I tossed and turned all night last night. I just got a few hours of sleep. I have a shower, get dressed in the clothes provided for the Hunger Games and go to the main room. I eat my breakfast with Danielle and Dale. Nick's not awake yet.

After I've eaten my breakfast I go and knock on Nick's door. I hear his voice softly. I open the door and see him all dressed and ready. He's lying on his bed, his head in his pillow. I think he's been crying.

"Nick," I say softly. "Nick, are you ok?"

"I wish I was," he replies looking up at me. His eyes are red. "I don't want to kill people, I don't want to be killed."

"Neither do I, but we have to."

"How have you coped?"

"I haven't, you've had to help me. We'll get through this together."

He wipes his eyes and then follows me out into the main room. He eats his breakfast. Danielle hugs him. She then hugs me. I try and resist the urge to cry. My eyes become watery.

"Thanks for everything," I whisper.

"That's alright," she whispers back. "You can do this."

She lets go and says goodbye as Dale leads us to the hovercraft waiting outside the building. Dale says goodbye and wishes us luck. We go and take a seat in the hovercraft. One of the peacekeepers sticks a fat needle into my arm. It makes a beep and then is pulled out. It has inserted my tracker. I can tell this from the previous games.

Nick who is next to me grabs my hand. Lucas is opposite me. He smiles briefly at me. I try and smile back, but it's so hard. I look at Ruby who is sitting near Lucas. She has a malicious smile on her face. The district 7 boy looks at me fiercely. He looks like he's about sixteen years old. I'm suddenly really scared. I'm shaking uncontrollably. I try and stop. It's not too noticeable. Finally I stop shaking.

"We're nearly there," says the lady who shoved that needle into my arm. I feel the hovercraft go down. When we reach the ground we are taken to a room. One room for each tribute. In that room is a glass tube. One of the peacekeepers tells me to go in the tube. It starts moving up, until I'm in the arena.

It's here. The day it all starts. The countdown for the Hunger Games will start very soon. I hear the announcer Rik, say "Let the 97th Hunger Games begin. The countdown starts. I see the numbers appear on the Cornucopia.

60, 59, 58.

I look around for Nick. He's not too far away from me.

54, 53, 52.

Now I look for Lucas. Oh no! He's far away from me.

48, 47, 46.

I look around at my surroundings. Forest in front, rainforest behind. We're in a large grassy space in the middle of the arena.

41, 40, 39.

First, hide.

37, 36, 35.

No, they'll easily kill me.

32, 31, 30.

First, run. There are backpacks scattered around the Cornucopia. I'll get one of them.

26, 25, 24.

If I'm lucky I'll get away with no injuries.

20, 19, 18.

I'll probably get injured, but I have to try.

15, 14, 13.

I'll probably die in the bloodbath.

9, 8, 7.

I'll just get a backpack and run.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

I sprint. I've found the backpack closest to me. I keep sprinting. I quickly grab the backpack. Someone tackles me to the ground. I wait for my death to come. I'm still gripping the backpack. I decide to try and fight. I do want to live. I roll onto my back and push the attacker off of me. It's the district 5 girl. She falls onto the ground beside me. I quickly get to my feet, but I'm pulled down instantly by the girl. She's about 15 years old from what I could briefly see. I can't get distracted. She pins me to the ground and punches me in the face. I taste blood. I push her off and swing my backpack at her. I quickly get up and run but she follows me. I only managed to slow her down for a couple of seconds. I'm near the forest area when she pulls on my foot again. I fall to the ground. I roll onto my back, sit up and push the girl away. There's a tree about fifty meters away. I need to get to it. Then I can climb it and get away. I reach for a nearby stick. It's not a weapon but it'll do. I stab her in the stomach, drop the stick and run away. I haven't killed her. She's probably winded though. I decide not to go for the nearest tree. I need one a bit deeper in the forest. When I reach the first tree it starts going downhill. I try and keep my pace but I'm more cautious. Suddenly I feel my hair being pulled. I fall to the ground. The district 5 girl is definitely persistent. She pins me down again. I try and roll onto my side. Instead I send us both rolling down the hill, bashing into twigs. I feel them scratching my skin. Suddenly I feel more confident. I got away from the cornucopia. Now I just have to get away from the girl. I can do this. I see a tree coming up. We're going to roll into it. I prepare for the sudden pain that will come. It comes. My back has hit the tree and hurts, but I have to keep going. She's got the stick. That was so stupid of me. Why'd I leave the stick! I desperately reach for it but she moves it out of reach. Instead I quickly bite her arm. She loses focus and I snatch the stick from her grip. She punches me in the stomach. I scream in pain.

"No one's here to help you now," she says.

She punches me in the stomach again. My eyes are watering. This is torture. I sit up fighting against the pain. I stab her in the stomach and stand up. I grab her by her shirt, turn around and push her up against the tree. I've still got the stick in my hand. She tries to grab it but I keep my grip. I kick her and suddenly an idea pops into my head. Still gripping her shirt as well as the stick I push her away from the tree and down the hill. I quickly start climbing the tree. Onto the first branch, then the next. Higher and higher. I'm about 15 meters above the ground. I sit on a branch and quickly look through my backpack. The girl is getting onto her feet. Making her way to the tree.