Chapter 4

A cold metal room now surrounded me. I had woken up this morning and gotten on a hovercraft to get here. I had gotten changed into a brightly coloured jumpsuit, warm jacket and thick boots and smiled. It mattered not if the terrain didn't match the outfit, I could make a camouflage in a snap. I had been allowed to take my plain golden ring into the arena as a token from my district. I found that quite ironic considering it wasn't even from district 8 but district 10. Gold had hugged me goodbye but it was Cecelia that burst into tears. I knew she would be a great mother to her little one; she was so loving. She cared about whether I lived or died in that awful arena enough to make her cry. I now sat on a hard bench waiting to be called into the glass elevator to be lifted up. My stylist Telila sat with me talking about pointless conversations. She spoke most of the time and it was comforting in a way to hear her mindless babble. In the last few minutes I had of safety she held my hand tightly and even looked sorry for me. Through her brightly coloured makeup and hair and other shallow indulgences, there may have been a person.

We got the call and so I stepped into the tube and watched it seal over, trapping me from the rest of the world. I pressed my hands against it and gazed at Telila, pity filling my eyes. She had to turn away but I understood. I took a deep breath and turned the other way too and waited for the lift to start. It was close to a quarter of an hour before it started rising. I wondered what was taking it so long. Worry had begun filling me. The first thing I noticed in the arena was that the boy from district 7 was not on his plate. What had the capital done to him? I shook my head, trying to forget about it. The countdown had begun and I didn't have long until I would be fair game. I gasped at the arena around me. Everything was made from gold. The ground, the sky, even the foliage was made from gold. The only thing that wasn't gold was the leaves on the trees and I wondered how much this cost the Capital. I had no idea how I would survive this. I couldn't make a disguise out of metal, I'm no blacksmith. My mouth made an O shape as I realised now why Flickerman was wearing gold this year. I'm sure Magdalena would be very pleased with this year's Hunger Games.

I looked over at Lily, on the district 12 plate and she nodded at me. I knew I had two allies now, Lily and he brother were a package deal. Lily then nodded at Katty who looked at me suspiciously but then agreed. I couldn't believe this; I already had the best player on my team. I grinned to myself. 10 seconds to go. I suddenly remembered Kinlay.

Time was up. We all launched off the plates and ran straight for the cornucopia. The gold reflection burned my eyes but I kept running. I called out for Kinlay who I soon found to be right beside me. I heard laughter in his voice as he said that I could hardly expect that he would leave me. My vision cleared as a golden cloud covered the brilliant sunlight. The female from district 11 came roaring at me. I yelped a little as her fist connected with my shoulder. My hands quickly shot up defensively and grabbed her around the neck. I swiftly snapped it as I threw her onto the hard metallic ground. Kinlay had the male tribute from district 11 in a head lock. I saw the tribute raise his free hand behind Kinlay's back. I saw he had a knife in his hand. I lunged forward and ripped the knife form his hands. I passed it to Kinlay who promptly slit his throat. I didn't get how a 13 and 14 year old could think they could survive attacking the Cornucopia on the first day. Kinlay and I kept sprinting towards the gleaming horn and we saw our other allies take out multiple people. Katty had just strangled the male tribute from her district without batting an eyelid. Lily and her brother, Andrew had Burien pinned down. Lily held a big golden rock above her head, threating to bring it upon Burien's head. I quickly bolted in their direction. "No! Don't kill her, she's with me!" I shouted at them, running harder. In the split second they looked Burien had thrown them off her and decapitated Andrew. "Burien, what are you doing. I said don't kill them!" I roared.

"You said to not kill her. Is this kid a her?" Burien said grimly pointing down to Andrew's headless body which now spilled blood everywhere.

"Seriously, what the hell. They were a package deal. You should have known that!" I groaned. Little 12 year old Lily was hysterical. She was pulling out her hair in distress.

"What's her problem?" Burien asked.

"You just killed her brother in front of her eyes!" I was slightly disgusted at Burien's lack of empathy. Just because she was all strong on the outside didn't mean she had to be so tough inside. I gently scooped up crying Lily who was struggling against me. She bit my arm multiple times trying to get back to her brother but I didn't let her go. It wasn't safe for her. We kept going to the Cornucopia which was a fair distance away than it normally is. I kept throwing my head behind me to check to see if the careers were coming. Surprisingly, for the first time in Hunger Game history, they didn't. "I guess we're the career's this Hunger Games," I muttered.

"Huh?" asks Kinlay.

I released I was talking to myself and quickly say, "Oh, nothing. Don't worry."

At the Cornucopia we scouted around to check that no one was waiting for us, nobody was. Inside the giant horn, it was much cooler. The temperature must have dropped by about 10 degrees. It took a while for my eyes to get used to the darkness but when they did I saw a whole treasure trove of things. In an arena where everything was gold, anything else is basically sacred. I didn't know how the others could survive without this, especially if there really was nothing but gold. This arena really must be Magdalena's heaven. I wondered if she had any input on this. All of us started to paw through all the marvellous items surrounding us. There was many crates full to the brim with food. I dug out a delicious looking fruit and bought it to my mouth when a hand slapped it away from me. Lily, in all her distress had managed to recognise the food and label it as deadly. She told us she would sort through the foods and pick out the edible ones for us. I asked her if she was ok and she just replied that she knew both her and her brother couldn't make it out alive, she didn't want to see her brother killed this way though. I gave her a long hug before leaving her to her work. There was nothing but food here. We all looked around trying to find something else when Katty called out to us. We all rushed over to see Katty had found a button. Everyone but me sighed in disappointment. "What does it do?" I asked. Katty shrugged and pushed it. To our amazement a little door appeared below us. We looked at each other but it was me who opened it. I went down first and found that there was a well lit room underneath. Our mouths gaped open at the scene. Something like this had never happened at the Hunger Games before. There were multiple levels on the Cornucopia.

The floor of this level wasn't gold, it was dirt. I dug my hands into the damp soil and smiled. We definitely had the advantage this hunger games. This room was filled with all sorts of weapons. Kinlay took a variety of swords and put them in vest that he found full of places to put the weapons. Burien grinned as she took hold of a giant hammer, she'd be good with one considering she came from district 6 where she'd have to be making transportation all the time. Katty gathers together an arsenal of different weapons; I didn't doubt she could kill any one of us with any of those in a second if she wanted to. Lily didn't take anything. She was still traumatised from her brother being killed and probably couldn't bring herself to think that maybe she'd kill somebody. I picked up something that I had never seen before in an arena, there seemed to be a lot of radically new things this year. I slipped the gun into my warm jacket before searching around for water. I couldn't find any and Katty couldn't find another button of sorts. "There's water under ground," Kinlay said. We all turned to listen to him. "The dirt's wet, and obviously rainwater can't get here." We all began digging frantically. Sure enough, soon we found a large supply of water. We have no water bottles though so we know we must return here every few hours. We all headed up to the top floor just in time to see the sun go down. We started late today, later than usual. The capital citizens were pampered to the fact that they dictated if the Games started hours later than usual because they were too lazy to get out of bed to see us off to our doom at lunch time. In district 8, I get up every day not long after the sun rises.

We would have made a campfire but there was no real wood around. The only heat we had was from our clothing. Lily bought us over a bunch of the edible food and we all sat in a circle to eat. The anthem blares out across the arena and we get to see those who have been killed today. We hadn't heard the cannon's fire. I guessed we were too preoccupied with the second level to pay attention. Essence, from district 1 was dead. Both the faces from district 5 showed up, Cairo and Hanna. That meant that 3 from the careers, the 2 from the Fishtrict and those from 3 were still alive. The next was Cyan from district 7 (who I presumed the capital killed first. I guessed they didn't show that he was not on his plate at the begging) and then it was Winna from district 9 (I almost laughed at his name, what a cruel joke). Fhez must still be alive; I wondered how he was going. Both of the tributes from 11 showed up, killed by Kinlay and I. The last picture was Andrew's. I could hear Lily weeping softly when he showed up. Her tough act before abut knowing this would happen was just that, an act. I went over to where she was sitting and joined her. She put her head in my lap and I began to stroke her soft dark hair. She was only 12, so innocent. There were so many young ones in the game this year. Fhez, Burien, the Fishtricts and I were the oldest. Only 5 of the 24 of us were over 14.

The anthem played again before we were plunged into darkness. Burien offered to stay up and be on guard which was fine by the rest of us. I snuggled up to Kinlay who had headed towards the back of the Cornucopia. He said it was the safest place to be while still being able to help the others quickly if raided. "I finally get to touch you now," he whispered to me. We had never had any physical contact back in the districts because of that wretched fence separating us. We held onto me the whole night. I thought about what the Capital might think, they might be suspicious but I didn't care. I knew I wouldn't get out of this alive anyway, I wouldn't risk being cautious with Kinlay when this is the only moment we could really be together.

"Welcome back to the 59th Annual Hunger games!" Ceaser Flickerman cried to the audience who responded with a giant wave of applause. It was 9pm and by now most of the residents should still be at home watching their televisions before a night out. Every eye in the Capital would be tuned to this channel. It was time for the recap of what had happened so far. Not much admittedly but this year the game makers had a big surprise that would please every Capital citizen tremendously. After Flickerman introduced everybody and made a few humorous jokes he got down to business. The screen behind him showed clips of what had happened so far. The tributes where rising up on their plates. There was a close up of every one of them except the boy from district 7. There were expressions of fear, aggression and determination everywhere. Then they were running. The whole nation was left flabbergasted when it was the careers that fled for the golden forest. For every kill there was a slow motion moment and everyone was cheering for their favourite competitor. The Capital's favourite overall this year was 12 year old Katty from district 9. Maybe for the first time ever, a 12 year old would win.

The group that made it to the Cornucopia were all allies and discovered the second level easily. This year's group were smart or so Flickerman though. That opinion changed when he saw the female tribute from district 8 sleeping next to the male from district 10. It was very suspicious considering they shouldn't know each other. Backstage there had been a big debate about it and President Snow had gotten involved. He concluded that it didn't matter. They would both die in the arena and if any questions were asked about their relationship then they shall be presented as traitors and their deaths would be their punishment.

When the recap finished with the national anthem then the faces of the dead showed up. For every face there was a massive cry of joy from those who were still winning their bets on who would win this year. Flickerman was secretly cheering on his own favourite; the Golden Goose. He hoped she'd pick up what he meant in the interview and he could see she did on her plate at the beginning. She was still alive and Flickerman thought she had potential, even against someone as deadly as Katty.

It was time for the big announcement that Flickerman had been dying to tell everyone since the tributes were picked. "All you Capital citizen are always wanting more and more excitement in every game right?" All the audience roars in agreement at this. "Well the Capital had arranged the biggest surprise for you yet and I think you'll love it." Flickerman waited for utter silence before continuing.

An alarm sounded filling the whole room and beyond. This screening was now compulsory for everyone in Panem. Flickerman entertained the audience for a few more minutes while the rest of the nation turned their attention to his show. When he was finally ready he waited again until the audience was silent. Then with a big breathe he said, "This year in the Hunger Games… the citizens of the Capital… as a reward for being their gorgeous selves… are allowed to vote on… every day's weather and season… IN THE ARENA!" The whole audience went berserk. People were bursting out of their seats and screaming with joy. Such a privileged had never been bestowed upon them. Flickerman bought up tomorrow's options on the screen behind him. The audience went giddy with delight and immediately started voting.

I woke up before the others and turned around to kiss Kinlay's forehead before relieving Burien of her duties. She looked like she could hardly stay awake another second. In fact she fell asleep in her guard position the instant I said she could have a rest.

While I waited for the others to get up I created a plan for the day ahead. 8 of the 24 tributes were dead, that's not that many for the first day. We had to get the others before they got us. My thoughts were interrupted when little Lily came up to me with an apple in her hand which she offered. I gladly took a bite of the crunchy, delicious green fruit. Lily sat with me in silence as the sun broke over the horizon streaking the sky with gold that matched everything else. In the east breaking the sun beams was a thick metal forest. It seemed to go on forever. I could see no means of animal or plant life within it.

The others awoke slowly but I hurried them up. I could feel the sun beating down upon us already; it was going to be hot today. I gathered everyone around in a circle while they ate a hearty breakfast of bread rolls they found as well as dried meats and various vegetables and fruits. I told everyone that we had to go out today to find the others and hunt them out; if we didn't do so on our own terms then the game makers would do it on their own. I knew the others didn't want to play by their rules any more than they already had to. Everyone had gathered their equipment, including a very tired Burien and e had started to leave when Lily piped up. "What about if somebody raids us?" She was right. I didn't even think about that, nobody did. We seemed too invincible we forgot. Before long we had moved all the good food down stairs and left all the bad stuff on the top level. If anybody came they would eat the poisonous food and hopefully not discover the downstairs room. For extra precaution we moved a pile of crates on top of the entranceway so even if opened, the intruders will not find out about the underground area. We set out with weapons in hand, straight into the tall golden forest. My loaded gun was well concealed in my jacket and I had taken a long spear for a cover up weapon. I could use a spear quite well though; it was just like a giant needle essentially.

The forest surrounding us was unchanging. Every tree looked the same in width, height and shape. If it wasn't for Lily dropping bits of deadly fruit behind us then we would have been lost very quickly. We trekked through the flat land easily for hours and still were nowhere near the edge of the arena. The price of this arena really must have been high. I worried for the district's taxes that would have to pay for this. The sun was rising in the sky with a fierce burn. I was the only person who ought there jacket along and that was only to conceal the gun. I now held that loosely in my hand and dragged it along. It wouldn't be long before the game makers got bored of this and made something happen to bring us to them. I was startled when the boom of a cannon filled the arena. I reconsidered my last thought, if that death was exciting enough then maybe something wouldn't happen. My thirst grew more and more and I suggested going back. The others agreed and we turned around and started to follow the trail of food. It suddenly cut of about 20 meters along. I scrambled around looking for the rest of it but found nothing. Shit. The game makers had done something after all. It couldn't be tributes, we would find them groaning in pain if they ate any of it. We tried walking west because we came out east but no matter how long we walked we didn't get anywhere.

Soon the sun began to set and night was nearly upon us and we all were exhausted. I was about to suggest that we give up for now and try again tomorrow when I heard the sound of rushing water. The others heard it to. I didn't think it was possible in a place of gold. We all ran as fast as we could towards the sound. I could hardly get there quick enough. I could see it glinting gold in the sun's rays and my pace sped up. When I got to the lake I was just about to shove my head in for a big drink when I realised it wasn't the sun's last rays making the river gold. It was actually liquid gold. I groaned and fell against the river bank in defeat. The others were just as disappointed as I was. What a cruel trick, how evil could they be?

I wanted to sleep so badly. I had been walking all day and I was so tired. I was so mentally exhausted that my mind was wide awake preventing my body from resting. The anthem soon played and the sky lit up brightly. There was only one face shown tonight, the boy naked Jake from district 6, Burien's district. Everyone around me was snoring softly, they hadn't stayed awake to see Jake's picture. I was glad I was awake regardless of having to see exactly who died. Somebody had to be on guard. Unfortunately, I felt like I couldn't move to defend anyone if necessary. I lay there staring up at the sparkling night sky for a long time. The only thing that interrupted me was the heavy footsteps of somebody coming towards us.

I bolted upright in a flash, it seemed I could move if I had to after all. My head snapped in the direction where the careless treader appeared. Jason, the Fishtrict tribute moaned when he saw the lake. My shook his fist angrily and swore loudly. He hadn't even noticed us. I shook Kinlay roughly. He moved a little but didn't wake up. I grabbed his eyelids and opened them hoping this would arouse him from his slumber but that didn't work either. I kicked various others around me discreetly but they were too fast asleep. I didn't want to be the one to have to kill him; I didn't want to kill anymore. I looked at Kinlay again. He looked so innocent in his sleep. He would protect me, I had to protect him. I slowly got up, spear in hand and snuck around behind him. Jason stood near the lake on his knees. He was weeping. I bit my lip; I didn't think I could do this. I lowered my spear. In that moment of hesitation Jason spun around with a grin on his mouth. A sharp pain emanated from the side of my face as I realised Jason had hit me squarely. I searched around for my gun and remembered it was in my jacket. I reached out for my spear again when Jason swiftly put his foot down on it. I couldn't get it form under his weight. Jason kicked my arm out of the way roughly and took control of the spear for himself. It was aimed at my heart with one of his giant hands while the other held me down. I used my free legs to kick him. He stumbled backwards and I went straight towards his stomach. My head hit his body at a bad angle and my neck cracked. It wasn't broken or anything but it hurt enough that I was dazed for a few moments. Jason was winded and nearing the edge of the liquid gold water. This was my final chance. I jumped up and yanked the spear out of his hands. With all my might, I kicked Jason into the water. He spluttered around, choking on the gold. I held him under the water event though his hands shot up furiously trying to claw my arms holding him under. I kept them steady until there was no more struggling. He floated away, encased in gold.

How ironic, a Fishtrict's ending would be by him drowning. What a horrible thing of me to say about somebody I just killed, I was surprised by myself. The gold on my hands slipped away as quickly as water would and I was left with normal human skin. I wiped my eyes and decided if I wanted any chance at this I would have to be tougher. The spear lay on the side of the river. I gathered it and went back to the others. I could have killed them all then if I wanted to, they were fast asleep. I really couldn't have though. Burien and Kinlay could never die at my hands. That would be unforgivable. The only two I could really kill would be Katty or Lily. But how could I murder 12 year olds in their sleep, even Katty who I'm not particularly fond of. I sighed and sat down in the middle of everyone. The cannon bomb shook the ground. Jason must still have had some fight left in him when I let him go into the clutches of the golden current. Before I knew it, the sun was rising again as were dark ominous clouds.