Karina and Alexander are both eighteen, and have been in a relationship for a number of years. What happens when they both get reaped in the 95th Hunger Games? Note: Peeta died in his games, Katniss was the only victor, and there was no rebellion.
The morning of the reaping was like it was every other year, except this year, I woke up next to my husband. With a yawn, I glanced over at his still-sleeping form, and then turned to what had woken me up in the first place. In the corner of our bedroom was Rachael, our six-month-old daughter, who was crying. "Hey baby," I whispered, trying not to wake Alex up, as I gently lifted her into my arms and went out of the room.
I fixed her some formula and sat in a chair feeding her. Thanks to my mother being a victor from the Games twenty years ago, we could afford things others in our district couldn't. With a sigh, I finished feeding Rachael and put the bottle back in the fridge. As I was walking around the kitchen, the door opened.
"Morning love," Alex said, entering, with the smile that always seemed to be on his face when he saw Rachael and I. "How did you sleep?"
I shrugged, passing the baby to him after he sat down. "Alright, I suppose," I told him, getting cups down and filling one with water. "You?" He shrugged too, and was about to respond when my mother knocked on the door.
"Hey," She said. "I'm just popping by for a minute. Have you talked to your father this morning, Karina?" I shook my head, puzzled. My mother cursed under her breath. "I'll be going then," she said, leaving Alex and I staring at each other in confusion.
"What was that about?" I wondered out loud, absentmindedly playing with Alex's hair.
He raised his eyebrows. "How am I supposed to know? She's your mother, not mine." He took my hand and kissed it. "Speaking of mothers, we need to drop Rachael off at my mother's house before we have to be in the square."
I took Rachael from him as he stood. This was to be our last reaping. At eighteen, we had reached the end of the age limit, but that didn't mean we couldn't be picked still. In fact, we had a higher chance of being picked, unfortunately, thanks to our age.
Once we had dropped our daughter off at my mother in laws, we headed towards the District Square, where the reaping would take place. Alex and I made our way to the grouping of eighteen year olds, and stood, hand in hand. Neither of us had many friends. I had one, Helena Mellark, the only one who had stuck by my side during my pregnancy and after Rachael's birth. She greeted us now, giving us both hugs.
"You guys ready for this?" She questioned, brushing a strand of her blonde hair back behind her ear. "My father's been bugging me all night, about how I have to win if I get reaped. He's hated these games since my uncle…" she stopped talking. Helena's uncle had been in the same games as my mother. Unfortunately, he didn't make it out- he had been killed by an infection in his leg.
Alex and I nodded in understanding, before I glanced up at the stage. Effie Trinket, who had been our escort for many years, had finally been replaced. I didn't recognize the woman who sat in her seat now. Next to the woman were the only two living victors from District 12 – Haymitch Abernathy, who was an old man now, drunk most of his time, and my mother, Katniss Everdeen – Hawthorne. Beside her was our mayor, Gale Hawthorne, my father. My eyes drifted from him to the two large glass balls. I eyed the one for the females. My name was in there. Only seven times, but that's seven chances that my name would be pulled. I looked over at Alex, who was staring at the stage as well, his face pale. I took his hand in mine. "You okay?" I mouthed. He hesitated a second, then nodded.
"I'm fine," he mouthed back. I smiled at him and wrapped my arm around his waist as my father stood up on the stage. I only half paid attention as he went on about the history of Panem. It was a story I nearly had memorized. When he was done, the woman stood up, the woman he introduced as Judith Jay.
"Happy Hunger Games!" She said into the microphone, in a loud, cheerful voice. I tried not to wince at her bubbly ness. "And may the odds be ever in your favor." I tune out the rest of her speech, only tuning back in when she said, "Let's go with the boys first this year, shall we?" She reached into one of the glass bowls, and I held my breath. "Alexander Ryder."
I know I stopped breathing. The world grew fuzzy as my husband swallowed once, let go of my hand, and made his way up to the stage. "No…" I whispered. Nobody heard me except for Helena, who put her arm around my shoulder. "No…" How could no one hear my heart breaking? After a moment, I realized everybody in my area was staring at me. What had happened? Then I heard it.
"Is there a Karina Ryder here?" It was Judith. She was holding a small piece of paper, staring out into the crowd. "Miss Ryder?" In a daze, I walked up to the stage. "Welcome! You two must be brother and sister?"
I was aware of Alex shaking his head. "No. She's my wife." Silence filled the entire square. I felt dizzy, like I was about to pass out. The woman continued speaking, but the words had no meaning. I stared at my husband from across the stage as we were told to shake hands. This couldn't be happening, I thought to myself. We were going into the Hunger Games together. I took his hand in mine, and, before I could help myself, flung myself at him, sobbing.
Still in my daze, I was led inside the Justice Building, and into a room. I was left alone for a minute, before the door opened and my mother rushed in. "Karina," she said softly. I started sobbing again, and wrapped me in a hug. "Oh Karina… I don't know what to tell you, dear."
"I can't… I can't go into the games with Alex," I choked out. "Mom… You're a victor. Can't you do something? If we both go in, chances are Rachael will be left without parents. We can't do that to her."
My mom shook her head sadly. "There's nothing I can do," she said. "I'm so sorry." A peacekeeper entered, said that my mom's time was up. "I'll see you on the train. I'm your mentor this year." I nodded as she was led out. A second later, Helena entered.
She said nothing for a while, just wrapped me in a hug. Finally I pulled away, brushing away the last of my tears. "I don't know what to do." My voice came out quiet, cracked from crying. "I can't kill Alex. And I can't watch him die either. This has got to be the cruelest thing the Capital has done…"
"You'll be fine," Helena said. "You'll figure out a way. There always has to be a victor." She stopped as the peacekeeper entered. "I love you, Karina. You're my sister. You're strong. You'll make it." She left, and Pat walked in, carrying Rachael. I could tell she'd been crying, and I knew she had gone to see Alex first.
"I thought you might want to see… her… before…" the end of her sentence was cut off by tears. "You're my daughter," she said. "I don't know who to root for… You or Alex… I lose you, I lose my daughter, I lose him, and I lose my son… Try to get the both of you out." There were no more words spoken as I held my daughter to me, running a hand softly over the dark hair she had inherited from me. I kissed her on the top of the head when the peacekeeper came back in, and Pat had to leave.
"I love you," I whispered, both to my daughter and mother in law, as the door shut behind them. I was led out of the room, and saw Alex. His face, which had been pale earlier, was now completely white. The peacekeepers wouldn't let me near him. "Please," I begged, to the one standing next to me. "He's my husband." The man exchanged a glance with one of the others, who shrugged. He grunted, but moved aside. I rushed over to Alex and held him for a moment. The peacekeeper cleared his throat. When he spoke, he sounded apologetic.
"I'm sorry," he said. "But we have to keep going. We have a train to catch." I bit my lip, releasing him. I took his hand as we walked. At the train station, cameras were waiting for us. We waited as they took tons of photos of us, then boarded the train. We were informed that we each had a chamber with a bedroom, bathroom, and dressing area. We exchanged a glance.
"If it's all the same to you," Alex said quietly. "We'd like to share. We've been married for a year now. It won't make a difference. Judith looked nervous, and went to speak with our mentors. She came back, and gave us a short nod.
"Supper is in an hour. Please be on time." And then she left. Alex and I entered the bedroom. We sat down on the bed next to each other in silence.
After awhile, he spoke. "I don't think there's a way for me to make it out of the arena-," he said. I stared at him in horror and opened my mouth to speak, but he interrupted. "Karina, Rachael needs her mother. She needs you. Stop," he said, in a sharp tone as I protested. "You know it's true."
"She'll have my mother, and yours," I said softly. "She needs her father, too."
"Not as much as she needs you," he said. "I'm not going to live without you."
"I'm not going to live without you either," I snapped. We stared at each other for a second, then he sighed. "I'm sorry, Alex," I whispered. "I wish this didn't happen…"
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Karina," he told me. "Blame the capital if you're to blame anyone. They shouldn't do this every year."
"But they do, and we can't stop it," I said, lying back on the bed. Alex lay down next to me, and I restd my head on his chest. "We'll get out of it, somehow," I said, more to myself than him. "We've got to."
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