Nancy's tribute plate rose through the ground into a large room surrounded by metal walls with doors every so often. The ground was metal, too. To her left was Hazel, next to her was Will. Easy pickings. To her other side was Lou Ellen, and then Octavian. Nancy hoped that the scarecrow could hold his own, although it wouldn't have been a big disaster if he died! Nancy's lips curled up into a smile. This was going to be fun.

58…57…

Castor's tribute plate locked into place. He had heard all about the Games and thought that he was ready for them, but now, he felt afraid. He noticed Ethan four plates to the left, glaring at him. For the first time, Castor considered the possibility that Ethan could kill him—that he could die! Pollux had been right. This was insane. Castor closed his eyes and thought of his brother.

56…55…

Reyna couldn't locate Octavian or Clarisse. They were in the part of her vision blocked by the Cornucopia. However, Nancy was just in her field of vision, looking excited. Castor had his eyes closed a few plates away from her. What was he doing? Percy was another few plates away from her, staring at the Cornucopia. Reyna located all of the exits to the room. They would have to be closed. She caught Percy's eye and jerked her head towards an exit. She hoped he got the message to block it.

54…53…

Octavian realized he was shaking and stopped himself. He couldn't show weakness, not here, not now. He was located near the tail end of the Cornucopia. He wouldn't be able to get supplies from the interior of the golden horn in time to kill anyone, but a pair of knives shone right next to the Cornucopia. Those were his. To his right was Ella, and to his left Lou. Neither of them could hold him back. No one could!

52…51…

Annabeth tried to remain calm and keep her breathing under control as she looked around her. A side of the Cornucopia was directly in front of her. To her back was an exit. There were two other exits at right angles from the one behind her, that probably meant that there was one on the other side of the Cornucopia, too. The people next to her, however, where the worst possible. Percy stood to her left, past him, Ethan. Zoe was to her right, with Castor past her. She was surrounded by Careers and people who were most dangerous to her! Suddenly, Percy caught her eye. Annabeth remembered his words from the previous night: "I'll prove you wrong." But would he kill her despite that?

50…49…

There was a hammer not too far from where Leo was standing, and while it wasn't really a weapon, Leo at least knew how to use it. He was beginning to regret doing so much goofing off during his training time. Going for the hammer would probably be the smartest thing—oh, look! There was Piper! She was four plates away from him, past Scary Nico, that kid Clovis, and Connor. Leo wheeled his head around, looking for Jason. He was four plates away, too, past…Reyna. Leo's heart started beating faster. That girl was more than capable of killing him! But he needed a weapon! What was he going to do?

48…47…

So this was it. After twelve years of training, Clarisse had finally made it to the Hunger Games. She had scored second-highest, after the annoying girl from 12, and was fully prepared to take on everyone and win. Clarisse was standing between Ella and Rachel, neither of whom were threats to her. Octavian and Nancy were within shouting distance, although Reyna was invisible and Castor was hard to locate. There was an exit behind her, too. Clarisse couldn't let any of these punks escape. She had to win this. For Silena.

46…45…

Percy was standing next to Annabeth. He made eye contact with her, nodding slightly. She looked back at him. Percy wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Reyna had gestured to the exit, so he needed to block that, but how would he do it without a weapon? Then his answer came. There was a bronze sword glittering in the mouth of the Cornucopia, not too far away. He could sprint over there and sprint back to the exit killing all who tried to escape…but that thought made him sick. Hadn't he told Clarisse that they all should have an equal chance? He was stronger than most of the people in the room. It didn't seem fair to kill them all in their mad dash for life. Was he supposed to kill little Ella? Calypso, whose district needed her? Annabeth?

44…43…

A lot can be determined by where a tribute initially stands. If they stand between two people who are not deemed a threat, then their chance increases. If they stand between two people with higher scores, then their chance is worse, Hunger Games Protocol, page 45. If that was true, then Ella was in trouble, big big trouble, because Ella was between Clarisse and Octavian, who were both Careers. Ella should not try and get a backpack or supplies because Ella was to the back of the Cornucopia where she would have to loop all the way around to get anything. There were supplies scattered out away from the Cornucopia, of course, but nothing valuable. The only thing close to her was a sharp rock. Ella did not want a sharp rock. Then, of course, there was the exit behind her. That was the safest route, the route for life, and life was good. Ella had to escape.

42…41…

To his right, Castor. To his left, Katie. And in front of Jason was the very corner of the golden horn, barely 40 feet away. It would have been easy to run up and grab something before running away, but Reyna the Career was close to him in addition to Castor, and Jason knew that it could be dangerous. Still, a weapon and supplies could save his life. Jason frantically looked for his allies. Leo was on the other side of Reyna, unreachable. Piper was hard to locate, but Jason finally saw her near the other corner of the Horn. Should they run in? Should they stay out? Leo was looking at something in front of him, but Piper caught his eye. Slowly, she nodded.

40…39…

Rachel felt incredibly sick and thought that she might have thrown up, which wouldn't have been a good idea with all of the mines at her feet. She wondered if her father was watching right now. Was he feeling proud of her? He was probably barely paying attention, still in his office, working. What about everyone else in the district? They were counting down with her, watching and waiting, maybe hoping for her death but knowing that without her, District 6 wouldn't have a Victor. Rachel was sick and tired of worrying about what they thought of her, completely done with playing all of these stupid little games for money, recognition, life. Rachel couldn't see Clovis, but hoped that he was alright.

38…37…

Clovis couldn't see Rachel, which worried him. It either meant that she was out of his field of vision on the other side of the Cornucopia, or that his vision was already fading, going black, as he slowly fell asleep. 39 times 54…39 times 54…why couldn't he do this? He had to stay awake!

36…35…

Calypso was located right in front of the opening of the Cornucopia, in perfect position to grab something and run away. Still, she couldn't see Grover. She considered screaming out to see if he responded, but didn't want anyone to think that she couldn't live without him. She was strong. She could run in, beating Reyna who was next to her, and spring back out. She and Grover would find each other, somehow. They would have to. They would keep each other alive.

34…33...

Where was Calypso? Grover wished that they had been put next to each other, or at least within sight of each other. There were three exits that he could see, and if he and Calpyso didn't find each other, then they could end up going through different exits. What if this whole Arena was just a giant maze? They could go for miles without finding each other. Their alliance would be now or never. "I love you," Grover whispered to the air, hoping that somewhere, somehow, the words would reach Juniper.

32…31…

Piper caught Jason's eye and nodded. Hopefully he would understand that she saw him. She tilted her head towards the exit behind Leo, hoping that he would know enough to run there with her. Leo could run there, too, maybe grabbing something, and they could all disappear from the Bloodbath without getting hurt, or worse, dying. Piper's stomach turned. She imagined her father in the Control Room, watching her. He had told her last night that he was proud of her, that he loved her, that she could fight and make it back. Piper wanted to trust that he believed in her, but it was hard. Piper imagined her mother, then. She thought of the warm, comforting presence that she could remember and wondered if her mother was watching her now from a screen somewhere remote or really was dead. What would her mother say to her now?

30…29…

The countdown was halfway done, and the air was just becoming more charged. What if the Gamemakers did put electrical charges in the air? They couldn't do that, could they? What if they didn't deactivate the mines in time or someone got to Castor before he could? Ethan was next to a Career, bad, and Frank, average. Where was Castor? Then Ethan spotted him, by Zoe and Jason. You're mine, he thought. He was ready to have his revenge.

28…27…

Lou was shaking between Nancy and Octavian. She wished that she had a deck of cards, anything with her to give her something to do with her hands. She felt vulnerable, which she was, here between two Careers. She looked around and located Will, instantly feeling safer. With an ally, no single Career would take them on, right? She and Will could leave through the exit behind him. Lou spotted an orange backpack in the grass not far from her and decided that she would run for it before leaving with Will. They would be safe. Everything would be okay, right?

26…25…

Will spotted Lou between two Careers, looking at an orange backpack. Good. Lou was fast enough to get it, and Will would get those two sharp-looking rocks not too far away from him. Will checked his surrounding once again. He was still next to Hazel and Piper. Nico was a few more plates away from him. Will made eye contact with the boy and nodded once, hoping that Nico would get out of this safely. Maybe he could even join Will and Lou once the Bloodbath was over.

24…23…

Where was Frank? Hazel was frantic! Logically, she knew that Frank was probably across the Cornucopia from her, but she still couldn't help but think that he had already been killed and would never be there again, never smile, never frown, never breathe! And with four different exits, they could end up anywhere! They had to meet. Somehow, in the chaos of this opening battle, they had to find each other. Frank wouldn't leave without her, right? They could find each other, and then go.

22…21…

It was going to be okay. Hazel was okay. She was probably just across the Cornucopia from Frank. They could find each other. Frank imagined Grandmother watching now, waiting for the fight to break out. She would want him to find Hazel. She knew that they could protect each other. Frank decided to go to the rear end of the Cornucopia. The fighting would probably center around the horn's opening, where the supplies were. Plus, Percy and Reyna were towards the horn's opening. Still, Octavian and Clarisse were to the horn's back. They could kill both him and Hazel easily. Frank needed a bow if he was going to be able to get anywhere. Frank checked the timer again. His minute was almost up.

20…19…

Katie could sprint up to the Horn and get a shield if she wanted to. It was just running away that could be the problem. Reyna and Castor were both too close for comfort. Still, the Cornucopia was too close, and Katie didn't want to give up this opportunity. Connor could easily sneak in at night and steal something, but Katie couldn't. The world was unfair! Miranda, Katie thought despairingly, what do I do?

18…17…

Logically, Travis would tell him to run away and never return to the Cornucopia. That was the smart thing. Still, with all this metal, who knew where he could find food and water? Connor was fast. He could rush in, grab a backpack and a knife, and run out again. All of the things in the Cornucopia, luxuries in an Arena, were calling to him.

16…15…

Zoe could see a bow in the Cornucopia. She was fast enough to go in there. Zoe knew not to be greedy, like all the males were probably being, but she still needed a weapon if she wanted to survive. Zoe was designed for the outdoors where she could silence her footsteps and cover her tracks, not such an artificial Arena. That left getting her bow as the only option. Zoe assessed the completion. Castor and Reyna stood between her and the Cornucopia, and Leo wasn't such a slouch either. Katie might have been dangerous as well. The young woman was a bit too angry, but Zoe could see a bit of herself in the girl from 11. Not much of herself, but still enough not to want to kill her. Zoe did not want to kill any girl in this Arena. The men, however…

14…13…

Nico wasn't close to Zoe. Still, if she went for the Cornucopia, then he could probably kill her. The problem was if he was killed first. It would be worth it, sure, if she was also killed, but Nico was a bit afraid of death. Who wasn't? Nico resolutely stared away from Will, remembering his words. Holding grudges was dangerous, yes. But what about when the grudge was the only thing keeping you going? What if you needed the grudge to propel you forward? What if anger really was the only answer?

12…11…

All 24 of the tributes were in the same place, alive, for the last time. When the day was over, any number of them could be dead. In the past week, appearances of friendship and respect could be nurtured. But now that the Games were starting, all of those relationships would have to be broken. Only one person would be alive at the end of the month, while the others left behind friends, family, hopes, dreams…and still, the idea of any guilt was pushed to the side by most of the tributes. Danger was realer than any kind of emotion at the moment, because this was now and the Games were about to start.

2…1…

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the Hunger Games begin!"

Tributes:

D1: Castor Bordeax; Nancy Bobofit
D2: Octavian Hill; Reyna Ramirez-Arellano
D3: Leo Valdez; Annabeth Chase
D4: Percy Jackson; Clarisse La Rue
D5: Jason Grace; Ella Harrison
D6: Clovis Sonan; Rachel Dare
D7: Grover Underwood; Calypso Aterra
D8: Ethan Nakamura; Piper Mclean
D9: Will Solace; Lou Ellen Lerner
D10: Frank Zhang; Hazel Levesque
D11: Connor Stoll; Katie Gardner
D12: Nico di Angelo; Zoe Nightshade

Any suggestions? Please give them to me through PM or review.