Prologue: Cole
I can sense the screams before they even reach my ears. I run to them, even though every inch of my being wants to get away from them. But I have to ignore those feelings and the sharp stings of pain as the branches scratch my face, because those screams are for me!
"Cole? Cole! COLE!"
"Cole, wake up!" Suddenly I'm jolted out of those woods and back into my bed. Erin stops shaking me. Her green eyes are the same colour as the pine trees outside, they remind me I'm home; that me I'm safe.
She holds my hand, the light making our matching rings shine.
"It was only a nightmare", she says soothingly.
Today it is, but 24 years ago it was real.
Very soon the same thing could be happening. Although this year all I can do is watch. I'll watch from the stage as two people's lives are ripped from them. Between the reaping and The Games I'll be responsible for preparing them for the fight of their lives.
This year I'm not just a victor, I'm a mentor.