The morning of the Games
I finger the cloth gently, soft cotton sliding between my fingers. "Do the clothes tell you anything about the arena?" I ask Cinna.
"No. Nothing. There's nothing indicating it will be hot or cold or wet or dry or anything. I'm sorry, Fara."
My heart drops. "It's fine. I like surprises anyway," I lie. I look down at the outfit I will be wearing to my death - sorry, to the arena. Like there's a difference. I sigh, and sit to wait until I am called into the tube that will lift me up into the arena. I decide to remember everyone I've ever known, to have them fresh in my mind to strengthen me as I enter the Hunger Games.
My father, a Victor at fourteen. He was forced to be with Capitol women who paid with secrets, made to share intimacy with those he didn't love. Who he did love was the other Victor back home, a girl gone crazy. His last words to me still ring in my ears. You can win, Fara. I won, and your mother won. It's in your blood. You can win. Show them that the Games can't hurt you. Show them who you really are.
My mother, who won because she could swim. Who went insane after witnessing the beheading of the tribute from her district. Who found safety in the Capitol's favorite champion.
Jayliss Erwin, my best friend. The strange, upbeat girl I splashed in the water with as a young child. I know everything about her. Her favorite color is bright pink - the color of the hair bows the little girls wear, and the color of the geraniums and roses that grow by the houses in the Victor's Village. The one person who I found bearable, the others too impressed, jealous, or spiteful of me to be my friend.
The three people in my life I could care about. Just three.
No, four. I can't forget about Cormac Haldrose.
Cormac. I've never known quite what he was to me. Sometimes, he's just a friend - the boy down the street that makes me laugh. Other times, though, he's just as immature as the rest of the boys I know. But there are other times still that I feel something more. That I feel a strange sort of attraction to him, because I love how he makes me laugh, because I hate his boyish attitude. I don't know what to think when I catch him staring at me. When he catches me. The way he grins when I do something stupid, and the way he tries to play it cool when he does something even more stupid. It hurts to think I'll never see him again.
Because I know I won't. I won't win. I don't really want to. I don't need glory or money or having my life story broadcasted on live television. Don't get me wrong, though: I'm going to cause as much damage as possible before I go.
People are going to die under my hand.
###
"Are you ready, Fara?" Cinna asks.
"Not really, but ready enough." I clutch my token tightly. The surface of the small ball is slick with the clammy sweat that has dripped from my hands. I look at it one last time: the key to a really interesting bloodbath. It seems so innocent, and yet its true value is crystal clear.
A mechanized voice reminds me that I have limited time to enter the clear tube waiting for me. I flash Cinna one last smile, and then step onto the platform. I am sealed off from him, and feel myself begin to rise. I turn my face towards the approaching sun, ready to quickly interpret whatever the arena may be.
I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. The remains of a city sit in front of me, undisturbed, it seems, for years. Crumbling remains of skyscrapers are scattered around decimated concrete streets. Old cars sit unmoving on the pavement, and a few birds circle overhead. The voice of Claudius Templesmith booms through the strange arena, beginning the countdown. I listen carefully to the numbers, waiting for the right time. My plan is risky, but if I time it right, it could work.
As the clock hits a number around the middle of the countdown, I locate who I think my biggest issue might be: Jade Radford. I spot her on the other side of the semicircle, next to a boy who I think is from District Eight. He probably won't last long, anyway. Before I can convince myself not to, I pull the ball from my pocket, and throw it hard at the base of Jade's pedestal. It bounces away just as the explosion goes off. The tributes stare open-mouthed at the gory remains scattered around them. Some wipe fleshy bits off their faces, grimacing in disgust. The ball is bouncy, though, and it keeps going, fueled by the blast that Jade's pedestal sent.
It skips across Eight's, saving him from an earlier death than he would have had, and hits the girl next to him - Tasmin, I think - from Three. She screams as the ball hits the mine, but is cut off as the explosion shakes our pedestals. The ball is still bouncing, managing to slip away in the split second before the blast. Now it jumps to District Eleven's male tribute: Killian. He sees the ball coming before it hits, and looks at me with despair as it jumps towards him. I close my eyes as he bursts into pieces. The ball is heading this way, but the countdown is almost over. I look to the sky and tick down the seconds with the clock as explosions riddle the air.
Finally, Templesmith utters the words I've been waiting for. "Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-Seventh Annual Hunger Games begin!" The mines are now inactive, and I run before any of the other tributes can catch me. Most are still stunned from my act, so I use my advantage to run to the Cornucopia and snag a few backpacks from the mouth where the best supplies lay. On a whim, I grab a knife from a nearby rack, and then set off running towards the crumbling buildings. The others have begun to run towards the Cornucopia, so I don't waste any time getting out. They clearly see me as a threat now, if they didn't before, and I don't want to take any chances.
I feel a knife whiz past my ear, and I duck instinctively. It flies past my head and lodges itself in an old wooden pole tilting out of the ground. I dash into a crumbling building nearby. I look back at the boy that threw the knife and grin, waving the knife around.
Oh, yes, let the Hunger Games begin.
This one is a little bit of a shorter chapter, I know. Chapter Four to come soon. Also: SYOT on my profile, people! I have no submissions yet. Come on! Please review and submit tributes. For more info, check out my page.
Thanks for reading!
Ma6ic-Un1c0rn
