The Mentor. (Cato Hadley)

Chapter Twelve.

The Peacekeepers would not let me leave the District Two suite, forcing me to sleep here. The unity between the Victors has proven to be a problem, to which Snow has decided to fix by not allowing any of us to see each other. The display of district unity is something rebellion worthy, something he cannot risk.

With a sigh, I mount the ladder to the hovercraft, the electric current freezing me in place. The Capitol doctor injects the tracker into my forearm, their way of making sure they can have eyes on me at all times. After all, a girl did almost win by playing dead in the beginning of the games, to the point they almost crowned another Victor while she was still alive.

I make it to the Launch Room, my stylist doing some last minute preparations before I get dressed into this years uniform. It's a fitted blue jumpsuit made from sheer material, a zipper in the front. It comes with a padded belt covered in shiny purple plastic, six inches wide. The outfit is also paired with boots. This year's uniform seems so random, that I cannot pinpoint what the terrain may be at all.

I step onto the plate, mentally preparing myself as I feel it rise. Soon, the tubing disappears, and I'm on my platform with a shiny black cornucopia in my view. Water sloshes over my boots, separating me from both the cornucopia and the woods. The ocean seems to be split into twelve different sections, one for each district maybe?

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the 75th Hunger Games begin!" The voice of Claudius Templesmith booms over the arena.

Two tributes are between each of the spokes separating the water way. I'm in the same section as Chaff, someone I know wouldn't go out of his way to hurt me. I make an agreement with myself to not hurt Chaff either, as he did volunteer himself to go in the place of a fairly young Victor.

The gong sounds and I swim, making it to the cornucopia at the same time as Katniss. "Whoa," I say, holding my hands up in defense. "You're not my target," I say, making a move to grab myself a weapon. A sword - in memory of Cato, although this one is not as large and heavy as the one he wielded last year.

"You can swim," Finnick smirks, leaning up against the mouth of the cornucopia. "Where'd you learn that in District Twelve?"

"We have a big bath tub," she says with a straight face, her arrow ready to head through his skull at any moment. "You must like the arena, they probably built it specifically for you."

Ideally, Snow probably wants Finnick to be the Victor that makes it. He can control Finnick, he's a fan favorite, the easy way out. Katniss and I however, he does not want either of us to win. "Luckily we're allies, and Marblyn and I are a package deal." He holds up his arm, a gold bangle I had seen Haymitch wear around his wrist.

"Duck!" Untrusting, the girl does what he says anyway. Surge had made it to the Cornucopia, and was about to sink a knife into Katniss' back. "Don't trust One and Two!"

"Finn," I say, staring into the distance. I watch as Johanna and Blight make an effort to protect Wiress and Beetee, the four of them making it to the beach across the water. "I gotta help her, they don't have weapons," Finn nods, hugging me quickly before making a plan with Katniss.

I see Cashmere and Gloss making their way across the water, headed to the Cornucopia. I grab two axes, weapons for the District Seven lumberjacks that are protecting the rest of our alliance. Diving into the water, I narrowly miss a knife thrown at my head. I grab the knife from the water, taking it as my own before making it to the beach.

"We gotta get cover," I say to the group, handing the two from Seven the weapons I brought them. "Katniss and Finnick are searching the Cornucopia for supplies."

"Remind me again how I ended up the protector," Johanna scoffs as we trek through the jungle, on edge due to the unfamiliar terrain.

"Well, once upon a time Panem was in the Dark Days. The Capitol needed to punish us so they started the Hunger Games-," Johanna punches Blight to shut him up, causing him to let out a soft laugh.