I was roused from my sleep by Drew. I had no sense of time, or how long I’d been asleep, but the look on Drew’s face told me that it was time to leave.

“No, don’t make me go, please!” I screamed childishly, but then, I reminded myself, I was only a child. What child should be sent to kill other children to entertain others? I kicked and slapped at Drew, but he easily picked me up and slung me over his shoulder.

“Save it for the arena,” he advised, not entirely sarcastically. As he took me back to my room, my attempts at escape lessened, and the tears fell. I wiped at them furiously. Crying is your biggest weakness I told myself stop it now. My cheeks were dry again soon enough, and Drew waited outside my room as I changed into the clothes that I’d been provided. As I understood it, I’d be put into my arena outfit in the catacombs by Sophia.

Hanging my head in shame at my tantrum, I returned to Drew’s side. He seemed to think nothing of it and took both my hands.

“Good luck. I know you can do it. Come back to me, yeah? Then maybe we can get some therapy together,” he joked.

“I think I’ll need it.”

“If you die, I’ll kill you.”

“Hilarious. Seriously, I’m not in the mood for any of your jokes.

“Sorry. I’m trying to help, honest.”

“Then go get me some sponsors, yeah? It’d help if you were nice to people for a change.”

“Ha-ha. Funny.”

“I know I am.”

He gave me a playful punch on the shoulder, which I swiftly returned. Then we were hugging, so hard that I’m surprised neither of us broke.

“Seriously. Don’t die,” he whispered “I can’t handle losing you too.”

“I won’t,” I promised. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned to see Sophia, grim faced.

“We have to go now.” I nodded. This is it.

“Take care,” Drew mumbled as Sophia dragged me away. I watched him until we turned the corner and I couldn’t see him anymore. I prayed that I would see him again, but as Sophia took me to the roof, it seemed less and less likely. There would be twenty three other tributes to compete with. Twenty two if you don’t include Logan. That’s an awful lot, and I was just one small, terrified girl.

Stood guarding the door to the roof were two Avoxes. One of them was Pandora. She patted her chest twice, just over her heart. I think she meant good luck. I nodded at her and smiled. She didn’t smile in return, because Sophia was watching, but I knew she meant well. She allowed us to pass, and we stepped outside.

On the roof, there was a slight breeze that I welcomed happily. It lifted my hair, and refreshed me. I wondered if it would be cold in the arena. I’d always preferred the cold to heat.

The hovercraft that would transport me to the catacombs under the arena arrived, and Sophia instructed me to hold on to the ladder which they had dropped down. As I did, my whole body froze. I presumed it was so that I didn’t try to escape or fall to my death. The ladder was reeled in, and a woman with a syringe approached me. She said nothing, just jammed the syringe in my arm.

“Tracker,” she says simply to answer my unspoken question. It was so that the Gamemakers would always know where I was.

Sophia soon followed me into the hovercraft, and then we were ready to go. As the hovercraft began the journey to the arena, an Avox sat me down and presented me with a huge breakfast. I ate all of it, wanting to be prepared for a few days without food in the arena. I didn’t know when I would next be able to eat. Plus, it helped take my mind off the challenges ahead of me. Not completely, of course, but I was at least able to eat my breakfast in peace.

Washing my food down with orange juice, I stared out the window. Below, I could see the Capitol, and the many colourful dots which I assumed were Capitol citizens. For them, the excitement would be almost unbearable. I imagined if our roles were reversed. Would I still be gritting my teeth and watching, or would I sit back and enjoy the show? I liked to think it was the first one, but how could I be certain? All of a sudden, the windows turned black.

“We’re nearly there,” Sophia said, sipping black coffee. I turned away from the windows and calmed myself by gnawing at my thumb. A few minutes later, we were guided out the hovercraft, and into the Launch Room in the catacombs. Sophia told me to use the bathroom, so I quickly took a shower, ready to get dressed. The outfit was made of a black, skin tight material, which Sophia confirmed was waterproof. There were trousers and a long sleeved top made of the stuff. The shoes, however, were heavy and boot style. Sophia advised me to take them off if any swimming was involved, as they would make it more difficult to swim. Finally, a black fleece jacket went over the long sleeved top. I had a quick walk around the room to test out the outfit. Everything was comfortable, which was one less thing to worry about. I requested some more food, to give me something to do, and I wolfed down some sort of meat with potatoes. The heat of the food warmed me up inside, and though my stomach was churning, at least I knew I wouldn’t go hungry for a while.

“Launch time,” I heard a woman say over the intercom. I jumped, and knocked over the water that had been next to my plate. It soaked my trousers, and Sophia was quickly dabbing it with the hem of her shirt.

“Good job its waterproof,” she said, and I smiled nervously. She took my hand and guided me to the metal plate that would take me to the arena.

“I suppose you have a plan worked out with Logan?”

I nodded, too frightened to speak. I rested my forehead on hers, trying not to cry.

“Hey, hey. You’ll be OK. If in doubt, just think of us, in the Capitol. We’re all cheering you on, and you’ll have plenty of sponsors, I promise. You’ll be back before you know it.”

I nodded, still unsure. I kissed her cheek, and she returned the action, just as the glass casing of the cylinder came down from above my head. I began to rise, and I watched Sophia until she disappeared from sight. I was left in total darkness, and for one idiotic moment, I thought I had somehow already died. But then the sun was blinding me, and an icy wind bit at my face and hands. I zipped up my jacket with fumbling fingers and pulled up the hood.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, let the thirty-first Hunger Games begin!”