8: Entering the Games

Gale POV

Well on the good side, the interviews are over. On the bad side, tomorrow Katniss and I will be going into the Games. Isn't that just brilliant. I'll have to have a conversation with Katniss before we go in, just one private moment before everything is broadcast on live TV across Panem.

I get up and walk across the hallway to her room and knock on the door quietly. I hear footsteps coming towards me and the door swings open, revealing Katniss. She has changed out of her red fire dress into a pair of pyjamas and is looking quite tired and worried. I don't blame her, I'm quite worried myself. After all, we are going into a fight to the death tomorrow, and even with the sponsors plan it's still extremely dangerous.

"What is it Gale?" she asks me.

"I just wanted to talk," I respond. "Every moment from tomorrow onward is going to be broadcast across Panem, and I wanted just one private moment before that happens."

"Me too I guess," she says. "I hate them."

"The Capitol?"

"Who else?" She has a point. "I just want to show them that I'm more than just a piece in there games, for them to manipulate and kill. Just being entertainment for the Capitolites. I hate this!" Her voice raises. "I hate being so powerless."

"Shh, Katniss," I shush her. "You're not powerless. You have some power, just get hold of a bow and arrow and you'll be the most powerful tribute in the arena."

She glares at me and I know that I have said the wrong thing. "That's my point," she says. "That I have no choice but to kill. That none of us have any choice but to think that way. If any of us make a stand against the Capitol we will be killed, either by a 'natural' disaster or other tributes or muttations."

"Let's think about surviving before making a stand," I say. "Besides, we've already defied them slightly with the love thing. Remember what Haymitch said? Love doesn't happen between tributes. Well we've changed that."

"Yes, and a fat lot of good it's done us. We can't both survive Gale."

"Then I'll die for you," I state, fully believing that I will. This has been my intention all along, anyway.

"I don't want that though Gale," Katniss whispers. "It won't feel right being alive only because I killed you. Why did you have to volunteer? This would have been so much easier with Peeta, there would have been no proclamations of love, nothing complicated. Then the bow and arrow would give me power."

"We'll figure something out," I insist, though my words sound hollow to me. Catnip is right: we have no power here. The Gamemakers and Capitol audiences hold power. Now if we could get enough on our side.. No. That wouldn't work. Snow would see that we were trying to stir up rebellion and send mutts after us. Then neither of us could win.

"I hope so, Gale," Katniss replies steadily. "I really hope so."

"Goodnight Katniss. Good luck tomorrow."

"Night Gale. May the odds be ever in your favour," she says, reminding me painfully of the times only a few days ago, but that feel like a lifetime ago. Being home, in District 12. Hunting, school, just chatting. Prim, Rory and Posy. Our mums. More than ever, I wish that the Reaping never happened.

I go to bed. The night is horrible, I am racked with nightmares. Careers are hunting me down through a burning forest. Katniss is being killed by Cato in front of my eyes. And just two noises, screams and cannons. When I wake up I am breathing hard and sweating. I wonder if Katniss is going through the same as me.

Breakfast is a quiet affair, I doubt Haymitch or Effie really wants to talk to us, and Katniss and I sure as hell don't want to be talking. Besides, Effie still hates me for not being able to walk with my back straight and shoulders back. Bitch. I'd like to see how well she'd do if she were from District 12. Oh, of course, she would be graceful and polite to everyone. Not.

After breakfast we are given our Games outfits, black trousers, a dark brown top and a black jacket that apparently keeps heat in when it's cold. Not bad, doesn't give much indication of the arena though. I hope it's forest, that's the only environment that I am really good at surviving in and Katniss is as well.

The rock Peeta had given me is in my pocket, I forgot to show Katniss that. When she walks through the door I notice a gold pin with a bird on it. A mockingjay I think. It looks good on her, but then again, everything does. We walk through the corridor and are picked up by a hovercraft that has all the other tributes too.

A Capitol attendant is walking down giving injections and I feel a stab of guilt. I remember this avox, she was a girl that Katniss and I witnessed being taking away from the forest. Maybe we could have saved her.. At least we could have tried. No, I think, we shouldn't have. We would have been caught or killed too. I can't afford to thing like this in the games, not when Katniss' and my life are at stake here.

I wince as the tracker is injected into my arm. A short while later the hovercraft slows down. We have arrived. We are all placed on platforms which I know are mines. Sixty seconds before you can step off. I you get off before then you get blown to pieces.. If you're lucky. Sometimes tributes have had their legs blown off and have to die a slow, agonising death from blood loss.

The cornucopia glints about thirty metres away from me. I know that the weapons and supplies I need will be near the centre, but luckily I should have no problem getting there, I am a career after all. The arrangement is simple, minor stuff on the outside, I see a few bits of rope only a few feet away from me, there are backpacks near the middle and at the centre near and inside the cornucopia are weapons and tents and food.

I glance around me as the clock goes down to thirty seconds. Forest, like I had hoped and a lake. Hopefully not the only water source. A grain field is at the opposite side of the cornucopia to me. I can work with this, at least providing that there are few very dangerous mutts or the water is poisoned or the arena floods or something like that. I've seen a few where that happens, but not too many.

Next I see Katniss, about a quarter of the way around the circle from me. She is looking grim-faced but determined and I give her a small smile and nod, which she returns. All the while, I can hear the clock ticking down and I am nearly driven insane. I only have to wait a few seconds, but time stretches out into hours.

"Five."

I take a deep breath and focus on a set of knives and a sword at ten cornucopia.

"Four."

I am now on hyper alert taking in everything around me.

"Three."

My muscles tense up, waiting for that moment where the gong goes.

"Two."

My legs are ready to move and twitch slightly, it is all I can do to keep myself on the mine.

"One."

The gong goes and we all leap off our platforms.

xXx-X-xXx

Authors Note:

Yeah, sorry about the short chapter and the cliffhanger. I know how annoying those are. I'll update soon though, in the meantime, feel free to review.

-MoonOfPluto