A/N: Hey everyone, it's krigoo again! We're finally here: Day One of the 44th Annual Hunger Games! Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor.

For we grew up tall and proud
In the shadow of the mushroom cloud
Convinced our voices can't be heard
We just wanna scream it louder and louder and louder

What the hell we fighting for?
Just surrender and it won't hurt at all
You just got time to say your prayers
While you're waiting for the hammer to fall

Song: Hammer to Fall - Queen

DAY 1

Amaris Stevens' POV (D5)

The walls of the glass tube enclose around me, trapping me in its tiny space. Fear makes my stomach tie itself in knots as my stylist waves goodbye. "Good luck!" she calls as the launch room disappears from view. I'm gonna need a whole lot more than luck.

The sudden blinding light reflecting off the Cornucopia is almost painful for my eyes as the plate lifts me into the arena. The first thing to hit me is the blistering heat. I wipe the sweat off my off my brow and look around. To my left I see the boy from Nine shaking with fear on his plate. I turn my head to my right to see the boy from Ten using the sleeve of his jacket to wipe the sweat pouring down his face. I look farther to my right to see rain pouring down on the girls from Nine and Three, along with the boy from Four. What is going on? Why isn't it raining here? Confusion clouds my fear as I turn towards the other tributes.

My gaze shifts back to the left. The tributes over there are nearly getting blown off of their plates by the wind. I look directly behind the Cornucopia where it appears to be snowing. It's almost as though the arena is…split into the four seasons. How is this possible? Well, it is the Hunger Games after all.

My attention snaps back to the amount of seconds we have left: thirty. Just thirty seconds before my potential death. Questions whirl through my head at a million miles an hour. Do I go into the bloodbath to fight? Or do I run the other way? And which climate do I want to head for?

I look around and spot Howl in the rainy section about five tributes away from me. Her eyes are locked on something in the Cornucopia. She senses me looking at her and stares back for a second. She grins sadistically and runs her hand across her throat before turning back to the Cornucopia. I suddenly realize that if I head into the bloodbath, I'll surely be her target. I only have one option: to run as far away as possible and pray she doesn't want me bad enough to chase me.

Proudlock Kasabian's POV (D4)

The rain beats down on me, making my blood run even colder in my veins. My eyes scan the ground. A few feet away from the plate I'm standing on is a packet of dried beef that I'll be sure to grab. Several feet closer is a small pack that's about the size of my foot. I'll just grab the pack and the beef and meet Blythe to find a tree to camp in. I make eye contact with her across the plain. I look from her, to the supplies I want, and back to her. She nods and looks at an ax near the mouth of the Cornucopia, and back to me again. I frantically shake my head no. She'll get killed by a Career and I'll have no ally. And, why not admit it, she reminds me of Cady, and the thought of seeing her die sends shivers down my spine.

I look up at the remaining seconds being flashed on the Cornucopia. Fifteen. I position my feet and look at Blythe once again. She has a look of determination on her face, eyes locked on the ax. Surely the boy from her district will want that, too. She's just asking for trouble. I wish I could tell her this, but I can't let anyone else know what she's going to do, and there's no time.

Ten seconds left. I wipe the rain water off of my forehead and out of my eyes. I hear a grunt of frustration from Bryn on my right as she pushes locks of her wet hair off of her face. Not too used to rain, I bet.

I look to my right at the quivering Selena. Her teeth are chattering and her eyebrows are knitted in fear. I look back at the Cornucopia. Five seconds remain. I take a deep breath and block them all out. I block out the freezing rain, the beeping of the clock and the panicked breathing all around me. It's just me, the pack and the distance between us.

The gong sounds.

Clarence Klaxon's POV (D9)

I watch as Bryn positions her feet to run towards the Cornucopia. Why, Bryn? I wanted to run as far away as possible, but now I can't. I promised Brock that I wouldn't kill her, and watching her throw her life away as I run the other way isn't just cowardly; it's despicable. How dare I call this girl a friend if I can't even bring myself to fight by her side? Especially after we vowed to have each other's back last night. I can't see Baron anywhere, but I hope he can see us go into the bloodbath and helps us get out alive. After all, we're a team, aren't we?

The gong sounds and I run for a blue backpack about twenty feet in front of me. Just as my hand closes around the strap, I hear a scream. My head flies towards the Cornucopia as I watch Giselle slit Selena's throat. Suddenly, all my senses are knocked out of me as I'm tackled to the ground. I expect to see the face of a Career leering down at me. But it's Alanna's face that meets mine.

"Sorry, kid, but this pack is mine," she says evenly. I watch her pull out a knife and I know I'm done. I try to struggle but it's no use. I turn my head to the right and watch Bryn fall to the ground with a bloody arrow in her chest.

"Br…" I begin to yell, but before even finish her name I feel a sharp, burning pain go right through my heart. Then the world goes black.

Lynx Swanson's POV (D2)

I quickly rummage through supplies buried deep in the Cornucopia. All I can hear is screams of pure fear and pain, the clash of metal on metal and blades cutting into flesh.

As my hand grips the sword I was looking for, I whirl around to find Thread grabbing a large pack and a sleeping bag. In his other hand is a curved sickle. He's so close I can smell his usual scent: fabric softener and copper, which must have clung to him since he left the clothing factories of Eight.

"So Airley is the only person you care for in these Games?" I spit at him. "I'm just collateral damage, am I? Another notch on your best post?" He took a piece of me I can never get back purely out of lust and spite. I feel so…so angry, so hurt, so used.

Thread looks up at me, eyes wide. "Lynx…"

"It's too bad for her. Your time is up, Thread," I say grimly.

He turns to run, but it's too late. My sword has impaled him through his chest. I watch the life leave his eyes as I hear Evadne scream, clutching her chest and dropping to her knees just outside the Cornucopia. There's no sign of injury, so she must've been Thread's pain partner.

I look back down at Thread's body, curled up in the fetal position and soaking in a puddle of his blood, the white snow around him turning scarlet. Does everyone look so young and vulnerable when they're dead? He doesn't look like the person who was so cold to me last night. He looks like the boy who ran his fingers through my hair and told me that I wasn't alone, that people should accept who I am.

The anger within me evaporates, only to be replaced by an empty kind of sadness I've never felt before.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper as the tear rolls down my cheek and splashes onto his forehead.

Freja Porger's POV (D6)

I run through the forest in the hot section of the arena, tree branches slashing against my arms. I had no intentions of running towards the Cornucopia, but as I ran for the woods, I turned around to see where Fidget and Selena were. I spotted Selena on the ground and saw Fidget struggling with Howl. I can only hope he made it out alive.

Suddenly, a searing pain hits my stomach. It feels blazing hot, then horribly, horribly cold. I drop to my knees and clutch my stomach as tears pour down my cheeks. I look at my belly, expecting an arrow or a knife, but nothing is there. I lift up my shirt, expecting a bruise or blood, but there's no sign of an injury. I suddenly remember about the pain partners, and I know mine must have gotten a weapon to the stomach. I curl up in the fetal position, clutching my abdomen and silently weeping. Sure, I'm used to pain from my father's blows, but this injury is fatal, and whoever I'm partnered up with is dying slowly. I feel another stab higher in my stomach, and suddenly, the pain vanishes. My pain partner must have just died in the bloodbath. I feel a strange sense of loss. Unless he's Fidget, I don't really know him because he and Selena were the only people I really talked to. But we were connected. There were invisible chains that bound us together, and now they're gone. He's been set free.

As I lie in a sweaty, tear-filled puddle, I hear the cannons and count to myself. Six. Six tributes are gone. Six lives lost. Six families weeping for the loss of their children. Six less people between me and my way home.

But do I want to go home? Do I want to go back to the parents who'll never love me again? No, I don't have to go back to them, I can live in Victor's village on the other side of the district, far far away from them. It's this thought that helps me push aside my fear and grief for Selena and my unknown pain partner. If I am to win, I can't dwell on death because in the end, that's what's going to help me win.

The sun is beginning to set now, and I decide to set up camp. I pick a tall tree with a sturdy trunk and begin to climb. I stop about thirty feet up and position myself in the crook of two branches. I realize that if Fidget's out there, he'd never be able to climb this tree. But that's his problem now, not mine. I'm just lucky I made it up here alive. I wipe the sweat off of my forehead as the anthem begins to play.

Ian Redstone's POV (D12)

I watch as the two from District Three, the boys from Six and Eight, and the two from Nine flash in the sky. The six bloodbath victims have been revealed. All the Careers have survived. It will be a dangerous night.

"Let's set up camp in this tree," Alanna says, stopping at a tree with no low branches.

"You're the only one of us who can climb," Quin tells her. "Can we find something that's more of a compromise?"

She sighs. "Alright, Quin. If you think you can find something better, then by all means, lead the way."

Quin exhales and adjusts his pack on his shoulders. He brushes past Alanna before walking farther and farther away from the direction of the Cornucopia. We follow him as the wind blows strongly, sometimes nearly knocking us over. The trees begin to thicken, but we keep walking.

"Where are we going?" Alanna asks.

"You told me to lead the way," Quin grunts.

"That didn't answer my question," she scoffs.

"I don't know where I'm going. I'm just looking for somewhere safe for us to settle down," he explains. "Until we find something decent, we have to keep going."

I have to bite my lip to stop myself from telling them both to shut up since every time they seem to open their mouths it's to argue with each other.

The three of us walk through the thick forest before it suddenly clears. We look out into the new terrain: rolling hills of lush grass, with a rickety old barn in the distance.

"That's it," Quin whispers.

"What?" I ask him.

"That's where we'll set up camp," he says.

"What, that crummy old barn?" Alanna asks. "Quin, that will hardly protect us from the wind. Besides, hiding in that barn would be like holding up a sign saying, 'There are obviously some tributes in here! Come and get us!'"

"Exactly. It's so obvious that it's an easy hiding spot that no one will think anyone's in it. Besides, it's a roof over our heads and we'll take turns keeping watch," Quin explains.

"Alright," Alanna sighs. "But everyone keep your weapons ready in case any tributes are already in there."

As we walk towards the barn, each of us grips our weapons. Alanna and I hold our knives as Quin holds his throwing ax. None of us are happy, since Alanna wanted a bow, Quin wanted a large ax, and I wanted a sword, but at least we all have weapons.

We approach the barn and Quin cautiously opens the door. No one seems to have touched this barn in decades. The roof has several holes and the planks of wood that make up the walls have gaping spaces in some areas, but it blocks the wind well enough and, as Quin said, it's a roof over our heads.

The three of us sit down on the floor of the barn in a circle and empty our packs. Quin has a large green pack, Alanna has a large navy blue pack, and I have a small yellow pack. I wanted no part of the bloodbath and grabbed the nearest thing I found useful, which happened to be my pack. In it is a small water bottle, a packet of dried fruit, and iodine to purify my water.

"Have either of you guys seen a source of water?" I ask them.

"Come to think of it, no. What are we going to do?" Alanna asks.

"We've got to find something first thing tomorrow morning," Quin says. "Otherwise we'll get dehydrated and our chances of being ambushed by the Careers will increase."

Alanna and I nod in agreement. Finally something we all agree on.

"So who wants to keep first watch?" Quin asks.

Alanna and I look at each other, then back to Quin. No one says a word. We have no idea whether or not we can trust each other.

"I'll take the first watch, I guess," I sigh.

Alanna and Quin glance at me, then back at each other. I can sense that they both trust me much more than they trust one another. They put their backpacks on the ground to use as pillows as they lie down, clutching their weapons in their hands just in case. I have no plans of killing either of them in their sleep. Even if I did, it wouldn't be smart. The one would hear the other's screams and wake up and kill me. When I need to betray my allies, it will be a fair fight. But no matter what, I'll do what it takes to get back home.

A/N: Hey again. I wanted to keep my author's note at the top short, since you were probably so excited that you would've scrolled right past it if it were any longer (that's to say if you read it at all).

But anyway, it was so sad to see our dear bloodbaths go. Alas, the show must go on.

I'd like to thank Miss Mockingjay for helping me with this chapter and for writing the past two chapters. She's such a fabulous writer and a huuuge help to me.

The results of the poll are up. Check it out on my profile if you care.

I'll be updating the blog with the deaths and such, so check that out if you want. I put the link to the blog on my profile.

Also, as I said in the previous chapter, I have summer reading to finish. I was put in an AP Lit class with seniors (I'm a junior) and there's a lot of work to be done that I put off until now. I'll be writing the next chapter here and there, but don't expect an update until the end of the month, if not September. I know it sucks to wait so long, but I hope you all understand.

Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Don't forget to review; it could save your tribute's life!