The Odds Have Never Been Very Dependable
Chapter One: Alek
Sun shined through his window, and Aleksander Hohenberg rolled over in his sleep, trying in vain to catch the last part of his quickly fleeting dream. It was already nearly faded. All he could remember was that it was a good dream. Something about a giant airship...
With a slightly annoyed sigh, he sat up, tossing the covers aside. There was no way he could go back to sleep, not with all the noise of District 1 bustling outside his window. Everybody was preparing for this year's Reaping, parties were being thrown, everybody hoping that their son or daughter would get chosen for the fantastic chance at being a tribute.
Alek swung his feet over the side of the bed. In all honesty, he was probably the only person who didn't want to be a tribute in this entire District. Who wanted to be sent to an arena where they'd most likely be killed? It was completely idiotic. However, he didn't complain when he was sent to learn to fight, to train for the games. While he did find it stupid, on the off chance he did get reaped, he needed to know how to defend himself.
There was a rapid knock on his door. Before Alek could protest, his mother opened the door and walked in. She looked around and clicked her tongue at the state of her son's room. "Really, Aleksander," She sighed. "You could've cleaned up just a bit!"
He mumbled a quiet apology, getting out of bed fully and picking up the scattered bits of clothing that laid on the floor. His mother rolled her eyes, "The celebrations will begin soon, so please make yourself look presentable." She smiled. "And, who knows, you might have the honor of being chosen as tribute!" She turned and left the room, and Alek sighed.
"Well, that would be quite the honor," He mumbled sarcastically. "Chosen to die. Don't I feel special."
Once he'd gotten the last of his dirty clothes, he tossed them in a hole against the wall, one that connected to the laundry system of the house. Within the hour, his clothes would be clean again, and instantly stored back in his closet.
After that was done, he walked into his own personal bathroom and took a quick shower, not bothering with the several settings and buttons he could press to change the scent and whatnot. He just wanted to get this day, Reaping and celebrations, over with as quickly as possible. Once finished with that task, he got dressed. His mother insisted he wear something nice, like the other children do. So, he ended up deciding on a simple button-down shirt, dress pants and shoes.
With a sigh of discontent, he ran his fingers through his hair. Better get this over with, he thought.
He headed downstairs, ready to face what the day brought for him.
Alek came into the foyer of the house, ignoring the bustling of people in the kitchen and avoiding one person making a beeline for the bathroom. Since his father was the mayor, his family and him were supposed to hold a celebration. All the children who had been training to Games, and their families were invited.
When he entered the foyer he spotted about ten people from training, and about nine of them he disliked their entire essence. Most of them were headstrong, and assumed every situation could be solved with mindless, brute force, as opposed to wit. He'd beaten every one of those students. But then, there were the ones who were just rude, and have very dark personalities.
The only person he liked - or, well, enjoyed talking to - was a boy a few years younger than himself, named Ernst. He was only thirteen, but could handle a spear just as well as eighteen-year-old Rickon. Like Alek, however, he normally tried to avoid all fighting, trying to use his words to talk himself out of a situation.
In fact, Ernst was standing at the far corner, drinking water from a wineglass. When he spotted Alek, he brightened a bit. The boy never really talked to anyone his age, most of his peers finding him a bit odd. So, Alek assumed he was his only friend, just as it was reversed.
Alek walked over to the boy, "Afternoon, Ernst."
"Hi, Alek," He greeted with a small smile. "You ready for the Reaping? Excited? Hoping to be picked?" Ernst didn't bother hiding the sarcasm in his tone. Nobody was paying them much attention, and Ernst shared his view on the Games. "I'm just praying that I will get to be the lucky one to get picked for such an honor."
"Ernst, you're just bursting with enthusiasm, aren't you," Alek chuckled. The younger boy made a face and took another sip from his water. "In all honesty, I'm just trying to go through this day unnoticed. And, who knows," Alek nudged the boy with his elbow. "Maybe Spark will get Reaped."
"Is it wrong that I'm not hoping for that," He mumbled into his glass. Alek sighed. As much as he disliked the boy, after all he's tormented Ernst, and tried to torment Alek for years now, but he didn't even wish the fate of the Games onto him.
"Not at all," Alek told him, placing his hand on the Ernst's shoulders. "There's nothing wrong with that."
Some more students from school entered after Alek said that, and shot up a rather loud and rowdy conversation. Ernst said something to him, but he couldn't hear it over the yelling his peers. He was tempted to yell at them to be quiet, but that would only cause a fight, and his mother just cleaned up the foyer. He didn't want to be responsible for ruining it again.
He felt a tap on his shoulder, and looked over. Ernst jerked his head towards the hallway the led to the second foyer (why the mayor's house had to of them was beyond his knowledge). When the older boy nodded, the two of them weaved their way through the crowd, Ernst first. Alek stayed behind for a moment to grab his own glass of water, and to swipe a dessert from the kitchen, before joining his friend in the second room.
"How are we from the same district as them," Ernst muttered, shaking his head. Alek shrugged, and leaned against the wall. There was a short silence, before the boy asked, "Alek, I'm not gonna lie...I'm scared."
This took him by surprise. Normally, Ernst was calmer than Alek about the Games. He never seemed frightened by it. Though, last time he was just one name in hundreds. He's getting older, getting more entries. Sure, nobody pulled for tessarae in the higher districts, but the previous year there were many eighteen-year-old kids were now no longer eligible. His chances of being drawn had skyrocketed.
It only took him a few seconds to compose his words. "I'd be concerned if you weren't, Ernst. In the face of death, anyone sane would be scared." He took a cautious sip of his water. "I'm scared, too. Every time this day comes, I'm terrified that I'm going to be Reaped, and I'm not going to see my family again." He put a comforting hand on Ernst's shoulder. "But we can't let that rule our thoughts."
"Easier said than done," He mumbled.
There was a knock on the door, and Alek's mother stepped inside. She smiled warmly at the two boys before saying, "Everybody's meeting in the formal dining room. You'd better hurry if you don't want to miss your father's speech!" She turned and hurried down the hall, leaving the teenagers alone again.
Ernst sighed. "We just got in here, too."
Alek shrugged, and gestured to the door. "Well, we'd better head in and hear that speech. It seems very important."
When Alek and Ernst rejoined the others, they were all already situated in the formal dining room, forcing the two of them to stand in the doorway, looking over the shoulders of some student's parents. Alek's father stood at the head of the large dining table, smiling at all the people that were cramming into the rather large room.
"Good Afternoon, everyone," He said, his smiling turning into a grin. "I welcome you, and wish you all good luck in the Reaping today. Hopefully, the odds may be in your favor this day." He eyed his son, and Alek could tell he was hoping that he'd be drawn.
"You've all trained long and hard. For some of you, this is your last chance, your last opportunity to be drawn." He eyed Rickon, who had straightened up. "Yet, for some of you, it's your first chance to shine, and to prove that the young can prevail just as easily." A twelve-year-old girl, by the name of Queen, beamed. "No matter your age, you all have equal chance of being drawn, and equal chance of proving yourself worth of the entire district's respect.
"However, if you are not drawn, we all expect you to cheer and help the one of who is to the best of your ability. That means, sponsoring them, donating as much money as you can spare to them." Franz looked at all the teenagers, trying to get that point across. Almost all of them nodded in acknowledgment, but Alek knew almost none of them were really intending to help the unfortunate two who were drawn.
"Now, with that out of the way, it's time for the Reaping to begin." Alek's father's grin returned, but this time it was shared with everybody in the room, the only exceptions being Alek himself and Ernst. "Happy 74th Annual Hunger Games, my friends! May the odds ever be in your favor!"
Instantly the room began to cheer. Ernst and Alek had to scurry out of the doorway to avoid being trampled as everybody rushed out so they could get to the town square as quickly as possible. The two of them waited as the horde of people seemed to continue endlessly, neither saying a word, but both knowing what the other was thinking: The odds have never been in anyone's favor.
It took only a few more seconds for the room to be emptied, and the two boys stepped forward to follow everybody out when Franz's called out, "Alek, come here please."
Ernst turned towards his friend, and gave a shaky smile. "I'll meet you by the statue of the President," He told him, before setting his glass down and walking out of the building. Alek took a deep breath, and entered the dinning room. His mother and father were standing side by side, now at the opposite end, the one closest to the doorway. They were facing him, and he looked down at the ground for only a moment before meeting their gaze.
"Yes," Alek asked, stiffening.
His mother smiled at him, "Oh, stop, you're not in trouble." She walked up to her son, and wrapped him in a hug. "We just want to wish you luck. It's a big day, after all." Letting him go, Alek could see her smile had turned into a grin, and there were tears of happiness in her eyes. "I just feel like something big is going to happen today. Who knows, you might get picked!"
You have no idea how much I'm hoping you're wrong, he thought as his father stepped forward, hugging him as well.
"Just know that your mother and I are proud of you, no matter what happens today." He released him, but kept one hand on his shoulder. "You've grown into a fine young man."
Alek blinked, surprised at the sudden show of emotion. Normally, his father didn't reveal much of what he was feeling, or, at least, not to him. He almost felt tears pricking at the edge of his eyes, but forced them away. There was no crying right before a Reaping.
"You should get going." His mother fixed his hair, slightly. "Ernst is probably getting anxious waiting for you. Soon he's just going to sign in without you." Alek nodded and turned to go. He stopped as he was about to pass over the doorway, looking over his shoulder.
After a few seconds of consideration, he said, "I love you."
His mother didn't bother hiding her tears now, and even his father looked like he was holding back tears of his own. "Oh, Alek," His mother smiled, wiping away some tears as they fell down her cheeks. "We love you too, so much. We'll be out in just a moment."
Alek nodded, and then turned back. He took another deep breath, calming his thoughts, before heading out the door, and to the Reaping.
So, yeah. This is done.
I've been thinking about writing a crossover for these two series for a while now, but never gotten anything down on solid paper. However, as you can tell, that's all different.
Besides, I really need to write fic for more than just PJATO.
To anybody who reads/reviews, I have a big question for you all. I need to know as soon as possible whether or not you want me to write the entire rebellion, or just this Game. And, if the latter, who would you rather win, Alek or Deryn?
Anyways, here's the first chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! Tell me what you think!
-Jules
