Hey, everyone! I just want to start off by saying that I've read so many beautiful fan fiction stories and I'm amazed by the great stories that people write! I'm truly and deeply inspired by all of the great writers out there! Also, this is my very first fan fiction that I've put into a full story! I have so many ideas swirling around in my head, but I can't seem to get them down in such an amazing way like so many other writers do just yet! So forgive me for any rookie mistakes and please do review and criticize my work (constructively, please!) I'm a HUGE fan of the hunger games and Suzanne Collins is one of my favorite authors! I've had this specific idea on my mind ever since I read the first book in the trilogy. I've seen the movie and read every book in the series, and I only dream that I can be as great of a writer as Suzanne is! Thanks!
Chapter One:
I awoke, as always, to the distant noise of miners' lunch tins clinging and clanging as the men made their way to the deep, hellish mines of District Twelve. I turned over on the worn mattress that my mother, Prim and I shared. They were both still peacefully asleep. Except for the faint noise of the familiar metallic lunch tins, my home was silent and still. I decided that I would do what I always did on routine mornings like this- put on my father's hunting boots, his worn hunting jacket, braid my hair down my back and grab my quiver of arrows and my bow. As quietly as possible, I lightly tip-toed over to the door and left my humble home.
The day, I thought, would be not too different from the countless others that began like this one. I would meet up with Gale outside the seemingly strict confines of my district, District Twelve, which is located in the rolling hills and lush forests of what was once, as we were taught in school, called Appalachia. Gale and I would hunt and gather for hours and hope to snag something really worth wile- maybe a buck or a doe. We both hunted to feed our families and to trade for things that our families needed to survive. That seems about right- we hunted to survive, to live, to thrive in a place where the only sustenance we got for nothing was small rations of grain from the government.
I walked through the narrow dirt roads and past houses that looked almost exactly like mine- worn and deteriorating, but still hanging on- until I reached the electric fence that surrounds the district and is supposed to keep anyone from leaving. I stopped in my tracks in order to look around for any peacekeepers and to listen for the sound emitted when the electric current was on. As almost always, there was no low buzzing emitted from the fence, and with the agility like that of a fox, I slipped through the hole in the chain link.
I didn't walk for more than an hour before I reached the small and cheery meadow where Gale and I always met. I could clearly see that Gale hadn't arrived yet, so I dropped my bow and arrows and took off my hunting bag. I knew it wouldn't be long before he showed up, but the sun was becoming visible on the distant horizon and I knew that any possible game would soon be stirring from its sleep.
I began to let my thoughts wander some more as I looked up into the slightly rustling leaves of the emerald green trees. I wondered where Gale was this morning, he was really starting to run late. Maybe there was something wrong with Rory or Vick or Posy, I began to think. Or maybe Hazelle wasn't feeling well? Before I had the chance to think of any more reasons why he could be late, there he was, emerging from the tree line and walking towards me at a kind of rushed pace. I noticed that he didn't have any hunting equipment and I immediately prepared to question him as he came within speaking distance.