All Disclaimers apply: Except everything in my story that is mine!

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Time stood still forever in that cold little room. I kept waiting, minute after minute until I would be let out of this prison. Forever it seemed before the officers came in to collect me and Abolie was standing outside the door as well. A smile was plastered on her face from the shades of the makeup she wore, but her voice seemed to be subtle and sweet for only a moment.

"My dear. How are you holding up?" She questioned. She sympathetically put an arm around my shoulders again like she did at the reaping. This woman has somehow changed since we were on stage. Her demeanor has changed dramatically and I now see the hurt in her eyes to see the horrible circumstances that a brother and sister have been picked. I did nothing more than I could at that point but return the favor. I encircled the hug and held my tears. I wish my mother was still alive, that I might have again hugged her when I really needed it. I needed my mother more than anything right now and Abolie was the only 'mother' figure around now.

"Now, that's enough of that. Wouldn't want anyone knowing I've got a kind heart." She moved a bit and took both of her hands on my shoulders to move me back. She cleared her throat and straightened her clothes. She still looked upon me with a sadness in her eyes that I know she don't want shown. I felt so weak, but I knew somehow I must be strong. At least for Mizell. Where was he? We walk down to the next door where they were holding him. They knocked on the door and began to open it and the first ones out were the two peacekeepers. Mizell walked out next and I could have sworn that I saw a glint of water in his eyes but it quickly changed as he smiled at me. I prayed that he was no longer mad at me.

"Imm… you okay?" His voice was hard and unwavering. I still felt little with his voice, but I guess I was prematurely guessing that he wasn't mad at me. He still was. "Imm…"

"I'm okay, Mizell." I put up a strong front cause I don't want to show my fears. I miss dad and Amorra already. He nodded to me but I could not see the emotion behind his words at all. Was he mad or upset as my dad said he was. Abolie broke off the meeting and started down the hallway. I moved first and started after Abolie. Mizell once again like so many times before, walked behind me. I desperately wanted to take that as a sign that he'll still have my back, but under the current circumstances, I couldn't be sure.

"Lets get to that train. We mustn't be late. Its un-capital like." Abolie rushed us as her heels clicked on the main hallway floor and it almost made me think of a horse trotting along. I watched the ground the whole way to the train, only looking up once to step up. Herded like animals to the death is all that was going through my head. Where would we end up? I feel like somewhere deep down, I was curious about the capitol and what it looked like. The only thing I didn't want to know about, let alone practice, is their fun.

"Lets see. This way Immaka - dear. Your staying room will be here through these doors. Mizell, these will be… Mizell?" She turned around expecting to talk to Mizell except he had disappeared. He was already in the dining area. Apparently, he wasn't interested in listening. I longed to speak with him or to have any kind of words with him. Abolie shrugged her shoulders. "He'll come around sooner or later, deary. My dear, you go ahead and get freshened up and we'll meet with your mentor and brother soon. Take your time."

Time is all I had now. Time that wouldn't be enough to survive. I walked into my room and was amazed at the way it looked. The bed was perfectly made with clean fresh smelling sheets and at the end of the bed was a table that held a few fruits in a basket that was decorated with a twig of mint in it. How nice of them I thought to myself as I reached the bed, I couldn't help but just flop down on the silky threads. The bed was absolutely too soft. I have never had a soft bed before in my life. The beds at home are a little tough to handle, but when you raised on them, you know no different. I took in the scent of the sheets as I pressed my nose into the fabric and sighed. Minutes passed by and I finally was able to lift myself off the bed and cross the room to a set of drawers. Curiosity got the better of me and I opened the drawer that revealed clean crisp white socks and undergarments while the next drawer down held some stockings. My eyes followed the wall to a closet and opened the doors. Immediately, my eyes fixated on a dress that was just my size by looking at it. It was a shade of light purple and had silver buttons all down the front of it. It looked so elegant. I pressed the purple dress up against my body and closed my eyes imagining myself in this exquisite piece of art. I sighed. I stood there for a few more moments before I placed the dress on the bed and went into the bathroom and stepped into the shower.

"Immaka. Dinner is prepared. I was curious if you were going to join us out here for this exquisitely prepared meal?" Abolie called out through the door.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." I called out quickly in response to her. The shower just couldn't last long enough. This was the most comfortable I'd ever been and it was cut short due to dinner. I almost wanted to tell them to eat without me but before I could my stomach told me otherwise. My hair was dripping wet as I went back into the room and sat on the bed. The water ran down my face and into the towel that was draped around my body. All this luxury and food and company wouldn't last long. I knew it wouldn't.

I shook the thoughts out of my head and picked up the purple dress and put it on. It fit like a glove on my body. As I was admiring myself, a shade of green caught my eye in the reflection. On the bed, lay one of the most precious gifts I had ever received. After this train ride, I would no longer see it. I walked over to it. I held my mother's dress close to my bosom and dropped my head. I knew after this day the dress would no longer find its way back in my posession again and I feared not having my mother with me. Without another seconds notice, I pulled on the small bow on the left shoulder part of the dress. It broke the stitching quickly and there in my palm lay the most delicate bow. I brought the folded keepsake to my lips and held in my breath.

"Mother… please be with me. I miss you so much. I need you. Protect and watch over me." I prayed to her and placed the bow in the pocket of the new dress. Now, I would be ready to face anything that came my way. I dried my hair quickly and walked out into the dining cart. Everyone was already there along with a few people I didn't.

"This is Grennon and Trinty. They will be assisting you when we get to the capitol. Well, actualy Grennon will be helping you Immaka and Trinty will be assisting your brother. On the other hand, you'll really be helping each other. Have you thought about the angle your going to play at all, Immaka?" Abolie chattered and drank some kind of orange liquid that had a blue swirl in it.

"What do you mean, angle?" I questioned her, unconsciously tilting my head to the side slightly.

"I mean, you were picked right after your brother. Are you going to play that. You will need sponcers and you need to make sure that you please the crowd just so, that they may send you items in the hunger games. Honestly, do you not know about these games?" Abolie said with a bit of frustraion in her voice.

"Don't talk to my sister like that. She's thirteen. She's not suppose to know about these games. She's suppose to be at home taking care of our father and sister. Abolie, you really don't understand. We are not hunger games enthusiasts like you. We work to live and you live to eat and party. We are two very different lifestyles here. I would appriciate it if you would talk to her with manners. We are not lowlifes here." Mizell spoke so forcefully. I stared at him until he gently reached my eyes and stood up. "I'm sorry Imm, for being so rude to you. I… was afraid. I am afraid of you in these games. I guess I still feel like I have to protect you and you being chosen, I felt like I failed you. I promise I won't treat you like again."

Mizell walked over to me and embraced me in a hug. I felt like giving in and just let my brother take my weight. I prayed for the days when I was five again and he was always there to make the world seem like a better place. Right now, I was back at that age.

Dinner went without any interesting events. We were told that our most recent victor wouldn't be able to show due to illness. I began to wonder how she got away with it, but for now, me and my brother were forced to wonder who would be teaching us. We only knew of the victor Joanna. Perhaps there was another before her; Before me and my brother was alive. I went back to my room and laid on the bed. I sighed heavily and rolled to my side and hugged the pillow tightly. That night the dreams came.

In my dreams, they tend to repeat themselves. Each time the dream started, I was knee deep in water and the water began to rise. As I tried to swim to shore, something would always drag me below the crystal clear liquid and I began to drown until someone would grab me out of the water and drag me to the shore. Each time, the face changed. The first dream, it was Mizell who did just that, but as the dream progressed and I was brought to my feet, he became my killer. He had an ax like device but it looked so much more sinister than the basic blade and he brought it down into my chest. The other dreams, the other tributes who I remember seeing on the recap of last night's reaping kept putting their way into my dreams. The girl from district 6 with the snaggletooth and a boy from district 2, who looked as feirce as his red hair with muscles that bulged for his age of 18. Even the little girl from district 12 seemed to haunt my dreams even more than the other tributes. She was a year younger than I, but she had such a devious spirit about her. She laughed before she brought the poison dipped dart into my skull.

I woke screaming after that dream. Abolie raced into my room after it woke her so terribly. After seeing I was okay and t was just a dream, she quickly left. I guess she thought I was dieing and she would no longer have a district 7 girl to play in her games. If only that were the case. Just as dawn approached, the train began to slow. We had arrived at the capitol. The headquarters of my demise.

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Another chapter down, several more to go. Chariot rides, interviews and training sessions in the next chapter, then the fun starts. Well, the fun for me. Not the tributes. Let the games…