Fate is a cruel bitch, as they would say. Never thought I would be living in this era, The Dark Days. It all happened on the twenty-first of December 2012, the day the world was supposed to end. It didn't, of course. Something else happened; the entire world went to war. Most of America was against the government. Our new president, Allma Vivian, a crazy woman in her mid thirties, decided that American would become Panem and part of northern America would be destroyed to show us her cruelty. In that same day, we became twelve districts, slaves to the Capitol.
Twelve districts; each assigned to a specific job. District One is known for its luxury items, a necessity to the people of the Capitol. Items were starting to become precious to our poor crumbling country. The people of District One build and create beautiful trinkets such as rings, bracelets, and gems. They're considered the wealthiest district of Panem. District Two was made for masonry, to build and create our buildings. Stone, lumber and steel is common in this district. District Two is also known for being wealthy. The government specifically gave the next district, District Three, the job to manufacture the country's technology. They create all the gizmos and gadgets that many people of the Capitol buy.
On the southern seaside sits District Four, the fishing district. The fishermen of this district are strong and deadly, known for their brute strength and skills in the aquatic sub-terrain. Near the ocean district is District Five, the electric district. If it weren't for this district, the Capitol and the eleven other districts wouldn't have power whatsoever. District Five is one of the biggest districts in Panem. The flat district is compacted with numerous power plants, all connecting to each district, though most of the power is given to the Capitol. Another district that is highly important to the Capitol is District Six, the district who constructs the medicine for Panem. Rumors told us that all the doctors of Pre-Panem moved to this district, to be spared of the horrors that were about to come. These six districts are known as the Upper Districts, the high class.
The Lower Districts aren't as spoiled as the Upper ones. The Lowers are as poor as you can get. The people of District Seven are the lumberjacks of Panem, not as poor as the other Lower Districts, but poverty is indeed there. Lumber is their specialty. In the Lower Districts, they don't have steel buildings; they don't have powerful structures at all. The Lower Districts depend on District Seven. Clothing comes from District Eight; some say that the Capitol's eccentric textiles come from there, though the clothes that are produced there are quite strange. While Eight makes textiles, they also make beauty products, though no one in the Lower Districts really need them. Lower Districts thought Eight would become an Upper District because of the products it created.
District Nine produces grain, a very important factor to the Lower Districts. Without grain, we couldn't produce our breads and other goods. Next door to Nine is District Ten, head of Panem's livestock. The fields of Ten are filled with all kinds of animals; cows, bisons, lambs and deer are only some of them. All of Panem's meat is butchered and sent across each district, the Capitol always getting the most.
The lowest of the low are Districts Eleven and Twelve. Eleven, my home district, is known for agriculture while Twelve is known for coal mining. Eleven and Twelve depend on each other. The other districts called us the scum of Panem; they thought we didn't deserve to live, because the Capitol thought we were disgusting animals. Sometimes I believe them.
A few days after the start of Vivian's reign, she declared that the districts would have four tributes, two boys and two girls; each will sponsor their district in a battle of death and excitement. She called this the Hunger Games.
Six months has passed since she made that announcement on that fateful day. Today is the twenty-first of June 2013, the first day of summer. Back then, I used to think that the first day of summer was the best day of my life. Now it isn't; it is the worst day I will ever experience. I can hear screaming from the other side of my door, my mother walks in with a cold look on her face.
"Get up and get dressed. I don't want the Peacekeepers coming here if you're aren't there," she snaps.
She starts walking towards my closet and sifts through my clothes until she finds what she wants. She holds up an ugly light pink dress with white lacy frills on the bottom of the skirt. My face scrunches up and I say, "I am not wearing that."
"Oh yes you are. Now get dressed. I will take you to the courthouse," she says, then leaves the room.
I jump out of my bed with a spring in my step, not a normal thing for me to do. I grab the dress and examine it; God, she really wants to embarrass me during the Reaping. I quickly take off my nightclothes and pull the dress over my pale body. I sigh as I stare at myself in the mirror; this dress is hideous. It reminds me of something my grandma would wear back in her days. I glance around my room until I find what I was looking for, a black belt, a great accessory that will make the dress look somewhat nicer. I wrap it around my tiny waist and look around for a pair of shoes; unfortunately, my mother didn't have shoes picked out for me. My eyes scan the closet once more until I see a pair of shoes that I have not worn since Junior Prom, black strappy high heels that zip up from the heel. Those will work for now.
I run up the staircase and find my family all in the living room. My seventeen-year-old sister, Bethany, smiles sadly at me as she holds her two-year-old daughter, Breanna. I smile back with equal sadness. She was lucky. The Capitol makes sure that whoever is between the ages twelve and twenty and has a child or a disability will not be able to compete in the Games. So my other sister, Aubrey, doesn't have to compete either, due to her Cerebral Palsy.
"Come on, we need to go," Mom says as she waits by the door.
I look at Beth and walk up to her, kissing her and Bre's cheeks.
"Bye Bye," Breanna whispers into my ear.
Tears roll down my eyes as I smile at her. She doesn't know why I am leaving, but I know that one day Beth will tell her. I walk out of the house with my mom and we get into our car. The Reaping is going to take place at the town's courthouse. Everyone from District Eleven is going to be there, ready to be reaped for the Games. Mom doesn't speak as she drives me. The only thing I hear is a loud noise and I stick my head out to see a giant airship flying towards our destination. I know what it is and it scares me.
We arrive at the courthouse and I can see all the potential tributes waiting, two giant groups, one for females and one for males. I gulp loudly and my mom looks at me with sad eyes, "I am sorry, I can't stay. Please, pray for this, that you won't be picked."
"I will, Mom," I answer and hug her gently as tears fall down from both of our eyes.
I then get out of the car and stare at her, "I love you."
"I love you too, Day." She smiles.
She then drives away and I look up at the courthouse, observing the whole area. Everyone looks nervous and some even look like they are about to faint. I begin walking towards the group where all the girls stood. I see my best friend, Christy, and she smiles at me weakly. I smile back and walk toward her. As I do this, I notice two tall males in the far end of their group, one with curly hair and the other with straight. The curly-haired boy is Justin Park, my ex boyfriend and best friend of seven years. He and I have an intense history together. We met when we were only twelve years old, a funny introduction if I recall. We were both very shy people, but once we met, we were inseparable. But as the years went on, I started having feelings for him, feelings that were never explained or thought of until that very day when we started dating. That year, we fell in love; he was the first guy I ever fell in love with. Yes, we had our problems, but we stuck together no matter what. A year later, I broke up with him. I still don't understand why I broke up with him; it just happened. But now we are best friends once more.
I look at him and see that he is staring at the stage, not at me. Most likely he doesn't even think I would be here. He is holding his brother's hand tightly as he glances around the stage. My trance broke when I see a man walking onto the stage; my eyes go wide as I watch him. His footing was elegant but stiff, as if something was altered in his legs. His clothing is obnoxious and loud; I shield my eyes from the brightness as his teal silk tux shines in the sunlight. There is also a dark magenta tie beneath the teal blazer. There are designs on it, but from my view, I can't see what's on it. His face is what intrigues me the most, though. He has high cheekbones and his eyes are a shocking gold color, like the heat from the sun. His features are not normal, as if someone gave him plastic surgery before he got off the aircraft. I cringe at the thought of it.
His lips and eyes are an acid green color, making me think of some poisonous frog kissing them. He opens his mouth, revealing beautiful straight white teeth, "HELLO DISTRICT ELEVEN!"
I wince at his high voice; I did not like this guy at all. He waves his arm around and grabs the microphone, "Welcome to the first annual Reaping of District Eleven! My name is Valient Bonaparte and I will be your escort to the Capitol. I am oh so excited to present to you all, the Reaping Orbs." Two large glass bowls rise from the stage. "Now the Hunger Games is a very important event; it's to show all of the districts how generous the Capitol is!"
"Generous, my ass." Christy grumbles beside me. I give her a tiny smirk.
"Now, before we start, I shall explain the necessities of the Reaping. There are two glass orbs, one for the females and one for the males. In each orb holds all of your names. Four of these names will be our beloved tributes. When your name is chosen, you shall become your district's tribute. As tribute, you will train and represent your District with pride. Alrighty then, let's start with the gentlemen!" Valient walks over to the first glass orb.
My heart starts beating rapidly; this is it. With a quick flick of the wrist, Valient sticks his painted fingers into the orb and pulls out two pieces of paper. He walks over to the microphone, "Our first tribute of District Eleven is Shelby Maynard!"
My eyes jolt to a tall big blonde boy. His body is stiff and my eyes narrow, I know him pretty well. He and I had a history, just like Justin and me. This boy ruined my life. How exactly? Well it happened about a year ago, a few months after I broke up with Justin. I was trying to find comfort in someone, so I went to him. He persuaded me to have sex with him, thus giving him my virginity. A horrible decision, if I must say. Since then, he has become an enemy.
I watch as he walks up onto the stage. Valient gives him a strange look and holds up his arm, "OUR FIRST TRIBUTE!"
No one cheers; everyone is silent. Valient looks at us and coughs, "Well, onto our next tribute." He opens the second piece of paper and says, "Justin Park!"
Everything freezes; did he just say Justin's name? No, that can't be right. I look over at him and I could hear Josh screaming along with another voice, a female voice. I look over to see a blonde hair girl running over to Justin and attaching to him.
The girl shrieks. "Don't take him, please! Someone volunteer for his place, I am begging you, don't take my boyfriend away from me!"
The girl is Alexandria Myers, Justin's girlfriend and one of my ex friends. I glare at her, but I do feel a small amount of sympathy. She doesn't want her lover to be killed in the games and I don't want that either. Justin whispers something to her and she lets go, her eyes are wide and she nods her head. Justin walks onto the stage and stands next to Shelby, not even looking at him.
Valient looks at them and back at us, "Well wasn't that dramatic?" He starts to yell, "HERE ARE YOUR MALE TRIBUTES!"
Once again, no one cheers. This is definitely not a happy event. Valient smirks awkwardly and walks over to the second bowl, "Now onto our ladies."
He swiftly grabs two pieces of paper, opens one, and them says, "Our first female tribute is... Claire Mona!"
A girl starts shrieking and I cover my ears. A blonde-haired girl, probably around the age of sixteen, tries to run off. This has to be Claire. Peacekeepers in the surrounding area grab her and drag her up onto the stage as she shrieks at the top of her lungs. She starts sobbing heavily and her body shakes as she stands there.
Valient looks awkward for a moment and says, "Well, onto our last tribute."
He opens the piece of paper and looks at it with a strange look, as if the name looks hard to read. "Well isn't this a strange name, your last tribute of District Eleven is Domni Yoder!"
Christy looks at me with a frightened expression. Her hand tightens around mine. He said my name. I am chosen, I think as I look into Christy's wet eyes. He calls it again and someone pushes me out of the group. I stumble and fall to the ground, hissing in pain. I look up at Valient and the other tributes; Shelby looks at me with a smirk on his face and Justin's eyes are filled with a look that could literally break my heart. My mind goes blank as I am taken onto the stage. They put me next to Claire and I stare at Valient; his lips are moving but I can't understand what he is saying.
"What?" I ask, dumbfounded.
"Well aren't you a ditzy girl, I said shake hands with your fellow tributes," Valient says.
I stare at Claire and I shake hands with her, then Justin. We stare at each other for what feels like a century. His hand feels soft and a warm sensation goes through my body. A cough makes us jump away and Shelby is leaning down at me and whispers, "Come on, we have to shake hands."
I stare at him with utter disgust and I grab his hand quickly, shaking it and turning away. Valient smiles at us and says, "That concludes our first Reaping! Until next year, Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!"
The Peacekeepers take us into the courthouse so we can say our final farewells to our families and friends. I watch as Justin's family and girlfriend barge in and grab him. I can't hear what they say. I look away quickly as Alex glances at me. I can see Shelby and his family talking. I can see his father; he is giving him advice on how to fight. I stand there awkwardly until I see a flash of vibrant, red hair coming at me.
A voice cries out my name. "DOMNI!"
Tears hit my shoulders as Christy embraces me. Her body is violent shaking and I can smell the sweat near her neck. I break down and wrap my arms around her, our sobs becoming in sync.
"No- no one came to see me go?" I stutter, looking at her finally, my voice cracking.
She shakes her head in disappointment, "No one came."
My body shakes harder as I realize none of my family members came to see me leave. Before I could say goodbye, rough hands pull Christy away. I scream for her; as I watch her body become smaller, I realize that I am finally going to be away from everyone I love.
Gentle hands appear on my shoulders and I look up to see Justin, "It will be okay, Domni."
I push his hands away and whisper, "Don't you get it, Justin! We are chosen to die! We won't survive!"
He flinches and looks down, "Please, don't cry. I know we won't but we will protect each other."
Valient comes over and smiles, "Alrighty everyone, the train is here! Next stop, THE CAPITOL!" I scoff as he boisterously says this; it's going to be a long train ride.
The Peacekeepers escort us toward the giant silver bullet train. The train looks like it was taken from the future. The four tributes and Valient get on the train, one by one. As soon as we are aboard, the train zooms off towards the Capitol.
From this day forward, our lives will never be the same.