Once the train started off from the rickety mud brick station up atop the desert flats, it took less than a minute before the canyon and every trace of the thriving town within it disappeared. Another minute and I couldn't see the giant windmills and algae towers that poked up through the canyon top. Five minutes after the train started off from District 5, it curved into a tunnel cut through a blood red mountain, pulling a shade over the portrait of the sandy desert flats and late afternoon skies tinted with flecks of gold.

Just like that, I'd left my home for the first, and possibly last, time. Fifteen years evaporated like a mirage.

"The heat never agreed with me," Elan said, filling up a crystal glass full of water from a pitcher resting on a chrome-inlaid tray. He swallowed half of the contents in one gulp and swirled the rest around his glass aimlessly. "But District 5's quaint. Not so much clutter as in here."

"Clutter" was the last word I would have used to describe the lounge car. We'd left the heat and dust behind and stepped into a climate-controlled amalgam of everything that was the Capitol. Rose-tinted glass bulbs lit up above my head from a ceiling-mounted chandelier. Tables made of some glossy black wood lined the polished blue walls. Even the chair I sat in defied belief. I felt as if it would swallow me up in its cloud-like cushions. The combination of the opulence we'd walked into, the fresh spring-like scent that wafted through the air, and my exhaustion from the horrible twist the day had taken made my eyes feel heavy.

I could have fallen asleep on that train right then and never woken up. It was a much better fate than the myriad horrors awaiting me that flitted through my mind.

The train hurtled out of the mountain tunnel, shaking and rumbling as sunlight shined back in through the windows. For one moment it jolted me out of my thoughts as the car rattled with a dark, grating sound.

"They give us the worst train?" Glenn muttered next to me with a much darker voice than I'd expected. I'd barely paid him any attention since getting on board. Where my cheeks were still littered with rivers of tears, his eyes were bone dry.

"The least receptive train, maybe," said Elan. "A train built in Daud Mosely's image."

I sniffed. "Where is he?"

"Probably abusing a small animal somewhere," my escort said. He shrugged and set down his glass. "I'll find your more sociable mentor for supper. The dining car's the next one towards the front. It's already getting late, so we'll eat in say…fifteen minutes. For now – Ms. Pike, Mr. Turner."

Elan nodded his head and ducked through the door to the next car. As soon as he had left, Glenn stood up and brushed dust off of his trousers.

"S'pose we should eat before we die," he muttered.

I frowned. "We have a chance," I said, more to convince myself than debate him.

"Doubt it," he said, shrugging. "Suit yourself. I'm rather just eat."

Glenn let the door slam behind him. I supposed he was being realistic. We were, after all, just two kids from District 5. It'd been twenty-two years since our district had sniffed victory. We weren't volunteers, we weren't trained or ready or prepared for this. I wanted to hang on to hope, to clutch something, anything that could keep me going, but my future had faded with my home in the dust of the train's departure.

I pressed my hands to my forehead. How could Glenn even think about eating? How could he be so matter-of-fact about this?

Before I followed Glenn into the dining car, I stopped and placed my fingers on the window. The land I'd grown up with fell further and further behind me with each passing second. Maybe it was hot, maybe it was dry and dusty, maybe the summers brought towering sandstorms with the rainy season, but this desert was home. I'd seen the past Hunger Games. I could end up in foot-deep snow, a dense jungle, or an arena so terrifying I'd go insane. I might never see the warm southwestern sun again.

Damn it. Damn everything.

I balled my fist and pushed the door open. Elan and Finch hadn't arrived yet, but Glenn sat alone at the table, his palms stretched out and facing up, his head bowed. I stopped on a dime and started to back up to leave him alone, but he snapped his head up and looked back.

"Oh," he said, scooting his chair in. "You're quiet."

"I can leave. Didn't mean to bother you," I replied.

"Naw. Screw it."

"Are you –"

"Just forget it."

I sat down across the wide dining table from Glenn, rubbing my hand over the polished auburn wood. There was more to Glenn than met the eye. I knew I needed to keep my eye on the Games, but at the same time, I wanted to know more about my district partner. We didn't have anyone but each other now – and our teams, but they weren't headed into the arena. Neither of us deserved to be alone in what could be our last days.

"I've never seen you around school," I said. I figured mentioning that I'd seen him standing on the edge of a cliff wasn't the best way to start a conversation.

He fingered the gleaming silverware set out before him, his thumb rubbing up and down his knife as if it were a comfort. "Haven't gone to school in a while."

Great topic, Terra. "Did you work at one of the plants?"

"Nah."

"What d'you do?"

"I got Reaped. I woulda volunteered if I hadn't."

My breath caught. What?

Before I had time to digest what he said, the door burst open again. A flash of red hair caught my eye, and a short, lithe woman strode in as if she were expecting distinguished guests. Finch Rivers carried herself with more confidence than anyone I'd ever seen in District 5. Now in her forties, she was a far cry from the cautious yet shrewd fifteen year-old who'd run circles around her adversaries back in the 74th Games. She'd accepted her place as a victor and had emerged long ago as the face of District 5 to the country. Up close, the way she held her chin high and stood up without a hint of a slouch justified that position.

"Hey, guys," Finch said, sitting down in the chair next to me. Elan entered right on her heels. "I'm Finch. You probably know me."

She pointed to each of us: "Terra. Glenn. I'm good with names. Don't worry about thinking too far ahead right now. Elan, are they –"

The arrival of a quartet of red-robed avoxes interrupted her. I'd seen avoxes, the silent servants of the Capitol, in the corners of television broadcasts in the Capitol before, but watching them arrange a myriad of steaming plates of food without a single slip was almost artistic. They moved without a sound. If I hadn't been inundated with the heaps of browned meat, goblets of moist grapes and bright fruits, and trays full of sweet-smelling breads and biscuits, I would have missed them entirely.

"Always on schedule," Elan said, pouring himself a glass of water.

"No kidding," Finch said. "C'mon you guys, eat. It's not poisonous."

I poked at a biscuit with my fork. "Are…uh, they're probably showing the recap of all the Reapings. Are we supposed to watch that?"

Finch shook her head and placed the biscuit on my plate. "Forget about that stuff right now, Terra. You've got enough on your plate – well, not that plate. Seriously, eat. But you two have had enough Games action for the day. Let's just start slow, okay? I want you both to be alright before we get into all the details. We can cover what you need to know for tomorrow in the morning."

I had to give one thing to Finch: She knew how to take control of a bad situation. Her reputation as one of the smartest victors wasn't for nothing.

She wasn't kidding about the food either. The first bite I took of the biscuit overwhelmed my tastebuds with a scrumptious explosion. I abandoned my modesty, heaping as much onto my plate as I could. Guess Glenn had a point.

"So," Finch said, taking a bite of a biscuit and turning to me. "I want to know a bit more about you guys. What did you back home, Terra?"

I didn't expect her to be so forward right off the bat. Spearing at a globe of some leafy green vegetable, I said, "Just…work and school. And stuff."

"Yeah? Where'd you work?"

"Just the – the solar farms."

"Really? Smarty pants."

I blushed. "I dunno about that."

"I could never figure that stuff out," Finch said, inspecting a piece of red meat on her fork. "You have that on me."

For a victor, Finch had a remarkable way of making someone feel good about themselves.

"How 'bout you, Glenn?" she went on. "Same deal?"

He looked up. Glenn had already finished off nearly his entire plate. "Nah. Not really."

"Yeah? What do you do for fun back in the district?"

"Nothing. Much."

"Ah, that's life," Finch said. I caught her just as she glanced over at Elan, the mentor and escort meeting each other's gazes for a quick moment. That was what she was up to: She wasn't really interested in what we did for fun. She wanted to know what she had to work with without asking that very question.

Elan's advice in the Hall of Justice came back to me. Maybe Finch wanted to make Glenn and I feel at home, but we were both still on camera. Our audience was our team, but it was still an audience. The earlier you understand the game, the better.

"What d'you do?" I asked. Finch's compliment had given me a burst of confidence, and I wanted to get her on my side as fast as I could.

She looked surprised. "Me? I – first time one of you guys has asked me that. I don't really have –"

"She mucks around and tries to sound smart."

I whirled around in my chair. Daud loitered by the door, resting up against wall with his arms crossed and wearing what I could only describe as a sack of potatoes.

"Never a better introduction in all the twelve districts," Elan scoffed.

"Only here for a bite," Daud said. He barged forward and cut in between Finch and I, grabbing a large yellow fruit in each of his hands.

Finch's lip curled. "You can sit down to eat," she said, her voice dropping an octave.

"Got a call to make," Daud said, retreating back to the door. "Just finished on the phone with Odair. Big Odair, not the little one. Said there's a…twist…coming in the arena this year."

A chill ran up my arm. Twist?

Finch looked as if she were ready to fight her fellow mentor to the death. "Daud, we can talk about this later, in private, when -"

"Finnick told you that?" Elan interrupted her.

Daud laughed with a sharp bark. "True, then? You know everything."

He slipped back through the door, peeling one of the fruits as he left. Our conversation died with the slamming of the door. Elan furrowed his brow, as if some great secret had just come out, while Finch was doing a remarkable job keeping her cool.

It was Glenn who cut through the awkward silence. "Think I'm gonna get out of here."

"You don't have to mind him," Finch said, closing her eyes and clenching her jaw. "He's not very tactful. You can stay and eat more."

"Nah. I'm fine."

She didn't argue as Glenn left, but ushered me to follow him out and cleanup for bed. I didn't argue. Something told me that we weren't supposed to know about the cryptic bomb Daud had just dropped on dinner.

"I'll take her to her room," Elan said, guiding me out of the dining room and leaving Finch alone to a lonely supper.

I didn't get more than a step into the lounge car before Elan stopped me. He shut the door behind him, made sure the door to the next car was closed, and poured himself another glass of water.

"Obviously you weren't supposed to know that," Elan said, swirling the water around. "But neither was Daud, nor Finnick Odair from District 4. Even the most renowned of victors don't receive inside knowledge on the Games, which tells that someone's leaking information intentionally."

I watched him as he paced along the wall. "That means," Elan said, "that you need to be doubly careful. Someone wants an extravaganza for the new president."

"Why are you telling me?" I asked. "Why me and not Glenn?"

"Oh, I will tell him," said the escort. "I'm an escort. It's my job to help one of you win and come home, and if he's receptive, I'll spend just as much effort on him as I do on you. I know you feel for the boy, but I don't think he's what you expect. For the downtrodden in the world, life isn't always worth fighting for."

He opened the door towards the rear of the train and said, "Be careful around cornered animals, Terra."

+ Thanks for another upbeat review, ArtemisCarolineSnow! A lot of talk in these past two chapters, but exciting things are coming soon with the arrival to the Capitol on the way!