Dear Readers, I hope you enjoy my fanfiction and would appreciate any comments but please keep to constructive criticism I apologise in advance for any spelling errors I do have dyslexia. Of course I do not own the world of Panem or any of it's citizens bar the ones of my own creation. Thank you ~Ginny Mellark
~Sing me to sleep, sing me to sleep
I'm tired and I, I want to go to bed~
"Opium Tanner" Plutarch Hevenseby's voice announced over the speakers.
"No" I heard John whisper next to me.
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and began to walk towards the stage.
A hand grabbed mine and I turned to see John. He hugged me tightly and I hugged him even tighter.
"I love you" He whispered so close to my ear.
"I love you too"
We let go and I forced myself to keep walking as I passed my friends their hands brushed me in signs of support.
I climbed the stairs and made my way to Plutarch who looked confused as he shook my hand.
I looked out to my friends noticing how strange we looked next to the brightly coloured Capitol Pedigrees.
It was the 76th Annual Hunger Games and I had just been reaped by the Rebels I fought to protect not too long ago.
The twenty two before me had all been clung to by their crying parents and they all looked so terrified standing behind me bawling some even whaling but no tears stained my eyes. No parents cried after me. Even if my parents were still alive they wouldn't be sobbing over me but the outfit all of their bitchy friends would be seeing me in.
"Anything you'd like to say?"
"Yeah, I'll see you all again" I wasn't talking to anyone but the six survivors of the Outcasts, my friends. "And if not at least I'll be with the others"
I turned and joined the other tributes. Among those I recognised were one of my class mates, a neighbour of Mat's and President Snow's grand-daughter. Her reaping was obviously rigged.
I could see her staring after me, Katniss Everdeen sat with the other surviving Victors. I wonder whether we will have mentors.
This shouldn't be too hard right? Most of these kids don't stand a chance.
"Carlton Windas." Shit! Nathan. I'm going to have to keep a big distance between us he vowed to kill me after Grace died and he's come close to succeeding more than once.
"This is for my sister Grace" his voice echoed around me before he turned taking a knife from his pocket and running towards me.
He went to stab me but I moved so he only cut my side. It hurt like hell but it wouldn't kill me.
"How many time Nathan I didn't kill her! She was my best friend!" I shouted.
He thrust the knife at me again but this time a Rebel Soldier grabbed his arm forcing the knife out of Nathan's hand. Another grabbed him.
"Murderer!" he spat as the dragged him away.
I lifted my top slightly to see the cut. It wasn't too deep but it was bleeding heavily. I put pressure on it.
"Come with me" A woman said I turned to see an older woman with blonde hair and blue eyes dressed in a grey uniform she placed a pale hand on my arm as she walked me off of the stage.
"I'm Dr Everdeen" she told me as she led me into a tent. "Let me see the cut Opium"
"It's Anna" I lifted my top and she inspected it. "Opium is only my birth name"
"Well you are going to need stiches Anna, lie down."
I sighed but did as she said.
She put an IV into my left hand and handed me a mask that I'm sure was to put me to sleep. I shook my head. "I can deal with the pain, honestly I've had much worse."
"Keep it in case"
I took a deep breath as she rubbed iodine solution around the cut.
I clenched everything as the needle pierced my skin I took sharp breaths and tried to force away my memories but they kept coming back.
When the District Rebels attacked so did the Capitol Rebels.
Things got extremely bad at times.
A bomb went off and me and Grace were thrown across the street. I screamed as a horrible pain hit my back and spread all around my stomach through the blood I could see a sharp piece of metal. Tears of pain trickled down my checks as I tried to stay conscious. I had been impaled.
"Grace" I murmured but she didn't answer.
The wall next to me had blood one it but it wasn't mine. I looked to the floor below and saw why she didn't answer.
Her eyes were wide and emotionless. Her face was placid and her body still. Blood tricked down her forehead and from her nose. "Grace…"
She was dead. My best friend was dead. I failed to protect her after all the years that she protect me.
"All done" Dr Everdeen pulled me out of my memory as she rubbed something over the now stitched and bandaged her handy work.
"Thanks" I smiled as if nothing had happened.
"Whose Grace?" she asked as she helped me to my feet.
"A friend" I answered blankly.
Dr Everdeen studied me for a while. "Take it easy for the rest of the day, you don't want to rupture the stiches. It should be fully healed by tomorrow."
"Thanks" I said again before I promptly left the tent.
"John" I exclaimed as the door opened. I ran to him my arms closing around him and my head buried in his chest.
"Mat's going to try to get you out, they know you are an Outcast." He assured me kissing the crown of my head.
"That doesn't matter here John I was reaped" I said pulling away just enough to look into his eyes. They were so worried, so desperate.
"But Anna…"
"I'll win" I said strongly.
"What if you don't? Anna I can't lose you" he whispered sounding so pained.
"My only real competition is Nathen and I've fought him off before"
His hand gently brushed my cheek. "Just be careful"
"I will"
He kissed me and I couldn't stand the thought that it might be the last kiss we share. He pulled away but I kissed him again.
"I love you" I blinked away a single tear.
"I love you too" Johns eyes were filled with tears wasn't crying now but that was only for me. I couldn't stand to see him cry.
"Times up" A man in the Rebel uniform announced I assumed he was my guard.
"I will win John!" I shouted after her him.
I sat on a plush red velvet love seat as more tears came. It seemed the only sound within miles was my own struggled breathing.
It felt like hours before the door opened again. I wiped my tears away quickly they couldn't see my tears it would make me look weak.
"You've got five minutes, no more" My guard said strongly.
I walked to the door as Mat came in shutting it behind him.
"There was nothing I could do, I'm sorry Anna"
I knew it was hopeless anyway but I couldn't help that sinking feeling.
"It's okay, you did all you can" I whispered as he hugged me.
"You are going to win Anna" he told me "You are going to win"
"But what if I don't Mat, I can't hunt, I don't know which berries are toxic, I don't…."
"Then you'll learn, your Mentor will teach you" he interrupted "You can fight better than anyone else I've trained, half of these kids don't
know how to knock an arrow"
"But they can learn too, a lot can happen in a week" I stressed opening the gates to a flood of anxiety.
"You're years ahead of them Anna and we'll send you all the parachutes we can afford." He promised holding me tighter.
"Tell them all goodbye for me in case" I begged him.
"I won't need to you can tell them yourself when your old and grey because you are going to survive this…"
"Mat please." I cut him off my voice trembling and my tears threatening to return. "Tell them that I am so glad that they are my friends and tell them I will always be watching them and that I am so thankful for everything they have done for me. Tell John that I love him and nothing will end that and he's best thing that could ever happened to me."
"I will" he promised nodding slightly.
"And Mat"
"Yeah" he smiled weakly.
"Thank you, you took me in, you saved me and I will always be thankful for that. You are my family and you were always there for me"
"You don't have to thank me Anna, you saved me too." his smile spread into a genuine one. I tried remember that smile in case I never saw it again.
"You have to go" The guard said.
"I'll see you again Anna, after this is all over" he took my hand as he walked away waiting until the last second to let his slip away and mine dropped to my side.
"Goodbye Mat" I whispered to the closed oak door.
The guard and another came and led me into a hovercraft filled solely by the eleven other female tributes and a few guards.
The escorted me to my seat and strapped me in as the engine started.
I searched for a clue on where we were heading but there were no windows and the door to the cock pit was locked ad guarded.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
All of the guards looked at me but none answered.
Every inch of the ship was a cool grey even the cargo nets which the guards who were also dressed in a cool grey hung onto.
I would like to say that I was fearless even now but God I wasn't I was so scared my heart was in my throat and it hit hard like it was trying to break out.
But I couldn't show it, not for one second.
Then they would know I was weak.
