Hey there! Here's chapter 5. Enjoy! ^.^
Whats Happened: Nikki has been thrown into the Capitols Hunger Games against her will with her 4 best friends. She met a girl named Raven, who is soon to play a larger role in this story.
ENJOY!

HG C5
Meeting the Mentors

I walked past everyone and stood by Ali, who was talking to a boy with blond hair and dark brown eyes. Mmm. Yummy...

"I guess so!" She laughed, pushing her hair behind her ear.

He put his hands in his pockets, smiling up at her. "I'll see you around then," he said, "Bye, Ali!"

"Bye Patrick."

I went up behind her and smiled. "Who was that?"

"Patrick... Just another kid going to die..." her eyes went darker as if she had just realized, and she bit her lip. "Why did this have to happen?... I don't want to die!..." she whimpered. I saw tears form at the edges of her eyes and I put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Ali... You can win this if you try hard enough." I reassured her.

"I don't have any experience in ANYTHING..." She said shakily. "I can't use a weapon, I can't make anything to hide in, and I'm not strong enough to take them in hand to hand combat." she fell on her rump and pulled her knees to her chest. At this point, she looked more like a scared child than a 15 year old girl... I was about to say something when-

"OKAY EVERYONE! PAIR UP, BOY GIRL!"

I looked over my shoulder and saw the unnaturally ecstatic dark lady... I forget her name. (Quite literally, actually.)

"What?" Someone hissed from behind me. I looked back to see a boy about 16, his bright blue eyes piercing my brain... Even though they weren't looking at me.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear, are you hard of hearing? I said PAIR UP IN PAIRS OF BOY/GIRL!" She yelled the last part so loud, I'm sure my eardrums burst. Still, no one moved. She shut her eyes and sighed, wiping off her hands with the cloth of her pants. "Okay then... I guess we'll choose for you."

She brought out a hat with slips of paper on it. "As you all know, when the districts were under the control of the Capitol," Was that... Longing in her voice?... "They used to send two tributes from each district. One boy and one girl. As you can see... We don't have a specific district that we sent you all from. You all came from the Capitol! So, in order to relive the full reality of the Hunger Games, we must pair you up in pairs of boy and girl. Girls, come on up. You'll be picking your partners!"

No one moved.

She sighed again. "Come now! We don't have all day!"

We all nodded and ran up beside her, getting into a line. A girl with pretty blond hair and green eyes stepped up, plucking a slip of paper from the hat. She scowled at the name and said aloud, "Frezzie Catrone."

A boy with light Ginger hair stepped forward and avoided eye contact with anyone. The girl, (Who I learned later was named Lucy) and Frezzie stepped off to the side. The next girl stepped up. Then the next, and the next and the next and the next, each picking a different guy.

Raven stood up next the woman and took a deep breath. Her hand slipped into the hat and she bit her lip a she took out the paper. A confused look entered her eyes and she frowned. "Wasn't I supposed to get a boy?..."

"Yes... Why?" the woman inquired.
Raven showed her the piece of paper and frown. "Nikki Gomez?..."

I suddenly went stiff and sighed, the walked over to the stand. My ORIGINAL plan was to keep out of sight of everyone and not make an impression. Then, I'd hide in the woods and wait for everyone to die. Along with Ali, Georgina, Bella and Lizzy. But now my name was making a scene... Dang.

I slowly went up the steps and looked down, hoping to hide my face. The woman sighed and rolled her eyes. "Okay... Fine. You two can be partners... And... You two boy," she pointed at the last two boys that stood at the other side of her, "You can be partners. Okay. Is everyone happy and does everyone have a partner?"

Everyone nodded, but some looked very... Not happy. At all...

She smiled and lined us all up, so our partners stood behind us. "Now, we get to find your mentors! You all get two, a boy and a girl." a whole group of people, ranging from ages 30-60 or so came out into the clearing. "These will be your mentors; they will guide you through the bloodbath of the hunger games. Each of you has a price if paper at your feet. It has a number. If your mentors will turn around... You will see they have number in their hands."

"Why'd you have them turn around then?..." Asked a smaller boy from the back.

"Because. I can…." She rolled her eyes as if this was a dumb question and nodded to the rest of us. "Okay. Go find your mentors!"

Suddenly, a whole mob of the rest of the kids went around and tried to find their mentors. I stood by Raven, who has our piece of paper. "What does it say?..."

She looked at the number and sighed. "4."

We both nodded and I craned my head to try and find some mentors that weren't talking to any children. There was one group of two people, one furiously playing with a lighter and another looking quite normal. I touched Raven's shoulder lightly and the both of us went over to where they were. "Hi… what number are you guys?"

"We are number four." They said simultaneously. "And you are?"

"I'm Raven, and this is Nikki." Raven stuttered, hiding her face under her mass of black hair. She flipped her hood on over her head and shoved her hands in her pockets. I could tell she probably wasn't very comfortable in group settings… though she was perfectly normal when she was talking to me one on one. A bit sarcastic, perhaps, but normal.

The man playing with the lighter looked up and clicked the lighter off, looking up at us. "Ah-ha, a group of girls eh?... My name is Chester. This is Francesca. I guess we're going to be your mentors. Try to teach you how to stay alive and not die…. And stuff…." He flipped up the lighter again and stared at the flame, looking mesmerized.

Francesca sighed. "He knows I don't like my name…." She turned to us and smiled, her dark hair framing her face. She has dark, warm brown eyes and was…. Actually quite beautiful. "You two can call me Fran… It's what I've gone by since I was but only a child!" She laughed softly. "You said your names were Raven and Nikki?"

I nodded, already liking this woman. "Yea… so. How did you become a mentor for us?"

She shrugged and sat down on the cobblestone. "I was on the team that designed the Hunger Games some years ago… They had tracked me down and asked me to be a mentor for you all. I never really thought the districts would overtake us like they did… I thought the capitol would always be in control. It's all because of that stupid Kati's…. Her and that… Peeta boy. We should have killed them off when we could… could have saved your innocent lives in all this." She grit her teeth and popped her neck.

Alright. Maybe I wouldn't like this woman as much as I thought I would. "Hey! Did you think the districts weren't innocent? What about Rue and everyone else in the 74th Hunger Games? Were they just lives we could afford to lose?"

She stiffened and looked up at me. "No. Their games were a punishment for trying to rebel first. Everything was going fine until the stupid star crossed lovers-"

"Fran!" Chester shouted, dropping the lighter. "Stop your blabbing! We don't CARE about how you feel on President Katniss Everdeen. Keep your opinion to yourself…."

She scowled and stood back up, brushing off the dirt from her legs. "Sorry. I kind of get into that subject… no matter. What Chester and I are here for is to make sure at least… one of you survives.

Wow… that was reassuring. I cleared my throat and pushed my hair out of my face. "I'll take that to heart…" I grumbled.

The four of us walked toward the train [That just appeared, mind you. No idea how… just snuck up on us I guess.] "You already said your goodbyes, right?" Chester asked.

The both of us nodded and Raven shrugged. "I guess we can go then!"

We made it onto the train car, where everything was just as Katniss had described earlier on in the year. It was plush, posh, and there were two beds up by the wall. The train car was about as big as my whole house…. It didn't look this big from the outside.

I sat down on the bed and pushed my duffle bag underneath it, and then pulled out a book that my father had given to me. I always tended to read it when I was nervous an anxious about something. The title was 'Inkheart', and it was about a girl named Meggie and her father Mo who could read things off of paper and into real life. They could also read things INTO books if they wished… It was my favorite book of all time.

And then, Fran screamed. A blood curdling scream that about ripped the flesh out of my eardrums. I dropped my book onto my lap and covered my ears. Raven did the same, but the old man Chester just lit a cigarette. "Put the book away!"

Odd request, I'll grant him that, but as soon as I did the screaming stopped. Fran gained her composure back and went a dark red. "Sorry…"

"What was THAT?" Raven hissed, pulling her hood down. "I think you woke up China…."

Old saying, even though there was no such thing as China anymore. It was destroyed around the same time as North America. There was a new country there, too. Nakita… but Panem never talked to them. We had a war and- well, I'm not going to bore you with any details.

Fran went a dark red and messed with the hem of her pants. "Well, um…"

"My dears, our friend Fran here has an abnormal fear of books or anything printed on a page. Newspapers, Magazines, you name it, she hates it." Chester puffed out a whiff of smoke and sat back in a chair. Fran went even darker and groaned.

Raven rolled her eyes. "I'm surrounded by idiots…" She mumbled under her breath, sitting on her own bed. She looked up at me and gave me a small smile. "We are so screwed…"

I nodded and smiled back, random thoughts running through my head. I was trying to focus on the important things, but everything kept on flashing back to Cassie and mom…and my promise to try and win. I took another look at my mentors, who would probably help, but not very much. Chester was probably a pyromaniac, and Fran was bookaphobic… All I knew right now was that they were crazy.

Then there was Raven. She was smart, but withdrawn and didn't trust people. Once we got out on the field, she would probably stab me in the back with my own knife.

I laughed quietly and leaned backwards, putting my hands behind my head. I was so doomed…..

Wow! This chapter was kind of long. I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while… you see, my family has been having some problems and between all that and writing, well, I haven't gotten a lot down. XD I hoped you like this chapter! Again, uneventfull, but yet full of quotes. ^.^ My only commenters have been people I've known…. So please! Press that little box down there and comment! It will keep me motivated… Teehee! Byezers and see you in the next chapter!

~Ruby-san