Katniss' POV
Sixty seconds. That's how long we have to wait on our metal plates, before getting released into what's sure to be a full scale bloodbath. I take in my surroundings. Woods! My survival chances have just been increased by a lot. I see Clove, stood on her metal plate, eyes on a jacket lined with an impressive array of knives. I wonder which one she'll use to kill me. That's when I see them. A magnificent bow with a sheath of arrows. I know they're meant for me. I decide on going in for the bow, when I see Peeta, a few plates down from me. He's looking straight at me, shaking his head. While I'm busy dwelling on this, the gong rings and I miss my chance. I see Peeta, running off into the woods without even trying to get supplies. I'd hate to leave the Cornucopia with nothing, and I see an orange backpack on the ground near a rock. I shoot off towards it, pick it up and attempt to run off, when I trip over. I go to get up when I see the boy from District Nine stood over me. He raises his axe, and is about to strike, when he coughs up blood and falls to the ground. I then see a knife stuck in his back, and look up in the direction of his assailant. I see her. Clove stares at me, knife readied to throw. I jump up, turn tail and run. I hear the knife coming towards my back, and run even faster. I feel a pressure at my back, and I think I'm going to randomly drop dead any second. I continue to run in my panic, and only when the screams of the bloodbath have faded out into the distance, do I stop to examine the contents of the pack. I take it off my back, and I'm greeted with a pleasant surprise. I see a rather large knife sticking out of the middle of the backpack. Clove never misses, and I convince myself her intentions were to give me the weapon so I'll have something to defend myself with. Either that, or she genuinely was trying to kill me, and her aim was off. Nonetheless, I pull the knife out of my backpack and place it in my belt. I unzip the backpack, and lay out the things that will possibly make the difference between life and death out. A pair of sunglasses, a sleeping bag, a bottle of iodine for water purifying, a pack of beef strips, a pack of crackers, a box of matches, a small coil of wire, and a two litre bottle for water that's completely empty. Bone dry. How hard would it have been for them to fill up the bottle?! I sigh, and decide to get moving again, I stand up, and the cannons representing each tribute death go off. Twelve cannons. Half of the tributes are already dead. I start to worry about Clove, hoping she survived the bloodbath. She's a Career, so it's not like I should worry too much. She has Cato and Glimmer and Marvel watching her back. I think about Peeta. The thought of him gone, and already in a wooden box, being shipped home somehow worries me. It's not like I hate Peeta, yes, I was angry about him announcing he's in love with me and ruining whatever Clove and I had, and stopping me from going in for the bow and arrows, but it's not like I wish him dead. I set off walking, water being my top priority. I keep descending into a valley, and I try to remember my knowledge about finding water. I remember it runs downstream, so the valley is probably a good thing. I stop, and consider going back to the lake, but it'll be Career central down there, so I continue. I carry on strolling deeper and deeper into the valley, and realize how hungry I am. Evening is closing in, and with my hunger and thirst, walking is almost unbearable. But it's going to be worse if I don't find water. I pull my knife out of my belt, and cut away at the outside of a tree, and peel off some of the soft bark. I chew on it whilst walking, until finally giving in to my tiredness. I set a few snares before climbing up in a tree, and belting myself in. As night falls, the temperature drops rapidly, and I'm thankful for the sleeping bag. The anthem begins to boom, and I look up at the sky. I swallow, as the faces of the dead tributes start to show in the sky. The first to appear is the girl from District 3, meaning Clove was alive. I let out a sigh of relief. Even though she hates me now, I still care about her. Next up are the tributes from 4, the boy from 5, both from 6 and 7, the boy from 8, both from 9. The last tribute is the girl from District 10. So, Peeta was alive. I go through the remaining tributes. Glimmer, Marvel, Cato, Clove, the boy from 3, Foxface, the girl from 8, the boy from 10, Thresh, Rue, Peeta and I. I can't help but be happy that little Rue got through the first day. Now, I try to get some rest.
I wake up, hearing a snapping noise. It's still dark, and I wonder how long I've been asleep. I turn my head in the direction of the noise, and see a small fire blooming in the distance. I pair of hands come into view over the fire, but that's all I can make out. It's hard not to hate the fire starter. Yes, it's cold, and not everyone has a sleeping bag or a blanket, but you grit your teeth and tough it out until morning! I roll my eyes, and try to get some sleep, but can't, due to the other tribute's stupidity making me paranoid. The Careers will no doubt be hunting tributes, with weapons they're itching to use. Then I hear it. Several pairs of feet breaking out into a run. The fire starter starts to scream, begging the Careers for mercy. The screaming is suddenly cut short, and then there's laughter.
"Thirteen down, Eleven to go!" cheers Glimmer, who gets a round of hoots and laughter in response.
"Better clear out before she starts stinking." says Cato.
I sigh, hoping they're going to leave, and hear them coming my way. The Careers stop underneath my tree, and I don't even dare to breathe, in case they hear me.
"Shouldn't we have heard a cannon by now?" says Marvel.
"I'd say yes. Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately." Clove replies.
If only I could talk to her. I want to jump down from this tree right now and hug her, and apologize for what Peeta did to our…friendship? Relationship? I really don't know.
"Unless she isn't dead." says Marvel.
"She's dead. I stuck her myself." says Cato.
"Then where's the cannon?" says Marvel.
"I'm telling you, she's dead, I'm sure of it." yells Cato.
"Maybe we should go back and check." says Clove.
A very loud argument breaks out, until one tribute hushes them all.
"If you keep arguing, you'll notify everyone in the arena of our whereabouts. I'll go finish her and you can hunt more people!"
I almost fall out of the tree, because that voice belongs to my fellow "star-crossed lover." That voice belongs to Peeta Mellark.
