A Fiery gamble

Chapter 1- the odds are never in my favour

Disclaimer I do not own the hunger games (written by Suzanne Collins) or any character or location affiliated with the hunger games series I only own my OCs Alto Spectral ,Ivory Parma and Leo

Life in a large but poor district was never easy but after becoming a tribute in the hunger games made things worse I never wanted an easy life but hell I wanted to live a life I guess that is the capitals way of teaching us all a lesson we will never forget.

I awoke to the sound of my father's booming voice shouting at me to get ready for another long day. I did not feel like getting out of bed as it was the day I dreaded for 3 years so far and now it is here again… the day of the reaping. As a 14 year old carpenter living a hard life in District 7, I haven't had opportunities like others in the other districts. But I knew we all hated the reaping day all the same. This was the Capitals way of punishing us for an uprising almost 81 years ago and the punishment was never going to stop.

Whilst I had the remainder of the bread for my breakfast, I couldn't help but see that my father was distant as if for the third year in a row.

On this day he didn't want to know me.

Maybe he couldn't take the fact I could be the next tribute… the next lost soul in the games that claimed so many lives. My father and I took a slow and silent walk to the town square where, just as I thought, the atmosphere was the same no one was their usual busy, loud and energetic selves. Instead it was replaced with the sound of… Well, there was no sound. No laughs of younger children playing, no workers talking while walking to work. Everyone was just in this foul mood but now the time arrived for the famous and dreaded reaping, only this year my brother would not be here. As the mayor was making the same speech I heard countless times, I was thinking how this time two years ago my brother was called forth as the tribute and how it tore our family apart. This day has always been the worst day of the year every year, me and all the other male possible tributes were now looking at each other in fear and hope that it was or was not them, but all the girls were silent looking around for support from one another.

But none was given.

Our mayor announced it was the moment he would call the names out of the list of names even though all the names where in that ball. I sometimes wonder if it was fixed, if all those names were the same person but then again, I don't think that would be true. He drew the name of the males first he opened the piece of paper and read out the name.

"Alto Spectral is our male tribute!" I failed to believe what I just heard. Me? A tribute? Two years after Sebastian was a tribute, this seemed to be the worst coincidence me or my father could ever imagine or fear. All the males turned and looked at me as I walked toward the mayor, all of them looking relieved it was not themselves I stood to the right of the mayor as he then turned his gaze to the group of girls and pulled out a name from the ball.

"Ivory Parma!" I turned to see if I could see her but with that crowd I couldn't see over the towering 18 year olds who all turned to see the reaction of the girl that was called. I had never met Ivory before, but I had a feeling she was more popular as almost all the older girls began to be saddened by her name being called as she walked forward. I could only see her golden blonde hair. That was the problem with being small. You couldn't see much else other than hair, especially over the tall girls then she was to the left of the mayor. Ivory was very different to me. Her hair was a long and straight golden blonde, her eyes were crystal blue and she was extremely tall at a glance. It also looked like she wore no make-up. Luckily she didn't otherwise it would have smudged her face. The mayor then announced;

"Give a salute to our new tributes!" whilst everyone was saluting I saw a tear fall down Ivory's face as she looked at an 18 year old boy who was also crying. I slowly presumed they were either family, close friends or even lovers and almost surely they won't be seeing each other again. I tried to see my father's response but he was out of sight he might not even be here, now that I am to share the same fate as Sebastian and won't be in the victor's village. I was too young, too inexperienced to win a game that would most certainly claim my life and break my father's re-shattered heart. We were escorted away by the Peacekeepers to the Justice building and we were silent in our thoughts, neither of us not really knowing what we could say to the other but before we knew it, I was in the designated room for people to visit me.

"You have a hour." the Peacekeeper said and closed the door behind him.

I was alone in a room waiting for any visitors to say goodbye to me, what I believed to be their final goodbyes to me if there was a time to let out how I felt, it was now, before all my remaining short life was televised. But I wasn't upset. I was angry! My anger boiled up inside me, my own father wouldn't visit me but he would visit Sebastian. I felt like I was not important, but then someone walked in. It may not have been the person who raised me but I was glad to see him all the same.

"Alright Alto how are you?" He asked, trying to make a conversation.

"I'm being sent to my death! What do you think I feel?" I replied as coolly as I could manage.

"You're coping better than Seb was, so that's something." he said, trying to calm me down. Leo was Sebastian's best friend and looked after me when I was at work and alone when father spent money on getting drunk. Leo was the brother I needed after losing Sebastian although he did promise him he would look after me, but now he can't protect me if he could volunteer he would, I know he would, but he is now 21 years old so is overage. He knew how I felt as he hugged me and told me that I am going to win he told me everything I wanted to hear but I think he knew I won't believe that. We cried a little… Actually we cried a lot, but he never stopped trying to cheer me up. Telling me jokes, telling me stories of how he and my brother used to get in trouble with the Peacekeepers and got lashed but now he told me he will look after my wreck of my father whilst I'm fighting, running and hiding for my life. The hour was up and Leo was gone. Yet again I found myself alone but I was always a loner. No one really liked me, but now everyone knows me as the boy sent to die for the Capital's sick enjoyment.