A/N: I promised you two!

%%%%%%%%%%%%

Nate awoke with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Today was the first day of the Hunger Games. Today was the day he was going into the battle.

"Twenty-four go in, one comes out."

Nate bitterly rolled out of bed and repeated the mantra to wake himself up. Today was the day that he was going to become a killer. He needed to at least look the part. He calmly hopped into the shower and allowed the hot water to soak through to his bones. He didn't know when he would get to take another shower. He was going to take advantage of the time he had.

"It's time to go," Effie called through the door. Nate had almost forgotten she even existed. It was her job to keep them on schedule. Nate hated the fact that he was going to have to deal with that on top of everything else today.

He ate everything he could and ignored the protest in his stomach. He didn't know when his last meal would be and he didn't care. He just needed to thank Tara for her help and battle it out.

"Nate," Tara waved towards him the moment he entered the room. She was wearing a white dress and looked sad. Her blonde hair was locked away in a pony-tail and she wore brown sandals. She looked sad that Nate was in this situation.

"Thank you for all your help, Tara," Nate nodded his head towards her. He wasn't going to cry. He was going to win. He had to keep that in mind.

Tara smiled at his defiance and immediately went to the closet. She selected the garment that was meant for the games and careful handed it to him.

"The jacket is thick so expect cold nights. The rest of your clothes are meant to draw sweat away from the body so expect a humid climate. Boots tend to be…"

"I know," Nate cut her off just to keep the moment as simple as possible. There could be no sadness. They had to depart with thoughts that they would meet again.

"My money's on you," Tara pointed towards him with green eyes trained to kill. Nate grinned at that and nodded his head. He understood what she meant. Then she held up a golden mockingjay pin and placed it on his shirt. "That way you know who you're fighting for."

"Thanks," Nate smiled wider at the familiar feeling of home. Paul's careful advice filled his chest with the knowledge of who he was fighting for. It was a reminder of his promise to Parker. He was going to win to take care of her.

"I'll walk you to the pod shoot." It wasn't a question and Nate didn't argue. He was happy to have the company on his way towards the arena. His whole life was about to change. It was nice to know somebody in the Capitol was on his side.

"Haymitch told me to tell you not to go to the Cornucopia," Tara explained. She was making an unnecessary fuss over his collar and the boy let her. He was willing to take as much time as he could. "Promise me you won't go to the Cornucopia!"

"Promise," he said. He meant it. He wasn't going to disobey his team. He was going to win. He needed to listen to their every word.

"Good now scoot," Tara pushed him towards the pod without another word. Nate climbed in and waited. A glass tunnel lowered around him and all noise was cut off. Nate felt the floor moving up and turned around to wave good-bye to Tara. She nodded her head and then disappeared behind a slab of concrete wall. Nate turned towards the front again and felt wind from above. Then he was in an open field with a forest on his left and the Cornucopia dead center. It was by a lake and glittered ominously in the sunlight.

The clock flashed sixty above their heads as the announcer of the games began the usual pre-games speech. Nobody moved an inch within their tiny pod-circle. Nobody was going to try to get a head start. There were bombs implanted and set to explode if anybody stepped a foot out of their circle before the sixty second was up. A couple games before Adrianne died a girl's token had fallen from her lapels. Her parents didn't even get the chance to watch her try to survive. The token set off the bomb and she was shipped home in tiny pieces that took the game makers forever to collect. Everybody knew to stay in their circle until the sixty seconds were up.

The countdown began and Nate looked around at the other twenty-three tributes. Most of their eyes were on the Cornucopia ahead. Nate smirked and angled himself towards the forest. He spotted a bag that was moments away from the forest. That would be his ticket for survival. He was going to get it. He nodded towards Maggie and was surprised to see her poised for the Cornucopia. He knew Haymitch wouldn't tell her to do something else. Why was she going there?

Nate looked in the direction Maggie was aiming for and gasped. She was going for the knives. He frowned in confusion and turned his head towards his ally to ask why. She pointed her head to their right and then aimed her body back towards her goal. Nate looked towards his right and noticed Sophie Devereaux aiming for the silvery weapons as well. That must have been how she earned her eleven. She was skilled at throwing knives too.

Thirty seconds….

Nate turned his attention towards his blonde companion and shook his head. He nodded towards a group of weapons near the forest and waited for her to catch on. She nodded in understanding and repositioned herself. The male tribute of District Twelve smiled and peered around at what the Cornucopia had to offer. He ignored the way Sophie's eyes were following him

Ten…

Nate saw the bow and arrows gleaming in the Cornucopia and knew they were meant for him. He started to angle his body to run towards them instead of the woods like planned. If he had his bow and arrows he would be unstoppable.

Nine…

Maggie caught his focus out of the corner of his eye. He turned to her and she shook her head no. She didn't want him to disobey Haymitch. She wanted him to follow orders.

Eight…

Nate noticed Sophie staring at his arrows and grimaced. He positioned himself towards his arrows again. He would not let Sophie Devereaux have his arrows.

Seven…

Sophie winked at the boy from District Twelve and smiled serenely. She knew exactly what he was going for. She was even going to fight him for it. Dammit!

Six…

Maggie was still shaking her head in the negative. Nate tilted his head towards Sophie and tried to explain his dilemma. Maggie narrowed her eyes and frowned.

Five…

Sophie was now taunting him with her smile. She was officially daring him to go after the arrows that held his fancy. He had to go after them.

Four…

Maggie's frown deepened at his determined need to fetch the arrows. Sophie's smile grew at the turmoil she was causing. Nate growled and pointed in the one direction he did not want to go.

Three…

Two…

One…

And the Hunger Games began.