Shattered: The 14th Hunger Games

by TheAmazingJAJ

My heart is shattered and the tears keep flowing. I have regrets. I have pain. It won't all go away. But trust is not gone, for even though I am shattered, I can be mended. Follow four unique tributes throughout the Games, learning their past and discovering their future. Only one of them will come out alive, but will they come out intact, or shattered?

1. Of Fire and Flame: Caitlin Wagner

Caitlin Wagner, 17, District 7

Life has been a routine for as long as I have remembered: Wake up, eat a small breakfast, and work in the forests, cutting down trees and shaping them into valuable pieces of lumber, before heading back to my small home, eating a small dinner, and sleeping. It could have been so different, though. It could have been a happier routine, instead of tinged with my regret of the years past. If only I had braved the flames and went for my sister, Callie, who was asleep as my parents and I ran out of the house. If only I had ran for help instead of watching in horror as my parents dashed in together for her, swearing to me that they would be back before I knew it. If only I had done something, instead of just sinking to the ground and crying as the roof of my house collapsed on my family, leaving me alone for the rest of my life.

My town had tried to take me in to the orphanage, but I refused. I saw what happened to kids in the orphanage. They withered away, until they were just a shard of their former selves. I left school and started working in forestry at 14, and had stated that way until now. The Games were just a distraction, an interruption for our daily lives to show us the power of the almighty Capitol. I had never personally cared. Life had already taken so much from me. What else could the Games do that I already hadn't experienced? So, on the day of the reapings, I put on some clean clothes, walked to town, and stood in line to get checked in before heading into the square.

Then, I waited as our escort, Lucilda, stood on the stage and read out to us the Treaty of Treason, waiting for us to applaud at the end, as if it wasn't the symbol of our defeat by the hands of the Capitol. But, I stood patiently, fidgeting as Lucilda daintily plucked a slip from the girls giant glass bowl, struggling to open it with her abnormally long nails. After a minute, with a smile of triumph, Lucilda opened the slip, and read out the name.

"Sonya Farrin!"

A small, quiet little girl walked up to the stage, trying to hold back her tears for the cameras eagerly zooming onto her horrified expression. I froze. She was the spitting image of my sister, from the curly brown hair, to the way her pink socks were sliding down her legs to her shoes. And in that instant, I saw my sister in that girl, and did what I didn't do for her in the fire: I saved her.

"I volunteer as tribute!", I cried, stepping out from the sea of 17 year olds, and running up to the stage. As I passed the little girl, she gazed at me with awe, giving me a gap toothed smile as I passed her. And just like that, my sister was gone, leaving just the little girl that I had volunteered for. But, I didn't regret it. As I stood on the stage, and said my name into the crowd, I vowed to myself that I would make my time in the games matter. I would make sure that my sacrifice would not be in vain.

Hi guys! I'm TheAmazingJAJ, and this is my very first Fanfic! So, if my writing is bad, you know that I'm just starting out, and if you see any errors, feel free to point them out. I would love to improve my writing, so I'm good with criticism. I'm hoping to finish the story by around April/May, so hopefully I can meet that deadline. So, until next time, goodbye!