Chapter 6

Into the Arena

"Shhhhh..." Cinna whispers to me as I wait in the launch room. My sobs echo around the hauntingly empty room. I bury my face in the crook of his neck and he holds my shaking body with his strong hands. He runs his fingers through my hair, and he unravels his arms from my back. He smiles at me, and in that moment, everything seems ok. He tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and gives me a nod of reassurance.
"If I was allowed to bet on someone, I'd bet on you," he says softly in my ear.
"But I can't win," I cry softly. "I'm not good at anything."
"You're on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, aren't you?" Cinna tells me. I smile because I know what he's trying to imply.
"I'm not allowed a broomstick," I remind him. He smiles, like he knows something that I don't.
"You're allowed a wand," he whispers.
He reaches into his inside blazer pocket, and pulls out my wand. I notice it instantaneously. Except, Cinna has added a few extra touches. A golden handle.
"Why the gold handle?" I ask him through sniffles.
"You are the Golden Girl, aren't you?" He says. "Might want to start living up to your name."
I grab the wand and put it in my secret pocket.
"You are only allowed to disarm, and ask for a broom. No charms, transfigurations or curses," Cinna instructs.

30 seconds.

Cinna gently and slowly guides me towards the glass shaft that will send me to my imminent death. Tears stain my cheeks, and I wipe them away with my arena jacket sleeve. Looking weak will make me an early target.
Cinna holds me for the last time. This is the last moment that anyone will hold me. I breathe in his smell of aftershave and hairspray, the only smell that will keep me sane during the games.

10 seconds

Cinna opens the glass container, and I reluctantly step inside. I looks back at Cinna. His face is strong, and he gives me another nod. I stare back at him, my eyes full of terror, my body still shaking.

5, 4, 3...

The glass door suctions shut. There is no turning back now.

2, 1.

The platform I stand on moves me up, and the roof of the container opens. The platform moves me up and up, until it comes to a stand-still. I breathe in the air of the arena, and take in my surroundings.
It's a forest.
Woods of trees are densely planted around the Cornucopia, and a lake is situated to the right of me. All the tributes are circled around the Cornucopia in no particular order. A younger boy from Gryffindor and a girl from Slytherin are next to me.
I observe the weapons in the mouth of the Cornucopia. Swords, axes, machetes, knives, sling shots, spears, back packs - the lot. A silver bow and a quiver of arrows catches my glance. No, I tell myself. Remember what Dumblemitch told you. It's a bloodbath in there.
A television screen floats down, and a countdown begins, starting from 60.
I look at all the tributes individually. They all look so tough, strong, agile. I wonder how long I'll last before one of them slaughters me. A day or two? Not with my luck. The best I could do is about 12 hours.
I notice that Mickey is on the opposite podium to me. He looks at me with a death-stare, and looks away. I already have one enemy in the arena, and the game hasn't even started.
And then I notice Donna on the podium a few to the left of Mickey. She looks as tough as nails, her face stern and her hands are balled into fists. My eyes keep scanning the tributes.
And then I see the Doctor.
The happy boy I once knew, is long gone. His face is strong, his stance shows great power.
I noticed the cheery boy slipping away during the weeks of training. Every day, every session, every lesson, every activity, every guide, every obstacle, every skill, he was slipping away a little bit at a time, until his inner beast shined through. He looked up at me, and gave me a half-smirk. The only difference with this smile, is that his eyes didn't shine like every other day he smiled at me. Now, they are cloudy, hard, and show anger I've never seen in anyone's eyes before.

45 seconds

I look at the ground, and somehow my mind trails to the thought of home. The thought of mum and dad, nights sitting by the television screaming at the football, and my friends and family. Those memories are supposed to make me cry. But they make me all that much hungrier to win. I want to win to see them again, to hug them once more, to appreciate them all much more. I want to win for Cinna, and everyone who believes in me. I don't want to win - I need to win.
With my different mindset on, I suddenly feel a rush of adrenaline whoosh through my body as the clock enters the last 10 seconds of countdown. Everyone edges further to get in a running stance. I catch the Doctor's eye one last time, and with his eyes, he signals to run into the woods behind me. I give him a slight nod.

3, 2, 1.

Everyone steps off their pedestal, all at once. It's mayhem. The bigger kids get hold of machetes and axes, and slaughter the younger kids who swarm beneath them. A younger boy from Hufflepuff grabs my quiver and my bow. I don't bother sticking around. I see the Doctor running off into the forest. I'm about to sprint off, but an orange back pack filled to the brim with essentials catches my eye. It's only a little out of the way that I need to be going, so I decide to run for it. I loop the straps through my lower arm to scoop it up, and then I throw it over my shoulders and start sprinting to catch up with the Doctor. A force with such great power hits me in the back andk knocks me over onto my front. I scramble to turn over. I pull my bag onto my stomach and see a small knife sticking out the back. The girl who was standing next to me on the podiums throws another at me, but I shield myself with the bag. An older boy from Ravenclaw sneaks up behind her and clean-sweeps the girl's head from her shoulders with a sword. It falls to the floor with an eerie thud, and her body collapses lifelessly next to it.
"Go," he tells me. "Run!"
I pull the two knives from my bag and hold them tightly in my hands and run in the direction the Doctor did. I've spent too much time at the Cornucopia. I've lost him for certain.
The terrain changes as I hit the ground running. The clean glen changes to a rugged forest, the floor which was covered in soft, green grass is now full of mulch, leaves and moss. I dodge the huge trees that stand in my way, and then I come to a long path that stretches on for 2 miles or so. I decide to run along it, sticking to the side of the track near the trees. I keep running for about 2 minutes, and then a tribute smashes into me. They knock us both over, sending us to the hard ground. I want to stay there - it's cool and slightly comfortable, and my body begs for me to rest, and then I remember what Dumblemitch told me while on the way to the launch room - "If you get knocked over, get up while you can. There's no point in staying on the ground. That will mean certain death."
I scurry to my feet, and stand over the tribute. I recognise her instantaneously.
It's Donna.
She's still on the ground, clutching her head where we collided. She groans at the pain and rolls around slightly.
"Donna," I call to her.
She opens her eyes slightly and looks up at me. "Hello," she says hoarsely. She sits up, and I crouch down next to her.
"You alright?" I ask her. She nods.
"Thank god it was you. If it was anyone else, they would've killed me while they had the chance," she tells me.
I help her up, and we start walking along the track, side by side. I notice that she's managed to pick up a back pack, like me, and he holds a wand by her side.
"Did they tell you to?" I ask, and I point to her wand. She nods.
"It's come in quite handy, actually. I've managed to disarm a few kids, and I took this bag from the shoulders of that girl who threw the knives at you. I don't think many kids have their wands," she tells me.
I think she's right. Most of the kids in here would want weapons instead of wands, but having a wand will come in handy - blocking weapons, disarming other tributes and riding a broomstick will be a big advantage in the long run.
"I'm looking for my idiot brother," Donna tells me. "I saw hum run this way, but I don't know where he's gotten to."
"I'm looking for him, too," I tell Donna. "He told me to run this way."
I smile at the thought of being with the Doctor and Donna throughout the duration of the games.
"Well it's a good thing I found you," she says.
I think I'm glad I found her, too.