arising from the pedestal, my peripheral vision encounters blasts of cerulean blue and forest green. all in a matter of five seconds, i become aware of the arena and it's surroundings. fearing dehydration and other deadly environmental conflicts, knowing that the games were in an alpine-like, bright green forest left me at ease. i soaked in the surroundings as quick as possible. in front of me was the silver, inviting model enclosing what looked like hundreds of weapons, backpacks, and vital belongings needed for survival. i consider getting weaponry and bags at first but due to my doubt and hesitation, i decide to not step foot in that direction. literally, all there was surrounding me was tree after tree. evergreen, pine, elm, you name it. the trees closed in on us willowingly whispering to each other excitedly to see who gets the blood on their hands first. i glance at the countdown and it's already at 37. i look to my left awakened by the presence of what seemed to be such a heroic, and strong-willed girl. katniss everdeen seemed to have everything yet also nothing. all of the attributes she had included strength, courage, and sacrifice yet the tangible items she had in her hometown were close to none. rumored that she rose in poverty out in the rustic wood of district 12, i feel very somber for her although i know she was a force to be reckoned with. "okay snap out of it," i lecture myself as the countdown sparks '29'. i brush my sweaty palms against my maroon jacket; the color of both unlimited love and also ruthless murder. the paradox bewildered me as i noticed this is all happening. i plant my feet on the pedestal and get ready to run. at '10' it's clear that every tribute is going in for the kill, of course except me. each tribute smirks at the other tributes they look upon as prey. throughout these long, tedious last seconds until my life changes forever, i bite my lip to the point where it bleeds. my anxiety overwhelms me but i bravely wipe the crimson streak of blood off my lip and strengthen my stance. and right as i looked back at the clock i hear the notorious claudius templesmith exclaim the commencement of the games and before i know it i pivot and run straight to the woods. i don't even bother to look back. i run from the whole world over there, diverging like someone in a full-fledged rebellion against their country. as my feet hit the ground lightly yet powerfully, i get closer and closer to the trees that now have their excitement fulfilled; they're finally getting a good show. i run into the woods and ahead of me looks steap so i head right, in an almost diagonal-like formation. i make the decision to look behind me and still being able to see the bloodbath through the jailbarred trees i see some tributes running frantically and some not moving at all. you were either ecstatically alive or emptly dead. i quickly turn my head and continue to sprint through the wood. hopping over logs and dodging under tree branches became second nature right after the first one. i seemed invincible at the point however i knew that feeling would come to a- "OW" i slam into a motile object and gravity viciously pulls me from the air towards the ground. i land on my back and lose my breath. i get the wind knocked out of me and everything i see is a blur, but i still get up as rapidly as possible due to the danger facing me. i tilt my head a little to the right and see katniss. we don't exchange words and i knew there wouldn't be any at all. i was dead. her ashen skin glistens as her piercing, grey eyes enter my soul. "why isn't she killing me," i think. a thousand thoughts cross through my mind as she just stands there staring at me, just as scared as i am until she quickly turns and makes a run for it. i quickly dart the opposite way and catch a glimpse of the ever-so-far bloodbath. tributes are still running yet not towards the cornucopia. they're running towards the woods. their running towards katniss. their running towards me. their running to seek shelter and safety just like myself. i realize that i need to progress forward immediately. i pick myself up and run without even thinking about it. my feet hit the ground with a constant rhythm that soon soothes my fearful and restless mind. "bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum." my boots continuously hit the non-arid yet non-moist soil. i look behind me one last time to see that i can longer view the bloodbath. i've entered the abyss of this enormous arena and there's no turning back. i venture through this labyrinth and decide that the farther i go, the better. after running for what had to be an hour, i come to a stop after i see plum-colored berries hanging freshly from branches on a grass green bush. getting a closer look i realize their one's i already know about. aiding in both the health of your skin and digestive system, the violet bloom berry is completely safe to consume. oddly, there's only maybe fifteen of them. now i know i have to savor them. right when i put the last berry in my pocket, the ever-so familiar cannon erupts. "one," i think to myself. "two, three four, five." it keeps going. the more times the cannon booms, the more my fear startles me. i'm shocked at how many tributes were killed. 11. this number haunts me. already the existing number of tributes falls down to 13 and it's probable that this number will over night. i walk off with the berries, eating them one by one and savoring the delicious, juicy, and summer-like taste they offer. i've always been interested in the sciences and i've actually spent my youthful years studying types of mushrooms and even berries. my erudite gained from my studies seem to connect me with this environment. also, being a vegetarian, i don't see the reason for killing animals. while walking through the forest i'm greeted by two cocoa brown bunnies that look at me timidly and then hop away free-spiritedly. i sometimes long to be the peaceful hummingbird perched up on the telephone pole wire back at home, or in reality the bunny that just hopped away before my eyes approximately a step ago. or in general i'd like to be something other than human. the way in which they live their worry free lives enthuses me and i long to be a part of nature. and us as humans, are nothing but harmful and corrupt. i walk for another half hour as the sun begins to set and the sky turns a cotton candy color. it reminds of the cotton candy i engulfed at my tenth birthday party and my nostalgia and sentimentality takes over however i immediately block these thoughts from coming to me and focus on what's happening currently. right as i take in the beauty of this majestic, and pastel sky it quickly fades into darkness. i become acquainted with the fact that i am in a man-made realm where man controls the environement. by man i mean the gamemakers and by environment i mean the arena. i get scared as everything feels more ominous than it did before. i'm no longer intrepid as i know i need to find shelter as soon as possible. i see a bunch of boulders ahead of me and begin to hear water trickling. i wonder if this is a mirage and i don't truly hear the motion of the pleasant water until i tripped and i plunge into what seems to be a stream. i hold all of my screams that i anticipated on letting out in my throat and i quickly get out of the stream. i giggle to myself because it was so unexpected. my clothes drip along the bank of the stream as a lean against one of the boulders i had seen before my glorious fall commenced. my clothes seem to dry off quickly as the water doesn't even soak into me. it just falls right off of me and i realize that my outfit was planned so any disturbance of water or outside matter wouldn't affect it. my walk continues until i see dead tree laying on it's side. it's hollowed out and it's extremely spacy too. it lies with ivy and other greenery wrapped around it as if it's been untouched for days and it looks like two people could fit into the clean, dry trunk of this jarringly big tree. i push away the ivy and crawl in to be surprised that there's no bugs or anything lurking in the log and i even reset the ivy and weave it throughout the ends if the tree so no one suspects my shelter in there. i slowly roll one of the smaller boulders to the trunk so i can place it at one end. this way i feel safer due to the fact there's only one open end. i manage to make it look natural and i crawl back into the trunk and lay on my back. i feel extraordinarily cold yet i attempt to warm up by forming a ball with my body and rubbing my palms together. i close my eyes and rest until i hear an electronic tone that flourishes throughout the arena. it's the hologram of "the fallen." it tells us the tributes that died during that day. i take a look at the midnight blue sky and take note that both katniss and her partner tribute did not get killed and i also notice how all of the careers are still in the arena alive and hungry for blood. that thought draws me back into the log. i bend down onto my knees and crawl into the log until i hear a ringing noise that stops when a metal object slams against the ground adjacent to my foot. almost looking like a futuristic piece of metal, i'm aware of what it is. it's a parachute, one sent by a sponsor. i'm surprised i received one due to the fact of my shyness during the interview and overall throughout the whole process before the games. i open it up and i see the gift consists of a small jack knife, a mini bottle of water, and gloves. i put the gloves on to keep warmth and i place the jack knife along with the water in my vastly big jacket pockets. i close my eyes thanking the sponsor and slowly retreat into a well-needed sleep. i believe i was asleep for several hours until i awaken due to a cannon boom. this frightens me. i'm up for a good half hour trembling, fidgeting with my hands, my mouth shut due to me not wanting to draw tributes as i long for air. any sound could attract an opponent. right as i lay my back down and i begin to close my tired, dry eyes, i hear laughing and leaves rustling as what i assume to be tributes running. it's the careers. i hear glimmer's ostentacious and obnoxious voice echoing throughout the woods. you would never be able to forget that voice. i took note of it at the training center as she flirted with cato constantly. i then heard clove congratulating the other careers on their kill. i begin to freak out and i shake violently to the point where i'm surprised they didn't hear me. i lay there as still as each dead tribute while the footsteps get louder and louder. "they're coming for me, i think." right as i prepare myself for death, they all violently jump on the log i'm unknowingly inside of and walk across it like a beam. i hear them skit across it one by one and count them as i go by. one, two, three, four... alright it's the full career pack. i wonder if there with any other tributes and that's when i hear another tribute run on top of my shelter. their voices fade as does my fear of slaughter. i know that that was such a close one and i actually even brgin to laugh at their stupidity. you see, your brain gets you farther than your strength does. while i reclose my eyes and begin to doze off into a well-deserved, sedative sleep i wonder which other tribute has teamed up with the careers. i believe it's a boy because i highly doubt clove and glimmer want any other girls to compete with over their blonde, ruthless piece of eye candy. my thoughts simmer down and i again doze off into a sleep that finally isn't interrupted.
