Chapter 1
"No! Mommy, please don't leave! Don't you love us? Why don't you love us? Mommy, don't go!" I beg in my dreams. My mom packs one final box and sends it out with a peacekeeper to the train.
She turns to me and my older brother I'm only two but I am smarter than most two year olds. She crouches down and wipes the tears from my face. "My Lilly. My sweet little Lilly. I love you and your brother so much, but your daddy doesn't love me and I don't love him. Not anymore at least. I would take you with me but I don't want you to get hurt. You are safer with your daddy.
"But why mommy? Why are you leaving? You won't hurt me!"
"When you're older I know you'll understand. When you are old enough to be reaped ask your brother. He will tell you all about it and I just hope you can forgive me."
"But—"
"Lilly…" Moms voice changes to a deeper and more familiar voice "Lilly, wake up. Come on Lilly wake up or you'll wake dad up! It's my brother Kolton pulling me out of my flashback dream. "Where you dreaming about mom again?"
"Exactly ten years ago today Kolt." I'm twelve years old now. And it was only a week until reaping day. "I just feel like she left because of me."
"How old are you?"
"I'm twelve, Kolton." He asks me every time I have time I have this dream which was almost every night.
"You're old enough for the reaping you're old enough to know. You see, when Mom won her Hunger Games she had horrible and uncontrollable flashback because her Games was one of the worst. She was almost electrocuted, then there was a cannibal, an earthquake that cause a landslide, and a whole bunch of other horrible things happened as well. Hers was one of the worst of all of the Games so far. Sometimes her flashbacks were so bad that I had to hide you because she would hear you crying and think it was someone running at her screaming. She almost killed you on accident, Lils."
"What? But-but… why shouldn't I have been told sooner!?" my voice slowly starts to rise.
"Don't worry you won't be reaped. Your name is only in once—"
"No it's not. I took out some Tesserae. My name is in four times. And I'm not afraid of being reaped."
"What! Why would you do that!? We don't need it!"
"I thought I could sell the Grain and oil." He stares at me until I get really uncomfortable. I swing my legs off the bed, go to my closet and pull out some clothes "I'm taking a shower. Please leave my room." I say to him before I head into the bathroom.
After my shower I pull on some jeans and a black t-shirt. I then pull on my brand new boots and I run downstairs. My father fell asleep in the dining room surrounded by glass bottles again. He wasn't as bad until mom left… according to Kolton. Usually when he was like this Kolton would take me to the Seam to see my friend, a gang known as District 12 Wolf Pack. The Pack showed me around and tried to keep me out of trouble but sometimes it's impossible. That's when I joined them in training with the peacekeepers. The pack had permission from the President to train with the peacekeepers.
Training with the peacekeepers had many advantages. I know many styles of fighting but my favorite is with my swords. I have twin Katanas that cross across my back. I also like throwing knives and battle axes but those aren't as special to me as my swords. I head into the center to train for a couple of hours then I'm told to head out because they've got to prepare for the Peacekeepers from out of this District. So I head to my second favorite place… the woods outside the fence. I slide through a hole under the fence then run out to where I've hidden a spear and a large hunting knife. I also have a basket and some cloth bags that I use for carrying what I find back to the districts but today I only grab two of the large bags.
I run through the woods looking to hopefully get something to sell. Any animal I could find or maybe some berries. I could try spear fishing. I think to myself as I walk. I come across some bear tracks and begin tracking it. As the prints get fresher I get more excited. I look up and there it is. I raise my spear—then I see the other two people and I hide. "What do we do?" the girl asks.
"We don't make any sudden movements." The boy replies. They stand frozen in fear. I roll my eyes and I throw the spear which goes right into the bear's side. The bear roars in pain and turns to run off. I get my knife out and I chase after it.
"Hey! Wait!" I hear the girl call but I ignore it. I catch up to the bear and find it lying on its side slowly dying.
Of course I do something reckless and stupid. I run over and jump to the other side. I pull out the spear and I stab the bear with it again. The bear moans in pain. "I'm sorry for your pain." I say calmly. "But with your death makes the life of so many children possible just that much longer. You are saving hundreds of children. I thank you, my brother, your sacrifice is very appreciated and your life will now be spread among others." I slit his throat and I feel the life leave his body.
I get to work on getting everything I need from him. I pack it all into the bags and the basket. Spin with my knife in hand when I hear the bushes rustle. It's the two people again. I huff and turn to the bear carcass.
"Who are you?" I don't reply. I get to work, first skinning the hide from the top out of the way then removing the fat and putting it in the basket to use later. I cut the meat up and putting the pieces into one bag. When I'm done with that I dig a large hole and bury the parts I won't use before I skin the rest of the hide off. I wrap the hide up and use some rope to keep it tied together. I whistle and my wolf comes to me pulling a dog sled behind him with a rope. I move the rope out of the way and I put his harness on him before loading my catch onto the sled. Then I look at the two who are watching me. They're still in my range so if one of them were to shoot at me with their bows I could easily dodge and send my spear through their heart. They don't move. "Who are you?" the girl repeats herself.
"Lilly Abernarthy." I state calmly.
"How do you have those weapons? Those are from the peacekeepers training building."
"It's not something that you should worry about." I grab my spear and turn to leave but the girl calls my name.
"Lilly! My name is Katniss… can we trade?"
"Trade what?" I ask.
"If you give us some of that meat then… um…"
I know she has no idea what I would want so I decide I could help her a bit "Do you know where I could go fishing?" her eyes light up.
"Yeah! I'll show you!"
"Follow, Padfoot." I order the wolf who wags his tail I smile and pat him on the head before we follow Katniss and her hunting.
"So how did you tame him?" the boy asks.
"I raised Padfoot since he was a small pup. All his brothers and sisters were killed by a cougar and his mother was badly injured to the point of death. She brought him to me and made sure I would keep him before she laid down and died. I buried her."
"Why?"
"I knew his mother before she had him and his siblings. I almost killed her but when we were face to face I just couldn't do it. Instead I killed the deer not too far away. I got half and she got half. I earned her trust. No she wasn't tame but she trusted me. I was part of her pack in her eyes."
"Wow… how long have you been hunting?"
"Since I was six. I started with little things like rabbits and squirrels then Slowly taught myself how to catch bigger prey."
"You're not going to tell us how you got those are you?"
"If I told you than we would all three die." I state.
"We won't tell anyone."
"I know." And that's all I say about it.
At the fishing hole I see a lot of fish. I think about it then turn to them. "How big are your families?" I ask.
"There's three in my family but Gale has his mother and five younger siblings." Katniss states.
"Come to my house in two days. I'll give you some of this meat after I've cured it." I tell them.
"Why can't you give it to us now?"
"I could if you're willing to give your families all kinds of diseases. I'm curing the meat so you can eat it without getting sick or dying."
"Oh. We'll be there." I nod as if I expected that reply then I turn to find the fish. I take my shoes and socks off and roll up the legs of my pants. I wait in up to my knees and wait calmly.
"You said your name is Abernarthy…"
"You probably heard of my brother. He works in the bakery with the Mellarks. Although you're probably thinking of my father, Haymitch." I state calmly while trying not to make any sudden movements. Suddenly I strike and get a rather large fish. I wrap the fish in a weave of long grass and I use the grass to create a separate barrier between the deer meat and the fish before I put it in.
"Your father is Haymitch?"
"The one and only resident drunk victor." I roll my eyes.
"I could teach you some snares." Gale offers.
"I already know snare traps… and not for just bunnies and squirrels." I say without facing them as I clean my weapons using some moss. I finish then turn to him "Thanks for offering."
"How do you know so much?"
"Practice." I state before standing up.
"We're just trying to be… friendly."
"I don't do friendly with strangers and I don't want to get to know you. That way if you're reaped than I won't feel as upset. Something I learned from having two victors as my parents."
"How old are you?"
"12." Is the last thing I say to them before running off with Padfoot tailing me. I get to where I leave my weapons and put them there along with my extra bag.
"Wait!" I turn to see Katniss and Gale standing there. Katniss is now holding two bows. "I'll teach you how to shoot this if you teach me how to throw that spear of yours."
"I already know how to shoot, Everdeen." I smirk. "Come on, Padfoot." I lead him to the fence. "I'm taking you home today." I tell him and he wags his tail. I take the bag off of him before holding the fence open so he can slide in. I slide the bag in then I follow. I take the meat to the old building where the Wolf Pack stay. They're all orphans so they don't technically have a home except for Ash's brother Magnus. Ash is my best friend and usually my partner in crime. We train together, we usually hunt together, we even speak together which really freaks people out. His older Brother, Magnus, is a lot like Kolton when it comes to Ash. Trying to keep him out of trouble. When their parents died in the mine explosion they left their house to Magnus with the condition that he take care of Ash. Their family didn't have a lot but they had the house which has helped.
I go inside and find everyone hanging out in the sitting room. "What's kickin', wolfies?"
"Heeeyyyy, Swiftfoot!" Swiftfoot is my pack name. Ash comes over and puts his arm around me. "What's in the bag?"
"Food. I got bear and a fish."
"One fish?"
"It's a big fish."
"Oh… and who is this guy." He gestures to Padfoot.
"That's Padfoot. He's my hunting partner. Right, pal?" I ask the wolf while rubbing his head. I go into the kitchen followed by Aimee and Haylee. The two of them take care of the fish while I get to work on the bear hide. Once I've finished it I say goodbye and take the hide and the bear meat to my home where I use the garage to prepare and sell my catches.
I hear someone come in and look up to see Katniss with two other females. "I wasn't expecting you to be here until two days from now."
"I was told you have great deals and we came to check it out."
"Go ahead and look. I sell meat, hides, clothes, fruits, vegetables, and some baked goods as well."
"You should have your own shop."
"I do. You're standing in it. I even have a sign, see?" I point at the handmade sign on the wall. "I'm Lilly Abernarthy, Owner, operator, and primary supplier of Abernarthy General Store from right here in the garage of my home. All fruit and vegetables is 50 cents a pound, if you have a request just let me know and I'll add it to my order book, we do accept trades."
"Very professional."
"We're not open on reaping day." I inform the woman. "You must be Katniss' mother."
"Yes. And this is my youngest daughter Prim."
"Pleasure to meet you." I smile. They buy a lot of fruit and Vegetables, a few loaves of bread that I made using the recipe my brother showed me and they bought some meat I caught yesterday. "Alright, anything else I can get you? How about some nice warm clothes for the winter?"
"Well… um…"
"A trade maybe?"
"I have a goat that gives good milk and mommy makes cheese with it." Prim suggests.
"Milk and cheese are things I find hard to get because I don't like going to the market." I decide. "Send some with your sister in two days and I'll send you a deerskin blanket."
"Deal!" Prim smiles.
"Alright then." I smile. They leave and I put my money into my box of money I've earned.
The next day I make sure to set aside my finest handmade deerskin blanket along with the meat I promised for Katniss. I put Gale's in a separate ice box and open the garage door so people would know I'm selling. I get peacekeepers and some townspeople in that pay a lot for the clothes my brother and I made then the people from the seam come and practically clean out my entire supply before I close for the day and I go get the things from the orders I have which include several more deer hide clothes. I'm lucky enough to have stumbled on a heard of five deer.
I brought them home along with the other supplies I got before going to the market and finding some things I needed to buy like empty oil lamps. I use the bear fat to make oil to go in them and I sell those also.
The next day Gale and Katniss come in and Katniss hands me the milk and the cheese. I hand her the bundle of wrapped meat and the blanket before handing Gale his package as well. "Thank you for your business." I smile. I open the door that leads into the house. "Kolton! We've got cheese and Milk!"
"Nice!" Kolton come and gets them. "Oh… uh… hi Katniss."
"Hi, Kolton." Katniss says before turning to Gale. "Come on." But he was staring at one of the lamps.
"How much are these."
"$20." I reply I see him look a little disappointed "Although they are tradable and the patch of berries where I gather is rather empty since most of the plants have died."
"We'll show you our place." Gale says.
"No need. I'm not going to take over your supply areas. Just." I look around then point to a bucket. "Take that and fill it with blackberries then bring it back and the lamp are yours."
"I'll do that. Give me an hour." Gale says excitedly then he practically drags Katniss out of my garage. An hour later he's back with the bucket full of nice and juicy Blackberries.
"These look great. I'll take them to the bakery so they can make some cobblers and I'll get some bread in return."
"Yeah."
"Thanks. Take the lamp. And this is for Rory." I hand him a hand carved wooden car with wheels that actually turn. "Tell him I said Happy birthday." Gale nods and takes the lamp and car.
A few days later my shop is completely empty and I'm not even trying to refill it. I go to the justice building and exchange the coins for dollars then I lock all my savings in a lockbox under my bed. I make sure everything I need is ready for the reaping then I head to bed.
The next morning I am woken up by Kolton. "Come on, you need to shower and get dressed."
"I don't want to."
"You have to, Lilly. Come on I've pulled out some clothes for you to wear. Go take a shower." I grumble in annoyance but I get up anyway.
"You are a pain."
"I set your clothes in your desk chair." Kolton says then leaves my room.
As I shower I think about the reaping. The reaping system is unfair, with the poor getting the worst of it. You become eligible for the reaping the day you turn twelve. That year, your name is entered once. At thirteen, twice. And so on and so on until you reach the age of eighteen, the final year of eligibility, when your name goes into the pool seven times. That's true for every citizen in all twelve Districts in the entire country of Panem.
But if you are poor and starving or you just want to be reaped you can opt to add your name more times in exchange for tesserae. Each tesserae is worth a meager year's supply of grain and oil for one person. You may do this for each of your family members as well. So, this year I entered four times. Once, because I had to, and three times for tesserae for grain and oil that I sold along with the rest of my supplies.
I know from experience that the kids from the seam resent the kids from the wealthy families because we don't have to put in our names more than required. The chance of our names being drawn is very slim compared to those who live in the Seam. Not impossible, but slim. And even though the rules were set up by the Capitol, not the Districts, I can see how it's hard not to resent those who don't have to sign up for tesserae.
The thought of going in… actually isn't as scary as I thought it would be. I think to myself as I wash my hair. I'm one of the only ones in District 12 with training and I told Snow I would if he let me train. And I could get the hell out of this god forsaken district. I debate in my mind if I would be upset at going in all through the rest of my shower.
I use my mother's old hair dryer to dry my hair then I brush it and then I brush my teeth before I walk into my room to see my brother had laid out a nice dress for me. It was black, had lace around the edges, and there was a dark red satin sash around the waist and had matching black gloves with a dark red lace starting at my wrists and going just past my elbow. Black nylon tights and Black patent-leather shoes also sat with the dress on my bed.
I get dressed then I find my mother's old curling iron and I curl my hair. The last touch is the black hat I put on that has a red ribbon around the brim just like the one around my waist. I put on my dog collar necklace I got from when our father had to take us to the capitol because he couldn't leave us alone when we were younger. Yes. I've been to the capitol so I know what to expect.
I look into the mirror and take a deep breath. "If I go in. I'm going to win and nobody will stop me." I tell my reflection. "When I win I'll transfer myself to district 2 and train to be a peacekeeper and I'll leave this hellhole forever." I look over at the only picture I own. I grab it. It's my mom with Kolton by her side, me in her arms and a teenage boy I don't know the name of. "I'm going to volunteer. And maybe I'll find my soulmate. I need to find CS… and note to self, stop talking to myself out loud." I sigh again then I walk out of my room.
I walk down the stairs to see my brother and my father both wearing nice black tuxedos with red satin shirts that match me. Their ties are black as are their shoes. They each have a hat to put on as well. "I swear you get this obsession from our mother. Why do we all match?"
"You look beautiful," Kolton tells me. "And we all match because I wanted us to. Also even if we're not reaped our father is taking us to the capitol with him this year so I want us to be presentable." He fusses over our father and I know he's just worried.
I walk over to him and hug him. "I'll be fine, Kolton. I promise." I know these next few hours will be terrible for the both of us. My first reaping. He didn't take out any tesserae. But he's worried about me because I did… That the unthinkable might happen.
I think back and remember every time we worried about each other. We will do anything to protect each other in every way we can, but we are powerless against the reaping. The anguish I always feel when he's in pain wells up in my chest and threatens to register on my face. I notice him struggling with the black tie and I take over. "There you go, Kolt."
He grins and presses his lips together and blows making a horse sound that I mimic. "Come on," I say. Just then the alert signaling it's time to gather. We get our father up and we walk with him only to be stopped by a peacekeeper when we're almost there.
"Children sign in over there."
"We're bringing our father to his seat, Sir." I say kindly. The peacekeeper looks Haymitch up and down. He's not completely drunk but he's not sober either.
"Go ahead." We get Haymitch to the stairs then stop. Kolton takes his flask and I hand him a cup of water.
"Sip this." He does. When he's done I take the cup and find a place to get him coffee. When he's done with the coffee I make him look at me. "You may not like me very much and I don't care. But I still am your daughter and you owe me for getting all the food for us. Promise you'll never drink at the reaping again."
"I don' hatcha!" He grumbles.
"Haymitch!" I snap.
"I promise." He goes up and sits in his chair. Kolton hides the flask in the inside of his jacket then the two of us go to sign in. I'm in line watching what happens.
"You didn't tell me they prick my finger." I hiss at him.
"You'll be fine. It's just to get a tiny drop." Kolton assures me. Just then the two of us were separated into two lines. The boys in one line and the girls in the other. I see Kolton standing with the Mellark boys. He helps them in their bakery. In front of them is… Gale Hawthorne who I met in the woods. I look at the girl in front of me and realize it's Katniss Everdeen. Of course it is. I don't talk to her. In fact I ignore her. I look up at the stage to see my father actually straightening himself up… wait… no, he's looking for his flask.
Attendance for the reaping is mandatory unless you are on death's door. This evening, officials will come around and check to see if this is the case. If not, you'll be imprisoned. It's too bad that they hold the reaping in the square—one of the few places in District 12 that can be pleasant. The square's surrounded by shops, and on public market days, especially if there's good weather; it has a holiday feel to it. But today, despite the bright banners hanging on the buildings, there's an air of grimness. The camera crews, perched like buzzards on rooftops, only add to the effect. I actually think I'm the only one excited for this.
People file in silently and sign in. The reaping is a good opportunity for the Capitol to keep tabs on the population as well. Twelve- through eighteen-year-olds are herded into roped areas marked off by ages, the oldest, like Kolton, in the front, the young ones, like me, toward the back. Family members line up around the edge, holding tightly to one another's hands. But there are others, too, who have no one they love at stake or who no longer care, who slip among the crowd, taking bets on the two kids whose names will be drawn. Odds are given on their ages, whether they're Seam or merchant, if they will break down and weep. Most refuse dealing with the Gamblers carefully, because even if they are scum they tend to be informants, and who hasn't broken the law?
The space gets tighter, more claustrophobic as people arrive. The square's quite large, but not enough to hold District 12's population of about eight thousand. Latecomers are directed to the adjacent streets, where they can watch the event on screens as its televised live by the state.
I find myself standing in a clump of twelve year olds from the market part of town. The richer kids. We all exchange glances and I know I'm the only one that is excited for this. We then focus our attention on the temporary stage that is set up if front of the Justice Building. It holds three chairs, a podium, and two large glass fish tank-like bowls, one for the boys and one for the girls. I stare at the paper slips in the girls' ball. Four of them have my name scrawled across them.