In the outskirts of District Five, sat a red headed girl. She was salvaging a day of rest, free from the electrical hum and whirr of the power station. Free from the dull beige work suits. Free from the electric wiring and circuits. But not free from worry, nor danger. For today, was the day of the Reaping.

The girl, her name was Taryn, and she was in a fit of worry. And whenever this worry took hold, she left to the outskirts and dragged it out of her soul by just sitting and staring. People in her district called her mad when they saw her doing it, so she came her, to the hills. Since the Dark Days, there had been electrical fences surrounding each district and to get to the hills, she must climb over them. Being from District Five, the power in these fences were stronger than any other district and she had to take extra care with this task.

But Taryn was tall, long legged and slim, she could easily scale it. Just as long as she didn't trip.

From the high hills, Taryn could see District Four, its glittering seas, its busy ports and the liveliness of it. That's where she wanted to run to. She would often dream of living there. Swimming, or at least, learning to. Lying on the beach, in the sun, wondering where the sea ends. She wanted a dress made from the colour of the sea, blue, tinted green and shimmering. She wanted to be rich, afford fine foods, not the tesserae, fine clothes, not scratchy woollen jumpers that were illegally imported from District Ten. She could run there. She knew it.

Taryn looked back at her home, it was small, but she could see it from where she was sitting. Her twelve year old sister, Shey, would be attending the Reaping for the first time today. Now, her father would be getting her ready, promising she wouldn't get picked. It's only her first time after all.

After Taryn pulled all the worry from her, she made her way back down. She watched the fence, analysing it. She always did this, even though she had succeeded in jumping it every time. She had to though, how could she not when she had once watched a friend die this way? It was always re-enacted in her head, whenever she saw this fence.

She was eleven, and had been to the hills for the past two years. It was wondrous, she had decided, and wanted to share it with her best friend, Lotren. They ran from school, just as the final bell rang, racing each other to the beautiful hills. The broken sole on his boot flapped as he ran making him sound like he was trying to take off.

"Watch this!" Taryn called behind her. She gracefully leaped over the buzzing wires, landing safely on the other side. "Come one! It's easy!"

Lotren looked doubtfully at the wire, crinkled his forehead in determination, and leapt. For a split second, Taryn saw the triumph, the excitement, the wildness on his face, just as the broken sole caught on wire, and pulled him towards it. His body lit up with sparks, electric, the smile replaced by terror, screaming. All Taryn could do was watch.

When the life drained from him, like the life drains from a battery, she ran to the hills to hide, and when she came down, she took a different route, one that wouldn't let her see his body.

When the Peacekeepers found him, there was no further investigation, he had just accidentally tripped as he was trying to leave District Five. He was alone.

Shey ran to Taryn as she opened the door. She buried her face into Taryns scratchy jumper.

"You look beautiful. You know that?" Shey looked up with her massive green eyes. Her massive teary green eyes. She was dressed in a simple white blouse and black skirt. Her long brown hair, curled down her arms and back.

"Dad found one of mum's old dresses, its on the bed."

"Thank you." Taryn kissed Sheys forehead and went into the bedroom.

She could remember her in that dress. It was strapless and floral, floaty and elegant. She could she her spinning, laughing, happy. Taryn would have killed to see her again.

Her mother had been dead for three years, the year when she turned twelve, old enough to sign up for the tesserae. Her mother, worked in the power station, where Taryn now works, and like Taryn, she was one to drag out her worry. But instead of achieving this by doing nothing, she achieved it by doing everything. Her long, graceful fingers worked through the circuits, joining them, cutting them, supplying power to the Capitol. But electrical accidents such as fires and electrocution were not rare. A fire broke out as her mother worked harder than ever, her first child at the risk of being chosen for the Hunger Games, the televised fight to the death, only one out of twenty four could come out. Whether it was her mother or someone else who actually started the fire, it was never discovered, but thirty seven workers died, including men, women, teenagers and her mother. Her father never really recovered, he still stares out of the window from her rocking chair, some times, they catch him looking through her belongings, trying to find something to hold.

The dress was almost beautiful on Taryn as it was on her mother, in her opinion. She hated watching herself spinning in the mirror. It looked to much like her mother. She tried to avoid her father, she didn't want to remind him of her.

Taryn clutched Shey's hand as they made their way down to the Justice Building. A woman from the Capitol stood at the top of the steps, a clear bowl on either side of her. She was dressed in obscene orange, her hair spun into a tall tangerine spiral. Her dress was polka dotted, orange netting underneath, giving the skirt enormous volume. She smiled through her mad Capitol make up, making Taryn just hate her more. How could she smile? How could she be so happy when two children, any child that she could see, maybe Taryn, maybe even Shey, will die in this blood thirsty TV 'show?'

Taryn directed Shey where to stand, she had done this for two years already. She watched Shey, standing near the front with the other twelve year olds, while Taryn stood in the middle with the fifteen year olds. Every few minutes, she would catch Shey turn around, searching for her. Taryn gave her a reassuring nod. They watched the film of the Dark Days, and as it finished, Taryn caught her fathers eyes in the outside crowd, he looked terrified. He could be losing either one of his children today.

They were snapped out of the trance as the orange Capitol woman stepped forward.

"Ladies first!" She spoke cheerfully though her microphone, her hand hovered daintily over the bowl on her left. She plucked a piece of paper from the bowl and held it up before reading it out.

There was a great silence as everyone held their breath.

"Taryn Goodwin!"

All the worry that Taryn had lost during the time at the hills, flooded back. She wished she could go there now. She wished she could be any where than here now. But instead, she walked calmly out to the space between the boys and the girls, past her sobbing father, past her sobbing sister, and to the stage. The smiling orange woman just grinned madly at her, as if Taryn had won an award.

Stiff as a pole, Taryn stood there, not looking down at the relieved girls, nor her crying sister but over at the boys, who would be picked this year?

"Marcus Gray!"

Taryn winced. Not Marcus. This was Lotrens seventeen year old brother. She didn't want to see him any day of the week, but especially not today. He had always hated her since Lotren died. He had seen her go to the hills and knew immediately it was her, but never said anything. She supposed she should have been grateful, but she didn't want to give him a reason to tell the Peacekeepers who it was, just by her talking to him.

He walked up to the stage, staring at Taryn the whole time. She noticed a man and a woman clutching each other, crying. His parents.

"Shake hands then!" The orange woman said.

So they did, and his fist clutched her hand a little to tightly. It said, "I knew it was you. I will kill you because you killed my brother." And she felt the truth in it.