Escape the Arena (100th Hunger Games)

Chapter Fifteen: Day One

(Vida Amenta (District Five)'s P.O.V)

We all have one large final lunch together. The games start in four hours, so we're loading up on food now. All twelve of us are seated at a table in the catacombs below the arena. The table is laden with tons and tons of food, and all of us are scoffing down as much we can. I personally am making sure to eat a lot of carbohydrates and drinking a lot of water.

Our alliance is still as strong as ever. I've become particularly close to Kaitlyn, seeing as she's only two years older than me. She's like a big sister. She helped me get through watching the first Games, even though her district partner was hunting down Isaac.

I haven't been able to see Isaac since he won the games. All four of the boys are still trapped inside the hospital in recovery.

Kaitlyn wolfs down her grilled fish like there's no tomorrow. I can see she's taking in her diet, like me. But she said she was going to stock up on protein, not carbs. I'm not entirely sure why.

Daisy is also sitting next to me - eating as much as she can. Although Daisy is older than me, she's by far smaller and that's probably why she's the 'cutie' of these Games. Electrica and Daphnie, the other part of our alliance, are seated away from us at the table, and they're chatting between themselves.

There seem to be three tributes going into the Games by themselves, which is interesting seeing as everybody in the Boys' Games had at least one ally. But Ariella from Four, Jeanne from Seven and Mahogany from Eleven are all going in alone. I had thought that everyone would want to team up in an attempt to get as many allies in the Final Games.

Velvet and Alana are laughing loudly amongst themselves, clearly unfazed by the idea of being hunted and killed for entertainment in a few hours time. Chelsea is yapping loudly to Alice, who seems to be barely putting up with her.

A bell rings. It's one in the afternoon, and it was time to meet our stylists before heading into the arena.
"So," Daphnie says as she approaches us with Electrica. "We all meet at the edge of the Cornucopia, in the direction opposite to where the horn is pointing?"
We nod in agreement and then depart, wishing each other luck.

I hug Kaitlyn goodbye. "I don't want to go in," I cry into her chest. I may have a higher odds of winning than in a normal Hunger Games, but it's still more likely that I will die.
"It's going to be okay," Kaitlyn stroked my hair, trying to calm me down. "If Isaac and Ash can win for our Districts, then surely we can too."
I nod and then follow the peacekeepers who escort me to a room, where my stylist is waiting for me.

(Alice Overwood (District Nine)'s P.O.V)

I am SO over Chelsea! She's the most annoying person I think I've ever met! All she's done since we allied up is chat and chat and chat about useless shit!! Almost always it's about a guy named Darren whom she has the BIGGEST crush on apparently, but sometimes it's about even more annoying shit like how she can't wait to see her pet dog again, or how she misses the food in District Eight.

I wish I had found a different ally. But, I'm with Chelsea now, and I don't particularly want the people home in my district to see me as someone who betrays their ally, so I'm going to have to deal with her.

I finish getting changed. I'm not sure what all the other tributes were given to wear, but it looks like I'm wearing a painter's coveralls, entirely in grey. My stylist suggests it was designed to restrict mobility, probably to make the games a little bit more exciting.

It feels like the past three hours have slipped away from me because an automated voice rings throughout the room "One minute until launch".
My stylist wishes me luck, and then I step onto the pedestal. The automated voice is now counting down from ten. I hold my breath as my platform begins to rise. Here we go.