I would give anything to be back home with a blanket shrouding me in warmth while sitting in my father's recliner. To feel that again, I'll have to outlast twenty three other people my age. If worse comes to worse, even kill a few of them.
Luckily three of them are already dead. Sadly one of them I came here with.
Given any other circumstance Cyrus might've survived. If the games were different and if the Capitol didn't make it seem like such grandeur to kill a tribute from District 12.
He had a chance because he was quick. Everyone saw that during the training sessions. Instead of it helping him survive it made him more of a target for the Careers.
Now his body is back at the Cornucopia; probably with a knife still lodged in his skull. If I somehow manage to make it back home, his mother will never forgive me for not trying to help him as well as everyone else living in the Seam. The "look out for one another" belief is very present there.
Although, what was I supposed to do? I was having trouble of my own trying to keep that bitch from District 1 from doing the same to me. If it wasn't for the sudden rock slide, she might've got her way and I would've been another bloodbath victim.
Anyway, that's all behind me now. Three tributes are dead so far and one happens to be Cyrus. The other two I didn't see die but their faces should appear later.
I managed to survive the Bloodbath, grab a backpack, and avoid being crushed by rocks five times my size.
Not too bad Raven.
The arena is nothing like what I've seen in the Hunger Games before. Its mountainous landscape is intimidating and we were launched somewhere in the lower part of it. Down here there is some vegetation but based on the rock slides the game makers made, they want us to move up the mountain. Food, shelter, and other resources are probably up there. On the other hand, mutations and other deadly things have to be up the mountain as well.
After experiencing that rock slide though, I rather take my chances up there. The only problem is I haven't scaled a mountain before. It might've helped if I had allies but now that Cyrus is dead, I don't have many choices, if any.
The boy from District 7 seemed nice but he's probably long gone and, for all I know, he might be dead. Plus it's hard to determine whether or not a person would help you after only speaking to them once, no matter how pleasant they seemed in the moment. Now it's life and death; back then it wasn't so dire.
When it comes down to it, this game is every man for himself.
I don't like the idea of it but I'll have to scale the mountain alone. Adding to the already bleak situation is if anything is to attack me, I don't have a weapon to defend myself. In the struggle between getting a backpack and fighting off the District 1 girl, I didn't have the opportunity.
The backpack I got was almost fruitless except for the loaf of bread and the canteen. Everything else is just dead weight really. There are traps, which I don't know how to use and a blanket. Given the humidity down here and the light clothing they launched us in, I don't expect it to be cold but the Hunger Games has a reputation for inconsistent temperatures. For that reason alone I keep the blanket.
So I have no weapon, no allies, and have never climbed a mountain before. The odds aren't exactly in my favor at the moment if they ever were before.
No use complaining though, it'll only bring down my energy which will in turn slow me down. Worsening my already stark chances at winning this game and getting back home to that recliner. I'm still not entirely sure I can do this; if I can really win the Hunger Games.
Peeta said the gamemakers will do all they can to make sure a district that participated in the mockingjay rebellion doesn't win. It's been almost twenty years since but the Capitol is still trying to extinguish those flames.
What it really means is, Districts 8, 9, and especially 12 will have a harder time surviving in the arena. There's not much you can do when the people who run the show are out to get you.
As I said before my chances of winning are bleak as it is every year for a tribute from District 12.
Still, I can't give up so easily. If there's even a minuscule chance at winning then I have to at least try. Anything less is like suicide.
And if that's the case, then I better get started climbing.