A/N: YAY THE ARENA! Finally, we have arrived! :D that means this is half over ;( but closer to the SYOT X)

Chapter 11-The Arena

Sixty seconds, it's all I've got. To live. To think. To observe the arena. To think back on my last few minutes with Cinna. He'd sat with me until I'd had to go in my tube.

The Games were finally here...

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let the 80th annual Hunger Games begin!" Claudius Templesmith chanted out.

I looked around, taking in my death. Sixty seconds. It's all I've got. The girl from District 4 stands on one side on her metal plate, looking at the arena. The boy from 9 is on my other side. The large Cornucopia stands before me, with weapons and packs all around. To my left is a forest. That is where I will flee to. To my right is mountains, reaching high and dipping low. Straight ahead is a Labyrinth. I steady myself and get ready to set off. I'm a fast runner. I can make it, grab some stuff and be on my way before any of the other tributes gets to me.

But as I take in some of the faces around me, I almost collapse. The girl from 7, Rose Cune. Both tributes from 10, Aria and Jacob. And Xara is somewhere on the other side. I've grown to close for these people. I can't kill them!

The gong sounds and I'm off. I fling a back pack over my shoulder and keep my steady run to the big horn. I grab a belt of knives and try to look for a sword. I'm alone for a bit. I am the first to the Cornucopia as I knew I would be. But I tried picking up a sword and-of course it was too heavy-so I am about to run and leave it. But then the boy from 4, Liam, is there. Not trying to kill me, but holding out a sword to me. I smile back gratefully and quickly take the light sword. I give him a small salute and I take off for the woods. I pull my hood over my head and duck past a few branches of trees, moving as fast as I can. I hope Liam makes it. He's a good kid.

But I hear footsteps behind me and speed up. Whoever is behind me is fast and right on my heels. But I refuse to die in day one, so I turn and lash my sword out, only to have it collide with another sword. I growled and turned to rub again when a hand caught my wrist. I swung my sword around, hoping it will find its target.

"Hey, stop! You'll hit me!" Liam's voice calls to me.

I dropped the sword and looked at him confused, taking him in. "Oh. It's you."

"Yeah, it's me. I thought you'd like some company for tonight. At least for a while." Liam grinned.

"Where's Rose?" I gasped trying to catch my breath.

He frowned as if he just realized the mistake he'd made. He went then and head back, but I caught his arm. "I need to find her!"

"No. She's tough. We'll find her after the mess. When it's safe." I ordered him in my tough leader's voice.

He looked into my eyes and nodded. I let my hand fall back to my side. As if by some silent agreement, we both started walking. Then he smiled at me. "We?"

I sighed. "Yea, we. At least for a little while." I quoted him.

We walked for hours until we picked a tree with a large fork that could hide us well. We both climbed in and sat back. I set down my sword and pulled off my back pack and pawed through it. Liam did the same.

"Sleeping bag, some rope, medicine for burns, iodine, some dried fruit, and water bottles. No water. You?" I grumbled sliding into my sleeping bag as the night began to close in.

"Um, a sleeping bag, nuts, these weird goggle things, some kind of food strips and...Oh! A book of edible plants!" He said holding it up triumphantly.

I grimaced. "No water?"

He put the book back and looked again. "Nope." he sighed shoving his pack aside, keeping only his sleeping bag on hand. "Wait, dis you say burn medicine?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That means there will be fires...a lot of them."

"What else do you think will be in here?" I whisper so low I think he doesn't hear me.

"I don't know." He whispers back leaning on the tree.

"We need to find water. Tomorrow." I order.

He nods. "We won't get far without it." We sit there silently for a minute, just staring at each other in the darkness. Then he speaks. "Do you want me to take watch while you sleep? And I'll wake you for the Anthem and tributes?" He offers. I almost say no, thinking he's tricking me so he can kill me in my sleep, but then I see the honest look in his eyes and know I'm okay. I'm safe with this boy.

I nod and let myself lie back. I don't really go to sleep. But close enough. I have a dream I'm home with my fake friend Lina and thinking of the life I could have had. One where my mother loves me and I'm taken care of. One where I'm safe. Safe from the Hunger Games. Safe from the Capitol. Safe from my constant nightmares. But then Liam shakes me awake, bringing me back to reality. The mark lights up the sky and the anthem booms in the air. We watch as the bloodbath tributes, the ones who died on day one, flash across the sky. I mourn for the families that lost them. Some don't bother me. Most don't actually. The boy from District one, Darious Fulton. The girl from 4, Alice Christensen. The girl from 5, Shaunee Barrett. The boy from 7, Finn Currullo. Both from 8. My heart hurts as I see the boy from 10, Jacob, with his big goofy smile flash in the sky. Then he disappears, gone forever. Both from 11 and it's over.

"We lost nine today," I whisper, choking back my tears.

"May they rest in peace," Liam said, making some hand signals I didn't recognize.

"So who's left?" I started counting on my fingers. Fourteen left, including us.

"Um, well..." Liam said thinking. His face lit up with a smile. "Rose is still alive!"

"Let's go from District One. Rei is still alive." I smile, more for myself than anything else.

"Both from 2 and 3."

"You," I say.

"Yes!" He snickers. "Um... Fang from 5."

"Both from 6. Rose." I smile thinking of Xara safe somewhere.

"Both from 9."

"Aria from 10. Jareth." I smile about Aria.

"You." Liam says.

"And me..."

We sat in silence taking in the survivors. Then Liam slipped into his sleeping bag.

"Want me to keep watch for a while?" I offer.

"Nah. I'm not tired yet." Though he let's out large yawn and laughs. How is he so calm? "In a bit." The he smiled at me. "Do you miss your home? You were talking an awful lot in your sleep."

"I was?" I blushed embarrassed. I knew I talked in my sleep and knew it would be a problem in the arena. But I figured I would be alone. "W-what did I say?"

"Not much at first. Just a lot of mumbling and stuff. Then you said my name and I thought you were trying to talk time so I talked back but then you said Rose's name too and I realized you were sleeping. Then you yelled for me to save Rose. Was Rose in danger in your dream?" He asked knocking his fist lightly on my head.

"I don't know. I can't remember."

"Then you were talking about Lina and your mom. After that I got bored and talked to you. You can have whole conversations in your sleep!" He chuckled. "I know it was mean to, but I started messing with you." He smiled apologetically.

"What did you do?"

"I just talked back to you and said silly things. It was humorous. You reacted to them too. At one point I said a squirrel was eating my face off-and get this! You sleep walk too!-you got up and tried to hit my face trying to get the squirrels. Then I stopped cause it was getting to loud."

"Oh, thanks." I tried to glower, but I couldn't help but smile. "Use my sleep issues for your fun."

"Sorry!" He chuckled and I laughed with him. Off to our left, but way to close for comfort, lightning started striking one tree over and over again. I felt the hairs on my arms and neck rise up. Liam huddled down in his sleeping bag and yelled over the lightning. He had to repeat himself for me to actually hear. "It'll go away in a while." And in an hour or so, it did. That's when it started raining not too far from us. But I could smell the iron. Not water.

"Blood." I whispered. I looked down, but Liam was already asleep. How he slept through the lightning, I'll never know. But whatever works best for him. I stared off into space thinking again of the tributes who survived. Trying to remember what scores they got. I had a good memory, so it came easily.

District one. Rei Daniels. Training score of 7. I tried to think of how she got that. Rei was a small girl, but I'd seen her run. She was fast! But I was faster. When I observed her in the training room, she seemed pretty good with a spear. I didn't have to worry about killing her now. She was my team mate. We were friends. For now. I wondered where she was now.

Next was the twins from two. Mackenzi and Damien O'Chat. Mackenzi, 8. Damien, 7. I didn't see Mackenzi do anything but she must have been good to get an 8. Damien seemed okay with knives. I thought I remembered seeing them run off together toward the flat grounds behind me. How they weren't dead yet, I had no idea.

Then there was the two tributes from District 3. Erin and Quil. Quil was good with technology. I saw him re-wire the lights to blink within two minutes. He was someone to watch out for. So was Erin. She was amazing with knife throwing. It was understandable that Quil got a 9. But how did Erin, who threw knives as well as she did, get a six? It baffled me.

I saw Liam train and even trained with him. His 10 was well deserved. He was also good with tridents and knives. His strengths were in the trident. But you could tell by the fire in his eye, he preferred the sword. The passion in which he held its body in his hands.

Fang from district 5 had also received a ten. He was good with camouflage and knot tying. But he shone his brightest with the bow and arrows. He would shoot the dummies in the heart, the throat, and the middle of the forehead. He had a great aim and balance and was light on his feet. And he was almost as short as me and lifting over a hundred pounds. He was someone to be ready for.

Xara had received an 8, but I wasn't sure what for. Besides lunch, I didn't see her at all in training. I wondered where she was. And hoped she was safe. Did she get caught in that icky blood rain? Is she hiding? Did she manage to find Rei and Aria?

Just as I started thinking about Rose and her 11 in training, her face popped up in front of mine and I screamed causing her to scream. She threw her hands over my mouth and we sat staring at each other wide eyed. She sighed when the bugs began to make noise again. Funny, I hadn't heard them before.

"Shh! Jeesh, what are you trying to do, trying to give me a heart attack?" She whispered at me angrily.

"You're the one that jumped out at me!" I whispered back.

"I've been calling your name for a few minutes. I thought you noticed me." She rolled her eyes.

"If I noticed you, would I be screaming?"

"I don't know, you tell me!"

"Jeez, Rose! Don't do that."

"Oh, hush it, Nettie." She said popping a fresh grape in her mouth. She held out her bag full and I gratefully threw one in my mouth and smiled at the familiar taste. "Aren't you glad to see me?"

I shrugged. "Liam will be thrilled when he wakes up and sees you here."

She smiled down at his sleeping form. "I'm glad he's okay too."

I crawled out of my sleeping bag and handed it to her. "I need it back though."

She smiled at me crawling inside. "Thanks, Nets. Wake me if you get tired, got it?"

"Sure thing." I whispered. She was out as soon as her head leaned back.

I watched Rose, picturing three of us at the fire station in training. Trying to set a fire and cheering when Rose got hers going. How could our new friendship survive the games? Only one could survive and friendships and alliances would break. Maybe I'd get lucky and someone else would kill them for me. I didn't have the heart to do it myself. It seemed unlikely though. I never had good luck. I could see us slaughtering each other in the final days. Desperate to live. Blood lust pounding. All past friendships gone.

My thoughts went back to the tributes and their training scores. The training room. My enemies.

I remembered Maxx Rubal from district 9. She had gotten an 8 on training. Probably for her spear throwing. She was so good at that. Almost as good as Fang with his arrows. I defiantly didn't want to get in a fight with either of them. If they teamed up to form an alliance with Erin, we'd be screwed. If they were a team, I'd hang myself from this tree now. I defiantly didn't want to get caught by them. But my questions were answered when i saw Fang in the tree across from us, staring at me. I waved at him and he waved back. I waved him over to come join us and he shook his head pointing to the ground. A small bear like creature slept in between our trees. I looked back at him and saw his figure disappear into the shadows but still saw his eyes watching me.

The boy from district 9 was still alive too. Wallie Douglie. He got an eight in training, but he didn't faze me. I'd watched him in training. He was honestly terrible with all the weapons they offered. But maybe he'd find some way to survive. If the time came to end his life, I would. I wouldn't be proud, but I'd do it.

Then there was little Aria. I didn't have to worry about her to death till the end. She was in my alliance. I thought I saw her run toward the labyrinth. Little Aria had gotten a 9 in training and I found myself wondering how she did it, but came up blank. I didn't see her do anything in the training room. And she seemed so tiny and fragile. She was twelve after all. Then I remembered how I comforted her with Jake and wondered how she was holding up from the death of her brother. And then I began to miss Jake too. He was so protective of her. He was her best friend. Then I wondered how she took the news of his death. Worse than me, I'd imagine.

I looked down at Rose and Liam and prayed they would make it further than me. They were tough.

How could I kill anyone in this arena?

Even the careers.

I may have grown up with a mother who had no heart.

But my heart broke at the thought of everyone.

All dead.

All gone forever.

Their families destroyed and alone.

Friends they'd never see again.

Opportunities taken say.

23 kids would never have a family of their own.

Never live to see another Hunger Games...

A/N:

Yay! The end of day one! What did you y'all think? :)