Control room - The Game Centre
"Sir, the tributes have been placed on their platforms and the mines have been activated." Clemensia tells Coriolanus. He nods to affirm that he hears her. The original plan for the arena this year had been to build catacombs under the arena, in which the tributes would ascend up once the countdown starts. Much to Coriolanus dismay, this idea turned out to take longer than anticipated and had to be postponed until next year. The landmines, were however, new. The tributes had been informed of them this morning, but that probably wouldn't stop at least one of the tributes from stepping off too soon.
"Initiate countdown." He orders. The clock starts as he looks around the map of the arena in pride. This would certainly turn out an to be an interesting game. This years arena was new and unlike anything before. Up until now they had relied on available places that already existed. This year they had built the entire arena from ground and it was in his mind the perfect end of his career as Head Gamemaker.
The arena is a miniature of Panem, only every part looks as though it has been plagued by war. The cornucopia serves to symbolise the Capitol and their generosity even when the districts brought death and destruction upon them. Giving the tributes food, weapons and means to survive even as they rebel against them. The rest of the arena is made up of parts from each district, each of the tributes homes are in it, only burnt down and destroyed to serves as a reminder to what happens if you defy the hand that feeds you. Electric fences divide the replica districts in some places, forcing tributes to take certain routes to ensure that they run into each other. Coriolanus having been in district 12 for quite some time, had a special hand in creating the lake that works as the only available source of water. He even made sure that the small cottage was built. That will show everyone in district 12 that would dare to venture outside the fence that he knows. Coriolanus knows, and he controls even that.
"Sixty." He hears the voice of the countdown start. He looks at screen where the tributes are shown, and his gaze stays on Katniss. She looks around the arena, and he can see the wheels turning in her head.
"Fifty." She sees her bow at the cornucopia. She looks over at the other tributes.
"Forty." On the screen, he sees her look back towards the lake, finally spotting the cottage hidden among the trees. Realisation hits her and he knows that Katniss, is indeed a frequent venturer out in the woods.
"Twenty." Her gaze turns towards the camera, and it feels as though she's looking directly at him. Her eyes scream defiance.
"Ten." He smiles at the screen. It feels almost as if she can see him. She turns her gaze towards her weapon, but not before giving the camera one last glare.
"Let the 20th Hunger games begin!" The announcer says and the gong goes off. No one died by the landmines, so his estimation was not correct. But it does not matter, because his estimation that the addition of the Lake and cottage would turn out to be valuable additions, did.
"May the odds be ever in your favour, mockingjay." He adds to himself quietly, knowing fully well that her odds are entirely up to him.
.
Katniss runs as fast as her legs will carry her towards her bow. She's still shaken up by the lake and cabin in the distance. How does he know about that, she wonders. It's absolutely terrifying. She worries for her family and her friends but she pushes it to the back of her mind for now. She needs to focus on surviving now.
She's one of the first at the cornucopia. In the floor of it she spots the Capitol emblem, and red flags with the same emblem hangs from the walls inside. She quickly takes her weapon and a random backpack before taking off. She runs in a direction that she chose on pure instinct. When she's at the edge of a few trees, she looks back at the cornucopia and is struck by a bloodbath. At least seven dead lay on the ground. She can't spot Billy, and she is thankful for that but she also knows that it would be hard for her to kill him. She doesn't know if she even could. Maybe it would be better if he had just died a quick death here.
The boys from district 2 and 4 stand with weapons up to their ears. The rest of the tributes seems to have done what she has, which is flee. She dares a look at the two boys before sprinting away, hoping that that the trees will hide her. Aside from her and the two boys, there aren't many in these games that could be considered a threat. Almost every tribute is small and young. She pushes that thought to the back of her mind also. She can't afford to ponder over the morality of it all when she needs to survive.
After running for only a few minutes, Katniss starts to notice a fence. The unmistakable sound of power tellers her that it's electric and while the electricity in her district isn't enough to kill someone, she guesses that isn't the case here. These are the games after all. She takes a step away from it but continues running along side it, hoping to find a hole or and end to it. Soon, the grass under her feet turns to stone and her surroundings change from woods to something akin to ruins. An eerie feeling settles in her stomach as she sees a familiar building. Taking cautious steps towards it, she can't help the small scream that escapes her as she sees her home burnt down. Nothing remains except rubble but she knows that this is her home.
"This is not real. It's not real." She repeats to herself quietly. She knows that this is a trick from the Gamemakers. From Snow. But she can't stop the panic anyways. As quickly as she can, she starts running in another direction. She doesn't know how long she runs for, but at some point she stumbles upon the lake. The same lake that she saw from her platform at the Cornucopia. In the distance, far away, she can see it glimmer in the sun and realise that she is in on the other side of it. Not knowing when she will be at another water source, she opens her backpack frantically, hoping for a bottle to fill. She finds a metal canister and quickly fills it, and drinks the entire thing before filling it again. That is when the canons boom. Eight. One more death than she counted.
Not knowing if anyone has seen her, but not wanting to risk it, Katniss soon takes off to find some sort of shelter. It's getting dark and she does not want to be out in the open when the night settles. She soon finds herself at another electric fence. Is she trapped in this section of the arena, she wonders. This section that looks far to much like her own district. Not having the energy to try to find a way around the fence, she settles for a tree nearby. When she is far enough up, she looks trough the rest of her things in the back pack. A sleeping bag, a rope, a few matches. Enough to survive.
She makes quick work of thing herself to the tree, and manages to fall asleep just to be startle back awake by the anthem. On the sky, Katniss sees the eight tributes that died today. Both from 3, the girl from from 5, both from 6, both from 7 and the boy from 10.
As she falls back asleep, she wonders if she will have to have a hand in another face on the sky tomorrow.
