Day 8- Entering the Games

Now everyone is finished we head back to our quarters in the training tower and after Iulia, Rogellus, Marcius and Woof congratulate Tamla and I for a solid pair of interviews, we change out of our start clothes before heading to sleep. I doze off quickly and somewhat surprisingly sleep through, before waking at 5:30am. I know I haven't got a prayer of going back to sleep, so I dress, shower and head up to the roof garden.

Surprisingly, someone is already there. It's Jade. I consider returning back down the stairs, but remember she's not allowed to do anything to me, and just head over to the other side of the roof, looking out at the Capitol, evil sleeping below me. Jade glances across at me as I emerge, but says nothing, until she leaves about forty-five minutes later.

"Sweet story last night," she says coldly, "but you won't get any sympathy from me. Maybe you should say goodbye to your family, because you're dead once we get in there district eight."

"I guess we'll see soon, won't we Jade," I reply with false confidence, impressed at how steady my voice is. "Nice to chat, catch you later."

She growls at me and shoots me a death glare, but heads downstairs without another word. I wait another ten minutes, pondering whether what I just did was a good idea, before heading back to floor eight to find Tamla and Woof awake.

We eat breakfast quietly before Woof spends several hours running over everything he's taught us, and plenty of new stuff, telling us everything he remembers about the many many Hunger Games he's watched over the years. At ten past ten we are told it is time to leave, and Woof wishes us a final, unsentimental good luck, before we head up to the roof with Rogellus and Marcius. When we get there we see the two hovercraft approaching and glance awkwardly at each other, before I decide Tamla, looking very scared, needs some encouragement. I pull her into a firm hug. "Good luck…" I say, "…ally."

"You stay out of trouble…ally," she jokes back, though without much humour.

"I'll try," I says, as she climbs into the first hovercraft, followed by Marcius.

Seconds later Rogellus and I are aboard the second, and the ride to the arena is underway. A guard begins by injecting my arm with what I'm told is the GPS tracker that will keep the gamemakers and viewers alerted to my position in the arena, before Rogellus and I sit down to eat. He isn't particularly talkative and I take the opportunity to eat as much as I can, which isn't much considering that I don't know when my next meal will be. Will I be able to get any food at the start? Will there be berries or other plants around, or will the arena be barren?

I remind myself not to overthink the uncontrollable, and instead concentrate on the food for the rest of the forty minute ride. When we arrive we head underground, through a long tunnel network to my launch room. The stockyard, where we wait for the slaughter. I shower quickly before Rogellus sorts out my hair and general appearance. I'm not sure why, as it will probably not last five minutes, but don't have the foolishness to waste energy arguing over something so trivial. Eventually I'm dressed in my games outfit: a simple pair of boots, brown pants, a dark green t-shirt and a black jacket, no hood and only moderate insulation I note. I wonder if this will let me glean anything about the arena, but remember that the tribute's outfits rarely vary too much, from deserts to swamps. It's all about adapting once you're in there. A beeping noise signals it's time to get onto my podium and Rogellus wishes me good luck, I'm sure sincerely, though it means nothing to me. His last words to me are drowned out as the glass seals around me and I start to rise.

Seconds later the glass walls peel away and my first thought it that it's cold, followed instantly, as I emerge into the arena, by that it's because the arena is covered in snow. Having previously thought that the sixty second wait on the podium would seem torturously long, I now realise that it isn't a long time at all, given how much there is to take in. The Cornucopia sits in the centre of a clear area, snow-covered and about fifty metres from the ring of tributes around it. The closest supplies are about twenty metres from the golden horn, thirty from me. The field extends about a hundred and fifty further metres in every direction behind the circle the twenty-four of us are in, before pine trees form a dense forest. Opposite me, beyond the trees, is a small mountain peak, rising above us, while to my left a narrow river runs alongside the boundary of the trees. Turning round I see that far in the distance, behind the forest, appears to be a village to the right and a frozen lake to the left, in the middle of a large barren zone.

I suddenly realise I have a career either side of me. But neither are Jade- if one had been I'd have been worried that a combination of my eight in training and our conversation on the roof would have been tempting enough for her to put the Cornucopia on hold and kill me with her bare hands. It's Silver to my right and Shayla to my left- it should be alright, they'll surely go for the weapons at the Cornucopia and I'll run. I did want to try for a knife, especially as there are trees that I could use to make a staff, but the snow's too thick to run quickly in. I'd never get to one and still have time to escape the career's projectile weapons. I see the holographic countdown in the sky reach 10, and have just enough time to note the position of Fern, just left of dead opposite me, and Tamla, about four podiums to the left, before a buzzer sounds and everything blurs somewhat.

Tributes leap from their podiums across the circle, and I immediately turn and run for the forest as the adrenaline kicks in. The lack of an explosive noise means no-one triggered mines by leaving their podium too early. With no obstacles likely to trip me I chance a glance over my shoulder. The careers are fast! I realise with a curse to myself, Jade and Cleo are already at the Cornucopia! I catch a glimpse of Tamla, cutting further left away from me and towards the woods, indeed almost everyone seems to be running. I run even harder, before chancing another look in time to see Grove fighting Silver, both armed. A scream draws my attention and I'm almost running backwards now, transfixed by the action, as Varro runs Clarissa through with a sword before blocking an attack from Mitro. For a second I silently cheer Mitro on, but Varro kills him with three swings of his sword, knocking Mitro's sword away, cutting his arm to make him drop it and then decapitating him.

I'm almost at the forest now and don't appear to be being tracked, some tributes are lagging behind me and are the focus of the careers' attention, though Grove is getting away I note. Pausing for a second behind a tree I am convinced I am out of sight, with enough of a head start if I am spotted, so stop for a few seconds to watch. I realise with a jolt that I saw nothing of Fern in the chaos, and didn't see Tamla reach the woods. Are they okay, or are they among the numerous bodies that I can see, but not make out.

The six careers have congregated together, but just as I'm about to start running again, I see Jade take a knife and ram it into the base of Silver's skull. The others move towards her as his body drops, limp, but she says something I can't make out and they appear to back off. I take that as my cue and start sprinting again, just trying to get away from the careers, especially Jade.

After a few minutes I am shattered and have to slow to a light jog, which I continue for a bit longer before stopping for a proper rest. Jade killing her district partner…that'll be the talk of the Capitol right now I think. I take a quick inventory of the situation. What do I know? Silver, Mitro and Clarissa are dead along with a few others. I appear to be unharmed, though I don't have any supplies. At least I do know that there's a river somewhere not too far away. Jade, Varro, Cleo, Perrin and Shayla have formed an alliance, assuming Jade hasn't killed any more of them already, and Grove looked like he was on the verge of getting away, which would make him the only non-career with a weapon, and if I didn't miss anything, the only non-career with any sort of supplies. Tamla looked like she was escaping, but I can't be sure, while I have no clue to Fern's fate. It's also bloody cold for what I'm wearing, and the thought of keeping warm at night worries me.

Right, I think, taking a deep breath. Think, Rory. Water. That has to be my priority. I have no way of being sure in the thick forest but I think I ran fairly straight, in which case I think the river will be to my right. I head off, pausing only to snap off a weak-looking branch to use as a walking stick and, should the need arise, as a fairly weedy and wonky staff.

I walk for what must be three hours, without getting to the river. I pause to think, and realise there are many reasons why this could be. I might just not have reached it yet, as walking in this snow makes for slow going. I could not even be headed in the right direction, or the river could change course dramatically. Deciding there's nothing I can do but press on, I continue to trudge through the trees. Eventually, about another hour and a half later, I stop. I have reached a tiny little clearing, and one of the trees bordering it looks particularly large and sturdy.

I did surprise myself at the climbing station in training. And I could really do with getting a view of the area, get my bearings. What the hell, I think, as I drop my 'staff' and start to climb the tree, if I do fall maybe the snow will cushion my landing a bit.

I slip more than once, but manage not to fall, and have to pause for a while when I hear someone moving around nearby. It sounds like probably only one person, not the career pack, but that doesn't mean they won't kill me. Eventually it is silent again, and after a long and exhausting climb I'm high enough to see over the majority of the trees. Thankfully the clearing below isn't completely round, but a sort of distorted 't' shape and I use it as a sort of compass to get my bearings. If the top of the letter is north, then south is nothing but forest, west goes through a fair bit of forest before reaching the barren expanse containing the lake, east points past the mountain to another clear area in the far distance, in which the river is larger. The Cornucopia is sort of south-east, and north- vaguely the direction is was travelling I think, the forest comes to an end soon, at the collection of about thirty or forty stone buildings. I can't see the path of the river through the forest, but it emerges a little to the right of the town, to my north-east I suppose.

I wonder if there are any supplies in the buildings…what I need most right now is a water container, and a backpack would help, to carry any food I can find in. I decide my best plan for now is to aim for the river, then I can make a better judgement of the distance from the river to the town and get from one to another by skirting the forest.

I'll have to hurry if I want to reach it before it gets dark however, as climbing down the tree takes even longer than climbing up. About halfway down, with the light starting to fade, I decide to give up. My throat is very dry, but I can cope until tomorrow morning. Suddenly my train of though stops abruptly, and I actually smack myself in the head. How stupid am I? Snow is water! I'm absolutely surrounded by the stuff! I scoop some off the nearby branches and suck the moisture out. It is a slow method, horribly cold and tastes a bit of tree, but it does quench my thirst, and I know I'll sleep a lot more soundly knowing that dying of thirst isn't an immediate danger.

It makes sense, I think, as I try to jam myself between two particularly sturdy branches. The gamemakers don't wont boring deaths, and dying of thirst is certainly that. There's still plenty of peril and it means tributes are far to likely to need to kill each other, which is always what the audience want. Soon I'm fairly settled, if not comfortable, and hopeful, if not confident, that I won't fall out of the tree should I fall asleep. It's cold, but not unbearably so, though I'm not sure it'll be the same for anyone needing to sleep on the ground, unless they've found a cave or something. I find myself wondering what the careers are doing to avoid the cold, before remembering they've got all the supplies from the Cornucopia, plus plenty of sponsors. They've probably got coats, sleeping bags, tents and fire starting materials and are probably perfectly comfortable.

Suddenly I'm startled by a loud bang. The cannon. It goes off whenever a tribute dies, but on the first day they wait until the end of the day because of the chaos at the start. It goes once, twice, three times…eight times. Eight of us are dead. I'm feeling a little sick, and can only hope that Tamla and Fern are not among them. I know three- Silver, Mitro and Clarissa…but who are the other five? I'm about to find out, as pictures of the dead tributes will appear in the sky, projected there while the national anthem plays. They come in district order, girl then boy.

Silver is first, meaning Jade is still alive- the other careers haven't turned on her, or at least she escaped if they did. For all I know, Tamla or Fern could be appearing soon. No, it's the boy from three, Alecto. I can't say I'm surprised that he didn't get away from the careers in time, he wasn't very athletic.

Each pictures floats in the sky for quite a while, and it only causes my tension to build. Come on…

Next is Barr, the boy from five, who had barely made an impression on me. I only just remember his name, and feel bad for it.

Next it's Mitro. I remember the brutal way Varro killed him with sadness. He didn't deserve to die, he had a family, a little brother he was willing to die for…

Fern could still appear at any moment, or Tamla…then the next picture appears. It's Clarissa. District 9. Fern and Tamla are both still alive! I feel a surge of relief, followed by a horrible guilt that I cheered like that as Clarissa's death was announced. She never stood a chance...she obviously had a reasonably privileged life back in her district, but that wasn't her fault. It probably wasn't even that quick, or painless I think, a sword through the gut is a nasty way to die.

Jonathan, the thirteen-year old boy, is next, meaning district 9 has lost both its tributes. As have district 12 I realise soon enough, as Daisy and then Syme appear to round off the roll call.

So there are still sixteen of us still alive. That's a lot, normally more like half the tributes are killed on the first day. It could easily rise quickly though, as it'll be difficult in here with hardly anyone having any supplies, and no defence against the cold.

I count the 16 remaining competitors out. Five careers. Tamla, Fern and myself. Grove, Carson, Jeremiah. And five girls. Zianna, Kyla, Coulette…Cinnamon…and Amelia. Both from district 2, 4, 7, 8, 10 and 11 plus Jade from 1, Coulette from 3, Kyla from 5 and Zianna from 6.

Anyway, time to sleep, I think to myself. Tomorrow's going to be a tough day, trying to get hold of food water and, if at all possible, some survival supplies.

The walking has tired me out and I fall asleep fairly quickly, despite the uncomfortable bed and cold air.