Those Gamemakers are completely vicious this year. With only a handful of tributes left I know only the most savage one will make it to the end of the games. I can only imagine the terror Queen B must be feeling as I watch her panic stricken eyes as the poison dart frogs meets her gaze. The relief on her pretty face is palpable when the Gamemakers suddenly eradicate the creatures and it is apparent she has been spared.

Queen B and I grew up together and she is a dear friend. I cannot stand to see her suffer a cruel and prolonged death nor can I manipulate the out come of this game. I can however, send her something that will make her odds ” ever in her favor”. I have purchased a Kevlar vest to send to her. In addition to being unaffected by knives, spears, darts and bullets, this is one of the most fashionable style. It is a lush green color, like the feathery ferns of the rain forest. There are two softly creased pockets on the front for concealment of weapons. Two crisp tucks across the back will keep the vest from snagging on foliage as she flees from danger. Along the sleeve and down the vest openings are tiny glistening rhinestones to help give her hope and confidence, since I know that appearances are very important to her.

I carefully and tightly roll the deceptively soft and lightweight vest into the smooth silver orb. The courier is waiting to take the parcel to the arena as quickly as possible. My only hope is that the parachute gets to my dear friend before a blood thirsty tribute does.

I stare at the desolation the tsunami has caused and my skin goes cold. I was am part of this madness and I feel regret, only I can’t do anything about it. As a gamemaker I am a puppet and I must follow the Capitol’s orders.

I am told by my supervisor that the death and destruction from the tsunami wasn’t gruesome enough. After a brief discussion, it is decided that we will unleash masses of genetically modified super toxic poison dart frogs. With a trembling finger I push the button as directed and millions of glossy amphibians descend like a fog on the arena. I watch as the agitated frogs leap onto the tributes in rainbows of color, latching on to faces, arms and legs. As the tributes  realize the eminent danger, some panic and run. Others display their savagery by stabbing, slashing and crushing the creatures. One tiny drop of the frogs milky white secretion is enough to kill a human. I watch a young tribute frantically waving her arms. Her knife is gripped tightly in one hand but in her terror, she is just slashing the air around her. The deadly frog has adhered to her neck. I can see the poisonous slime oozing onto her skin. Within seconds, her arms cease to continue their erratic movements. Her knife falls to the ground. Her mouth remains open in a kind of silent scream. She collapses quite suddenly and stiffly onto her back, like a fallen tree. I turn away before she takes her last breath. I can’t bear to watch anymore.

I hear a rumble in the distance like a stampede is charging towards me. There is a scream and the cannon goes off. Another victim of what the rich call entertainment has been claimed. The ground beneath my feet has turned to jello. What is going on? I quickly climb a tree to get a good look at my surroundings. I scan the horizon and find out what all the commotion is about. There is a tsunami rolling inland. I climb higher in the tree and looked to see how close it is to me. It is perhaps a few miles away and I can already taste the salty mist of the ocean.

It seems like a blink of an eye before I feel a cool, wet blanket cover my legs. I quickly take in a breath and suddenly I am under the massive heart of the tropical killer. I hold on for my life, I cannot let go if I want to survive. I dig my fingernails into the bark of the tree branch, while the rest of my body is pulled horizontally. The tree strains to resist the violent rush of water. Debris carried by the wave is hitting me. Something sharp cuts into my leg. The salt stings, but I dare not cry out. The wave is still over my head when I feel the water reverse direction. I grip the branch tightly as the wave recedes, pulling me in the opposite direction. I am struck by debris again, this time on my head. The pain is intense and I feel like I’m about to pass out. Then I find myself on top of the branch with the water surface just below me still receding. I see a quiver of arrows floating by, and snatch it from the water. As the wave calms and disappears, I find a compound bow hanging from a branch of my tree. Now I have a weapon.

My palms are greasy with sweat. My tongue feels like tree bark. I can hear the thumping of my heart. I cannot let my mother know. I have to be brave. After all it is Mother who tells me to be stoic and tough. I realize Mother can probably see televised images of me here and I’m not fooling her now. Tears well up in my eyes. I am imagining her firm but clear blue gaze. It’s her way of telling me she knows exactly what I’m feeling. I imagine her almost-whisper, ” It’s going to be alright”. Suddenly I just want to see my Mother’s knowing a reassuring face again so I will know I can continue being strong. So I will know everything will be alright.

A silver orb, coasting on a breeze brushes my cheek. I reach up, plucking it from the branches. Tentatively, I unmatched the container. Inside is a small video camera. This is my chance to not only reassure my mother but to also convince myself that I am strong.

Ow! A coconut just fell on my head. Earlier I attempted to climb a tree as soon as the gong sounded, but half way up I realized that it was a palm tree and wouldn’t be able to hold me once I reached the top.I just now found a large enough bush for me to hide in. I’m now hiding on the outskirts of the arena. Hopefully no one will find me here.  I slowly started to crawl out from under the bush. AHHHHH!! I  stopped dead in my tracks from the sound of a screaming victim, my heart was beating out of my chest. I turned and made sure that whoever was on the move wasn’t near me. I snatched my bow and arrow before leaving. I peered through the bush and saw a tall boy, marching around with a smug look on his face. He had a few splatters of blood on his arms and legs, I could help but think that he was the killer. I quickly slithered back into the large shrub. I held my breath so he wouldn’t notice me. I heard the crunching of the leaves that he was walking on. The sound was like the chewing of potato chips.I sat silently listening to the distant crunch, crunch, crunch. I heard another rustle in the bushes across from mine.

I hesitantly looked over the bush and saw not a tribute but a small white and black monkey. He started crawling toward me. I looked to my left and saw a small banana from the tree beside me. As I grabbed it, he seemed to gain interest in the long, yellow fruit. He frolicked toward me and stopped to stare at me with his big dark brown eyes. He stared at the ripe fruit in my hand and started to climb my shoulder to get it. I started to peel the fruit and feed it to the primate. He enjoyed the fresh crescent. I noticed no movement around me, so I started to crawl away, I turned and saw the monkey following me. I ignored it and settled under another large bush. I felt something soft on my arm, I looked down and saw a gigantic tarantula crawling up my arm. I started hyperventilating. I started to feel dizzy and sleepy. I saw a small arm just before drifting into a seamless sleep.

I stood on the cold, rigid metal circle awaiting the gong. I looked around and saw the other tributes who had focused faces with a glimmer of fear in their eyes. Me ,on the other hand was as scared as a turkey in November. I was shaking like an earthquake, I was so nervous. Not only because of the chance of getting killed, but because we were in an arena with a Costa Rican theme. Costa Rica is the home of spiders and being extremely arachnophobic I wondered if it would be the other tributes that would get to me first.

As I’m standing on the circle I realize I don’t have a plan. I start thinking about what I’m going to do once the gong chimes. My top priority is to survive, so I decide to try and find a place to hide first. I know I’m not the fastest runner but I’ll try my best. Once I find a place to hide I’ll come up with the rest of my plan. I could smell the coconuts and waxy palm fronds that surrounded me. The aromas reminded me of my mother’s freshly baked coconut cream pie. I closed my eye pretending I was home again. The sour smell of sweat soaked fear broke the trance. Realization sunk in. I was just seconds away from battling others my age, some even from my district. Then I heard the echoing ring of the gong.

Today I met with the Gamemakers. When I was waiting I was shaking so much that I’m pretty sure that everyone felt an earthquake. I was pacing back and forth, most likely creating a draft. I guess I could be considered better then most of the other tributes. Some looked they were ready to kill. Others looked scared out of their minds. I on the other hand was in-between. I just wanted everything to just be over. I waited a few more minutes and heard “Ariana Woods”.

I was lead by a tall, lean man dressed in white down the dark narrow hallway. As I continued down the hall it srm as though the walls were getting more and more narrow. We finally reached our destination, which was a huge white room covered in computers and screens that displayed pictures of the arena along with photos of all the tributes, including myself. I was guided by the man again to a seat, and was told to sit down. I sitting for about ten minutes  and everyone in the room was just observing me. I start to get even more nervous, and I started sweating and I thought that I would sweat so much I would down everyone. I finally was spoken to by a plump lady, she told me to relax. I started to loosen up, and was  then attacked my measuring tape. It felt like I was being attacked by an octopus. The tape measures slowly started to disappear. I was still in shock but got the courage to ask what the meaning of that was.  I was answered by a man in the back of the room. He said that they needed measurements so that my outfit could be created. My wrist was grande and I let out a little scream. I stopped screaming when I realized that it was just the man who guided me down here. He took my wrist again and lead me out of the room. Once I got to the other end of the hall and back to where everyone was waiting anxiously, I started trembling like an earthquake, everything now was beginning to feel even more like reality. I couldn’t wait for the Hunger Games to be over.

I was waiting in the huge crowd of people, hoping that I wouldn’t be chosen. A few names were announced, none of them were mine. Another name was called “Ariana Woods”. I felt like all the air was taken out of me. I was like a statue, I couldn’t move. I regained feeling and looked around at everyone’s reactions. Some showed fear others showed relief. Then it hit me, I was a tribute against others in my district. I didn’t want to go against friends from my district. I wondered what my friends were thinking, more importantly my family. I was hoping that they weren’t concerned, or feel sorry for me. I really felt bad for my mom, considering that I am her only child. The others around me were called and had the same reaction I did. It was like we had just seen a man eating monster.

Once all of the tributes were called everyone turned into ghosts, pale and like the life was taken out of them. I probably looked the same, or at least that’s how I felt. We all stood there in shock. No one thought that one day we would all become competing against each other. It was the worst feeling knowing that I would have to possibly kill a friend.

When I finally settle down and went out of shock I looked around and saw nothing but scared zombies, lifeless looking creatures with nervous and panicked faces. I wondered if I looked the same or normal again. I could see others from my district giving me dirty looks. At one point I felt like all eyes were on me. It felt the same as when my name was pulled. I hated the feeling. I wanted to run and hide, to avoid the upcoming battle. I knew I couldn’t though. I know that there is no backing out of this.