The Hunger Games: The Gale Edition
Chapter One
Gale
Effy picked out a name from the girls' ball. Even from where I sat, I could see Katniss praying for Prim. It was Prim's first year, her name only written once.
You had to be twelve to be in the Hunger Games, every year, twenty-four (a boy and girl from each of the twelve districts) teenagers, between twelve and eighteen, had to fight to their deaths, for the amusement of the Capitol. District Twelve (the one Katniss and I live in) never win. There has been one winner out of the whole seventy-four years that the Hunger Games has happened from District 12.
Each year, you have to put in at least one more. If you put in extra when you didn't need to, like Katniss and I did, then you trade it for goods.
"From the girls' ball...Primrose Everdeen!" boomed Effy. Those in the front rows covered their ears. "Come on quickly Primrose. Unless anyone volunteers?"
"I volunteer," Katniss said bravely, stepping into the middle, between the two rows.
"And you are?" Effy asked, clearly baffled.
"Katniss Ever seen," Katniss could hardly finish her name before Prim started screaming and crying.
"Noo! Katniss! No, you can't!" Prim screamed.
"Excuse me! And who are you to scream like that?" Effy exclaimed, annoyed.
"I am Primrose Everdeen, my sister cannot do the Hunger Games," Prim, in her devastation was confident.
"You cannot control this, you are just a small little girl," Effy snapped.
As Katniss walked towards the small but important stage, she must have heard us sobbing, her family, my family. I think she had a death wish. Her mum and Prim were telling her to come back, to not go into that, she probably wouldn't come back alive. I decided right then that whoever the boy was that was picked, I would volunteer for them, to protect Katniss. I needed to keep her alive for her family and me.
"And from the boys ball...Peeta Mellark!" Effy yelled, just as loudly as before.
"I volunteer!" I shouted. Stepping out of that row was one of the scariest things I had ever done in my entire life.
"Gale! No!" Mum cried.
"Who are you?" Effy asked suspiciously.
"Gale," I replied.
"Why Gale? Why?" Mum screamed.
"This is ridiculous! I can understand Katniss but why you?" Effy demanded.
"I'm in love with Katniss," I replied.
Katniss
I was dumbstruck, if what Gale had just said was true, how did I not notice? He had no reason to lie, and on TV?
Gale came up on stage. Why could he not have stayed at home to look after our families. Both our fathers died in the mine, it collapsed and he died. I can remember that day so clearly. All the miners' children and wives were called to the scene. We were waiting there for hours, waiting, waiting for Dad to come out, surrounded all around by happy voices. Then, we were told that there was no more alive men. I remember trying to comfort Prim and Mother. I decided then that I would take up the hunting that Father always used to do.
Ever since then, I had hunted for meat for my family, selling anything that we didn't need. The peacekeepers we had were reasonably nice, they even bought the meat I sold. The woods was were I met Gale. We became friends, shared weapons and traps, even shared there food. To start with though, it was a thing about gaining trust.
And now, we're both going to die together, never see our families or each other again. Ever.
This is my first Hunger Games story, I hope you like it!
Becca :)