𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯.

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Waking up the next morning was dreadful for Juniper. She had dragged herself out of bed, and when Amirah had showed up to make breakfast, she didn't even want to eat at first.

It took some convincing to get some food in her stomach, and Juniper ended up eating a good amount. 

The morning was quiet, Wade hadn't spoken much either, he just silently ate his food like everybody else. Finnick and Mags had no advice to give out, and Serenity noticed everyones worry.

"Well, you two must be off." Serenity said with a frown. "I know you two will do your best, and we will all be cheering you on, okay?" She smiled, earning a small side smile from Wade.

"Thanks, Serenity." said Wade. Serenity nodded, getting up from her seat. Wade and Juniper followed her actions. 

Wade and Juniper followed Serenity, Amirah, Finnick, and Mags outside. Finnick repeated some advice he gave a few days ago and what exactly to avoid in the arena. Wade and Juniper listened very closely, making sure not to miss anything he said.

Eventually, the group had made it outside and saw a giant hovercraft waiting for them. They noticed a few other groups also making their way outside and standing with their escorts.

Wade and Juniper stood awkwardly facing their friends, not knowing what to say.

"Well, Kai is waiting for you there already, Wade." Amirah said. Wade nodded, and began speaking to Finnick. Amirah took a few steps closer to Juniper. "I'll meet you there, okay? I'll be the one sending you up." 

"Thanks, Mira." Juniper smiled, and Amirah frowned, tackling her friend into a hug. 

"The games change people, please don't let it change you." Amirah whispered, letting go of the hug a few moments later. Juniper nodded.

Finnick came over to Juniper next, giving her a hug. Their hug lasted a little bit too long, which made Amirah smirk, but eventually, they let go.

"People will try to turn you against your friends. But in the end, it's your choice, okay?" Finnick whispered, smiling. Juniper nodded.

"Well, you two better be off." Finnick said. "Remember everything you learned, everything is important when you get in that arena. Good luck." He gave a small smile, but Juniper noticed the sadness in his eyes. 

Juniper looked towards the arm a needle had put into just before. She looked herself in the mirror, she was alone in a room with a glass container. She was dressed in black cargo pants and a black shirt. She had a camo jacket laying over her shoulders, and pretty heavy boots on- which she didn't like.

She heard a knock at the door, and a second later Amirah walked in.

"Everything fit good?" Amirah asked, Juniper nodded.

"What do you think?" Juniper gave a small spin, smiling. "Not the normal thing you dress me in, I guess."

"I think you won't have to deal with any harsh cold conditions, maybe at night though. Not hot either." Amirah fixed up Juniper's jacket and zipped it up slightly. "You don't want to lose this." 

"I won't." Juniper smiled. 

"I have something for you." Amirah said, pulling a golden bracelet out of her pocket and slipping it around Junipers wrist. Juniper examined the bracelet.

"It's a snake." said the stylist. The golden bracelet had dark scales embedded into it, and had green gemstones for eyes. "Gift from the gamemakers, they told me."

"I love it." 

"60 seconds to launch." Voiced the intercom.

Juniper took a shaky deep breath, walking towards the glass container, but not stepping inside.

"You'll do great, just remember everything you learned. Get what you need and get out of there. Be careful, watch your step." Amirah whispered the last part which Juniper found strange, but agreed with her.

Amirah Belle gave her friend one final hug before Juniper stepped into the container and the door sealed shut behind her. Juniper looked up to see nothing but darkness.

Juniper laid her hand against the glass and Amirah copied her. Juniper couldn't hear her friend anymore, but knew she mouthed the words 'Good luck' to her. The tribute smiled.

The tube started moving upwards, and Juniper took her hand off the tube and was looking up above her. The piece concealing her inside the tube was now gone, and she noticed a bright blue sky.

As her podium continued to raise up and eventually stop, she took in the terrain as the clock counted down. It was a giant flower field, no trees in sight, only flowers. The area surrounding the cornucopia had some smaller flowers. Beyond the podiums and tributes, the flowers were as tall as them, it would be impossible to see anyone beyond it. 

The cornucopia was made of metal, and it covered a small portion of the center. Backpacks and weapons were under the roof of the structure and also outside of it.

As the clock continued to count down, Juniper looked around. She didn't see Wade, but she saw Sylvia and Sawyer near her. Sylvia smiled at Juniper, waving to her. 

As the clock hit zero, Juniper started running to the cornucopia. All of a sudden, an explosion sounded and everyone stopped moving. Juniper realized there was landmines. When the arena got quiet, she focused on the sounds around her. She heard small sounds coming from the ground. 

Juniper noticed a lot of the tributes were completely gone. After the explosion had killed someone, they had all turned around and left the middle. Juniper saw Sylvia jumping around some spots, grabbing a backpack. 

"Sylvia, behind you!" Juniper yelled. Sylvia turned to meet with Alexa, the girl from District 3. Alexa went to reach for Sylvia's things, but Sylvia grabbed a dagger and stabbed her in the stomach.

Sylvia gave a thumbs up and ran into the flower field with Sawyer following behind.

Juniper looked closely at the ground and noticed you could see where some landmines were due to the unevenness of the ground. She stepped over the spots, hoping she was right. 

She eventually made it to the middle, grabbing a backpack and chakrams. She grabbed a belt full of Kunai nearby as well.

Juniper looked around for her alliances, but they were completely gone besides the careers. She noticed Maverick standing over the District Five boy, he was dead. Wade had also gotten done fighting the District Six girl. 

"Adrian!" Livia yelled. Juniper turned, holding a Kunai in her hand. Adrian had completely slashed open the District Nine boys stomach. And Livia shot the District Nine girl in the chest. 

"Well, that was certainly a turn of events." Wade stretched, wiping some blood off his hands. "Didn't expect landmines."

"Me neither, you think killing one another is enough, and they throw landmines into the mix!" Elysia laughed. Livia laughed to this as well, with the rest of the careers. Juniper just stood there, disgusted.

The girl who had been blown up was from District 10. She didn't even get a chance to fight for her life. However, only one will make it out, and if Juniper was being honest, it was probably nice to go early rather than later.

"Anyone got any food in their bags?" Maverick said. "I could go for a snack."

"Why are you always eating?" Elysia said.

"What? Can a man not be hungry?" He questioned. Elysia rolled her eyes and groaned, looking through some backpacks.

"Did anyone grab anything from the cornucopia that we didn't kill?" Adrian asked. Livia shook her head and Elysia shrugged. Juniper remembered Sylvia and her's interaction.

"I didn't see anyone." Juniper shrugged. 

"Good, we have everything to ourselves. Everyone ran after the landmine went off, what a bunch of scaredy cats." Adrian laughed, pulling some crackers out of a bag and eating them. He had blood on his hands, yet he was eating with the same hands. Juniper cringed, turning away.

Adrian and Maverick were sat down with one another talking amongst themselves and eating, while Livia and Elysia did the same in another area. Leaving Wade and Juniper to themselves, not really knowing what to do.

"I know you saw Sylvia grab that bag." Wade whispered.

"So?" Juniper whispered. "It's none of your business."

"You can't ally with everyone." Wade scolded the girl and she rolled her eyes, not wanting to hear from him anymore. She realized only one would be escaping, she knew that, but she wanted to try and delay the inevitable. 

Juniper heard something in her right ear and immediately turned to see what it was. She saw some flowers moving, and saw a tribute with a weapon in hand. 

"Livia, watch out!" Juniper shouted. Juniper grabbed a kunai from her belt and threw it where she last saw the tribute. It disappeared into the field, and a body hitting the ground was heard. Juniper and Wade ran over to the two career girls, who were shocked at what had just happened.

"What the hell? Who was that?!" Livia yelled. Juniper looked at the body that laid in the flowers. She couldn't see his face, but she killed him. She didn't even know him. Her grip tightened the chakram in her right hand.

She noticed more movement a young girl made her way out of the flowers, holding a stick and a small knife in her hand, trying to attack Elysia from behind.

Juniper jumped forward and sliced through her chest, and the girl gasped as she saw blood coming from her shirt and collapsed. 

It was the girl from District Eight. The boy she killed must've been her district partner, then.

Juniper was breathing heavily, realizing what she had done. She had taking the life of two innocent children, yet she didn't feel like a monster. She wiped the blood off of her weapon.

"Thanks for that, holy crap." Elysia said, dusting off her clothing- standing up. "How did you know they were there?"

"Juniper has like enhanced senses. She knows you're there before you can even do anything about it." Wade said. "It's cool, really."

"Remind me not to get on your bad side." Livia laughed. Juniper smiled, her gaze returned to the dead girl on the ground and she frowned.

Wade put a hand on the girls back and turned her around and away from the scene.

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