Chapter 13
'Ready! Set! Go!'

The next morning I am awoken by Valentina shaking my body. I had slept in past her schedule. In reality it was only five minutes, but now her entire schedule was off and five minutes was very important. I had to either decide if I wanted a shower to get all the grime off of me and breakfast or if I wanted to continue to sleep in and skip both. I chose the former and jumped out of bed. Jumped may be an overstatement. More like I sluggishly rolled out of bed and almost landed on face-down on the floor at Valentina's feet.

I somehow managed to navigate into the shower. I hadn't gotten much sleep, so my eyes weren't entirely open nor was my brain even on. I punch a few buttons that seemed right. Man, I wish I hadn't. I was first sprayed from every direction by a creamy yellow liquid that smelled like snapdragons and cucumbers; what a combinations. Once the liquid coated my skin, sticking to it so much I could barely get it off, water jets pulsated out of the walls and soaked my body. The pressure from them shook me awake finally. They somehow managed to get the now hardened creamy yellow mixture off my skin, leaving me almost sparkling. My hair was another story. It was still hard from the amount of hairspray I had used the night before. For my hair, the shower dropped foamy pink stuff onto my head. So far I smelled like snapdragons and cucumbers, so why not add a third smell, right? This one smelled like butterscotch, despite its pink hue. I managed to lather the gunk into my hair before the water once again pulsated onto my head, washing all the pink away. Now I was clean and smelled like a buffet and its centerpiece.

I got out of the shower and dried myself off. The Capitol has a fancy gadget that automatically dries you off with hot air. It even combs out your hair for you. But I find the invention awkward enough. Today was not a day I wanted to have to deal with something I like, particularly because I probably wasn't ever going to see it again. I didn't want to become hooked on useless machines that do stuff that I can already do manually. Instead, I avoided stepping in to the area that triggers the wind-tunnel effect and died my body and hair off with a towel. My hair remained a bit moist even after drying it, but it felt nicer to me that way. It felt like I was at home almost. Like I could open the door and find Peony standing there waiting for me. But I couldn't because I wasn't. Instead I opened the door to find a strange outfit on my bed.

It wasn't one of Freed's normal outfits, but instead one that was plain and looked readied for action. It hit me that this was what I would wear when entering the arena. It was a plain black spandex one-piece suit that zipped up the back. Once on I put on the accompanying black jacket with a silver '12' on each arm.. It was somewhat puffy, but warm. The entire outfit was warm, like it was circling my body heat inside of me. Afterwards I put on the simple black boots. When finished, I looked myself in the mirror. I was not expecting what I saw. Albeit my hair was a mess from the shower, I looked ready for what was about to happen next. I looked physically ready, but my mind was still a minefield of confusion. Like every step I took, I was afraid I was going to set off another explosion that would cause me to break down or fade away.

My door swung open as I stared at myself in the mirror. There had been no knock. There hadn't needed to be. It was Freed and he had already seen me naked. There was no embarrassment between him and me. Even though now I was dressed, I don't think it would have been any different if I wasn't.

"You look fabulous, other than your hair," he said. "Why is it still wet?!"

He almost shrieked when he felt my hair. I chuckled a bit by his exclamation. I hadn't wanted it to be dried the Capitol way, which was probably the only way he was used to. He shook his head at my giggle and continued on with his criticizing. How dare I leave my hair wet! It wasn't good for my hair or my health for me not to dry it properly! He said all this and more as he wrung out my hair with the towel. By the time he was done, my hair was truly dry. I was a bit disappointed, but let it go when I noticed how proud Freed was in the mirror.

"You're going to do awesome," he said.

He was truly happy. I couldn't help by catch his contagious smile.

"We need to get you some breakfast before heading off to the port," instructed Freed. "I bet Valentina is about to tell us to leave. So we should hurry so you get some food."

I nodded. This would probably be the last time I would have breakfast for the next few days and I should take advantage of it. I rushed to the dining room at Freed's suggestion and sat down. A plate had already been set for me. It was stacked high with all sorts of food, ranging from those packed with protein to those filled with vitamins. I didn't know who set it for me, but I wasn't about to question. I instead grabbed a fork and began to stuff my mouth. I ate so much that the flavours started to run together. Normally I liked to savour my food like it was the last meal I would have, but today was not one of those days. It might have been the last meal I would ever have and I wasn't about to waste my time on trying to distinguish flavours. It was for the best though as just as soon as I sat down, Valentina came in and told as to go. Or at least it felt that way. I grabbed a few rolls and snuck them into my sleeve. If I was good I could sneak them behind Valentina's back in the elevator.

Once in the elevator I stood against the glass wall behind Valentina, who stared at the doors. She was speaking, but I wasn't listening. I was too focused on my bread. My concentration broke when I noticed Morpheus looking at me with tempting eyes. He was staring at the bread. He didn't look like he had slept much either and I had also noticed he was a bit late to breakfast also. His eyes switched from my bread to mine. They read he would tell if I didn't share. I still had another roll, so I handed him the extra roll. That sustained him and got me out of from underneath his gaze. Valentina didn't notice us at all as we ate.

We got to the lobby and we ushered out a door. There was a hovercraft there where all the tributes were being pushed to. I ended up onboard and sitting at the end of one of the rows. I ended up with Styx to my right and Harper across from me. Both were keeping a straight face. I tried too as well, but I bet my expression was easy to read. I was anxious. What could the arena be this year? Who was going to die in this year's Bloodbath? All these questions rushed through my head. I was thinking so hard that I hadn't noticed one of the attendants walking up to me with a large needle and injecting something into my arm. I finally realized it when some faint light started to blink underneath my skin, changing from a deep red to a light blue and soon fading out.

"It is your tracking device for the arena," said the attendant as I looked at the disappearing light.

I was going to be tracked. I figured something like this would happen. I didn't know how though. Maybe in our clothes, but those could easily be taken off. We would have to cut off our arm or rip skin to get it out this way. No way to disappear. For some reason that made me feel uneasy.

Once everyone was on board the hovercraft, we were lifted high into the air. There were no windows on the hovercraft. No one was ever allowed to see the outside of Panem. We weren't technically allowed to travel to any other district outside of our own. Being a tribute, I was given the privilege to travel through them all to the Capitol. That was where my privileges ended however. Even as a tribute, I was unable to see what lay just beyond the walls of Panem, where the arenas were constructed. I was able to feel how quickly the hovercraft travel. It felt like it was simply gliding in the air at breakneck speeds. And before long, we began to land.

We were just as quickly ushered off as we were ushered on. Instead of a roof, like when we took off, we were already inside of a room. A large stark white bunker to be exact. I followed a Peacekeeper, like instructed, through one of the doors against the far south wall, which was curved in a horseshoe fashion. On the door was a large number '12' in black paint. That would only mean that the room on the other side was meant for me. The Peacekeeper left me alone in the small room. There was only a lounge chair and a tube in the room. I took a seat on the chair when the door opened again. Freed walked in.

"Hello!" he cried out, throwing his arms around me and pulling me up into a strong hug.

It was times like this I would remember he was truly a male, through and through. His grip finally loosened after a bit, allowing me to breath.

"I am so upset you have to go," he said, actually tearing up.

I hate it when people cry like this. It made me want to cry as well. My mates say it is because I am empathetic. Whatever it is because, I just don't like it.

"You are such a sweet girl," he added.

It felt nice though that someone like Freed was seeing me off. I knew I shouldn't let my guard down now, instead keeping a barrier up even before the Games started, but it was hard. Freed's words let me drop the wall for a little bit. I hugged him back.

"Thank-you," I whispered.

He smiled. Suddenly a loud, female voice rang out over the speakers.

"Five minutes!" she said.

Five minutes until I would be lifted up through the tube and injected into the Games. Freed let go of me and looked me over. He fixed my hair a little bit, though it really didn't need to be. I think he was just trying to keep a calm face, even though he was as much of a mess on the inside as I was.

"It is about time for you to go," he said.

He gestured me to the tube. There was one side open, allowing me to walk in. Once inside, the tube closed up fully.

"You'll do fine," Freed said, though it was hard to hear him through the thick glass of the tube.

Soon the lady's voice reappeared and it began.

"Sixty… Fifty-nine…"

The countdown to the start of the Games. I began to raise in the tube and soon Freed was completely. It was totally black for a few seconds until I was blinded by the sudden sunshine.