Fallout and Aftermath

Lexi stepped outside her door and couldn't believe what she saw. Bodies. Everywhere. She felt lucky to still be standing. Moments ago, a sonic boom had shaken the ground below her. She'd found shelter in her basement before the next boom shattered what had once been her home. Her parents and her brother, Toby, came down with her. The destruction kept going for what seemed like a lifetime, until everything was calm again.

"I think they stopped for good. We should go check on the other parts of the house," her father said.

The Everdeens climbed out of the rubble. First, Lexi went to her room, or, what was left of it. Her laptop, iPod, DVDs, radio, and books, were all broken. She knew they were unimportant things that she could live without, but it hurt to lose them, just the same. Her clothes had managed to stay intact, mostly, with some minor tears. Her bedroom furniture wasn't so lucky. She now had a broken bed with a torn mattress. Where am I going to sleep now? Lexi thought miserably. Looking at her room became too depressing, so she went outside to her family. They had already seen the grisly sight that awaited her. Other houses had been blown apart. Some of her neighbors lie injured on the ground, or worse, dead. She had to keep moving to avoid stepping in pools of blood.

"Are you all right?" Lexi's parents asked at the same time. They ran up to hug her.

"I think so. This is just unbelievable." She was so awestruck and horrified that she couldn't say anything else. "Toby! I'm so glad you're ok." Lexi held onto her brother the longest. Even though he was five years older, Toby was her best friend, the greatest guy in her life so far.

"Thanks, sis," Toby said gratefully. "Glad you're ok, too."

Lexi scanned the scene for familiar faces. "Can I go check on Nicki?"

She'd been friends with Nicki Lindstrom for about ten years, and Lexi was desperate to know how she was doing. Naturally, Lexi's parents said that she could look for her. Lexi walked to where her friend lived- had lived, she corrected herself. It was only two blocks down the road. Piles and piles of wood lay where the Lindstrom house would've been. Nicki's parents and sisters were sitting on their doorsteps, weeping. Nicki wasn't there. No… don't tell me she's dead.

Lexi waved meekly to them. "Hi. Good to see you guys aren't hurt. Where's Nicki?"

Mrs. Lindstrom simply gestured wordlessly to a figure lying below them. A corpse with light brown hair and green eyes. Nicki. The Lindstroms welcomed Lexi into their group hug while she bawled her eyes out with them.

"What kind of sick mind came up with the idea for these horrible bombs?" she sobbed after they stopped hugging.

"Wouldn't we all like to know," Mr. Lindstrom agreed. "This world used to disgust me so much that I was beyond angry. Now, well… I don't even want to live anymore. "

That makes two of us, Lexi thought privately. "What do you think happens next?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, but it can't be any worse than losing my daughter." Lindstrom didn't know how wrong he was.

-Six months later-

All across the United States, families were suffering the same fate as the Everdeens: Houses blown apart, countless lives lost. The technology that everybody had been so keen on was practically non-existent now. This caused President Sharp to announce drastic changes in the country: The country was renamed Panem, and their state, Kentucky, was now known as part of District 12, out of the 13 Districts that divided Panem. New buildings were going up everywhere you looked. The Capitol was also moved, to the former city of Los Angeles. It became the only place where high-tech gear was still available. As Lexi would soon find out, however, this was nothing compared to the announcement that Sharp was about to make during a trip to District 12's town square. On a late afternoon, President Sharp stood at the podium with slicked-back blond hair, wearing a dark blue, three-piece suit. The Everdeens listened closely.

"I'm devastated and outraged by the events of the past months, and I know I'm not the only one," said the president. "We have to do something to teach our citizens a lesson so that this doesn't ever happen again. My advisors and I came up with a solution: an annual event that we will call the Hunger Games. Each District must select one boy and one girl, between the ages of twelve and seventeen. They'll be chosen by a random name-drawing. Twenty-six people in all, otherwise known as "tributes", will come to the Capitol and participate in these Games."

Lexi thought, He's calling them "tributes"? That can't be good.

"We are hiring men to create an arena with major obstacles that will test the skills of all involved." He cleared his throat. "The object of the Games is to survive, because only one tribute will return home alive."

The audience gasped in horror. Floods of conversation drowned out any hope the president had of speaking again.

For a second, Lexi couldn't talk. Her jaw had fallen down to the floor in astonishment. "I don't believe it. Is this even legal?" she asked her mom.

"I don't make the rules, honey," her mom said, sounding distressed. "We have to comply with their wishes." Mr. Everdeen just shook his head in disbelief.

Lexi was fifteen, right in the age range for the Hunger Games. Toby, on the other hand, was twenty, so he didn't have to submit his name. At least nobody else in the family has to worry about possibly dying a gruesome death, Lexi realized bitterly.

Sharp raised his voice to quiet the people down. "I understand your feelings about this. Yes, the outcome will put twenty-five families into grieving, and that doesn't include the friends of the tributes, either. But we feel it's the price that we must pay for what's been done. This should teach you all a lesson. The name-drawing will be held in a month's time, here in your town square. May the odds be ever in your favor."

Lexi couldn't see how the odds were favorable. Not by a long shot.