I wake up screaming. I sit up in bed. I rub my arms where the monsters from my dreams touched me. Every time those long, claw-like hands reached out and touched me, my arms started bleeding. The pain was unbearable. I blink a couple of times before I get out of bed, when I see it. That hollow, blackened face staring at me again. The razor sharp claws, waiting for me. I jump back.
I hear footsteps from down the hall on the train. Someone gives a quiet knock on my door.
"Come in!" My shaky voice shouts.
The door opens and Amelia pops her head in. Of all people I'd like to see after what I experienced last night, she had to be the one to see me. I would rather have Brigitte because she must've experienced nightmares too. But Amelia didn't visit me for that reason.
"We've arrived! We've arrived in the Capitol! Come on! You have to see this!" She says enthusiastically.
I climb out of bed and trudge down the hall to the main room. Isaac comes in after me. He has huge bags under his eyes, which means that he could've been having nightmares too. The room we're standing in is pitch black.
"So you're telling me that you woke me up, just so I can see nothing?" Isaac says. I can't help but give a slight grin. The train starts to slow down. In a matter of seconds, blinding sunlight streams through the window. I cover my eyes instantly, but when I open them I'm completely stunned. The Capitol, which I've only seen pictures of in school textbooks and on TV, is even more mesmerizing in real life. The sun glistens off the Rocky Mountains. Beautiful buildings seem to go higher than the sky.
We're take into another tunnel. I hear muffled voices, getting louder and louder by the second. The train enters a huge space filled with people. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of Capitol citizens are waiting to see the first of the tributes arriving. All of them come running over and start to wave to us. The outfits they wear are really bizarre, and are so bright they start to hurt my eyes. I see a lot of people who have colorful tattoos covering their entire body. I catch a look at Isaac, and notice that he's waving to the crowd. They're even shouting his name. I decide to take part in this, and when I do, the crowd goes crazy. They shout our names over and over again, until two peacekeepers take us away.
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Isaac, Brigitte, and I ride in an elevator in the Tribute Center. At floor 5, the elevator stops. Right. Our headquarters is on the same floor number as our district.
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After touring the headquarters, all three of us sit at a table on a raised platform.
"I know I should've started my mentoring as soon as you arrived on the tribute train, but I wanted you to feel comfortable with what's happening. So once all the tributes have arrived, Amelia will take you two down to the Remake Center." Brigitte explains. Just the name of the Remake Center makes me nervous. I was one who never wore makeup, but now my prep team will put loads of it on me. "Down there, your prep team will get you ready for tonight. Lyra, if you have the same team as I did, you'll really like them. They're very nice people." She pauses for a moment. I try to think back to when Brigitte won her Games, but can;t seem to recall any of it. I must've been too young. Maybe Isaac remembers some of it. I'll have to ask him that. " Then, you'll meet your stylist who will show you your outfits for the parade tonight. After tonight, I'll start giving you advice on how to survive. So, you can just hang out in your room for now until Amelia comes ad gets you."
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"Ouch!" I yell in agony as Nero, one part of my prep team who has vibrant blue hair and golden tattoos covering his face, rips a piece of fabric from my leg. I've been in the Remake Center for over two hours and I'm not even close to being done.
The rest of my prep team consists of Atticus, who has piercings all over his face, and Vita, a kind looking woman with a purple tattoo streaming down her neck. I could tell that Vita has had a lot of surgeries on her face because it just doesn't match up right with the rest of her body. Also, Atticus has the Capitol emblem shaved into his head.
After another hour, I'm taken by Vita to a room, where I was told I would meet my stylist, Tiberius. I sit on the one bed, staring at the grey walls, until Tiberius walks in. He looks to be about middle aged, and a beard that goes down to his chest. Other than that, he looks like he could be a regular citizen from the districts.
"Hi, I'm Tiberius." He says in a raspy voice. "You must be Lyra." He holds out his hand, and I take it. "I'm excited to work with you tonight as Cecilia and I created a very unique outfit for you and Isaac tonight."
"Thanks." I say, not being able to think of anything else.
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I'm wearing an outfit, that reminds me of a robots. Tiberius said that there are solar panels put into the outfit, and when we travel down the City Circle, the lights, will hit the solar panels, and light our costumes up.
"Okay, I want you two to act enthusiastic to be here, even though I know you probably aren't, and smile and wave to the crowd. That's all they want.." He smiles. "I just cant wait to see your costumes in action! Good luck!" Him and Cecilia both wish us.
A clock projected on a wall reads five minutes. Five minutes until we're being pulled in a chariot by two horses. I take a look around at the other tributes getting ready. The pair from 2 are wearing peacekeeper outfits, the ones from 4 looking like sailors, and the two from District 12, looking like coal miners. A load buzzer sounds, and I quickly realize it's time.
As we enter the street, the anthem plays, and the people scream our names. instantly, I start to wave to the crowd, putting on the best smile I can manage. Roses are being thrown everywhere, and one lands in our chariot. Isaac picks it up and starts to wave it around. Suddenly, another one landed. i do the same as Isaac. i was so caught up in making sure that I was waving to the crowd, I didn't hear everyone shouting our names.
I look down at our costumes, and I'm blinded. Our suits are beaming yellow, just like Tiberius said they would. They illuminate us in bright light.
"District Five! District Five!" The citizens chant, it's deafening. Cecilia and Tiberius will be praised for making this wonderful piece. We reached the end of the street, and our chariots stop. Ours stops on the far left, next to District 7, who are dressed like trees as always. President Coriolanus Snow stands maybe a hundred feet up, over the circle.
"Tributes." He pronounces. "Welcome to the Capitol, as we are very welcomed to have you here. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor." The horses pull us back down the street, where our stylists will be waiting.
"That was absolutely magnificent!" Amelia exclaims.
"Good job." Brigitte tells us.
"Thanks." We both mutter. Our stylists help us out of the chariot, and take us to our tribute headquarters
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"Before you two get some rest," Brigitte says, "training starts tomorrow, and this is where you'll learn some of the most valuable information. Also, alliances are formed here. I wouldn't mind you joining up with someone, but you have to trust them. We don't want you becoming allies with the wrong person and getting a knife in the back now would we?" She smiles. Again, I try to recall her Games. There's too many questions to ask, but not enough time.
AUTHORS NOTE:
sorry for not having this done sooner , i was super busy this week and i lost some of the story and i was mad that i had to rewrite some of it but here it is finally
ugh i hated writing this chapter because it needed so many details and i'm really bad at describing things
yay the next chapter will be actually fun to write because it's getting more interesting i think
PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT
"Nightlock. Nightlock. Nightlock."
