I cracked my eyes open. A groan escaped my lips as I stirred, lifting myself up. My head throbbed and my muscles ached. I examined my new surroundings. My body was resting on a threadbare doctor's bed. The room had no windows and a stainless steel door. The baby blue wallpaper was peeling at the base. I started to feel claustrophobic in the room. Why was it so bolted up?

I slid my legs onto the edge of the mattress, swinging them as my bare feet was stung by the cold. I looked down at my toes. Where did my shoes go? I slid off the bed completely. My eyes widened. Instead of my normal jeans and jacket, I was in a thin white nightgown. I shrieked, hopping back under the covers.

"It's fine Katherine, no one else is here," I turned my head to the familiar voice. The three guys in the black suits were standing next to a wall. Jeffrey and the guy with the dark skin had their shades on and were standing with perfect posture, while the other guy leaned casually on the wall, his sunglasses tucked into his collar. He looked at me with icy blue eyes. I felt goosebumps crawl up my arms.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

Jeffrey shrugged. "We were ordered to wait for you to wake up so that we could escort you to the Main Hall."

"Well, do you guys have something for me to change into?" I hugged the blanket closer to my chest. The one leaning on the wall cracked a small smile. It was barely there, but it was visible. My blood started to bubble at his amusement.

"Why, are you scared?" he questioned me. His eyes seemed to laugh at me. I felt my ears turn hot. I glared at him. I didn't really know his name. Or the other guy. I'd call them Thing One, Thing Two, and Jeff. The new three Stooges.

"That's enough, Marcus," Thing Two said. Thing One - was now known as Marcus - rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

Jeffrey ignored the two. "There are clothes over there," he pointed at a table that had a pair of clothes neatly folded into a square shape. "Just call us once you're finished, Katherine."

"Can you just call me Kat?" I asked. "I don't go by Katherine."

"Whatever you want," Thing Two told me. I bit my lip. Out of the three, he seemed to be the only one that was truly emotionless. I wondered if he even had a name.

"Let's go, Anthony," Jeffrey told him. Nevermind. The three men walked out. I threw the nightgown off before sliding the clothes on. To my disgust, they fitted perfectly. I slipped on a pair of black leather combat boots that were under the table. It felt weird without socks, but I guess that I couldn't have everything.

The door opened and Marcus slid into the room.

"I could've still been changing, you know," I pointed out.

"Why do you care?" he replied with a shrug. I rolled my eyes and tied my shoelaces.

"Are you ready?" Marcus asked impatiently. I nodded, a grin sliding on my face. He led me outside the room where Anthony and Jeffrey were standing. They nodded at Marcus before leaving the other direction. Marcus ignored it and continued walking. I jogged to catch up to him.

The Main Hall wasn't either main or a hall.

It was a large room, filled with what I assumed to be over forty people in clothes similar to mine. Black shirts, windbreakers, khakis, and black combat boots. They all stood awkwardly in a clump in the center of the room. I glanced around at my surroundings, about forty-nine more doors. An armed guard stood sentry at each entrance. I swore I saw a sniper-camera.

I felt a hard elbow nudge my back and I stumbled forward. I whipped my head and sent a dirty look at Marcus, who wore an innocent look. Oh please, he looked no more innocent than a rabid pit bull.

I rolled my eyes, getting the hint that he wanted me to leave him alone. I slipped in between a couple people, trying to blend in. A couple kids around my age were having friendly conversations, while others glared at people, thinking about how they'd stop them from passing the obstacles. I shuddered and ignored them as I tried to get to the other side of the room.

Mores shoulders and elbows rammed into me as I walked. I felt like a five-year-old trying to find my parents at Disneyland, lost and confused, trying not to cry. I finally survived the mob and pressed myself to the wall, sucking in a breath of air. My chest lifted up and down heavily. The room started to spin as the noise of chatter continued. I chewed on my fingernails, nearly hitting the nub of my ring finger.

"That's a bad habit," someone said. I looked up from my hand to see a pale faced boy. He looked no older than I was. Thick black glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. His dirty blonde hair was freshly clipped, his green-blue eyes darted to the floor. Auburn freckles dotted his cheeks, reminding me of sprinkles.

"Yeah I know. I only do it when I'm extremely nervous." I replied smoothly, running a hand through my scarlet hair.

"Well, I don't think you want to do it here," he pointed out. "You see those cameras?" He pointed a thin finger towards one of the cameras. "Those cameras are live." My eyes widened. I forgot all about everyone around the world watching us as we would nearly fall to our deaths.

Great, I knew how Katniss felt.

I smoothed my hair back down and prayed I didn't have a zit. Because hey, you have to look nice on camera before everyone saw me slipping on something and dying. Probably something like a rock, or being me, on my own feet.

I ignored the cameras and turned back to the boy, "I'm Kat."

"Aster," He stuck out his hand. "I'm from Nevada."

I forced a closed lip smile onto my face. "New York."

Aster's eyes lit up. "I was wondering when I would be able to meet the New Yorker who tried to beat up three guys and escape." I rolled my eyes. The news got spread around quickly.

"Um, yeah. That's me," I nervously said. "I thought I was getting kidnapped."

"Didn't you get the hologram?" Aster asked me, cocking his head. I shook my head. "That's weird, everyone got it. Except for the old school people that preferred it emailed. Did you get an email?"

I shook my head.

"Well, maybe it was just a mistake then."

I nodded, trying to drop the subject. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I had been wondering the same thing, too. It wasn't like there wasn't a notification if I was attending The Game Master's Course. It's what kept people up at night. Dreading the moment when someone would take them in the middle of the night and their families would wake up to their empty beds. It's what made so many people kill themselves for, just so that they wouldn't have to attend. Once your name was entered into the raffle, there was no going back. And besides, the Game Master never made mistakes.

I looked over Aster's shoulder to see a couple pair of eyes shooting daggers at us. I chewed the inside of my lip. Aster saw where I was glancing and turned around. He flashed me a reassuring smile.

"Oh, you're looking at them," he shot a thumb their way. "They're the Backstabbers this year."

The Backstabbers was a group that was formed a couple of years ago in Europe's course. They were a group that tried to kill off their competition. Once they hit the final course they all turned on each other and killed until there was only one person remaining. It was a way for them to survive, for most of the course. The Game Master didn't ban the Backstabbers because it was great entertainment.

Aster shrugged. "I've met a couple of them already. There's a kid from Texas, New Orleans, and Michigan. They seem pretty vicious and tough, but I don't think that they'll kill us on the first course."

One of the guys in the pack Aster pointed at turned his head to me, staring at me with blue beady eyes. He seemed to be at least eighteen. A tattoo slithered from under his shirt and wrapped around his ear. It looked like a dragon, the forked tongue nearly hitting the corner of his eye, its yellow eyes staring at me. Half of his head was shaved, leaving his dark red oily hair to cover one of his eyes. I shuddered at the thought of him snapping a tributes neck or shoving them underwater. I dreaded the thought of the Mushu tattoo being the last thing I'd ever see.

"So." Aster and my head nearly whipped simultaneously as we followed the voice. A guy with curly black hair and a strong jawline smirked, leaning on the wall. A guard glared at him. His arms were folded casually over his chest. Something about him reminded me of one of the Greek gods we learned about in sixth grade. It might've been the hair and the tan skin, but it might've been how charming he looked, too.

"I'm Aster," Aster grinned. "Who are you?"

"Alexander," he replied. He turned to me and grabbed my hand and kissed it. "But you can call me Alex."

"That's great," I ripped my hand away and turned to my pockets instinctively for hand sanitizer. I cursed under my breath. My sanitizer was in my ripped skinny jeans, which seemed to be nowhere to be found. I missed those jeans.

I suddenly remembered who he reminded me of. The god Dionysus, the one that could turn water into wine or whatever, or Hercules. I snorted. I suddenly blurted, "Do you like wine?" I clapped my hands over my mouth and blushed furiously.

"Hey, who doesn't like some wine?" Aster replied. He shrugged as I flashed him a dirty look. "I'm Catholic, I drink red wine."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Yeah, wine's okay. At church."

"Okay, let's not talk about alcohol on camera."

"You're right," Alex winked and blew a kiss at the camera. I wondered how many girls just fainted. I sure was not one of them. I sent him a scowl, my hand ready to slap him. I held the urge, though.

A girl with blonde hair and blue streaks walked up. I forced a smile. Great, new friends. "Hey, hot stuff." She smirked and batted her long eyelashes. I could see glue at the base of the crooked lashes, holding them up. Alex grinned. I rolled my eyes, but I felt relieved to have Alex be distracted.

"I'm Bella," she wrapped her hair around her finger, biting her bright pink lip.

"Alex," Alex replied. He grabbed her hand a placed his lips on it. Oh, so he does that to every girl.

"Cough, player, cough cough," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

Alex's eyes darted to me and narrowed. Aster was stifling a laugh but kept his wide smile on his face. I locked eyes with his, grinning with him.

All three of the people that were with me were gone. Alex and Bella were probably still talking, and Aster must've been pulled to get interviewed, or socializing with someone else. I shrugged and rested my head on the wall, sealing my eyes closed.

"Would the people with the state's names A through C please follow a guard to head to the training room," A loud voice boomed, silencing the crowd. A couple people left, following a man that was identical to Anthony, Marcus, and Jeffrey. Shaved heads and black suits.

I sighed. I was N, which meant that I had awhile until I would be able to leave. At least Aster would be with me in the training room. He seemed to be the nicest one there, anyways.

~~~

My heart rammed on my chest. A muddy path slithered through trees, going on until I couldn't see it any longer. I looked around at the other people, who were staring straight ahead, their eyes full of violence and fear. They would probably start running right now if the glass tube wasn't securing them inside. I waited for the signal and for the glass to lift so that I could run like a blind puppy until something stopped me. My only plan right then was to run and try to make it to the end.

"Ten," a calm woman's voice boomed through the atmosphere. I started to hop on the ball of my feet. I chewed on my lip, nearly tearing my gum off. The count off felt like slow motion as the blood pounded in my ears.

"Five."

I bent my knees into a small lunge, preparing myself to pounce and run. As long as I could make it to the first obstacle I'd probably be fine.

"Four."

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to get as much air in my lungs as possible. If it would be my last good breath of air, then so be it.

"Three."

I tried to look for a camera, anything, but they were all hidden.

"Two."

"I love you, Caden," I whispered.

"One."

The glass disappeared over my head and I broke out into a sprint, ignoring everyone as I headed for the trail; welcoming myself to the arms of death.

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