-Jacob-

You would think that a group of four teenagers would make enough noise for me to wake up a mile away, but then again, I also wouldn't consider my brain to be at full working-ness. Contrary to my brain though, instincts took over as my heart pumped in anticipation. Pushing against the dirt, my elbows popped as they carried my body into an upright position. As I cracked my knuckles (letting out a sign of contentment as I felt the release of pressure), I sprung onto my feet. From the shameless crashes through the bush, I guessed I had about twenty seconds until go-time. I tied the tiny pouch around my wrist, and did a quick leg stretch.

"No need to pull something," I commented as my hand reached to my wiggling toes. All limbered up, I looked behind me for an acceptable escape route; the forest floor is series of face plants waiting to happen. Mentally picking the least foliage covered ground, I turned back to find those idiots looking in the complete opposite direction.

A blonde haired guy, who at least thought he was the leader of this convoy, glared and pointed in direction they came from. Poking out from behind the trees, a similarly styled brown haired guy shrugged apathetically. Two short girls, one with fiery red hair with a burn on her face to match, and the other with longer hair, a blend of searing red and bright blonde, bobbed in and out of sight due to the high bushes.

Despite the comradery I felt for other short people, I decided it was about time to get the hell out of here. Yet, of course, the short blonde haired girl took charge and shoved away the bushes obscuring their vision, completely exposing me. She opened her mouth to beckon over the others, but I beat her to the punch.

Changing the pitch of my voice to be as suave as hell, I used a preemptive strike."Hello! Ladies, how are we doing today?" One by one the heads of her other group members popped into view; each one holding a bewildered look. "I'm sure you would like to get your hands all over this," I gestured to my manliness. "But sadly, I gotta go. Unless you would like to accompany me?" Raising an eyebrow, I smirked.

The original blonde girl, rosy cheeked, wiped the confused look off her face, before spitting out: "Oh, you are so getting murdered."

Taking that as my cue, I started my exit. For the next few seconds, time seemed to slow. The toes of my feet pivoted against the dirt below me, the crunch of pieces of gravel scraping against each other between the rubber sole. Following suit, my other foot turned, as my torso twisted to reorient itself. Stretching my diaphragm, my lungs inflated with air.

Launching me forward, my legs powered against the ground. I sidestepped the trees, dodged the branches and burst out from the clearing. From behind me, I could hear the ginger pouting angrily.

"Hey! Get back here!" Knowing it would mess up my breathing, I withheld a laugh, yet I couldn't stop a little smile. The others were slightly quicker to react, however. The erratic stomps of amateurs followed behind me, but every second the space between us widened.

"Zach, Rachel, Shelby, hurry up or we're gunna lose him. Why are you guys so slow?" A male voiced gasped behind me.

The other male voice, evidently Zach, not far behind the first, responded, "Chill out, guys. I got this. I work out." His footsteps picked up pace and began encroaching dangerously close to mine. Faced downwards, I contorted my face, clenched my teeth, and put everything I had into accelerating. A small twinge of fear (or more adrenaline; it's hard to tell.) rushed through me as I continued to hear him catching up to me. Thankfully, his endurance gave out, and his running piddled to a stop.

By the time I glanced backwards, no member of the group stood within 100 meters of me. I allowed my legs to slow, just a little; between my deep gasps and sweat, my body told me I couldn't keep up this pace for much longer. The blonde haired girl, Shelby, watched me as I ran. For a second, it seemed like she considered the option of following, but she threw up her hands and turned around.

After twenty minutes of jogging, I finally felt comfortable enough to collapse onto the ground. Surveying around me, it wasn't exactly the ideal place; there were only a few sparse pine trees and a handful of boulders to provide shelter, but there was a small creek flowing, so it would do for now. From my wrist pack, I pulled out a water bottle. Placing the small filter around the top, I let the water flow into the container. Taking a large gulp, the small lingering hint of coffee teased me. I sighed; it was so good while it lasted.

"If this pack was meant for me, I don't think the Capitol really understands me." I didn't really know who I was talking to, but I knew someone was listening somewhere."I mean, there were only eight packs of instant coffee. Disregarding the fact the coffee was not only cold, but also instant-freaking-coffee, eight packs only lasted me a day and a half. I was even trying to conserve! I steeled myself to go cold turkey, but then they tempted me with a chance of continuing to drink the sweet brown manna of heaven. And then, they only give me eight packs. They are truly the embodiment of evil." I sat down, staring at the orange of the morning sky above me. "I can't believe I'm awake without coffee. Well, awake is a relative term. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, my body is beginning to notice the lack of the other stimulant it usually has." I slumped against the tree, scraping down bark until I lay flat against the earth. I closed my eyes and let my thoughts drift back to the short time I had in heaven.

—-—

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on a sec. Are you serious?"

"Yes, completely."

I stared at my advisor. "Hoffman, swear to God? You aren't joking right now?"

Through his beard, he confirmed. Yes, totally serious."

This blew my mind. Everything I knew had to be rewritten. The entire world expanded, endless possibilities stood in front of me.

"They really have 128 different kinds of coffee?" My eyes gleamed with the hundreds of potential beverages.

He chuckled at my enthusiasm, "Yes, sir. You can put in extra espresso, a variety of flavor shots, and top it with caramel. And the best part," he paused for what I assumed to be dramatic effect, "it's all you can drink, here in the Capitol."

"Challenge accepted."

"If you could just put that determination to winning the Games, they would call it done twelve minutes after it starts."

I shrugged. "Meh, coffee is just too delicious."

The next week (and my stomach) was filled with every possible variety of coffee and coffee insert I could order. As soon as I arrived at the Capitol, I yearned to peruse the vast catalogue of Capitol coffees. I plopped myself onto the bed, as white and soft as a cloud, and rang the bell on the nightstand. The door creaked open hesitantly.

Unintentionally, I drew back as a white skinned young girl walked into the room and bowed to me. I couldn't tell exactly, but she seemed around thirteen. She was pretty to be sure, with her pristine skin and bright blue eyes, but it was an eerie, uncanny beauty, like a rhinestone that had been chipped one too many times in order to fit in a socket. Already predicting my needs, she pulled out a large book from a drawer under the bed and handed it to me. Despite my eagerness at delving into this holy tome, I felt a lump of guilt at the Avox waiting on me.

Bowing again, she turned to leave. I meant to call out to her, before realizing that I had no idea what her name was or even how to address her. By the time my tongue untied itself, she closed the door behind her, sealing in the silence. I decided not to use any more room service for the rest of the stay.

This however, didn't stop me from enjoying that amazing liquid the next breakfast. Hoffman watched me as I got my fourth cup, his face a mix of horror, shock, and awe.

"Jacob, I think you should really pace yourself. Your bladder is going to explode."

I squeezed the bear by its fat belly, determined to pour every last drop of honey he was protecting into my hot coffee. "It's all good." Out of the hole in his head spilled the sweet gooey liquid, depositing right into the center of the coffee. "Might as well take advantage this while I can."

"Is that honey?" He said, now oblivious of his previous concern.

"Yeah, it's just as sweet as sugar and better for you too." I handed him the container of honey, only after did I realize that it was empty.

He shook it a few times before tossing it aside. "I guess I'll have to take your word for it. Anyways, let's eat. There's all you can eat bacon here."

"This place really blurs the lines between heaven and hell. Maybe it's like purgatory. Well technically, that's not in the middle. It's just..." Hoffman gave me an amused look, so I trailed off. "Anyways, Bacon!" I gathered a combination of bacon, bacon, bacon, and toast onto my plate. On its side, stood the full cup of coffee. It was truly glorious.

In a low voice, (this was only for me and one other specific person to hear) I gave thanks for the meal. Gesturing with my right hand, I made a sign, after which I picked up my fork. This bacon was begging to be devoured by my empty stomach.

—-—

My stomach rumbled, punishing me for the torture these memories were putting it through. Taking advantage of the opening, my stomach created, my head also bombarded me with a painful headache.

I knew I had to get some rest, which meant I actually had to go to sleep. I closed my eyes, but after five minutes of rolling in the dirt, sleep evaded me.

"Why is it when you know you have to sleep, you just can't get to sleep?"

Determined to calm my mind, I did what my parents taught me to do before bed. I put my hands together and let my thought flow.

Please stop headache, I'm trying to concentrate. I hope that Shelby turns out okay; she seemed different than those other careers there. They all probably have tons of sponsors, not that they actually need anything. I wonder if Hoffman is getting me sponsors. Is it that hard to get me some coffee? I kinda want to go back to the Capitol and eat some more food, drink some more coffee and maybe tell that girl I feel sorry for her. Maybe, I can win this thing. Maybe. Hopefully.