Day 1: Bloodbath

The platform slowly rises with me on it. I tighten my shoulders and get ready, listening for Claudius Templesmith's welcoming voice. A little more than a minute. Then my game is on.

Above me, the entrance to the arena opens and I try to catch my first glimpse, but all I see is glaring white. I blink and when I carefully open my eyes again, the platform has already come to a halt and around me lies the arena.

The first thing I notice is sand. Lots of sand. Masses of sand. I turn my head and see a desert stretching as far as the eye can see. I can't see any trees, any water, nothing that I am prepared for. All there is besides the endless sand is the glittering Cornucopia, filled to the top with bags and weapons a few dozen yards from me.

To me it is obvious that I will run to the Cornucopia as soon as the cannon announces the start of the Hunger Games. But then what? Where should I go then? I look around again in confusion, and as I do so, my gaze brushes Tic. He stands diagonally opposite me, half hidden by the Cornucopia. Uncertainly he nods to me and I return the greeting. My thoughts, however, are on my strategy to win these Games, because from now on it counts. I have reached the point for which I have been prepared all my life. After all the Games I've seen, it seems impossible that a big sandbox alone will set the arena this year. That would be boring, and if there's one thing the Capitol doesn't want, it's boring Games. I know this for a fact. Without escape and hiding places, these Games would be over in a matter of hours. No, there has to be something else.

Before I can think any further, however, the cannon goes off and I automatically sprint forward. Getting ahead in the sand proves more difficult than I thought. Almost immediately my feet sink in. Only under the strain do I notice how incredibly hot it is. As I try to move forward as quickly as possible, I see the girl from District 12 stumble and fall to my left. She begins to scream as she tries to break her fall with her hands. Fleetingly, I realize that her skin has turned red within a split-second, that's how hot the sand of the arena is. I am startled, but I cannot say I am greatly surprised. The arena is a bloodbath, and if there is one rule of thumb that stands the test of time, it is that nothing and no one is your friend in this artificial place. So I turn away from the screaming girl and continue to fight my way through the heat.

As I get closer to the Cornucopia, I notice a difference from all the previous years. This year, the opening is not at ground level, but about a meter and a half above the sand. I pause for a moment. After I'm sure none of the other tributes are close enough to kill me, I get as low to my knees as I dare with the hot sand. The Cornucopia is raised into the air by an angular box that seems fully anchored in the ground. Interesting.

I hear a crash and startle. Two figures have reached the Cornucopia. They are the giant boy from District 4, Saylor, and Cassia with the shaved head from District 2. Since they are not attacking each other, I consider their alliance confirmed. They both look in the opposite direction to me, but if the two of them work together, it's only a matter of time before Riva and Romulus, and probably the two from 1, show up here. So I take my chance, step up to the Cornucopia and grab a bag with a shoulder strap, two knives and a blanket. I can't estimate its usefulness, but since I have to pull it down to me from the opening of the Cornucopia, I assume that it's more useful than it might look - after all, the best things are always on top. My hand briefly touches the Cornucopia in the process, and I find that the metal has become as hot in the sun as the sand. I let out a painful hiss and immediately pull back my arm. On the heel of my hand, my skin glows and a narrow white burn blister rises almost instantly.

Then the other tributes are at the Cornucopia, first the girl from 7 and the boy from 8, but before they can make much of a grab, spears bore into their throats. I take a step backwards and duck behind the opening of the Cornucopia. My heart presses noticeably against my chest, but it's not fear, it's adrenaline. Adrenaline that helps me to perceive everything that is happening around me, to recognize every movement, every scream, every death, and the path I am making for myself. I know how prepared I am, I know where I'm going, what I need to do, what I -

A shadow appears next to me and I reflexively strike at it with my new knife. The blade meets resistance, piercing flesh, and the boy from 10 pauses in mid-motion with a surprised look at me. I back away, but we continue to stare at each other. My weapon is stuck sideways deep between his collarbone and the top of his shoulder, and as thick blood oozes from his mouth I know I've pierced far enough into his body to scratch his windpipe. Perfectly calm, I pull my arm back and automatically he puts his fingers over the wound. Blood runs through his fingers, then he sinks to his knees. As he touches the floor, burns join his stab wound and he twitches and whimpers before finally lying still.

Keeping a careful distance from the hot Cornucopia, I continue walking, trying to keep an eye on both my sides. But the career tributes at the front of the opening seem to be doing a pretty good job of keeping the group of other tributes in check.

Some, however, have chosen a different path. Instead of running to the Cornucopia, distant figures are running into the desert. To my left, I recognize a thickset figure with red hair. Tic. Good. I hope for his sake that he can find shelter further out, perhaps behind a dune. Still, deep down I know that whatever he does, the most he can do is delay his imminent death.

I have now arrived at the pointed end of the Cornucopia. The box below also ends here. In contrast to the front part of the Cornucopia, here it protrudes to the sides. I touch it tentatively with my foot. As expected, it is solid, made of metal. And yet it feels different. The second time, I kick it harder and there is a sound with a long echo.

The box is hollow.

And then it dawns on me.

The desert is not the arena.

The arena is below us, under the sand, and the entrance to it must be in the Cornucopia.