A Former Hunger Games

Prologue: This is the story of how District 9, the District that is hardly ever talked about in the Hunger Games won their first ever Hunger Games. The female from District 9 surprised many this day as most had thought, especially the Career districts, that District 9 were incapable of ever winning and were the laughing stock of the Hunger Games.

(Readers Please Note: As the details on the past victory of District 9 is vague I am going purely on guess work as to when and where it happened time wise, unlike some of the others who returned for the 3rd Quarter Quell it doesn't say anything about her past or how she won or when. So yes, to clarify, this is about the unnamed female from District 9 who returned for the 3rd Quarter Quell that Katniss was in.)

Chapter 1: The Reaping in District 9

My name is Willow, Willow Sawthorne, I live in District 9 for those of you that don't know what we do, we're the "Bread Bowl" of Panem but I personally despise that term. Yes we are responsible for the grain, we crop fields, we farm, we plow, we sow seeds and harvesting is our livelihood…but it doesn't mean we can't learn other things.

My family have been doing the same job for generations; my father and older brothers work in the factories and my mother and I work in the fields…it is long and tiring.

Perhaps I should start by describing myself; I'm about 5'6, with skin that has a bit of a tan from all the days under the sun but naturally I'm quite a pale girl and more often than not I just get sunburn and lose my tan over and over again. I have freckles that dot my narrow face and hazel eyes that perfectly match my sandy blonde hair.

I wish I could complain about life here, but I don't, not out loud anyway, besides from what I hear others have it far worse than I do…I think it would be cruel to complain when at least I have meals and a roof over my head.

Every year though there is something nearly every district dreads, I hear rumours that some actually volunteer, god knows how some can be so heartless but most of us aren't like that. This something is an event the Capitol of Panem put on, an event called the Hunger Games…and every time we have to send one girl and boy from our district into it, just like everyone else, to fight to the death. But unlike the rest, we have no skills in fighting, we plow fields, we harvest…we have never won the Hunger Games, parents here dread hearing the names of their children because there isn't even a chance for us, it's just a death sentence.

My day of work is over and I walk up the hill to my favourite spot overlooking the endless mass of fields, the processing factories that sit in the other directions depress me, I like the fields, the breeze in my hair, even if the sun can be hot.

'Hey Willow' I turn to see my friend Sinder Burkwood coming over to me, he and I pretty much grew up together, with the exception of my family there is no one I dreaded more that would be picked for one of the Hunger Games. He is a little older than me, him being 17 and I being 16 but it wasn't long until my birthday and his had only gone by recently.

'Another hard day at the factory' I ask him.

He nods 'yeah Peacekeepers work us to the bone, what's it like in the field?'

'Hot' I reply simply.

'I meant with the Peacekeepers' Sinder replied giving a small laugh.

'Oh, they mostly just make sure we don't slack off or steal anything, they can be pretty harsh if they catch us though' I explained.

'I've noticed' Sinder frowned 'one of them cracked a whip down on my sister the other day, I saw it happen.'

I wasn't going to say it but his sister probably started it, she always did have an attitude problem 'she needs to stop aggravating them; she could get in real trouble one day.'

'I know…I'm worried about her Willow, she's old enough now…old enough to be selected' Sinder said, his voice entering that worried tone he saved for serious conversations.

I looked out over the fields 'barely, besides her name will only be in it once right…you and me we have a much worse chance and my brother too.'

'You don't really think they'd pick a brother and sister, that's cruel' Sinder replied.

'It would probably be more interesting for them…it might even increase the chances' I said, my head lowered, I had to accept the fact I'd avoided being picked for 4 years now…if I made it to 19 it'd be a miracle and a half.

There was a long…awkward silence between us and Sinder finally said 'look, Willow if you do get picked I just want you to know…' but I didn't want to hear it, whatever it was, it was best I never heard it.

Cutting him off I said 'so when is the reaping?'

'Tomorrow, they've forwarded it, another thing I came to tell you' Sinder said.

The day of the Reaping has arrived and I haven't slept at all, nightmares plaguing me all night long. I eat a quick breakfast and then bathe and get dressed into a nice dress my mother has laid out for me. I honestly am not a dress or girly sort of person, I prefer pants any day but this one time I conceded to look pretty for the people of the Capitol.

We all move to the centre of the district and stand outside the Justice Building, it takes a fair while to get us all in and for the Peacekeepers to safely secure the area, only potential tributes are allowed in, having all people from District 9 would be impossible, it is just too big.

For District 9 it is utterly embarrassing, the Reaping, normally you would have, not only, an Escort representative for the district but a mentor for each tribute but, seeing as we have never won, we have no mentors. I can just picture the laughter from Districts 1, 2 and the Capitol. Our Escort is a man called Felix a frighteningly bizarre and colourful guy in a tuxedo with gelled hair. Considering Felix means "lucky" I think this is utterly ironic as the people he is responsible for always end up dead.

'Welcome, welcome District 9 to this year's Hunger Games' Felix says in his usual posh Capitol accent.

The usual film about how war and rebellion played, I hardly paid attention, I'd heard and seen it so many times I could recite it by heart if I wanted, not that I ever would. I personally just wanted them to get the Reaping over with, this standing around was only making me more and more nervous.

The film finally ended and Felix smiled 'I do love that, so patriotic. Now we choose the tributes; our female tribute from District 9 will be…' he brushed his arm around inside the bowl and then came up with a slip of paper, he delicately opened it 'Willow Sawthorne.'

There was a silence so cold, so empty you would hear a pin drop, 'no' I thought 'no, I imagined that, he said someone's name, I'm just going to stand here.'

'Willow Sawthorne' Felix repeated clearly and loudly 'where are you my dear?'

Most of the crowd was staring at me now, my gaping mouth, my horrified expression, I had never dreamt in a million years it would actually…happen, I felt myself trembling.

I saw the Peacekeepers heading towards me now, clearly deciding that I wasn't going to co-operate of my own accord.

A sound finally broke the silence, the shouts of a male voice 'no, no Willow' I turned to see my two older brothers trying to shove over towards me.

I saw one of my brothers punch a Peacekeeper and I shouted 'stop, stop it!'

But they weren't listening to me, the only thing that mattered to them was me.

I moved up onto the stage and Felix smiled at me 'there we are girl, it's alright.'

Felix waved at the Peacekeepers and they stopped attacking my brothers 'now, we find out who will be joining you my dear…the male tribute from District 9 is…' he pulled out the piece of paper, opened it and read it out 'Sinder Burkwood.'

I felt like my world was collapsing around me, my best friend…I'd either have to kill him myself or lose him to someone else, what kind of horrible choice was that?

I waited inside the Justice Building; this was my last chance to say goodbye to my family, the likelihood of my coming back was pretty slim.

My mother, father and brothers burst into the room all at once, I was given ten minutes, nothing more.

My mother got to me first, throwing her arms around me holding me tight 'no, no… not my only daughter' that was pretty much all she could get out.

Pulling her back my father stood firmly in front of me 'you listen to me, just because District 9 has never won doesn't mean we can't, don't ever let someone tell you different, you have always been a resourceful, not to mention cheeky, little girl.'

'But Sinder…I can't…plus I'm no fighter.'

Shaking his head my father said 'let Sinder take care of himself and there is more than one way to fight, I'm sorry you and him ended up in this Willow but…' he trailed off not knowing what else to say

'Dad's right' added one of my brothers 'use our talents to our advantage.'

I raised my hands in exasperation 'what talents, I plow fields.'

'Yeah' her brother grinned 'there are many ways to use tools.'

'If anyone can change the record of District 9 it's you' my father said and he gave me a hug.

The Peacekeepers came in 'time to go' and they guided my family out, my mother screaming my name every step of the way.

As I sat on the train that apparently travelled over 200mph according to Felix I thought about the days to come and what was probably my imminent death.

Sinder sat across from me but he wasn't looking at me, we hadn't spoken since the Reaping, we'd been on the train about an hour and in a car drive before that but no speech between us had been shared; if you knew us you'd know how odd that was.

Felix came into the cabin, sat down opposite us, sipping a cup of tea and smiled 'right, here is what the plan is, first the two of you can relax, wash up a bit if you like, help yourself to some food' he gestured at the biscuits on the table 'then we'll have some dinner and watch the other Reapings, so you get a feel for some of your competition.'

No one said anything, I looked at Sinder and he looked at me and we both looked at Felix who just smiled back 'does that sound…ok' Felix asked.

I shrugged 'hardly see a point; we're going to lose like every year.'

'That's hardly a winning attitude' Felix said 'come now you owe it to your district to do your best do you not?'

I frowned at Felix and his smiling face 'you know as well as anyone District 9 not only dies every year but usually doesn't even survive the initial bloodbath.'

'She's right' Sinder added 'we don't even have mentors, having never won, how degrading is that.'

Felix held up his finger 'ah that is where you are wrong, you like all the others will have a mentor, it just wouldn't be fair otherwise would it, no you will be working with someone at the Capitol.'

I had to admit I was slightly surprised by this, so District 9 did have a mentor each year, it wasn't two like some districts but it was better than nothing.

'As I understand it District 12 did the same thing before they had a mentor' Felix said.

I excused myself and went to my room, I said I was going to wash up and get ready for dinner but I mostly just wanted to be alone with my thoughts.

I changed out of the dress, still wearing it from the Reaping, and put on some simple pants and a top, the everyday kind my district wore. I paced around the room, restless and eventually just lay on my back on the bed, starting to get nauseous from the pacing.

I couldn't kill Sinder, never, not in a million years but to allow him to die…that was just as bad…but I had no choice, once those games began I was going to have to cut myself off from everyone else…if I had even the slightest chance of survival.

I must have dozed off because I woke up to hear someone knocking on my door 'Willow…dinner's being served' it was Sinder.

I sighed, I wasn't particularly in the mood to discuss things more with Felix and Sinder…but I was hungry, famished actually so I got up and headed to the dinner carriage.

When I got there I saw more food then I'd ever seen in my entire life; endless bowls and plates of meat, soup, vegetables, fruit and this looked like it was only the main course from what I could tell.

I sat down next to Sinder and dug in, ignoring Felix and his clear discomfort with my lack of manners.

'Little more than the bread you're used to at home isn't it' Felix said, clearly trying to make friendly conversation.

Sinder muttered something through a mouthful of potato and chicken.

Felix's mouth twitches 'could you swallow and repeat that do you think?'

'Certainly is' Sinder repeated smiling.

'I must say I've always found your district's skill with bread…impressive' Felix said 'of course all the districts have their own bread but District 9 have such a finesse for it.'

I was pretty sure that was the first time I had ever heard someone from the Capitol complement our district, I'd remember it next time Felix annoyed me.

'So the Hunger Games' Sinder said 'how are we going to survive.'

Felix put on a smile 'well…as you well know the rules are…simple; a stage is set by the Gamemakers, 24 of you enter and 1 comes out.'

There was an awkward moment as that sunk in, we already knew it of course but it was one of those things that just never quite got easy to accept.

When the moment was over I said 'how long do we have to train?'

'You have a week in the Capitol, in that time you will have the Opening Parade, the Interviews, training and of course the moment to show your skills to the Gamemakers and they will score you out of 12.'

'Do we train together or separately' asked Sinder.

'There are some activities that are mandatory for all of you and the rest is up to you. Normally your mentor would be explaining all this but as she awaits at the Capitol, I'm briefing you, she may no doubt brief you again though.'

Just then a woman came in 'excuse me sir, you asked for the screen?'

'Ah yes, right, we shall now view the other Reapings, starting with District 1' said Felix, he activated the screen as the lights were dimmed in the room.

Sinder and I watched the screen as District 1 came on, unlike the others District 1 is so glamorous, as close to the Capitol as you can get without being in the Capitol.

The boy tribute was a Career (no surprise there) an 18 year old called Jett, he was very tall with dark hair and pale skin. The girl tribute, a girl called Amber, was also a Career and 17 years old. Her hair matched her name perfectly, a golden honey colour and was tied back in a ponytail.

District 2 appeared next, I had always loathed District 2, at least from what I knew about them, that they took pride in competing and killing in the games, even killing their fellow district tribute on occasion…it was just wrong.

The girl was called Adra, a 16 year old Career tribute with fair hair that reached her chin and a dark look in her eyes I didn't like at all. The boy was called Sloan, 18 years old and a Career tribute. He looked fairly tall and had sandy brown hair.

District 3 was up next their tributes were both 14 with sandy hair, blue eyes and although the boy was a bit taller than the girl they could easily be related, I seriously hoped they weren't for their sake. Their names were Evan and Edna.

'Oh you've got to be joking' said Felix 'a brother and sister.'

I wasn't sure whether he was showing excitement or sympathy but I really wanted to punch him at that moment.

District 4 came up and their attention returned to the screen, the boy was a 15 year old called Finn, a Career tribute. Finn had brown hair flat to his head and looked a little taller than me. The girl called Brenna was also a Career, 16 years old, she had dark raven hair with a slight tan.

District 5, the power and electricity district, was up next. The boy was a young 12 year old ginger kid with a round face called Rory. The 15 year old girl was dark haired with an average skin tone called Elysia.

Now District 6, I'd heard a lot of things about them, most of them bad, drug addiction and the fact that one of their tributes once resorted to cannibalism. Cheryl was the girl, a 13 year old girl who looked petrified already, couldn't say I blamed her. Mason was the boy, a 16 year old who looked a little unstable, with dark eyes and wild hair.

District 7…in the past they were often underestimated in the Hunger Games, sure they may not be from a Career district but they sure can handle axes with deadly precision. Keith, age 17, had dark hair and a deep tan. He also had a muscular build, the guy had probably been using axes from a young age. Sylvia, age 15, was the girl tribute, she didn't look too weak either, if she was handed an axe she could probably throw it a fair distance.

District 8, fabric central, the boy was called Fuller a 14 year old with fair hair. The girl was Lacey a 13 year old, with a creamy brown hair colour not quite dark or light.

As we moved on to District 10 I sighed 'this is going to be one dangerous group this year, it's not just the Careers that look dangerous.'

Sinder nodded 'I think you're right, I just hope we don't get an environment too tricky, that will complicate things even further.'

District 10's tributes were a girl and boy both with tanned skin and dark hair only the girl was tall and the boy was quite short and round but fit looking none the less. The boy was called Colby and was 14. The girl was called Laura and was 16.

District 11, one of the poorest of all the districts and from what I hear by far the worst treated, the boy was a strong guy with dark skin, like most of District 11. His name was Tyrone, age 17. The girl was 14; dark skinned with long black hair, her name was Alana.

And finally, last but not least (at least in my opinion) District 12, the poorest of all the districts, it was really shocking how small they were, how easily they fitted all their people into the area for the Reaping in comparison to the other districts. The boy was a young 13 year old called Arden, he looked terrified as most had. He was fair haired and light skinned.

The girl was a tanned, dirty girl called Kimberly, her hair a darkish brown perhaps, beneath all the dirt it was hard to tell, 15 years old.

After watching the last of them Felix turned off the screen and turned back to them 'well, there you go, feel free to watch it again before we arrive at the Capitol if you wish, look over things, if you think it'll help.'

I doubted it would and seeing Sinder's face, I think he agreed with me.