Hey Guys! It's Mori! And I' currently using my sisters account until mine decides to let me publish on it! I've never published anything of my own and this account has been transferred to me (so I guess I have two), my sister gave up fanfiction. This story rating will be set as teen, but some chapters will be in Mature. I'm doing this because some of the situation the characters will face will either be so intense that the rating goes up or so adult that it does. This will be an action, blood, deadly, and seductive game that the story is about. It's filled with personality and with tons of differences. I'm hoping for lots of feedback, and there will be lots of polls for you all to respond too. You all will help decided what comes next in the game.
Oh, I also do not own the Hunger Games book, because if I did, I'm pretty sure I'd get my MacBook fixed so I didn't have to use my PC laptop...
The Dying Game
"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned the hard way that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, or end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's to happen next."
-unknown
Chapter One Part One
The games didn't mean anything to me a year ago. They were just something mom, dad, Xili, and I would watch each year and secretly cry about at night. The games were nothing more than a warning, a warning to both Xili and I that we too could end up like all the other tribute children did.
One year ago tomorrow started like all the others. Xili came and cooed me out of bed and into the shower. Soon after we were both dressed in pretty white dresses that only went down to her knees and my thighs, we would smile at each other and force a laugh, then head down to the kitchen.
We ate something small for breakfast because, even though neither of us would admit it, we were nervous. Mom came down in tears and kisses the tops of our heads. Her body slumped in the seat next to me as she silently sipped her coffee. Dad would be next. It would be the first time we saw him since Sunday because he left so early in the morning and came back long after we were all asleep. His gray eyes filled with sorrow and he pulled me to him. This was the one time I would be allowed to just hug my father without feeling stupid. Our parents were more worried about me getting reaped than my eighteen year old sister. She had one year left, I had four.
Then as the reaping time drew near we would shuffle around into our shoes and head out the door. Dad would lead us and mom would sob like crazy behind. Xili would look at me and shake her head then place her arm around my shoulder giving me a tight squeeze and we would walk like that.
Once we got there, she would head to her line, and I'd move to mine. Her blond head stood out in the crowd as did her face. She was beautiful with her freckled covered face and light green I'd tell her she was the pretty one, she'd just laugh and tell me if I looked in the mirror I'd see the pretty one. I never believed her, not even when I would feel the eyes of boys on me as I walked or moved around them.
Our escort then walked on stage and began giving her worn out speech about how lucky everyone was. All of us tried not to cringe as she pulled the first name out. They always started with the girls.
When Xili's name was called, and hands of people I didn't know covered my mouth and held me back from running onto the stage, was when the games truly became real, became something I would have nightmares about, and something that would shatter my family. I remember her holding me while I cried just before she had to leave. Her words were so sweet, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember them. She was what held our family together. While she was off preparing for the games, Mom found out she was pregnant. I remember how much harder she cried that night when we watched the first showing of the Hunger Games. I remember crawling into Xili's bed that night and crying myself to sleep. The rest of The Games went by in a blur as mom's stomach grew bigger, and the games grew deadlier.
She made it to the top four, and then some very large, very scary career guy from district two killed her. Mom and I watched it happen on the colored TV screen Dad had somehow paid for. My heart was blight with loss and agony as mom fell to the floor in tears. We lost my sister, when we were so close to getting her back. Scary guy from district two won the 99th Hunger game.
And then, nearly a year later I felt the constant fear nearly explode from me. It was reaping day tomorrow and here I was still brushing my long white blond hair until the curls bounced and stayed close to my face. My Mother entered my room and placed a sleeping Vax on my bed as she walked over to me. Her green eyes teary as she took the brush from me. Her fingers worked on my hair until it was all clipped to the top of my head leaving a few pieces to play around my face. I grabbed her hand as it rested on my shoulder. I was as terrified as her, especially since father had not returned in over a week.
"Mama," I stated turning in my seat to face her. She smiled at me sadly as she pulled me to her and wrapped her arms around my head.
"My sweet baby," she said kissing my hair, "Your sister was always better at these things. I pressed my face into her rugged blue sweater as she rubbed circles on my back.
"I miss her," I sobbed wrapping my arms around her so I could grip the fabric of her sweater.
"I know," she breathed sounding as desperate as I was; "I think she knew she was going to get reaped that day." I let another sob escape my lips because I felt the same way.
"What if I...?" she pulled away from me so she could look in my eyes.
"If you get reaped- I can't even think about that," she stated as she slipped back into her coma. I tried not to upset her but sometimes being afraid causes her to slip away from me. None of us had been the same since Xili lost her life while we watched it on TV.
"Mama," I whispered standing up in front of her. My head reached her nose as I wrapped my arms around her stomach. "Don't slip away from me," I mumbled pressing my face into her shoulder. I felt the lace fabric of them hem of my dress rub against my thighs as I moved my feet around on the plush carpet on my floor. I felt my mother's arms snake around me and her face pressed into my hair.
"My sweet, sweet girl," she started, "I think you lost me a long time ago," I could feel her tears dripping onto my neck and I nearly lost it right there in her arms. We were broken and nothing was going to change that.
XOXOXO
My brother Vax and I sat outside on a worn blue blanket eating lunch when father returned. But instead of going in to reunite with mother he plopped down next to me and Vax and grabbed the uneaten half of my sandwich.
"She's a mess today I'm guessin'." I nodded my head as I placed a slice of apple into my mouth.
"She's been crying and throwing things since I talked to her this morning," I told him as I handed Vax another square of cheese. For just under a year old he was able to sit up and eat on his own. Father sighed as he pulled Vax into his lap. Vax climbed all over him getting himself covered in mine crud.
"She's pregnant again." I nodded my head, even though I really wanted to cry. Our family was one of the better off families in district twelve. Ninety-six years ago my however many great grandmothers won the fourth Hunger Games, setting our family up for life. About fifty years ago we moved out of the vectors section of town and into the nicest house we could find intermixed with the rest of the district. This house has been in my family on my father's side for generations.
"What does that mean for us?" I asked pulling up handfuls of grass and placing them on the edge of the blanket.
"It means that your mother will be under bed rest for nearly a year," he was referring to all the stress she put on her body last year because of the games, when she nearly killed both her and the baby. The doctor highly suggested that she stopped carrying children since the pregnancy had been so hard on her body.
"So I'll be taking care of Vax while you're working," I stated as my spirits fell.
"No, it means I'll be taking a second wife." I froze in my spot as I let my father's words sink in. it was common for husbands to take a second wife when theirs could no longer run a house hold on their own. Most of the time it was a sister or a relative of the original wife, but with my mother being an only child it could be anybody in the district. Although, I had my suspicions.
"It'll be Susan," I stated referring to his new friend in the bakery. I didn't have to be looking at him to see his head nod. I already knew she would be father's second wife.
"Well then you might want to go tell mother," I stated as I stood up and scooped Vax out of father's arms. I turned from the blond man with gray eyes and stormed into the house. I quickly climbed the stairs and placed Vax on the floor of his room. Then without thinking I raced into Xili's room. I shut the door behind me and fell onto her bed. It still smelled like her. Wrapping myself up in her blankets, I clutched onto her pillow. This was all I had left of her, her room. And if father takes a second wife I'd lose the only thing I had left of my sister.
I opened my eyes to look at her bedchamber; it was so similar to mine. With the same off white walls and the same large plush rug in the middle of it, she has the twin piece to my vanity. With its golden color and light pink accents, I used to run into her room and climb onto her chair so she could braid my curly hair. I smiled as I tried to picture my sister here with me, her bright green eyes staring at me as she ran her fingers threw my thick hair. She would tell me everything would be alright, with reaping, with father, with everything. She'd tell me how one day I'd fall in love and get married, and how one day soon I'd no longer have to deal with reaping day. I fell asleep thinking about all of that.
The next morning was oddly still when I woke up. Normally on reaping day Xili comes into my room—Xili. My eyes flutter open as I take in my surroundings. I've been moved back into my own room, when I remember falling asleep in Xili's. I quickly pushed my body up into a sitting position and let my long hair fall around my shoulders. Once I felt awake enough, I forced myself out of bed and out of my room. I quickly made my way into the bathroom. I washed quickly and dressed just as fast. Once I was safe in my white dress that seemed even shorter than last year, I settled myself in front of the mirror. My large gray eyes seemed even closer to the color of thunder storm clouds than they ever had before. The freckles that kiss my nose stood out even more after I brushed the powder on my face.
I sat there staring at my reflection for a long time as my hair dried. The normal curls in my hair dried even crazier than normal since I didn't brush it beforehand. Instead of trying to tame them I simply twisted my bangs into a braid and clipped them back. Feeling semi satisfied with the way I looked I smiled at my reflection.
"Don't get reaped." I snapped my mouth closed quickly. I just cursed myself, I just knew it. The way I look at things is, when you tell the universe something it doesn't hear the "don't" part of the request. It hears "get reaped", or "die", or anything else that followed the "don't". Most times, I just tell myself that I would come home after the ceremony, but today, I messed up.
Trying not to dwell on the fact that I pretty much signed my death warrant, I quickly left my room and headed to the kitchen. Mother, Father, and even Susan sat waiting for me. I frowned slightly as I sat down in my chair and began picking around the meat in my breakfast.
"Susan will move in tomorrow," my mother snapped her voice, cold and heartless. Susan would force my mother into another emotional coma, only this time she wouldn't come out of it.
"Fine." Susan frowned and narrowed her eyes at me.
"Be respectful," she hissed straightening up in her chair. The room seemed to stop moving as my mother stiffened.
"Susan," My father started balling his hands into fists under the table, "You will not talk to my daughter that way. You are here to help take care of Vax and help around the house. You will not be raising my daughter do you understand me? And if you deiced to try and control her, I swear to God I will throw your ass out." Susan huffed but nodded her head in agreement anyways. Suddenly I wasn't so hungry anymore.
My father was normally a gentle man when it came to his anger. He was always the one to calm my mother down when I would cause trouble. He was my favorite. I was always his favorite too. I could tell when Xili was reaped, he was happy it wasn't me. It was even easier to tell the night Xili died. When I was crying in her bed, he crawled in with me. He pulled my trembling body closer to him as he began to talk. "I'm so glad it wasn't you I lost tonight, my one true child." One true kid, what that told me was my mother had had an affair and Xili wasn't his daughter.
"Sela, let's start walking alright?" my mother asked standing and grabbing my hand all in one quick movement. She pulled at the bottom of my dress and sighed. "We will have to stop at Rosetta's on the way to pick you up something longer." She turned to my father and held out her hand, he quickly dug into his pocket and handed her the pocketbook. She thanked him and then dragged me out of the house.
"You left Vax," I reminded her, trying to start a conversation. She shook her head and led me down the busy street.
"Susan will take care of him for me," she snapped. I should have asked how she felt about Susan, but I was so confused and conflicted about how I felt about her, I just couldn't ask her. My mother suddenly stopped walking and turned to face me. "Don't get reaped, Sela." I cringe, thinking of what she just did. She just told the universe to make me a tribute.
She turned and headed into Rosetta's home. Once she came back out, she thrust a dress bag into my arms and then pushed me towards Rosetta's home. Once I was inside, Rosetta helped me out of the extremely short dress and into the new one.
"My! You are much taller than your sister," she laughed as she zipped the dress into place. The soft cotton felt nice on my skin as I stood there looking at myself in the mirror. The gold top of the dress wrapped around my chest and twisted in the back holding it up. Next was the white sparkly fabric part that clung to my flat stomach, and a gold sash hung off to the side off of my left hip and it tied into a bow. The dress stopped just above my knees. I smiled thanking Rosetta for having a dress that would cover me up. She laughed and patted my shoulder.
"You're tall and beautiful! Why isn't there a boy asking for your hand in marriage?" she inquired as she handed me back my white shoes. I smiled shaking my head.
"I'm only sixteen," I stated walking out of her house. My mother smiled and motioned for me to twirl. I did as I was asked and she laughed at my facial expression. She then grabbed my hand and we walked to the ceremony together, laughing the whole way.
Once we arrived, I quickly scampered off to the sixteen year old section. I smiled at them as I moved to stand as close as I could. They all looked at me with pity. I knew they all thought I would break into a million pieces any second now because of what my family's been through. That's why I didn't bother telling them that I was okay anymore. They wouldn't believe me. I don't think I'd believe me either.
"Sela, are you ready for today to be over?" one of the many sixteen year olds asked. I smiled and laughed before I answered.
"I am so ready for today to be over, " I told him with a little shrug, "But then again, as soon as its over, it just means one day closer to next year's reaping," everyone mumbled in agreement with me as we all stood facing the stage. None of us really wanted to be here, yet none of us could force ourselves to leave.
I watched this year's escort walk onto the stage. Half her hair was black and the other half was blue, her face was so caked with makeup you couldn't even tell what her skin color was. Her eye makeup was so thick you could see it from where I was standing, and I was standing pretty far away from the stage.
"Good afternoon. My name's Akara!" she started "As you all know it's the hundredth Hunger Game! And this year to celebrate the magnificent one hundred years, some new rules and elements have been added to the game to spice it up. But let's not get into that right now! Let's pick the first of THREE tributes." The whole district held there breathes as one, and only one bowl was presented to both her and mayor Bell.
"Gender doesn't matter this year," Mayor Bell stated as he put his hand into the bowl. "And our first tribute is Mace Mellark." The crowd cheered as the son of the vectors from twenty-five years ago made his way to the stage. We all quieted waiting to see if anyone would volunteer. No one did. This time our escort stuck her hand into the bowl.
"Our second tribute is Neco Hawthorne!" the crowd screamed in uproar again as the son of Gale Hawthorne climbed the steps onto the stage. There was only one tribute left, only one more name until I'm free to go home and cry.
Mayor Bell stuck his hand into the bowl one last time. I closed my eyes as he began to pull it out. "Sela Willow," my eyes snapped open as I stepped forward. I knew when I asked the universe to let me have another year I would be a tribute. I think, just like my sister, I woke up today knowing. I woke up today ready to face my death head on. I could hear my mother's sobs and pleas behind me as I walked.
"I've already given one child! Don't make me give another!" she screamed as people held her back. I was grateful for them, because I couldn't handle my mother's sobs and screams right now. Not when it feels like my still beating heart has been ripped out of my chest and the air my flexing lungs were using to keep me alive sucked from my lips. My feet carried me, without my brains permission, up the three steps and across the stage to stand next to the other tributes. I felt myself smile at the other tributes as if this wasn't a ceremony telling us our fate has already been decided, but instead, as if we had all won an award for perfect attendance at school. Although neither of the two boys in front of me had been to school in over a year.
"We congratulate district twelve's tributes for our hundredth Hunger Game!" Creepy escort lady spoke as she turned to us; her large smile was clearly faked as she motioned for the reinforcements to take us away. They gripped my arms tight and began to drag us into the Justice Building. Once I was safely in my own room, I felt my body collapse into a chair. I didn't even look up as my mother threw her arms around me. Her wet face was pressed into my neck as she rocked us both back and forth.
"I told you not to be a tribute," she screamed at me like it was my fault that my name was drawn. My father pulled her off of me just as she began to dig her nails into my arm.
"Come here squirt," he said as I threw myself into his arms. I had always enjoyed my father more than I had my mother. He was level headed and tended to let me wrap myself around him when I cried. I wrapped my legs around my father's waist as he rubbed circles on my back.
"Daddy, I'm scared," I told him as he kissed the side of my face. He looked at me, gray eyes to gray eyes.
"You will win." I smiled as he spoke to not only me but the universe. My father taught both me and Xili when we were very young that the universe will listen to you, if you know how to talk to it. I hope just like it listened to me this morning (Hopefully a little better), that it was listening now.
"Thank you daddy," father set me down as he dug into his front pocket. He then held out a locket I never thought I'd see again.
"It's Xili's, she was wearing it when she died," he mumbled pulling me to him. His lips brushed my hair, just as someone came and ushered him out. They ripped my father away from me just like they did my sister. My mother sobbed until they came and removed her as well. I was soon grateful for the moment of silence. I stood there staring at the gold locket until the next person came in. It was my escort along with the other two tributes.
They were both pretty attractive; the taller one has chin length dark brown hair and the bluest eyes I've ever seen. He stood taller than I do, and his shoulders were broad. He looked like he'd stepped right out of the Capitol. I couldn't take my eyes off him as he shuffled into the room. The other tribute was shorter than me; he has straw colored hair that's cut short on his head. His brown eyes stood out the most against his pale skin. He looked like the boy who lives in the vector section of the district, but then again I've never really looked at that boy.
"A lot had changed this year. For the game that is," she said as she plopped down into one of the many large chairs in the room. She pointed to the three of us and then to the unoccupied chairs around her. I quickly took the chair furthest away from her, not wanting to be any closer to her than I had to be. The boys took the ones closer to her.
"It's a shame that you're not all girls," she sighed shaking her head in disappointment. "It's now an uneven number between the girls and the boys, but it'll have to do," she clucked her tongue as she crossed her legs. Her skin looked as if it was sixty years old. Her skin made me wonder how old she really was behind all that makeup.
"As I was saying, there are several things you will have to learn about this game," she stated while looking straight at me. "I believe you look familiar." She seemed distracted as her intense gaze held mine. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I nodded answering her question.
"Yeah, my sister was a tribute last year." I nibbled on my bottom lip as I placed the locket around my neck. She nodded her head as she licked her lips.
"Anyways, I think we will have to wait to get into a full explanation until we're all settled on the train." She quickly had us all stand and then led us out of the room. More reinforcement officers followed and joined us as we reached the exit door. I could see tons of people with cameras standing outside the door already taking pictures of us. I felt the officer grab my upper arm as the door was thrown open. Once I stepped outside, I couldn't see. The flashes coming from so many different cameras filled what little vision I had as I tried not to trip. Voices screaming questions at us all filled my ears. I felt a hand grab my right hand, and I quickly folded it around his.
I was soon holding both boys hands as we stood there on display. The cameras took several more pictures for what seemed like forever. I could feel the dizziness playing behind my eyes. "Happy hundredth Hunger Games!" they shouted as we were forced onto the train. The screaming and constant camera flickers stopped as they closed us into the train. The door may have kept all those cameras from taking pictures of me, but it didn't keep the sinking feeling from my stomach.
"I feel like I need a nap," I stated releasing the tight grip I had on the other tributes hands. I followed our escort down the train's hallway and she opened up three doors extremely close to one another. She smiled as I stepped into the first room; once the door was shut my body crumbled to the floor. All the emotions I tried to hide during the camera attack flooded back into me. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see, hell I couldn't even feel the floor underneath me anymore. Everything was coming and going out of focus as I tried to fight the stars behind my eyes. Soon my body and mind grew tired of fighting and I was pulled into the emotional roller-coaster I had been fighting against since I watched my sister die.
I guess you could say, I was giving up.
I would like to thank A Lonely Silhouette for being my beta! She's the best and I wouldn't get anywhere without her!
