The anchor of love||| Johanna Mason

The back rooms.

as the countdown started and my plate was risen all I saw was an eerie, seemingly infinite labyrinth of monotonous, yellow-tinted rooms, with a great big stack of clutter in the middle, I looked around, seeing nothing but doors and hallways. This was not the pretty meadow I had expected. There were no meadows that I was used to, just yellow. A yellow would be the last thing I saw, an imitation of sunlight coming from the tall wall lights. I would never see the sun again. 

my mind rapidly ran in circles as I tried to formulate a plan for my survival,  this scene requires more than physical strength; tributes must use their wits, mental resilience, and keen observation skills. They are most likely keen to form alliances that provide temporary safety and shared knowledge, but the ever-present danger will remain. 

there is an unsettling ambience of the room I am in, the repetition of the exact same thing haunts me, how can I hide if all I have are rooms. Rooms which may be bare, or may have things, unknown muts lurking in them.

the room was lit by flickering fluorescent lights that cast a sickly, buzzing glow, and the air is filled with a faint, almost imperceptible hum, creating a sense of disorientation and unease.

The clock counted down to zero and i ran, i never was a particularly fast runner but with the adrenaline pumping through me i ran faster than I ever had before, got a few knives and ran into one of the hallways. 

At the end of the hallway was a set of ladders, I picked the middle one and climbed with all my strength as fast as i could. 

Once i settle into a small room i assess the kit i had grabbed at the bloodbath, which must still be happening, i have yet to hear cannons. I have some small food rations, a water bottle with water in and a pocket knife, as well as my knife i had collected from the area when i ran. The room i had settled into was the same eerie yellow as the main room, the same artificial light filled the room. It was messing with my perception of time. I had no idea how much had passed. How long i had been sat there waiting, knife ready in hand and tears streaming down my face when the cannons finally went off, 13 times. 

i suppose having the tributes all in an enclosed space meant they would die quicker, be found easier. I knew one thing, i wasn't going to sleep tonight.