Part 1: The Reaping

Chapter 1

BOOM, goes the wall when I hit my head against it. I sit up and hit my head against the ceiling. "Ow!" I yell out. That's what I get for sleeping on the top bunk. I hear stirring from the bed beneath mine and I peak over to see if my best friend, Aries, has woken up. He moves a bit, but he doesn't wake. I look at the small clock and see it's 4:30 am. I jump down from the top bunk and punch Aries until he wakes up.

"What!? What do you want?!" he shouts.

"It's time to go," I say and he instantly gets up. I go to the bathroom, throw water on myself, and go back to change into one of my dad's leather jackets. I go to my dad's room to tell him that we're going out, but he's not there. He must be helping in the hospital today.

Aries and I run out the front door and go through our villiage, Stonehold. District 2 is made up of four villages, each based on four mountains. Stonehold is the poor village, Threshold is the merchant village, Stronghold is the rich village, and then there is Victor's Village. That's where all the victors of the Hunger Games goes to live. Each village is close to each other because they were built on the base of each mountain, maintaining quick travel through each village. The villages are large enough to wrap around the base of the mountains, and luckily for us, we live close to the fence.

We reach the gate surrounding the district and I hold up the electrified wire while we pass under it. The electricity doesn't really hurt me. I was shocked when I was a kid and I've never been the same. Aries runs ahead of me and grabs our weapons from a craved out tree stump. He hands me an axe, and he takes the bow and arrows for himself.

Traveling through the woods was something we did at least 3 times a week. In fact it was how I met Aries. I was out in the woods with my father, when we ran into one of his friends who was showing his son, Aries, how to hunt as well. My father was working two jobs so Aries' Dad helped him out by taking me hunting along with them. After two weeks, Aries and I started to become best friends. We went to the same school and were in the same age group, so we always knew what to talk about, never a dull moment. We took care of each other. We've saved each other on multiple occasions.

After two years, Aries' father allowed us to go on our own. One day while we were hunting, my father found us and told us bad news. The caverns, where mostly everyone works, had caved in. It killed 5 minors, including Aries' father.

The day of the memorial service, the Peacekeepers were going to take him to live in a community home. He was going to be kept under an oppresive watchful eye, but my father stood up and took him into our home and as part of our family. A lot of people think we're brothers. Mainly because we live in the same house, but also because we sort of look. We both have dark brown eyes and black hair. We're also about the same size.

While we walk through the forest, I spot a rabbit. I throw an axe and it lands in it's side. It catches the dead rabbit and pins it to a tree. An arrow flies above it and lands in a small bird. "Who's better?!" Aries laughs.

"Shut up," I laugh along with him.

After hours of hunting, we catch multiple birds, squirrels, and rabbits. We find our favorite spot, which is a cliff top over looking the valley. We relax for a while and talk about what we usually talk about. Girls. Right now there is only one girl on my mind, Hanna Librae, the Mayor's daughter. In my eyes she is virtually perfect. Her light brown hair, and her green eyes are a knockout. "But she's never going to notice me. The boy from Stonehold." I tell him.

"Well, why don't we go to her house today!?" Aries encourages.

"She won't be there, and even if she is, she won't answer." I reason with him. It's true, though. We do sometimes sell to her family, but it's usually one of her sisters, or even a maid to answer the door.

"So, we'll find a reason to go in," he gets up and drags me by my hand until I get up. His words slightly encourage me, and I actually start to believe in her appearence today. I start running along side him, and even get passed him. "Hurry it up, Adonis!" he yells even though he's right behind me.

We go under the gate and speed through the outskirts of the village. We finally come to a halt and slow down as we reach Stronghold. We walk through the neighborhood and all the houses are two floors. They're nice, but not as nice as the ones in Victor's Village. We finally come to the house at the end of the street which is Hanna's family home. Aries goes up to the door and knocks until the door opens. "Hello," Hanna says. She actually did answer!

"Um...hi," I stammer. Aries pushes me forward, and I accidently bump into her.

"Can I help you?" she flips her hair away from her face. I try to come up with something to say, but I'm to nervous to think of anything. That's when Aries intervines.

"Yeah, we came to drop these off," he reveals a handful of strawberries. Where did he get those? He hands them to me, and I he nudges me for an extra boost.

"Yeah, here you go," I hand them to her.

"I love strawberries," she cheers. "Don't I know you?" I look back at Aries. "No, you. Your name is Adonis, right?" She knows my name?

"Yes, and you're Hanna," I start off and she confirms it.

"Adonis, I have to keep trading, you can stay here and talk with Hanna," Aries says and leaves.

"Do you want to come in? I can give you something in return for the strawberries." Hanna says as she ties her hair up.

"It's not neccesary,"

"I insist," she grabs me by my hand and pulls me in. She drags me in and sits me down on her couch while she goes to retrieve something. Her house is smaller than I thought. Everything is luxurized, no sign of hardships anywhere. There are picture of her family hung on the walls. One of her and her mother, just like the one at home. There is a picture of me with my mother when I was younger. My mother was a wonderful woman, always filled with joy, even during our darkest days. I was six years old, she caught an unknown disease. She was in pain for a year before she finally passed. Since we were poor we could only afford to make her comfortable in the hospital for her final days. I wasn't allowed to hug my mom while she was in quarentine, so I didn't really get to say goodbye that wasn't through a window. Even in those days I never saw her frown, she was always smiling. She would even sing to me from behind the glass.

"Sorry, I took so long," Hanna comes back wearing a different dress.

"That's a pretty dress," I'm stunned by how amazing she looks.

"Thanks, Adonis," she blushes. I made her blush, I laugh a bit on the inside. "Here you go." She hands me a tiny see through box filled with blue berries. "Those are really good," she says.

"I know. I've only tasted them once before. They're really sweet..." I think for a second. "Like you." She giggles and blushes. She takes my hand and guides me to the door. Her hand is soft, like the fabric of the velvet couch I was sitting on. "I guess I'll see you after the reaping?"

"Definately," she smiles. She slowly closes the door, and once it's closed completely, I cheer silently outside. I turn around and I run off smiling.

When I get out of Stronghold and back into Stone hold, the head Peacekeeper, Slash, stops me. "Why so happy, Adonis?"

"It's reaping day for the 99th annual Hunger Games!" I mock him. "Why wouldn't I be happy?"

"Real funny!" he gives a fake laugh. "What's in the bag?"

"Nothing."

"Stop lying. I'll give you a bottle of milk for a squirrel."

"Fine," I reach in my knapsack and find a squirrel. I hand it to him and he gives me the promised milk. I continue home, and I can see that not a lot of people are out yet. Most people fear the reaping, and they have every right too. Before the 76th Hunger Games, everyone embraced it, because all the kids of District 2 were trained to win. After the peace that the rebellion brought was done and the Capital took control, they no longer allowed Districts 1, and 2 to train their children, so our rate of winners started to diminish. District 2 has only had 3 winners since then.

I arrive to the small cottage and I find my father in his clothes for later, asleep. I put all the earnings in a small ice box that my father traded for a deer carcass, and I go to the shower. The shower is smaller than the closet in my room and only gives incredibly cold water. That's why I have an immunity to low tempuratures.