Chapter 8:

After flying for around a half hour, the windows go black, indicating we are almost to the arena. We arrive a few minutes later, and we're lowered to below the arena.

We walk into the Launch Room. I take a quick shower. Logan helps me get dressed into the outfit all of the tributes are given.

I am wearing brown khaki pants, a maroon short sleeved shirt, a thick belt, a black jacket, and a pair of sneakers. The sneakers feel like they will be good for running in.

"Ok, so based on this outfit, I would say you might face a variety of temperatures, possibly warm days with cold nights. The sneakers are good for running in. The belt should be good for storing weapons," Logan says, trying to help me out one last time before the games. "One last thing," he says and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out the necklace Rosalinda had given to me for a token, and he places it around my neck.

We have some time before launch, so Logan and I sit and talk. I eat some food and drink a lot of water, since who knows when I will find a source of water.

Then a lady announces that it is time for launch. I walk over towards the metal platform, suddenly nervous. I give Logan a hug goodbye, then step onto the platform. A tube comes over me, and I put on my game face. I am being raised up, and I am covered in darkness. After a few seconds of darkness, I am suddenly hit with light. And I get my first view of the arena.

The first thing I see is the glistening golden cornucopia surrounded by weapons and packs. Then I look to my left and I see a vast forest, similar to the ones at home. The forest stretches all along the left side and in front of me. To my right, there is a lake with fields of grass behind it, and I just hope that this is not the only source of water in the games. I turn around and see a looming mountain. I'm going to stay away from there since it doesn't look like there is much coverage.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the booming voice of Gustavo Templesmith rings over the arena. "Let the 124th Hunger Games begin!"

Sixty seconds. That's how long I have to wait before I can run to the weapons. I look for Kendall and see him several places to the right of me. I mouth the word forest so he knows where to go to meet up. I get ready to run to the pile. Then the gong rings.

I sprint right away and grab a large pack as I am running, trying to make it to the axes. I grab several axes and pick up some knives. By now, almost everyone is here. The careers have started to kill people mercilessly. I see Iris take out the boy Draco from District 3 with a knife.

Suddenly, Clair, the girl from 3 is running towards me with her spear. I'm not ready to defend myself because my hands are full, but suddenly she falls forward, with a knife protruding from her back. I see Kendall with a handful of knives, and realize he just saved me. I tuck a few knives into my belt to get ready to leave.

I see the twelve year old Morty reaching to grab a pack, and Brycen, the cruel Career from 2, slice completely through his waist with a sword. Blaine, from 11, takes out the idiot Brock from 9 who doesn't even have a weapon to defend himself.

The ground is starting to become slick with the blood from dead tributes. Angela swings her malice and takes out a small boy. I'm about to run to the forest when I see a girl crying over the boy Angela killed. Oh no, I think. The boy she killed was Lucius, and Gabriella is going to get herself killed by just sitting there.

The Careers are starting to disperse, to kill off any stragglers. I need to get out of there now. I see the girl Jasmine from 6 start to run towards Gabriella. Without thinking, I run towards her and strike her in the head with my ax.

I pull on Gabriella's arm, forcing her to get up. "C'mon, we have to get out of her now, or we'll be next," I shout at her. I'm starting to panic since the Careers are starting to run towards us. This seems to motivate her and we run into the forest.

We keep running for a while without stopping, trying to put enough distance between us and the Careers. I realize we aren't being pursued after a while, and I stop Gabriella so we can rest for a bit.

I go through what supplies we have, while Gabriella breaks down and cries. I let her have this moment to herself; she watched her best friend be killed, and she couldn't do anything to save him. Seeing her so distressed makes me vow to myself to kill Angela whenever I get the opportunity.

I sort all of our weapons first. I grabbed 6 knives, some that will be good for throwing and some for close combat. I have three axes, one is pure metal, one is double sided, and the last one is wood with a metal head. Just like my one at home. Gabriella managed to grab a spiked club and two knives before Lucius was killed and she started crying.

We have two packs: my large one and a medium sized one she grabbed. Mine has a sleeping bag, a basic first aid kit, a container for water that's empty, some wire, and dried beef. Gabriella's pack contains a pair of socks, crackers, a small water container, and matches. This should be good for keeping us alive, and the wire will be useful for setting snares for food.

She has finally calmed down a bit and helps me repack the bags. Then I place my knives in my belt, along with two of the axes. She takes her knives and does the same thing.

"So I think the first thing we need to do is find a source of water other than the lake," I say. "We won't last long out here without water. And we need to find somewhere to sleep. It will probably be best to sleep in the trees where there is more concealment." She nods her head in consent and we begin walking.

I don't know how long we walked for, but we finally found a stream. We filled our containers and set about for our second goal: a place to sleep. I find a tree with branches that are low enough to be able to climb up. I set up a couple of snares, in hopes that we can catch something.

We find a good branch to sleep on, and I get the sleeping bag out for us to share. We lean against the tree trunk as it is starting to get dark out. Then we wait to see who died today.

"So do you know what happened to Kendall today?" she asks. I knew this question would come up eventually.

"The last time I saw him was during the bloodbath when he threw a knife into a girl's back to save me," I say and sigh. "Right now, as long as he isn't dead, he is probably with that stupid girl Angela."

Gabriella's face becomes a blank slate. "You mean, your brother is with the girl who killed Lucius?" I can tell that she is clearly upset about this.

"Hey," I say in a gentle voice. "If it makes you feel any better, I haven't liked her from the beginning. And when I saw her kill Lucius and how upset you became, I promised myself that I would kill her." This brings a smile to her face.

And then the anthem starts playing. The first face that is shown is the girl Clair from District 3. The one who tried to kill me but Kendall killed her first. Then the boy Draco from 3. The boy Morty from 5. The girl Jasmine from 6. I don't know why but seeing her face puts a horrible feeling in my stomach. Then they show Lucius. Gabriella lets out a quiet sob beside me as the reality that he is truly gone hits her. The boy Brock from 9 is shown. Then the anthem is playing and the Capitol seal is shown again. And the sky goes dark.

So Kendall made it through the first day. But so did all of the Careers. I lay down in the sleeping bag and Gabriella tucks herself next to me. She falls asleep shortly, but sleep just won't come to me. I keep thinking about the girl Jasmine.

And then it hit me why I was feeling like this. She was my first kill. I didn't even think about the fact that she is a human being when I killed her. Didn't even think about her family back home, who surely is wishing for my death right now. What is happening to me? These games are completely changing me.

I am becoming a monster. A monster who doesn't give a second thought about killing people. I'm becoming a Career.