The year? 2059. 9 years after the destruction of life as we knew it. 9 years after a colossal psychic shockwave known as The Vast Glub tore through the universe, effectively killing almost every single troll, as well as destroying every known planet in the galaxy. Except for one. Alternia survived the shockwave, but at the cost of its resources. The shockwave killed all plants, and put the earth under it into shock, not allowing anything to grow forth from the ground. But it's not completely uninhabitable. There are 13 small areas, called districts, that still have the ability to produce drinking water and food. Along with different kinds of food, each district also has a particular service that only it could perform. 13 different districts, 13 different services. We citizens are responsible for performing the services, so all 13 districts can co exist. All of us work hard, day in and day out. All of us except…them. The 13th district. The 13th is what we refer to as the capitol. All they do is give out orders to the other districts. The other 12 do all the work, and the 13th gets 70% of the resources to make sure the inhabitants of the Capitol live posh, upper-class lives. They get 70% of all the food split up between all 13 districts as well. Leaving only 30% between 12 other districts puts everyone else above the poverty line. Not only do they suck the life out of surrounding areas, they also do terrible things to make us work for our living.

"Aradia! Come on!"

"Huh? Oh, I'm coming sis."

Where was I? Oh yeah. They go to extremes to make us work hard. But it doesn't get any lower than pitting children and young adults against each other in a battle to the death for the chance to give their families food and water. This disgusting ritual is called The Hunger Games, and it happens yearly. That's where me and my sister are headed towards right now. We are headed for the town square, where everyone gathers while the Capitol gives their speech and pick two names out of a giant bowl. The two people chosen are to participate in The Hunger Games for that year.

"Aradia, will you stop glaring at the flag pole? That's not going to stop the choosing of tributes."

I turned towards my sister. "Whatever, Eloria. I despise this ritual."

"Hey, at least you're off scotch free after these years' games. I still have 3 years before I no longer qualify."

She was right. the Hunger Games are only for kids between the ages of twelve to eighteen. After this year, I will no longer qualify as a tribute.

"That maybe the case, but there's thousands of people living in the district. The chances of you being picked is slim to none, Eloria."

"That's what all the other tributes' families said."

"Hey, I don't want that kind of attitude from you."

"What? It's true, and you know it Aradia."

"Come on, Eloria! Stay positive." I twirled around with her.

She laughed as she spun. "Fine, fine."

"Citizens of District 12!" a voice boomed. "Settle down for her grand highness, Queen Rose the second."

The crowd booed and a woman with long blonde hair, wearing a white dress with a white cape walked out of the corridor.

"District 12 Citizens! Welcome to the Tribute Selection for the 9th annual Hunger Games."

Another wave of boos erupted from the crowd. You see, that pompous blowhole up there is Rose Lalonde. After her mothers' passing, she took her place, and now she thinks she's all that. I held my sister's shoulders as I glared back up at the podium. Living in District 12 meant she was always the one who picked the tributes for us. I don't know why she has such an obsession with us. We were the News district. All we do is relay important news back and forth from district, to district. This district is absurdly boring, yet Lalonde always had some reason to visit us.

"The Hunger Games. A constant reminder of the Capitol's generosity and forgiveness. As you all know, the Hunger Games need two female members from this district. Where they will get the chance to bathe in riches, and be the prime example of the Capitol's kindness."

Kindness? What pathetic shit she's spewing. This is a terrible way to show their "kindness". We shouldn't have to fight each other to the death just to secure our futures.

Oh yeah, did I mention my district was made up of only girls? Yeah. Not a guy in town. We share this fate with districts 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8, while 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11 are made up of all guys. How do we reproduce you ask? We have to hold our romances between districts. It gets hard, but we learn to survive. If you're born in one of the female districts, you grow up without a father. If you live in one of the male districts, you grow up without a mother. You see, if a woman gets pregnant, the other women in the district help her out until the baby is born, with the father being allowed to visit occasionally. When the child is born, its residence is determined by whether it is a boy or a girl. If it's a boy, it goes with its father, with the mother not being allowed to visit the child, and vice versa. Just another twisted rule the Capitol made.

"Without further ado, we'll have our predetermined tribute come pick out the name of her teammate." Rose said with an evil smirk. She snapped, and two men brought out a hooded woman. One of them pulled off the hood, and the crowd gasped.

"THE HANDMAID!" Eloria cried.

"Oh my god…" I said as I covered my mouth with my hand.

You see, the Handmaid is the most well known woman in District 12. Everyone looks up to her as the mother of the district. She helps the poor, feeds the hungry, nurtures the young, and she's just an overall wonderful person. I can't believe she's going to be a tribute. Because as much as I hate to say it, she's getting older, the chances of her winning are pretty small.

"Hi everyone, I'm so sorry about this!" she said meekly with tears in her eyes. Everyone was speechless. To become the predetermined tribute, you had to have been the one who borrowed most from the Capitol that year. All she'd been doing that year was helping everyone else. Did that mean she borrowed from the Capitol to help everyone else instead of herself?

"Whatever, just pick the name out of the bowl already." Rose said snarkily.

The Handmaid glared at Rose and lowered her hand into the bowl. "I'm so sorry…" she paused and opened the sheet of paper. "Eloria Megido."

I gasped as I went numb. My sister. My little sister. Was picked as tribute.

"ARADIA! ARADIA!"

I snapped out of it, and saw Eloria get pulled away by two bulky security guards. "Eloria!" I ran towards the three of them before I was stopped by another guard. "STOP! LET ME GO! I VOLLUNTEER!"

The guard let me go. He looks surprised to say the least. "I volunteer as tribute."

"WHAT!" Rose roared angrily. Heh, good.

"I, Aradia Megido, volunteer as tribute in place of my younger sister, Eloria Megido."

Rose seethed. "Oh? And what makes you thi-"

"Let her do it." The Handmaid replied. "You already don't give us the opportunity to decide whether to join or not, you better let her take her younger sister's place if that's what she wishes."

Rose's mouth hung open indignantly. "Fine. Guards! Bring the elder one up here."

The guards redirected their attention towards me. I didn't care. I hugged Eloria as hard as I could. "Okay, Eloria, listen to me. I want you to run back to home to Mom and Auntie, and I want you to ddo your best to help out while I can't, alright?"

Eloria nodded as she sobbed. "Just-just promise me you'll try to win."

I smiled and wiped her tears. "Always." I kissed her cheek as she ran off.

"GUARDS! Hurry up!"

I glared up at her as the guards brought me up the stairs.

"Well, here they are. Your District 12 Tributes!"

The crowd wordlessly raised 3 fingers in a salute.

Rose looked flustered. "Happy Hunger Games!" Rose cheered WAY too sweetly. She turned, and leaned closer to my ear. "May the odds be EVER, in your favor." She whispered bitterly, as she walked back into the corridor, her cape flowing behind her. "Guards! Take them to the platforms!"

Both our arms were tied behind our backs, as they led us into the dark corridor.

"Aradia." The Handmaid said quietly.

"Yes, ma'am?" I replied curiously.

"I'm so sorry I got you into this."

"No, ma'am. It's not your fault. If anything, it's Rose's fault."

She chuckled weakly. "In any case, you have to fight. Fight for your sister, fight for the district. Fight for yourself." She dug into her robe pocket, and pulled out a gear-shaped pin.

I took it and looked at how it shined.

"Keep it as a symbol of your willpower, as well as mine. You need to do your best to win this, Aradia."

I looked serious, and nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"Good luck then." She said with a sad smile as-as the floor started moving?

"Ah!" I cried as I fell to the moving floor.

The Handmaid stood with her hands at her stomach, looking solemnly at Aradia as she moved away. "When you win, take everything at my home, and take my place as the District's caregiver. The pin will act like a key." She said as she disappeared into the dark.

I looked at the pin dumbfoundedly as I was dumped into a plastic tube.

Rose stomped into the Gamemakers' lounge.

"ROXY! Stop sucking on Dirk's face for a second and watch." She barked as she turned the monitors on.

The taller blonde stopped kissing her boyfriend and looked at the set of monitors, showing 1 screen per tribute. Her eyes wandered to the two screens at the bottom right corner. She looked at her sister.

"Ahh, I'm guessing 12 gave you a hard time, huh sis?

"Shut up and watch." She said as she typed something on the console. "Let the games, begin."

"Tributes. The games shall commence after the introductions. Please look at the screen above you." A voice said. I looked up and saw a large, hologram screen.

"District 1; Luxury. The Condesce, and Feferi Peixes." They looked like they were living a pretty high life. Regal clothing, make up, and gold. They also had gold tridents. They might be tougher than she thinks.

"District 2; Fishing. Orphaner Dualscar and Eridan Ampora." Neither of them looked very happy at all. Being from the fishing district, I'm gonna guess they excel in throwing things like nets and harpoons. Pretty dangerous.

"District 3; Power. The Grand Highblood and Gamzee Makara." Oh my god. They look stoned. No one can look like that and be friendly at all. These two are not to be taken lightly. They're going to have something up their sleeves.

"District 4; Military. Executor Darkleer and Equius Zahhak." Military district. They're weapon trained. They don't look very friendly either with their shades. Shit.

"District 5; Gambling. Marquise Spinneret Mindfang and Vriska Serket." My eyes widened at the sight of Vriska. I remember her from one of my news runs. She was a total bitch. Why the hell were the two of them smiling like that?

"District 6; Law. Neophyte Redglare and Terezi Pyrope." Why were THESE two smiling? And what was with those freaky red shades?

"District 7; Textiles. The Dolorosa and Kanaya Maryam." Well, those two looked pretty innocent. Nothing too freaky. They looked kind of..sweet actually. Better keep my guard up with them anyway.

"District 8; Hunting. The Disciple and Nepeta Leijon." Well they look pretty average, but they're from the Hunting district. They'll know the lay of the land better than anyone else here.

"District 9; Science and Medicine. The Signless and Karkat Vantas." I can't see the first guy's face. Why was he wearing a hood? What was he hiding? That can't be good.

"District 10; Technology. The Psiioniic and Sollux Captor." Multi-colored glasses? What was the deal with that? I mean trolls have been known to be quite weird sometimes, but these were some colorful characters here.

"District 11; Leisure. The Summoner and Tavros Nitram." Well they don't look too bad. The younger one actually looks kind of...cute. How old could he be? I think he might be younger than Eloria. I can't think of him like my sister. I might trust him too much. Can't trust anyone here, cute or not.

I sighed and looked up at the screen. "Finally, District 12; News. The Handmaid and Aradia Megido. Now, with all the introductions done, let the games begin in…"

I held the pin to my heart, and took a breath.

"3…2…1…Let the games begin." The voice said as a horn blared.