The games start today. And I'm not ready. I'll never be ready. But it doesn't matter. The games will continue, whether I'm ready or not.
Cinna has me dressed in a white tank top and thin black jacket, and a pair of tan cargo pants. The Capital decided it was fine for me to wear my braided leather necklace into the arena because it offers no help in the games.
"-une. June. Juniper!" Cinna calls. I look over at him. "Huh?" I say. "You need to focus up. Get out of your thoughts. You have thirty seconds until you have to go," Cinna says. I nod sadly. "June, be prepared for extreme heat. I don't know exactly what the arena is, but I think it might be a desert," he says. My eyes widen. "A desert? They made it a desert years ago and everyone died of dehydration and heatstroke! Why would the Game Makers make it a desert again?" I ask, panicked. Cinna sighs. "I don't know for sure. But... just be careful," he says.
"Fifteen seconds."
I hug Cinna and give him my goodbyes and step into the tube.
"Five seconds."
I take a deep breath, and put on the bravest face I can muster at the moment.
The pedestal rises and I focus on my breathing.
The heat is the first thing I feel. Then the blinding light. I look around, and I see desert and mountains. Mountains of rock, not sand. The mountains are my best bet of finding water. I just have to make it over there without getting killed.
The countdown begins. I set my eyes on a knife vest and bow. I see a tan backpack not too far from my pedestal. If I could grab that loaf of bread on the way...
I glance at Dawson. He shakes his head, probably knowing my plan. I give a slight nod. He shakes his head again. I turn my gaze back to the cornucopia. I had to get the supplies.
The cannon fires and I know it's time. I'm running as fast as I can. I grab the loaf of bread and backpack, and I sprinted to the vest. I slung it over my shoulder and did the same with the bow and quiver. But nothing can ever go as planned, right? Nothing can ever go so smoothly.
A dagger grazes my cheek as I turn around. I see Clove glaring at me. I grab the dagger, and sprint for the mountains.
After a few minutes of running, I take I second to rest and go through my things in one of the many patches of trees.
In my backpack I have a pair of heavy duty sunglasses, a visor, insulated water bottle, some bandages, and some packs of dried fruit and nuts. I put on my sunglasses and visor. I put the contents back into the backpack, along with the loaf of bread. I attach my quiver securely to my backpack. The bow is collapsible, so I put it in an easily reachable position in my backpack. I take off my jacket and stuff it in my backpack, then I put on the knife vest, but I decide to keep the dagger in hand.
The cut on my cheek stings, but that's the least of my worries right now. I need to find water by nightfall.
Satisfied with how I situated myself, I stood and started walking to the mountains. Until I collide into someone. I fall backwards, as does the other person. I scramble to my feet, clutching my dagger.
The person I ran into is a girl. I recognize her from district 7. She has blonde hair and gray eyes. She looks to be about Lily's age. "I don't want to hurt you," I say as calmly as I can. The girl nods. "I don't either. D-do you want to ally?" She asks. I'm taken aback by this. She wants to ally? I nod.
"I'm June," I tell her. "I'm Heron," she replies. "Do you have any water?" Heron asks. "No. But I think the mountains are the best bet of us finding water," I answer. Heron nods. "Do you have a weapon?" I ask her. She shakes her head. "All I have is my backpack and the things in it," she tells me.
I reach into my vest and pull out a decent sized knife and hand it to Heron. "Don't cut off a finger. I don't have enough bandages for that," I tell her sternly. Heron nods.
We walk to the edge of the trees, and I lean my head out to make sure the coast was clear.
Sadly, it wasn't.
AN: I know it's been a REALLY long time since I've updated, but like I said, writers block. I think I'm over it now.
But anyways, I want to say a big thanks to AMystery8! Thank you for the ideas! But check out her book Unsuspected Murder and the sequel Unsolved Murder. You won't be disappointed!
I now have 242 reads on this story so thanks! I'm also happy to say there was no negativity here! You guys ROCK!
Until next time! :3