8th Arena Description

Once the interviews have concluded and the tributes have been returned to their rooms for the night, the Capitol informs everyone who is watching from all across Panem that they have a special prize in store for them: a reveal of the arena the tributes will begin fighting in the next day.

Every camera will be focused on the giant tarp with the above picture of a minotaur head printed onto it. The live crowd's energy will feel electric- a first hand reveal! The first to see it in its completed glory! As they all begin to chant over and over, "Reveal the arena! Reveal the arena!" they become aware of what an honor it is to be part of such a historic event.

The tarp will be removed to showcase a huge, prospering hedge maze below. The walls are ten feet tall, easy, and splitting off in hundreds of different directions. There look to be about 30 or 40 wrought iron gates scattered throughout, and even from the worst seats in the building one could make out the locked padlocks on each.

At its heart, there is a large, open courtyard filled with lush (potentially fake) grass. On either end of the space, there are two empty tables, long and narrow and perfectly symmetrical. As well, the courtyard showcases two identical oversized bird cages, completely empty. This courtyard is where tributes will have their first fights.

Tributes will find that the hedges are completely unclimbable, and that within the hedges are wrought iron walls to discourage the possibility of cheating or accessing areas a tribute ought not have access to just yet.

Once the cheering has settled and the awe has set in, things are only silent for a very short moment. And then, in the final moments before the cameras go black, a gut-wrenching, horrifying shriek of something ungodly rattles the very floors from somewhere within the maze.