60 seconds, I have to wait sixty seconds before I can leave my plate. This is all I think about when I travel up through the layers of dirt. 60 seconds.

I see sky above me and I know I'm close to the surface, and then I'm up. I look around and notice that we're standing on one side of a small island, and on the other lies the cornucopia, waiting for us with all its goodies. When I look past it though, I can see nothing but water. Behind me there is more water too, but beyond it I find a huge forest, spreading so far across I can't see the ends of it, and I know that's where I'll go to get away from here. I, who am used to the sea and it's width don't think this lake is that huge with its mere 300 meters between this island and the forest, but I can see that some of the others look fairly scared of it and I realize that most here can't swim. Although it's a huge advantage for me, I really feel sorry for them; because this means that they surely will die either from the water or from one of the tributes in a matter of minutes.

I look for Typher, and soon I see him standing about seven platforms away on my right. He looks at me and smiles reassuringly like everything's going to be okay, and then he points toward the cornucopia, probably telling me to focus on the games for now.

I look towards the cornucopia and try to see if there is something I might have good use of. The game makers usually do so all the greatest stuff is centered within the cornucopia, but they spread out other stuff all over the space between it and us. Just about five feet ahead of me is a small thermos that one could keep water in, and about ten feet from it lies a tiny first aid kit. I decide to go for these things and also for a small bag only about thirty feet from where I'm standing, and it's in good time, our minute is almost up.

I get ready for my spurt on the platform, careful not to get any body part even near the edge of it and watch as the timer ticks down: seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… The Games have officially started.

I start to run and grab both the thermos and the first aid kit on my sprint toward the bag. I don't have any idea where any of the other tributes are but I hope that they aren't after me. I grab the bag and open it so I can put in the other stuff I got in there at the same time as I turn around to see where everybody else is. I see how the girl from 2 stabs one of the younger boys in the gut several times before he falls down on the ground. I almost panic from watching this act of murder, but somehow manage to focus again and look around once more at the surroundings around me. I see Typher on the other side of the island; he's grabbing a huge backpack that seems to be loaded with stuff and since I don't see anybody near him I decide to focus on getting out of here. Thank goodness nobody is even close to me so I close up the bag again and throw it over my back and head straight back to the water. I splash a lot of it around me as I run at full speed right into it but it's soon deep enough for me to start swimming, so I do.

Even with the bag it's not difficult to swim in the lake. There are not any waves to talk about and it's not cold either. If I were back home I could stay in here for hours, but considering where I am that would probably be one of the most stupid things I could do right now.

Soon I reach the beach on the other side and I look back to see if there is anybody following me. I can see how Typher is merely 200 meters away so I decide to wait for him. I can see that there are still some people fighting on the island, and I see several dead bodies lying there, but I quickly turn my focus away because it hurts too much to see all those kids who seemed so nice just lying there. I look at the lake and I see that there is still quite a huge bunch of kids who are swimming towards the shore. I see that at least the girl from 3 and the boy from 10 still are alive and well, and I wish that Typher would hurry up. When I look towards him once more I understand though why it's taking him quite a bit of time to swim. He's carrying two massive backpacks, and he's holding several weapons in one of his hands. I let go of the bag I have and dive back in to help him.

When I reach him he gives me one of the backpacks and together we are soon back at the beach where I stood. I give him a moment to catch his breath while I take one of the larger backpacks on my back and look at the forest. It looks fairly similar to the one back home, filled with the usual spruce and a huge variation of leaf trees like birches. I bet I can find a lot of things to eat in this arena.

I bend down and pick up the smaller bag again to carry, but Typher refuses this though and grabs it from me and takes it himself. I have to smile at him; it wouldn't be him if he didn't try to help me with this, and after all we are both still alive and kicking so I let him carry it, at least for a while.

We run towards the forest and run deep into it. I try to see what kind of plants grow here, but we're going so fast I only recognize a few but it still reassures me that we will have food to eat later on.

We jog on for a while but we both have to rest eventually, so we sit down and go through the three backpacks of ours to see if there's anything we might not need. We begin with my small bag and in there lies a pack of dried meat, some crackers, a canteen of water (which we drink immediately), a small rope and a box of matches, of course we still have the thermos and the first aid kit. In Typher's bags though we get so much more: Two black sleeping bags, about 50 meters of rope, a package with ten small knives which he hands to me, matches but also some flint, a bottle of iodine, a whole lot of dried meat and fruits, water cans and also a medicine specifically for fever. Then he also carried some weapons in his hand; some spears, a sword and a huge knife.

We pack everything we need up in the two bigger backpacks and leave my small bag with my empty canteen and the small rope, we really won't have any use of it anyway, and then we walk deeper into the forest, but we don't make it all that far before we hear a cannon go off. We stop and I go over to Typher who hold me close while another twelve cannons go off. Thirteen cannons, thirteen dead. Just in the first battle. I wonder who it is that's lying on that beach, lifeless, and waiting for the hovers to come pick their bodies up. I guess we will find that out tonight when their pictures will be shown in the sky.

We start walking again, but it's all so quiet, neither of us makes any attempt of talking. Not only because it all just became so real within this last hour but also so we don't attract anybody near us. We walk for hours but sometimes I bend down and pick up some leaves or some berries and give some to Typher so we'll stay at least moderately fed and have some energy.

Once we reach a small spring of water we decid to stop for the day as it actually begins to get dark. I go and look for something to eat, and as it's spring there should be many things that are ready to get picked. I see a huge spruce and I walk towards it when I figure out what's for dinner. I pick a lot of its fresh new shoots that are light green compared to the old needles. These shoots are filled with vitamin C and are very healthy to eat.

I also find some blueberries that I pick, but I find it a bit weird that they are grown this early in the summer since they back home aren't ready till at the very least august, so I taste a few of them and if I feel bad when I get back I won't serve them.

I find Typher has made a hideout under some bushes when I get back, and I look at it before we eat. From the inside of it you can still see a lot of what is going on through all of the branches, but from the outside you really have to know what to look for if you should spot anybody there. It will be quite safe sleeping there, especially since it will be dark.

He also constructed a small hook with which he managed to catch a small fish from the spring which he had cooked over a small fire nearby.

I serve up the spruce and the blueberries, and Typher serves up his fish. With this we drink plenty of water, which Typher has made safe with the iodine to drink. It might not be as tasty as the meals in the Capitol, but it sure beats the feeling of hunger, so we eat until we are full.

After our meal I force Typher to teach me more about hooks, and he happily does. He gives me a thorn from a plant nearby and shows me how to turn this seemingly useless piece of plant into a useful hook. I find after it is finished that I quite enjoy making my own hooks, and I wish that I could have been home again, with Typher, and let him teach me even more about it.