Omar Beatriz-Calvert, District Ten male (15)

In Eleven most of us knew all about edible plants. That would have been very helpful if Eleven was a rainforest. That was where I'd found myself- a humid, verdant rainforest with only small breaks for the paths that ran through it. Since I didn't want to be, you know, spotted and killed by Careers, I wasn't on the path. The room was small enough that I could just make out the glare of light on glass out on the horizon but plenty large enough for Tributes to hide and hunt. And this wasn't the only room.

A lot rode on the first day of the Games. Choices Tributes made here would determine whether they had a chance of living or if they would die the first night. I needed to prioritize and act quickly. All right, it goes water, shelter, food, unless it's a cold Arena, but it's not. Water...

I skirted along one of the paths, close enough to see it but fast enough to vanish into the vegetation if any Careers happened by. It wasn't too long before it led to a little pond with a fish-shaped fountain merrily bubbling in the middle. It was disconcerting to think about a Gamemaker deciding exactly what shape the cute fountain should be for the Arena pond. I wonder how much money it took to design and build. A lot of places in Eleven would have been overjoyed to have a well, especially one with the clean, sparkling water I saw in the pond. There were fish in there, too, so it probably wasn't too clean, but it was better than a lot of us had.

The well was twenty feet away but I had no idea if I'd make it. Surely the Careers would immediately stake out any water sources. But they might not be here yet. If I moved quickly I might be able to swipe water and get away before they were anywhere close by. I had one chance. If I waited, they would eventually come and I'd have to hope I could find water somewhere more hidden. I had one choice and it could determine whether I lasted the night.

I darted out impulsively. I scooped water into my canteen, waiting to feel the arrow in my back any minute. I ran back into the trees without even screwing the top back on. I kept running about fifty feet into the vegetation and stopped, listening for any signs of pursuit.

Nothing. They hadn't reached this room yet. They hadn't reached it and I had water. I'd made the right choice. And I had to do the same thing for every single choice that came next.


Archibald Pell, District Eight male (13)

There were many options for food in this Arena. The only thing I'd grabbed at the Cornucopia was a water bottle, so water was taken care of. I was already planning to put it over a tree branch when I finished it so the tree's respiration would collect water overnight. I wasn't sure if it would be enough but that was a bridge I'd have to cross when I came to it. But when it came to food, the possibilities were endless. It was just a question of which one was best for me.

I didn't recognize most of the plants, so there was probably even more food than I thought. I kept an eye out as I looked for a place to hide. There was a waterfall on one side of the room. Hiding behind it was too obvious but hiding close to it might give me some cover. The Careers were stealthy when they moved but I was just a normal kid. Even if I tried to be quiet they'd probably hear me... unless a little waterfall was covering my noise. I searched in that area and found part of a fallen tree. It wasn't big enough to hide inside but there was a little hollow underneath where some of the branches had rotted away. It wasn't quite big enough for me to fit so I started scooping out dirt with my hands. I carefully threw the dirt out into the grass so there wouldn't be an obvious pile right beside the log.

As I dug, little bugs and critters appeared now and then in the dirt and bark. It creeped me out a little to think about sharing a bed with them, but then I had a gross but necessary idea. I looked at a stream of ants marching away from where I'd disturbed them. They say bugs are really good for you, right? I'd even heard some people say they were better than big animals and we should eat them to help the environment.

I bent closer to peer at the ants. They weren't red- fire ants are red, right? If there was any chance they were fire ants I was going to clear out. The Gamemakers would definitely do something horrible to fire ants and congratulate themselves on what a witty way to kill Tributes. And there wasn't a whole ton of them, so they weren't going to turn into an army that would swarm over Tributes and eat them. No, they were just plain black ants. I didn't even see any huge claws or ant teeth.

I licked my hand and pressed it lightly over the ants. My skin tickled a little as several ants stuck to it. I held my hand in front of my face and wrinkled my nose. I shouldn't judge yet. Maybe they taste really good.

They didn't taste like much of anything at all. I felt them on my tongue before I squished it against the roof of my mouth, but I mostly just tasted the bits of dirt on my hand. I swallowed and nothing horrible happened. Guess I have shelter and food...


Soleil Kingston, District Eleven female (17)

I'd never seen such a beautiful place in my life. In the middle of the room there was a long, narrow sunken pond with pale red tiles. It was dotted with water lilies and several baskets of cascading flowers. Flanking the pond were two smaller ponds in the same shape. They seemed to be added on, like the Gamemakers needed the room to be bigger so they added two more ponds. But they were still beautiful, all covered with water flowers and reflecting the grid of the curved glass ceiling. Even the shape of the ceiling was different than in the Cornucopia room. The glass was tapered at the top so it looked sort of Middle Eastern, like a temple or something.

And everywhere I looked there were flowers. There were red tulips set into planters all along the ponds. Thickets of goldenrod on higher ridges walling in the sunken ponds. Lilac trees bordering the glass walls. White lilies I could smell from halfway across the room. Lavender and phlox covering any open bits of ground. It was what heaven must look like to some people.

As beautiful as it was, it would need to have food as well as shelter if I was going to stay. Water clearly wasn't a problem. I could already think of some flowers I could eat, too. Lavender, of course, though I wasn't sure if it was nutritious or more of just a flavoring. I seemed to recall reading somewhere that in hard times in history people ate tulip bulbs. Tucked in among some snapdragons- which were super poisonous and I would not be eating them- there were some fuzzy purple chive flowers. Chive flowers were one of those things that set rich people apart from poor people. Rich people saw pretty flowers to put in a vase. Poor people saw onion-flavored grass that was one of the only things we were allowed to take, since who would want gross grass that smelled like onions?

The only thing left was shelter, and I was already getting an idea about that. Somewhat near the door that led back out into the Cornucopia room there was a huge rose thicket. The roses were up to my chest and went on all the way back to the wall, spreading out maybe thirty feet in both directions. They were covered in big pink blooms... and thorns.

I got on my hands and knees and started looking for an entry point. When I found a little crack I pushed the branches aside, thorns scraping into my palms. I wriggled my way in painfully, hair snagging on thorns and feeling little cuts all over my skin. In a moment I was completely inside the thicket. The light cut off as quickly as though the flowers had swallowed me. I kept fighting my way farther and eventually I was right at the center of the thicket. I couldn't even see the rest of the room- all I could see was roses and branches and the thorns all around me like an embrace. I couldn't imagine the Careers would want to come in unless they knew for sure someone was in there. And if they did come in I'd move away faster than they moved in, since I wouldn't care if the thorns tore me up.

This is my home now. When I was sure the Careers were done with their first sweep I'd go out and gather edible flowers. I'd bring them back to my home and for the next few weeks I'd be a rose.


Some location updates (also for timeline, this is the first afternoon to evening)

Careers: hunting

Japanese gardens: Oberon and RJ

Rainforest garden: Dionysus, Gigi ("City slickers", perhaps?), Omar

North Garden: The Rejects

Pavilion (near the Cornucopia but it's a separate room): Pell

Sunken garden: Soleil