Chapter 4: Life Flash Before You

I take my own sweet time getting dressed the next morning, until Mom is banging on my bedroom door for me to come downstairs NOW!

We reach the Square just before 10:00 AM, when the Games will start. Until that time, I continue to think of Katniss, wishing I could talk with her just one more time.

All too soon, the clock strikes 10:00 and the jumbotron instantly goes live. Cheers can be heard projected from the Capitol audience as we watch the tributes rise into the arena.

At first sight of it, my heart lightens. It's a dense forest, broken only by a Meadow housing the giant metal horn known as the Cornucopia, which the tribute pedestals circle. This is too perfect. Katniss has been in the forests of Twelve her entire life. She really can win! Especially in this environment. It's practically her home turf.

I spot Katniss on screen and see her staring at the pile of supplies and weapons. I catch glimpse of a bow, somewhat deep into the scattering of supplies and feel fear grip me again. Don't go for it, I will Katniss. The Bloodbath isn't for you. Run, get away!

The cameras show Katniss looking to her right and two pedestals down is Gale; he gives her an almost imperceptible nod of his head, and I inwardly curse. They're both going to go for it. Those bows will give them an enormous advantage…. but are they really worth the risk?

I will soon find out as the gong sounds and the tributes spring off their pedestals. Katniss is a blur as she sprints to the pile that houses two bows and she gets there first, Gale hot on her heels. They are about to flee when I see Clove charging them, already armed with throwing knives. I want to scream at them both to run for it, except outbursts are not allowed. We all have to watch silently and numbly. Only the Capitol gets the privilege of screaming for their favorites because, after all, even the Peacekeepers know any pleasure received from the Games is meant for them and not us. Not the Districts.

My heart stops as Clove hurls a knife, desperately trying to take out the stiffest competition before they can get on their feet. I guess that answers my question on the possibility of an alliance, then. Katniss brings up the backpack she grabbed quickly and the knife lodges into it. Both she and Gale turn tail and sprint away, Clove flinging another knife that now lodges in Gale's backpack. I can hear her screaming in frustration as the District 12 tributes get out of range, reaching the edge of the trees and safety.

I let out a breath. Those knives hit too close to home, even for me. I begin to ponder if Clove never misses her target, and absolutely hope against hope I will never find out the answer.

Katniss and Gale head deep into the trees, only slowing to a walk when the cannons begin, signaling the end of the Bloodbath. The Games' first burst of violence has wiped out nearly half the competition – 11 tributes in all. I'd feel better if I didn't know that those 11 were all the weaker timber, so to speak. With only occasional exceptions, only those with the highest training scores last past the first day.

Gale and Katniss pause to rest and chit chat, as if they are trying to trick themselves into thinking they are just on another one of their hunts. It's a good strategy and might make them kill passing tributes that much more easily. A snare is fixed and a rabbit soon wanders into it, which they eat raw. Good. Smart not to start a fire in the rapidly fading light.

Both Katniss and Gale then climb a tree to sleep for the night – another brilliant idea. Height will give them an advantage in the form of relative safety. Soon after, the Panem anthem begins to play, projecting the images of the dead tributes into the sky.

The girl from 3. The boy from 4 – he looked to be only 12 and was clearly the weakest of the Careers; I had him labeled as Not a Threat. The boy from 5. Both from 6 and 7. The boy from 8. Both from 9. The girl from 10. That's it.

I sigh. Yup, most of the dead wood, is gone, all right. But not without twists. For example, the deaths of the District 7 tributes comes as something of a surprise; they have more Victors than most other districts, though not as many as the Careers. I am flabbergasted that the District 10 boy got out of there alive with his bad leg, but figure his luck will run out quickly. I backtrack to the boy from 3 and remember he had a forgettable score. He might go fast, too. That leaves nine real contenders: the five living Careers, Katniss and Gale, and maybe two other lucky souls.

Make that one lucky soul. Not too far from where Katniss and Gale sleep, I see the glow of a fire. I want to strangle the idiot who thinks they can just start a fire in the middle of the night and so close to my sweetheart. Thankfully, I don't have to. I'm not in the Games.

But the Careers are.

We hear them before we see them, crashing through the trees and hooting and hollering all the way. Soon enough, I hear screams – a girl – which thankfully alert Katniss and Gale even as the poor thing begs for mercy. Someone quickly gives it – with a sword through the heart. The cameras can't make out who in the backlight of the fire.

"Twelve down, eleven to go!" someone hollers – I think it's that Marvel kid from District 1. There are cheers and high fives.

I wheel back through who is dead and who lives. Out of the girls still left in the arena, there are the three female Careers and Katniss, who I rule out obviously. The girl's scream was not high-pitched enough to be young Rue. That leaves…. The girl from 8. Good. She was dead wood; I had her labeled as a Non-Threat.

Arguing shakes me out of my thoughts. It seems that the Careers are fighting over the dead tribute's backpack. Cato shuts them all up.

"We have bigger fish to fry – namely District 12! You sure they went this way, Marvel?"

"Yeah."

The Careers stalk right past Katniss and Gale's tree before moving deeper into the forest, Cato muttering something about getting dibs on Katniss. I shudder in terror. The cannon for the District 8 girl sounds belatedly.

Thankfully, Katniss and Gale heard everything. At least they know they are being hunted. Maybe it will give them time to prepare.

Coverage ends just after midnight and we are ordered to return to our homes. I fall into bed, dreaming that I can hold Katniss in my arms.