Hunger Games (DNF)

Part 1, Chapter 10: the arena

George POV.

After a restless night with no sleep I heard a knock on the door. I sat up and rubbed my eyes tiredly as I told whoever was there to come in, and then the door opened and Eret stepped into the room. He gave me a weary smile as he carried in the clothes that I’d have to wear into the arena.
“Morning George,” the designer spoke in a solemn voice, knowing very well that this will be the last day he sees me because what chance do I have of winning?

I pulled myself out from under the covers and swiveled over so my legs were dangling over the edge of the bed as Eret handed me the clothes. He took a step back and I mumbled a quiet ‘thank you’ to him. As he stepped out of the room Eret suggested I take a shower and that he’d get me something to eat which I thought was nice seeing as how he usually acted.

My last shower was quick, I figured the sooner I got into the arena the sooner my miserable life could be over. While I was changing into my arena uniform I thought of my brother. He hadn’t been in my mind since the day after I left District 3, and now, today, several hours from now, the Hunger Games will grace our screens and he’ll get to watch me die.
Then whichever tribute wins will go on a victory tour around the 11 districts, he’d be in the public eye right after the death of his only living relative, me.

Slowly I headed out of the ensuite bathroom to where Eret was sitting with a tray of food for me. He managed to get me to eat the entire plate of food since it was probably the last proper meal I’d ever have. Once the tray of food was empty Eret gave me a sympathetic smile and stood up to lead me up to the hovercraft which would take me and the other tributes to the arena.

Beetee joined us heading up to the roof where the hovercraft was waiting and tried to give me some last minute tips. “Remember George, be careful who you create an alliance with since they may end up betraying you. Don’t try and get anything from the cornucopia because that’s how so many people end up dead on the first day.”

“Try and save any food you have and ration it out because you don’t know how long it will be until your next meal. And do not go back for the Feast if one is offered, it’s just a trap. Also, make sure you don’t step off your pedestal early or you’ll have your head blown off.”

My mentor kept giving me tips as we headed onto the roof until a woman came and directed me to a seat on the hovercraft. All 21 other tributes were sitting in different seats and my eyes met Darryl’s as I took a seat right next to a 12 year old from District 7 and an 18 year old from District 2.

Another woman walked over to me and asked for me to hold my arm out to her, which I did. She slid a needle into my right arm and injected a tracker into it, causing me to clench my fist and grit my teeth.

After everyone had a tracker injected into their arms the woman left and the doors to the hovercraft closed. It took off with a jolt and all of the other guys sitting around me looked around nervously as an hour passed with us traveling to wherever the arena was.

✨time skip✨

After a few long hours the hovercraft landed in an underground bunker and a pair of peacekeepers came on to the craft for each of us. They escorted all 22 different tributes including myself to different rooms.

The room I was led into was small and square and the walls were covered in light yellow or green tiles. Eret was in the room waiting for me and smiled as he handed me a jacket to put on while giving me the warning that it will probably get very cold where we are.

The only things in the room were a hook where the jacket Eret handed me had been resting earlier, a clock which was covered by bars for some reason and a glass tube which would lead me up into the arena. Both of the peacekeepers that brought me here stood by the door so that I couldn’t leave but neither said anything.

After a few more minutes of them standing there I shakily took several steps forward and entered the tube before turning to look at Eret. The class door to the tube shut the moment I was inside of it. I paced in the small glass tube for a few moments with the designer watching me before the floor started rising and I ascended upwards into the arena.

Eventually I emerged into the blinding sunlight of the arena and looked at all the other tributes surrounding the Cornucopia. Darryl was about 7 or 8 tributes over on my left while I also noticed Clay and his district partner a few podiums over on my right.

All of us were looking around at the arena, which was undeniably cold, with only a shirt, a pair of pants and a jacket each to warm us. We were standing on a hill, with the Cornucopia downhill from us, further downhill was a river which seemed to be running around the edge of the arena. On all other sides of us were tall spruce trees which seemed pretty easy to climb.

Then my eyes darted over to the treasure trove of weapons, the Cornucopia. Bows, tridents, swords, axes, knives, food, more clothes, food, sleeping bags and more all lay inside of the metal structure trying to tempt us over to them. But if that happened me, and most other tributes who decided to head in there would be dead before we could even grab a piece of bread.

Suddenly a loud voice, the voice of the head gamemaker Sam, came over the arena beginning a 50 second countdown before the games began. Everyone started getting ready to run, some towards the Cornucopia and others into the treeline or down towards the river as the countdown went down to 40 seconds.

Occasionally the careers from 1 and 2 would send taunts to the other tributes as we passed 30 seconds. 20 seconds left and I saw a bag about 20 feet in front of me which I decided to try and grab. 10 seconds and the ticking of the countdown clock seemed to grow deafening.

10,  9,  8,  7,  6,  5,  4,  3,  2, 1

In an instant everyone ran in different directions, some towards the Cornucopia others towards the treeline, after a moment's hesitation I sprinted towards the bag in front of me, grabbed it and fled without bothering to see what was in it.
_________________________________________
1183 words.