"How could you, Prim?! How?! You know what mom and dad fought for. You know what they went through for peace. So you go and tear it down?!"

"Mom and Dad aren't here anymore, Finn! You saw me take them away yourself."

"They're not dead though, are they? I didn't see that!"

"They may not be dead, but they're not here."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Forget about them, Finn."

"No! I won't! Give them back! Give my freedom back!"

"Arrest him!"

I sat upright in bed with a jolt, soaked with sweat and breathing heavily. My wide eyes spun around maniacally, trying to pick out familiar shapes through the darkness of the room. It took me a moment to remember where I was; in my room, in the training center, in the Capitol. Relaxing a little, I ran a shaky hand through my hair. It had just been a dream, despite the panic it got me worked up in. Could you really call it a dream, though? It had actually happened, after all. Six years ago now, but I still remembered it vividly. That was obvious enough, although why it had returned to me just now as a dream, I wasn't sure.

Lying back against my pillow, I stared up at the ceiling. What Ana had told Nyxie and I yesterday came back to me, her voice echoing in my head.

"Tomorrow, you two are going to go into training. Weapons, plants, traps, you're going to learn how to use all of them. After a week, you'll be tested on your knowledge of them, plus your overall ability. At some point - I think it's the fourth day - you'll have your interviews. Do what you did at the parade today, and you'll do fine. That was awesome, by the way. But for now, concentrate on working as hard as you can. Train until your muscles and mind feel like they're going to burst. That's the only way you'll go in with an advantage. You two are the weakest among the tributes - don't look at me like that, Nyxie, it's no surprise. You have to work harder. And don't let anything, or anyone, distract you. Just don't, okay?"

I knew what she meant by distraction. Anything that might keep us from giving our all in both the training and the games. That meant our past, too. I couldn't let Primrose and her looming cloud of unpredictability distract me from doing what I had to do. After all, I had promises to keep; to Gaia, to Nyxie, and no doubt to more people as they came. I wasn't just doing this for myself, I realized. The thing that startled me the most, however, was that I didn't want to let them down. None of them, whether I had known them for four years or forty minutes. Before, I hadn't cared, mainly because the only crucial thing in my life was myself. Now I had more to live for, a more essential role.

For the first time in six years, I was important.

Getting to my feet, I began the morning's routine. Technically, we weren't allowed out of our rooms until six - that was when the first shift of guards arrived - but I figured I might as well get it done early. Before I had gone to bed, Tinker had informed me of what I had to do to keep myself in 'decent condition'; shower every morning, brush my teeth every morning and brush my hair every morning, something I hadn't done since...I couldn't remember when. Apparently having knots in your hair wasn't seen as 'attractive'.

The morning bell rang just as I finished with the comb, the locks on my door making a soft click sound as they were released. I slipped on my dark, Capitol issued jacket - to go with the white shirt, tan trousers and combat boots - and grabbed the map of the building, locating the eating room. I wasn't hungry, not as much as I had been in the past, but that was where we had been told to meet the previous evening. Something about our weekly schedule.

"Hey, watch it!" A familiar voice snapped as I stepped out, straight into a shorter person. Looking down, I realized it was Nyxie. I should've expected it - after all, who else would be up at this time but another District Twelve citizen? "Oh, sorry, Finn. I didn't realize it was you," She apologized and I smirked.

"Of course, because every apology you give is so heartfelt and meaningful," She raised an eyebrow at me, and my smirk grew into a goofy grin. We both turned and began to amble down the hall, towards the door which led to the staircase. We could always take the elevator but to be honest, I hadn't quite gotten used to that, and I got the feeling neither had Nyxie. "So, you're up early too, huh?" I asked, opening the door to the stairs.

"Yeah. I, uh, couldn't sleep," She replied as we descended.

"Nightmare?"

"You too?"

"Uh-huh." We walked through a large, arched opening, the warm smells of food drifting toward me. I still hadn't gotten used to the idea of that yet; warm, fresh food when I wanted it. I didn't have to beg or steal or fight. I just had to ask. It was...crazy, to me. As we walked through a large room opened in front of us, with one large, wooden dining table to the right. It was set for twenty four, unsurprisingly. On the right side was a large - and I mean large - kitchen, set along the wall. There was a group of about ten or so people working there right now, bustling about from stove to sink to fridge to counter. I felt tempted to ask if I could help, anything to pay them back for all the wonderful food, but a familiar, high-pitched voice interrupted the thought.

"Nyxie! Finn! Over here!" called Tinker Finkel, using unnecessarily large waves to attract our attention. I could almost feel Nyxie's eyes rolling. Nevertheless, we went and sat next to her, trying to look pleased in some way to see her. She went through the usual conversation with us - "Did you sleep well?" and "Good, good." - before getting into what we actually wanted to know. Our schedule. "So, today, all you're going to have is training. Eat, sleep, train, shower. That's what it's going to be like for the next three days, actually. On the fourth day, you'll only have half the time you'll usually have, because that's the night of the interviews. You'll be given brand new outfits, all that. After the interviews, it'll go back to normal, until the last day. That's when you'll be tested and then sent to the arena," She finished her explanation, flashing us a smile, "Exciting, isn't it?"

"Not reall-" There was a buzz of chatter, and the other twenty-two tributes walked in. Some of them were laughing and chatting with each other, as though they were old friends at a get together. How they were doing that, I didn't know. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, I remembered the old saying, and wondered if that's what they were doing. Most likely. The ones who weren't, though, walked alongside them stiffly and silently. That was more like what I would do, if I had been in their position. Keeping your enemies close is all good and fine, until they stab you in the back.

There was one major thing I noticed as they walked in. Judging by Nyxie's face, she had seen it too. Looking at them, I could tell I was probably one of the tallest, if not the tallest. But I certainly wasn't the strongest. Because these tributes...

Well, they were freaking huge.