Part 3: The Hunger Games
I wake up with a start to feel my head on the cold, hard stone. I raise my heavy head looking for Griffin. He stands in the corner of the balcony, walking back and forth in rhythmic steps, his eyes glazed over. I cough subtly to indicate that I am awake. He looks up and smiles, then wanders over to me.
"Good sleep?" He asks.
"How long have you been up? What time is it?" I say, ignoring him.
"Not long, why does it matter?" He replies casually.
"Today we go into the arena Griffin; we can't just act like children. I'm probably going to die in the next few hours!"
"I won't let you." He replies immediately.
"This isn't a game Griffin, do you not understand?" I shout.
"For the Capitol it is." He begins to laugh. "To them it's entertainment, just amusement for them."
His words start to sink in, making me feel hollow. Without warning my hands begin clawing at my head, ripping long locks of hair out while my voice gets louder by the second. Griffin runs to me, pulling my hands away and putting his finger to my lips, making me quieten down. I don't know what is happening to me as I feel unable to take in air, my body jerking. He rocks me back and forth until I can manage to breathe regularly, his soft voice calming me.
"It's okay you just had a panic attack. It's okay Pippa." He says gently.
"Why are you being so nice to me? You're acting as if," I can't finish my sentence.
"I don't know anymore, this is all a huge mess. I don't even understand why I volunteered." He says; his head in his hands.
"What do you mean? You're a Career, it's what you do."
"It's my family, they only seem to care about making them proud, not the fact that I will probably die."
"You have a better chance than I do, look at me." I reply, gesturing at my weak body in comparison to his strong physique.
"Not if I can help it." He replies. He then holds my hands tightly. "I'll see you in the arena."
Then he leaves me, all on my own, confused and distressed. I go down to breakfast as when I walk down the hall I see a clock and realise it is 7am. The dining room is silent as people nervously chew on whatever food they can stomach. Only a few hours left until the unthinkable begins. Caspar walks up to me and whispers something in my ear.
"I knocked on your door last night and this morning, why didn't you answer?"
"I was asleep." I reply, struggling to sound calm.
"Yeah right." He says, glaring at me.
I decide not to elaborate on my answer as my lies would start to spiral. Not that it really matters what Caspar thinks anymore.
After breakfast I am taken to see my mentors and escort for the final time. We walk into a room to see Katniss, Peeta and Effie sitting on the edge of their seats. They spring into life as soon as they see Caspar and me, walking over to console us. Katniss is the first to speak to me after a long silence, while Peeta comforts Caspar.
"Hey Pippa." She says, letting out the slightest smile.
"Hi." I reply, not in the mood for small talk.
"Remember what I said okay. Sprint to the Cornucopia as fast as you can and don't look back until you've reached it." She says, her eyes darting, her voice speeding up. "Grab anything you can, anything at all and run. Stay alert. Do whatever you can to stay alive."
I nod, taking it all in, suddenly feeling petrified. Effie then teeters over; I swallow, promising myself that I won't argue as this is the last time I will ever see Effie.
"My darling," Effie says, acting as if we are best friends. "I am sure you will be able to do… something."
"Thanks." I reply flatly. "That really helps me out."
Effie gives me a false smile. "If you live, I look forward to meeting you again Pippa."
"You too Effie." I say, a lot more sincerely.
Peeta is last to speak to me. I stare right into his gentle blue eyes and suddenly, everything is too much. I can feel my eyes water and no matter how many times I blink they begin to pour without warning. Peeta quickly comes to my aid, wrapping his arms around me and gently patting my back.
"I'm s-sorry." I manage to say.
"What are you sorry for?"
"Not being brave, I can never stop myself; they're going to slaughter me in there."
"Pippa, I've seen your abilities, if we didn't think you had a chance, no one would have bothered trying to improve your skills, but we see a glimmer, no; a huge beam of hope inside of you. You can do this."
"Do you really think so?" I ask, the tears beginning to slow down.
"Of course." He says in his calming tone.
Effie checks the time and quickly nudges us towards the huge hall containing the hovercraft we will be travelling to the arena in. We all say our last goodbyes and exchange hugs before it is time. I give Caspar a quick smile before the rope is dropped that begins jerk me into the hovercraft. I feel the force field surrounding the rope, making sure I cannot fall.
As soon as I am free I walk into the vast space inside, my mouth wide open. I see the seats in front of me and wonder whether to sit down before a lady quickly jumps in front of me.
"You are Philippa from District 12?" She asks, peering at a notebook.
"Yes."
"Okay, now I have got two trackers here, and I am going to insert them into each of your arms okay? You will feel a slight pinch."
As she puts the trackers into my arms, one deep into my skin and one slightly closer to the surface, I begin to wonder why she is placing two. I then remember that last year one of the boy's trackers stopped receiving signal and the Gamemakers had to search for him. I also remember a volcanic eruption just killing him soon after. Maybe he disabled it in some way? Now was not the time to think about that.
I am then shown to my seat for the short ride to the arena. I sit down and metal bar folds in front of my torso, I grip my hands around it.
As the last tributes are seated I look around to see blackened windows, these are so that we can't see the arena to give any of us an advantage. Finally the doors are closed and we take off, awaiting twenty three of our deaths. I look around and smile at Austin and Eilish who are a couple of seats down from me. Nobody says a word the whole journey and you can feel the tension rising inside the hovercraft. I see people giving me odd looks, surely because my face is still red and swollen from weeping earlier. Griffin sits opposite me and I can feel his gaze the whole journey from the corner of my eye but refuse the urge to look at him.
Soon we land and every tribute is taken into their Launch Rooms to get ready for the arena. I walk in slowly to see my outfit hanging neatly on the opposite side of the room. Slowly I tread towards it, trying to figure out the material and fit. It is a dark grey body suit, perhaps to absorb sunlight, which suggests it may be cold. I remove my comfortable clothes and climb into the body suit. It grips me tightly and covers my full arms and legs. The torso is covered in a light material that isn't very thick, whereas my legs are covered in a dense waterproof material. On the side of my arm has the number '12' printed on, similar to the stitching on my clip.
I hear a clatter in the hallway and quickly turn around to see Cinna walking in. He is the last person I will see. We make small talk and he tries to tempt me with breakfast. I only manage to eat a small amount, a few bites of bread, as I don't want it to make a re-appearance later. I go to brush my teeth in the brand new complex; I'll be the only person to ever use it. There will be a new arena next year, in a completely new area. Seems like a waste if you ask me.
Cinna hands me the boots I will be wearing. Cut a bit above my ankles; a soft yet strong material with rubber soles that flex when I point my toes.
"Now, do you have a district token, nothing was given to me." He says. I bend my head, revealing my clip and point to it. "Ah I see. You're lucky you didn't get that confiscated.
"I didn't think about it. I've had other things on my mind." I reply. Cinna nods solemnly. "Did anyone else get anything confiscated?" I ask.
"The boy from District Two," Cinna says vaguely. "He had a ring, more like a knuckle duster if you ask me." I shake my head. Griffin. "Anyway, is everything comf0rtable? Why don't you walk around to see if it's all a good fit."
I walk around lightly and jump up and down a couple of times. "Mhm."
I stand still for a while, not knowing what to say. I walk over to the food table and pour myself a small glass of water and sip it delicately. Cinna gently guides me to a chair and I sit down. He puts his arm around my shoulder and I move closer, a scared little girl. In barely any time later I hear the announcement that it is time to prepare to launch. I stand up but my feet give way, Cinna luckily catches me.
I slowly walk over and shakily stand on the metal plate.
"Help me Cinna." I squeak.
"Remember what Katniss said. Get a pack and clear out, you can do this Pippa. Don't count yourself out already!" He says, he clutches my hand and I squeeze his in return.
The glass cylinder lowers around me and I panic, banging on the glass as the metal plate rises up. Darkness, I am covered in darkness. This is a nightmare. Suddenly I feel a cool breeze on my face and I open my eyes. They focus and I begin to see my surroundings. I then hear the familiar voice of Claudius Templesmith, The Hunger Games official announcer.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let the seventy-seventh Hunger Games begin!"
