Chapter 9

We're all in a circle, all equal distance from the Cornucopia. Inside the Cornucopia are the things that would help keep us alive in this arena.

I look around at the other tributes. It's wired knowing one of them will be my killer. But I'm looking for on tribute in particular. Finally I see the Katniss, she looks like she's gonna lunge forward once the gong sounds. I shake my head and hope that Katniss will take my advice. The gong rings.

I turn quickly towards the woods and run, as fast as I can. Once I'm safely hidden in the trees, or at least, I hope that I'm hidden. I watch the Cornucopia. I can't see Katniss from here, so hopefully if she went to the Cornucopia, she made it out unharmed.

I turn slowly and walk further into the woods. I just walk unsure were I'm going. The first cannon goes off. In The Hunger Games, this sound represents a tribute's death. On the first day of the Games, the wait until the blood bath is over to start the cannons. They also wait until every living tribute is away from the Cornucopia, so they can collect the bodies. Eleven cannons go off, that means there are only thirteen tributes left.

I look up at the trees and try to see if Katniss is up there, just so I know she's still alive. I sigh, she will be high up in those trees, I couldn't see her from down here. I feel like someone is watching me though.

A sword drags on the ground behind me. Prepared to die any second, I don't turn around. Then they'd see how terrified I must look. I hear a female snicker. They aren't gonna kill me unless I look at them. I roll my eyes, put on a brave face and turn around.

The carriers stand in front of me. I see the girl from District Two lift one of her many knifes. I get an idea. "Wait." I say quickly before she throws the knife. "I can help you find her." I add hoping they hadn't already killed her, and I'm still useful to them. The girl from Two looks at the boy from her district.

"Are you good with a weapon." he says.

I nod. "I'm okay with a knife, and I know where Katniss would go." I say.

I watch as the boy from District One rubs his hands together.

"Are you sure you know where she would go?" the boy from Two asks.

"Yeah, she told me all her strategies." I lie.

He nods. "Fine, three days, if we don't find her in tree days or less we kill you."

The girl from District One grins and yells as loud as possible. "We're gonna catch us a girl on fire!"

The boy from One throws his head back and put his hands to his mouth. "You better look out girl on fire! We're coming for you."

I roll my eyes and try to keep up with the careers as they run through the woods. I cut my arm on a twig. The carriers introduce themselves. The boy from District One is Marvel. The girl from One is Glimmer. The girl from Two is Clove. And the boy from Two is Cato.

After nightfall, the anthem begins. Then, the death recaps start. The Gamemakers have a hovercraft with a screen and they project the faces of the tributes who have died that day.

First is the girl from District Three. Next is the boy from District Four. Cato laughs. "He was fun to kill." The boy from District Five appears. Both tributes from Six and Seven appear. The boy from District Eight. And both tributes from Nine. And then, the girl from District Ten.

Cato gets our attention. "Okay, lets put that girl on fire into tomorrow's death recaps."

We come upon the girl from District Four. Clove and Glimmer welcome her right into the alliance. She doesn't talk. I don't even know her name. I remember she talked at her interview. But now, it's like she's traumatised. She's a quiet as the Avoxes back in the Capitol.