Ready or Not, Here I Come

by In the Blink of an Eye

The year of traps and betrayal, tricks and deceit. The arena of cliffs and sharp edges, hiding places and hidden dangers. The games ruled by an erratic fruitcake of a Gamemaker. And they wonder why the victor went delirious. Welcome to the 51st Annual Hunger Games - the odds will definitely not be in your favour.

4. Lock it Up

At the moment, it's going to be harder to update as much, because of my competitive swimming. (It eats up so much of my time!) After Easter, in the holidays, hopefully you can expect an almost daily update. Reviews and PMs are always beneficial to any author, so... :)?

Thanks for reading,

*WentToTheMoonToday

...

Jaysper Pavane Grey, District Eleven

My face flushes a dark red.

"Are you saying that I'm depressed?" I say, trying to hide the fact that I'm wounded by Cline's comment.

"No, I'm just saying that sometimes, you kind of zone out." Cline wrings his hands.

"My mother died and my father is never here. What do you expect? It's never happened to you – you wouldn't understand." I'm masking my anger, but really I want to hit him. I know he's my friend and everything, but he just doesn't think about other people's emotions before he speaks out.

"Break it up, guys, break it up." Souter, the peace master of our little gang, also my cousin, raises his hands. My only female friend Muari sits next to him.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit tense because of the Reaping," I apologise.

"I think we all are, a bit. Even if we don't admit it." She looks pointedly at Cline. Muari always seems to understand me.

Sugar, spice and all thing nice, I think. On the other hand, we have slugs, snails and puppy dog's tails. I would consider myself as a kind of mix. That is if sugar and slugs go together.

Kyle "Animal" Lanyer, District Three

"Kyle, we're leaving, so you better get down here!" Michael calls from downstairs. I can hear the door being unlocked and the chains being drawn back. We are a cautious family, but once we trust a person, they are welcomed here.

"Make sure you close your window!" Dad hollers. We haven't always been so wary. But since Mum died, we have been extra alert.

As I pull the window shut, I ponder this year's Hunger Games.

The Reaping – it makes my stomach churn. I want be a tribute so desperately. It's unusual for District Three to be a career district. But I want to volunteer – and I will, unless some person gets in before me. Then, if they don't get killed in the Games and return – I will kill them then. And then I will try next year.

All of the upstairs windows are locked and I race downstairs. I have made an extra effort this year to be smart so that when I walk onto that stage, I will be known as the career from Three – an spectacle in itself.