Cheers engulf me as I volunteer for tribute of the 74th annual Hunger Games. They all know that I am going to win.

I stumble onto the train with a headache and lie down on the couch. I take a look around; the train is exactly like they described it at the Academy. It's full of bright colors, odd food and drink, and the nicest furniture you will ever see. I close my eyes, and fall asleep for awhile.

When I open my eyes I first feel the knife at my throat. A second later my eyes focus on the dark deadly stare of my partner-to-be, Clove. Clove is a skinny girl, with dark hair and even darker eyes. She also has an obsession with knives. It is then that I notice the knife in her other hand, the knife in her belt, and the knife peeking out of her boot.

I don't know Clove that well as a person, all I know is that she is fierce, strong, and deadly. At the Academy I had seen her practicing, so I know that if you are one of her victims the chances of survival are very slim. I have never spoken to her and she has never spoken to me, that is, until now.

"You know Cato; you really aren't as 'hot' as all the girls say you are. They always talk about your 'beautiful' blond hair, and 'icy, cold' blue eyes, but all I see is an arrogant asshole." I push her off of me. She may be strong, but I'm stronger.

She spits at me, "What the fuck was that for?" Her eyes are sharp; her hand tightens around the knife in her hand. She throws the knife at my head. I barely get out of the way. I quickly turn and watch as the knife sinks into the picture of President Snow, right between his eyes, so even if she had missed her initial target, she still has amazing aim.

Right then our chirpy escort, Athena, walks in with our mentors Brutus, Enobaria and Lyme.

Athena annoys the shit out of me, with her odd colored skin, her hundreds of wigs, and her strange Capitol accent. Brutus, on the other hand, is the type of guy I would want to be. He has strong features and rippling muscles that look like they can push down a tree. Enobaria is the only person in all of Panem who can scare me, with her sharp, altered teeth, and sharp and bony structure. Lastly, there is Lyme and there is just something about her that makes me not trust her, but I can't put my finger on it.

"You fucking bastard," I suddenly hear Clove say under her breath.

I turn back towards her, "Me? I'm the bastard? You were the one who tried to kill me, but instead you killed the President!" I add quietly, "You're such a bitch."

I take a step closer to her, she cowers slightly, and I smirk. I couldn't actually hurt her, not yet at least; she would be a very useful ally, at least in the first half of the games.

Brutus's voice thunders from behind me, "Well, I see you two are friends now." He laughs at his own joke, but he laughs alone.

"On a brighter note," Athena says happily, "from what I have heard, the rest of the tributes are pretty pathetic, so you two will have to put on a good show for Panem. Although, not all the reapings are done yet, I think all they are probably half way through with District 12 by now, and who knows there might be a surprise from there!" Everyone laughs, even Clove, because we all know that District 12 is pathetic. They have only had two victors that I know of in the 74 years of the Hunger Games, and one of them is dead and the other is a drunk. All the tributes that come from there always die within the first day.

"Now, now, we don't want to jump to conclusions," Lyme chuckled, "They might last the night in the Arena." We all laugh harder.

"Primrose Everdeen!"

"I VOLUNTEER! I volunteer as tribute!"

"Now what is your name?"

"Katniss, Katniss Everdeen."

"Now, if I am not mistaken that was your sister."

"Yes...it was."

"Well, lets hear it for District Twelve's very first volunteer!"

Silence, no clapping, everyone kisses their three middle fingers and holds it up to Everdeen.

"Well, then...now onto the male tribute."

Clove, Athena, Brutus, Lyme, Enobaria, and I stare at the screen, stunned.

Enobaria was the first to speak after a few silent minutes, "She's probably not a threat; she was just protecting her sister." Everyone nods in agreement.

I know differently, I saw the way she walked. She was quick on her feet and quiet. Her eyes were sharp and keen, even when she was thrown off guard. Her brown hair braided back out of her way, lined her face perfectly. She is strong, but as light as a feather. She's not a killer, she's a hunter.

Clove's voice brought me back to reality. "I'll just kill her in the bloodbath." Clove starts pacing around the room, probably trying to decide how she wants to kill her.

Brutus says to Clove: "Don't make it too brutal. I've talked with their mentor Haymitch in the past and he's had enough dead tributes on his shoulders, so make it quick." Clove tries to protest. Brutus stops her by putting up his hand, indicating that he doesn't give a fuck.

Right then I turn to Lyme, who usually wouldn't be this quiet. She's staring at me. My instincts tell me to just kill her right now. I couldn't get over this feeling of distrust I have towards her, but before I have time to act she says: "Cato, can I have a word with you in the other room?" I carefully nod.

She leads me into a part of the train that I would probably never go in. It was full of boxes and dust. It smelled stale and it has obviously not been used for ages. Dust lines everything in sight and our movements make it drift up into the air, making me want to sneeze. I look at a box and see is has an emblem on it, I squint through the blinding dust and see it says "DISTRICT 13". I look at the other boxes and see that they all say the same. It must not be true; District 13 was blown up into tiny pieces about 75 years ago to end the rebellion.

I ask Lyme, "Why do all these boxes say 'District 13' on them?"

"Well..." She starts, "This must be an older train, and they never got rid of the boxes from way back..." I can tell that she is lying but I feel that I don't want to know the truth.

I shake it off and get to the point "Why did you want to talk to me?"

"Because, Cato, you were the only one who saw it."

"Saw what?" I try to act like I don't know what she is talking about.

"The fire in that girl, she is a real danger if you want to win."

"Nobody will get in my way."

"I wouldn't be too sure! You can win this, but you will have to stay focused and just kill her the second you get the chance." I nod then turn around and walk back to the room where everyone is, not wanting to talk to her anymore.