The Hunger Games (A Fanfiction)

Chapter 5

Leah's P.O.V.

I stare out into the open field. 12 pedestals in a half moon shape, one of them being mine, 10 have a tribute in each, one empty. That one is Sydney's. Was Sydney's. We are surrounded in a circle of trees, leading into a deep woods, and right in the middle, is a giant, black and metal cornucopia shaped room. It's the Cornucopia. Creative name, huh?

I watch the other tributes, glancing around, shivering in their windbreaker jackets, playing with their hair, shifting standing positions. Waiting for it to start. Then, a golden circle with the number 50 in the middle appears above the Cornucopia. A voice starts counting down from 50, from within the speakers on the Cornucopia, and the timer counts down with it. "50, 49, 48, 47, 46, 45..." Forty-five seconds until our fate is sealed. What will happen? What will everyone do once the timer hits zero? What will I do? I made a plan to try and grab a backpack and maybe a knife if I can, but who knows what might happen. Plans can change in the blink of an eye. I could die within the first ten seconds of it starting. Anything could happen. "20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15..." Fifteen seconds. Oh god. I don't want to be here. A knot tightens in my stomach, and I feel like I'm gonna throw up. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna- "5, 4, 3, 2...1" The timer disappears, and so does the voice. The sound of a cannon goes off. It has started.

I scan the area before I run. Almost everyone has left their pedestal already, sprinting as fast as they can. Most people look like they are headed towards the forest. Ok I just need to go, now!

But right as I'm about to step off the platform, I see in the corner of my eye, Ella, from District 1, was running off her platform and was about to run into...Oh, no...Canyon...

I couldn't see his face, but I'm sure it was determined, determined to kill, because right as he was about to run into Ella, who in this moment didn't even see Canyon, he pulled back his fist, and punched Ella as hard as he could, right in the nose. Ella was completely knocked back as blood spurted everywhere. She fell to the ground, hard, and looked to be unconscious. But, Canyon just kept running, and he ran straight into the woods without skipping a beat. Naya was chasing after him. Whether it was to kill him, or meet with him, I didn't know. But I was scared. I just saw someone probably die, right before my eyes. I gingerly stepped off the pedestal, ran for an open backpack as far from Ella as possible, and sprinted off into the woods.

God, that was awful.

Ella's P.O.V.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1." A cannon went off, and I watched as most of the tributes ran for a backpack and left for the woods. The only one who went into the cornucopia was Jasper. I decide to just go for it, I'll just run into the cornucopia. I run off the pedestal, my heart beating in my chest, every millisecond feeling like an eternity. I have to make it, just keep going, keep running, keep running...

Right before it happens, I see a blurry figure with short curly hair running towards me on my right, about to run into me. Canyon...?

He punches me in the nose, with so much force I'm surprised my nose didn't come off entirely. I see blood spurt everywhere, on the ground, my hands, my clothes and my face. I felt the most indescribable pain in my nose and my head, and it felt like my nose had broken in several different places. I fell, and I fell fast. Before I even hit the ground, I closed my eyes, feeling the overwhelming throbbing pain get worse and worse. This is it. I am the first person to die in the Hunger Games. Before I black out from the loss of blood, I can almost feel the Game Masters preparing for a cannon to go off, and although I died before I heard it, I knew it was there.

I blacked out, and the sound of the cannon rang through the field, and out into the woods. Like a death bell, a sign.

The Hunger Games has truly begun.