I have trouble standing on the metal platform because my heart beats so rapidly in my chest. The bright glaring sun gleams off of the platform and makes my uniform shine like fish scales. The land around me is made up completely of sand until it breaks into a grassy plain near the horizon line. I figure that my first priority will be to find food and water while other tributes will run toward the weapons, leading to a bloodbath. I know I am not a good fighter. I would die an immediate death and never live to see my family again if I did that. I can’t let that happen. I love them too much to throw my life away by running into a mayhem of bloodthirsty killers.

Then comes the sound I have always dreaded. The loud ringing that invites a whole different world I have never experienced. The noise that makes me cringe, but there is nowhere to hide. The din that sends shivers throughout my body, but I can’t escape it. Then the Hunger Games has begun. Some tributes run toward the grass to seek shelter and hide. Others race to the huge glistening cornucopia to fight for weapons. I start to sprint without realization to escape the chaos as fast as i can. The sand bends and shapes itself around my feet with each step and causes me to slow down. Once i reach the grassy turf I run faster and faster until I can’t feel my legs. Far to my right I notice something shimmering in the distance; the ocean. I also see a cluster of trees not far from me; shelter.

My legs have turned into goo once I finally reach the trees. I climb up as far as I can in the tallest of the trees and feel the rough bark scrape my fingers with each grasp. It almost seems peaceful up here with the view of the beautiful glimmering ocean and the bright white sand. I breathe in the fresh warm air desperately, as if it would make me invincible. I am brought back to realization of the game when another tribute comes running towards my shelter of trees. He is tall and thin. He runs slowly and awkwardly, reminding me of a new-born bird. I am able to hide in the soft leaves of the tree without being seen. The boy nears closer to the trees and i sink further into the leaves until an arrow comes soaring out of nowhere. It flies for a few seconds while the boy leaps to get out of the way, but it lodges into his chest right between his rib cage. His uniform starts to dampen with the red color of his blood. The light leaves his youthful brown eyes and he is gone. I let a hushed gasp escape my lips and that is when it hits me. I am a tribute. I am required to kill in order to survive. This is the Hunger Games.