Safe and Sound (The Hunger Games)

Chapter 12-The Final Countdown

I wake up to see Elliot next to me. On the couch, the two of us had a peaceful sleep together. Probably not the best place to have a good night's sleep in the night before you have to fight to the death, but we made it work. I don't want to wake him, so I remain in the spot I am in, with one of his hands on my back. There is sunlight coming from the windows, meaning it is morning. Within several hours, the two of us will be shipped to an unknown arena, where we will need lots of attention and energy to make it far. With this in mind, I close my eyes and fall asleep again instantly.

The next time I wake up, Elliot is sitting up, and awake next to me. "Good morning." I say as I stretch my arms.

"How was your sleep?" He asks me.

"For the first time since this all began, it was actually great." I reply. "How about you?"

"Same with me." Elliot agrees. "Let's have a big breakfast, shall we?" We both get up, and walk to the table. After we get settled with our food, Flishia and Annie join us. We have some little conversations, which are irrelevant to the games whatsoever, but I don't mind.

"That was delicious!" Flishia exclaims. "Now, you two should go to your rooms and get changed into the clothes that are picked out."

It hits me. We are going to the arena now. This is it.

We get changed, and Annie escorts us to the hangar. "You have things planned out with your allies right?" Annie asks us. We both nod yes. "Be sure to find clean water. That should be the hardest to find, so look carefully." She explains. "Oh yeah. As you know, we all see what happens, and I know you two are together, so take advantage of it." I know exactly what that means. Appear crazy in love to get silver parachutes. I look at Elliot as he looks at me. He smiles, and then looks at the opening doors.

The hovercraft is gray, and huge. I have never seen one up close before. I wait for Annie to lead us out but she doesn't move. Instead she freezes in place and stares at the hovercraft. "Annie." I say quietly and calmly. It must bring back horrid memories from last year when she was in my place.

She snaps out of it and walks a few feet forward, and then turns to us. "I love you guys. I will do my best to keep you both alive, don't worry. Just focus on winning." She kisses us both on the forehead, and then returns to the elevator.

"Arm please." A man asks me. In the hovercraft, all twenty four of us are seated and restrained in seats facing each other. "Please give me your arm." He repeats again. I show him my arm, and he injects something in it.

"What was that?" I ask while examining my arm.

"It tracks you in the arena. Just so the gamemakers know where you are." He explains as he moves to the next tribute. Elliot was seated diagonally across from me. He doesn't say anything, because it would be awkward in front of kids we will kill, or them kill us. However we both make eye contact for a second or two, and then put our heads down to avoid eye contact with anyone else.

The ride there seemed like a long time, probably because all I did was look down into my lap. There are no windows in the hovercraft, so even if I did look up, I wouldn't see anything. A few peacekeepers come to take one tribute at a time. When it is my turn, about four peacekeepers surround me, and march me out, almost like during the reaping.

We reach the Launch Room, where I have to shower and get dressed again. Nimmi helps me in my new outfit, and does my hair.

"From what the outfit looks like, it may be hot, and you may run into water." Nimmi suggests. I wear a waterproof jumpsuit that covers the shorts and a t-shirt underneath. "Here, put this on." She puts her hand and takes something out. My bracelet!

"When they told me to get dressed back in the Capitol, they told me not wear anything else. I had to leave it behind!" I say as she puts it on my left wrist.

"Well, Annie gave it to me before I left. But don't worry, this is one hundred percent okay. They let you wear one thing from your district in the arena, as long as it isn't a weapon or packed with food. But I don't think that's a problem." She laughs.

"Thank you so much. It means a lot to me, and I'm sure Brent back home will be happy to see it." I say as I hug her.

"Two minutes." A voice says. Now I start shaking, and Nimmi grabs my shoulders.

"Shh... just calm down..." Nimmi calms me.

"How can I? I will be dead within a week!" I almost scream.

"Hey, look at me. You can do this. I don't know what kind of arena is above us, but it has to do with water because you are wearing a waterproof suit. It will also be hot because the suit is pretty thin." She implies.

"I know, you told me that-"

"Do you realize what this means? It will be similar to district four, your home. On days that you feel horrible, just think about how you are back home. Take it as a huge advantage." Nimmi explains.

"One minute." The voice returns.

"Kaya, listen to me. I believe in you. Just follow your heart, and you will win." I give her a huge hug, and she walks me to the platform. "Good luck. I will see you soon." Nimmi says.

The glass slides around me, separating us. The only thing I hear is my heartbeat. Nimmi holds up her ten fingers, and one falls by the second. When all ten fingers are down, the plate below me rises me up.