My eyes scan the area, looking for any sign of life. My breath comes out white and my arm is reared back, ready to send a knife into any prey that is unfortunate enough to pass me by. I am crouched on a low branch of a tree. For most the cold would be unbearable, but if you have been hunting as long as I have then you adapt to it.
A bush a couple yards away begins to rustle and I see a flash of white in between the dull green leaves. "Got you" I mutter before sending the knife soaring through the air. A animal cry emits from the bush and I jump from my perch and headed towards it. It could either be a rabbit, hare or fox. I look into the bush and see a white rabbit with my knife in its side. Its chest rises and falls slowly as it dies. I pull the knife out and then stick it back in, this time in its throat, ending its life.
"What you get Taylor?" comes a voice from behind me. I turn around and see Jake, my boyfriend and hunting partner.
"Just a rabbit" I say as I hold the rabbit up by its ears, its blood staining its fur and dripping onto the snow. I hand the rabbit to him and he starts to skin it, handing half the meat, along with 2 pouches of berries to me. This is our system. We half anything we get.
"Lets head back, the reaping starts soon" Jake says checking the position of the sun. I nod and we head back towards the district fence. We check some of our traps on the way, but nothing is in them, so we leave them out for tomorrow. The only sound I hear on the way back is the crunch of the snow beneath our boots. Jake is not much of a talker, and neither am I so it works. Its how it has been for years now, since we met.
We near the fence and before heading to the tree we use to jump over them, I stash my belt of knives in a hollowed out trunk. Jake places his coil of wire and knife in there too before covering it back up. I start climbing the tree, easily scaling the trunk, followed quickly by Jake. We both then drop down into the meadow and quickly sprint across the clearing, entering the wooded area on the other side.
We near the lumber yard and I finally pull down my hood, feeling safer here. Jake does the same and turns to me. Without saying a word he pulls me into his arms. I bury my face into shoulder and wrap my arm around his waist. "I love you" he says leaning his head back but not letting me go.
"I love you too" I reply, capturing his lips with my own. Our lips move in sync with each others and my arms move from his waist to around his neck, deepening the kiss as much as I could. I pull away smiling, staring into his grey eyes that have flecks of blue in them. "I'll see you later" I say before letting go and turning to walk in the opposite direction.
I spot my cabin after 20 minutes or so of walking so I jog the rest of the way. I live away from the centre of the district, its much more peaceful. I enter the cabin and the smell of pine tea hits me straight away. Slipping off my boots and jacket I head into the kitchen to see mum just pouring my father and herself a cup.
"Hey" I say in greeting, taking the rabbit meat and pouches of berries out of my bag. "Not much today" I say, placing them on the table.
"I don't want you going out there" dad says, looking up at me from his seat. I sigh and take a seat.
"What would you rather me do? Take out tessera, increasing my chances of being reaped" I reply.
"None" he says. "I can pay for food."
"How? Where are you getting the money?" I ask, standing up, feeling anger rise up in me. "No, better yet. Where was all this money when Sarah needed it?!" I spit out, regretting it as soon as the words leave my lips. Mum gasps and dad looks shocked. I turn around and storm out of the kitchen, heading into my room down the hall. I slam the door shut and sit on my bed, picking up an old family photo.
In the photo a little girl sits in my dad arms, her light blonde hair in two pigtails and her bright blue eyes shining. Tears start to form and fall silently down my cheeks. Sarah is my little sister. Last winter was harsh and she fell ill, but we couldn't afford the medicine. She passed away in her sleep.
I clutch the photo to my chest and lay down, closing my eyes. I picture her in my head. She is running around in the woods, calling to me to chase her. I hear a light knock on my door. "Come in" I say, wiping my eyes and sitting up. Dad enters and sits at the foot of my bed. "I am sorry I said that dad" I say, looking into his eyes. I get most of my features from him. His bright blue eyes and his dark brown hair.
"I know you didn't mean to" he says, resting his hand on my knee. We are silent for a few seconds, but he starts talking again. "I know you mean well when you go out there everyday, but it worries me and your mother. We don't want you getting hurt or captured by the peacekeepers."
"I am careful" I reply. "Extremely careful. And it isn't just to bring us food, it helps take my mind off...off...things" I say, hesitating at the end but he knows what I mean.
"I know son" he says, sighing. "Come on, get ready. We need to leave for the reaping soon" he says before leaving my room. I climb out of my bed and pull off my shirt and jeans, replacing them with a white button up and a pair of black trousers. I run a hand through my choppy hair, trying to make it a little presentable, before leaving the room and slipping on my boots again, followed by my jacket.
Mum hands me a cup of pine tea and then kisses me on the cheek and hugging me. I hug her back, taking in everything about her. We then leave the cabin and take the 40 minute walk it takes to get to the town square. I sip on my tea on the way, dad taking the cup from me after I am finished.
Once we get there I hug mum and dad before heading to sign in. I fee Jake, so I fall into line with him. "Hey" he says, taking my hand. I instantly feel more calm with him around. "you okay?" he asks and I nod, though its partly a lie. I am scared about being reaped. We get our fingers pricked and blood sample taken before falling into line with the other 16 year olds.
I look up to the stage and see 3 people sitting down on chairs. The first is our mayor and the other two chairs are occupied by our only 2 living victors. Stax Williams is the eldest. He won the 3rd games. Though he holds himself strong, you can see the age taking him over. His hair that was once black is now streaked with silver and his skin is weathered.
The other is Senna Jones. She won 6 years ago when she was 18. Her copper hair falls in curls down her back and her grey eyes are fierce. Her skin is like porcelain. I can see why she is favoured in the capitol.
The last few kids fall into place and the reaping starts. Mayor Birch, a tall thin man with a bald head stands up to the microphone and clear his throat. "Welcome citizens. As you all know, today is the reaping for the forty-fourth hunger games" he says, his voice booming around the entire square. Then then starts his speech about the dark days and how the games came to be, but I mainly zone out.
"You okay?" Jake asks.
"No" I reply, shaking my head. His hand moves from mine and around my shoulder, pulling me closer. Some of the guys in the line send us weird looks but I ignore them. Even in a world where the hunger games exist and people die from starvation everyday, some people still discriminate.
"Here from the Capitol, please welcome Missy Buviegh" the Mayor says, snapping me back to him. A woman with short indigo hair and dark skin walks up to the microphone. Her colour theme changes every year. Last year it was orange and yellow, this year it is indigo and light green. Her dress is a light green colour and cuts off just above the knee and a pair of knee high indigo boots.
"Hello darlings" she says with her thick Capitol accent. "Well, lets not waste any more time. As always, ladies first." She makes her way over to the female reaping bowl, her heel clicking on the stage, the sound echoing around the square. She picks a name and then walks back to the microphone. "And the female tribute for the forty-fourth annual hunger games is...Brizzy Willows!"
A gasp is heard from the 13 year old section. A little girl with frizzy dark brown hair steps out, her legs visibly shaking. I can't help but feel for her. She is only 13 and has to go into these games. She shuffles up to the stage, tripping on one of the steps of the stage, and takes a spot next to Missy Buviegh.
"Well aren't you just the sweetest thing?" Missy says, smiling down at Brizzy, who looks like she will burst into tears any second now. "Right, onto the male tribute." She walks over to the bowl on her other side and reaches her hand in. I feel Jake's are tighten around my shoulders as Missy picks a name. She opens up the slip and I take a deep breath. "And the male tribute for the forty-fourth annual hunger games is...Taylor Lockwood!"
Its me...
A/N: Well there you go. This is the first chapter to my first fan fiction. This has been in planning for a while and finally wrote the first chapter. I would love to hear your opinions on this, so leave a little review telling me what you think. Also, I have an original story up on my Fictionpress account. The link is on my profile, so if you can go and check it out.
The next chapter will be up soon but until then, TTFN!
