With only sixty seconds on the clock before we're allowed to roam around, gather weapons, and kick peoples asses. I'm short of breathe already, but I still look around. Get a look at my surroundings. To the left is woods.
Oh, thank you.
Pine trees. Evergreens. Oaks. Every kind you can think of. I'm so thankful. Disadvantage for the others, but not for me. And they know that, too. I'm from District 7, after all.
I fix my eyes on the Cornucopia, close my eyes for a moment, and they pop right back open. Memories surface and tease my brain.
"Hey, Johanna," Xavier says, tossing a peanut in his mouth and chewing it, still laughing at our 'throwing the cupcakes at the teachers' prank.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"If you ever end up in the Hunger Games-" He begins.
"What? When did we start talking about the Games?" I ask, crossing my arms loosely.
"-don't go to the Cornucopia."
"Why not?" I question suspiciously.
"Because when people go to the Cornucopia, they die. That's Career territory," He says, as if it's so obvious, and pulls another peanut out of the bag.
That was so many years ago. But I fixate my eyes on a set of axes and a large black backpack. I'm getting those, if it's the last thing I do. Maybe it will be.
The gong rings, and my feet move toward the Cornucopia. I grab the axe pack but lose sight of the backpack. The Careers are slightly slower than me, and I shake my head rapidly, when the backpack blurry comes into vision. I grab it mindlessly with the three hands I see.
I turn and dart towards the woods. A knife comes whizzing towards me from the boy from One. I swerve to the right at the last moment, and instead of jabbing my head, it hits right below my shoulder.
Ouch. I tear it out and shove it in my pocket, no time to put it in the pack. Strapping my axes around my waist, I keep running and running. Others came this way, but luckily, when I stop for a moment to see if anyone is following me, no humans are in sight.
I am still jogging when I begin to hear the cannons. 12. Half of the players, gone. Right off the bat.
That's really good. Well, not for the people who died- who I'll see tonight. I don't know right now, but it's a good guess all the Careers are still alive and a scattered few from other districts, like me.
I climb up into the tallest oak I can find. Branch by branch, I find my way to a safe place. Then I open the bag, hoping more than anything to find water.
I'm not disappointed. There's a full bottle.
"Yes!" I whisper.
Also in the bag are matches, an apple, cheese, a long, sharp knife, and iodine for purifying water. It's not that much, but I also have my set of 3 axes still attached to my belt.
It's dark outside, and the stars shine brighter than the sun back in District 7. And the sun in District 7 is bright.
The anthem of the Capitol begins to play, and I know we're about to see all the people who died in the bloodbath today.
The first person that comes up is the girl from 3. Both from 1 & 2 survived. The boy from 3. Both from 5 and 6. The girl from 8. The boy from 9. Both from 10. And both from 12.
So who's left? All the Careers. The boy from 8. The girl from 9. Both from 11... That's all. Besides Amarack, who when I find, I will kill. I hate him so much right now...
I've decided I'll hide out until theres only a handful of tributes left. Then I'll show them what I've got.
I will win.