Cierra Daline POV

I stared straight ahead as the tube rose up. It didn't matter how scared I was. If the others saw it they'd be on me like wolves. I had one shot. If I could fake it through the Bloodbath, I'd get out of there with weapons and supplies. I'd slip out in all the chaos and they wouldn't even notice until I was halfway across the Arena. I had one shot. I couldn't blow it.

Tariq Bluegrass POV

I didn't expect that. The Arena was just like home. Tall, golden grass grew thick as far as I could see. The only break was a clearing around the Cornucopia, which was painted to look like a barn. Elyssa was to my left and Krunk was next to her. Troy was on my other side, but he was focused on the Cornucopia. I turned my attention to my allies. We had to stick together, or they'd pick us all off. The countdown started.

Troy Cahill POV

What is this? The Cornucopia was filled with a bunch of farm stuff. Instead of swords and bows, there were pitchforks and hoes. A row of short, curved knives were laid out in a mockery of a set of throwing knives. Bags of potatoes and vegetables were scattered near the mouth of the barn-ocopia and there was a pail of milk sitting on a stool. There was a freaking chicken sitting in a cage. What a ripoff. Why couldn't I get something cool like a volcano? The timer counted down and I waited for my moment. Lame Arena or not, I was still going to win.

Elyssa Adverteese POV

Logan was supposed to get the weapons. Krunk was on food duty. Tariq was assigned to watch for attacks and Olivier was supposed to distract anyone who targeted us. I was from Three, so I was supposed to gather anything technologically useful. Once I saw the Arena theme, I didn't think there would be anything, but then I spotted a coil of metal wire. Obviously it came from an electric fence, and that would be useful. It wouldn't be long before the timer reached zero. I was so full of adrenaline I didn't have the presence of mind to be scared. I just wanted to get moving.

Marley Xander POV

Well shoot the horse and slap me silly. It's the Rodeo Games. Lucky for me, there was a pitckfork among all the other tools. It wasn't a spear, but it would work. I could make netting out of something or other. I couldn't believe my moment was almost here. I'd waited all my life to go to the Games and show Panem what I was made of. It was going to be so much fun.

Lanolin Gossamer POV

Old MacDonald had a farm. And we were all gonna die on it. I didn't remember that part of the song. The whole thing cracked me up, and I started laughing so hard I almost fell off my platform.

"Woops, better watch out! We almost had scrambled Lanolin!" I burst out. Alice looked at me like I was nuts, but the others kept their eyes on the timer. I never met the shadowy Gamemakers who dealt life and death, but I almost liked them in that moment. They not only killed kids. They made people laugh at it.

Velvet Tek POV

Lanolin had the right idea. It was so crazy, all I could do was laugh. The only thing that would have made it better was if the timer noise was a banjo. I found Bambi and we communicated silently. He was trembling and kept looking at the grass, like he wanted to bolt right away. I understood his fear, but we wouldn't last long without supplies. I pointedly looked at the Cornucopia and held my fingers close together. Just a bit, I signaled. Just in case, I tried to predict which way he'd run if he chickened out. It was going to be next to impossible to find each other in this mess.

Logan Quinn POV

It was just like back home. I'd been in a hundred turf wars. This time it was over the Cornucopia. The Careers would defend it with all they had, and it wasn't actually my objective to take it. I just wanted to stay long enough to get supplies. Half of the knives were rusted and dull, but the machete I saw would still be lethal. It was convenient that the Arena was farm-based. The tall grass meant the Gamemakers practically had to include long knives. The timer counted down from ten seconds. Everyone tensed as the last few moments drained away. The gong sounded, and everyone burst into motion.