There are ten things you need to know before the plates are lifted.
Number One: Everly Amata woke up with a headache. The night before was a dumb mistake and a stupid waste of time and she knew all of that. But she couldn't bring herself to regret it.
Number Two: Bad news was familiar to Arno Dupont. When his mentor handed him the note saying that his mom had passed away, it was hard to feel surprised. So he couldn't figure out why he spent the entire night faking his smiles.
Number Three: The nickname of Achilles didn't come from an unbeaten record or some sort of supposed invincibility. Two years ago Pierre Bijou wasn't sure if he wanted to volunteer. Two years ago a District One boy by the name of Patroclus Gataki volunteered for the Games. Two years ago Pierre promised to himself he would get revenge.
Number Four: Nefeli Naysaras was stuck on her mind. It wasn't a foreign state of being to her, but this was different from lovesick daydreaming. Ariya Arden thought about that year with her and wondered if she deserved it. And she wondered for the first time if winning the Games would do a single thing to change the answer to that question.
Number Five: Volunteering was the only thing that had mattered for too long. It represented more than glory or wealth or fame to Ainsley Maris Sims. It was proof that she could do anything on her own, that she was competent and strong and worthwhile. She never stopped to wonder if there could be more strength in the things that she wouldn't do.
Number Six: Galavant Redding was almost glad when he woke up to find the bottles empty. Him and May didn't say a single word the whole morning. They ate breakfast, walked out the training center, and hugged goodbye in front of the hovercraft. They both preferred it that way. It almost managed to make it feel like it wasn't goodbye.
Number Seven: Kyler Valde was placed next to May on the hour-long journey to the arena. He spent the trip looking over Amara's last song, trying to imagine the sound of the notes on the paper. As the time ticked away, May looked over his shoulder and read the words. She turned to him as they were led off the hovercraft and thought about telling him that it was a beautiful song. But she couldn't find the words.
Number Eight: It was a young group of tributes and even as most of the Careers nursed headaches and caught up on much needed rest, there was fear hanging clear in the air. Vesta Brigarde felt it, and decided even if it wouldn't matter all that much in the end, she would try to help push that fear away, just a little bit longer. By the time the hovercraft landed at the arena, and her stories came to a close, she had almost managed to forget where she was going.
Number Nine: While he waited below the arena for the Games to begin, Ethan Faber pulled his token out of his pocket and read over the crinkled piece of paper he had written two years before. Regardless of what else happened, he stepped into his tube calm, knowing that no matter how false this dream was, it would always be better than if had never dreamed it at all.
Number Ten: At 11:59 AM, May 20th, 105, the 60 second countdown begins.