The Morning Of
~.~
Hailey Hills was not easily scared. There were only three times in her life that Hailey Hills was so gut-wrenchingly terrified that even she would admit that she was scared.
The first time was when she walked into her home after school, and found her dad hanging by the ceiling.
The second time was two weeks later, when she ran away from home and slept in the streets, feeling for the first time in her life utterly and helplessly alone.
The third time was now, sitting in the launch room, alone, the timer quickly ticking away. But Hailey Hills had gotten into fights before, and she wasn't scared of getting into another. What scared her more than anything else did wasn't the thought of death, or having to kill. They would come to haunt her, but they didn't yet.
Hailey Hills was scared of what would happen if she ran into the girl who was only in the Games because of her. She was terrified of the idea of having to fight that girl, and she wasn't sure which scared her more: having to kill her, or being unable to.
~.~
Prestige Freeman was used to be being alone. She was alone at home, she was alone at school, she was alone out on the field. Even when others were around her, she still felt alone. They would never understand her, or truly care for her, and Prestige had the misfortune of being able to see this.
So when Prestige Freeman sat alone in her launch room, she shouldn't have minded being alone. It shouldn't have scared her.
But it did.
~.~
Cyril Lovelace was used to being overlooked. What he wasn't used to was being loved. When his escort had showed him exactly that, Cyril wasn't sure what to think. He never expected someone to keep him company at a party that terrified him to be at. He never would have guessed someone would show up to wish him luck before going off to launch.
He certainly would never expect them to say that they believed that he could win. That Cyril Lovelace would win because despite what everyone said, he wasn't weaker than Alt Lovelace.
He was stronger.
~.~
Merrium Solera was one of the few tributes who wasn't scared, or anxious, or even the slightest bit worried as she sat in her launch room. Merrium Solera was excited. She was excited because she truly felt that the Games were hers for the taking. She wasn't the only one who thought this, and all but one of them would fall in the next few weeks, but this wasn't on her mind.
What was on Merrium Solera's mind wasn't strategy, or nervousness, or any normal sort of thought. The one thing on her mind was victory, because in her eyes, she was already out of the arena.
Technically true, perhaps.
~.~
McKenna Bay was thinking. She was always thinking, and now would certainly be no exception. Her mind was on the black jumpsuit she was dressed in, and the different possibilities it could mean about her environment. She thought about the bloodbath, and what she would do in certain scenarios. Who she could outrun, who she could out-dual, what weapons she was most proficient in, and what weapons her enemies would most likely target.
McKenna Bay believed she had thought of every possibility. She thought that she was ready.
She wasn't.
~.~
Sigma Krell was no stranger to the quiet, or loneliness, or fear, or pain, or death. She had seen more in her short life than most would ever hope to see in a lifetime, and she would see even more pain and death, and feel more fear and loneliness before her lifetime was over.
But for now Sigma Krell wasn't focused on those feelings. Aleksey had wiped them away while he was with her, but when he was gone, and she was left alone, Sigma Krell didn't feel anything.
She stood in the launch room alone, and more than anything else, Sigma Krell felt numb.
That feeling wouldn't last.
~.~
Levi Ezra was, surprisingly enough, not happy. Nor was he excited, or nervous, or scared. Levi Ezra was confused. He was confused that he was even still alive, but he wouldn't let himself stay confused for long.
While Levi Ezra knew he wasn't leaving the arena alive, and was sure that he would never get to see his parents, or hold Sky in his arms ever again- he hoped more than anything that he could at least make his life worth something. There were people counting on Levi Ezra, more than he even knew.
He didn't want to let them down, but he wasn't sure if he was willing to do what it took to keep her safe. Levi Ezra did not want to become a murderer, but he couldn't help but feel like he might as well be if he let the girl relying on him die on his watch.
He wasn't sure which of those thoughts scared him more.
~.~
Rain Kaniff was often called fearless, and for an eight-year-old who had been through as much as she had, she certainly seemed it. But Rain Kaniff was scared now, or at the very least was nervous about what was ahead of her.
She had watched the Hunger Games. She had seen her friend die, sobbing and pleading to not have to go, and now as she stood ready to launch into the arena, it was that moment that was in Rain Kaniff's thoughts.
But she had her dad with her, and Rain Kaniff knew that as long as he was alive, no harm would come to her.
She didn't dare to think about what happens when he's gone.
~.~
Clyde Kaniff was terrified. He was terrified about the bloodbath that was just moments away, but not because of fear of his own death, that was something that had stopped scaring him long ago.
Clyde Kaniff was scared for his daughter. He was scared because he knew that she wouldn't be, and he was scared because he wasn't sure if he could take another failure in his life. He had already caused so much pain and suffering, and he wouldn't survive any more heartbreak.
There was only one person Clyde Kaniff cared about, and everyone else was just standing in the way.
~.~
Picaboo Benner was conflicted. The thought of death terrified her, and that was just the thought of it. Seeing it, causing it, experiencing it, those were all things that left her body frozen with fear.
So she didn't think of those things. Instead, Picaboo Benner focused on the one thing in her life that made her feel safe. She thought about the person that would be out there in the bloodshed who she needed to find.
Picaboo Benner wasn't used to having nobody to rely on, she wasn't used to being alone in the world. She had spent her entire life being passed around, relying on one person after the other.
Soon she would learn.
~.~
Blaze Colton was angry as he always was, but he was also focused. He was determined to win, and he felt in his heart that he needed to win more than anyone else did. He felt that the person he had waiting for him back home was inherently more important than the people here with him.
Blaze Colton didn't second guess himself. He didn't hesitate. He didn't apologize. He didn't forgive.
Blaze Colton would do whatever it took.
~.~
Ephraim Kress thought he was used to seeing death, because he had seen it before. He thought that because he had experienced loss before, and heartbreak that still hurt him to this day, that he was ready for whatever was ahead of him.
He wasn't.
He never would be.
A/N: Bloodbath in four days, on the one year anniversary of this story.
Trivia(1 point): Predictions for the bloodbath/arena?