The birds sung above me and I looked up to see if I could see any of them, and as if reading my mind they all fluttered down the tree and onto the ground in front of me.
They were so beautiful, full or colours like red and orange and blues. They were different to the dusty, earthy colours I was used to. Horses and cattle were usually, brown, white, black and all those colours. It was so nice to see something different.
"Clearing your head?" someone asked behind me and my hand clutched the handle of my dagger that was strapped to my belt. I spun around, hand still on dagger.
"You know you're going to get yourself killed one day sneaking around like that" I grinned as Tray laughed at my expression.
"Nah" he said and I rolled my eyes.
Tray was my twin brother. We didn't look the same though. He was tall and lanky in a muscular way with shaggy strawberry blonde hair and pale blue eyes.
Whereas I was short and had shoulder length brown hair and turquoise eyes with brown specks in them.
We were both thin from hunger, but Tray managed to look a little healthier because of his muscular chest and arms, and I managed to look a little healthier for I was curvy, not that anyone around here noticed.
"We should probably start going" Tray said and I nodded sadly.
"I don't see why we have to dress up for this" I said as we neared the fence.
He shrugged and scampered under the fence and I followed, trying to keep as silent as possible so not to get caught.
If we were caught out of the district we were whipped, and if we have food with us, we could even be killed.
What had this world come to where this happened?
We ran inside the house where our mum was waiting with a wet cloth and our clothes.
"Hurry, we're going to be late" she said as we tried to wash all the dirt off and dress at once.
I pulled on my dress I wore to every reaping. It had been my grandmothers. It was black and lacy. It was tight and showed my hips and bust, while at the same time it was very old and elegant.
"Very handsome" I grinned at Tray who was in an old grey suite.
"And you look as beautiful as ever" he bowed and I laughed.
Tray was not only my brother, but my best friend in the entire world. We didn't everything together, herded cattle, rode horses, feed the animals, and hunted illegally. They say twins have a psychic connection, and I believed it. It was like Tray and I were mentally connected together.
"Ok, let's go face another life or death reaping" I said sadly.
"Don't worry Lyra, we'll be fine" he grinned. That's my brother, the forever optimist.
We headed out to the village's main square where the reaping was being held. Nearly everyone was there already as the clock was nearing 12.
"Ok, we'll be fine. You'll be fine. I love you" Tray said seriously giving me a tight hug then headed over to the boys side of the crowd.
I sighed and headed over to my line. I stood with the other girls my age who were all nervous and twitchy.
I was standing between Layla Crest and Rose Chaff.
They were both looking nervous and playing with the hems of their dresses. I rolled my eyes at them.
They had nothing to be worried about. They were both from rich families so at our age, which was 16, they only had to put their names in 5 times. People like me who came from poorer families, families without a man in the house, families with cripples, families who just couldn't make enough money to get them enough food, had to take tesserae.
Tessera gave us grain and oil every month for a year per person if we added for entries. I took 3 tesserae, one for me, one for Tray and one for mum. Tray did the same. That meant this year we both had 20 tickets in there.
The crowd went silent as a woman stood up on the stand.
"Welcome to the 99th Hunger games" she said into the microphone. No one cheered.
The Capital made this seem like a game, a sport to watch on tv. But to us, it was a death sentence. One boy and one girl from ever district were forced into a harsh environment and left there until they had killed each other off and there was one left standing. There were 12 districts, so 12 kids between the age of 12 and 18. What made it worse was everyone else was forced to watch it on tv.
All of a sudden all the giant tv things around us lit up.
The normal announcements and rules were made and then it went live over to district one. Everything happened live.
"The female tribute this year is…..Siren Young" the man announced.
Everyone watched as a tall and slender girl with long blonde hair and a pointy face stepped up. The crowd clapped a little and she stood there, head high, trying to look tough, though I noticed her bottom lip quivered. She was defiantly 18.
I also noticed she wore a blue uniform that we knew was a Careers training uniform.
The richer districts like districts 1, 2 and 4 would illegally train some kids so if they were chosen they would be ready. She was one of them. She would be near impossible to beat.
"The male tribute is….Cassius Stone" the man read and another kid in uniform walked up
. He had white hair sleeked back and blue eyes. He was 18 as well and he had a confident smug look. They would be impossible to beat, everyone else was near certain doom.
There was small clapping again.
The tributes were taken to the safe house.
When it was the Careers that were picked, no one ever bothered to volunteer to take their place.
The cameras then went to district 2.
"The female tribute is….. Conny Zeon" the man announced.
A girl about 17 in once again, a Careers uniform walked up. She was tall and tough looking with red hair and blue eyes. There were small claps.
"The male tribute is…..Thomas Benny" he announced. A boy in uniform walked up on stage. He was about my age and was really tall with blonde shaggy longish hair, blue eyes and was pale and super thin. I knew he was naturally thin though for by the looks of it he came from a rich family.
It then went to district 3 as the tributes were taken away.
"The female tribute is…Light Fallen" There was a small sigh as a girl about 14 went up onto the stage.
I saw she was tall, pale and blonde with light green eyes.
I then noticed why they sighed. She fluttered onto the stage like a fairy, humming to herself. She looked like she was off in another world. She was obviously ditzy and not every smart. She was doomed.
They waited to see if anyone would volunteer. It was silent.
"The boy tribute is…..Storm Neo" he called.
My heart sunk along with everyone else's as the boy walked on stage. Everyone always felt bad when this happened. When a 12 year old was chosen.
Storm had to be 12, even though he looked younger. He was small and had messy black hair and dark eyes that were too big for his face and he looked fragile.
"No! I volunteer! I volunteer to take his place!" a boy about 18 yelled, running out to Storm. By the looks of it they were brothers.
"No. I won't let him take my place" Storm said loud and clearly.
The older boy was dragged away as Storm took his place on stage. Storm was brave, but was doomed.
They were led away as it went to district 4.
"The female tribute is….. Spinner Fry" a woman called.
A girl easily 18 with a uniform walked up on stage. She was small and petite with light brown hair and hazel eyes.
"The male tribute is…..Mave Straunt" the woman called. A boy who was 18 as well walked up. He was tall with a strong build and was muscular with dark hair and dark eyes.
With all these Careers who were 18 in it this year, it looked like it was doom for everyone.
It was then district 5's turn.
"The female tribute is….Ebony Waller" the man called.
"No! Please, someone take her place! Anyone?" a man, her father by the looks of it, begged. But no one did.
Ebony took her place, she looked about 14 and had dark hair, dark eyes and darkish skin. She looked chronically depressed.
"The male tribute is…..Zain Scythe."
A boy about 15 with spiky blonde hair, blue eyes and square features stood up. He looked cocky and confident and it was no surprise no one took his place.
They left as it went to district 6.
"The female tribute is….Remmy Mead" a woman called. A girl about 17 with red hair and freckles walked up. No one took her place.
"The male tribute is….Lint Gazzy" she said.
There was another heart aching moment when a small boy maybe 12 or 13 with blonde hair and big innocent blue eyes walked up. No one took his place either.
They were marched away as it went to district 7.
"The female tribute is….Blade Wright" a man announced. A girl about my age with black hair, blue eyes and a few scars walked up. It was silent.
"The male tribute is….Scooter Marx." A boy my age with dark blonde hair, dark turquoise eyes and a nice tanned built walked up. Once again, silence.
However he hugged the girl, I think they were friends. That would be heart breaking, having to be forced to kill your friend.
They were led away as it went to district 8.
"The female tribute is…...Skyler Sea" the woman announced and a girl about 15 walked up.
She was pixie like with black pixie hair, pixie nose, pixie ears and a pixie face. No one spoke up.
"The male tribute is…..Weave Zorr" she said. A boy about 17 with brown shaggy hair and green eyes walked up and no one spoke again.
They then left as it went to district 9.
"The female tribute is…..Olive Ward" a man said. A slender girl about 18 with dark eyes and dark frizzy hair walked up. As expected, it was silent.
"The male tribute is….Carter Eric."
Once again I felt pity as a 12 year old boy walked up. He was small and tanned with messy brown hair and big bright green eyes. Poor kid.
They were marched off and my heart sunk as I saw myself in the crowd as it came to us.
I looked up at the short plump woman who was handed a bowl with everyone's names in it.
I felt sick watching her hand swirl around and she picked out a piece of paper.
"The female tribute is…..Lyra Ryder" she called.
My brain shut down. I didn't know my name. I was barley aware that my feet were carrying me to the stage.
How could this happen? I was going to die.
I didn't know whether to feel saddened or relieved that no one took my place.
I couldn't think, I felt empty, and as I looked at the screen, I looked empty. My face was emotionless.
I couldn't even look at Tray for I knew he would be distraught and that would make me want to cry.
"The male tribute is…Tray Ryder"