it, he raped a young girl, and she was only thirteen. Then his eyes, I cut holes around his eyes. Leaving him blinded by blood. His siblings would hate me for this, my friends back home… watching me kill their brother, their son, my father… what would he think of me… I stopped and I put the knife down. I ran into the cave, which was slowly losing the reek of rape, and I ran to the girl. We found her clothes and I dressed her quickly. She was able to walk, but barely. When we got outside to Nathan I pulled the bolts from his hands and feet, leaving him to bleed naked on the ground, but not leaving him dead. The little girl and I walked away from the cave and back to the river. I asked her to take of her clothes so maybe I would be able to bathe her. She complied and undressed. She lay in the icy river and quickly washed the blood from in between her legs. I dressed her and we were on our ways. We walked in the river until nightfall and we set up camp, she was wordless the entire walk, only speaking when I finished setting up the tent.

"What did you do to him?" I was thoroughly taken by surprise. I hadn't expected her to talk, never mind question me.

"Pardon?" I asked, wanting clarification on what she meant.

"Well, when he hurt me, he kept calling me O'Hara, and then when you walked in, he called you O'Hara, is that even your name?"

"Yes…" I was hesitant with this girl, what was she getting at?

"Well, I jut want to know why he was so mad at you, why did he hurt me so bad while being furious at you?" She was blaming me for her rape, this isn't fair, I didn't rape her, he did, I don't even know why.

"The only thing I can think of, is that I wouldn't suck his cock during game prep, so he broke up with me, probably why he raped you honey, care to know more?" I barked at her, I didn't want her to know how much pain that stupid boy had put me through, I didn't want her to know why I let him live, I didn't like her at all. She was annoying and prissy, and lived a life of luxury and no work in district one; her world was nothing compared to mine. I mean, I'm no District 12, but at least I have to work for everything that's handed to me.

After I had cleaned some of the grass and blood from my hands I sat in the tent next to the girl and silently wept. I had loved him. He was my world. That one boy made me tingle from head to toe. I hurt him so badly. I don't think he'll survive the next while. If I win, I will be shunned at home. I just hope they won't show what I had done on television. I then fell asleep.

A sharp stab in my leg awoke me, I kicked as hard as I could and gave an animalistic grunt. A small dog had been gnawing on my leg. I hadn't eaten in a while and the dog seemed edible enough. I looked at the girl sound asleep next to me. It made me angry to see her so peaceful while my own mind was full of nightmares and turmoil. I would leave her tonight. The last thing I needed was a girl who blamed me for her rape dragging me down. I grabbed the knife from beside me and with a motion as quick as lightning dug the blade deep into the dog's skull. It's muscles clamped for a moment, then the life drained from it's body. The animal was dead. It didn't even whimper as its life was dragged away. I wondered for a moment how the beast had managed to get into the tent. I opened the tent door and went quickly outside. My crossbow laid on the ground outside, along side my other weapons. My trident sparkling in the sunlight, the mace carefree on the ground, the sight of these weapons excited me. These weapons meant survival. I took some of the small bits of wood from outside of my pack and made a small fire. As I was skinning the dog the sleeping girl came out from inside of my tent and stretched happily. She yawned with a shy smile and sat next to me as I continued to skin the animal.

"Making breakfast! Thank you so much! They say that district four has the best hospitality. But O'Hara, why did you have to kill the dog?" I turned to her and nearly snapped.

"This food is NOT for you, I killed this beast, and the meat is mine. You have your own food; I found some in your pack. You have twenty minuets to leave before I kill you. I hate you and your catty lifestyle in District one. We have it good in four, but you have the life. Go find some other ally."

Her face dropped, it was nice knowing that I had the power in these games. I had the ability to choose weather or not people were around me, and I knew this girl would not be around me. I glared at her until she went to pack her things. Just as I was finishing skinning the dog, she reemerged from the tent. She gave me one last sad look, and took off running in the direction of the sun. I could only watch her so far until the sun hurt my eyes. I began cutting the dog into small pieces and cooked them one by one. I worked for nearly an hour and a half. Finally the dog was cooked, the food should last a day or two in my pack, it won't be preserved, but it shouldn't kill me.

After some time, just sitting by the fire, I got up and thought back to Lenix. I was starting to forget him, hell; I was starting to forget everything. I began to pack everything back up, and tried to think about what would happen to the girl from District 1. I felt really badly for the way I spoke to her. She was kind of a ditz, but she was only thirteen. I have to remind myself that she blamed me for her rape. I know I'm self justifying, but it's all I can do. Soon my pack was full and my trident was in my hand, a perfect extension of my arm. I did some swift stabbing motions in the air with it, and began to leave the rocky area of the arena, and head back towards the cornucopia.

I walked a few moments, and then I heard a canon fire. I wouldn't know who died until this evening, but I was silently hoping it was Nathan. Thinking about what he did, and then what I did made me sick to my stomach. I threw up the small amount of dog I had eaten. I sighed and stared at my feet as I walked, which was clearly a mistake. I felt a fiery stab in my side. It knocked me off my feet, and out of my peripherals, I saw the District Seven girl walking towards me. It took me too long to think. Before I could pull the obstruction out of my side, the girl was on top of me. She pulled the weapon out of my side, and then I got to see it. A black axe, coated in fresh blood, my blood. How fitting she'd get an axe. I smiled.

"You don't want to kill me." I said weakly. I coughed and spat blood, some landed on her face.

"And just why not?" She spat at me, and I had to fight to keep my composure.

"I'm a valuable ally. I could help you get to the top three, at least." She laughed.

"Silly, silly girl. That's not enough to keep me from cutting you down right now." I stared at her.

"You don't want to kill me like this, how would your family see you? Murdering someone who only wants peace." She couldn't have known the sick things I had done in the past few days. She got off me and walked, a few paces away, her back to me. She faced me, and tears were running down her face. She looked to be 17, a couple years older then me.

"You're right. I haven't killed anyone yet. I've stayed alive by keeping moving. I figured you could be my first, I would have done it… but my parents would hate me… you're right." I nodded.

"Of course they were, they don't want to see you hurt, or to hurt anyone. I've killed in these games, and it's awful. I can't sleep, I can't eat, or think of anything but my victims." I was a talented liar, and to be honest, I hadn't thought of Jack until just now.

"I've seen things, Four, I've seen things this past couple days that are going to rot my brain for the rest of my life." I tried as hard as I could to look sympathetic, but she had no idea the fucking crazy things I've seen.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked, trying to be as sweet as possible. She started sobbing, and she collapsed into my lap. I screamed ad moved away from her.

"I'm so sorry! I forgot about your side." She did look sorry. I tried to keep my snarl to a minimum, but it was hard.

"That's okay, we all make mistakes." This crazy bitch, she just hurt me so bad, and now she's trying to be my friend. Tears began to flow down my face. What kind of world do we live in, where we can be locked in combat fueled by pure hatred one second, and then being all we had in the world the next. I thought about Lenix again, but quickly shoved him out of my mind. I smiled honestly to her for the first time.

"My name is O'Hara, and I'm pleased to have met you, I just wish we could have had different beginnings." She dried her eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm Jamie, it's nice to have someone to trust." I was getting impatient, not with her, but with the fact I wasn't moving.

"Well Jamie, we should get going." I wanted to get t the cornucopia, and get there fast.

"Where are we going?"

"The cornucopia."

"Okay."

We limped for what seemed like hours, and we couldn't see anyone in front of us or anywhere near the cornucopia for that matter, and I tried to think about why I couldn't see her coming. I was probably too far lost in my mind. Suddenly, I was hit in the face by a small parachute with a package attached to it.

"The hell is that?" Jamie asked and backed away from me, while I held it.

"It's a gift, from my sponsors, something to help me." I said very matter-of-factly

"Oh, I've not gotten any of those." She looked really upset. But I could see why no one sponsored her. She was extraordinarily unimpressive. The most average person I've ever seen. I shrugged and opened the package, inside was a needle, thread, and a large container of capitol grade medicine. I squealed with joy. I was going to survive! I put the package in my back, and kept walking. I really didn't want to stop for anything until we reached the cornucopia. The tributes that were still alive seemed to have stopped what they were doing, all of them. To watch Jamie and I slowly make our way to the cornucopia. They were all probably wondering what the hell we were doing.

We didn't get there until nightfall. Finally I sat down next to the cornucopia, and opened my pack, took out the package. I slowly began rubbing the medicine directly onto the wound. It took seconds, and then my wound stopped hurting, and the flesh seemed to be rebuilding itself. I took the needle and thread and stitched the gash shut. I rubbed some more ointment onto it, and in a matter of minuets, it's like the wound was never there. After all I had done, I wondered why people still wanted me alive.