by Emily Seife
The windows of the hovercraft darken as the vehicle approaches the arena, so that the location will be obscured. It pulls into an underground bunker. Each tribute is escorted by Peacekeepers down a long hall and into their private Launch Room, marked with their ID: “FEMALE 12.”
LAUNCH ROOM
The Launch Rooms are located directly underneath the arena — below the Cornucopia. They are brand-new. The arenas are used only once, then designated as historic sites. Preserved, they become popular vacation destinations for Capitol travelers. So this is the only time these rooms will be used by tributes.
In the Launch Rooms, the tributes receive their clothes for the Games. The outfits are the same for all the tributes, but each district has a distinct color to distinguish them in the arena.
Each tribute has a moment alone with his or her stylist in the Launch Room before being brought up to the surface. They may exchange a few private words, a few last pieces of encouragement.
Once ready, the tributes go stand in the cylindrical tubes that will bring them up to the arena. The twenty-four cylinders begin to rise. For fifteen seconds, the tributes stand in utter darkness, hearts pounding. Then the metal plate pushes them out into the open air, to whatever future awaits.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Yon Elvira, Amanda Maes, and Douglas Lloyd at Lionsgate, and to David Levithan, Rick DeMonico, Paul Banks, Erin Black, and Lindsay Walter at Scholastic.
And with much gratitude to Suzanne Collins.
— E.S.
Copyright © 2012 by Scholastic Inc.
Unless otherwise credited Motion Picture Artwork and Photography © 2012 Lions Gate Films Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Front cover photography by Tim Palen
Unit photography by Murray Close
Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011945837
ISBN 978-0-545-470070-0
First edition, March 2012
This book was designed by Rick DeMonico
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
