Together

Chapter 7-Into the Arena

I'm going into the arena. Today. It's 5:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. I've been pacing my room all night. Every few hours the pain and fear get to me and I break down crying. Effie said that Arrow wasn't allowed to sleep in my room because we will be escorted to the hovercraft separately. I'm also not allowed to see him before we go into the aren, which kills me. Even though I have already said goodbye to my family I wish I could say it one more time. I haven't seen them in almost a week and I can't stand the thought that they will most likely have to see me die on television.

At 7:00 I hear Effie's high heels click clacking down the hallway and I hear a small click on my bedroom door. She locked the door so I couldn't see Arrow. I sit on my bed and try to relax. As soon as I'm sitting I realize how much I'm shaking. I try to breath more evenly, but this only helps a little. For the next half an hour I here footsteps outside the door walking up and down the hall way. Then, at 7:30 I hear the same small click, Signaling that my door has been unlocked. I run over to my door, open it quickly, and fly out into the living room. I look around trying to see if Arrow still hasn't left, but when I can't find him I know he's gone.

I decide to sit on the couch and wait until my stylist, Cinna, comes to pick me up. He will ride with me in the hovercraft to the arena, and he will be here to pick me up at 8:00. Because I won't be able to change into the clothes I will wear in the arena until I get there, I decide to change into a simple outfit. I go back to my room and dress in a green blouse and black pants. When I leave my room I find Cinna waiting for me in the living room.

"Have you eaten anything this morning?" He asks as I slide a sturdy pair of boots on to my feet.

"No. I'm afraid that if I eat anything it'll just all come back up." I respond;my voice lacking emotion. He just sighs. Cinna puts his hand on my back and ushers me towards the stair case that leads to the roof. When we arrive the hovercraft is already waiting for us. We climb aboard and I can see that the other female tributes from every other districts are already waiting for us. I take my seat and a metal bar immediately locks me in place. A women in a plain white shirt and matching pants. She grabs my right arm and jabs a needle into the smooth skin on the crock of my elbow. I cringe at the stabbing pain.

"What was that?" I ask, examining the small lump that's now on my arm.

"Your tracker. With this you'll never get lost." the women gives me a small smile before moving on to the girl next to me. Just then I feel the ground jolt up. There are no windows for confirmation, but I can assume we are flying. I look around the hovercraft and spot Mae sitting closest to the big doors that I entered through. This is the first time I've ever seen her look nervous. Her face is crunch up in concentration. Haymitch said she would be going for the cornucopia along with Arrow. During the blood bath there's no telling how may tributes will be killed. I'm just hoping Mae or Arrow won't be one of them.

No one talks the whole ride, but in a short time we are landing. We aren't aloud to see outside or know where we are. We are immediately lead by our stylists to the catacombs under the arena. Each of the 24 catacombs is under a pedestal. The one that will raise that tribute into the arena. When Cinna and I arrive at our tribute prepping courters he walks over to a table and begins pulling the clothes that I will be wearing out of a box. I quickly change and Cinna braids my blonde hair back in a French braid. When he is done I walk over to a mirror hanging on the wall. I'm wearing a black t-shirt and tight fitting black pants along with a pair of black leather boots.

"There's no jacket so I would assume a warmer climate." Cinna says as I turn to look at him. "Fern, are you feeling okay? You look like you're going to throw up." I turn back to the mirror and see that my face is very pale and the small freckles on my cheeks are very prominent.

"Well what do you expect? I'm on death row." As soon as say this I immediately regret the snarky tone I used towards Cinna, however he doesn't seem to care.

"I know how you're feeling, but you just need to breath. Once you're in there you're going to need a clear head."

"30 second until launch." a voice booms throughout the room signaling that there are only 30 second until I have to enter the glass tub that will bring me up into the arena.

"Keep your head on out there." Cinna says before helping me into the glass tube.

"10 seconds until launch." the voice says once again. The glass tube closes around me and I start to feel claustrophobic. The glass door holds me in place for a moment before it begins to move. The ceiling above me opens up and the sunlight blinds me. The breeze is cool at first, but then the intense heat from the sun warms my skin. I blink a few times trying to adjust my eyes to the sudden brightness. When they do I look around. I can see a very dense forest to the right of me and tall, picturesque mountains in the background; capped with snow. In front of me is a big crystalline lake, and behind that is an amber field of grain. The forest raps around to my left and thins into a meadow covered in beautiful flowers of all colors. Though the scenery is breath taking, it has an eire man-made feel to it; like the different foliage and terrains weren't meant to go together.

I am pulled out of my trance when I spot Arrow on the pedestal 6 down from mine. He looks ready to run at any moment. The clock in front of the cornucopia reads 10 seconds. I breath deeply and fill my lungs with the smell of pine. I bend my knees and get ready to run.

The gong sounds.
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I'm really excited about this chapter!! The picture is supposed to be of Fern!

What do you guys think will happen to Mae and Arrow at the bloodbath?

Will they both make it out alive?