The Hunger Games - PRIM EDITION

Chapter 10 - Goodbye

I don't know how long I sit there in silence, but when I finally come around to my senses, the sky above me is dark, and covered in bright stars. They are beautiful, really. People just take them for granted, and never really think about the billions of stars up there.

I go back inside, intending to get some sleep, because I will need the energy for tomorrow. I have started to feel a little drowsy anyway, but as soon as my head hits the pillow, it's as if a switch was flicked in my head. Suddenly I am wide awake, and I know that I have no hope in a million years of sleeping.

The night goes a little bit like the one of my first night on the train to the capitol; very little sleep, and memories that replay over and over in my head until they force tears from my eyes. So I wake the next morning with black bags under my eyes, and I massive headache.

I am immediately whisked away to a place on the ground floor where I have never been before. There are all sorts of computers and technical stuff lining the walls, all of which I find amazing. I could stay here and stare at the things around me all day, because I have never seen so many in my life, but suddenly, Haymitch approaches me.

"Okay?" he asks me. He obviously isn't too drunk yet.

"Alright." I say, whereas in actual fact I am not alright – I am petrified.

"Now, when you are first out in the open, do not step off that platform early. You'll be blown sky-high." I nod. I have seen it happen on the television before; a boy lost his balance during the sixty second countdown, and there must have been land mines on the ground around the platform. Haymitch wasn't exaggerating – he was blown sky-high.

"And my advice to you is to stay away from the cornucopia. It's a blood bath. Just run. Run in the opposite direction and find water. As long as you get to water, you have a better chance pf surviving, okay?" I nod, scared that if I speak he will sense the nerves in my voice. "You'll be okay." He assures me with a small hug. I hold my breath, not wanting to breathe in too much of the musky smell of dust and alcohol.  

"Thank you for everything, Haymitch," I say, forcing a small grin.

"No problem. Sorry I was drunk most of the time!" he tries to pass it off as a joke, but I can tell he's not really sorry. As soon as the games begin, he will open up a bottle of liquor.

"Bye." I call, as he walks away, and then I am led into a big hover-craft at the end of the room.

I am ordered to sit down as I look around at the metallic interior. Most of the other tributes are also sat in the chairs around the room, but there are empty chairs too, telling me that there are more to come.

In time, the other tributes arrive, and the doors begin to close.

"Seatbelts on, everyone!" a nearby peacekeeper orders, and everyone obeys him. I am startled by a strange flipping feeling in my stomach, and look out of a small window. I watch in amazement as the ground beneath us starts to disappear.

Light suddenly shines through the little windows, signifying that we are in daylight, and the only visible concrete floor beneath us turns quickly to trees as we speed away from the capitol and towards all but one of our deaths.

The ride is generally quite peaceful, and no one really talks very much. I find myself in my own little world, staring into space, when suddenly, there is a peace keeper standing in front of me.

"Give me your arm." she says flatly, obviously used to the routine of doing this every year. I look from her frowning face, to the injection device in her hand, and immediately my heart is in my throat.

"Why?" I question her. "What is that?"

"Just give me your arm." she says with a sigh, and with that she grabs my wrist, lines up the device, and injects a small chip into y arm. I wince at the sharp pain in my arm, but it subsides quite quickly. However, I am still curious about the thing in my arm.