The arena... The arena filled with snow. I look at my hands they are black from frostbite. I am sobbing and as my tears fall they freeze to my face. The snow around me is red from my own blood. Above me stands my sister with a knife in her hand. She creeps around me and I see my parents approaching. They have the same menacing look on their face as she does. My mother carries a machete and my father has an axe in his left hand. Their eyes fill with black and I am screaming.
My sister slices into my back and I let out a screech. She laughs insidiously and my parents are the one to make the next moves. I try to get up, yet my body holds me to the ground. They are enjoying this, my mind repeats over and over again. I need to run, I keep telling myself. That is not an option anymore, they have me trapped. My father drives his axe into my stomach and leaves it there.
"Isn't she much better this way, Angeline?" My father questions my mother.
"Much." My mother grins straight at me.
"Stop this!" I scream back at them. "You love me!"
Saying this to them just makes them all snicker. My mother takes her machete and swings it back and forth. I know what is coming next. I need to remember that this is how the real games are going to me. I will probably die like this, a pack of allies coming to get me. It will most likely be the Careers. I let out a loud scream and my mother brings back the machete. It is headed for my neck and I awaken.
I begin breathing heavily and sobbing. My body is covered in sweat and sticks to the covers. I sit up and begin rocking back and forth. Back and forth... The same way my mother swung her machete. This just makes me sob harder so I stop rocking even though it should be comforting. My breaths are short and quick, which makes my lips tingle.
It is morning already, I realize by the light coming in through my window. I look up and I can see Evangeline standing before me through my tears. She seems confused and scared. I know that she has no idea what to do because she has never had to deal with this type of thing before. She moves to my side and tries to touch me and I immediately scuttle away across the best and go into the corner that is pressed up against the wall.
"It's alright honey, it will be over in just a few days." She tries to soothe me and it just makes me cry harder.
In seconds, I see Finnick running into the room still in his pajamas. His hair is tousled on his head and he seems to be very disturbed. "Annie..." He says softly. I must have been screaming in my sleep and that is why everyone is here. They must have heard me. "Get out." His words are directed at Evangeline. He must know that she is only making it worse. The very thought of someone like her makes it worse. A person who enjoys the Games.
"What?" Evangeline question him. "I-!"
"GET OUT!" Finnick is harsher this time and she scuttles out of the room, closing the door behind her.
"Annie..." He coos to me and I don't respond. They wanted to kill me. They are just like the rest of the people in these Games. They wanted me dead. "Annie..." He says again. I just shake my head through the tears. "Annie, look at me..." I lift my head and meet his eyes for the first time. "I want you to try and breath like I am, okay?" I nod and he begins breathing in and out slowly. It takes about 7 minutes for me to actually do, yet Finnick does not seem to mind. He does not break a gaze with me the whole time.
When my breathing finally calms, I am still crying. Finnick reaches out to place a hand on me and I shy away. "It's alright." He whispers to me. "I'm not going to hurt you." I trust that he is telling the truth for some unknown reason. I just trust him and I shouldn't trust someone who has killed other people even if they were forced to. He pulls me to him and holds me there until I stop crying.
"Now what happened?"
"I had a dream, I was in the Games and my family were tributes. They tortured me..."
"Your family will never do that. Nor ever would they. I promise you." Finnick soothes me.
"I just can't do it."
"Do what?"
"Kill someone."
"I know what you mean, I said that too before the Games, but impossible things will happen in the arena."
It takes me a moment to speak because I am embarrassed for what I have done. "I'm sorry." I finally speak.
"For what?" He wonders to me.
"For this... For having a breakdown."
"Never, you never have to apologize to me." I am shocked by what he says.
"Thank you." My voice is so low I can hardly hear it. I pull away from him and get off the bed. "We should probably go to breakfast. We'll probably be arriving soon."
"Yeah, I'll go get dressed." He says and leaves.
It is suddenly awkward between the two of us. Most people would die to have Finnick be with them the way I just was. I wasn't dying the way that I suppose I should be. It felt like we had been friends for years from the moment I met him. I don't even know why. The fear of the possibility of having a real friends fills me. I know it was possible that maybe one day I would have a friend, yet I never thought that it would happen so quickly.
I go into the bathroom and run my fingers through my hair. My eyes and face are red from crying so much. I could put makeup on although I go against it because I'd rather be natural than fake. I run a brush through my hair and leave it down. Once I have changed into a blue shirt and a pair a khaki pants, I hear a knock on my door.
"Who is it?" I call.
"It is the 65th Hunger Games Victor, Finnick Odair!" I hear Finnick call from the other side of the door. I open the door and see his smiling face waiting for me. I fake a smile to make him think I am okay even though that is a complete lie. We walk to the dining car and are the last ones to arrive again.
I sit down beside Troy who I just realize I have not heard a word out of since we got here. I suppose he is not taking it well. I'm not either. Today, I actually try to eat because I know that I will be hungry in a couple of days. Troy still barely touches the food that is on his plate. Mags seems concerned by him. He needs protection more than I do I realize. Maybe I am better off than I think that I am.
After breakfast is over, Evangeline informs us that we will be arriving in the Capitol in about an hour. Finnick comes and begins to tell me about getting off the train and what it is like. Apparently, there will be hundreds of Capitol citizens waiting to see the new tributes in person. He tells me that I need to look happy because that will get me more sponsors and I know that is it true. I still don't know if I will be able to look happy because I'm just waiting for my impending death.
I look out the window and see the Capitol on the horizon. This is the first time I have ever been to the Capitol. The Capitol is surrounded by waterfalls. In the middle of the waterfalls are tall buildings. They are all made of the same stone. Some have windows while others do not. I spot the Tribute Center right in the middle of all of it. It is the tallest building of all of them and has the Capitol seal on it.
The train drives straight into the city and through the streets. I see pictures of the tributes faces on banners, including mine. There are advertisements for the Games everywhere. What distracts me the most is the people. Their skin has varying design on it in varying colors. Some of them even have colored skin. Their hair is unrealistic and bright makeup covers their faces. Evangeline is toned down from what I see.
All of the citizen are craning their necks to see the train that is speeding through the city. They are all so excited to see someone die. It makes me want to hurt them, and I never want to hurt anyone. They disgust me so I sit back into the chair. I haven't heard that past few things that Finnick was saying so I just nod my head.
"Yes, you'll eat a sugar cube?" He looks overjoyed.
"What? No!" I respond to him.
"I knew that you weren't listening." He sighs and shakes his head.
"Sorry, it's just all so..." I trail off.
"Repulsive?" Finnick wonders and I nod.
What he says reminds me that he has been in my place before. He knows how I feel and what I am thinking. He was even younger than I was when he went into the Games. Only a 14 year old that somehow beat out everyone else and became a victor. I could never do that even at my age, being on of the oldest tributes.
Stop it, Annie. You could win, you just have to try. I tell myself. I know how to use a net and make traps. That could be really helpful. The problem is what would I do with the people after I caught them. I would have to kill them, which I can't do. I know that Finnick says that impossible things will happen in the arena. Something as impossible as me killing...
Evangeline hurries into the room with Troy behind her. "It's time," she squeals to us. I look to Finnick and he nods to me. I get up of the chair and walk over to where she is. She immediately scolds me for my shirt being wrinkled, but it is too soon to change that. The train begins slowing and enters the station. Two Peacekeepers enter the room to escort us. They push us toward the doors and the open once we stop. I look back unsure of what to do and the Peacekeeper behind me steps forward making me also step forward and out of the train.
I am immediately blinded by lights as my foot hits the red carpet. I do my best to smile, yet I think it comes out more as a constipated look. People are screaming my name and trying to get my attention. I attempt to ignore them and walk straight toward the Tribute Center. Determined. I turn around to see if Troy is following me and he is. His face is determined like me although he is not smiling. He is going for a more serious angle.
When I enter the Tribute Center, I am astonished by how high the building is. There are balconies off of every floor all the way to a skylight at the top. Each floor is reserved for one district. I am guessing that the fourth floor would be for the Fourth District. I look around me and see a waterfall. A waterfall inside shocks me. We do not have those in District Four. I stand there dumbfounded and not knowing what to do.
A woman with pink hair and green skin approaches me. Her skin isn't anywhere close to the same color as Finnick's green eyes. This is more of a sickening green. She has golden designs tattooed onto her green skin. She is shorter than me, although not by much. I am already short enough so anyone shorter than me is tiny. She introduces herself as Adair. I tell her I am Annie, yet I realize that she and everyone else already knew that.
We walk to the Preparation Center, which is under the Tribute Center. It is brightly lit and the walls are made of metal. Adair shows me into a room where there is something reminds me of an operation table. It reminds me of a place where they should torture people. Some of the tributes may say that what they are about to do to me is torture. It cannot be too bad, I think. My thoughts are soon to be changed.
I am introduced to my prep team. Kian is only man of my prep team and he seems fairly feminine. He has diamonds and other jewels in his skin. The irises of his eyes are even bejeweled and it makes me want to puke when I look at him. I suppose if I win, I'll have to get used to it because we will be seeing a lot of each other. Orla is the second member of my prep team. She is the most normal looking of all of them. The only thing that is strange about her is that she has feathers sticking out of her eyelashes. Veda is the last member of the team. She has golden tattoos on her skin, like Adair, and has elaborate makeup on.
They immediately begin by removing all of my clothes. I feel uncomfortable because there is a man in the room. None of them seem to be bothered by my nudity in the least. They already have a metal tub of something out in the corner. I get into it and they begin scrubbing away at my skin with a sandy substance. I do my best to hide my assets.
"We don't mind, sweetie." Orla tells me.
"I know, but I kind of do." I say and she seems to ignore it.
After the have scrubbed me with about ten different substances that have removed at least two layers of my skin. The room smells sweet after they wash my hair. Once they are done bathing me, I finally get to put a robe on. My stress levels go down after this. They begin doing something to all of my body that is extremely painful. I think that they are uprooting all almost all the hair on my body. They even do it to part of my eyebrows.
After they have finished that, they next move onto painting something onto my nails that makes them go cold. They begin to curl my hair and pin it back into a bun. I feel uncomfortable with my neck revealed because of the dream had last night. I cannot stop touching it because it feels bare. Whenever I touch it, I imagine the hands of another touching my throat to choke me and kill me. This makes me stop immediately.
Once they are done putting too makeup on my face, I stare at myself for a few moments. I don't look like Annie Cresta from District Four, I just like every other tribute that they have dolled up and prepared for slaughter. I hold back the tears because I don't want to mess up what they have done for me. They only want the best, I remind myself, they want me to live.
Adair comes back in since they are finished. She holds a bag that has my costume in it. I'm sure it will be something awful like just a net that hardly even covers my assets. When she pulls it out I am relieved. It is a one shoulder long blue dress that is covered in shells in various places. There are streams of fabric coming off of the shoulder that vary in blues. It is not beautiful, but it isn't too flamboyant.
I change into the costume and Adair coos about how beautiful I look. I do not agree with her. I feel much more pretty in my own clothes from District Four. Since I am dressed, it is time for me to go to the Tribute Parade. Let the Games begin, I suppose.
