Moaning. I wake up to the sound of pitiful moaning and only when I scan the room and see no one else do I realize the moaning came from me. I've had my fair share of bad dreams and nightmares but I don't remember ever making a sound. Luckily I've naturally been a quiet sleeper, unlike some of the kids I trained with. They were beaten for that, though I'm not sure soundless sleeping is something that can be learned.

When I try to remember what I was just dreaming about, I come up blank. Whatever it was has left me with a sense of unease and sadness. Those feelings certainly don't mirror how I should be feeling. Victors always seem to be happy and smiling when they show them after they've won their games. Well, with the exception of a few who completely lost it or withdrew into themselves, like Annie Cresta did after winning the 70th Hunger Games.

Perhaps I'd had a dream about my parents but I really don't want to think about them right now. That would only make me more sad, so instead I think of good things. I'm alive. I've won the Hunger Games, making me rich and famous and I'll finally have my own house. I won't have to live with the Sorensons anymore. They're not my real parents and I've never really felt close to them or their children. Afterall, I was always training.

If there's one thing I can be thankful of, it's that they offered me the best chance to win The Hunger Games. Regardless how I feel about them, I'm glad I am able to bring pride and honor to my district. Though the definition of pride and honor is determined by how an individual interprets it. To me, in the most basic form, it's to be able to provide food for those who need it while keeping District 2 in the Capitol's favor. I shudder to think of those districts who do not have the Capitol's favor.

I notice a pile of clothes sitting on my side table along with a slip of paper on top. Picking up the paper, I read, "Please change into the clothes provided and then you are free to return to your district apartment."

I can't help but chuckle. Leta must've realized that coming back to discharge me wouldn't have been the best idea. Not that I'd know what I would do now that I know she's related to President Snow.

Next to the clothes is a steaming cup of something I don't dare drink. Not after last time. I hop out of bed, remove my hospital gown and change into the clothes provided. They're exactly what I wore in the arena, except everything is new.

As I lean down to put on my boots, I feel something jab into my inner thigh. I reach into my pants trying to find and remove the item but find that whatever it is has been sewn off in a well reinforced panel. It's not something I can just rip open which makes me think it's important. Something not meant to be looked at here. I'll have to find a knife or scissors when I get back to my room.

I finish putting on my boots and tying them before heading out of the recovery room. With each step I take, the corner of the object keeps poking me in my groin which makes walking extremely uncomfortable. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who's behind this. I'm sure Leta's having a ball of a time laughing at my expense. Grabbing the crotch of my pants to prevent any more contact, I hurriedly make my way to the elevators at the end hallway hoping no one sees me in the process.

The elevator arrives shortly after pressing the call button and I step inside, relieved that I didn't run into anyone. I press the button for District Two's floor and then turn to face the door. While standing there, I can't help bouncing on the balls of my feet as I'm unable to contain the overwhelming excitement I feel. The reality of me being a victor is finally sinking in. Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

The elevator dings and the doors open to reveal an almost empty apartment. There are a few Avoxes setting up for breakfast but no one else. Even though it's early, 6:30 a.m., I still expected my team would be here to greet me. A nurse should have been up to alert my team that I was on my way up from the recovery center. Suddenly, I'm angry.

Here I am, a victor. I deserve a victor's welcome after spending the past few weeks fighting for my life in the arena and they're all just so cozy in bed. I walk to the small table situated in the center of the entry area. There sits a beautiful vase. Running my fingers along its smooth surface, I contemplate taking the vase and smashing it to the floor just to wake everyone up. My escort is sure to have a fit about it.

Before my anger gets the best of me, I'm alerted to another presence when I hear the ding of the elevator. I turn around to see who it is and I can't help the smirk that appears on my face.

"Well, well, well," I chime, resting my hands on my hips. "What do we have here?"

The girl standing in front of me steps off the elevator and then bows her head, keeping her gaze fixed towards the ground. My eyes flit to the tray the girl is holding out to me. On it sits a rectangular box covered in gold foil and what's that? Red lace? Leta! Well, I guess other girls wear red lace but this is intentional. A clue as to who the gift is from.

I reach out my hand to pick up the box only to have the girl pull it back and jerk her head in the direction of my room. Given that she isn't speaking, I assume she's an Avox. An Avox is a person who has committed a crime against the Capitol and as punishment their tongue has been cut out.

I turn and make my way down the hallway that leads to my room, the Avox in step behind me. When I reach my door, I can't help but turn to look at the closed door of Clove's room. Somewhere in my mind, I'm hoping she will pull open that door and tell me it was all just pretend, that she really wasn't dead. But she doesn't come. I won't ever see her again.

I can't believe how emotional I've become lately. In training, we're taught emotions are a weakness. Something the enemy will use to exploit. I guess this is what the games do to you.

Turning away from her room, I twist the door knob and enter mine. The Avox follows me inside and I close the door behind her. This time, she places the tray onto my bed and then moves to stand against the wall, her head bowed down. I walk over to the bed, pick up the gold box and untie the lace ribbon. Lifting off the top of the box, I discover a pair of scissors. Convenient. It's obvious what I'm wanted to do.

Examining the scissors, I notice they're as sharp as a blade of a sword. Undoing the bottom and sliding down the zipper, I remove my pants and place them on the bed. I was never one for modesty. I want my body to be looked at, to be admired. Regardless, I'm in my boxer briefs so I'm still covered up.

Quickly, I turn the pants inside out and locate the spot I'm looking for. Taking the scissors in my right hand, I carefully cut into the fabric, creating a not so perfect circle. Concentrating now on this smaller piece, I cut along the very edge of the reinforced stitching, revealing whatever is inside.

Pulling the item out, I notice it's a tightly folded square of paper. I unfold the paper to see it's some sort of puzzle. There are a bunch of words on the top of the page and a jumble of letters on the bottom. I've seen these before. It's a word search, but why would Leta send me a puzzle?

I grab a pen from the drawer of my nightstand and begrudgingly start finding and circling the words. They all seem to be related to the games. Sword, blood, death, cannon, etc. When I'm done, I feel no more closer to figuring out what this puzzle has to do with anything. Frustrated, I crumple up the paper and toss it onto the floor. I need a shower anyway so I make my way into the bathroom.

Before undressing, I turn on the shower to let the water warm up but then realize it's already warm. Perhaps it's out of habit from home. Regardless, I take this time to examine my body in the mirror. My blond hair is flat, but messy and my eyes look tired, perhaps from too much sleep. I've been told my eyes resemble the color of the sky when it's about to rain. Stormy blue is what people say. The scars on my face from over the years are gone and for that, I am glad. Some bring about memories I don't ever want to think about which is hard when they're in my face whenever I look in the mirror. None of the scars on my face were due to hard work, though they were a daily reminder to work harder.

I remove my shirt and glide my fingers over the skin on my shoulders and arms, not feeling any ridges or roughness. I remember seeing no scars on my hands or forearms in the recovery center. It isn't until I run my fingers along my hips that I feel the first imperfection on my body. On my left hip is a faint pink scar of an old injury, a painful reminder that The Hunger Games were my only option, my only purpose. My fingers linger on the scar for only a moment before moving on but finding nothing else.

After removing the rest of my clothes, I step into the shower. The warm water feels great and it's only now that I realize how stiff and sore my body feels from lying in bed for so long. I'm sure the games had a lot to do with how I feel as well. I make quick work of washing my body, face and hair, hoping I'll have enough time to check out the training room before getting ready for my victor's interview with Caesar.

Stepping out of the shower, I grab my towel and dry off. When I walk out of my room, the same Avox girl as before is still standing against the wall. There is a neat pile of clothes sitting on my bed along with what was the crumpled puzzle that is now flattened out. I grab the boxer briefs and pull them on under my towel. I'm not modest but I'm not in the mood to mess around.

Just as I'm reaching for the pants, an arm reaches across mine to pick up the puzzle. The Avox girl is now standing next to me but her eyes are on the paper. She points to the uncircled letters, in order, pausing after a few and looking at me as if asking if I understand. I look at the puzzle again and this time notice the uncircled letters when put together form a sentence.

Kind of a cliffhanger. This chapter was unfinished at 4127 words so I decided to break it into two to help with people's time available to read. Katniss will make her appearance right after the 2nd part of this chapter is released

Sorry this has taken so long to be released. Most of the chapter was written but stuff had to still be filled in. Plus, I changed things that seemed to be long later in the story.

I was also in dire need of a beta since MorphlingInTheSoap has been there since the beginning but she's really busy with college. MadameAnnaBeth joined up and has given me some great pointers and helped out.

I hope it sounds good and flows well. Any questions, just ask in reviews. Please review. I appreciate the feedback