The smell of the salty waves brings butterflies to my stomach, meaning a new season filled with warmth and happiness. Now, the salty smell brings an empty feeling to me. From the second I stepped on the metal plate in a clear plastic tube that would bring me up to the arena, I smelled the seaweed and sea air. I began to rack my brain with ways I would use the tropical arena to my advantage. The countdown began, a loud beeping and a deep voice counting down from 60. The metal plate started to rise, carrying my body up slightly, until I was standing on a single plate in the middle of the ocean. Cold water splashed up on my unsteady feet. The water was so clear and crystal blue, which made me feel like I should be on vacation, not about to murder other teenagers. The tributes around me all had pale faces, and nervous looks. The boy next to me was shaking uncontrollably, and I knew without a doubt he wouldn’t last long. The gong sounded, a shrill noise, meaning it was time to begin the killing.

I dove off my metal plate and swam with all my might to the shore. Salt water stung my eyes as I tried to see underwater. Tributes swam below me, trying to get the shore. I pulled up to surface, blinking away salty tears and tried to find the supplies, until I noticed a boy being stabbed to death, and I couldn’t help but feel badly for him. He had parents, and a life that was just taken for other’s entertainment. Finally, I pulled myself up on shore, coughing and sputtering. A skinny, tall girl was running toward me with a knife. I panicked, but did not want to back down, catching her in a tackle before she could attack me. We wrestled, until I was back down on the wet, cold sand. I ripped the knife from her hand, stabbing her in the arm. After she was lying down, dying, I pulled away and gasped. I was unaware that I could hurt anyone, let alone kill a girl. All the tributes had abandoned the shore, except two girls. I remembered seeing them at training, and we had discussed being allies. Their names were Tammy and Yolanda. I knew having them as my allies would be a great help, due to all the supplies and weapons they had collected. Luckily, they approached me before I did them. They agreed that being allies would be a good idea. They pointed to my blood dripping knife, and asked how many I had killed so far. After answering “only one”, I gripped the cold, smooth handle of the knife, looking down at the object I just used to murder someone, and knew this may not be as difficult as I thought.