Cara had insomnia. This was her last night in this bed, this room, the Capitol. Tomorrow she didn't even know if she would be alive at this time.
Don't think like that her mind told her, but it was now or never. There would be no time for doubt in the arena.
Fierce competition. The Careers are strong, but they don't seem like they'll work team together well. They might turn on each other with the first sign of serious distress. They were the main ones to worry about. Cara was pretty sure she and Danny could take the rest of them. Except for that District 11 boy and Sam, of course. Sam Winchester had probably been invited to join the Career pack. They had approached Danny, but he turned it down for the both of them.
"There is no way in hell that we are joining those fuckers," Danny had said.
He wouldn't take yes for an answer, despite Cara's protests that it might keep them alive longer.
Sam Winchester had gotten an 11 in personal training. She had no clue what he had done to earn that score, but it meant that he had some serious skills that could allow him to win the Hunger Games.
She considered allying with him, but it would be much easier to let someone else kill him for her. She honestly didn't know if she could do it. She couldn't get over the fact that he had volunteered for that twelve year old boy. She had learned from Sam's interview that the boy was as close to a little brother as Sam could have without blood. He had sacrificed his own life for another's, and dammit if that wasn't the best thing she had seen a person do in a long time.
But goodness like that never lasted in the Hunger Games. He'd be dead and she would be dead and Danny would be dead and that boy from District 2 would probably win. Or worse, the Games would take that goodness and twist it, making the selfless boy into another Capitol monster.
She pushed off the blankets, suddenly too hot in her bed. Fancy fuzzy Capitol blankets.
What if they turn me into a monster?
She couldn't breathe, her room was too stuffy and the walls were closing in on her. And she was running out the door, down the hallways, up the stairs. She just needed to run again and feel that freedom but there was nowhere to run here, she couldn't leave this place.
Cara stopped when she felt the cold air hit her. She was standing on the roof, overlooking the city. Cara sat down. In the streets there was a parade, the Capitol partying all night to celebrate the 74th Annual Hunger Games. So happy that this year there would be some drama, so excited to see who would die and who would live.
It made Cara sick.
The next morning, Danny looked as bad as she did. He had bags under his eyes and gave her a knowing look as they ate as much food as they could.
"Once you are released, you will see the Cornucopia," Cas said as he led them down the tunnels where the tributes were going to be released. "I am not aware of what your arena will be, but there will always be the Cornucopia. It's the Capitol's ultimate trap, a base stocked full of all the supplies and weapons you could ever need to win the Hunger Games."
Cas suddenly stopped and looked them both intensely in the eyes. "Do not go for the Cornucopia."
"Why not?" Danny asked.
"It's called 'the bloodbath' for a reason."
"So what should we do instead?"
"You get out of there. Look for water, that's where you'll do best being from our district. But be careful because the other tributes will need water too and your opponents will know that's where you'll head. Keep your eyes open, trust your instincts."
He stopped walking then. "This is where I leave you. I can't say that I think you two will live, it's actually highly probable that both of you will die a truly horrid and painful death. "
Cara and Danny both stared at the man in the trench coat incredulously.
"What?" He asked, honestly confused.
"Nothing Cas. Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Cara turned towards Danny and hugged him tightly. "I'll see you in the arena."
Cara wondered how Danny was feeling.
He was probably terrified.
She was.
He was probably nauseous.
She was.
He was probably shaking.
She looked at her hands. She was.
"How are you feeling?" Cara heard Anna ask.
Anna stood behind Cara with a stack of folded clothes in her arms. The blonde's eyes were ginormous.
"Put this on," the stylist said, handing the jacket to Cara. "You'll be okay."
The glass tube encased her. She desperately locked eyes with Anna who gave her a reassuring smile.
Then she was rising up and suddenly she was in the arena.
The 23 other tributes were circled around the huge Cornucopia. Backpacks, weapons, food, clothes all poured out of the giant horn. It was definitely tempting, but Cara needed to find Danny. She frantically looked around at the other tributes. Damn it, where was he?
"Ladies and gentlemen! Let the 74th Annual Hunger Games begin!"
