Disclaimer, I do not own the hunger games! Suzanne Collins does. I own these characters because I made them up. This is just a little part of a bigger fan fiction I'm writing.

Chapter 1: the Reaping

I was going to die. Just like the rest of them. Never did it cross my mind that it would all come down to this. Not in a million years. Running through the woods would be my only shot. Everything that could have protected me was gone. Now speed will either make me or break me. There was no time to think. I ran as fast as my legs would carry me as I dodged branches and leaves. My dark brown hair flew wildly behind me. The sharp thorns and leaves pounded against my flesh leaving bloody scratches all over my thin body. All over I could hear the sound of splintering wood and chainsaws but above all of it, I could hear my beating heart pounding against my rib cage. Never again will I disobey my mother's orders. Never. Suddenly, I heard a loud boom behind me and I knew it was over.

"Mom? Dad?" I whispered into the smog. There was no answer "Mom! Dad!" still nothing. "MOMMY! DADDY!" I cried, sobbing. I jolted from my bed, covered in sweat and tears. All the wind was knocked out of me.

"Piper…?" I heard a little voice say. The heavy oak door creaked open and there I saw my cousin, Laver's cute little face. His wide grey eyes examined me carefully. "Piper? Are you okay?"

I glanced around, making sure that I'm home and not in that horrible part of the woods. Everything was in place. The two scratched up beds were there along with its lumpy mattresses. The lamp that was on the only bedside table. The peeling paint was all over the floor. I was home, safe and sound, but those chainsaws I heard and those branches. They were so vivid. With one last look around, I got up from the bed. "Don't worry Laver. I just had a bad dream that's all." I brushed my hair out of my eyes and studied Laver, who was still standing there. "Oh, I almost forgot. Happy Hunger Games." The expression on Laver's face went from worried to horrified in less than a second.

"Piper, what will happen? I mean what will happen if you go?" He said, his voice wavering "What will happen if you have to fight in that horrible arena?" Tears began to run down his cheeks. "What will happen if you don't come back?"

I quickly ran over to Laver and stooped down at his level until I was eye to eye with him. "Look, there are hundreds of other girls that could go. I think I'm staying district seven this year."

"But, but there's always that chance." Laver sobbed.

My green eyes began to water. "I know," Laver gave me a serious look, his eyes looking into my soul. He knew that my name was in that crystal sphere 12 more times than all the other girls that are my age in district 7. He knew that I might go. But I wasn't about to tell him. At least not yet. Laver gave me a firm hug then left to let me change. He sort of lingered in the door for a while before leaving, as if he wanted to say something.

I dragged myself over to the chest where I kept my clothes and pulled out a green dress. As I slid it on I could feel the finest of the silk. I ran my fingers over the embroidered yellow flowers on the skirt. This was what the people of the capitol must feel every day. Luxury. Everything they had was luxurious, from the clothes they wore to the food they eat. To the cars they drove and the buildings they see. Yes, they lived the perfect life. And honestly, I don't think they appreciate it at all. Most of the people there never been to an outlying district. Their whole world was that region they call the Rockies. When they come home and say "Gosh, I'm absolutely starving." They go into their cupboards and grab food easily. They don't know what starving is. They don't know what it means to starve. They don't know how it feels to go without food for days and they don't know what it means to work for your food. None of them understand. The only time they ever saw someone who was starving was in the Hunger games. But even then, they just stood up and cheered.

Examining myself in a shard of mirror I found in a trash can, I did my hair in a ponytail that lied over my right shoulder. For some reason, I loved the way it looked on me and I love the convenience to. It was never in my face, which was good because I never had time to deal with trivial matters like hair. I put down the mirror and entered the kitchen, which was really a just stove and a pot. My cousin was there waiting with my Aunt Hemlock, who was dressed in less raggedy clothes than usual. "My word, Piper. You look absolutely stunning." She said in a soft tone. "You look so much like your mother when she was your age."

I looked better than normal, I'll have to agree. But I've seen a picture of my mother when she was 15 and I look nothing like her. First off, I don't have fair grey eyes. Second, I don't have her beautiful wheat colored hair. I have my dad's eyes and hair. Maybe I have my mom's facial features but I don't know. It's been so long since the accident. I can't remember.

Laver gave me another worried face then said "Why do I have to wear this suit? I mean I'm only ten. I won't be going to the reaping. "

"It's a respect thing." Aunt Hemlock murmured, teasing Laver's hair. She glanced up at me with a big smile on her face but I could see the anxiety in her eyes. There was no hiding it. "I have some eggs on the stove, Piper. Help yourself."

I was just about to ask her where she got the eggs, but I decided that it wasn't worth asking. Most likely she wouldn't answer. The eggs on the stove smelled delicious, yet the butterflies in my stomach ruined my appetite. "What time is it?" I asked stiffly.

"It's eleven o'clock." Aunt Hemlock answered. "Why do you ask?"

Usually, I don't want to know what time it is on reaping day because it seems like a time bomb counting the seconds until the reaping. "I want to visit a friend before the reaping," I murmured "I'll be back by one. Okay?" she gave me a slight nod, then I left.

Just down the street lived my best friend Ivy, a hopeless girl with an abysmal predicament. One day back in first grade, I was skipping down the hallway with my books and I saw that she dropped a big file of coloring pages. So I decided to help her out. When we were finish picking up the papers I said "Do you want to be best friends?" and she asked "Bestest Friends?". I gave her a great big nod and we've be best friends ever since. It's sort of funny how when you're young you can just ask people to be your friend. Now you have to prove yourself.

I approached her front door and even before I could knock, she was there standing in the door way. "Oh my gosh, thank god you came." she whispered-yelled "I really wanted to see you before the reaping." Ivy took my arm. "Come on," She took me up to her bedroom, with so much stealth, that I had a hard time noticing she was there. I sat down on her bed as she gave me the news "Piper, Mom and Dad- well you see- they… umm… couldn't find-uh… away to get any food. You know they work Piper, but the..uh alcohol addiction is getting worse. They're spending- you know- our money on, well alcohol. Now I have t-to take the tesserae."

I have always considered my life to be a tragedy. My mother and father died in an accident, when a tree was cut down and they were in its timber zone as we call it. They were crushed instantly. The peacekeepers left me with my aunt and cousin who were bound to die within weeks if they didn't eat. But now, I think that your parent's not caring for you and willing to let you died is worse than them being dead. Ivy's parent's used to be much more wealthier than me. But ever since they got into alcohol, they began to spend all of their money on beer. It would be Ivy's first time with tesserae. No wonder she feels scared. Basically, tesserae is a unfair system that makes the poor more eligible to go into the games. One tesseae is grain and oil for one person for a month. The more tesserea you have the more your name is put into the crystal sphere where the tributes will be chosen. I have two tresserae under my belt, which means my name was entered 16 times in the drawing. Which mean the more likely I'll get chosen for the games. I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, most likely you won't get chosen." There was no doubt in my mind that Ivy could win the Hunger Games. She was stealthy and a good thief. She'll learn how to use a weapon quickly enough.

"Piper, you're the greatest friend anyone could have." She murmured. "It's one o'clock. You'd better be getting back home."

With a reluctant goodbye, I trudged home. It was only an hour before the reaping would begin. An hour that I absolutely dreaded. I walked in the door with a sullen look and noticed that my aunt and cousin were already to go. "Do we have to go now?" I muttered.

Aunt Hemlock hurried Laver out the door. "Yes, or the peacekeepers will cut our throats out."

None of us said a word as we walked towards the square. Every day, the square would be filled with nosy store clerks and busy shoppers. But not today. Today, it was dead silent. The only sounds there I could hear was the heavy sighs of the children and someone sobbing. I made my way towards the fifteen year old section with no expression on my face. The girls that were there were dress in pretty outfits just like me but through the makeup, there were traces of misery just like me. up on the stage sat three people. To the right was the mayor, in the middle was Monica Elk, the district seven escort, and to the left was Jace Kenton, a past victor and this year's tribute mentor. I got to my spot just as the bell rung from the tower.

Monica Elk stood up and spoke into the microphone, with her ridiculous capitol accent. "Welcome, District Seven, to the 48th annual Hunger Games Reapings!" she did this weird clap when she just patted the palm of her hand really fast. No one joined her. Dismissing the silence she continued "Now, let's start off with a brief history of the Hunger Games! As I'm sure you all know, the Hunger Games is a completion where the lucky tributes from each district, will get a chance to win fame and fortune. But the Hunger Games didn't just start over night. Oh no! it started back when the rebellion was almost over. When our brilliant president finally ended the war, by getting rid of district 13. And now, he let children have a chance to show all of Panem how talented you all are by introducing the Hunger Games! What away to give back!"

I didn't quite understand how getting rid of district 13 had to do with showing off our talents to the world, but maybe I'm too naïve to understand. "Now, it's time to pick out our female tribute!" She squealed into the microphone. With one manicured hand she picked out a slip of paper from the sphere. Her face lit up as if she won a million dollars. "Piper Fairburn!" She shouted into the microphone.