The whole world around me seemed to disappear when I heard these words and I couldn't really see the person who was heading to the stage. But that was enough for now.

"How exiting! For the first time in history District Twelve has got two volunteers. Young man, would you tell us your name?" Even the voice of Effie Trinket seemed to be miles away. I stared at a point straight ahead, not daring to turn my head, everything else would have been too much. I felt the person next to me taking my hand and pulling me closer.

"Gale Hawthorne." I was still praying that this was some kind of terrible joke, that I was only dreaming. That shouldn't have happened. He had to take care of his family, he shouldn't be standing next to me right now. No, Katniss, stay calm. I wished I would wake up now, finding myself at home, surrounded by a laughing Prim.

I couldn't hear a sound and dared to open my eyes. But I wasn't at home. I found myself standing on the stage, hundreds of people staring at me. And every single of them dropped their hands from the farewell they had just given the young boy standing next to me.

...

I heard Effie saying something and in the next moment Gale's hand led me in his direction and pulled me in a tight hug. But before I had a chance to realize it, Effie was leading us from the stage. As soon as the first shock was gone I noticed the light room around me.

"Your family will be here any minute!", one of the peacekeppers explained and left the room.

Only seconds later the door opened again and Mum and Prim were bursting into the room.

"Katniss!", Prim cried and flinged herself in my arms. Her whole body was shivering.

"Calm down, little duck, okay? Don't cry!"

"You can win, Katniss. Try to come back, will you?"

"Of course I will. Promise. I won't leave you alone", I whispered and stood up to hug mum. Her face was frozen, without any expression.

"Mum, listen. I can make it, okay? Try to be there for Prim exactly the way you have been this afternoon. You can't leave this time, did you get that? You have to live."

She nodded and took me in a tight embrace. "Sure, darling."

...

"Your time is over. You have to leave now", a deep voice disturbed the moment and the peacekeeper pulled Mum and Prim out of the room.

"I'll see you soon. Promise", I shouted but I wasn't sure if they had heard me. Then the whole room was silent again and the only thing I could hear was the hammering sound of my heart which seemed to jump out of my chest. I sat down with a loud sigh and waited for Effie to pick me up. I stared at the door with fear, but no one came into the room. It felt like eternity till someone opened the door. I stood up and looked at the entrance, but it wasn't Effie who showed up.

"Madge? What are you doing here?", I asked, but she just gave me a small box.

"I don't have a lot of time, the peacekeepers are getting nervous. I just wanted to give you a token." She knew me too well, because she interrupted my protest within a second. "Just take it and come home, okay?"

"Thank you." I stared at the small parcel, touched by her gesture.

"No big deal. Good luck.", she said and disappeared as fast as she had arrived.

...

Finally Effie entered the room and took me and Gale to the train which should bring us to the Capitol.

"Hop on!", she squealed far too cheerful and let us enter. I opened the door to our wagon and froze. Everything was really big and glamorous. Plates full of food were on the table and I could tell for sure that I have never seen so much food before.

"Take whatever you like!", Effie encouraged us and sat on the couch. Gale took the place on the other side and I sank on the sofa next to him, completely exhausted.

"So, you guys know each other?", she asked curiously and her glance switched from Gale to me and back.

"Yeah, we are hunt…..ähm…we are friends." Damn, Gale nearly spoiled it. Fortunately Effie hadn't heard the first part of his sentence. "How nice."

Nice? How the fucking hell could this be nice? We could die and all she managed to say was "Nice"?

...

"So, these are the two naïve dorks?" The deep voice caused Gale and me to turn round and we were immediately facing a shabby man in his mid-forties, who held a bottle of liquor in his hand. He fixated us with his eyes and I felt like he could see straight through my body. The coldness in his eyes let me shiver.

"Ah, Haymitch, good you finally showed up." Effie pointed at the empty seat next to her, then at us. "May I introduce Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne. Gale, Katniss, this is Haymitch, your mentor."

Mentor? This drunk moron was responsible for us? Wow, this seriously couldn't be worse…

"Trinket, where is the ice?", Haymitch growled and scanned the wagon.

"Not now, Haymitch! You've had enough." Effie wanted to take his glass, but Haymitch pushed her away, his drink landing on the floor.

"Fucking great", he hissed and took his place on the couch. "Rule number one, you don't interfere in my drinking. Rule number two, you do what I say. If you want to stay alive you should trust me. You got me?" I stared at him stunned. We were as good as dead.

"Any questions?...No?..Fine, then I'll explain how the whole thing works. We'll reach the Capitol in a couple of hours, then you'll get an apartment. You have exactly four days to get ready for these games. You are going to train with the other tributes and you'll have a private session with the Gamemakers. Try to impress them. Good impression means sponsors and that's my job, okay? Good, everything else will be discussed in the Capitol." Haymitch took his glass, filled it up and left.

...

"So, this dude is responsible for keeping us alive?", Gale asked, his voice full of anger. Effie smiled at him. "If you want to say it this way, yes."

Gale groaned and dropped back into his seat. "Great. This is a real nightmare."

"Well, Haymitch may seem to be…kind of rough, but he knows the Games as good as his minibar. You can really trust him." To my surprise Effie put her hand on Gales knee. He faked a polite smile and took her hand off his knee again. During the next hour I hoped that Effie would leave so that I could speak to Gale in private, but she always stayed at our side, trying to keep us entertained. God, how could one single person be so annoying? All I wanted was one minute of privacy, that really wasn't too much, was it?

I was absolutely glad when the train slowed down a couple of hours later and then the Capitol appeared at the end of the hill.

"Kids, you should get prepared for arriving in the Capitol. Just five more minutes." Effie seemed to be far too exited for my taste. That was exactly the point why I hated these Capitol people so much.

Finally the train stopped and the door opened, leading us into an unknown future.