CAREER TRIBUTES

I stepped into the tube, and felt the door close automatically behind me. I glanced back desperately at Perseus. He nodded to me and smiled. It had no effect. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my body, making me feel sick.

Ten Seconds.

I swallowed and clenched my fists, trying to remember the training. You'll be fine, I promised myself, you have the others. You have the others. You have the others. I repeated it to myself, over and over, making it my own personal mantra. But I knew that even though I may have had alliances, but I had no idea what terrain I would be thrown into. It could be a barren wasteland, or a scorching desert. It could even be a sea. I remember there was an arena like that once. In the 75th quarter quell. When the Capitol fell. At least for then anyway. But the capitol is back now. And it's more ruthless after its defeat. And so the games continue. I remember my grandfather used to say:

There is only one thing more dangerous than a tyrant. And that is a tyrant that has tasted power.

And to this day, I don't think truer words have ever been spoken.

And now my platform is rising. I stare straight ahead, remembering the pact. I must head for the others. I must head for the cornucopia.

The midday sun hits me as my plate rises from the ground. I take in my surroundings. And I realise that I am completely caught off guard.

I am surrounded by houses. We are stood in a town square. It's absolutely silent. The total lack of movement, apart from the other tributes, should scare me, but what terrifies me most of all, is that I cannot see the Cornucopia. I scan my surroundings desperately, taking care not to step off my platform. The other twenty five platforms have been laid out around the square, equal distances from one another. It's deathly quiet. And then, thank the lord, I spot the Cornucopia. It sits atop a tall building, on a flat roof. There is only one way up. And that is to go inside.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. LET THE 115TH HUNGER GAMES BEGIN!

And I'm off running. The other members of our alliance are following me. I jump over fences and they follow, copying my exact movements. I see another tribute coming up beside me, and as I have no weapon, I simply trip him up; which leaves him sprawling on the ground, until he is killed by another tribute. I think they might have used a brick. The door of the building is getting closer and it is only till I am close up, that I realise it has been padlocked. I spin around.

"It's locked!" I shout to the others. They take in my panicked expression. And then it kicks in: the survival instinct. We turn, and Electra and Zeki (from three) run around the back searching for a window, or a door, or some means of getting up. Some of the other tributes are approaching, but they were not nearly as fast as us. This is now our territory. And anyone who comes near… well, there isn't exactly a delicate way of putting it is there? The girl with the blood soaked brick is approaching. This worries me little. A three in training. I doubt she can even throw straight. I prepare anyway, she hurls the brick and it smashes into the wall behind me, about a foot away from my head. I smirk, but she carries on running. She pummels into me but her feeble punches do nothing, and now I am on top of her and my hands are around her neck. She doesn't struggle for much longer. Cain, the boy from my district grabs a small twelve year old boy and lifts him up by the neck. I think the boy is from four. I reach out and tug on Cain's arm. He sees my face, and then lets the boy go. He collapses to the ground. I squat next to him.

"Hello. I'm Crimson. This is Cain. Wanna join the alliance?" I say casually, but he doesn't miss the hidden threat behind my words. He doesn't miss the edge to my voice that tells him he has no choice; if he wants to live. He nods hastily.

"Good." Cain said menacingly. "And if we even so much as suspect that you'll turn on us? We kill you. Easy as." And he's not joking. He could've snapped that kids neck off. He would've if I hadn't stopped him. I don't even know why I stopped him. That kid is going to die anyway. He looked up at me. He had very deep blue eyes.

"I'm Jonah." He said. Was it my imagination or did he smile a little at me? This surprised me. I hadn't exactly come across as friendly. I looked up just in time. A girl with dark brown hair and a malicious expression was charging straight at me. I grabbed her neck as she ran and twisted. There was a loud snap, and then she went limp. I dumped the body on the ground. Jonah stared. I nudged him.

"Cain will do that to you if you betray us." I warned. He nodded again.

"Crimson! Cain! Ashken! Vlad!" Electra called. They'd found an entrance. We ran around the back, I beckoned for Jonah to follow. Ashken raised her eyebrow at me.

"He might come in handy." I explained. But, I don't know if it was that, or the fact that he was only twelve, that made me save him. Around the back we notice that they haven't found a way in; they've found a way up. There's a long ivy creeper running up the side of the building. Ashken from one steps forwards.

"My turn." She murmurs and grabs the long vines. It's amazing watching Ashken climb. I've seen her before, in training, but when it's put into practise, it's really something. She effortlessly climbs up, reaching and jumping and flipping. She's at the top in no time. She beckons to us, but we don't move. Those vines look awfully thin. Jonah could probably manage it, but I'd much rather he went up last. Myself, Vlad and Cain… we're not fat, but… we're heavy. I've been training since a very young age and I'm muscular. Not in an obvious way, but I'm about ten stone. And I don't think that those vines are capable of that. Ashken is fourteen years old and she's light. She has ash blond hair, which I guess is where she gets her name from, and she's very pretty. It's a pity she's in the games. Although, she did volunteer. And there was her ten in training. Something tells me not to underestimate her. Vlad gave the vine Ash had scrambled up an experimental tug. It came loose. I exhaled in frustration.

"Is there any climbing rope up there, Ash?" Electra called out. Ashken's head disappeared round the side of the building. She came back a few seconds later grinning widely.

"There's LOADS up there!" She yelled. "I've got a rope!" And she tossed the end down to us. Zeki deftly caught the rope. It was a thick climbing rope.

"I'll go first." Cain said, grabbing on. "Think you can hold on Ash?" He called. Ashken gripped the rope tightly.

"Course I can." She said, determined. He began to climb. It looked like slow work and Ash looked like he was too much to lift up, but she kept holding on. He reached the top, and then I made the difficult climb up. This time Cain was holding the rope, which was probably a good thing, because Ash looked like she'd had it. I helped Cain pull up the others, apart from Jonah, who scrambled up a vine, and we stared at the golden cornucopia in front of us. There were bounties of weapons and sacks of food. I stared. And then we all ran over. I grabbed a sack, which was full of razor sharp knives. I smiled to myself. Cain had found a sword and was busy slashing the chimney of the building. Ashken was being more sensible and looking for sleeping provisions, such as tents, or sleeping bags. Zeki and Electra were sorting through the traps. Jonah had found a net and trident. There was a bow and two sheaths of arrows, but none of us knew how to shoot so we left them, but only after Cain had snapped them. If we can't use them, then no one else can.

"Should we sleep up here?" Zeki asked. "We have a vantage point above everyone else. We're on a roof, so we can see any action from above." He had a point, so we all nodded. I cross to the edge of the building, and peek over the edge. There are two tributes down there. They're from 13.

Once the Capitol rose from the ashes once again, they kept district 13 alive as an example. Then they held the bloodiest games in history. The 76th games… No one wants to remember. The Capitol actually held four remembrance years. And then wiped the slate clean at the 80th games.

"Hey! 13!" I shout to them. They look up, terrified. "Have a present, courtesy of district two!" And I hurl a red brick at the girls head. She screams and doesn't duck in time. The brick smashes into her skull. The boy screams and runs. Probably better for him. I turn around and walk back to the others.

"So, what do we think about this arena?" Vlad asks us, grinning.

"I don't like it." Ashken answers. I nod.

"Why not? There's all that shelter. All those houses!" Cain exclaims.

"It's too obvious. Like the cornucopia. It draws you in, and then you die. The games are designed to rob you of your basic rights and needs. Water, food, warmth and shelter. So why have they given us shelter? It has to be a trap." I explain. Electra nods.

After the rule of the districts and rebels, which lasted a good 90 years, the Capitol rose again and district 3 became a career district too. They don't train as much as 1, 2 and 4, but they're one of the strongest districts. 7 and 11 train as well. Not enough to make the career pack though. We left out the girl from four this time. She didn't score highly in training, she's 12 and she's dumb. Unless it's all an act, she's not going to win.

"Find anything interesting?" I ask, nodding to the pile of supplies. It could keep us fed for weeks. Ashken is frowning and holding up a metal square. No. It's a screen.

"Pass it here." Requests Zeki, opening his palm. Ashken hands it to him. Zeki examines it. Of course. He must have some idea about what it does, being from District Three and all. He taps it a few times and it lights up. He yells with triumph and stands up, excitedly.

"What is it Zeki? Vlad asks. Zeki is grinning manically. There is a smile playing on Electra's lips. It's infuriating.

"Zeki. Tell us." Cain demands, his hand tightening around his swords handle. Zeki looks up at him.

"It's a tracking device." He laughs.