We enter the Justice Building together but as soon as the doors shut peacekeepers rip us apart and lead us away. I've only ever seen the outside of the huge, white Justice Building, the inside is beautiful. The floors are red with intricate gold patterns and swirls on them, the walls are white like the outside with pictures of the mayor, President Snow, and the emblem of District ten. I'm thrown into a room and the door locks behind me. I spy a small wooden chair in the middle but I can't sit, I'm too nervous to sit. The adrenaline back on the stage is gone and I feel like if I move I'll lose it. I hear the door open again but I'm still frozen, it shuts and then someone slams into me from behind.

The wind is knocked out of me and I stumble but whoever it is holds me up. I look down at the pair of hands locked around my stomach; I would know those perfectly filed nails anywhere. Catherine sobs against my back and I'm speechless. I thought she resented me; maybe I was wrong all along.

"You have to make it back! You have to Evelyn! I need you, please come back!" She wails. She takes my right hand and slips a simple gold band on my ring finger. It was my mother's wedding ring, now it is my token to take with me into the arena.

"I had it just in case… I thought you would like it." Catherine says. "And since they couldn't be here now it's like them being with you the whole way instead."

"Thank you." I whisper.

I break her grip and turn to face her tear streaked face. I wipe some of the moisture from her cheeks. Her watery eyes stare at my face like it's the last time she will ever see it, it breaks my heart. She whimpers and embraces me again. I'm quite a bit taller than her; I rest my cheek on her forehead and let her tears soak the skin of my neck. There's nothing left to say really, goodbye is too painful, promising I'll see her again is impossible because we both know this might be it, all the things that she could say would take too long in the short time we have been given, and so we stay in silence and hang on to one another.

Too soon, the peacekeeper bursts into the room to take my sister away. We hang on tighter; he has to separate us by force. Catherine fights him, screaming my name the whole way as he carries her thrashing body away. Once the door shuts I lose the last bit of control I had. I crumple and lay on the floor in a tight ball, rocking back and forth. I scream, but it's silent so no one can hear me. I shake uncontrollably, the fear of the games and the loss of my family crushes me.

I know no one else will come for me, but my teammates are probably getting close to their time being up with their loved ones so I pull myself together for the cameras that are sure to be on my face every last moment of my life. Sure enough, just when I think I'm presentable a peacekeeper comes in to escort me to the train that will take me to the Capitol. In the hallway I see Caroline being led along up ahead of me and the two boys join us as we head towards the door.

It's complete chaos when we exit the Justice Building. Flashing lights from cameras and Capitol people swarm trying to interview us. The peacekeepers have to form a circle around us and fight them off as we slowly head for the train. Caroline grabs my hand and I can see that she is barely holding back tears, I feel the need to protect the older girl and I throw my arm around her and help lead her forward.

We finally reach the train and can escape the cameras for a little while. When the doors shut behind us and we are on the way Caroline leaves the circle of my arm and sits in a comfy looking, deep green chair. She puts her head in her hands and is silent. Erik wanders around and looks at the walls with a blank expression, Jason stares at me and I feel a bit uncomfortable. I move to the window to watch the world go by, I admit that I'm fascinated by the train and have always wanted to ride one. I suppose that wish has been granted in a sick, twisted sort of way.

"Have you ever met her before? Jezebel?" it's the first time I've heard Jason's voice. It's deep and velvety. I look over my shoulder and jump a bit when I see how close he is. He looks out the window like I was moments ago.

"N-No. I've never met her." I sound breathless. Yes, Jason is quite the thing to look at and most girls would be flustered in his presence, but I'm just startled by his sudden appearance.

"I've heard she's a complete lunatic these days. Not a surprise though after what happened in her games." Jason says calmly, like he isn't at all concerned that our only surviving mentor is insane and can't even take care of herself. I'm scared, mentors are our channel for sponsors' gifts, and if Jezebel can't pull it together then we are in trouble. But I can't help but feel some sympathy for her; she was reaped along with her brother ten years ago. The Careers got him, it wasn't pretty. I would probably be a nut case too if that happened to me.

Erik speaks up, "I've talked to her once. She's very… distracted."

Caroline lifts her head finally. Her eyes are bloodshot and her skin is very pale. "I'm sure she will try her best to help us." Her voice is thick with tears still.

I move away from Jason to comfort Caroline, I was looking for an escape from him anyway. He was so close that his breath tickled my forehead and it made me feel antsy. He has an amused look on his face as I leave and I feel my neck flush with a little anger. Does he think I'm some shallow girl who can't stand to be near his magnificence? Well he will see soon enough that is not the case. I won't be distracted by some petty little crush; I have much more important things to focus on, like staying alive for example!

I sit in the chair next to Caroline and take her hand. She smiles slightly at me.

"Are you alright?" I ask.

"Yeah I'll be okay. It was just hard having to say goodbye…" Caroline's eyes tear up again.

"I understand." It would almost be cruel to tell her not to worry, we would all get home safe, because there's a good chance that none of us will.

"I'm done crying though! I swear. I just had to get it out, I couldn't take it anymore. Thanks for helping me out back there."

"It was nothing. We are a team and that's what we do, we look out for eachother." I say.

Caroline beams. "Yes! Exactly right Evelyn, I'm sure we can get someone to sponsor us. Then we just need to figure out a strategy and we might have a shot at this!"

I nod and just then someone crashes into the room. Caroline and I jump to the ceiling, Erik snaps his head around, and Jason slowly turns in the direction of the commotion. A woman with long, perfectly straight, black hair stumbles around the room muttering to herself. I look at Caroline questionly and she shrugs. Erik sighs and we turn to him.

"This is Jezebel James, our mentor." He walks over to the poor woman and her wide eyes turn to his face.

"Terence? Brother is that you?" Her voice is hollow and empty.

"No Jezebel. I'm Erik Van Rouge. You're my mentor remember?"

"Mentor… yes… I won didn't I? I wish I didn't though… Terence should have been the winner. He would be so much better…" She sounds dreamy now.

"Jezebel, can you help us?" Erik says gently, like he's talking to a child, not an adult.

Jezebel's eyes have bags under them and her forehead is wrinkled. Her eyes are an interesting electric blue color, but they are bloodshot and tired looking. She can't be that old, only in her mid-twenties, but she looks like she should be in her late forties. Her hair is dry and streaked with silver. She is sickly thin; her clothes hang like sacks on her body. She could have been very beautiful at one time, but her body is wasted and broken now.

"I couldn't help Terence, I couldn't save him… Terence…" Jezebel spins in a slow circle. "Terence…" she whispers. " Terence where are you? I found water, you won't be so thirsty now, and you'll feel better. Where are you?" Suddenly Jezebel screams. "Terence! Terence no! Leave him alone! Take me instead please!" Jezebel runs into the wall and starts to bang her small hands against it. "You're hurting him! Stop it, stop it! Just let him go please! Just let him go…"

She turns around quick as a cat. She looks weak but she's still very agile. Her eyes are wild and they search the room until they find something to lock on… me. "Opal! I'll kill you!" She flies at my face and swipes for my eye with her long, cracked yellow nails. I don't really know how, but I roll over the arm of the chair and she only gets a handful of hair, but she's in a rage and yanks it so hard she almost rips a chunk out. I hear Erik's shout of surprise and a pounding of feet against the floor. Someone scoops me up and takes me to the other side of the room. I look back and see Erik and Caroline pinning a twisting Jezebel to the floor as she screams in rage.

"You okay?" Jason asks. My arms are wrapped around his neck and I'm trembling a bit from the shock of our mentor trying to hurt me.

"I think so." I say shakily. Jason's arms support me like I weigh nothing. "Just a little freaked that's it."

Jason's eyes are fixed on the struggle between our companions and Jezebel. Jezebel is losing her strength and her thrashes become weaker and weaker. Thinking I'm safe, Jason sets me down on my own feet. I loosen my grip on him and slide to the floor, all the way to the floor until I'm sitting with my back against the wall. Jason joins me; he's close enough that our shoulders almost touch.

"What do we do now? We don't have a mentor, how will we get sponsors now?" I feel defeated. I pull my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them tightly. "Jason, what are we going to do?"

Jason wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side. I rest my head on my knees. "I don't know Evelyn. I just don't know."

"Wave at them Evelyn, they love it!" Erik says. He and Caroline stand at the window waving and smiling at the Capitol people standing along the streets as our train pulls in. I shake my head; I'm too disgusted with them to let them see me yet. They can wait. Jason seems to agree with me, he's hiding in the corner of the room too.

"Hard to believe it was only yesterday that I was waking up and doing chores like any other normal day." Jason says. I can hear the longing in his voice. "I miss it already."

"Me too." I say. "I wonder how my sister is doing, she wasn't much for getting down and dirty. That was always my job." I giggle at the image in my head of Catherine feeding the hogs. I can just see her wrinkled up nose and pursed lips at the horrifying task she has to perform.

"I can see that. Your hands are rough and calloused from working like mine." He holds his palm out so I can examine it.

"How do you know what my hands feel like?"

He flashes a perfect set of white teeth when he smiles. "You held my hand, remember?

"Oh, right."

We sit in silence for a few minutes. Jason is the first to break it of course; I'm not much of a conversation starter. Figures he would ask something personnel.

"Are you always this quiet?"

I sigh, "Yes, always have been."

"Why?"

"Um, I don't know. I guess… I guess I'm just that way. It's not something I can really explain."

He nods. "I see. It's not a bad thing you know, nice to not feel like I have to fill every moment with conversation."

I nod in agreement. "Why did you ask?"

He rubs his eyes then stares at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I don't know really. I guess I'm just trying to figure you out." He looks at me and raises a brow. He smiles a bit but I can see a hint of frustration in his eyes. "Normally it's not this hard."

I don't really know what to say to that so I just turn away and study the blank walls for the millionth time.

"Like that! Right there you just shut me out again." I'm getting a little annoyed now for some reason.

"I'm not a puzzle you know. You don't have to solve me." I meet his gaze again. I can see it now, the way his eyes search mine looking to unravel my secrets.

"Well we have to trust each other with our lives now. How are you going to trust me if you won't let me get to know you?" He makes sense, but I don't really want to hear it. No one has ever bothered to get to know me. I hardly spoke to anyone at school and they never tried to talk to me; they didn't care enough to get to know me. I don't really want to let anyone do it now, I wasn't good enough then so why am I now?

"Maybe if you prove worthy I'll let you inside my head, until then don't bother." I stand and move to the window where Erik and Caroline are.

Caroline is blowing kisses to the crowd and they are eating it up. Erik winks at screaming teenage girls. I just stare, they are so strange. I see a woman with blue skin, a man with shining gold hair, so many strange outfits and looks they call fashion. It's almost scary.

Jason can't seem to leave me alone. His face hovers just over my right shoulder. I'm about to shove him away but then I see the look in his eyes. He stares at the citizens of the Capitol with uncontrolled rage and hate, he composes himself in a second but not before I witness his true feelings towards the Capitol. His face turns and is only inches from mine, he smells clean like soap. "Terrifying isn't it?" He leans forward to whisper in my ear, his voice is full of venom.

I nod and my cheek brushes his, it's scratchy from the light stubble on it.

"Those two are much better actors than us. Try to stay neutral at least. Don't let them see how much you resent them, if you can't make them believe you love them, at least don't let them see how opposite your feelings are."

I nod again and he pulls back to stare at the people outside the train. We have come to a stop finally. The girls who were fawning over Erik have now caught sight of Jason. They point at his face and nudge their friends to get their attention. I smirk at Jason and say to him,

"Well your face has been put to good use here at least."

Jason's face is blank, concealing his hatred like he instructed me to. "Too bad they don't realize it will never be theirs."

The doors open and I'm shocked when Jason grabs Caroline and me by the hand and leads us forward quickly. I reach out and grab Erik before he is out of reach. Normally our mentor or mentors would come with us, but Jezebel is currently locked in a room so she doesn't try to kill anymore tributes. We are on our own. A hoard of peacekeepers lead us through the crowd but this time the people are allowed to touch us instead of being fought away brutally. Most of the hands reach out and go for Jason, but one set finds me.

"Yum, I hope you make it little girl, I would like to taste you."

I stare into the eyes of a middle-aged man who has me by the waist with both hands.

"Just in case you don't." He leans in towards my lips; I pull away but with limited movement from the packed crowd and his hands pulling me closer I'm not very successful.

"Watch it mister, she's not up for grabs." Erik steps in between and holds the man away. The man's face turns purple with anger. Jason's hand yanks me closer to him and I pull Erik along with me. Caroline is moved so she is on my right and the boys are flanking us.

"Thanks for saving me Erik." I say gratefully.

Erik smiles at me. "Practicing for the arena." His smiles disappears quickly though. "Plus that's just gross and very disrespectful."

"Someone go for you too?" Caroline asks. Her hair is a bit messed up like someone grabbed a handful. "Jason stepped in for me thankfully." Jason looks like he can barely hold himself together. Everyone else might not see it, but I can see how much he wants to just start beating the life out of every person he can get his hands on. Wouldn't take much for me to do it either, normally I'm not violent but when I go into a 'rage' as Catherine says, anything that moves better watch out.

After walking through a crowd of people pawing at us we finally reach the Training Center. The four of us remain linked at the hands before peacekeepers come and break us apart. As we head our separate ways Caroline shouts, "Don't fight the stylists!" I'll have to remember her words as those creepy Capitol people poke around trying to make me look perfect.