I crouch down behind a small outcrop of rocks that lie between me and my prey and tie my fiery red hair into a messy bun to keep it out of my face. That's one disadvantage of having long hair; it always gets in the way. I would have chopped it all off by now if my younger siblings didn't insist on me keeping it. They swear that it makes me look just like mother. So I keep it long, only to satisfy them.

I peek through a crack in the rocks and watch my target as it sniffs a piece of grass. Its sensitive ears swivel in every direction, listening for danger. I shift my weight silently and crouch lower, ready to pounce.

Pushing up with all the force of my calve muscles, I jump the outcrop, landing with a hand on the mouse's tail. As I stand, I bring its body up to my eye level and it squirms and squeaks.

"Poor thing. You've picked the wrong time of day to be scurrying about."

I cradle the mouse between my hands, careful to hold tight so that it won't escape. Its tiny nose pokes out between my fingers and it nibbles slightly at my knuckles as I start back home. I've been chasing mice across this field for about a year now, ever since my older brother, Jared, turned nineteen and went to work for the power plants in our district. The buildings are always looking for mice to run on the wheels that generate most of our electricity, and since Jared is always working he never has time to go mice trapping. I took the job up myself, not only to help out but to have some time alone every once and awhile. I do my best thinking when I'm alone.

I pick my way across the field behind one of our four main power and electricity plants, the afternoon wind blowing wisps of escaped hair into my face. It's the shortest way home, though probably not the safest. There are quite a few power lines that have snapped in half and dangle from their poles, their dangerous wires exposed and hanging. A few others stretch long enough to lie on the ground, hidden in the tall grass, ready to strike anyone who comes to close. One jolt from those lines and I would be dead.

I've come close to touching one before. I had been chasing another mouse across this field and, misjudging my leap, landed short of the creature as it scurried away. I had looked down in frustration when I saw it. Only a foot or so away from my hand was a big, thick power line, with wires so dangerously exposed that they fluttered in the wind and sparked slightly.

So close to death. I still shudder at the thought of being electrocuted.

I finish my trek through the field and walk across a set of train tracks. These are the tracks that carry Capitol trains through our district. My heart skips a beat when I realize that tomorrow these rails will be carrying tributes for the 74th Annual Hunger Games to the capitol.

No one in my family has ever been picked for the games, not even Jared, who just last year had his name in the glass ball forty-seven times. He signed up for the tesserae every year, even though we could probably get by without it. He wouldn't let me sign up for the extra food in years before, but with him being ineligible this year I have to take matters into my own hands. I signed up for it yesterday. In this year's reaping, my name will be entered fourteen times.

A sudden touch on my back snaps me out of my thoughts and I whip around, dropping the mouse and crouching low to the ground, ready to face my unseen foe. I blush in embarrassment when I realize who it is.

Charlee, a boy from my district, is crouched in front of me with a smirk, almost as if he had known my reaction beforehand. He reaches a hand forward and touches my face, then pulls me in for a quick kiss.

"Sorry for scaring you, love," he whispers against my lips, a smile still on his face.

I pull away, furrowing my brow and trying to look mad. "You scared me to death Charlee! And you made me drop that stupid mouse!" I look around for the rat, scanning the grass for any movement.

Charlee raises his hand and reveals the mouse, wriggling around and trying to escape. "Stupid creature ran straight into my hands." His smile widens. He enjoys seeing me mad.

I go to snatch the mouse away but he pulls it just out of my reach. "Nuh, uh, Abby. You aren't getting this mouse back until I get another kiss."

"Wanna bet?" I ask, and before he has time to move I pounce, pinning him on the ground and grabbing the mouse from his hand. My legs straddle his chest with my knees pinning his arms down, and now I'm the one smirking.

A laugh escapes his mouth and he reaches up, pulling my hair out of its bun to fly freely in the wind. "This is why I love you."

I lean down and kiss him fervently, letting my lips linger on his for several minutes, then stand and pull him to his feet as well.

Charlee and I have been inseparable ever since we turned twelve and met at our first reaping. It hasn't always been a romantic relationship though; our love started out as pure friendship and only bloomed into something more two years ago. I still remember the first time we kissed, under a grove of trees hidden from the sight of my older brothers. It had been sweet and innocent, more of a quick peck than a real kiss. But in that one second we both knew we were in love.

"Where are you headed?" Charlee asks, wrapping his strong arms around my waste and burying his head in the crook of my neck. I love these short, blissful moments we get to have, even though they are few and far between. With the duties we each have to our families and district, as well as my older brothers keeping a close eye on me, we hardly have time to be together.

"Back home," I answer. "I have to bring back this rat for Jared and then fix dinner. After all, it may be the last meal we have before one of us gets picked in the reaping." I smile at my joke, but when I look up into Charlee's face his eyes are hard.

"Don't say that, Abigail." He uses my full name when he's being serious. "That's not something to be joking about. If you got picked tomorrow… I'd be devastated."

I look lovingly into his eyes a plant a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry, Charlee. I didn't mean it, really." I stare into his eyes for a moment longer, trying to comfort him, and then shrug from his embrace. "I've got to go."

He nods and takes my hand, holding me there for a moment longer. "I'll see you later."

I nod and he lets me go, then turns and walks off toward his own home. I do the same.

I arrive home with the mouse and see Lucy, my twelve year old sister, standing in the window. As soon as she sees me she bolts out the door, gently grabbing the mouse from my hand.

"Not another one!" she exclaims, petting the mouse's head with her small finger. "Doesn't the factory have enough mice Abby? Can we please let him go?"

I smile and tousle her short hair, which is currently in pigtails. "I'm sorry, Lucy, but we can't. You know if Jared doesn't bring these mice to work he could get in trouble."

"I know," she sighs, looking at the mouse with sympathy in her eyes. She hands the creature back to me reluctantly. I giggle, kissing her forehead and leading her inside.

I put the mouse into a small wire cage on the windowsill that already contains a few more mice then walk into our small kitchen and wash my hands in our dingy faucet, happy that the water is currently working. I can only hope that it's working tomorrow; no one goes to a reaping without being "squeaky clean" for the Capitol.

"Where are Garret, Bonnie, and Trishtan?" I ask, looking around.

Lucy reaches in the icebox for a small piece of cheese and sticks it into the mice cage. "Garret just left to find you, and Trishtan and Bonnie are outside playing." She rolls her eyes and I half-smile. Now that she is twelve, Lucy likes to pretend she's more mature. For her sake, I wish she wouldn't throw away her childhood so easily. Growing up is not fun in the districts. I cringe when I think about tomorrow. It will be her first reaping. Though the chances of her being picked are slim to none, I know she will be scared. If she isn't already.

"Oh, okay, thanks Lucy." I walk back outside to go find Garret.

My younger siblings depend on me quite a lot. Bonnie, the youngest of seven, is just five years old. Trishtan, my youngest brother, is only seven. Lucy is twelve, of course, and Garret is three years younger than me, being fourteen.

My two older brothers are Jared and Keneth. Jared is the younger of the two of them, with Keneth being twenty eight, though his age is vague. He stopped celebrating his Birthday when mom got sick. Not that Birthdays are a reason to celebrate anyway. Usually they only mean another slip in the reaping ball. She's been dead for five years now, and Keneth hasn't aged since.

The two eldest work in one of the power plants. Since both of my mom and dad have passed, they have become like parents to us younger children. However, when they are away I become primary caregiver.

I don't have to walk far before I find Garret, talking to some of the other district boys. They're busy boasting and arguing about which of them would most likely win the Hunger Games. I roll my eyes. Garret is the cockiest person I've ever known. If he wasn't my brother, I could believe that he was from one of the Career Districts. He's always bragging about wanting to volunteer for the games, and how easily he could win. It sickens me to think he would actually enjoy killing other people.

"Garret," I say, crossing my arms.

He turns and sees me, a sheepish look crossing his face. He knows I hate hearing him talk about the games. "Oh, hey Abby."

I glance around at his friends with a hard glare. "You should come back. Jared and Keneth will be home soon."

Garret sighs and shakes his head. "Alright, you go on ahead, I'll catch up." He turns back to his friends and I imagine him rolling his eyes. I sigh and head back toward the house.

He catches up with me as I pull open our front door. I give him an irate glance and walk inside.

We wash our hands in the dwindling faucet water and get to work making dinner. The duty falls upon us because we're the oldest of the "children" and do not yet have to work in the power plants. I grab a potato that Lucy found earlier in the garden and wash it, then start skinning it with my pocketknife.

Keneth and Jared walk in half way through our dinner preparations. They smell of sweat and machinery, a stench that comes with working all day in the hot factories.

"How much longer 'til dinner is ready?" Jared asks, walking over and ruffling my hair. I grin and glance up at him. He's smiling from ear to ear, an expression that hardly ever leaves his face.

"About half an hour longer. Be patient Jared," Garret answers. He doesn't turn away from the apple he's slicing.

"That gives you and Keneth time to wash up. Honestly, you smell awful," I tease, smiling back at him.

Keneth raises his hands in submission and laughs. "Alright, alright, we'll wash up. But first," he walks over to me, and before I can move out of the way my face is in his armpit. I cough and sputter and pull away.

"Keneth! Gross!" I can't help smiling at the joke. I push him and Jared toward the door. "Now, wash up."

They laugh as they walk out the door, Jared grabbing the apple from Garret's hand as they leave.

"Hey!" Garret protests and I put a hand on his shoulder and shake my head, still smiling. We continue with our task and have dinner on the table within the hour.

Jared and Keneth walk back inside right as we finish setting the last plate on the table. Jared is carrying Trishtan on his shoulders, while Keneth is swinging Bonnie in his arms as she giggles. Lucy walks in behind them, a happy grin on her face. I'm glad to see she decided to go outside and play with Trishtan and Bonnie. Tomorrow will be a tough day for her, and embracing her childhood will help calm her.

After supper everyone decides to get into bed early, as the District five reapings begin at ten and it's smart to be well rested on reaping day. That is, everyone except for me. After tucking in the younger kids and telling Garret, Jared, and Keneth goodnight, I head off to my room where I don't exactly plan on sleeping. I open the window above my small makeshift bed and stare out at the setting sun, casting shadows on everything and keeping the moon company in the sky for a few minutes. It disappears finally and leaves the district in a milky glow of moonlight. It's then that a figure appears at my window.

"Charlee," I whisper, a smile on my face. He kisses me through the open window and then climbs over the sill and comes inside. I scoot over to make room for him on the bed.

This isn't the first time we've had a sleepover. We've made a habit of spending the night together before every reaping, just in case something was to happen to one of us. It isn't the easiest thing to do, with my older brothers and Garret being so protective of me, but we find ways to make it work.

Charlee lies down beside me and props his head up on his hand, staring into my eyes. He pushes a strand of hair out of my face and then kisses me again, this time more urgently than the first. We stay like this long into the night, talking, kissing, and spending each hour as if it was our last together. Finally we both fall asleep in each other's arms.

I wake to Charlee shaking me, and I immediately know we've slept in late. I jump up and he points out the window. Crowds of kids are walking down the street toward the square. Without a word we kiss goodbye and he jumps out the window in one bound, headed back to his house to get ready.

I quickly walk to the other room and wake up Lucy. She starts when I pull her up and shakes her head, blinking her gray eyes. I'm about to wake up the others when Jared walks in behind me. He nods for us to go get ready, and I leave him there.

We dress in a hurry. Lucy puts on a flowery yellow sundress that belonged to mother when she was younger. It hangs off her shoulders slightly, but otherwise fits well. I pull on a dark green, long dress that matches my eyes, and then start to work on Lucy's hair. I work quickly but carefully, pulling each strand back and tying her hair in a perfectly rounded bun. I do the same to mine, and then we rush out the door.

Garret is already there, wearing a white button-down shirt and his nicest pair of pants. We join the crowd of children and walk toward the square, Lucy's hand held tight in both of ours.