A/N Again, sorry for the wait. I am trying my hardest, trust me. So, poll is still up, please vote. Please review, it inspires me. Now for the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own THG.
CHAPTER 8
On the morning of the Games, I roll out of bed at 4 am. I know that there is no chance of me getting back to sleep, so I get washed up and dressed. When I'm done, I go to the dining room to eat.
When I leave my room, I realize how stupid it was to think I could have breakfast this early. I sit down at the clear table, and a female Avox comes out of the kitchen.
"Can I have breakfast?" I ask. She nods.
"I don't really care what."
She nods again, and disappears into the kitchen.
"Up so early?"
I turn around, and see Cashmere walking towards me. She looks concerned.
"How did you know I was up?" I ask.
"I heard your shower. Can't sleep?" I nod, and she sighs. "Everyone gets nervous."
"I'm not nervous," I tell her. "I just woke up and couldn't get back to sleep."
"If you say so. Glimmer, that ring that was going to be your token?"
"Oh, yeah. I had completely forgotten about it."
"Were you aware that it was a weapon?"
"What?" That bitch Aurora tricked me! The anger must be evident on my face, because Cashmere leans away, her hands out.
"Whoa there, tiger. The token review board discovered that when you twist the gemstone, a poisoned spike comes out. So you weren't aware of it?"
"No. My stepmother gave it to me. I had never seen it before she did."
Cashmere nods. "I'll tell them. They were considering eliminating you, but since you claim you didn't know-"
"You don't believe me?"
"Of course I do, but they don't. As I was saying, you won't be eliminated, but you don't get the ring back."
"Fine by me." If I never see that ring again, it will be too soon.
"It appears that your breakfast is here. I'll be going. See you later." She walks back to her room as the Avox brings me a platter filled with decadent food.
After eating, Cicero comes and gets me. He makes me change into a simple shift, and takes me to the roof, where a hovercraft awaits. A ladder drops down, and as soon as I touch it I am frozen. It lifts me up and into the hovercraft.
Once I'm inside, I am not unfrozen. A lady in a white coat comes at me with a syringe. "This is your tracker, Glimmer. Sorry for the inconvenience, it's just easier to place when you're still," she informs me. I feel a sharp pain as she sticks the needle in my forearm, and then I'm unfrozen. The woman leaves, and Cicero approaches me.
"Come eat, you must be starving," he says sarcastically. I follow him into a small room with a table set for breakfast. Even though I just ate, I eat anyway- who knows when I will again?
After about half an hour, the windows black out. "We're approaching the arena," Cicero tells me. "Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise."
Soon we land, and the ladders lead us to a tube underground that leads to the catacombs under the arena. We are directed to my Launch Room, where I will be prepared for the arena.
Cicero tells me to shower and clean my teeth, which I do. When I'm done, he puts my hair in a basic French braid. I've always liked the name of that. My mother told me that long ago there was a country called France, and the people were called French. I always think of the world before Panem whenever I see or wear a French braid.
After my hair is done, my clothes arrive. Cicero helps me dress in a basic light green blouse, simple pants, a sturdy brown belt, a thin black jacket that hangs low to my thighs, and soft leather boots with flexible, treaded rubber sole.
When I'm done, Cicero makes sure my clothes fit, and then makes me sit on a couch and wait. He is talking to someone on his cellphone while we wait, and from what he says I figure out that's it's his girlfriend Stacey, and she has a twin sister named Macey- seriously, Stacey and Macey? Who names these kids? I mean, on their own those names are okay, but together it is beyond stupid.
A female voice tells me it's time to prepare for launch, and Cicero says goodbye to Stacey and leads me to the Launchpad. "All right, Glimmer. Go out there and show them what you're made of," he says. I nod.
A glass cylinder is lowered over me, and it slowly begins to rise. For a few seconds I am in darkness, and then bright sunlight hits my eyes. The voice of Claudius Templesmith, the legendary announcer, booms out "Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games begin!"
I look at my surroundings while I wait for the gong signifying the start of the Games. Behind me, the ground drops sharply away and a field of some sorts of grains goes as far as I can see. To my right is a lake, and behind the Cornucopia and the tributes across from me is a forest that curves around to my right.
I get in a running position, and prepare for the fight that awaits. Taking deep breaths, I close my eyes.
The gong goes, and all hell breaks loose.