I wake to Jackson, nudging me, " hey, you need to shower and get something to eat," he says quietly.

I nod my head and hear him waking Ally up, and I realize she is on the other side of the bed.

"Morning sleepyhead, when did you come in here?" I ask with a smile. "

"Around 4, I had a bad dream," she says.

"You know I don't mind, let's get ready," I kiss her on the forehead, and I hop up and head to the bathroom.

I take my time in the shower, knowing it will probably be my last. I use the hottest water and a peach-scented soap. I clean up and walk out to find a set of clothes waiting for me. I don't think this will be the outfit for the arena. I know Portia and Felix will be going with us, so I assume another outfit will be waiting for us. I walk out to breakfast and see our mentors and stylists talking about the day, and I sit down and start eating.

"you should eat something solid you'll need the calories if we can't get food to you the first day. Fruits and bread," Alejandro says with a grim smile.

Ally comes out about 2 minutes later, and we eat in silence. The games start at 12, and we have to leave by 9:30, and at 9, Portia and Felix start wrapping things up. Alejandro kneels between us, "I'm sorry if I haven't been the most helpful person this week with my migraines, but I truly believe one of you will win," and he hugs us and heads out.

We get up and head to the door, Jackson kneels and talks to Ally, and she is smiling. He stands up and says, "I believe in you, Kyle. I really do," and he ends it with a hug for us both.

Michele is the last one, and she was talking to Ally when Jackson was talking to me, so I missed it. She has Ally wait with the stylists by the elevator and pulls me aside, "Kyle, this is going to be hard, and I wish I could do it for you, but I can't. Only one of you can walk out, and if it's Ally, I'll be there for her. And if it's you, I'll be there for you."

I smile and nod. She turns to Ally, "remember the plan. Ally, you run. Kyle, you grab supplies and run. Find water. Find food," she then turns back to me and hugs me.

I hear her whisper, "The capital can hear everything, so be careful what you say. Even if you don't win the game, they could still take it out on your family. Just be careful, and we will be here when one of you gets out."

I thank her and walk on to the waiting elevator, and we head up to the top floor. As I step onto the hovercraft, they freeze me in place and stick the tracker into my arm. Ally is next, and then the stylists climb on board. The pair from District 9 are on the same hovercraft as us, but we are too far apart to talk to them. We are flying for about 90 minutes, but the windows blacked out 15 minutes into the trip, so we couldn't see the arena. I look at Ally, and she is playing with her fingers, and I realize I have been tapping mine on the armrest. I feel the hovercraft descending, and I know we are almost there. When we land, the hovercraft is underground, and Portia and I pair up, and I wave goodbye to Ally and mouth 'I love you,' and she does the same thing before she is gone. I realize I might never see her again, and my breath catches. The peacekeepers lead me to a room without a number or name. It's a basic room with a bathroom and a tube that will take me up. Portia hands me the clothes and tells me to put them on. Again the shirt is tight, but it seems breathable, shorts, and sturdy boots. And it ends with a jacket.

Portia looks it over, "Ok, I would expect the arena to be on the warm side, you'll be sweating, but the clothes should help regulate your body temp. And based on the jacket, I would expect there to be a lot of rain at some point. Go to the bathroom and drink some water and come back out," she smiles.

I do my business and come out and ask, "do you think I can do this? Honestly?"

She looks up at me and smiles, "I've been a stylist for 4 years now, I was part of the team that helped Jonah and Jackson, but you or Ally will win this. I feel it. Just keep your head up. Be smart. Be quick. You have 15 minutes to go. Drink more water and come sit down."

I do as I'm told, and she just holds my hands, and we sit there in silence until we hear, "tributes to the launch tubes. T minus 90 seconds.

I breathe deep, and she hugs me. " you got this cowboy," and I step into the tube that will lead me to the games.

"Tributes, 30 seconds to launch. Please enter your launch tube." I recognize the voice now. It's Claudius Templesmith; he makes the announcements with Caesar.

I turn, and the glass slides down, separating us, and then I'm rising up, and the next thing I know, the light is blinding me, and I feel warm humid air. I look around, and I see others are up now with me.

I hear Claudius Templesmith say, "Ladies and Gentlemen, let the 68th Hunger Games begin," and the countdown clock starts.
*****