Cannon Fire

Darkness enveloped me, but only for a moment. I came crashing down the metallic stairs.

CLANG!

CLASH!

I went spinning across the floor and crashed into a small metal ledge. I saw numbers on a far off screen. 5...my trembling hand began reaching up the ledge. 4...My finger extended outward, towards a large golden button. 3...My finger traced the table, desperately trying to find the button. 2...I strained my eyes from this awkward position, but could see nothing. 1...My boney, extended finger brushed against the golden button. 0... I jabbed down on the button.

BONG!

The gong rang across from all directions, the 74th Hunger Games had begun. As always, it began with a bloodbath.

A wrinkled hand reached down and tugged me to my feet. I was standing in a circular room, the walls surrounded with 24 amazing screens, each displaying a different tribute. A long table with seats for each of the Gamemakers and the Announcer was in the center. Hanging above that was a gigantic screen, displaying the face of each tribute, underneath which an EKG heart monitor beeped. Covering the entire table was a hologram of the arena above us, and the faces showing the exact location of each tribute. This was the Headquarters.

" Thank you kindly, Gretel. Now, lets take a look at the bloodbath, someone please bring us some food."

As if on cue, the holographic map shrunk just enough so that a team of Avox could lay out a feast on the table.

I turned and watched the screens, finding Katniss. She was sprinting forward...towards the Silver Bow.

Yes, Get the BOW!!!

But then, the bow is gone. I look onto the holographic map and find a corresponding screen. Glimmer is pulling back the bow, then lets the arrow fly, piercing the skull of District 3 girl, Prissy Hemmway. Blood spurts out onto the grass. I turn and watch the screen, seeing Prissy's face go black, the heart monitor flatlining under it.

On the hologram, the face portraying Prissy blinks out of existence.

I turn turn and see Katniss, only this isn't her scrren. This screen belongs to District 2 Tribute, Clove. Clove draws a knife and flings it forward. The knife gouges the backpack but leaves Katniss unharmed. Katniss vanishes into the woods. I turn back to the players in the bloodbath, finding it hard to imagine this was all going on just feet above my head.

Then I see the President's favorite pick up a sword, the light bouncing off of it, all on Cato's monitor.

Cato strolls over to where a Tribute from 6 is running and gouges the sword through his stomach. He heads on over to the girl from 6, whose in a fight with the boy from 7. Slowly, the lights begin to blink out on the board of faces as Cato weeds out the weaklings. As a girl from 5, Mindy Crawford, dashed slyly into the woods, Cato came up behind the small girl from 11, Rue. As he slashed out, an axe appeared from nowhere as Thresh showed up to fight him. There duel lasted just long enough for Rue to escape into the trees. Then, Thresh sprinted full speed, with 3 backpacks, into the golden wheat field.

The bloodbath finally ended. Cato let out a laugh, kicking the side of a dead tributes head. He sauntered over and displayed a lavish bow to Clove, he let out a shriek of laughter and did a fake and Glimmer joined them. The small boy from District 4 darted from around the Cornucopia towards them, but with a shimmer of a knife, the boy sprawled dead to the ground. Coral Latvia, Career from 4 joined the other careers from behind the Tribute from her own District that she had just killed. Then, Marvel turned to Cato.

" Get that boy from District 3...My dad had a great plan, but we need someone from 3."

Cato scoffed, " We don't even know where he is!"

" I do."

I watched as Peeta Mellark entered Cato's screen, having camouflaged himself against the Cornucopia.

They let him join, as long as he brought them 3. I turned to Peeta's screen, and watched him vanish into the woods.

Slowly, I made a solemn march over and called for an Avox. They rolled in a gigantic, silver cannon. A long tube ran from the mouth of the cannon to the ceiling. To us, it would be a muffled sound, but in the arena, it would be a loud boom.

I tapped the Cannon 11 times.

11 Booms echoed across the arena.

11 children dead.