A/N: Hiya, guys! I've recently been totally obsessed with the Hunger Games trilogy by the amazing Suzanne Collins. If YOU haven't read them, I suggest you read them now and you'll be ever hooked like me. But when I was reading Catching Fire I really liked the duo of victors from District 3. Beetee and Wiress. Or Nuts and Volts (nickname courtesy of Johanna Mason) but those two were so interesting that I enjoyed reading very second of their interactions with Katniss. I thought those two were plain old epic. I HATE BRUTUS!
Anyway, I skimmed through the fanfictions today looking for a story about them (I've read some great ones)! I was surprised that not a lot of people write stories about those two. So, I decided I was going to write Wiress's Games, maybe if enough people read it I'll also do the Victory Tour. I know it's been done before, but meh. Enjoy! :D
Disclaimer: © The Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins and so do all the characters in this story. Not including the characters I made for the story.
Summary: Wiress's Games. This story is about Wiress Deen, a girl from District 3, and when she participated in the 46th Hunger Games at age fourteen.
Chapter 1: The Reaping
"Wiress, come down and get breakfast! It's getting cold!" I bolt upright from my bed with a start from my mother's call for breakfast. I run my fingers through my dark black hair and sigh because I didn't get much sleep last night.
I answer, "Coming, mom!" with that I walk downstairs to see my mother, my father, and my little brother, Gage, I smile as I take a seat by my father and look at my breakfast a personal favorite of mine; two pancakes as wide as my head, three pieces of crispy bacon just the way I like it cooked, eggs, with ice cold water. Mom only makes this on special events like birthdays or when someone gets a great grade in school or for others things like-
"You know, today is the day of the Reaping," my mother chides as she pours water in Gage's glass. I look up from my plate and frown at what she just said. She knows I dislike the Reapings with every fiber of my being so why mention it?
"Yes, it is," I murmur looking at my plate again.
"Let's hope no one we know will get reaped today, huh?" she smiles taking a little bite of her bacon.
"Let's hope," I repeat, I haven't even taken a bit of my food yet and something makes me feel uneasy in the pit of my stomach.
"Wiress, eat up. You look so skinny and worked from all those books you read and all those electronic stuff you work with." she says. I look down at myself in my silk nightgown; all there is a scrawny, skinny, wimpy, girl who stays cooped inside all day working with wires and eating wheat crackers in her small bedroom. I learned how to work with wires, and motors and most electronics in school. I started when I was eleven because people wouldn't talk to me and I was constantly bullied by the other kids in my grade. I was what people called a loner, so my teachers suggested after school activities. So for the last three years everyday after school I've worked with teachers and other students till about five and then I would go home. I'm not pretty, or anything and I don't want attention from people. I just want breakfast to be over and get the Reaping over with.
"I'm all done!" shrieks Gage from his chair he did in fact finish his breakfast already and he is gleaming. I smile at him, he's only eleven so he has one more year until he's eligible for the Reapings while I'm fourteen and I still have five more Reapings until I'm nineteen and Reapings will be hopefully nothing to me.
"Go get ready, Gage," says my father who's reading a newspaper and drinking coffee. Gage happily runs up stairs and once he's gone from my sight I look back down and start eating my food in silence.
Today's going to be a long day.
After breakfast I walk to my room to see what my mother put out for me to wear to the Reapings. Mother never lets me pick out my own clothes for the Reapings, I don't mind or anything. I've been told by multiple girls at my school I have no fashion sense. I look at the simple dress. It's just a regular yellow sundress, and white ballet flats. Nothing special.
I strip out of my white silk nightgown and step into the yellow dress and zip myself up. I brush my dark hair, put in a headband and put on my flats then I walk to the living room and look to see my mother in her Sunday best. She eyes me up and down then gives me a look of approval and points to the door, a signal that I should be on my way out.
I walk to the door and step out to see many people already on their way to the Reaping. The walk to the Square isn't that far away since we live in town. I check in with the Peacekeepers and then I take my spot in my section just in time for the escort, a woman I'm guessing is my mother's age with pale pink skin, bright purple lips, crazily bright lime green hair, and generally she just looks like she's had a lot of work done to herself, if I didn't know that she was from the Capiol I'd of thought she was a pink blob of some sort. I cringe at her; people from the Capitol disgust me.
"Hello, District 3!" she booms into the microphone, "My name is Mayla Zyester and I'll be your escort this year!" she then sits down while the mayor says his speech. The mayor, Mr. Ekens, talks about our country Panem and it's history. He then talks about the Hunger Games, a live fight to the death with children through the ages of 12-18, that takes place each year in an arena made by the infamous Gamemakers, it's nothing new. I've heard this before. I think of the Career districts; 1, 2, sometimes 4, 5, and occasionally 7. The tributes from those districts are the ones who have trained all their life for the Hunger Games then they volunteer at the Reaping as if the Hunger Games are nothing more than a mere sport. Why risk your life for the Hunger Games? It's bizarre to me, but then again no one asked what I think.
Mayla then comes back up and says, "How about we do the female tribute first, hmm? Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!" she dips her perfectly manicured hands into the girls Reaping bowl and squints her eyes as she reads the name. I think of the three slips of paper that have my name written on them, I don't need to take out a tesserae or anything since my family makes out well. My chances aren't that big compared to other kids in the district.
Please, please, please don't be me. I think to myself as I cross my fingers in anticipation.
"Wiress Deen!" she calls into the microphone looking around for me.
And it's me. Can't say I'm surprised though, I'm not a lucky kid. I hold my breath and frown as the girls around me give me looks of pity and sadness. I don't need that. I just want to get this over with, I keep walking up doing a somewhat robotic movement and find my way up stage. Mayla looks me over and smiles brightly and says, "Hi, Wiress!"
"Hi." I say quietly and then I sit down next to the victor, Beetee, cutting the conversation over. Mayla smiles and just says, "And our boy tribute is..." she puts her hand into the boys' Reaping bowl and finally shouts, "Fenton Ware!" I watch as a lean boy from the sixteen year old section makes his way on stage. He's good looking with his light brown hair, pale green eyes, and fair white skin. But nothing special.
"Any volunteers?" Mayla asks as she puts her right hand to her ear as if she hears something. I hold on to the tinge of hope that maybe just maybe someone would volunteer to take my place. All that meets me is silence. Dead silence. I'm officially competing in the Hunger Games...this can't be happening.
"There you have it. Wiress Deen! Fenton Ware! You are our tributes for the 46th Hunger Games!" Mayla shouts in excitement. The mayor then says the Treaty of Treason and then I have to shake Fenton's hand. He has firm grip and he smiles at me though his tears. Weird. Everyone claps as we shake, and then we listen to the anthem. Then we're rushed into the Justice Building to say our goodbyes. The room I'm in is a very fancy and luxurious type of lounge I sit on the loveseat and play with the velvet on the couch.
"Wiress!"
I look up to see eleven year old Gage bolting into the room his arms flailing and his brow is mused. He looks like he's just run a marathon around the whole district. He runs into my arms and hugs me ever so tightly. He pulls back and looks into my eyes, "What's happening? Why aren't you coming home?" he asks. I feel teary eyed and answer in a low voice, "I was reaped, Gage."
Gage registers what I've just informed him, "Isn't that an honor? Dad always said it was." I laugh lightly. Getting reaped is anything, but an honor. I push his dark hair from his face and kiss his cheek, "Yes,"
"Then why are you crying?"
"C-cause, it's hard to explain. Okay? I'm going into the Hunger Games," I watch as his eyes go wide. Now he understands, "You know how every summer we watch on television those Games?" I ask. He nods his head very slowly.
"Well, I'm going to be one of the people on television in the Games."
He starts crying. Mother and father come into the room just then, mother is crying and father is teary eyed. Gage runs to mom and hugs her. Father comes up to me and says, "Wiress, you could win. I know what you can do with wires and motors. You're a natural, honey. You have a gift and you can use it to your benefit." he kisses my cheek and whispers in my ear, "I love you."
He then stands up while my mother runs into my arms and caresses my cheek. We haven't always gotten along well, but she loves me and I love her.
"My little girl," she begins looking into my eyes, "You're coming back home, I promise." she hugs me then and I almost shrug her off. She has no place to promise things like that. Then dad and Gage start hugging me also as one big family, it seems like forever. Then the Peacekeeper comes to inform me that my family's time is up, I start crying while I say my final goodbyes to them and then I walk with Fenton to the tribute train. His eyes are red from crying and he looks terrible, still through his depressed state he gives me a smile of I think is reassurance. I smile one back, he's not so bad I guess.
When we get into the train I immediately go to my room and lay down just looking at the ceiling and thinking about my family. Once I get up I take a shower in the bathroom where there are tons of strange buttons so I just press the one that has a normal kind of label. Once I'm done with my shower I change into a black T-Shirt, brown cargo pants, and black boots. I walk out of the room to see Fenton sitting by his door and scratching his brown hair. I walk up to him and sit down, "Wiress is it?" he asks me. I snap my head up and answer quietly, "Yes, what were you thinking about?"
"Stuff," he answer vaguely.
"Are you thinking about your loved ones?" I ask him, I know how he feels; he doesn't have to make it seem like I don't.
He sniffles quietly and shakes his head 'yes' as his answer.
"I was thinking about my loved ones too." I tell him honestly, "I know things seem pretty terrible right now. But we need to you know...persevere." I can understand why he wouldn't believe me. I don't even believe myself. He's about to answer but we hear Mayla's high pitch voice calling, "Dinner! Dinner! Dinner!" repeatedly. We walk to the table to see an amazingly delicious dinner made by the Capitol.
"Wow," Fenton says in awe looking at his plate, he keeps staring then he looks at the victors and Mayla as if asking for permission. The victors smile while Mayla motions for him to eat, "It's only the finest food the Capitol has to offer, Fenton is it?" he nods as his answer and she continues, "You'd be crazy not to eat it. Dig in you two, bon appetit."
He digs in while I poke at my food and then I taste it. It tastes heavenly. A servant brings me a napkin and I say, "Thank you." The servant doesn't say a thing back to me. Strange, probably nerves. We have a chat about normal things with Mayla, and the victors. Beetee, the victor I sat next to at the Reaping is Fenton's mentor, while mine is Albany who won a few years back.
After dinner we watch the Reapings on TV and Beetee gives Fenton and I pieces of notebook paper, "Write down who you think will be threats." he says. I nod and look at the screen. District 1 has the normal Careers who volunteer every year. The female tribute is a bubbly blonde who smiles and giggles the whole Reaping and she volunteers for tribute which is no big surprise. The male is big and burly with black hair; he's smirking a smug smirk laughing on screen then he shouts the famous words, "I VOLUNTEER!" he practically skips up stage. I write both of them down as threats. Their names are Alliyn and Heff.
District 2 is bad news , I'll give you that. The female is plump and has short red hair; she volunteers. Which I expected, and then she runs up stage. The male is a lanky tall guy with only one eye, but I can tell right off the bat that only having one eye couldn't stop him from killing me and Fenton. So I write them both down. Their names are Genna and Basher.
As I watch the Reapings I realize how much of a weakling I am, I'm practically shaking and strobing as I walk up stage with a failed determined look. Even Fenton looks more strong, I look at him and grimace.
District 4 isn't really anything special the girl looks scared out of her mind, just like me so I can't blame her. The boy is trying to hide his fear with a smirk, but he starts sobbing during the anthem. I write neither of them down, their names are Jilla and Quentin.
District 5 is where I write faster than I've ever written before the girl tribute is a muscly and ripped girl with dark brown hair she volunteers of course, and then the boy is like Heff but imagine him four times bigger the guy is so tall he seems like a tower to me and he's grimacing the whole time at the Reaping even though he volunteers. Their names are Fevella and Kye. I write both their names down.
District 6 isn't much, District 7 isn't much either, District 8, 10, and 12 aren't much so I write none of them down. District 9 picked a twelve year old boy which disgusts me. I hate it when they pick twelve year olds. But District 11 is where I write once more; the female is a short girl with dark skin but she's full of muscle and she looks about ready to kill anyone. The guy is about Basher's size and somewhat more intimating so I write them down. Their names are Qwin and Ryder. Fenton and I give the victors our papers and they look over them. Beetee and Albany give us both looks of approval and then we're rushed to bed and all I can think about is how I'm going to get through the weeks to come.
Gosh, I just hope I don't die.
A/N: ~Okay, that was chapter one! I'd like it if you guys could tell me what you think, you see. Wiress's Games were never really thoroughly explained in the books and I know Beetee is older than her so I'm guessing he was mentor when she had her Games. But I'm not sure if it's after Haymitch's Quell or before. Constructive criticism will be appreciated. Thanks! BTW: Fenton doesn't have a crush on Wiress and she doesn't have a crush on him. Just wanted to clarify~.