I take a deep breath and look around. No one else is awake; at least I think they aren't. My theory is proven wrong when I walk out onto the balcony and hear a light sobbing. Amelia is in a bench at the far left of the door, hugging herself and crying. She spots me and makes a strangled growling noise.
"What do you want!" She wails at me, pulling her robe closer around her.
"I couldn't sleep. I was hoping to come out and get some fresh air and a drink or two. I'm sorry if I disturbed you." I turned, one foot in the door, when she stood up.
"No, wait, don't go, I mean, can I come with you, I mean, I sound so pathetic." She huffs, "I had a nightmare. I calm down faster when I'm with you."
"Yeah, you can come with me, under one condition." I raise my index finger to her.
"What?" she snaps.
"Don't try to kill me until morning, it's against the rules." I wink at her and walk back to my room , her struggling to stay close to me. If it is scary for me it must be terrifying for an actual seventeen year old, especially a girl. Once in my room I sit on the bed and take my shirt off.
"I have a question for you." She says.
"Ask away." She sits on my lap and drapes her arms around my neck, "Whoa, last time this happened I lost hair." She pulls me into a deep kiss, her fingers lacing into my hair, now harder to grasp because Ari shortened it when she dyed it. Just barely past my jawline now instead of down to my shoulders.
"I like your hair better this way." She whispers as it falls in our faces.
"Do you?" I ask, trying to put a little distance between us.
"Mallorin, I don't want to die…" She starts and I shook my head.
"You're not going to die." She puts a finger on my lips and shakes her head, an evil grin spreading across her face.
"I don't want to die a virgin." She whispers into my ear, her lips barely brushing my jawline. I try not to laugh out loud.
"Amelia." I take her face gently in my hands, making eye contact with her.
"What?' She pouts.
"I'm not a virgin." I wait for it to sink it and she flings my arms off before punching me in the face and leaving. I wait until I hear the door slam down the hall before I bust out laughing. Was that her last try to get on my good side, or was she serious and I made a joke out of it?
I sleep restlessly for the rest of my last night outside the arena and wake exhausted but ready. Amelia completely ignores me as we eat and leave to get on the hovercraft to take us to the arena.
They call for us and I see Amelia board her hovercraft before mine lands. Ari promises to be there in the prep room. I shake Vincent's hand and he pulls me into a hug then I turn and take a deep breath as a ladder is dropped to me. I grab the ladder and it feels like I am frozen in some gelatinous goo. The ladder pulls me up and once I am in the peacekeepers walk up to me and stab my cheek with the biggest needle I have ever seen. The woman one smiles.
"This is your tracking chip. Whenever you look at a camera, your district number will show up on the television screen. Sort of like a sensor." She shows me a television and it's almost like a mirror, other than the '4' hovering over my right cheek. I rub the spot and the '4' is visible over my hand. I nod and smile, my nerves starting to take hold. We ride for about an hour before the windows black out. They don't want us to see the arena beforehand.
When the door does open I am escorted through a tunnel underground and into a room they call my prep room. Ari is waiting for me, as promised. I smile weakly and sit in the chair provided, guzzling as much water as will go in my mouth as she speaks to me.
I stand shaking in my prep room after an hour's lecture about staying hydrated. Ari helps me look over my choice of clothing and tells me what everything could possibly do and what they could mean in the arena. I take everything she says to heart. Ii could be going to my death, but I am going down swinging. At least I know the ones that are being called "The Careers" are on my side. Not sure what that means yet. I dress quietly and Ari explains one more time what my clothing could mean.
"Fishnet shirt and thin pants probably mean there will be water. The fact that you have jeans over your pants and a shirt to go over the first outfit means it might get cold at night. Your jacket will hold in body heat but also lets it out if you need it to. Expect cold and hot days." She makes sure my hair is going to stay standing for a while and grins, "You are going to do fine."
I take another deep chug of water and let out something between a cough and sigh as I look in the mirror. My hair is so dark brown it appears black now and it is shorter then I have ever worn it. It sticks up in the front and out from my forehead about two inches and the rest of it lays down the way it is supposed to. My jeans have many pockets that I know are lined with leather to keep knifes from ripping through and food from staining. My fishnet shirt is short sleeve and made of a silver material that I know will protect my skin from the sun because I use it at home. There are two patches, one with my name and one with my district. The district is round and the name is square, but I ignore all these details and stare at my token, my trident, from my stepmother.
"Oh, Ari." My voice is ragged and deep, like an old dying wolf's growl, "I can't do this." I mutter. She leans up and draws lines of eyeliner on me and smiles.
"You look like a hungry wolf, and sound like a natural survivor, from the stories I hear. You'll be fine. Remember your training and you'll be fine. " Suddenly a loud siren goes off and a red light starts flashing.
"All tributes to their loading docks." A mechanical voice orders. My hands feel clammy as I put my shirt and jacket on, mentally preparing myself. I finish my last bottle of water and step onto the disk. Slowly a tube rises around me and I try to breathe as I slowly start to rise. I look up at the small hole of light above me and let out a cry as I am shot into the bright sunlight and my tube lowers. I block the sun with my hand and squint in the unbearable sunlight.
"Stay on your disk for eighty seconds after the gong." The voice orders. They have to go through the rules. There really aren't any. I start to look around.
We are on tall buildings about fifty or so feet in the air. I recognize them as cement mills. They have two sets of stairs on each side and conveyor belts that run down each side. There are six of these buildings with four tributes on each corner. About five or so feet away from the buildings is the cornucopia hanging in the air like a golden horn. Everything you might need is there. I look over the edge to find water below us, quickly rising in crashing waves to about fifteen feet up the sides and rising. High tide is coming in. To my right is a sort of shore, not sure how far away from the buildings. A fall into the water would be nasty but wouldn't kill you, other than the buildings that used to be a town that are under us and under the water.
I turn my attention to the shore and see white sand for about half a mile then a steep incline to harsh, dry vegetation. It continues for about a mile or so then an overgrown city can be seen and nothing more beyond but trees, lots of trees. This is my territory.
The gong sounds and I count to eighty and turn to the other three on my platform. The boy from five runs and jumps onto the conveyor belt and I don't take time to watch him plummet. Beth runs full on at me and knocks me over, my head over the edge as she tries to strangle me. I kick her in the gut and shove her off. I stand up and turn around, stepping back taking two steps forward, and I leap for the cornucopia with all my might, arms stretched in front of me, reaching for the only thing that could sustain my life.
My hands catch the hot cements and I feel my shoulders snap as my weight swings onto them. I almost swing to the point I am horizontal and my fingers slip. I bite my lip and look down at the waves, not yet high enough to catch my fall, yet.
"Alright, Dad, this is for you." I start to heave myself up a little at a time. I am on my stomach, about to swing my legs up when something collides with my face and I slide off the cement, my chin hitting the side, scraping across it then up my lower lip as I struggle to get grasp again, my fingers barely holding on. I look up as my legs swing frantically and see the girl from district five, knife in hand. She shakes her head sadly and stabs my left hand. I cry out but don't lose grasp as she pulls the blade free and lifts it above her head to stab me again. I close my eyes and wait for the inevitable.
Cliffhanger anyone?
Reviews, although I am a little scared of what they will hold.