The Hunger Games Chapter 18: Let the Games Begin, a hunger games fanfic

Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? It's finally here! The first day of the Games! I'm so excited! Are you excited? I hope you're excited! So I'mma keep this note short and let y'all just jump into it.

Like always, I enjoy comments, in fact I thrive off of positive comments and love constructive critique ones cause it shows an author that their readers are actually paying attention and enjoying their work.

Thanks for continuing to read this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.

Disclaimer: I still do not own anything except any OC's that may come up, any world building that has not yet been officially stated by the books or the movies, and any plot points/structures that have not been used in the books or movies.

Warning: No beta, we die like Rue.

Chapter 16: Let the Games Begin

XXXXXX

Breakfast is eerily quiet. The sounds of cutlery, dishes, and the consummation of food were heavily muted. No words were exchanged among the occupants seated at the table. Even Effie had not made a single sound since she arrived. No one knows what to say, especially not on a day like this.

For today is the first day of the Hunger Games and it is also the first true test to see if Val and Katniss were indeed prepared to do all they can to achieve their respective goals.

Finally, the meal is over before they know it. The avoxes come to collect their plates and silverware, the red haired avox giving Val a passing smile of encouragement. When they exit the dining area, Val and Katniss both shakily stand up and begin a slow yet steady trek to the penthouse entrance. Effie follows closely behind, still silent.

Haymitch clears his throat, causing the siblings to pause and look over their shoulders, expressions carefully neutral.

"Good luck and be careful," Haymitch says solemnly, tone full of warning, his own expression unreadable.

Val's lips press together into a thin line and Katniss' hands clench tightly as both give a sharp nod before allowing Effie to herd them out.

The twist and turns of hallways and corridors start to blend together, especially as the sleek white walls with fancy lights and bold paintings transitions into a never-ending expanse of bare concrete walls.

Their footsteps echo loudly throughout their walk until the sound of whirring machinery grows louder the closer they get to the end. When they finally reach the light at the end of the tunnel, the siblings see a hovercraft ready and waiting to take them to their destination. A total of ten Peacekeepers stand guard as the siblings and their escort walk up the ramp. The number of guards seems a little (very) excessive, like what? Did they expect either of them to cut and run when they were in the middle of the Capitol and had zero knowledge of their surroundings beyond three levels of the one building they'd been stuck in? Also, guns. No one, especially neither of the siblings, would be stupid enough to run from trained soldiers who had guns.

Regardless, the Peacekeepers serve in their, most likely, intended purpose of stirring the bubbling anxiety within them. It makes Val and Katniss clutch each other more tightly throughout the rather short flight to the arena's location.

When they land, Effie ushers them into a small concrete building and down a long winding hallway until they reach a fork where Portia stands to the left and Cinna stands to the right. Before Val or Katniss walk off to join their respective stylist, Effie gives her usual hug that was not so much a hug but a light encircling of the arms briefly around their shoulders.

"I look forward to the two of you making your district proud," Effie says, tone surprisingly gently as she backs away. "May the odds be ever in your favor."

She quickly walks off, leaving Val and Katniss in a bit of a daze as they watch her retreat out of the building. Val arches an eyebrow at Katniss to which she responds with a shrug and a wry smile. Neither of them know how to react to their usually chipper escort's subdued demeanor.

Before the siblings part ways, Katniss grabs Val's hand, squeezing tightly. He pulls her into a hug instead, as if to convey all the words he wishes he could voice into a silent embrace of good luck, be careful, and I love you. Then they part ways and join their respective stylists who gently usher them off down the different hallways. Both doing their damned best to not look back as the other gets further and further away.

XXXXXX

Val nervously paces the length of the room, mind solely focused on the physical task. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, across the red felt carpet draped tastelessly across the grey concrete floor, from one grey concrete wall to the other grey concrete wall and back again.

"Do you mind sitting down? Your pacing is actually starting to make me nervous," Cinna comments dryly from where he lounges on the only couch that's situated in the room.

Val makes a sound of acknowledgement but doesn't stop pacing. Cinna sighs and stands up. He swipes a small bowl of nuts off the coffee table and intercepts Val mid pace by shoving the bowl in his face.

"Then will you at least eat something? Just to help keep your strength up until you manage to find or attain a reliable food source?" Cinna asks, exasperated.

Val mindlessly obeys and takes the bowl from Cinna. He starts munching on the nuts as he resumes his pacing. Cinna sighs again because this was not what he meant to happen. Eventually, Val manages to eat all the contents of the bowl and holds it with his hands behind his back, still pacing. Unable to take it anymore, Cinna grabs Val by the shoulders to physically halt his pacing.

"Val," Cinna says, his stern tone snapping Val out of the anxious state he was in.

"What? Oh, sorry about that Cinna. You want the bowl back right?" Val asks as he offers the bowl up.

Cinna shakes his head. "Val," he says again with the same stern tone.

"Cinna?" Val responds, confused at where this was going.

"You will be fine. Your sister will be fine. Everything will work out in the end," Cinna says, punctuating each word as if to try and stamp them into Val's brain.

While it does seem to soothe some of the anxiety, Val's inner turmoil can't help but have him ask, "But how would you know that? You know how the Games go. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong because there are people actively making sure they do."

Cinna takes the bowl away from Val and guides him to sit down next to him on the couch. He takes Val's hands into his own and squeezes them in comfort.

"You want to know how I know?" he asks.

Val nods vigorously.

"Because I know you Val. Even if things don't turn out as you first expect, I believe you're resourceful enough to turn the odds in your favor and make it work. You've made me a believer, boy on fire," Cinna says reassuringly as he gently opens one of Val's clenched hands and places a familiar gold pin in his open palm.

Val looks down and sees his mother's gold pin. His thumb gently strokes the lines of the mockingjay's wings. "How did you?" he asks as he looks up at Cinna in gratitude and wonder.

"It took me a while to be honest. When the pin was found after the customary search of your clothes and belongings, some of the inspector's believed that the sharp point could be used as a weapon," Cinna explained.

"Wha- Are you kidding? Do you see how small this pin is?" Val asks, incredulously.

Cinna chuckles. "Of course I do. There was quite a bit of back and forth going on in which I may have wanted to set the inspectors on fire quite a few times just for their lack of common sense and logic."

Val snorts. "And I thought I was supposed to be the pyromaniac considering I was crazy enough to be set on fire but then again, I wasn't the one holding the matches," he says slyly.

Cinna laughs. "Fair enough. But at least I managed to get the pin approved for you to use as a token. Here, let me."

He takes the pin out of Val's hand and gently pins it to the lapel of Val's field jacket. "You want to know a secret, Val?" he suddenly asks.

Val raises an eyebrow in question and hesitantly nods.

Cinna smiles. "Stylists, mentors, and escorts are forbidden from betting on their tributes. Makes it seem like favoritism or like they're trying to rig the Games in some way."

Val nods along, indicating he's following along but still a bit confused as to where this is going.

"But if I could, I would bet on you, on the both of you, on winning and on changing a system that has long been broken since its creation," Cinna declares resolutely to Val's astonishment.

Before he can respond though, a buzzer sounds.

"All tributes. The Games will commence in three minutes. You have one minute to step onto the platform now. I repeat. All tributes. The Games will commence in three minutes. You have one minute to step onto the platform now."

Val swallows thickly as he stands up and walks, somewhat unsteadily, to the circular platform encircled by a tube of glass with only a single opening in the middle of the room. He steels himself as he steps onto the platform. The door of the tube closes and he reflexively pushes against it as he turns to Cinna in a blind panic.

Cinna, expression carefully neutral, gives a steady nod. Then the platform slowly rises. Val glances up as light from above floods the tube.

XXXXXX

Val blinks in disorientation as his vision is flooded with light. His ears ring and his vision clears to reveal the landscape before him.

He's in a field with a large lake off to the side and a giant metal cornucopia set beside it. A large, dense forest rings around the field like a fence. All the tributes stand on metal pedestals placed in a circle a good sprinting distance away from the cornucopia.

He quickly takes stock of the different types of supplies (large crates, small bags, well sized backpacks) and weapons (mainly swords and spears) strewn about the field and piled up within the cornucopia. Of course the majority of supplies and weapons are placed within the cornucopia, tempting all to test their luck and see if they can steal away with their lives. He even spots a pair of bow and arrows leaning almost mockingly against a large black crate set just at the foot of the cornucopia. While the weapon itself rarely appeared in the Games, it was obvious whom they were for. It seems the Game Makers were attempting to manufacture some sort of rivalry between him and his sister.

Val turns his gaze away and looks around for something more accessible. He spots a backpack off about 10 or so feet from his left, easily accessible and allowing him to grab and run without crossing paths with any of the other tributes.

Initial game plan in mind, he then switches his focus to picking out his sister in the circle. His gaze travels across each pedestal until he spots her about five tributes away to his right. The siblings immediately make eye contact. He then pointedly drags his gaze to the backpack and then subtly tilts his head back towards the woods that surround them. Specifically at the entry point situated directly behind the third tribute in between them, a perfect midpoint for them to run up and join each other as they entered.

Katniss gives a small nod before her attention is caught by the bow leaning by the cornucopia. She looks back at him and frowns when she sees him shake his head and mouth 'no.' She sighs and nods before returning her focus onto a backpack that was placed just a few feet in front of her.

With that crisis averted, Val quickly refocuses his attention to the nearby backpack as the countdown begins, the hologram numbers steadily shifting down numerically with a thumping sound reminiscent of a steady heartbeat.

In the central control room, multiple Game Makers type and swipe across their digital keyboards and holographic screens.

In the middle of the Capitol, citizens scream and shout and laugh as they raise their glasses and cheer in gleeful celebration.

In the plaza of District 12, Seamers, Townies, and even the few Peacekeepers stand together, united for once, in quiet solidarity.

In the living room of the Everdeen home, Prim clutches her mother tightly as both stare unblinkingly at the screen. Both are too afraid to look away for even a second.

In the attic of the bakery, Peeta solemnly listens to the countdown while resolutely refusing to look out the small window that grants a perfect view to the plaza below. He furiously splashes forest green and sunrise orange paint across an old canvas.

In the meadow, Gale sits by the lake. The sun shines brightly and it's peacefully quiet with only the sounds of birds, the occasional squirrel, and a soft breeze that rustles the wild grass around him. In his hand, he tightly clutches a bundle of white and light pink Valerian flowers.

Val's pulse races as his heartbeat hammers in his ears, drowning out all sound except for the countdown.

A bead of sweat trails down from his forehead as his muscles tense in the ready position.

If a buzzer sounded, Val wouldn't know as any and all sound becomes a low buzzing, the adrenaline rushing through his body as he swiftly jumps off the pedestal and rushes over to grab the backpack without a second to spare.

Once his arm hooks itself around one of the backpack's straps, he quickly turns on his heel and starts booking it towards the woods, but not before he glances over to see Katniss running in the complete opposite direction of the entry point he thought they had agreed upon. His pace slows in confusion until his heart jumps to his throat as he watches her, backpack in hand, charge straightforward, right past and even through the bloodbath occurring by the cornucopia.

He sees Careers cut down and stab the few tributes brave enough to rush towards the cornucopia. One of the younger tributes, Val's mind isn't focused enough to see who, gets brutally stabbed through with a spear by Marvel. Another tribute gets their leg and then their neck cut by a gleeful Glimmer. One of the tributes falls due to the multiple knives thrown at their back courtesy of Clove. Amber and Noah stick together as they beat another tribute to death with fists and the blunt end of a spear.

He watches a few other tributes desperately punch and kick and yank at each other for weapons and bags that were scattered further away from the center. The last few tributes have already grabbed what they could and booked it out of there, their figures already disappearing into the tree line at varying entry points.

Suddenly, a harsh battle cry jerks his attention back into focus and he quickly turns to see Kai gunning towards him with a crazed look in his eyes and a bloodied short sword in hand. Immediately his flight response kicks in and he rushes off with a burst of speed. He holds the backpack up behind him so that it acts as a barrier for his head and upper back.

Val manages to make it a few feet past the tree line and instantly spots the dip of a hillside straight in front of him. He starts to angle himself to run past it when a sudden impact hits the bag. He stumbles and trips, arms coming up to shield his head as he rolls and slides down the hill. Once he reaches the bottom, he takes advantage of his momentum to scramble up to his feet and run away.

The buzzing sound in his ears finally fades away as he hears Kai's cry of outrage fade into the distance. Then the sounds of cannons echo throughout the arena as they start going off one after another. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. The last cannon's echo slowly fades until finally, silence.

Val doesn't stop running though until the only sounds he can hear are the sounds of nature, of birdsong and the rustling leaves. Finally, he slows down to a halt, bending over to catch his breath as he wipes the sweat off his forehead. His heartbeat calms with each breath he takes until it's no longer hammering in his ears.

He looks around, methodically assessing his surroundings. He seems to be in an area of the woods with trees that tower above him and branches that seem sturdy enough to be potential sleeping sites. He strains his ears to hear if there are any other human beings around, only nodding to himself when he hears nothing but the occasional sounds of wildlife.

Val drops onto the forest floor with a sigh that seems to drain the tension out of his body. It's as good a time as any to see what supplies he managed to bag. He shoulders the backpack off and starts when he sees the bloodied short sword Kai was threatening him with sticking out of the bag at a precarious angle.

He pulls the sword out, grimacing at the blood that was drying on its surface. He quickly wipes it across the dirt floor to get as much of the blood off as possible. Once the sword is as clean as it can be, Val snickers to himself because of course Kai would be stupid enough to toss a sword at him like it was a knife or spear. It was only thanks to the weight and length of the short sword that Val hadn't been stabbed or even pricked by it.

Setting the sword aside, Val turns his attention to the backpack, still in relatively good condition with nothing spilling out despite the obvious hole the sword had made. He opens the pack and takes each item out - a coil of rope, an emergency blanket, a handful of single serving packs of nuts and dried fruit, one water bottle thankfully filled, a small bottle of iodine tablets, a box of matches, and a skinning knife. It's a very, very good haul he thinks as he smiles to himself and mentally pats himself on the back.

Then he sets about putting each item back, making sure the water bottle was placed in one of the mesh pockets to the side of the pack and the matches, a pack of dried fruit, and the iodine were placed in his jacket pockets. He picks up the sword as he stands and decides to go about the motions of survival.

He feels a sense of deja vu run over him as he treks through the forest, searching for a reliable source of water and any signs of the wildlife he kept hearing. It's almost exactly like the situation he was in eight years ago - stuck in a forest, bare minimum tools of survival, and people out to kill him. Only difference was back then, his survival was paramount on anonymity and now, his survival is dependent on the entertainment he can provide for an entire nation.

Val snorts to himself at the irony as he carefully follows a set of tracks that lead to many crisscrossing paths of animal footprints, most likely rabbit or squirrel. He then swiftly and methodically sets a few basic traps just like the ones Gale first taught him back when he was still living alone in the forest. Once that task is checked off, he sets off again to look for a source of water. He watches the ground closely, trying to see where it went dry and where it grew muddy, while still trying to keep an ear out for any potential humans whom he definitely didn't want to cross paths with. Unless they were Katniss. And oh, was he going to rip her a new one after that stunt she pulled at the bloodbath.

But for now, water. Following a faint sound, Val comes across a small, babbling brook. He quickly takes stock of his surroundings, noticing that the brook was about 30 or so paces from where he set the traps. Mentally scribbling down the location, he decides to circle the area with his traps acting as the epicenter and taking mental notes of anything and everything that could serve as a potential advantage no matter how small. During his circuit, he comes across a cave with a conveniently growing canopy that could be adjusted to hide the opening from any wandering tributes and a cluster of trees that go high enough that he'd be able to escape the reach of any thrown or shot weaponry.

When he completes his circuit, which was thankfully tribute less but still with no sign of Katniss, Val walks back to the center to check on his traps. And sure enough, a squirrel squirms desperately at the end of a trap that has Val grinning at his luck. He quickly gets to work in killing the squirrel as swiftly and painlessly as possible. Then he drains the blood and methodically skins the animal before cutting it up and stripping it of its flesh, making sure to bury its bones and entrails in the ground out of respect and as fertilizer.

He then treks back to the brook to wash his hands, the skinning knife, and the meat before setting up a small fire over which he allows the meat to cook. Once it's sufficiently cooked, Val eats a few strips, taking time to savor the taste despite the lack of seasoning. Paired with a pack of dried fruit and he's sufficiently fueled for the rest of the day. He quickly stomps out the fire and scatters the ashy remains. Then he places the leftover cooked meat in the empty dried fruit bag and places it in his pocket.

Survival basics done for now, Val decides to spend the rest of the day searching for Katniss, making sure not to stray too far from the area of his circuit. He searched high, climbing up a few trees to get better vantage points, and low, combing through the forest floor for any shoe prints that looked about her size. He kept searching and searching for any signs of his sister until he finally had to call it quits for the day when the sun began to set. He quickly treks back to his circuit and heads straight for the cluster of tall trees, swiftly climbing up one while there was still light because it'd sure be a hell of a way to go by falling off a tree because he couldn't see where his hand was grabbing or foot was stepping.

Once he manages to reach a high up enough branch that was both sturdy and large enough that he could rest without the risk of slipping off, he takes out the rope. He loops it around the trunk, slipping the arms of his pack through, and ties it off around his waist. After he pulls the emergency blanket around him, Val settles as comfortably as he can on the branch. He watches the sky turn from orange and red to purple and black but is unable to really enjoy the beautiful sight as the anxiety of waiting for the end of day announcements starts to claw at him. He needs the clarification that Katniss is most assuredly not one of the cannon fires that had been set off earlier in the day.

Now that it's completely dark, Val sees a small light out of the corner of his eye. He turns to see that someone had lit a fire nearby which was thankfully, not close enough to draw attention to the tree he's hiding on.

'Idiot,' he thought irritably, 'Don't they know that on the first day, after the bloodbath, the Careers go out hunting for easy prey? That fire is literally a beacon signaling dumb tribute here, please kill.'

Then his irritation turns to self imposed guilt because that tribute was probably really scared or ill prepared and desperately needed the fire, else why would they even start one at night? He looks away when he hears a distant scream. Then clenches his teeth in anger when the cannon doesn't sound until several minutes later.

Distant laughter that can only be from the Careers is heard from the direction of the scream as the light of the fire goes out abruptly. Only when the sound of laughter fades away does Val relax the tension in his body. The Careers really were sick bastards and even though he still feels guilty, he's glad that he's alive and that his sister might potentially still be alive too as she would never make such a rookie mistake no matter how desperate she was.

Suddenly, the Panem national anthem starts to play as the sky lights up with a holographic display of the Capitol Emblem with the words "The Fallen" placed underneath. It's finally time for the announcements.

The Capitol emblem then switches to head shots of those who had died with only their District number labeling who they were. No names. Of course the Game Makers wouldn't even dignify the fallen with the respect owed to the dead. All the tributes in the arena were only numbers to them after all.

Val watches solemnly as each fallen tribute appears in the sky, his mind helpfully supplying the names of each tribute as they appeared.

Azora - District 4 - She smiles softly

Sebastian - District 4 - He has a crooked grin

Dean - District 5 - He smiles, close-lipped but confident

Tamora - District 6 - Her lips are pressed into a thin line

Jason - District 6 - He looks very noble and serious

Sienna - District 7 - Her expression is carefully neutral

Wallace - District 7 - He attempts a small smile

Lee - District 8 - He's outright frowning

Demetria - District 9 - Her face is poised and refined

Craigh - District 9 - He has a shy smile

Susan - District 10 - Her smile is hesitant yet wide

Eleven tributes in total, dead.

Then the hologram disappears but the anthem still plays. Val quickly does some mental calculations and comes up with thirteen tributes still alive. Both him and his sister which is such a relief that she's still alive even if he's still pissed at her for breaking her promise. Then Rue and Thresh which is great, especially considering the alliance they had set up. Then Timmer from 10, Savannah from 8, Finch from 5, and all six Careers, Glimmer, Marvel, Clove, Kai, Amber, and Noah. Great.

As the last part of the anthem plays out, Val decides to send his own private salute to the fallen. One that he thought was more respectful than the picture and number the Capitol decided to callously slap them with. He even decides to add something extra. Something that he had found in an old poetry book from the olden days that had managed to escape The Burning after the 10th Hunger Games. He and Katniss had come across the book when they had decided to raid the library for fun one day and apparently one of the poems had once been a traditional funeral rite before it was lost to time and fear, just like the salute. A proper way to say goodbye paired with a sign of respect.

Val carefully lifts three fingers from his right hand up to his lips and raises it out in salute to the night sky. "Ave atque vale," he says quietly even though there was no one around to hear him. "Hail and farewell," he whispers as the last notes of the anthem fade away.

Then he settles in for the night, closing his eyes and falling into an uneasy sleep. Completely unaware of the hidden camera that was placed nearby and had broadcasted everything he had said and done.

Anyone spot the small Easter egg from another popular young adult series? Yes? No? Also, here I am, using my three years of Latin from high school for something like fanfiction. Oh how the mighty language has fallen. Whelp I will admit that I enjoyed the books and love the show and thought that the phrase was very fitting to Val's desire to give a respectful and humane goodbye to the tributes who had lost their lives for the meaningless entertainment of the Capitol goons. Did you guys think it was fitting? Is there anything you think that could've worked better? Now that the Games are well underway is there anything you're looking forward to? That you wanna see? Let me know and I may or may not include it! Until next time!