Alyssa of Nine (Reimagining the Hunger Games)

Chapter Eleven: Noah's Last Advice

Early the next morning, as the sunrise is just beginning to creep up and light up the morning sky, I am awakened and I suddenly start up, not knowing who it is at first. But it turns out it is Noah Linwood, who whispers, "hey relax, it's only me. We still have a few hours to kill before...before..."

"It's okay. You're my mentor, you can talk to me. I can listen." I say as I put on and tie up my dressing robe over my nightgown. I follow Noah as we take the elevator down to the ground floor, and we end up walking through a darkened room I have never been in before, and I'm sure no tribute or mentor is supposed to be in.

"Noah, what is this place?" I ask him. He puts a finger to his lips. "Shhh. We're almost there." And we both climb up a ladder to find ourselves in a much smaller room with only two chairs to sit in and one small window. "We're safe to talk about things now. Alyssa, there are some things I know I have to share with you before you are sent to the arena. So hear me out."

So, I sit down to listen. He sits in the other chair. "Alyssa, you know that when you go into that arena, they're going to put you all into a kind of virtual desert. The setting will be like Ancient Egypt. First thing's first, once you've been transported, you must wait for the traditional countdown to end. Do not step off of your pod early or you'll be blown to oblivion.

From there, do not stop at the Cornucopia to try and grab anything at first. It will be a bloodbath, where the Careers will cut all the weakest tributes down, that's their game, not yours. Run straight into the Pyramid and find a safe place to take cover. Only when it's absolutely clear should you go back outside for any supplies or search for any potential allies. Make sure to find water as soon as possible. There's sure to be a true oasis out there but most of the others are either mirages or the water is unfit for consumption. There is also some water to be found in the cacti, though not as much."

"Okay, I'll go straight into the Pyramid. And find shelter, water, food, allies, and steer clear of the Careers. Got it. But if any of them come after me or any of my allies, which is bound to happen eventually, I plan to fight back." And kill them if I absolutely have to, but I don't say that last bit out loud.

"Good. I wouldn't expect anything less from you Alyssa." Noah says. "Is there anything else I should know about?" I ask him. "Yes. Whatever happens, no matter how terrible things may get, stay you, and stay alive. You can win this."

Then Noah says, "We should be getting back to our living quarters before the others notice we're missing." And I agree.

***

When I am back upstairs I put on my arena uniform, which is light and formfitting as possible and it is black and gold. Jeremy's is black and silver, as can see I see when I sit down at the breakfast table. I accept a glass of orange juice and fill up my plate with all kinds of delicious things. Scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, bacon, ham, and fried potatoes. But I end up eating little of any of it.

Even Jeremy is a lot less cocky than usual this morning, and quieter too, in light of what even he is aware is coming. Two weeks of blistering desert, brutality, betrayal, and murder. I remembered Caretaker Grimes talking to all of us at the orphanage before the reaping. Welcome to Hell, indeed.

At around nine a.m. Capitol time, we are all escorted to the hovercraft that will fly us out to the arena. We all sit into the seats as a black-haired woman comes around asking each tribute to hold out their arms, beginning with the Careers.

She soon comes to me. "Hold out your arm." I do what she says, and I feel a brief moment of sharp pain as the needle point enters my arm. "What did you just inject into my body?" And she says simply, "Just your tracker." And she proceeds to do the same with Jeremy and the others.

We stop at another building out in the middle of nowhere, and I am led to a separate room away from the others. And once I am inside, Athena is waiting. And she has a black and gold jacket for me. "Here, this is to help keep you warm. Even in a desert the nights can get pretty cold."

"Thanks Athena." I barely manage to get out. I'm putting on a show now of being so brave, but I am terrified right now. I don't think I was this scared even when Caretaker Grimes was in one of his rages, set on punishing any orphan if they misbehaved back home, including me. In District Nine, they are by now all certainly being forced to watch everything in these Games. Mace, Cassandra, Nathan, and Natasha. I have to live for them. I have to live for the family I lost.

Athena then takes me into one last hug before I have to go. "Thank you for everything, I--I don't know yet if I'll ever see you or Noah or the others again but if I don't make it---"

"Hey, that's enough of that now. Alyssa, I know you can make it out of this, I have total confidence in you, like Noah and the others. Just remember that. However it turns out, I think your parents would be proud of you."

"I guess maybe you're right." I reply. Just as the announcement is made. "All tributes must enter their pods in ten seconds." And I say, "well, I hope to see you all again when it's over." And I step into my pod and it closes, and I am carried upward, closer and closer to my destiny, whether it is life or death.