Soon
Everyone had been ushered into a line the next morning after breakfast. The head trainer, Taz, led everyone onto a train. Carmilla sat in the back so Laura slid into the seat across from her. They were silent for the first half of the ride, looking out the window. The train winded through the districts for hours. "What do you think the arena will be like?" Laura asked.
"I have no idea, cutie. Usually it's vastly different from the last one, and since the last was a jungle... An icy tundra maybe?"
Laura shivered at the thought. She knew the game masters could be ruthless and merciless. If no one was killed in two days or more, they were known to unleash a huge natural disaster. One time, they'd gone too far with a volcanic eruption that covered the whole arena. Everyone had died and there'd been no victor. They were more restrained after the incident, but still tried to make surviving as hard as possible for them.
"Hey, look how green it is out there." Laura pointed out the window to the miles of wilderness the train flew past. They had just exited the last district. The arena was some miles away from the districts, enough to be hard to get to before discovered is all she knew. They also cloaked it in some invisibility tech in case a crazy person tried to get in for some reason. There were guards, of course, but Laura was uncertain where. Maybe they were also invisible?
Carmilla's reply shook her from her thoughts. "Yeah, it is green. The districts have plant life and parks, you know. But this seems much more beautiful. Not as... controlled as the small forests and such in our home."
Laura definitely agreed. She was surprised when the train sped up and disappeared down into a tunnel. The tunnel was on a slight slope for a bit before evening out. They were under the arena now. The other tributes were getting rowdy and somehow appeared somewhat excited.
Carmilla scoffed at them. "They're stupid. This is a death sentence, not a party." Laura nodded and then gulped when the train slowed to a stop. As they got out, she couldn't help but grab for Carmilla's hand. She needed something to hold onto to stop the shaking.
Taz and some other official guy in a suit led the twenty-two of them to a long table. There were plates of food set out. "You may eat and in two hours we'll take you to the tubes." The official guy said in a gruff tone. He coughed and then gave them a serious look. "I am Game Master Plum. Game Master Vordenburg will be here in..." He stopped to glance at his expensive-looking watch. "Thirty minutes. He'll explain the tubes and all, as if you don't already know. But, as always, we must take precautions. Anyways..." He had a brief coughing fit before continuing. Laura shifted her feet awkwardly while gazing over at the table of food.
"I'm here to say that there has been a change. Sponsorships are no longer allowed. Betting is still on, but we game masters have agreed it's a waste of resources to send food and such to kids who will very likely die soon." He waved his hand to silence the whispering and shocked murmurs. "You may now enjoy some food and drink. May the odds be ever in your favor, of course."
He had a twinkle in his eye as he strode away from the table to a door. He spoke into a communication device and the door unlocked with a loud twang. He winked at them before shutting it behind him.
He seemed pleased that the games had been made even harder for them.
The whole meal, everyone was talking about the news. Some who wouldn't have had sponsors were glad. Most were outraged that one of their resources had been cut off.
Laura was unsure how to feel about it. On one hand, the games were more fair. But now they had no help. They were all on their own.
Just like Plum had said, Vordenburg arrived promptly thirty minutes later. Most of them were done eating, but they soon finished as he recounted a tale of a previous games. It was a much un-needed spiel, yet he insisted it would "bring insight and ideas" to them. It seemed more like he just wanted to tell stories.
Ten minutes of rambling went by before a guard interrupted. "Sir," he said nervously. "The Games are soon and the Game Masters need you up in HQ. They suggest you hurry it up."
At Vordenburg's scathing look, the guard apologized quickly and left to return to his post.
"Okay, children," He started, ignoring the fact that a lot of them were adults. "It's very simple. You step in the tube assigned to you. You are then sent up. No matter what, don't step off your starting platform when you are up there until the games start. If you do, you die. There will be a one minute countdown. When it's over you can step off the platform."
He hesitated for a few moments. "Ah, yes. A cannon boom signals a death. There will be no cannon booms on the first day until the night when the deaths are shown projected in the sky. That is because there is always deaths occurring in a row and at the same time the first day. The projections in the sky will show the district number of the fallen tribute and a picture of them, along with their name. Any questions?"
An older guy with big muscles raised his hand. Laura recognized him from when he helped her at the camouflage station once. Mike, the oldest tribute.
"Yes?" Vordenburg asked.
"Can you throw, for example, a shirt out of your platform circle during countdown?"
The Gamemaster frowned and thought it over. "No, well you could but it wouldn't have any effect and you'd be down a shirt for no reason. Anything that leaves the platform you are on before the countdown ends is turned to ash. Any other questions before I go?"
There were none so he headed out with a guard.
Laura was terrified already. Her chances of survival were slim. She wandered over to Carmilla who was sat in the corner of the room. (They were told to mill about and talk until the time came for them to go up. This was presumably a time for last minute strategizing.) She drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them like Carmilla had.
"What's your favorite color? I assumed black but I never asked so..." Laura trailed off.
Carmilla glanced up at her in surprise. "A strange question before we go get killed in an arena, but my favorite color is dark green."
She could barely hear Laura mutter "such a slytherin answer."
"What's yours?" Carmilla asked.
"Oh, uh... yellow."
Carmilla snorted. "Hufflepuff."
Laura stared at her incredulously before poking her in the side. "You read Harry Potter?" she squealed.
"Watched the movies, creampuff. And they were terrible."
Laura appeared offended by this but simply put her arm around her friend, bringing her closer. "I'm going to make you read them after we get out of here, you know."
"On my dead body, cutie."
Laura knew she was joking but couldn't help but think what would happen if Carmilla died in the arena. Without her there was no way Laura would win.
They sat in silence for a while until Carmilla leaned her head on Laura's shoulder. "It'll be okay," she whispered.
Laura nodded and glanced up at the giant clock on the wall. "We should make a strategy," she suggested. After all, there was about an hour left until the Games started.
Carmilla mumbled something about "winging it" and Laura hit her shoulder. "Carm! You have to be serious about this." Carmilla apologized after seeing the intensity in Laura's eyes.
"Well, I can gather some necessities like water and food while you grab a weapon or two. Oh, and we'll have to get a backpack."
Laura nodded. "Then, we should run as far as possible until night time."
"What if we get separated or... one of us dies?"
"That won't happen."
Carmilla scoffed. "Come on Creampuff. We can try our best but things happen."
Laura sighed. "Fine. We should meet at the top left corner if we get separated. And if one of us dies, the other can take the stuff and run. But it won't happen, Carm"
"Top left corner? How will we know where that is?"
"The side that the Cornucopia faces will be North, and the back will be South."
They continued talking (and arguing) over strategies until guards flooded the room to escort them to their tubes. Carmilla grabbed Laura's hand and kissed it. "For good luck," she said. Laura felt a strange sense of both happiness and anxiety at the same time.
She could lose her new best friend in the arena. She could die. But if she wasn't here, she probably would have never been friends with Carm. Truthfully, she felt more than friendship for her, but now was the worst time to pursue that kind of thing. It still warmed her heart to think of having Carmilla by her side in the Games.
Laura was shaken from her thoughts by a guard roughly shoving her into a tube. A nasally voice reiterated what Vordenburg had already said about not stepping off the platform. Then, the bottom of the tube began to rise. A thrill ran through her. They would see the arena soon. Laura was a curious person by heart, and the question of "what does it look like" had plagued her almost as much as "how will I survive?". After all, the two questions go hand in hand.
The platform clicked as it set into the above area's ground. Laura gasped and looked around in awe and terror. Her eyes then met Carmilla's and stayed there until the countdown ended. There was no way she would lose her in the first day.