Hi my name I Ember Tantum. I live in district 5 the district of power. I am very fast and sneaky some people even say that i am as cunning as a fox. Tomorrow I the reaping I have had to Put my name in the drawing to go to the hunger games more than the usual times. I had todo this because between my five brothers and sisters there has not been a lot of food to spare. Me being the oldest I decided to take out tesserae. being 16 years old my name will be in the reaping ball 5 times. But with me taking out my name will be in 15 times. My father is a drunk and my mother never at home because she is a peacekeeper so she is never really home. So basically am the head of the family. to keep us going I do odd jobs around the district like delivering messages and other things like that.
My best friends name is Jacob he is a short somewhat weak boy most people make fun of him but I would never do that. Jacob is one of the younger of all of his brothers. His older brothers need more food so all of them have to take out tesserae. so his name will be in the same amount as me. I am even smaller that Jacob which is saying something. Some people also make fun of me because not only am I as cunning as i fox like I said before I somewhat look like one. The night before the reaping is a awful one. I have to take care of 5 little kids worried about what will happen if my name gets pulled. If I go to the capital and then the games my brother and sisters will surely perish. They will have nobody to take care of them. I shudder at the idea. I cannot show any sign of fear if I do they will all surely lose it. Maybe if I go to the games my mother will come back… maybe she can convince the head of her squad to dismiss her. She could always work at the power plant or wash clothes for a living. It does not happen very often but it has. Five children at home with a drunk father that may be enough for her to be dismissed.
As I finally get home from running messages for the richer people in our district see that the front door is wide open. This is not a rare thing to happens i do come home a lot with something out of place. Then I notice something else a window is broken. slowly I peer into the door. the next thing that I know a bottle has gone whizzing by my head just missing my bright red hair. Steeping into the house I am on my toes just waiting for another bottle to come but it doesn't. Finally I get a good look at what is going on it is just my dad and one of his stupid power plant worker friends. Ugh just what I need right now! To deal with this fight between my dad and some other knocked out drunk and my poor brothers and sisters. "DAD!" I yell "what are you doing?" he turns around drooling a little bit but he can hear me that is a good sign. "what" he says "who is man on our coach?" I somewhat yell. spurting very fast and very hard to hear he says "he owed me money". that is when I just walk away upstairs to see what the damage is to my brothers and sisters. Not much just the littlest is a bit shaken. I gather them in my arms and we hug for a very long time. Finally they have all be comforted and are ready to go downstairs to eat dinner. we shuffle down the starers eat quick. I do the dishes as one by one they scurry up stairs.
I tuck every single one of them in and kiss them goodnight. As soon as they are all sleep i climb into my own bed. When they are all asleep in safe and sound I realize that tomorrow will be one of the worst days I can imagine. Then if all asleep even though there are still some faint sounds of fighting from down stairs. But we are used to that and fall right to sleep. I have a dream about me as a fox and everybody else as animals that they look most like stand in the town square. Then my name is pulled. I run that is all I can think of todo. To make me stop running the peacekeepers take hold of all my siblings and put guns to their heads. I don't know what is happening until it is to late. One by one I watch as all of my brothers and sisters are shot in the head.