My breath catches in my throat as the glass slides up and around the metal platform. Oh god, this is it. In a few moments I'm going to be lifted up to the cornucopia, into full view of twenty-three other contestants who will try to kill me as the rest of Panem watches. I think I'm going to puke.
My District 8 mentor warned me not to run for the centre of the cornucopia where the best supplies are always placed. It's where the deadly bloodbath happens each year, a melee of tributes fighting for possession of the equipment and provisions. The initial bloodbath always kills the largest number of contestants at any one time of each Game.
I'm not a strong fighter so running into the middle of the biggest battle of the whole game is literally suicide. Almost always the tributes from District's 1, 2 and 4 win the fight for the cornucopia and, after finishing off any other contestants stupid enough to join in the clash, they form the hunting pack nicknamed the Careers. Careers then attempt to take down the rest of us before killing each other and producing the lone Victor.
My game-plan is one the weaker tributes often follow, nothing special, just run as fast and far away from the cornucopia as possible, perhaps stopping to pick up supplies on the outskirts. Then, if I survive the first day, I'll decide how I'm going to play the game.
Images from past Hunger Games I've been forced to watch flash through my mind. I've seen countless District kids pitted against each other, all of them killed except the single victors, and now I'm one of them. I'm left nervously waiting on my platform, waiting for my inevitable death. And time seems to be dragging out extremely slowly.
Something's wrong, it never takes this long for tributes to be lifted up into the Arena. Panic fills me, how could this situation get any worse then it already is? I'm about to be shoved into some Capitol-made location I've never seen before and then kill or be killed for the entertainment of Capitol citizens. I can feel my heartbeat quicken dangerously and I grasp my token, the only item tributes are aloud to take into the arena.
Mine has already been through one game and I hope this will bring me luck. My older brother and only sibling was picked at the reaping three years ago and the Hunger Games swallowed him whole. He got up to the final four and I was starting to hope against hope that he would return to me. He was a fearless fighter and nobody could beat him one on one in a fair fight. But the Hunger Games isn't fair. While he was turned away his 'ally', the girl tribute from my District, stabbed him in the back, literally.
Watching my brother Leif die on-screen was the worst thing that has ever happened to me in my entire sixteen years of life. My thirteen year-old self couldn't pull her eyes away from our small compulsory television as the Capitols cursed cameras captured every angle of his shaking form lying crumpled on the ground. I've never felt so helpless, so useless. Until now.
Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed seeing his killer slowly bleed to death after being shot in the stomach by the eventual victor. Her dying screams mix with my brothers cries as he falls to the ground, betrayed and broken, each night in my night-mares.
When the Capitol returned Leif's lifeless body to my father and I, he still had his token with him. After I was chosen at the reaping my father came and said his final good-bye to me. The look on his face will never leave me; it was the look of a broken man. My mother died giving birth to me and the Games have taken away his only two children. Now my father is all alone, no one with him to bear the torment this next Game will cause. As my poor father was leaving he silently handed me Leif's token. That was the moment when I knew my father has no hope for me, none at all.
The glass around my platform slides back down and now I'm really worried. This doesn't happen, ever, I'm sure of it. What am I supposed to do? I'm too scared to step off incase the platform has been activated. If any tribute steps off their platform before the starting cannon fires they are blown sky high by pressure activated explosive. Having seen this happen on past Games twice before, I have absolutely no wish to experience it myself.
The door into this waiting room opens and my mentor Chelsea enters looking extremely harassed and worn-out. If she's here this definitely can't be good.
"What's going on?" I ask, almost shouting at her. She waves my question down and pauses to catch the breath she lost while she ran here. Before I can ask her again she answers.
Her voice is shaky and I can tell she doesn't know what to do "There's been a last minute change, a new addition."
I stand stock-still, too afraid to move an inch. Whatever is going on is not going to be good, I'm sure of it. "What do you mean by a new addition?" She can't mean another tribute, there's always only twenty-four.
"Brace yourself" she warns me. I don't dare to try, still wary of the land mines beneath my feet, they could be activated.
Chelsea continues and her next words change everything. "This Hunger Games there will be twenty-five tributes. . .".
Before I can react to the start of the sentence Chelsea finishes it and what she says knocks the words out of my mouth.
". . . but the twenty-fifth won't be coming from any of the Districts. President Snow has decided to use this Game to make an example of what happens when you defy the Capitol, the whole reason the Hunger Games exist. A seventeen year old is the new tribute. They're a Capitol kid"
I choke on my questions, shocked. A Capitol kid, in the Games! That is unheard of and utterly insane. "You can't be serious! The Capitol kid will be killed the minute that cannon goes! Why would Snow send in one of his own civilians?"
All the tributes will be baying for Capitol blood, wanting a piece of pampered Capitol meat! I can't comprehend Chelsea's words, this doesn't make sense. Having a competitor coming from the Capitol itself completely destroys the purpose of the Games!
Chelsea explains "It isn't just any Capitol citizen. It's not often a major crime is committed in the Capitol and no one's ever evaded capture for long. It's been hushed up, but from what I've heard this kid went on rampage and killed several citizens, including their own parents, before going on the run. The guy I was talking to reckons this Capitol criminal was going to be turned into an Avox, but President Snow thought seeing them brutally murdered would be more amusing. And the kid will be a subtle reminder to Capitol citizens of what happens when you break the rules, incase there's any one else out there stupid enough to try anything crazy."
The glass slides back up around my platform before I can reply and all I can do is curse at the sound-proofed barrier. Chelsea's mouth forms words I can't hear and all I can do is shake my head helplessly. Chelsea turns her head to the open doorway, a reaction to words that don't penetrate the thick glass I'm enclosed in again. She looks back at me and waves dejectedly before disappearing, the door closing behind her.
Ever so slowly my platform begins to rise and the motion brings crippling terror. I'm going to die, I know it. Maybe not today, in the bloodbath or the beginning of the hunt that commences after it. Maybe not even tomorrow while the Careers continue to track us all down. But I will die. Victors are victorious because they chose to kill instead of be killed. I can't even imagine killing one person, let alone twenty-four others. I'm not strong or cunning or ruthless like past victors, I'm just me. And being 'just me' isn't enough to survive this massacre.
At least the doomed Capitol kid will provide a distraction at the start and give me an ever better chance to get away.
Here I go.
Harsh light blinds me, too bright after the dim room I'm ascending from. The platform clicks into place and I carefully look around me, trying to get my bearings before the cannon blasts without causing my platform to splatter me everywhere. As usual the twenty-four, no, twenty-five tributes are spaced equally around the cornucopia, the centre of the arena. From my spot I can see the weapons and supplies heaped invitingly in and around the dominating figure.
A voice booms out over us and I recognize the despicable sound of President Snow. Normally an unknown announcer says the introduction, but as I already know this isn't just an ordinary game.
"Greetings to you, contestants of this glorious game where fame and fortune wait to welcome the victor, just as the cold hands of death wait to embrace the twenty-four losers. Before we begin this forty-third Hunger Game, I have an announcement to make. This is a special Hunger Games that the twenty-five of you are very lucky to be participating in."
My insides burn when President Snow announces that we're 'lucky' to be part of this vile atrocity that drives children to destroy each other.
I can see roughly a third of the tributes from my platform and they're all looking around confused, not in the know of the Capitol kid somewhere among us. Thank-god I have a brilliant mentor who bothered to find out for me or I'd be just as lost. President Snow answers the confusion caused.
"This years twenty-fifth contestant comes from the Capitol itself, a seventeen year-old among you. The tribute to kill this extra contestant will be personally sponsored by me. Happy Hunger Games!"
The cannon blasts the second President Snow finishes his grand statement and there is a moment of pure shock, no one moving. Even through I already know of the new addition, I'm frozen as well. Snow made no mention of the Capitol kids' criminal nature and I can infer why. The Capitol audience would already know or would be told, but most of the other tributes (if not all) won't have any idea. All they'll know is a child of their enemy has been placed in the Game, and killing this tribute guarantee's the support of the President. No one will stop to question any of this; there isn't time in the Games to stand around pondering the meaning of these trivial things.
I think somebody made a move for the cornucopia because the Game erupts, movement everywhere. Every tribute is heading either away or towards the cornucopia. The bloodbath begins to rage all around me and in the few short seconds I stand shocked I see two tributes die, one with an arrow through the head another from a spear clean through the gut. I come to my senses and jump off the metal platform. A quick scan shows me a clear run to a small assortment of supplies just ahead and I decide to risk it.
Heart beating double time I keep low and sprint the opposite direction from safety. Stooping I grab everything my hands land on, hyperaware of the danger I'm in. I pile it all into an empty bag and sling it onto my back, ready to race away from here. The unknown contents clink and clank together as I straighten up and face towards the forest just beyond the cornucopia area.
A stray arrow whizzes past me and reflexively I turn to my attacker. The battle is raging furiously and again I stand frozen, entranced as I watch tributes fight it out. I see someone beheaded by a maniac with an axe bigger then my head! There's tributes swarming all around and I know should get the hell out of here but I can't move. The arrow shooter is to my left and he starts sprinting towards me, loading another arrow into his crossbow. I see this but I don't have time to react before he fires again.
Something smashes me into the ground just as he lets fly and the arrow passes over me harmlessly. It's a girl tribute and she shouts "Come on!" into my ear before getting up and dragging me with her. I obey and dazedly get back onto my feet. The tribute grabs my arm and pulls me towards the forest that surrounds the cornucopia area. I don't understand why she's saving me but I go with it for now. Crossbow guys' arrows follow us all the way there but none make contact.
We reach the trees and throw ourselves in, protected from the guy with the arrows. Neither of us stop running when we enter the forest, we're not safe yet. The best thing to do if you survive the bloodbath, and you're not a Career, is to put as much distance between the cornucopia and yourself as possible.
The girl leads and I follow, content to stay with her, for now. The sounds of violence coming from behind us fade until they're gone completely; we're out of earshot of the bloodbath. My feet pound against the leaf strewn earth floor and I get back into the rhythm of running. One of my strengths that will help me these games is my endurance when it comes to running, as well as my speed. The air is clean and fresh, like a crisp spring morning. I can hear some type of bird chatter up in the trees and the soothing sound of a breeze rustling through treetops.
This beautiful forest is lulling me into a false sense of security, which is what it's been designed to do. The birds are probably Capitol creations which can breathe fire or emit a poisonous gas and game-makers know what else is rustling through the tree tops with the possibly mutated birds and seemingly harmless wind. Wise words from my mentor: Never trust anything or anyone in the Arena.
I focus on my breathing and study the girl tributes' back, trying to decide why she saved me. It could have been an accident; maybe she was running from the cornucopia and smashed into me at the opportune moment. And now she's waiting for a good moment to kill me in this weird forest.
My surroundings are starting to freak me out; it would be unbelievably easy to get lost here. Everything looks the same. There's nothing unique to use as a marking point, nothing to indicate where you've come from or where you're going.
"Let's take a quick break" tribute girl says after we've been running for awhile. I flop to the ground and remove the heavy bag from my back to take inventory, leaning against a tree. You can't be shot or stabbed from behind if there's a huge tree trunk between you and your attacker.
At the cornucopia I shoved into the bag everything I could lay my hands on and the risk has paid off. The first item I take out is a great big hunting knife, which I lay down by my side incase this girl tribute tries anything. Allies are a common occurrence this early in the game, the Careers proof of that, but what happened to my brother shows that like Chelsea said: No one can be trusted. There can only be one victor.
As well as the knife I grabbed a canteen for water (empty, of course), matches, a transparent vial containing some unknown clear liquid and a tiny first aid kit with a needle, thread, a minuscule amount of disinfectant and a rolled up bandage. These aid items will help a lot if, no, when, I'm injured but I'll still depend on sponsors (if I even have/get any) to keep me alive.
The whole time I emptied the bag I was well aware of the tribute girl, ready to fight or flee her at any moment. She's been injured on her left arm and as I watch she rips a strip off the plain gray top we're all wearing and uses it to inexpertly bind the cut. I have the bandage but I decide against letting her use it, I might need it later on. Instead I wrap the vial in the bandages so it doesn't get jolted against the rest of the items and then put everything back in, minus the knife.
Standing up I tuck the knife gently down the side of my shorts, kept in place by the waistband but easy to reach if needed. The cool metal weight is reassuring against my fevered skin. "Now what?" I ask her.
She startles and spins to face me. The girl doesn't seem to hold any real threat, even an amateur like me knows never to turn your back on an opponent, let alone let them see that you're weak. Yet I'm suspicious, something about her is warning me to be careful.
She lifts her uninjured arm and I take a step back thinking she means to attack me, but she just runs her hand through her blonde hair and looks at me seriously. "We'll we're obviously in the first ring right now so I reckon we can definitely reach the second and maybe even the third if we keep up the pace. I don't think we can make the fourth today but we can try if we reach the third before dark. If you're sticking with me that is."
"Huh? Rings? What are you talking about?" I question, ignoring what she said last because I haven't decided if I'm going to 'stick with her' yet or just try to kill her. The second option is really inviting right now, one less tribute left to kill me. But I don't know if I have it in me to kill someone, to physically take a persons' life. So I leave the knife where it is and focus on attempting to understand this strange tribute girl.
"The Arena. It's set out in four rings with the cornucopia right in the centre. This is the first ring, the forest one, and we can probably get to the third if we push ourselves. So will you stay with me?" She explains, confusing me even more.
She seems so sure about what this years' Arena is like, but how could she know? Once again I dodge her last question, answering it with another. "So you think the Arena is made up of four rings" I say, trying to understand.
Rolling her eyes she slows her words down like she thinks I'm stupid. "Yes, that's what I said isn't. And I don't think, I know."
"How could you know? None of the tributes are told before the games. I wasn't" I shot back, annoyed at her superior attitude. She can't seriously believe she knows what the Arena is in advance! My fingers twitch towards the knife, how easy it would be to slip it into her. . . . Oh god. To slip it into her back when she turns away. No.
Annoying tribute girl faces back away from me and the direction we ran from and towards the unknown. Leaving her back unprotected from me and my knife.
"Just trust me, okay? I can prove that I'm telling the truth if you follow me to the second ring. It's just a thin strip of water, luckily nowhere as long as the other rings. It separates the first from the third; we should be safe if we reach it today. I don't think many other tributes will try to cross it in the dark and nightfall isn't far off. With luck the Careers will be stuck on this ring until first light. So c'mon lets go. Oh, I hope you can swim" and with that she's off. I'm starting to dislike this know-it-all girl.
I chase behind her, left with no choice. I still don't believe that she knows what the Arena is, but I'd go this way if I was alone anyway. As for the swimming, if what she said about the water is true, well I've never swum before so here's hoping I'm a fast learner.
We run until my legs start burning and I need to stop so badly. As I said I have a very high endurance but the ground is slanted slightly uphill, an angle that kills my legs. The only thing stopping me from asking her if we can take another break is my pride. Well, my pride and the thought that there could be bloodthirsty tributes coming this way too.
Finally we reach the edge of the tree line as dusk is slowly setting in and at first I panic, thinking we've run the wrong way and arrived back at the cornucopia where the Careers may be prowling around. Then logic tells me we covered a lot more ground during our second run then we did during our first. Tentatively I join the tribute girl at the very fringe of the trees and look out across the expanse of water. Land is just visible in the dimming light, but it's a long swim away.
I look at the tribute in confused wonder "How did you . . .?" I trail off. She shrugs and refuses to meet my eyes. "How did you know about the water?" I press. There's no way she could have known this second part of the Arena would be water, unless some one told her. But who? And why?
"It doesn't matter. Just be grateful I bothered saving you in the first place" is her irritating way of answering. Things are clicking together in my mind and the obvious hits me. What have I done! Trust me to get myself in a situation like this.
"Oh my god." I whisper, more to myself then her. "What District are you from." I ask, already knowing the answer. Her 'helpful' way of replying is to dive into the water and start for what she says is the third ring before I even finish asking. Damn her.
I don't know what to do. Do I follow her? It's probably safer to run as far from her as possible, and maybe I would have if I was given the chance, but a different tribute makes the decision for me. The crazy crossbow guy has caught up with me and is firing again. What is it with this guy!
Without thinking twice I dive into the water and start to awkwardly propel myself forward. I've never learnt to swim before but this is a sink or swim moment and I do the latter. I get into the rhythm of it, doing a sort of sloppy freestyle. When I think I've put a good distance between me and the shore I pause and float on the spot, looking back towards the bank. I'm surprised at how far I've come and happy to see the guy hasn't followed me. Instead he's aiming arrows in my direction, still intent on killing me. Even his apparently trained self can't land a shot this far with the growing darkness falling. I start swimming again so I don't see him as he reluctantly enters the water and splashes about in the shallows before heading after me, even worse at swimming then I am.
As I push for the new land I wonder to myself if I've made the right decision. Should I really be following the Capitol kid?