This is my very first Fan-Fic, and I hope that you like it! I've worked hard on it. Chapter Two Comming Soon!

Chapter One-

I opened my eyes softly. Sitting up, I realized with a glance outside the window that today was reaping day. In a matter of hours one of District 12's children would be whisked to their death.

I've been safe for a few years. At 14 years old, my name has been entered at least 13 times. Three times for my age, ten times for a tessera. But it's not that bad. My best friend has her name entered at least 67 times.

I sit up carefully. Liliana Grandforth, District 12's Escort for 20 years, is helping set up The Reaping. I stand up and hobble over towards the door. I open it with a large creak.

Scott is standing in the doorway of the other room. He closes the door and sees me, a surprised look on his face. "Happy Reaping Day." He says jokingly. I sigh. "Since when is a Reaping ever happy?" He smiles and walks out towards the dining table. "Because. Your name is only in there 13 times. 13 out of thousands. It will never be you. You'll never have to worry about The Hunger Games."

I smile and sit down for breakfast. "Who knows. Maybe the little slip of paper that Liliana pulls out this year will have my name written on it."

"Never," Scott says. "Never will Liliana Grandforth pull out one of the 13 slips of paper that has your name written on it, and say in her prissy high-pitched Capitol voice 'Tessalie Odeon,'" Scott said in a perfect imitation of Liliana. I laughed as he tossed me an apple. I coughed it firmly in the palm of my hand, and took a juicy bite.

I'm not like most kids in District 12. Actually, I'm not like most kids in all of Panem. Most kids have both of their legs. I don't.

Scott gets breakfast ready. I click on the TV. As usual, it's just Capitol stuff. The newest fashions, and other stuff.

The only reason I am watching this TV right now is because Scott won the 181st Hunger Games. I'm only watching this TV because Scott is my step-father, and he is the only 'family' I have left.

"Anything on?" Scott mutters, frying an egg on a pan. I can smell the warm breakfast scent and hear it burning on the pan. It makes me hungry immediately. "No," I mutter back. "Just Reaping Day stuff…"

A sharp ringing noise comes from the opposite side of the room. The phone. Scott walks over towards it, then picks it up I watch the egg just in case anything happens. Scott musters a 'Hello?' carefully. I know he's wondering who it is The only people it could be is the Mayor or the Capitol. And usually a phone call from ether of them isn't good news.

"Okay Here she is," Scott says, handing me the phone. I see him mouth 'It's Lyra'. I smile and grab the phone from him. "Hey Lyra. What's up?"

I can picture her smiling at my voice. The only reason she has a phone is because her father is the mayor. "Nothing much. Happy Reaping Day, Tess," She says. I laugh. "Yeah. Like Reaping is ever a happy day."

"True…. Hey, want to go out to the field? I'm bored out of my mind, and nothing's going on today until the Reaping." I start to nod, but remember she can't see me. "Sure. Meet you there at…" I glance at the clock. It's 10:26. It won't take me long to eat and get properly dressed. "Say.. 11:00-ish?" There was a slight pause. Most likely, Lyra looking at the clock. "Perfect," She says after a second. "See you there. Bye!"

"Bye!" I say back, and hang up the phone. I look down in surprise and see the fresh egg laying on a plate in front of me. Picking up my fork, I start to eat.

"What did she say?" Scott asks, sitting down in front of me. "She's just bored. Wants to go down to the Meadow at 11. You okay with that?"

Scott nods. "As long as you're back in time for Reaping." I nod. "They make sure everyone is there How could I miss it?" "True. Just.. Be careful," He says. I nod again. "Nothing happened before. I'll be fine," I say, knowing that he's worrying about my leg. I finish up breakfast and hobble into my room.

Dressing in a soft green tank top, my black leather jacket, gray hunting pants, a black leather boot, and my , I head out.

"Ready ?" It's Lyra. She's standing in the center of the field, wearing an outfit much similar to mine, but her boots and jacket are a golden honey-like color. Her light blonde hair is tied into two braids, much unlike my dark brunette hair that is tied into a sloppy side ponytail. But we're pretty much the same.

"Yeah. You got your blow gun?" I ask, not seeing her holding it. She whips something out of her backpack, and blows into it. Inches away from hitting me, the dart hit's the nearest tree. I look back, amazed at her aim. "I'll take that as a yes," I say carefully, walking over towards the fence. It's turned on, and one spark can electrocute you. But if it weren't for Lyra, we wouldn't be hunting.

A few years ago, before the accident, Lyra and I would come out here every day. We would play games, and entertain ourselves. Lyra had found a blow gun in the garden outside her house, and wanted to play around with it.

That moment, a squirrel shot out under the fence. We glanced at each other, and Lyra aimed carefully. As the squirrel nibbled on a nut, Lyra blew into it, and the squirrel fell, dead on the ground. It was her first kill, and actually, her first time even using the blow gun.

Lyra looked up into the sky. "I bet we could catch more if we could get past the fence.." She muttered. "Yeah… Hey, what's that?"

Lyra followed my eyes, and saw what I saw. A small control panel in the highest tree. "It must control the fence!" I cried out. "Try hitting it with your blow gun!"

Lyra blew into the blow gun and a silver dart flew out of it, landing squarely on the panel. A few sparks burst out, and the electric fence lost power. I tried not to think about what would have happened if District 12 was out of power right now because of what they did, or if all of Panem had no power. I pushed the thought away and walked through the fence.

So that was how we found out to hunt illegally. I motioned for Lyra to hit the panel again, and in a swift motion she targeted the panel and hit it. The fence sparked a bit, then nothing.

"Let's go!" I saw, and hop under the fence and into the woods.

We hunt for a bit. I manage to catch a turkey and a squirrel, Lyra grabbing a couple of geese, so we sit down to rest.

I start to get up and look for more when Lyra stops me. "What?" I ask. Lyra stands up. "You never actually told me what happened to your leg. Can you please tell me the exact story? If you remember?"

I sigh. She's been bugging me to tell her for years, but I refused. Now, I guess I should tell her. She deserves to know.

"If I remember…. Lyra, I remember it like it happened yesterday. It affected whole life. I'll tell you."

"I was with my dad and brother in the mines. They were showing me how to work it, just for fun. I asked him if I could pull one of the levers. He started to shake his head, but I didn't see. I pulled the lever, and six tons of coal landed on him and my brother… It crushed my leg. I-I couldn't forgive myself. It was just me and mother, until she re-married. To Scott. She was obviously unhappy, and put herself out of her misery by 'falling' into a lake… So, that's how my leg got to be like this.. Happy?"

Lyra shakes her head. "Not at all. I-I didn't realize…. I only thought.. Oh, Tessalie! Let the odds be in your favor forever!"

She jumped up and hugged me, almost knocking me over. "Lyra, stop. I get it, I get it… But you deserved to know." I say, hugging her back. Lyra looks back at me, a few tears visible through her pale eyes. "If you are reaped, I'm volunteering," She promises. I shake my head. "No, Lyra! Please, don't. I'd never forgive myself if you died out there, and even if you did make it out alive, President Gold will be on your tail forever. Please, don't, Lyra."

Lyra finally nods. "Fine. I mean, it's not like you will be reaped." She says. But I wonder how much the odds really are in my favor..