The Reaping

I always hated the reaping day. I jumped up out of bed. I'm a late sleeper; the reaping started in an hour. I got dressed quickly. I went towards the area where the other seventeen year old boys were placed. I started thinking about my younger sister. She is thirteen and very sweet. It's an awful feeling know that if she was chosen I couldn't volunteer for her. I know that I at least, have a chance with my strong body and some skill in swordplay.

Our district representative stepped up to the stage along with our three mentors, Breeze, Storm, and Lightning. Breeze is our only female winner. She is short with blond hair. She is very fast. She won twenty years ago. She apparently won the games by hiding for most of the games and then when there were only four left the game makers pushed the four remaining tributes together. No one paid any attention to her until two were dead and the only other remaining tribute was badly hurt. She quickly killed him and won the games. She's not the mentor of the tributes this year. She gives her tributes the strategy that she used which would not work for a big powerful guy like me.

Storm is vicious. He is tall and very strong with a lot of skill in knives. He won thirty years ago He won by killing four people in the first day. Then he made an alliance with three others and when they fell asleep, he killed them in their sleep. Within two days he had killed seven tributes. Now there were only ten tributes left. He killed two more and his reputation became so fearsome that even the careers didn't want to challenge him. When there was only one tribute left he killed him easily.

Lightning won by cleverness. He is tall and very smart. He used his advanced knowledge in poisonous herbs and berries. He poisoned other people's food and left poisonous herbs and berries out for other people to eat. Finally when there was one tribute left, he put poison on his knife and even though he was badly outmatched he managed to get a very light scratch on the other tribute. The scratch was packed with deadly poison and within ten seconds the tribute was rolling on the ground. Within twenty he was dead. He is this year's tributes mentor.

I'm yanked out of my daydreaming when our representative, Ella announced the girl's tributes name. Rue Neuman. I see a twelve year old girl step up. My heart almost breaks. She is almost in tears and she is so tiny she looks like she's eight years old. Then Ella announces the boy's tributes name, "This year's boy's tribute is… Thresh Wood!" My knees go weak but my body goes stiff. The crowd applauds. I've heard the term "earth shattering" before but I never thought it would feel like this. My life went from being the object of girl's attention and having a rich family as far as district eleven goes to hell. With one simple sentence I had been condemned to death.

Please let me know if I should continue. Also tips, suggestions, anything would be very welcome. Please review if you have read this.