Meredith Grey was pissed off.

She gazed out the window, watching the trees rush by in blurs of color as she pondered her crappy luck. She knew this would happen. The moment she heard that the Hunger Games were to be reinstated she knew her name would be pulled from that bowl. These kinds of things just seemed to happen to her.

It had been fifty years since the revolution finished and Panem had been peaceful for 45 of them. Nobody paid attention to the sudden grow in population as officials from other countries leaked into the Capitol. People ignored the hushed whispers that the Government were building a secret resistance, a Treaty had been signed and the people trusted the Capitol to keep their word. Their first mistake. By the time the people registered there was a problem it was too late. The Capitol had persuaded the leaders of District 1, 2 and 3 to join them in rising against the other districts and war soon broke out. The other districts fought bravely but were unprepared for such a vicious attack and were soon overwhelmed, falling under the influence of the Capitol yet again. The Hunger Games were reintroduced three years later.

This was as much as Meredith could remember. She considered herself a lover not a fighter, and so chose to hide with her family rather than fight. Yet here she was on a train heading into the Capitol and eventually into the arena where she knew she would die. She didn't stand a chance.

Her father and sister had fled to District 6 after hearing it was a safe haven. Meredith chose to stay with her mother, who was too sick to travel such a long distance by foot. Not that she had appreciated it. They fought vehemently every day, so it came as a relief when Meredith found out she would be leaving. Her mother had yelled good riddance after her.

That wasn't the reason she was livid. No, the reason Meredith Grey was so angry was because her sister had been reaped. Her sweet, wouldn't-kill-a-fly sister would be heading into the arena with her. Meredith thought she would be safe in District 6 but that had turned out to be a load of crap. The Peace Keepers ignored Lexie's pleas that she wasn't a citizen of this district as they dragged her onstage. Meredith wept as she watched on their small TV. Her mother didn't bat an eyelid. This was the kind of luck the Grey's seemed to get.

At least we can hold hands while we get stabbed Meredith thought glumly.

"Hey, it's on."

Meredith looked up at the source of the voice. Denny Duquette stood in the doorway, arms crossed, and looking even paler than yesterday. She didn't know much about this boy from her district. She knew that he was sick, that he missed the reaping because he was in hospital hooked up to a bunch of machines. The Peace Keepers had dragged him from his bed and dumped him onto the train, where creepy Capitol nurses with green hair had taken over his care. He stood as much chance in the arena as she did.

"Uh, yeah okay, I'm coming."

Meredith heaved herself off the squishy couch and headed towards the lounge carriage. The television was on and a man was onscreen sitting behind a desk. He had electric blue hair, bright purple eyes and teeth that were too white. He was dressed in a magnificent red suit with a velvet tie. He looked absolutely ridiculous. Exactly the image Eli Victorious was going for.

Meredith sat down on another couch that was too squishy as Victorious sat up straighter and flashed a blinding grin.

"Good afternoon residents of Panem! Well, well, well here we are again! Who would have guessed we would be holding our 76th Hunger Games fifty years after the 75th!

Victorious laughed a high pitched screech that didn't match the rest of his image.

"Now, before we begin, for those of you that missed the reaping's here is a quick reminder of our tributes to bring you up to date."

Victorious winked at the camera before a list of 26 names flashed up onscreen. It read:

District 1: Erica Hahn & Preston Burke

District 2: Calliope Torres & Mark Sloan

District 3: Theodora Altman & Owen Hunt

District 4: Arizona Robbins & Jackson Avery

District 5: Cristina Yang & Benjamin Warren

District 6: Alexandra Grey & Richard Webber

District 7: Meredith Grey & Dennison Duquette

District 8: Addison Montgomery & Derek Shepherd

District 9: Joanne Wilson & George O'Malley

District 10: Miranda Bailey & Charles Percy

District 11: April Kepner & Alexander Karev

District 12: Isobel Stevens & Shane Ross

District 13: Lauren Boswell & Gary Clark

The list faded away to be replaced by Victorious' smiling figure.

"Fantastic! 26 young tributes all determined to prove themselves worthy as a victor. Can you think of anything better? I sure can't! Now, as many of you know from the brochures that were delivered to your respective homes, there have been a few slight rule changes this year. These changes are to make the games more, uh, thrilling for those involved."

Victorious smiled again as his face faded to be replaced by another list that flashed on screen briefly.

Rules Changes for the 76th Hunger Games:

-Tributes between the ages of 13-21 may be selected at each respective reaping.

-Two winners, one boy and one girl, from any district may be crowned. This rule may be subject to change.

-Tributes will be given six weeks to train at headquarters before entering the arena.

-A variety of medical supplies will be available in the given backpacks, including antiseptic liquids, bandages, suture kits etc.

-Due to the increase in training and supplies given, sponsors will no longer be available to provide aid.

-If one tribute defeats another, their name will be displayed next to the deceased picture in the sky.

-All tributes will be trained by one mentor. One-on-one sessions will be given.

Meredith barely had time to read the entire list before it disappeared. The rule of two victors was subject to change? It didn't take a genius to figure out that would happen.

"Would you look at that! The Capitol is good, the Capitol is kind! The tributes will now be so prepared it will take months before we have a winner!"

Victorious laughed lamely at his own joke.

"After the break, we will have an exclusive interview with our wonderful President as he talks about-"

"Turn that shit off," Denny said as he rose from the couch. Meredith clicked the power button and Victorious' voice went silent.

"What a load of crap," Denny growled.

"Those rules aren't there to help us. They're there so the Capitol gets a better show. Having us train for six weeks so we all get better at killing each other? Giving us medical supplies so the audience can watch in vain as we try to stitch up a sword gash? Showing us who killed who so we will chase down the guy that killed our friend? It's sick."

Denny slammed his fist against the wall, swaying slightly as the train rounded a bend.

"And everyone sharing a mentor? That's so the Capitol knows exactly what each tribute is hearing, so no one plans anything rebellious. This is bullshit."

He heaved a heavy sigh as his face grew whiter. They were both silent for a few minutes. Denny turned to Meredith, a look of sadness replacing the previous anger.

"I saw someone called Alexandra Grey on that list. You related to her?"

Meredith looked out the window. She could see the Capitol coming into view.

"Yeah, my sister."

"That's rotten luck."

"Yeah."

They stayed in silence for a few minutes as the Capitol grew closer.

"Well I feel like shit, I'm gonna rest up before the parade. See you later."

Denny sent Meredith a sympathetic smile that she returned half-heartedly before he exited the carriage. She sighed and leaned her head against the window watching the bright lights of the Capitol draw nearer with each second.


Meredith stood in the training room feeling like a weak child. All around her sounds of fighting echoed as tributes trained fiercely. They had been in the Capitol a week, and the strong had already shown their stuff. Tributes from Districts 1, 2 and 3 were meant to be tough, but Meredith didn't realise they were this tough. They moved so fluidly, attacked so violently, and defended so skilfully Meredith considered killing herself now to save them the bother.

Hahn and Burke were the most vicious. They never seemed to stop training, only sparing with each other as everyone else didn't seem worth their time. They seemed to be good at everything. The boy from 5, Ben Warren, made the mistake of challenging Hahn to a sword fight. He was lucky to survive.

Then there was Torres and Sloan. They were friendly for careers, offering to help those around them that they saw struggling. When they spared together, however, they were anything but friendly. They seemed to read the others move before they even made them. They moved as a team, even when fighting each other, as they performed moves Meredith couldn't describe. They always finished with a laugh though, Sloan often giving Torres a slap on the ass to which she would reply by shoving him into a wall.

Hunt and Altman were in the middle. They were friendly enough, but both were determined in their training. Altman was a deadly shot with a bow and arrow, the best of any of the tributes. She would climb around the gym with ease, deadly in both the air and on land. Hunt often focused on his use with knifes, deadly in both throwing and hand to hand combat.

Meredith sat on a bench and sighed. She was mediocre to rubbish at everything. She had been paired with 14 year old George O'Malley for sword practice the other day and made an absolute dick of herself. She managed to poke herself in the eye whilst sparing, causing O'Malley to start crying as he felt it was his fault. Thankfully the swords were plastic, meaning the only thing that was damaged was her ego.

"That guy is such a psycho."

Meredith looked up and saw Cristina Yang, leaning against the wall next to her and staring at someone in the gym.

"Uh, who?"

"The guy from 13. Look at him, he's got crazy eyes. He looks like he's got McDreamy's number."

Meredith was confused. McDreamy? She looked across the room and spotted Gary Clark and Derek Shepherd climbing some netting that hung from the roof. Clark was higher than Shepherd and kept standing on Shepherd's fingers as he climbed; smiling each time he heard an anguished yell. Clark glanced down and stood on Shepherd's head to give himself a boost. Shepherd lost his grip and fell, yelling out as his body hit the ground with a hard thump.

"What the hell man! It's meant to be a non-contact race you asshole!"

Clark let go of the netting and landed on the ground on all fours. He glared at Shepherd before smiling sadistically.

"You wanna go pretty boy, huh? 'Cos we can. Right now, it'll save me killing you in the arena."

Shepherd snarled and started towards him, only to be intercepted by Mark Sloan.

"Woah, woah hey calm down he isn't worth it man," Sloan said quietly. "Save it for the Games."

Shepherd continued to give Clark a death snare. He glanced up at Sloan who shook his head gently. Eventually, he spat on the ground and stalked off toward the fire making section.

"Oh McDreamy can be McNasty too", Cristina said as she laughed at the altercation.

"Uh, why do you call him McDreamy?" Meredith asked.

"Have you seen that perfect hair? He looks like he belongs in a fairytale. And he looks like he would call himself that. That Clark guys a dick but he's right, Shepherd's a pretty boy."

Cristina laughed hysterically and Meredith couldn't help but join in. Soon they were both clutching their sides and gasping for breath.

Cristina choked out, "Are you as screwed as I am?"

"You have no idea."

They looked at each other again and burst into a fresh round of laughter.

From that day on they were inseparable.