Let the Games Begin

Katniss POV

It's hard to enter a death game with any other strategy but to come out of it alive. It's even harder to enter a game of death and to try to make sure that someone else makes it out alive with you. Especially someone that you owe your life to. But we've been told to join forces, that it gives us a better chance to take the Careers down, but in reality, the only thing that joining forces will do is turn us against each other and lead to the eventual death of the very same people that we relied on to stay alive in the beginning. I don't see how that would be helpful; it'd be like killing a friend. Stabbing them in the back…literally.

I never really thought too much about the other tributes. I didn't see a point to it. They would either kill me or I would kill them, but I knew that no matter what, someone was going to die by the hand of the other. I also knew that by the end of the Games, I would have killed at least one human being. It was inevitable. I had Prim to get back to, to take care of, and to protect. I had Gale who needed help bringing in game for his family, my family, and to sell at the Hob for other items our families needed. He couldn't support two families; it was hard enough for him to support one.

It's not easy for me to make friends. It's just not programmed into my being, I guess. Somehow though, Jack and Kim had fought through my barriers and caused me to break. I needed to get back to them as well. Help them figure out where they are supposed to be and how to get them there. I still don't understand that day they just appeared. But it wasn't just that. I wanted to believe in their plan, I wanted it to work, I wanted it to destroy the Capital and Snow and these Games! I wanted to prove that their plan would work. And for that, I needed to get me and Peeta out of this alive.

Seems easy? Yea, no, it's not. Especially while we were watching the announcement of scores. It was the first time I really put thought into my fellow tributes. They were a force to be reckoned with, and a force that would in no way go down easy. But when I saw that I had an 11, the highest score out of all tributes, I felt something deep inside that I hadn't felt since my father was killed, I felt hope. I know sounds cheesy right? But it's true. I finally felt like it was something I could do, I could get out and I could get my Peeta out with me. Bring him home to his family where he belongs. The only problem was I still did not have a plan on how to make that happen. Lucky for me, Peeta provided a perfect one during the interviews.

The last thing I ever wanted to do, was to make Peeta into a pawn for the sack of some rebellion that was really against our odds of even starting, but I never wanted to play with his feelings are make him believe something was real when it wasn't. Even more so, I never, NEVER, wanted to allow myself and my heart freely feel what I have been trying so hard to keep hidden deep down. I knew what I had to do before even speaking with Haymitch, before we even got back to our floor at the Capital. In order for me to make sure that Peeta would get out alive and for him to not get his hopes up for something I knew I could never truly return, I had to fight my true feelings. My walls had to thicken. My heart had to harden. It was for the sake of our lives. It was the right thing to do, it had to be. Even if my heart and mind said otherwise. I know I love Peeta, I always have. He saved me. And now I had to save him, by making him and the Capital and all the Districts believe in this love story to get everyone on our side. To spark the rebellion and put the plan in action. To take down the government, I couldn't let something like love get in my way. Nothing would get in my way, except one thing, and I was currently standing in the clear tube shaking with fear as Cinna disappeared and I got my first look at the arena.

You'll never believe how slow 60 seconds goes by when your life hangs in the balance. That 60 seconds feels like an eternity. Everything seems to go by extra slow, everything is dead quiet. I know what Haymitch said, don't enter the blood bath, head for high ground and water. One problem though Haymitch, that meant no supplies, and no supplies meant game over. I had to get something and that's when I spotted the bow and arrows. I knew they were for me, but I also saw how they were positioned, I didn't stand a chance of beating the Careers to it and still retreating to the cover of the trees.

Three…Two…One…and just like that, everyone is running for the supplies, a few charging into the woods. Where am I? Still standing on my podium like an idiot. I should be running, I know it, but apparently my legs don't. Finally something orange catches my attention. A backpack. Close enough to grab and still get into the coverage of the trees, and with that I make my beeline.

It was a struggle, a kid died, but I did get the pack, and thanks to District 2 and my quick reflexes, a knife as well. I had ran far enough into the trees where I felt comfortable in my surroundings, well as comfortable as one can feel when surrounded by people who wanted to kill you. I had made my camp in the a tree, perfect position to stay hidden, but could still keep watch, just in case those Career's came lurking about at night.

I had no idea where Peeta was. I had no idea if Peeta was even still alive. I was supposed to keep an eye on him, I was suppose to stay with him. That was the plan, the game had just started and I had already thrown off the plan! Great beginning, Katniss, great beginning.

With a frustrated sigh, I rummage through my pack, taking the sleeping bag out, it was quickly getting chilly, and the sky was getting darker a lot faster than normal, the Game Keepers playing with Mother Nature, as usual. This would be the time I would find out about Peeta, the symbol in the sky came on and all the dead tributes. I was flooded with relief when Peeta's face did not appear. I may have lost him in the havoc of the blood bath, but I would find him. I would. And I would get him out. No matter what.

AN: Shorter than my normal chapters, I apologize. But anyone who has read or even seen the Hunger Games, pretty much knows what happens during her time in the Arena. I don't see the point in rewriting that, unless you really want it. I won't be changing much about the progress of the Games, I will be focusing more on the people of Panem's reactions to the Games and how the rebellion grows, which Jack and Kim are leading forces for the rebellion. Be advised, when I'm going with a Katniss POV, the chapter will typically be smaller, just because everyone knows her story. I will, however, be diving pretty deeply into her relationship Rue, which I personally feel the movie did a real disservice to. As always, reviews are always welcome. Hope you are enjoying the story. Next chapter we will be going back to District 12 with Jack. Have a nice night.