Disclaimer: I have yet to own the Hunger Games.

I rub my arm. It's still sore from where they injected the tracker. They wouldn't want to lose a tribute. My stylist is blankly staring at the wall while mindlessly sipping a glass of red wine, legs crossed. He moves aside a strand of his bright purple hair in a rather feminine fashion. I doubt he even knows my name yet. Oh well, it's not like I know his.

I'm wearing black, long pants and a red short-sleeve tee shirt, with leather lining the inside of both, almost like armor. The material is waterproof. I also have boots, and a very light, blue jacket. I've been told you can foretell what the arena will be like from the clothes that you are given to wear. It might be a desert, with lots of cactus, which would be an explanation for the leather lining on the inside of the clothing. Though, if it is a desert, why do I have a jacket? Cold nights, perhaps? I guess I will find out soon enough.

I've been sitting on the platform, which will lift me up towards my death, for about fifteen minuets. I guess I just want this over with. Be as close to it as possible. I have convinced most of myself that I'm going to die. Some part of me has yet to believe that though. All I can hope for is a quick death. I feel that painless would be too much to ask for. A strand of hair falls out of my ponytail and into my face. I brush it behind my ear. "Contestants, prepare for launch." I hear a voice say. About time. I've already been prepared since I got here.

Five minutes later, I'm trapped inside a clear tube. Great, they want me to confine me so I don't try to run. Then the platform starts to slowly rise, in an antagonizing manner. A feel an emptying sensation in the pit of my stomach, and stand up. Before I'm engulfed in total darkness, my stylist yells out "Remember, 60 seconds." I look at him quizzically and point to my ear. He then rapidly flashes six ten times on his fingers.

That is the time that we have to stand on the platform. Move off before then, and you get blasted to smithereens by the land mines that encircle the metal platforms. I've heard stories from the first Hunger games. Tributes that weren't told about the mines, and had been killed before the games had even started, because they rushed for the bountiful goods that were placed in the cornucopia, unknowing of the hazard that lay before them. I didn't witness this personally, being only three at the time, but I have no doubt that these accounts are true. They all seem heartless enough to do such a thing.

I'm in the dark for fifteen seconds. Then a blinding light greets me, rendering me sightless for a few seconds before my eyes adjust. I blink rapidly to recover, not liking the feeling of such helplessness. A male voice booms from speakers in the sky, "Ladies and Gentlemen, let the eleventh Hunger Games begin!" Yeah, let the Hunger Games begin. The voice says it like it's a big sporting event. I guess to them it is.

The first thing I register is the extreme humidity and heat. Great, I hate the heat. The second thing is the smell of brackish water, and the buzzing sound of bugs flying next to my ear. We are in a swamp. There are cypress and mangroves all over the place, and a few other trees with large, climbable branches that I don't recognize. I grew up in the lumbering district, but I barely had any idea about swamp trees, just a little bit of knowledge obtained here and there.

I see an alligator sink into the brackish water. Even though I haven't seen an alligator in person, I've seen pictures. I've heard stories of what they can do. If there is one, there must be more. They are going to be one of the biggest problems caused by arena, but possibly a source of food. Maybe even the only source of food. I hope not.

We are on an island of dirt, surprisingly dry, raised above the primary hazards of the swamp; in the middle of the circle of tributes that are evenly spaced apart is a giant golden cornucopia. That is what everyone has their envious eyes on.

The Cornucopia holds things for survival in the arena. Vital items that will provide life in the arena such as food and water; or items that will inflict death in the arena such as weapons and poison. The closer they are to the Cornucopia, the greater value belonging to the supplies. I look at the items closest to me. I decide to go for them and get out of there. I would only sprint fifty yards. That would be the plan safest for me, I'm a fast sprinter, and I might be spared from the bloodbath to follow if I'm quick to escape into the sanctuary of the trees, where I can hopefully move more agile than the others. But hopefully, the others wouldn't bother with me anyway.

I look around at the other tributes. Each one has their eyes fixated on something held within the Cornucopia. I see Glitch. She has her eyes laid on a set of knives sixty yards in. You can tell that she is preparing to sprint for them. Maybe with knives she managed to win that score of a ten. I see Blake eying a cluster of spears. He doesn't need to be fast to get those. All he has to do is shove the other contestants out of the way, but with his size they would probably just move over. I kneel down, and prepare to sprint, adrenaline starting to pump through my body.

The gong rings. I dash in. I manage to garb a black backpack, a knife in one hand and bow and a set of twelve arrows in the other. Some tributes are already starting to take off into the different parts of the arena, not taking the risk of fighting for anything. I see others have reached the peak of the Cornucopia. The carnage of mass murder has officially begun. And I'm going to be part of it if I don't get out. One girl, a Career from District 1, I think, she has platinum blond hair, sees me standing there and raises her spear. Then I run for my life, literally. The girl forgets about me and turns back towards the Cornucopia, probably to steal the riches.

You have to splash through the water to get to the trees. I try to pick the shortest path to the trees, which is about a foot and three-fourths of a foot deep, and fifty yards distance from the island, in order to not become a target for those competing over the bountiful supplies of the Cornucopia. I avoid the wrath of the weapons set forth by my fellow tributes, but not that of the alligators. One of the juveniles manages to get a small, quick bite on my leg before I'm able to get to the roots of the mangroves, raising me above the dangers of the alligators and sheltering me from the other tributes. It didn't bite that hard; and thankfully the leather protected me from the alligator piercing through any of my skin. I could still see bite marks though, were the pressure of the jaw had enclosed around my leg. I didn't have an open wound thankfully, which would be really bad because I'm pretty sure infection will set in very quick in this swamp due to the bugs and the infested water.

I sprint along, inside the protection of the mangrove forest, away from the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. I haven't heard the cannons that count up the dead yet, so the battle must still be raging. All those pour dying children…all I'm able to think is that I'm glad I'm not a part of it.

As I move, I see a small, baby alligator swimming in a narrow shallow part of the swamp, the water level had been decreasing as I moved further into the forest. I knelt on the root and picked up the little alligator. It was only about a foot long, and it was cute, unlike the adult alligators. I was examining it when I heard a low grumble. I turned behind me and saw a six foot alligator glaring at me.

Its head sunk below the water. I saw its tail thrash, and I knew that it was coming towards me. Consumed suddenly with fear, I dropped the baby and sprinted. I didn't even bother to place the gator down gently. I did not want to be attacked by and alligator, much less one that big. I would end up dying for sure.

After fifteen minutes of navigation through the mangrove forest, avoiding angry mother alligators and evasion of meeting any tributes that were trying to kill me, I hear the cannons fire. I stop to listen. On my fingers I count: first one, then two, all the way up to nine. Nine down, fourteen to go. That is a lot of people left to kill me. I wonder who is among the survivors. Did Glitch make it? I hope that she did, even though I don't really trust her, I want her to be the victor. Blake would benefit my family the most, but I don't like him. Although, I guess I have to wait until tonight when they flash the faces of the dead into the sky.

After what seems about five hours of leaping along the roots of mangroves, I empty my pack, to see what the Gamemakers have decided to put in it. There was a bag of dried fruit, a half-gallon of water, a first aid kit, about three feet of cloth and iodine. I haven't realized how thirsty I've been. I take a sip of the water. It's still four fifths full once I finish, but it won't last forever, so the iodine will come in use. I would also need to find more food. That brings me back to the idea of the alligators being the only source of food. But alligators have to eat too, says a voice in the back of my mind.

I also had the knife, and the bow and arrows, which I could use to acquire food. The arrows didn't have a sheathe, so I put them in my backpack, in a way that I can have easy access to them. I can also use them long range if I see any other tributes. I realize I'm dead if I end up in hand to hand combat. Other than that, so far so good, at least I haven't died yet. I haven't seen any of the other tributes since the cornucopia. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing.

I walk for three more hours through the swamp, careful to walk on top of the mangrove tree roots, until I happen upon a willow tree. This would probably be safe. At least alligators can't climb trees. People can, says that annoying voice in the back of my mind that seems to want to disagree with every train of thought I have.

I'm able to climb up easily, due to the fact I spent most of my free time in District 9 up in trees. Hopefully none of the others can do this with as much ease as me. Once I found a sturdy branch at a decent height, I take off my backpack and use it as a pillow, and then get comfortable. I don't move in my sleep, which is a good thing, so I didn't bother to use my belt to buckle myself in.

I drift off until I hear the anthem. I look up into the sky and see the symbol of the Capitol. After it ends and the symbol disappears, the faces of the dead start to flash into the sky. My brother's face was in this first round three years ago. They show a head shot of the tribute, and the district they were from below it. In the sky tonight are both from three, the girl from five, both from six, the boy from seven, the boy from ten, and both from twelve. Those were the ones killed at the Cornucopia. That leaves all of the Careers, the boy from five, the girl from seven, both from eight, the girl from ten, Blake, Glitch, and Tannor. Everyone whose name I knew survived, great. That just means that they're more likely to kill me. Or I'm more likely to kill them. With that pleasant thought still circling in my head, I drift off. The last image in my head before I'm asleep is that of Glitch grinning and waving at me from a tree far in the distance.

That night I had a dream of falling. I fell out of the tree. The wind rushed by my face. I didn't even have a chance to scream. I flipped upside down and landed on my neck. It crushed beneath the weight of the rest of my body. I heard a cannon fire. When I finally woke up, I was still in the tree, in the same position, breathing heavily. I'm pretty sure that the cannon hadn't fired though. I try to shake of the dream, but I simply can't. How do you forget a dream of dying, in an arena where you are sure to do so?

Once I wake up enough to process my surroundings, I can't help but notice that the water level has risen two feet higher. And it's still climbing rapidly. I think this means I'm supposed to keep moving uphill.

Ok, I got a review, and I would like to say thank you. :D. Anyhow, said person said I should try to put a little more of Glynn's thoughts to make the story longer. This is my attempt to that. After an hour of looking through and editing, I must say, it did add a bit of volume. I suppose I will get better at that in time. Also, there was a foggy connection between the summary and the story. I guess it will be one of those things you don't get until the end. So, I guess tell me if this chapter is any better.