My stomach flips in weird ways as the pedestal rises. What could be waiting for me beyond this point? A desert? Woods? A pole? I doubt it, not dressed in these clothes. Black tank top, tight pants of the same material and mid-calf high boots. I look up and rays of light blind me. My first thought is, nothingness. An arena where there's nothing, just a white place with nothing else but us.

My thoughts are completely wrong. Not a desert, not woods, not a freezing pole and sure enough not a white nothing. Trees, water, tall grass, the Cornucopia. The twenty-four pedestals are in a circle of water surrounding the land strip where the Cornucopia sits spitting out our supplies for the arena.

The Cornucopia. A gold horn with a curved tail towards the sky. With a mouth of at least twenty feet high, spilling over everything we'll need to survive in the arena. Backpacks with supplies, weapons, food, sleeping bags, fire starters and who knows what else. The closer to the horn, the more valuable the supplies are. Most of the tributes that aren't Careers don't risk getting to close because those who are, are the most dangerous and do get inside the horn. It sits in a perfect circle of land.

The next thing I take notice of is the water where the pedestals are. Water. How can we get past this, who knows, this might be filled with all kinds of dangers, if not then maybe it has an incredible depth that most of us would drown. Only the District 4 tributes might be able to get to the Cornucopia faster than any other or maybe one or two other tribute from another district that has learned to swim. But I doubt it.

One minute is how long we have to stand here. Whoever steps off before the minute is over will be blown off to pieces, but I don't know by what because the only thing that can cause that are landmines and the land might be yards down.

I catch a glimpse of a knife vest a few feet away from the mouth of the Cornucopia, luckily there aren't many things on the way, so it's pretty much an easy path. I might be able to get there fast, considering the fact that most of the tributes won't risk it going in the water. But will someone attack me when I try to escape? I don't know, I don't care, but I have to risk it.

The minute is up and like I predicted, both tributes from 4, Aquata and I think the boy's name is Azul, they dive. Also Ember, the little girl from 12, she doesn't dive but throws herself in the water. Because of her I can tell the depth of the water at first but then she starts to swim. In a second I see Rancher trying to get through the water which by now is at mid-chest, then I throw myself.

My hair floats and the water is up to my neck, I don't have to tippy-toe my way through. Rancher is still not there yet but he isn't so far. Most of the tributes are still stuck on their pedestals but the Cornucopia blocks out many from the other side. I flip and flap my hands everywhere. Rancher is already there, dripping and running towards the weapons.

I reach the strip of land exhausted, but I take every last bit of energy in me and run. I see Rancher as he yanks a knife out of a boy's neck, and incredible amount of blood gushes out of the wound. I shake my head and keep on running towards my target, the vest.

I throw myself and grab it, but sure I scrapped my knees in the process. What else, Isis, what else? Think! I demand an answer from myself, in a moment like this where your life is at risk, it's quite difficult to. Wait. A backpack, more weapons, really anything I can get my hands on I'm sure will help me.

I sprint towards a backpack right at the entrance of the Cornucopia, better than any farther from it. Others are far inside with the most valuable weapons in their hands. Some are simply fighting inside. As I'm about to reach for it, someone tackles me, hitting the floor plain with my guts, leaving me breathless. I turn around and the boy , I think from 8, is poised to stab my somewhere. But no, he falls flat on to the side as an arrow finds home in his right temple.

Arrows. Rancher. Someone has already got the bow and arrows, poor Rancher, that was technically his only main weapon with which he can kill without a doubt. But then I see him about twenty yards away holding his silver bow loaded to attack anyone again. Wow. I never thought this about him, he's already killed two.

"Hurry!" he runs up to me and I grab the backpack "someone was following me!" he sounds alert.

But a second later an axe comes flying and digs in the Cornucopia. That boy from 7, he's flawless when it comes to those stupid axes. We throw ourselves to the ground. Rancher's arrow finds his thigh, which gives us advantage to run. "Go find something else and run!" I scream over to Rancher. When I say run there's a slight fear in the word.

I launch the backpack over one shoulder. And I also find another set of knives and throw it inside it, as well as a sickle. I see Rancher has already made it to the tall grass behind the water; he's perched to attack any minute. With the hope of getting the hell out of here, I only look at him while running. But to my luck, I strike into some.

The girl from 7, the axe thrower boy's district partner. In a second she is dead after I gruesomely stab her repeatedly. Then I recuperate my pace and jump into the water. Surprisingly there's a small boy still stuck on his pedestal, I wish I could just save him but no, whether it's Rancher or me, District 10 will have its victor this year.

I freak out when I come across a tributes corpse with a blood-bed around. I just push her to the side and flap through the red liquid. There goes any slight thought of thinking about using this water to drink. Ignore the blood, I tell myself, keep paddling.

As I accomplish my goal to get passed the water, Rancher reaches for me. He helps me out of the water and into the tall grass, which is up to my neckline, taller than various tributes. That's when I notice that my hands, arms, neck even my hair a clothes are filled with the girl's blood. "Come on" he grunts as he tries to lift me up. He grabs my hand ready to run but I detain him.

"I never told you, Gleam and Gem invited me to join the pack this year, and they also said you can be in it" I explain and he just looks out of place. I explain the situation and when it happened. I go back to the second day of training; Rancher was learning to throw spears, which I think he didn't accomplish much since he wasn't very good at it. Gleam called me while I was throwing my knives, and alongside with Gem invited me. "I told them I would tell you but, you know me, I have a horrible memory". That was about an hour before Gleam told Rancher that he was good with a bow and arrows.

"Ok, fine. But only because I might help us get sponsors since we won't get many, or any, by ourselves" he agrees but not entirely.

For about ten more minutes we watch tributes running around killing each other. I can't tell who is who because of the distance, plus like Selby used to say, I'm an old woman when it comes to see things. The memories of her saying that makes me smile. Even Rancher with his good seeing skills squints his eyes a handful of times. But, whenever I ask him who it is, he's not sure.

Gleam is the first one of the Careers to get out of the bloodbath and find us, for a tribute from another district besides 4, he's a good swimmer. We reach out to help him out of the bloody water. "Wow, looks like you killed half of the dead tributes" he refers to all the blood I have in me, I smile. Then he looks up at Rancher and smiles, but my friend is suddenly distracted by something. I turn and see Mortar, stuck on the water, knee high for him.

Rancher throws himself in, and even in the deepest part he can still tippy toe and the water only reaches his jaw. He gets through the water easier than I. He carries Mortar and accommodates him on his back. Coming back it's harder for him with Mortar's weight on his back. They both have blood on them, but I know it's from the water, and Mortar has on his face like someone splashed it on. The kid won't even kill a fly, so it has to be something else.

Azul get's to us after Gem and Aquata. Wow. We're seven already but who I don't see coming is Belie, but when I ask Gem says that some boy killed her, but I look at Mortar since they're district partners, but he seems to be entertained with a handful of grass he must've ripped out while we talked. There's something odd about him, but it's not time to think about that.

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