The 25th Hunger Games

The Games: Day 1

I had never seen an ocean before today. Two only had a few pools at the Academy, but we learned about the sea when they taught us about other districts. I never had any want to see the ocean, though. Sitting with my feet in it now, I thought this would be a decent place to die.

Maybe they could send my body to sea before the Gamemakers took it away.

I was so lost in thought I hardly noticed when a fish came up and swan around my feet. The little guy let his guard down. That's a big mistake.

I took my big knife and quickly speared the fish, killing him instantly and yanking his body out of the fresh water.

I put together a small pile of dead fish before I realized there was no way to cook my meal.

I grudgingly left my pile of smelly fish and opened my dried fruit.

Time passed slowly. I was going to go insane if I spent the rest of the night on that pillar. I didn't care if I had to swim there, I wanted to do something. Sponsors weren't going to like me if I wasn't exciting. And I wanted them to like me.

I was just fixing my hair (Varina managed to teach me how to braid) when I felt something odd. There was a breeze at my feet. I looked down only to see they were no longer in the water but a foot above it.

The water was sinking. The fish disappeared as it got lower and lower. I didn't know what this meant, but I filled my canteen just in case. The water continued to go down. I watched until there was nothing but hard concrete left.

This was beyond strange. We were now left with dunes and our pillars, and it was already dark. As I pondered what to do, pulling myself away from the three story drop, I began to smell smoke. It was the kind of smoke that came from real fuel, not just wood or paper. That meant it was no man made fire.

I looked around for traces of smoke. Instead, I found a small fire starting on one of the distant pillars. In an instant, another one started on a closer pillar. Then another. I was just beginning to see the pattern when I realize the fire was headed here next.

I fumbled through my bag and found the climbing gear tucked in the bottom. I secured my bag, then the belt of the gear, then the grappling hook and soon I was on my way down the pillar. The fires were still headed this way. I had to be as careful as possible. Climbing down a wet pillar with crappy gear and not dying was no easy task. I realized about halfway down that I could use this to boil the chemicals out of my water, but I figured it was too risky until I knew something about the fire.

I was just unlatching everything from the ground below when my pillar caught fire. It made me jump even though I was expecting it. Despite how far up it was, I could still feel the heat from it. I hadn't grabbed my fish, so they were toast now.

Being on the ground left me with two options. Stay here like a sitting duck under the dangerous flames, or go find other tributes who were no doubt down here too.

I carried my flashlight, now that I had some use for it, in one hand and left the other resting on my smaller knife that was tucked into my belt. I couldn't see too far ahead of me and nothing behind me. I could be in a dangerous position.

Just as I thought this, I saw the silhouette of a girl sitting beneath on of the fires. From what I could tell, she looked about my size. I figured I was in enough of a position to run if needed, or I could say hi.

"Hello?" I tried cautiously.

"Hi," the girl replied, standing up. I felt myself let out a breath. In all the time after the reaping, I hadn't had one nice conversation with a fellow tribute. This was somewhat of a relief.