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The Fitter	By : sawahhaych Category: G through L > The Hunger Games Trilogy Views: 2384 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not Own the Huger Games or make any money from this fic

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
For some reason the night before the games begin I sleep deeply and unhindered, I wake suddenly to Pike banging on my bedroom door in the train just after dawn. I groan that I am awake before sliding off the bed, my head is spinning, this is the day, the first day. By midday I will be in the arena, typically by half past that hour more than a third of all the years tributes will be dead.
I make my way towards the dining car, the tension in the room is almost enough to make me loose my appetite, I stare at the food on the table and take a seat in my allotted place as far away from the others as possible. I must eat, who knows how long it will be in the arena until I can find food? It isn't called the hunger games for nothing. I eat as much as I can stand, trying to force down as much carbs and sugar as I can for energy. I am on my third glass of orange juice when an unsettling thought grabs my attention. The whole of Panem is going to be able to watch as I empty my

bladder and bowels from now on, I immediately put down my glass.
From the train I am pushed and prodded through the dimply lit tunnels, lead from one underground place to another. The walls and ceilings all windowless and oppressing, feeling like what I imagine being sent deep into the coal mines to be. By the time I am dressed and placed on my starting disc I am ready to walk blindly to my death just to escape into the open air.
A peace keeper informs me that I have three minutes before I will begin to ascend, once I am above in the arena the countdown will being, I have a feeling that will be the longest sixty seconds in my life.
I examine my clothes, sturdy brown rubber boots that come up to just below my knees, fur lined. Loose cargo pants, soft and warm on the inside, waterproofed and shiny on the outside. A khaki t shirt covered by a thin long sleeved brown shirt. Coat, heavy made of the same materials as my pants but warmer, more padded. The whole thing is topped off by a green cap and fingerless black gloves.
Wet, that is the only thing I can think of, water will be prevalent; whether fresh water or sea water remains to be seen. If it is salt water we may be in trouble, I know how to get fresh water from salt but it takes time, equipment and fire, all of which are dangerous in the games.
I fidget, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, where will Cassie be in the circle? Where will I be? Will we be able to get any equipment? What if one of us doesn’t survive the initial bloodbath at the cornucopia? Will I be able to make an assessment of the arena, find Cass and concoct a plan in only one minute?
I blow out a frustrated sigh, this is getting me no where. I shake out my arms and jig on the spot. Wringing my hands I offer up a small prayer to my sister, to protect Cassie, to help me protect Cassie in a way I couldn’t do for her.
Before I can dwell any further on the worse day of my life the disc moves, I wobble as it starts moving before gaining my balance, the journey up through the earth takes longer than I would have thought, I fight the sense of claustrophobia just long enough, as I start to break out in a cold sweat I see daylight.
The platform clicks into place, I firmly plant my feet, loosen my shoulders and get ready to sprint. My plan to die may not have changed but the time has, I won't die here, blown to a million pieces and abandon Cassie. There is much more I can achieve in what little time I have left and maybe, just maybe I might be able to make up for letting my eyes wonder on the fateful day I lost my only sibling.
The landscape is dreary, sky grey, pregnant clouds low in the sky. Green is everywhere, trees, grass, moss, bushes, weeds... Turning I see a valley behind me, sloping gently. Directly across from me are trees, I smile inside, so is Cassie, there are also rucksacks between myself and her. The trees must be the safest place we can begin and fortunately for me they lie behind the girl I have privately sworn to protect, so at least if I fall in a pool of my own blood before I reach the tree line, she has a fighting chance.
Cassie catches me eye, we are identically dressed, I direct my eyes at the bags before looking back at her, I raise my eyebrows to signal I will grab them on my way to her. Cassie pulls a face at me, one I hope to God doesn’t mean what I suspect it does.
Thirty seconds to go. I examine the others, none seem to be signalling each other but it may have all been worked out in advance, just because me and Cassie are flying by the seat of our waterproofs doesn’t mean they are too.
When the timer reaches twenty the ground shakes violently, the boom is so loud it sets my left ear ringing, wet sounds of flesh ripping apart and flying through the air, thick warm liquid coating the side of my face and spattering against my shoulder. The screams of shock hit me a second later, someone further away startled by the loud explosion and pieces of Wire being flung into the air, then a second almighty bang and this time I see everything. The girl from 8, stepping backwards and away from the gore between her and me. Losing her footing on the side of her disc and falling to the ground. In less than a second she joins Wire both in the air and stains the damp grass crimson.
I barely hold myself still on my disc and my breakfast in my stomach, I snap my gaze to Cassie. She looks scared, breathing visibly ragged from where I stand.
Ten seconds ...
For the first time I admit that I had been wrong. Blown to a million pieces is not the way I want my parents to see my life end. What I have just witnessed shaking me right to the thick soles of my boots. The unexpected deaths have not slowed the timer and I take a shaky breath, running a hand over my face to clear the pieces of cartilage, flesh and blood from obscuring my vision.
Five seconds ...
Eyes locked onto the count down clock I breathe unsteadily. My toes curl and uncurl in my boots, fingers flexing, I worry my bottom lip. Loosening my shoulders I bend until the tips of my fingers touch the cold metal at my feet. Forcing myself to believe that the ground is not moving beneath me, even though my stomach feels like it is turning over itself and inside out as I watch the seconds slowly tick away.
Three seconds ...
My muscles tense, knees bent, ready to spring into action once the cannon sounds.
Two seconds …
Time looses meaning, how the hell can seconds be this long?
Zero …
I don’t hear the sound of the cannon, but it must be ringing through the arena because as I launch myself off my platform and my booted feet touch the sodden ground I remain in one piece. Looking around as I sprint as fast as I can towards a pile of bags adjacent to me. No one else seems to have moved but me and Cass. “For Fuck...” I mutter as I run bent over to scoop up as much as I can carry on the way to her. “...sake.”
Cassie has ran out, not towards the sanctity of the trees, not away from the inevitable violence, no. Cassie has decided she needs to get her own bags too! Her speed in this instance proving to be a hindrance as she struggles to keep her feet under her.
My feet loose grip on the slippery grass as I try to rapidly change direction towards her. My thighs take the fall for me, moments before my chest is sliding along the grass and mud. Pushing my fingers deep into the mud I push up my torso, scrambling to my knees, my booted feet slip and slide twice on the muddy ground before they find purchase to take off running again.
Cassie comes to a sliding stop, quickly becoming used to the slippery ground but doesn’t see Trust, the boy from ten, approach her as she roots around selecting two large backpacks. He's to close to her, his large meaty hands outstretched and a smile of satisfaction clouding his face.
I scream something as I approach but I don’t know if any words are used or if it was just a noise, a battle cry maybe. Trust looks up and Cassie turns, he hasn’t quite reached her yet and the pause is enough for me to close the distance between us. I drop my bags, right at Cassie's feet, hoping she might take the hint and make for the trees, sprint past her and don't even try to slow down as I crash the length of my body against the much larger boy.
Weather my speed had been enough to topple the boy or he had simply been anticipating that I would stop I will never know. What I do know is that we both tumble to the ground, his body covers me, for an instant we roll in the muddy earth and for a fleeting moment I am certain that I will die at his hands, right here and now.
Our momentum carries us one further rotation and I end up sprawled over his chest, before I can think, before I can even breathe I curl my body in on itself, thrusting my knee against his hard ribs. Listening with a sick sense of satisfaction to every breath of air leaving his lungs.
I don't allow myself to revel in the small victory for very long. My limbs go flying in every direction, looking for the ground, seeking the solid earth so I can make my escape. Cassie screams, her voice so high in both volume and pitch that the words are incomprehensible, all I know is that I need to protect her. “GO!” I yell out into the air. My palm finds the sodden grass and I unceremoniously throw my whole body over Trust, my side hits the ground with a thud and within seconds I am dragging myself to me feet.
I’m up on all fours before I realise that Cassie has yet to move. The other tributes closing in around us, weapons held aloft and blood-lust shining in their eyes. She is standing stock still in shock, a backpack thrown over each shoulder. “MOVE!” I yell and watch her feet shift but not towards the trees, once more she is heading towards me.
Her booted foot finds Trust's solar-perplexes and he grunts what little air he had been able to drag into his lungs back out into the arena. “Come on!” She shouts at me and the only way I can dispel the thought that I am going to wring her neck myself is by rolling my eyes and throwing myself back to my feet.
My hand, covered in blood, gore and mud find her shoulder and I forcefully push her in the direction of the tree line and fall into a fast sprint only two steps behind her. She looks over her shoulder, just to make sure I’m following and I swear the only reason I didn't put my fist to her face is that she wasn't within striking distance. How the fuck am I supposed to keep her alive through all of this is she is hell bent on doing the same to me?
- 4
- 5
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The Fitter