Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES! ALL RIGHTS GO TO SUZANNE COLLINS AND THE PUBLISHING COMPANY AND ALL THAT JAZZ!

Enjoy! And may the odds be ever in your favor! =D

The Reaping:

I stood silently in the crowd, waiting for the names to be called. First female, then male.

"Alaria Willis!"

I froze. Everyone looked around wondering who that poor soul was.

That poor soul was me.

I stepped forward and cautiously made my way to the stage. Standing there in front of everyone from District 7 made me uneasy and extremely uncomfortable, which goes without saying. How would you feel knowing you were just chosen to fight other 12-18 year olds to the death? Not so good I would imagine.

Finally the male name was called.

"Blaze Westmill!"

No, not him. I hated him. He was a jerk, a bully. The only good thing that would come out of him being chosen was that he probably wouldn't make it out alive.

But then again, neither would I.

The Games:

5...4...3...2...1.

I ran straight away from anything else.

How am I going to get out of this? I asked myself. I thought of two ways: dead or alive. But that wasn't what I was trying to think of. I needed a strategy. Run and hide? Go back for a weapon? A backpack? Yes. I had to get something. I came to an abrupt halt and spun around. Picking up a big stick, I hid, watching the bloodbath. I saw a knife and a backpack somewhat close. I thought about it.

When no one was watching me, I ran for it. I'm gonna get it! I thought. And I did, but as soon as I did, someone, the boy from Four, I think, came at me with a sword. He was bigger than me. Stronger. He swung. Out of reflex, I swung my knife to deflect his sword. That method worked, only better than I thought it would. I cut his hand and he dropped his sword. Even though I didn't want to, I stood up and stabbed him. As soon as I did, I pulled the knife back and ran.

I ran to a rock a ways into the woods. It was flat and came up out of a small ditch. I decided then to examine the contents of the backpack. When I opened the pack, I was surprised by the contents. There were three small plastic bags filled with small brown, hard pieces of... something. I opened one of the bags and inhaled. Its smell was familiar. Like meat! I realized. I took a bite. It was good but dry, I thought so it would last longer. It was unlike any meat that I had ever tasted, not that I had eaten that much meat in my brief life. I put it to the side, saving as much as I could for as long as I could.

The other things in the backpack were a water bottle (empty, much to my dismay), some rope, a hook, some coiled wire, and a compass. The compass would be rather helpful.

Upon further inspection, I found another pocket on the backpack Inside was a blanket. No, a tarp. After examining the objects, I set them back into the backpack (all except the compass) and put it on. With my knife hooked in my belt and the compass in my hand, I began exploring.

I didn't find much. Mostly rocks, trees, leaves, sticks, and grass. Bugs would occasionally buzz past my head. I couldn't find what I was looking for, though. Something I needed: water.

Water and food, I thought. I had the meat, but how long would that last? Maybe I could kill some birds. I saw a lot of them, but how many were edible?

That's when I heard it. The cannon. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Thirteen.

Thirteen dead tributes. Over half dead. Eleven still alive. Eleven still fighting. Ten other than me. Ten that would have to die if I wanted to go home. I had a very slight chance of winning considering my upbringing. It's not impossible... Ugh! I hate thinking like that. Like I have a chance. I think I could win when I clearly can't.

I was still walking and thinking. I was just about to check some berries to see what kind they were when I felt something grab my foot. It pulled and someone pushed my shoulders. Next thing I knew, I was pinned on the ground with someone on top of me and a hand covering my mouth.