This is a Hunger Games fanfiction where I have created my own character and placed them somewhere in the middle of the whole Hunger Games series.
This is my first published fanfiction so I'm not entirely sure if it's good or not.
Please note that this fanfiction is based on the book NOT the movie and even though the movie has changed heaps of the actual storyline, rules etc. I will be following them as stated in the book.
Hope you enjoy!
-TheGreenFire

PROLOGUE

I SIT WITH my legs dangling an inch above the white wash of surging water, the rock beneath me damp with the salty sprays of the ocean waves. My feet are bare and cold, but I don't mind. I've swum in ice cold water before, so this is easy to bear. My hair is tangled and messy from the little sleep that I have had tonight. There is a good reason that I'm wide awake, and on the beach at this late hour. Most of the District is excited about the event that will take place in just ten hours; but I'm not. I think the Games are horrible, and a stupid way to punish the Districts for wanting a little freedom. I've never told anyone this. Not when everyone's too busy obsessing over the Games and training for hours every week.

I sigh and look up at the sky. I'm probably the only one who hates the Games in this District. And I'm Ok with it. One day, I'll fight for freedom just like the Districts did sixty-nine years ago. I don't care how, as long as I help.

The night sky looks like the dark, deep ocean, with little glittering shells here and there. The ocean is calm tonight; and because of its calmness, I too am calm. I close my eyes, head still tilted towards the starry sky, and listen to the rushing water, and breathe in the smell of sweet salt water. I belong here. My parents used to say it, and my cousins say it now, too. I belong in the water, swimming and splashing around. I belong out at sea, reeling in fish and diving for shellfish. I belong on the sand, catching crabs and collecting brightly colored shells to make into necklaces to wear out in the square. I belong here, and if I'm Reaped today and end up going to the Capitol somehow, I will be terribly disappointed.

I hear footsteps behind me, and don't have to turn to see who it is. I'd know the semi-silent footsteps of my cousin from a mile away.

"You know," I say, eyes still closed and head still tilted, "that I'm way old enough to be out here by myself."

"Yes, but perhaps I wanted to join you," says Ford. I turn and look at him. He has murky green eyes and a soft tan. His hair is light, the color of sand. He has a scar just below his lip, from when he fell and got a stray fish hook in his chin. We all have at least one fish-hook relating scar. I have three. "The bedroom gets awfully quiet without you snoring your guts out every night." I smack him on the leg and roll my eyes. We have a weird relationship. Mainly jokes and mucking around, but when it comes to fishing, boy, are we competitive. He sits next to me on the rock. His feet touch the water; he is taller than me even though we are the same age.

"Excited about Reaping?" he asks. This is where our relationship gets difficult; he loves the Games, I hate them.

"You bet," I say, grinning at him. "I can't wait to see if I'm the next murderer in this District." Ford looks at me, confused. He must've sensed the hint of sarcasm in my voice. I hope he hasn't. If he has, then I'm most likely going for a midnight swim.

"You hate the Games, don't you?" he asks after about ten minutes of silence. I nod.

"Took you a while to figure it out," I say, glaring at the churning water. "I always have." He looks out to the horizon, and leans back.

"I always thought you might," he finally says. "You never seem too enthusiastic during training."

"I just don't want to be trained to murder innocent people," I say, shaking my head. "I know I belong in District 4. I just don't belong in the violent side of it that is the Hunger Games."

"I know, Marissa," Ford says softly. "But you just have to live with it."