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My hands were shaking, and I was trying to remember everything Finnick had told me. I was escorted to a room with Affron, who pulled me into a hug. I'm silent, and he puts his hand on my back. "Oh, honey, this is my least favorite part." He frowns. "Let me get your clothes." When he says this, I realize I had not prepared myself for what the arena was going to be. If it was anything like the Games a few years ago, where the arena had been a desert, I would be screwed. Affron turns back to me, and I observe the articles of clothing. It was just a black t-shirt, but it came with detachable sleeves. The bottoms were tight, like they were a wet-suit type of fabric? I couldn't exactly tell. I got dressed, and he slipped a jacket on me.
"I can usually have a good guess as to what the arena could be, but this looks like it's all of it thrown into one. Good luck out there, Coralia. We're all rooting for you." Affron seemed a little closed off when it came to talking to me or Blaze, but I don't blame him. It has to be hard to watch your tributes die. He leads me to the glass tube, and gives me one last reassuring nod before the glass closes. The timer started, and I thought of my family. Would they be watching to make sure I'm okay, or would they be too scared to look? I thought of my kiss with Finnick last night, and how badly I yearn to be in his arms again. As the tube starts moving up, I try to stop myself from having a panic attack.
The sun shines directly in my eyes, but I look around once I can see again. The arena is divided up into four sections, like a compass. Below the pedestal I'm on, it's sand, and horrid heat. I can see a couple tributes in the North section, where snow was falling, and the ground was white as far as I could see. The west; a lot of trees. Then there's the east, where I can see palm trees, and in the distance; a beach, I think. The countdown brings me back to reality.
10....
I get in position to run, taking a deep breath.
9...
I need to get towards the eastside - where I'll be the most comfortable.
8...
I need to find Azure, I have to make sure she's with me.
7...
I don't see her, but I can see Blaze not far from me.
6...
I look at the cornucopia, in the middle of it all, and see a trident.
5...
I can see Azure shivering in the northside.
4...
She looks at me, her eyes wide.
3...
I gesture my head towards the eastside, and she nods.
2...
I brace myself for all hell to break loose.
1...
I pray that I can make it through this.
The canon sounds, and I'm headed straight for the cornucopia. Kids have wasted no time; I can already hear the canons sounding for the fallen tributes. It's surprisingly easy for me to slip in and out; grabbing a trident, and a backpack. The careers are focused on killing the tributes from the lower districts. I take after Azure, hoping that I can get to her before someone else does. She's run towards the west-side, as the east-side was blocked by fighting tributes. I'm doing well when the boy from 5, throws a dagger at me. I dodge it the best I can, but it cuts my shoulder. I'm laying on the ground, getting a good grip on the dagger before he tackles me. However, he doesn't move or try to fight. My eyes widen when I realize his dagger that I was holding had gone through his throat. I try not to think about the fact that I've now killed somebody, and take off after Azure. The canon goes off as I roll his body off of me.
I'm already sweating by the time I reach the west-side, and spot Azure hiding by a tree. Her eyes are wide with fear, and she pushes her glasses up farther on her face so they'll stay. "I'm sorry...I tried to make it to the east-side, but I was scared." She cries. I tell her it's fine; we can get there eventually, but in my mind I think that I'm screwed.
"Your shoulder is bleeding. Is it bad?" She asks. I've taken the jacket off, tying it around my waist, and have pulled the sleeves off. I look at my shoulder, wincing a little.
"It hurts, but it's not bad. I think it'll heal quickly." I tell her. She nods, looking at the bag in my hands.
"Let's find somewhere safer, and go through it, yeah?" We take off sprinting, deep into the east-side, until we reach a large rock that we can hide behind. We take a few seconds to breathe, and I feel like I'm going to be killed at any second. I hand Azure the backpack, and she opens it, pulling out a metal bottle for water, one of those silver emergency blankets, some rope, five grain bars, two apples, and a knife. My shoulder has stopped bleeding, and I hope that the Capitol likes me enough to sponsor me. Hopefully, Finnick's doing everything he can. However, I know I can't win if I'm solely relying on Finnick to save me. I give Azure the dagger I had used for her to protect herself, and though she seems unsure, she takes it.
As night time falls, I count the canons, and look up at the sky. Eight dead tributes on the first day. The boy from 3, the boy and girl from 5, the girl from 6, the boy from eight, both tributes from Eleven, and the boy from twelve.
I didn't know the boy from District 5's name, and I don't know if that made it better or worse. I had killed somebody, and I knew it would haunt me. I look down at Azure, who's crying.
"Azure, I'm sorry." I tell her, putting my hand on her shoulder. I know she must be crushed about the boy from her district dying. She tries to wipe the tears but they keep coming. "Link was my friend. He's the love of Crystal's life." She cries, holding onto me. Azure had told me the boy from her district was eighteen, and wanted to protect her, too, but he had died in the bloodbath. As she starts to sob, I try to calm her down.
"Shh, shh, it's okay. Look up at the sky. You see all those stars? They're beautiful." She's still crying, but it looking up at the sky now.
"How many can you count? I think that's Orian's Belt, over there. Just count the stars. One by one." She nods, doing this until she stops crying, and eventually falls asleep.
