"Bang, bang, bang!"

I awoke with a start at the sound of the banging on my door.

"Holly darling, wake up! We are going to be in the Capitol in a matter of hours! Get ready then meet for breakfast!" shouted Maya's very unmistakable and cheery voice.

I swing my feet over the side of the bed and head for the shower. I can practically hear my heart beating out of my chest. Here we go. The Capitol was only a couple of hours away. I hopped in the shower. My shower didn't last long. I figured if I hurried to breakfast maybe I would be able to eat fast enough and leave before Dune got there. I have to avoid him as much as possible. From now on he is an enemy. Once we are in the arena he is going to want me dead, just like everyone else so I might as well not befriend him.

I wrapped my soaking body in one of the baby blue towels hanging next to the shower and quickly wandered into the bedroom. I decided on a dark purple shirt and khaki pants for this morning. I towel-dried my hair and put it up in a high pony-tail. Then I quietly opened the door and made my way down to the dining car. As I opened the door I let out a sigh. The odds have definitely not been in my favor. Dune looked up at me, face stuffed with eggs. He took a big gulp of an orange drink.

"Oh, uh hey Holly. You're here early."

"I was just gonna say the same to you."

He dabbed at his face with a napkin and looked at me like he was going to say something. Instead he just paused and started back on his meal.

"What?"

He glanced quickly at me and dumbly said, "What, what?"

"You were going to say something, but then didn't. What were you going to say?"

"Uh nothing."

"I'm sure."

"Well, I don't want this to sound wrong or mean, but I was came so early because I was trying to avoid running into you."

A sudden laugh escaped my mouth. Dune looked at me questioningly.

"Avoid me? I was trying to avoid you!"

"Me?" he laughed.

"Yeah."

"Well then I guess we are on the same page, huh? Friends might not be the smartest approach."

"Probably not."

"Well then…I guess from here on in we aren't friends anymore."

"Who said I was ever your friend?"

I saw a genuine look of shock mixed with hurt cross Dune's face.

"I'm kidding!" I laughed, "jeesh."

He just rolled him eyes and muttered "I know" but I could see the quick flash of relief in his eyes. Did it matter to him that much? After all, we had only met yesterday. How could we be friends?

I took my seat across from him and we both ate in silence. Almost.

He looked up at me.

"So who do you think we should watch out for?"

What happened to our agreement of minding our own business?

"I don't know."

Did he really think I was going to help him? For all I know he could be picturing how he was going to kill me right now!

"That guy from 11 looks pretty dangerous. And the one from 2."

This boy is impossible.

"Yeah. Steer clear of them. All of the careers look pretty dangerous this year."

"I guess so. The guy from 1 and both from 4 are pretty intense."

"District 1's girl is a threat, too."

"She didn't look too bad."

"You only say that because you think she's pretty."

"And your point is?"

"Never underestimate an opponent."

"I guess."

"Mhmm."

Luckily, Maya, Quill, and Harrick finally entered. About time. I couldn't handle another minute in here with Mr. overly friendly.

Everyone ate their meals. Dune and I kept silent and let Maya and Quill carry on conversations between themselves. Harrick just sat there sipping coffee.

After breakfeast, Quill tapped me on the shoulder.

"I have to talk to you. Would you mind going in another room with me?"

"Sure."

I followed Quill into the same room with a television we were in before. I took a seat on one of the couches and Quill joined me after shutting the door.

"So Holly, we are going to have to decide a strategy for you in the Games. Do you have any special skills or anything we can use? Any weapon experience?"

I started tapping on the side of the couch. Weapons? Experience? I had none. I just silently shook my head and stared down at my hands.

"Nothing? No experience with knives?"

I shook my head.

"Bow and arrow?"

Another shake.

"Spears?"

Another shake.

Quill let out a sigh.

"Hmmm…you are in the middle class, right?"

"Yeah…"

"What about darts?"

Darts? Why hadn't I thought of that before?

"Well, I do know how to use a tranquilizer gun. We have to use them sometimes to tranquilize the animals if they escape or go mad or something."

"Perfect. They are relatively similar. Are you any good?"

"I'm alright."

That was a lie. A couple years ago, some idiot forgot to lock the gate as he exited the cow barns one day. I was the only one left, because I had been tending to one of the sick cows. As I headed out I noticed that some of the animals escaped. I broke the glass case inside the barn that held an emergency tranquilizer gun and ran after the escapees. I had only used it a couple of times before, when Max taught me how. That night I hit every cow with one try each. Max had always told me I had a knack with a tranquilizer gun.

Quill could obviously see I was holding back.

"Don't be ashamed to brag. I need to know exactly how good you are."

"Well, uh, you know when those cows escaped last year and everyone found them asleep around the gates the next day with the tranquilizer darts in their necks?"

"Yeah?"

"I shot um."

A smile crossed Quill's face for the first time since we started talking.

"Excellent. I think we found your weapon Holly."

Part of me wanted to be happy, to feel relief in the fact that I had a talent to work with. But the rest of me was doubtful.

"How do we even know there will be dart guns? I haven't seen many through the years. Besides, what is a dart gun going to do? You need absolute perfect aim to kill a person with it. You would have to hit them straight in a pressure point. Anywhere else would be relatively harmless…"

"Maysilee Donner. District 12, the second Quarter Quell."

"Who?"

"She wasn't a victor, but she got very far. Her weapon of choice? A dart gun."

"But how did she…?"

"Simple. She dipped the darts in poison. Very effective. She was an extremely strong opponent."

Poison. Of course.

"Well now that we have that figured out," Quill said matter-of-factly, "I am going to teach you some disarming techniques."

For the last half-hour of our trip, Quill showed me how to disarm an opponent from a weapon such as a knife or spear.

"This technique saved my life when I was in the arena," she told me, "in my last battle I removed the knife straight out of the guy's hand. The only reason I won."

I was so focused on the techniques that by the time we were finished and we went back into the dining car, my mouth dropped open at the view. The mountains and hills that surrounded the Capitol were absolutely stunning. I automatically ran over to the window and just stared as the scenes flew by.

As we pulled into the station, everyone collected themselves and prepared for the cameras. Harrick cleared his voice and looked at Dune and then myself.

"When we get to the reform building you both are going to meet your stylists. They are going to do things to you that you aren't going to enjoy."

"But no protesting." Quill finished.

"None whatsoever," Harrick agreed.

Dune and I nodded in agreement, but I felt uneasy. The last thing I wanted was to be picked and prodded at. Was it really going to be that bad?

We were then all shuttled from the train station and into a medium-sized black car. I made sure to purse my lips and give the camera a little bit of a "Bring it" attitude before I stuffed myself in the car with the others. Here we go, I thought. The city is here. This whole thing is finally here.

The city was unlike anything I had ever seen before: buildings that touched the sky, colorful banners hanging on walls, and people with painted faces and oddly colored hair. The people of the Capitol would stop and point and wave as we drove by. I didn't wave back. In a couple days these same people would be cheering on my death. They weren't getting any sympathy out of me. Besides, I had decided that I would play the role of the sly, not caring, girl. Anything to help me seem tougher than I am, to show the others that I refuse to be just another easy target. I wouldn't go down without a fight.