The Hunger Games Galaxies: District 10
Shayla awoke early on the day of the Reaping, and began to fold her bed for what would possibly be the last time. Then it was into the bathroom, where she pressed her school uniform, tied her hair up into a tight bun, and washed her face. She wanted to be ready to go before the rest of her family woke up, and she wanted to meditate before she left.
"Why are you up so early?"
Her mother peeked into the bathroom, the dim light of their house reflecting her warm face. She was always smiling, despite their situation, and she tried to never show weakness or suffering in front of her family. Shayla was the only exception.
"Well, mother, it is the Reaping," said Shayla, as she smoothed out the crease in the uniform. "I want to be sure I'm prepared. Plus, I can't help but wonder if I might be able to See something…"
Her mother nodded and walked over to re-do the bun in Shayla's hair. Her mother had always been open and receptive to Shayla's power, and her affinity with Divination. Her father and brother barely believed it, but Mary Harper knew that some people were blessed in ways, and knew that whatever visions Shayla saw were sent from the Gods, and intended for her to see.
"You know, it's kind of ironic, isn't it?" she said suddenly. "If we'd stayed in Angora… we'd be safe…"
"Yeah…" muttered Shayla.
In District 10, there existed only two countries: Angora and Fortuna. Every year, there was a contest, and whoever lost would be subjected to the Reaping. In old times, gladiators and warriors had decided whose children would have to go under the knife. Warfare was also a common theme, even as recent as her parents' youth. But, now it was a spectacle of sports, where the best competitors from each country would fight for their children. In some ways, this was better; no open bloodshed before the Hunger Games began. But Shayla had Seen, many times, the fates of those who lost in the competitions…
This year, Fortuna had lost by a narrow margin. Born in Angora, Shayla and her brother, Jack, had been subjected to the Reaping every single year because of Angora's recent losses. It was part of the reason her parents had fled the country and settled in Fortuna. That, and to escape the crippling poverty they'd been stuck in for years.
"I've got breakfast going… so… I'll see you soon," said her mother.
Shayla returned to her room and pulled out an old yoga mat she'd found at a thrift store. It was perfect for meditation, and it only cost her a dollar and a half. She sat on the ground, folded her legs, and relaxed her breathing. Cloudy visions of the upcoming day, her focus for this session, floated in and out of her focus. She could see the Initiates on stage as the usual hymns echoed in her ears… and she heard the first name called. She'd seen it called hundreds of times. At first it shocked her, but, no longer. Strangely, that was the only name she'd seen; the other was a mystery to her, and she couldn't See it, no matter how hard she tried.
"You are not meant to know, then," said her mentor, years before. "If you search for a specific answer, and you are not given so much as a hint, then it is not their Will that you See it. You may try; perhaps you are to know it at a later time. But for now… you are not."
"Yes, Lady Shandra, I understand," said Shayla, bowing her head respectfully.
"Very well. Take leave of me; it is time for me to meet with the Initiates," said Lady Shandra.
Siyon. Shayla couldn't help but wonder how her cousin was doing. It'd been almost a whole month since they'd last seen each other; her taciturn cousin was always busy training to become one of the Gods' voices. It was a near-life-long commitment, and they started early in District 10. Shayla was one of the few non-Initiates to have regular contact with people like Lady Shandra, a high priestess in servitude of the Gods.
"C'mon, Shayla, we've gotta go," came the voice of her brother, Jack, through the door.
Shayla calmly returned her focus to the physical world around her, rolled up her mat, and walked down the dark hallway of their house. In the kitchen, her parents were already eating, and Jack was just settling in. Nobody spoke; they rarely did on Reaping days. It suited Shayla well. She didn't want to upset anyone by revealing that she already knew who half the tributes would be.
"We should probably go… they want us to meet at the school before we go," said Jack.
"All right. I love you both. Be very careful, and stay together during the Reaping," said their mother, embracing them tightly.
Shayla almost laughed. Their mother had said the same thing since they'd both become eligible back in Angora. By Shayla's second year, they'd already gone to split off and do different things during the ceremony, watching as each member of District 10 was sent to their death; there hadn't been a victor in Jack or Shayla's lifetime.
"Be safe," said her father, gruffly hugging them both. "I'll be praying for your safety."
It was a short walk to their school, Whitestone High. Their province had won the dubious honor of holding the Reaping, and it was decided that the high school's Moon Stadium would have the best layout. Even as they approached, they could see a lot of activity in the stadium. They were obviously setting up inside; the Peacekeepers were already around, although District 10 was one of the few who hadn't caused problems lately, according to Siyon.
Once they'd arrived, Jack took off to find his buddies and girlfriend, so Shayla went to the sign-in sheet to fill out the required paperwork. Those who were impoverished, like the Harpers, could volunteer for the Reaping and receive a small stipend from the government. It angered them that Fortuna had done that; Angora automatically gave one out to any child who was initially chosen for the Final Reaping. Still, it was necessary, so Jack and Shayla had both signed up, knowing that, with about 5,000 of each gender in the stadium, the odds of them being selected were slim-to-none.
"May the odds be ever in your favor," same a flat voice behind her.
Siyon had arrived, already wearing her hooded robe. She gave Shayla a smile, but her expressionless eyes made the gesture seem unnatural. Shayla smiled, and gave her cousin a quick hug.
"Where's Shane?" asked Shayla.
"You know my brother," replied Siyon, shrugging. "Off to try and woo some girl or brag to some guys about something she did. Have you made your preparations for the Reaping?"
"Yes. The stipend will be sent to our house next week. What about you? Have you Seen anything?" asked Shayla.
"The Gods would not permit me to See, even if I wanted to," said Siyon, sighing. "So I have no idea about who will be Reaped. It might be me, for all I know…"
Shayla snorted. "Not likely."
"I must leave you," said Siyon, vaguely. "Lady Shandra wishes to speak with me before the Reaping."
As she walked away, Shayla found it hard not to feel jealous. Though Initiates were technically unsafe from the Reaping, if they were called, they always had someone who was charged with volunteering immediately. The Gods protected their own, apparently. Shayla sometimes thought it might be worth becoming an Initiate just to gain that protection, but the thought of being in the service of their Gods made her sick.
"The Reaping will begin soon," came the announcement. "Please, make your way into the stadium at this time."
Shayla had just taken a few steps into the stadium when a loud voice shouted to her. She turned to see Melody Moon, her brother's girlfriend, working her way toward her through the sea of people. The rich daughter of the actress and the businessman… dating the poor son of immigrant fathers. Shayla had been the one to foresee it, and indirectly introduced them, but the relationship had surpassed even her expectations. It had only been about eight months, but nobody could imagine one without the other any longer.
"Have you seen Jack?" asked the frantic Melody. "I can't find him anywhere."
"He went to look for you, actually," replied Shayla. "Try… looking for Jesse or Shane; they're probably tall enough to act as masts for him."
"Ahaha… a big, red-headed ship. I like that thought," said Melody. "Good luck today, by the way."
"Same to you. I'm surprised that you're here," said Melody.
"I volunteered. We don't need the stipend, obviously, so I'll just probably give it to your parents or some charity," said Melody. "But if the poor volunteer, so should I."
"Wow… that… was brave of you, actually," said Shayla. "Well… I guess the only thing left to say is 'May the odds be ever in your favor!'"
"And to you," said Melody, hugging her quickly and dashing off into the crowd.
Shayla stood alone as the ceremony finally got underway. The hymns were sung, the opening acts read, and, suddenly, Lady Shandra was standing in the center of the stage. This surprised Shayla; her vision hadn't shown the speaker of the name, but, still, it was a pleasant surprise.
"The woman who shall carry the mantle of destiny into the arena, the one whom we place our hopes in is…" said Lady Shandra, her hand deep in the bowl of papers with the names on it. "… Miss Shayla Harper, from Hannerville."
Heads spun around to stare at Shayla, who would have found the reaction a little entertaining if she hadn't seen it dozens of times before. Her mothers' tears, which she knew were flowing in the stands, were tougher to visualize; she'd seen those, too. She worked her way out of the group, not looking at anyone, ignoring the shrieks and calls of Melody and some of her other friends from school, and approached the stage. She knew there were no sponsors, but her demeanor was meant to show that she wasn't going to go down without a fight. She stood next to Lady Shandra, who lead them in a prayer of protection for their tribute.
"And so… this man shall shoulder the burden of time in the arena, and the other that our hopes are placed in is…" Lady Shandra began, speaking slowly. "… Ty Carlson."
She really hadn't seen that coming, and it made her feel vaguely ill. He was in the elementary school, and couldn't be more than seven or eight. The relaxation of the age restrictions… to think it would condemn someone so young to his death. Shayla knew his older brother; he was a classmate of hers, and it didn't take long before she could see his entire family fighting their way out of the stands and through the sea of students to try and get to him. His older brother, slightly older sister, father, mother, grandparents… all having to be restrained by Peacekeepers as the pale-as-a-ghost boy began to walk forward. Shayla felt a burning hatred stewing in her stomach. What kind of sick Gods were they ruled by to want to witness such a spectacle.
"Do we have a volunteer?" asked Lady Shandra, the smallest traces of pleading in her voice. Even she couldn't handle it.
"I volunteer as tribute!" came a shout.
Shayla felt her heart drop and her knees almost gave out entirely. She'd expected that maybe Blaine would volunteer for his brother, but this wasn't right. The young man who had called out his intentions to volunteer… was her brother Jack.
She had definitely not seen this coming.
Author's Notes:
Short explanation time on how this whole ordeal is going to work!
The games themselves are still in progress, so for now I'm only doing the intro stuff. All events that take place in the Districts will be in their appropriately-titled stories in the proper crossover section. Once that's all taken care of and it collapses into one story, I'll put the title at the end of each District Introduction Section (or just click on my author name to find it yourself).
The entire story is being decided solely on a complicated series of dice rolls, to prevent bias on my part and to make it so even I have no idea how this is going to end or who is going to win.
Let me be clear: this is not going to be an "everyone bands together and fights the evil powers and they all survive" story. As of writing this paragraph, twelve tributes are dead. So if you see your favorite character selected… well, don't get mad if they don't make it through.
That's all for now. May the odds be ever in your (favorite characters') favor.
ALSO: Starting from here-on, I've put the schedule of updates on my profile, so you can know when the next installments of my stories are coming out. It's not going to be perfect due to my job, so I might miss a few deadlines here and there, but, overall, it's a good indicator of when you can expect things to be out.