𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬

𝟏𝟎. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬

— 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐬 —

━━━━━━ ☽【❖】☾ ━━━━━━

The sun was shining through the blinds of my window when I woke, yet I did not feel its joy. Only its woe. I should have been elated at the chance to prove my strength. However, I could only see a foreboding sense of danger. The danger would have thrilled me if asked last year, but now staring it in the eyes I felt the very opposite. It was unnerving to play with fate, even though I was well trained and prepared for just about every combative situation.

I rose and dressed, finding a feast waiting in the dining room along with Atticus and Artemisia. Rena entered the room a step before me, but it had been forced and off-balanced as if trying to be my superior in every way she knew how. She would not intimidate me. As rivals we were equally matched, but it also meant we knew the other's strengths and weaknesses. I wouldn't need to worry about her until the final stretch, and the same could be said of myself.

"Any fleeting words of wisdom?" Atticus asked, dabbing his lips with the napkin set out on the table as he finished his meal.

"Don't think. Act," Artemisia answered despite Atticus's patronizing tone of voice. "Day one competes for the toughest. You won't have time to plan each move. Get a pack and a weapon then run. Find water, food, and whatever other resources you'll need. Only after you've done all this should you even consider forming a plan. But never let your guard down."

"Surprisingly well put." Atticus snapped his fingers to applaud then set his napkin back down on the table. Once we'd had our fill, he cleared his throat and rose from his seat. "It's time."

We were led down the hall to the loading dock where the hovercrafts were already waiting to transport us to the arena catacombs. Rena and her stylist left first, and were long gone by time I even considered reaching up to grasp the ladder in my hand. Only once I was stuck did Atticus address me with parting words intent to ingrain themselves in my mind.

"Remember, smile. The crowd will eat you up," Atticus advised. "All the survivalist stuff is great, but it's the people who decide how long you live. Come out of the gate strong. Make it quick but entertaining. My money's on you boy. I'll split the winnings on you victory tour... Here. For luck."

Atticus slipped a coin into the pocket of my jacket. I hadn't planned to take a token with me into the games, yet Atticus's ill-conceived sentiment would only serve as a reminder of the respect I was fighting for.

"Captain Lovera will be proud," Atticus insisted. "The mistakes of the past will be overlooked by the crown of a victor."

I silently nodded my head, holding my voice with the knowledge that if I spoke it was certain to break. I was not a creature focused on the past, but on the future. Yet, in that moment, Atticus reminded me of the true reason he was so invested in my success. The man was far from a family friend, but he knew dangerous secrets that if handed over to the Capitol...

"You remember that myth: Romulus and Remus?" Atticus asked. My eyes narrowed and my lip twitched. His grin twisted into a coy smirk. "Just remember everything you've done to reach this moment. Whose name will they call the empire when all is said and done?"

The hovercraft lifted and after a few hours of travel, the vehicle's windows tinted so that I couldn't gain any knowledge of the arena's location. Once we arrived at the loading docks, my hand remained stuck to the ladder until the tracker had been properly injected beneath the thin layer of skin on my forearm.

From there, I was led deeper into the catacombs where I'd be prepared for the Capitol's annual ritual of survival of the fittest. I was scrubbed down for the nth time since arriving at the Capitol, only this time it felt as if I were being prepped for burial.

I was outfitted in a pair of light gray tactical pants and a thick pair of socks which felt tight in the combat boots I'd been given. I'd been given a light blue henley to wear under a light gray sweatshirt, followed by a thicker insulated white jacket. It wasn't so thick that it was impossible to move, but it was definitely more clothing than I'd been expecting.

"I'd expect some cold night," Laverne warned. Then offered the coin that Atticus had gifted. "This was in the pocket of your jacket. An interesting token. Chosen by you?"

"Given by my escort," I contradicted, shaking my head as I accepted the coin and slipped it into the pocket of my inner jacket. "It's worthless. Not just in the arena though. It's a fake, representative of an old myth. Two sides of one coin."

"I saw one was the head of the wolf," Laverne noted. "I couldn't make out the inscription on the back as it was scratched away."

"I can't remember," I lied. "It's been that way for a long time. Forgotten by the passage of time."

There was knock on the door and Laverne sighed, adjusting the final details to her own liking. "I wish you the best and a blessing from the gods."

I chuckled under my breath, trying to hide the bitter edge. "I hardly think I'll earn their blessing once I kill one of their own."

"Even so." A small smile graced her lips, the first time I'd seen an expression beside the still of winter. She walked alongside me down the hall, but stopped once we reached the circular metal plate at the end. "This is where we part."

As I stepped out onto the plate, a glass cylinder lowered around me. It was starting. I lifted my chin and straightened my posture, mentally preparing for whatever I might face when I reached the open air. The cylinder rose. Fifteen seconds in the dark passed then the metal plate below pushed me out from the glass and out into the open air.

I gasped and my breath was stolen by the chill while my eyes were blinded by the small shards of ice that flurried in every direction. I'd been caught off guard and disoriented. But before I could focus and collect my thoughts, the voice of Claudius Templesmith echoed all around me.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-second Hunger Games begin!"

━━━━━━ ☽【❖】☾ ━━━━━━

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 | And so ends the first act! How are we feeling so far? I'm so excited for what's to come as we enter the next act and the games commence. So much is about to happen, and I doubt any of you are prepared for it. As always don't forget to vote and would love to hear your thoughts in the comments! Thanks for reading!