A/N: This was originally done from District 12 to 1, but then I realised that the first districts have stories too impersonal for it to end nicely. Reviews are loved and appreciated, especially since this is my first step into the HG fandom.
For the Starvation forum's prompt, Sacrifice. Derpderpderp...
Safe
No-one is safe from The Hunger Games. Even to people that are too young or too old, there is always that possibility of a child, sibling or friend that might get Reaped. They affect everybody no matter where they are in Panem.
But this is a new a horror. Not only will children die, but toddlers and senior citizens too. The Capitol's few morals are sinking fast, even for scum like them.
And all because of a little thing called the Quarter Quell. (But was not 'little' nor a 'thing', more like a 'huge monstrosity' that kills hope along with everything else.)
"As for the fifth quarter Quell, the Reaping will extend to all age groups. Everyone in each District will have another chance to compete again!"
There is polite applause. Relief is written on faces and hidden in hearts; the chances of someone's name being picked drops by more than a hundred percent.
(But still, twenty four people will be chosen, odds or not. And to them statistical improbabilities won't matter the slightest.)
The Capitol makes plans. Everyone is to crowd around huge TV screens that are placed strategically over all the districts, and the tributes will be collected by Peacekeepers. That way there'll be no false sense of security for those who aren't asked to be in the main Reaping areas.
Because no-one can even pretend to be safe any more.
[1.] "Sequin Strayson!"
Sequin flips her hair and stares at her tanned and defined legs for a moment. Finally, what she has been training for. She's secretly terrified, but her parents have worked hard to make her into a robotic killer. Fear is something she's good at ignoring and excellent at hiding.
And if she wins, her parents might actually be proud of her. And if she doesn't, she won't have to face their shame.
…
"Wonder Hika!"
Wonder stares in, well, wonder. His place is taken in seconds by some Career. There's always someone waiting and hoping to play with death. And more often than not, District One kids will win. Not that Wonder really cares. Games don't matter in the slightest to him.
[2.] "Cassia Manuel!"
Cassia doesn't even flinch. A Career saves her from her fate before she can even get up. She's safe and always be.
Even though this is her second time Reaped (how terrible can luck be?), she'll never go the Capitol, thanks to the fact that people here want glory.
Cassia doesn't believe that glory is worth it, but she's so glad that some people do.
...
"Festus Evan!"
Festus smirks to himself. The fun is only starting. He'll definitely show all is coworkers that he does have a talent, especially one as useful as the ability to survive. His demise doesn't even occur to him, since surely he'll be the best one in the Arena.
[3.] "Lasar Kile!"
Lasar's grandmother yells words that are incoherent, but their meaning is clear.
Not my granddaughter, you bitch.
Lasar will live.
...
"Gere Kile!"
What a sick, sick fate. How could the odds be that two siblings would be Reaped, one right after the other? There is no grandmother that can take Gere's place. His sister shoots him a regretful look, and for a moment he hates her for surviving.
[4.] "Atlantia Wanya!"
Atlantia swears, because that's what she does. It's what she's famous for, actually. The foul-mouthed Victor, that's what Panem thinks of her as. The audience is going to love seeing her again, even if she is thirty. She's been vicious and victorious before. The Capitol won't even mourn her death as long as there's a good show.
...
"Gull Meyer!"
Gull doesn't stand up because he simply cannot. His legs are twisted and his arms are shaky, and they've always been that way. He gapes at the TV screen, mouth hanging open with total abandon.
A Career takes his place, sneering at the crumpled grey boy. Pathetic, the healthy boy's eyes flash.
I know, his ones reply.
[5.] Pauleen van Rooyen!"
She faints like a Southern belle when she hears her name. The rest of District Five has pity reflected in their eyes. She'll be lucky to last longer than a minute.
...
"Niles Kruger!"
Niles looks at his wife and gives a small nod. He silently asks her to stay strong and to not forget him. The only thing that he can hope for his that his child won't be Reaped.
(Chances are that he's wrong. In Panem, security is a lie.)
[6.] "Kaylen Claud!"
Kaylen freezes in her spot, water to ice. Her eyes dart around desperately and fall on a girl that's standing up boldy. She recoils when she sees a girl that she hates – the mentally ill kid that wanders the streets of District Six while everyone treats her like a pet.
But now the girl who has struggled to understand The Hunger Games for years is giving a life to someone else, a person that she barely knows.
...
"Aslee Fed!"
Everyone knows that his surname rhymes with dead, because that is what he will be very soon. He can only accept it. There's no heartwarming scene with volunteers for him.
[7.] "Rashel Farlide!"
There's a girl, only two years old, being held in the arms of her mother. The horror of such a young child being slaughtered is just too great, so the mother simply hands Rashel to a friend and walks away from what she loves without looking back.
...
"Herondale Spire!"
Herondale thinks briefly of all the times he's nearly died and wishes that one of them wasn't successful, just so that he wouldn't have to do this.
[8.] "Cordroy Glim!"
Her heart stops. Her lungs collapse. But she's not dead yet, that will come later. In front of cameras, most definitely.
...
"Stish Hines!"
Tina Hynes opens her mouth in a half-formed protest. She wants to take her brother's place, but since she's a girl (she's never wanted have a penis so badly in her life before) so just screams silently.
A man volunteers. She can only stare in horror as she sees the person that she hates with all her being – the man that forced his body into hers, that caused her nightmares and made her shake with terror – stroll forward and save her baby brother's life.
A small payment for his sins. And she is grateful.
[9.] "Joy Gurn!"
Joy instantly falls into hysteria. Her pregnant belly bulges from her skin and the only thing she can think of is the child that has suddenly started kicking like mad. A child that will never see daylight, thanks to the Capitol.
A girl that Joy has never seen before stands up. She must be only fifteen, if not younger. She flashes a smile and mouths 'Raise that kid well.'
Joy promises to do her damned best.
...
"Harolle Strauss!"
Harolle sighs and stands up. He has a heart problem anyways. He blames the factories. He glances at the female volunteer and he can't help but wonder what that baby will be like when it grows up.
[10.] "May Garrow!"
May is eight and alone. She looks around desperately, hoping that someone would take her place. But no-one does. Her family had a history before they were killed publicly; its a miracle they kept May alive. She's the kid no-one dares touch. She curses her ancestors and takes his place amongst the ranks to die.
…
"Julian Haymes!"
No-one makes a move to help. He doesn't care; he's too near death already to worry about the process speeding up.
[11.] "Lucerne Laut!"
A nineteen-year-old crosses her arms. She was so happy to finally escape The Hunger Games, free of Reapings and terror. But safety is an illusion, just like the fearlessness she's projecting onto her face.
...
Crocus Morat!"
Crocus is eight too, just like May. But his older brother volunteers without a second thought. Some are simply luckier than others.
[12.] "Wisteria Blaize!"
Wisteria swallows and kisses her daughter's cheek before facing the television screen. Thirty-eight is a long time to live compared to when most tributes lose their lives. Wisteria can't help but feel hate though.
...
"Drake Sambrosa!"
An old man takes one last look at District Twelve, the place where he grew up, and the only thing he can think of is that he is so very glad that he's dying this year instead of a teenaged boy.
He ambles towards the Peacekeeper, knowing that he's inadvertently saved one life by sacrificing the last few years of his.
It's a fair trade, he thinks.
-FIN-