I went outside and smelled the crispy air. Perfect hunting day for autumn. I went inside to my room where my little brother and sister were sleeping peacefully. I feel bad for both of them. They are going to grow up without parents.

My mother and father died 8 years ago because the president ordered them to be killed. The president accused them of murder and robbery. You get killed instantly. At the time, my sister, Angel, was only 3 months. My brother, Danny, was 4 years old. And I, I was only 8.

My mom and dad must've known they were coming because as soon as they police officers knocked, we went to a secret room that we have behind one of the bookshelves. Our mother told us to be quiet and not to make any noise.

As we waited, we heard gunshots. Since Angel was only 3 moths she almost cried, but I covered her mouth. Danny wanted to cry but I hugged him. We were in that room for an hour. I wanted to stay in the room longer just in case they were still there.

When we left the room, we saw our parents on the floor, lying there lifelessly with blood. That's when we started sobbing quietly, hugging each other.

Since I was the oldest, I knew I had to keep us safe and alive. Since my father taught me how to hunt, I hunted. I gathered plants and went to the lake for fresh, clean water. I traded some of our parents' clothes for everyday needs like soap, pots, buckets, and things like that.

Some people would help us stay alive too. Like an old women named Piper. She would sometimes help us clean up, and she would sew us some good and proper clothes. Many people would help us sell our things for good money. They helped a lot and it made me happy. But there was a boy who kept my hopes up since the beginning.

At first nobody would help us and at the time I wasn't good in hunting. I would go and hunt, but I would only get about 2 chipmunks, and that wasn't enough for the three if us. Especially for the baby.

I was in the street, hoping somebody would buy our parents' clothes. Nobody did. It was starting to get dark, and I have left Danny with the baby.

I sat down behind an old bakery and started crying. It started to rain, the cold raindrops hitting my skin. Then a little boy around my age came with an umbrella. I recognized him he went to my school.

He gave me an umbrella and a whole backpack full of food. He had gave me a smile and said, "Here you go. I have all this food, and you seem to need it."

I looked at him and smiled. He smiled back and left. I was staring at the bag of food the boy had given me. I think his name is Caleb. Not wanting to wet the food, I put it under my jacket and started walking towards my house. As I turned the corner, I saw Caleb staring at me.

The next day at school, I saw him staring at me a couple of times, but when I turned to look at him, he would quickly look away. That afternoon, I had a girl named Lizeth come up to me and say that she would love to help me take care of my brother and sister. I gladly accepted, and had my one and only friend, Kyle, who is also my hunting buddy, say that he would help me hunt a lot more, and give me a portion of the meat and fruit he gets.

After I thanked Lizeth and Kyle, Lizeth left and I was left alone with Kyle. We were walking towards our house and I caught Caleb staring at me. We had eye contact for a second, but he looked away.

Caleb was the reason why I even had hope in the beginning. I find it funny how I don't exactly know him, but he helped me.

"Danny, wake up,"-I said shaking his shoulder lightly, trying not to wake up Angel.

His eyelid fluttered open slowly. "What, what happened Brooke?"- he asked, still sleepy.

"Wake up. I'm going hunting with Kyle, and I need you to take care of Angel. She's only 8 and since your 12, you're old enough to take care of her."

His eyes widened. "What? No, don't go by yourself to the woods? What if they caught you and you get selected to go to The Criminal Games?"-he asked, worried.

The Criminal Games. Just great. The Criminal Games are harsh. The main city, which is The Capitol, decided to make a reality show named The Criminal Games. It only happens once a year. If the soldiers in your district (ours is district 12, the 2nd poorest district) caught you doing something illegal, like hunting, they instantly put your name in a slip of paper, and register yourself for The Criminal Games and you fight to the death.

The age is also 12 to 20. If you are older than 20 and you get caught doing something illegal, they kill you in the town square, in front of everybody.

There can only be one winner, which is the one who has survived. If you win, they take your name off of the list of criminals, and you can do whatever you want, which includes crimes. The only crime you can't do is kill the president. The consequence is bad, and is worse than death. Nobody knows what it is, except those who have tried killing the president.

"Danny, don't worry. I'm going to be with Kyle, so I won't be alone. Don't worry, I'm 16 for hell's sake."-I said, while rolling my eyes on the last part.

"Okay, but come back if anything bad happens okay?"

I nodded. "Okay, get some sleep and take care of Angel."

"Okay,"

I gave him a kiss on the forehead and left the room. I went to the living room and got my hunting boots and my leather jacket. It used to be my fathers'. It was the closest thing that I had to him.

I slipped on the jacket, and grabbed my bag for game. I quietly slipped out of the door and made my way to the woods.