Hi guys! This is a revamp from my previous story. If you read it then you will know some of the new characters and some of the same. This is more better and more thought through in detail! Please Review! I'm accepting any Ideas at the moment, and I will come out with stories every weekend! Please stick with me! Please critique anything!

The axe was slender, the handle made from an old weathered piece of wood. It held together, though it has scratches and niches at the base of the handle. The metal was also beat up, it was smooth and rugged, but I knew the axe could handle the job. My hand gripped the handle tightly. It was balanced, and I had created a groove after years of using it. The handle was about the size of my forearm. Pulling it back I swung forward with all my strength. The small tree fell as the axe bounded through the entire width of its wood. Birch sat on the opposite side of me. He knew that if he sat across from me, the tree would come in hitting distance of him. He barked in approval. Taking to a near tree stump, I painstakingly chopped the wood into smaller pieces of lumber. Then after that I reached to the base of the stump and grabbed the twine, wrapping the pieces together into different bundles. I stood up, my arms ached, and I adjusted my shirt. The first of the morning rays began to shine through the trees. The smell of pine needles filled my nose. The rest of the workers would come in after the reaping, to begin their days work. But I, the only minor, had to get my rounds done beforehand. I had quite few more things to do. Birch got onto his feet. He was large; he came up to my waist. Labrador Retrievers were rare in Panem these days. I found him in the forest, as a pup. Since then I trained him to help me with my daily chores. I looked around. The dense trees made it hard to spot the small dirt path that dwindled its way through District 7. It was a popular source of transportation. I shoved the gloves in my back pocket, and grabbed the bundles, and my axe. Birch walked over to me, and took a small bundle in his mouth. Biting onto the twine lightly, so he wouldn't damage it. I began walking. My boots making little noise on the dirt. As we walked we stayed quite. Birch knew not to make excess noise that would scare game away. Although, entering the dense forest was illegal, most of the residents of District 7 trespassed anyway. There were no fences to keep anyone out. The capitol assumed that the dense trees and vigorous wildlife would scare us off.

It was the 1st of November. Reapings were always held today. No matter what happened. The cool autumn breeze rolled in, older folks spent their time outdoors. During this time of year, Meadow would open all the windows, and let the cool air flow through the cabin. Meadow was my older sister. She was in her early 20's and she kept a steady job at the Paper Mill. Usually, women worked there and the men worked in the forests. Cutting lumber, and delivering it around. When my parents died I had to begin work earlier than usual. At fourteen I could barely lift the axe. Kids would start to have to work at the age of 17. The younger kids would have to find work at the Paper Mill. But I refused to work there. It required too much intricacy. So I took my father's old axe and began chopping down trees. I was a laughing stock, until I began to gain strength. Now I haul the most over the lazy older men. I pushed the hair off of my forehead, and switched the bundles between my arms. I was used to the scratch of the rough wood on my skin. Except I made sure to be careful because one of the larger splinters could easily cut into my skin. These types of injuries were typical in 7. Most people have lost fingers from axe accidents, and some even have lost their lives to the heavy weight of trees falling on them. That is why I promised Meadow I would stay out of were the large population worked, and would keep to my own. As we walked the trees cleared. Sitting in the middle was a large bin. It was quite large but my eyes could clear the top. I was about 6 feet. On the floor next to the dumpster sat shreds of wood, and debris. Birch gave me his bundle. I trained him to know a certain routine. He was scared to walk off of the dirt path because he once got a chunk of wood stuck in the abscess of his paw. I had to hold him down and remove it. Resulting in scratched from his nails. I threw all of my wood into the bin except for one. Rules were that the bin would have to be full before sundown or else they would lock the entrance gates to the lumber area, until it was filled. It happened before, even to me. We were kept in like rats in a cage until we finally scrambled enough to fill the dumpster. The capitol also collected the larger trees that were taken away by hovercraft, to some other District to be put to use. It was ironic, even after almost 70 years; the forest still was dense and looked untouched. I walked back to the path, and Birch obediently followed me.

After several more minutes of walking we made it back to town. District 7 was a nature phenomenon. We only cleared away the trees that were absolutely needed to be cut down to build our houses. The cabins we lived in were very small. With 2 rooms and a kitchen, and a bathroom. It could only house small families. Building lumber was expensive, so people made with what they had.

I knew most of D7. I made a good name for myself. But I was mostly referred to as the boy that lost his parents. I remember the day so clearly. My parents were at home, and I was out doing my rounds, my sister came along just to help me carry the wood. Birch was a puppy back then so he keeps a steady distance behind us. Wagging his tail and sniffing around on the wild growth. When we returned home, our house was ablaze. People were rushing into to try to get my parents out but it was too late. The roof collapsed, and my parent died from burns. At their funeral most of the District showed up. Each showing their condolences to Meadow and I. My sister was 18 at the time, so I was not forced into an orphanage. We built a new house on the other side near the edge of the forest. Neither of us could bare living on the same ground that it happened on.

I walked through a bigger dirt path. This was one of the main paths to the main clearing. The main clearing was a large space, where trees were cleared when District 7 was first made. It was housed a big stage, and shops that surrounded the outskirts. It sat across from Victors Village, and they Mayor's House sat behind the Justice Building. As I walked Birch stayed close to my side. I knew he disliked strangers, and I sped up my walk for his sake. Walking into the Clearing we made our way to the Mayor's House. It was one of the largest houses in District 7. Most of us lived in small cabins made from the excess wood that we chopped ourselves, but the mayor's house was made by the Capitol. It had many windows, and the wild plants, and grass that lived in their boundaries were neatly cut. I made my usual way around the house. I avoided walking on the grass; the mud from my boots would make filthy dents in its perfection. I walked along the small white picket fence to the back of the house. Birch wagged his tail loudly, and kept his attention to other things nearby. Stepping on the porch I knocked loudly on the back-door. It was usual for the Mayor's house to be filled with loud piano music. I could hear the sounds of sheet music, being abruptly stopped at moments when the wrong note would be played. A large window stooped near the back door, and I looked inside. One of the Mayor's daughters were sitting at the grand piano, and playing off of the lines and lines of sheet music in front of her. It was Tulip. She was a soft spoken small girl; She spent her time mostly at the piano, playing any type of songs she could recall. From what Meadow has told me, she does not work at the paper mill along with the other girls. It was accepted that the Mayor and his family were help higher than the rest of the hard working residents. Mayor Oak was a nice man. He was generous, and tried his best to look out for the rest of our District. His demeanors led him to be easily walked over. He was lenient with us also. Peacekeepers have given up on trying keeping people out of the deep woods, but that was impossible. District 7 did not have any fences or barricades, due to the fact that there were millions of trees in the main perimeter of our small District, and for them to keep us from cutting down those protected ones would be useless.

The door was opened and I was greeted by the usual Mrs. Oak. She was a dainty woman who dressed neatly and dedicated herself to the gossip of the District. Her and several other high end, District 7 wives would meet once a week to share the scandalous secrets of the people living within our borders. Smiling to me she accepted the wood bundle.

"I'll be right back." She said steadily walking down the hall and into a room. Several noises were made and she appeared back, with a bag. She had a hard time carrying the large burlap sack, and she handed it to me. Both of her arms used to support the contents up. I grabbed it with ease. It was filled to the top with shiny green apples. When my parents died, Meadows small paycheck was barely enough to keep us alive. We had gone days without eating. I met the Mayor on my way to work, and he offered a trade. I reluctantly accepted not know whether it would work. Mayor Oak had a large orchard of apple trees in his back yard. His daughters each morning would retrieve as many apples as they could and fill the bag. The Mayor's family had no way of retrieving wood, since none of them worked at the Grove.

"One more thing, Aspen could you retrieve my daughter from down the way, she's at the Orchard. It is becoming late, and the reaping is just around the corner! Just tell her to come back home."

"Sure, Tell Tulip I said Good luck." I said with a smile. Mrs. Oak closed the door, and the loud thump shocked Birch onto all fours. His tail wagged faster, and he looked to my face for direction.

"Were heading to the Orchard." I said, he emitted a loud whine. "Fine, then you head home and I'll see you at the Reaping." And with that Birch took off into the winding dirt paths on the way to our small Cabin. I trusted that Birch wouldn't run away, we've know each other to long for that nonsense. For some reason it always puzzled me how Birch knew exactly what I was saying at times. He was hot headed, yet he kept his temper around me. My axe was sweaty in the palm of my hand, so I shifted it to my left arm. Down the Dirt path to the left was the orchards. It was concealed from the Clearing by dense trees, and wildlife. I turned to look upon the giant trees the bore over my head. Each tree harvesting over hundreds of apples. They were scattered and grew unorganized. It was easy to become lost. I passed several more trees to see Autumn Oak. She was a graceful girl. Her hair was a charcoal black. I stood behind one of the tall trees, and watched her. She was running around, twirling and jumping at random. I was puzzled at the sight until I remembered the familiarity. She was dancing. Weaving between trees, and throwing her arms in the air. It was uncommon to find people dancing. These days people took no time with personal pleasures, all of us were trying to survive. It was a broken tradition from before the war. I admired her dancing. She wore a white dress that stopped at her knees, and flowed behind her when she twirled. He hair would swiftly fly, and twist and curve. Then something went wrong. She seemed so involved with her spinning that she had lost her balance, landing inside a bush. Her face turned from happy to scared. I could hear a small yelp, as she got to her feet and slowly walked backwards. Erupting from the bush was a dark black wolf. Its ears perched with attention. It softly growled which seemed to get louder and louder. The wolf took slow step towards her when she took a step back. I saw the same look on the wolf's face that I did when Birch was on the verge of attacking someone. It bared its teeth, and just as it was about to jump onto her, I ran and tackled it with full force. I found myself on the ground wrestling the wolf; its claws buried themselves in my arm, and its teeth threated to bear down into my throat. I pushed the wolf off of me, but it regained its posture landing on all fours. The wolf then began to run towards me, and I heard a shard tumble of dirt sliding next to me. The wolf jumped, my hand laid on something metal and before it landed onto me I swung the axe into its head. My heart was racing, and I took into account that I had long scratches across my arm. Pushing the wolf's limp body weight, I pulled the axe from his head. I killed this animal. My mind managed to scramble. Autumn was already to my pulling me up off the ground. She wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Thank you so much." She said. I pulled away from her knowing that my shirt was covered with blood. She immediately released me and I suddenly became conscious of the cuts on my arms. Autumn helped me drag the dead body between several dense bushes. I stood there looking at its cold heartless eyes. How could I have done this?

"How did you know I was in trouble?" Autumn asked. I looked to the ground immediately. Should I tell her that I was watching her? No, she'd think I was a creep.

"I was on my way over here to tell you that your mother wants you back home immediately."

"Oh. Well, thank you very much Aspen. I would have been the one laying in the bushes if it wasn't for you." And with that, she was down the paths and far from my sight. She knew my name. I happily thought to myself. It was about noon and I walked back home. The air was cool, and the towering trees around me gave us closure from the dense sunlight. I wiped the blood off of the axe in the small stream that flowed near our house, and laid the sack of apples onto the small porch. I perched the axe in a gloss of sunlight that had taken to the railing. I didn't want to think about how I took a life with my own father's axe.

Walking into the cabin, I could hear Birch bounding down the hall in an instant. He cautiously smelled the shirt, and took evaluation of my health. Meadow from the kitchen spotted my blood shirt, and came to me.

"What the hell happened?" she said. A validated look of worry overtook her face. She began to rip off the shirt that I was wearing.

"Nothing." I said. I did not want to reveal anything about today to anyone. Not even the only person I have left.

I tried to walk down the hall, but a hand pulled my shoulder back. I turned to see Meadow, shorter than me, look me into the eyes.

"What Happened?" I gave her the look. It was something that Meadow and I had developed after years of living with each other. We used it only in times of dire need. And with this, Meadow understood. "Well if I have one peacekeeper show up to this door, I will lose it."

I kept my way down the hall with a small grin. Meadow trusted me enough that I would not do something that shame our names. Birch followed me; I could feel his nose bump into my leg every time I took a step. I opened my door which revealed my room. It was the smallest room in the house. Meadow had the loft, and we mutually spent our time in the tiny living room and the kitchen. A large window faced the woods. During the early mornings I would find myself staring into its depths, watching the iridescent changes that took place before my eyes. Wildlife occasionally found its way into town, and some of the residents would have to scare them away. My hands fumbled under my bed for the familiar box. It was a flat leather box that had been italicized with gold metal around it. I felt for the two clips that guarded the front of it, Clicking them I opened the top carefully. I unfolded the soft blue button up. I could smell the aroma of alpine on it. Then, I took out the suspenders, that were worn, and a dark black. It was one of the last things that my father gave me before he died.

Changing, I pushed my hair back, and looked at myself in the grimy mirror I looked like my father. It was something that I was told all of the time by the older people of this town. They would remember the days where he would run to their doorsteps delivering wood, and adventuring deep in the woods. I turned away from the mirror. Meadow and Birch were the only family I needed. I tried my best not to worry about the past, but it seemed to keep resurfacing.

I smoothed out the pants, and walked down the hall. It was about 1-o-clock. I walked into the living room where Meadow was walking around shifting random things in our household around. Her eyes darted to my arm, and she motioned me to the kitchen. I rolled my sleeves making sure that no blood soiled the inside of the shirt. We walked to the sink where she washed it. Reaching far beneath the kitchen sink she retrieved a dark bottle from the back.

"This is going to sting." She said, as she poured the contents onto the cut. Immediately, the cut sealed and left a long scar.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, surely I would have stumbled across this after countless years of scavenging through our drawers.

"It was from the paper mill, when the girls would get cuts from the paper, the head worker would pour this on it and it would heal it right up. When they weren't looking I grabbed the extra one from under the cabinet, and now I use it for the people who come in." Meadow was clever, and smart. Yet it worried me that she would go to these lengths for her patients. Meadow was a natural born healer, and once people figured out that she could take out a splinter, people were lined outside of our house waiting to be treated. Now the number of her patients has dwindled from her successfully treating them. She takes on the job of treating everyone. Sometimes she hauls in drunks who have cut their sides, and other times she has taken in small children for illness. The people in District 7 have a deep respect for the Cedars. We try our best to carry out what our parents would have wanted us to do.

I laid a kiss to her forehead, and left her with Birch. They would come around two. The kids usually had to show up earlier to the reapings, lines would become lengthy the more close it gets to reaping time. I walked the small dirt path that led to the Clearing. My boots, scuffling against the rough dirt. I could spot the small tiny dust particles that danced around in my vision. I felt a tug on my wrist and remembered the small leather bracelet that was wrapped around it. It was wrapped in a tricky pattern that twisted, and braided around my arm. I wore it every day. I found that the best way to cope is to find routine. It also served as an outlet when I was nervous. I twisted it around, feeling the leather spin around my wrist.

The clearing had the Capitol's person touches added to it when I arrived. The stage was decked with lights, and had a plethora of different plants, and paper chandeliers hanging from them. The floor of the stage had been stained and polished so that it gave a sleek shine. Several chairs sat on the stage. In one of them sat Johanna Mason. She was one of the winners from previous years of the Hunger Games. She used her mind-tricks, and intelligence to make it to the final two where she buried the axe into her opponents head. She was a force to be reckoned with. It came to no surprise, that she was a ruthless killer. All of us knew of her hot temper, and her violent streak. She had been a source of fighting for years previously. All the victors had something that they do to get away with the time, and away from the memories. Johanna took to fighting. I remember her interview for the Victory tour she had decked her house with a fighting rink. Next to Johanna sat Vegas Zodiac. She was our escort from the capitol. It seemed that her style changed every year. One year she would come with her skin painted green, and the next she would have eyelashes longer than her fingers. This year was no exception. She had long hair that fell down to her knees. It was a shiny blonde that was streaked with purple. She wore a dress made completely from an opaque glass. Her shoes reminded me of ant eaters, and made her stand several feet taller. And finally her skin was covered with almost plastic cover. That gave her a sheen. She looked like she was uncomfortable yet she made a unrealistic large smile that stare all the new arriving people. Next to her sat the Mayor. He seemed to create little talk between Vegas, yet she was doing most of the talking. I walked to one of the shortest lines. Temporary iron bars made small boundaries for us to stand in. As the line disbursed into the large area, it was my turn. A small lady with white hair cut short to her head was sitting at the desk.

"Hand please." I stuck out my hand. Taking my index finger she put it over a miniscule hole, a sharp cut was felt in my finger and she directed my hand over to a small box where she wrote, 'Aspen Cedars'. The she flattened my wrist against the table, and slid it over a small square. A red laser was emitted, and my wrist had another bold line. I had 5 now that steadily went down my wrist. They were used to keep track of how old you were.

"You're done." She said. I walked into the perimeter of where all the kids were supposed to stand. Looking around I made my way to the 16-Boys section. Their stood a plethora of kids standing inside small sub categories of areas. I waved to several people I knew. Julie from school. Banning who was my neighbor. Sasha who helped me find Birch one time when he ran away. As I walked down the main column I spotted, Sarah Soverhad. She was the girl I was crushing on since the 7th grade. We knew of each other, we had subtle conversations in the hallways; we worked together at the 86th antique place when we had to intern for a school project. She was constantly sending me mixed signals. Some days she would be all over me, and the next day she wouldn't even look at me. I tried to keep friendly to her no matter how I was treated. Today was no exception.

"Hey!" I said as I walked over. She greeted me with a smile and hugged me.

"Hey! Are you nervous for today?" she said in a flat tone. I could tell she was trying to be nice but it was hard. For anyone. Our lives were on the line, and the nerves got to everyone.

"Of course, I pulled in the extra tesserae for the kids down th-". Before I could finish my sentence she was off. She walked right past me, and began talking to another boy. He was taller, although I was roughly 5'11. I could feel the blood rush to my face. I was disposable. I never knew why I chased after her. She was popular, and she had tons of friends. Whatever. I thought. What does it matter? Awkwardly, I walked back to our boundaries. I stood closely to the rest of the group do to the mass size of us. It seemed that all of us had trouble fitting inside the small iron rods. I stood near the front. Most 17 year olds and 18's were in front of me, yet I had a good view of the stage, and the surrounding parents. I swiveled my head back and forth looking for Meadow, and Birch. Yet at the far end I could see them. They were at the back corner, Meadow with her hand over her eyes trying to block out the sheer rays of the sun. Birch sat obediently next to her. Both of their eyes glued onto me, then onto the stage. I could feel the pressure now. The closer we came to the reaping the more nervous I became. The large clock that hung above the stage struck 2, and Vegas took her place to the stage.

"Hello, Hello everyone! Welcome to the Reaping of District 7 for the 67th Annual Hunger Games! Please settle in we will only be here a bit! Now I would like to thank the Mayor for his politeness during my stay, and to the Capitol for promoting me to solo Escort this year!" Vegas was usually paired with another escort, but last year he was caught smuggling food, and goods to the rest of the district, and was executed on spot. It was rumored that Vegas and him were having an affair, and once he died she knew her secret would be banished from society. "Now for the annual viewing of gratitude and remembrance!" Vegas to the back of the stage, and a large projection of pictures were viewed on the screen. President Snow narrated through the times of struggle, and how the Capitol prevailed after the Districts surrendered. The crowd was silent, just as they were every year. We were beaten down people, who kept our thought to ourselves. Once the video stopped, Vegas walked back to the microphone. "Now is the time to pick one courageous man and women to represent District 7, in the 67th Annual Hunger Games! Ladies first! And as a side note, let the odds be ever in your favor!" A peacekeeper walked onto the stage, and laid the giant ball on the table. He quickly stalked back to the line surrounding the stage; Video cameras zoomed in to Vegas for the suspenseful moment. Her hand reached into the bowl, and she shuffled the names around. Choosing one slip, she held it up to the air, and walked back to the microphone in short bursts. Her voice boomed across the Clearing.

"Autumn Oaks!" She said loudly. My head shot to the Mayor, who looked like a ghost. His knuckles were white against the chair. I could hear the shuffling of feet to my right, and I spotted Autumn in the main walkway. She wore the same white dress as she did this morning. My heart dropped and my hands clenched quickly to my sides. My pulse began to race. But I just talked to her this morning, how could she have been picked? The odds were in her favor! It was sad to see the Mayor like this. His face was flat and emotionless. I looked to Autumn at the stage, her black hair flowed into loose curls, and her white dress blew with the breeze. I could she her eyes were beginning to gleam with water. Don't cry I thought to myself, this will be across Panem in the matter of seconds. Yet she kept strong, she regained her posture and took a deep breath.

"Now, for our male tribute!" Vegas took to the second bowl, and reached inside. I could see her hand pull one slip out. It was held together with a small piece of black tape. My heart beat faster. As Vegas was about to speak into the microphone I turned to look to Meadow. Once my eyes met her eyes, the voice rang inside my ears.

"Aspen Cedars!" Meadow's hand quickly came to her mouth. I turned back around. My knees were weak, and I didn't think I could bare the weight to stand. My heart was going at a fast pace now. All the boys around me cleared away, they always do. My feet began to move. I felt the water rush to the back of my eyes. But no. I'll be damned if the Capitol would see my cry. I stood straighter and held my head up. Peacekeepers escorted me down the long walkway. My boots scuffed against the dirt floor. I bounded up the stairs. So many thoughts flooded into my head, and I had no idea how to process them.

"Give it up for District 7's Tributes!" No one cheered. No one clapped. Everyone kept still. "Now shake hands." Vegas said in a low voice. I reached over to Autumn, a grim smile was on her face. Probably on mine to. She shook my hand and we were whisked into the justice building.

The Justice building was a small place, it sat directly behind the stage. A small flight of stairs led us down to the door. Opening it we were pushed into a room, and the door closed behind us. I could hear the sounds of claws scratching the floor and I knew that Meadow and Birch were here.

"Right in here ma'am." The peacekeeper opened the door, and in came Meadow. I was on my feet, and we were hugging. I could hear her crying. Meadow never cried. She had kept strong for me all these years, and now there was nothing she could do to stop the incoming tragedy. I pulled away. Walking over to Birch I got on one knee for him. I looked him in the eyes, and I started to talk to him, just like I did this morning.

"I'm going to have to leave Birch. I might not come back. You watch over Meadow alright? Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone." My voice was on the verge of tears. Birch buried his head into my stomach, and I picked him up and laid him across my lap. I could hear him whimpering, and soon Meadow was hugging me too. The three of us crouched onto the floor. I did not let myself cry. I wouldn't. The peacekeeper walked in, and Meadow and Birch were pulled off of me.

"I love you guys." I said in a low voice, as they were pulled out of the room. Before the door closed, I could hear Meadow.

"I love you too kid."

I lay on the sofa. Its rough fabric scratched against my skin. I could hear the walking outside, the few families gathering to watch the train leave. Meadow and Birch would be there. Standing below the platform, watching as the train disappeared into the forest. I sat up, and began twisting the bracelet around. I could feel all my emotions swirling inside my head. The door opened once more and the peacekeeper came in once again. I was escorted into the hallway and out the back door onto a large platform. I looked down to all the people below, there were hundreds. People made way for Meadow and Birch who stood in the front. I could spot Sarah in the crowd, tears in her eyes. Once she realized I saw her she shouted, "Win for District 7!" I rolled my eyes. I was useless to her unless it brought her attention. People looked at her with and began to hold three fingers against their lips, then to the sky. I did it back and was shoved into the train entrance. I walked alone through the short hall, and into the first car. It was a dining cart. I stood around looking. There were used plates sitting on the tables. I suspected that I was the last one on the train until I heard Autumn come down the hallway. Once I saw her, she vaguely smiled. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her. She buried her face into my chest, and I could tell she was crying. The train lurched forward, and District 7 was far away. As she held onto me, I felt like I needed it more than she did. But she let go eventually. Then there I was back at my parent's funeral. Watching their deep mahogany casket become lowered into the ground. Leaving me feeling alone as ever.

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