The 38th Annual Hunger Games

My name is Claire Beauregard. I'm 15. I live in District 3. Or, at least, I did live in 3. But, I've been reaped. So what's the chance I'll live, out of twenty-four? With the six tributes from 1, 2, and 4 having had trained their whole lives for this?

My District partner's name is Charlie Marduck. He's 16. I've never been all too close to him. Or, at least, whenever he tried to reach out to me, I was cold, to say the least. Why? Face it. Only one comes out. If one of us makes it past the Cornucopia, that one will certainly mourn for Claire/Charlie. But, if we're less close, it'll spare us a few teardrops. Right?

My vision's just come into focus. I'm standing before the Cornucopia, where many tributes will die momentarily. I just said goodbye to my stylist, Kalara. I asked her truthfully, "Do you think I have a shot? You know, at winning?"

Kalara didn't respond. She just stared sadly, and slipped me into my jacket. She handed me my token, a rose that my brother Caleb gave to me. Then she waved goodbye. By the way she looked, I could tell she thinks I stand no chance.

I look around me. To my right is the boy from 9. On my left is the girl from 2. Oh, joy. I get to stand right next to a Career. She could probably just knock me to the ground the instant we step off and beat me to death. It happened before. In the 34th Hunger Games, the boy from 4 beat the girl from 6 to death the instant the Bloodbath started.

I hear Balthazar MacFlanarky's voice ring out through the arena. "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

The Countdown is started. 50 seconds. 49. 48. I take in the arena. It's a Winter Wonderland. Oh, no. We never get snow in 3. That must be why we have extra thick coats this year. The kids from 8 have an advantage. There, it's always cold, snowy, or rainy. I know because my father, a travelling merchant, stayed in 8 for a month. 37. 36. What am I going to do? Well, Claire, make a mad dash for it, grab a backpack, and run for it! A voice inside me tells me. I plan to obey it. 25. 24. I take in all the tributes. The girl from 12 is so pitiful. She's 12. I can see her wipe tears from her eyes. I remember that the boy from 11 got a 10 in training. A 10. Great compared to me and my 4. The girl from 10 screamed at the top of her lungs when she was reaped. She cried her eyes out, and hugged her mother until they forcefully separated them. The girl and boy from 6 are twins. Their older sister back home has been raising them, according to their interviews. 14. 13. 12. 11. Here we go. Don't die, Claire, I think desperately to myself. Don't die. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. Oh, please no. 1. 0.

I'm quicker than I thought. I race to the Cornucopia. Unfortunately, so does everyone else, except for about 3 tributes that bolt for the snow-covered meadows. The girl from 8 reaches it first. I knew the 8 kids would have an advantage. She moves gracefully and quickly to a backpack, and briefly sits down to examine its items. She groans unhappily and searches another one, and smiles. She runs off just as the boy from 1's eyes set on her. Too late, boy, I think to myself.

My eyes fall on a backpack, and I race for it. I don't move half as gracefully as the girl from 8 did, but I'm much more elegant than ninety percent of the tributes. Just as I'm about 3 feet away from the backpack, the girl from 6 collapses in front of me, dead. My reflexes are sluggish, apparently, so I trip over her and shriek as loud as possible when I see the blood-stained snow. Then I look up, and scream louder. The girl from 4 towers over me with an equally blood-coated knife. She looks ready to throw it, and I close my eyes. After a few seconds of having them closed, I realize death hasn't come knocking at my door yet. When I open my eyes, I see that the boy from 6, driven insane by the death of his twin, is engaged in a vicious battle with the girl from 4. "WHY. DID. YOU. KILL. HER. STUPID. GIRL?" he screams each word and she cries desperately in reply.

I need to get out of here.

I grab my backpack, which is easy since nobody's there to stop me, and bolt for the forest. After what seems like days of running, I finally stop to catch my breath. Then I hear the sound of 10 cannons going off. Just as the first blizzard brings snowflakes to my face, I realize I did it. I survived the Bloodbath.