A pleasant warmth hit my skin as I cautiously blinked my eyes open. The scenery was familiar, the twisted trees, the looming mountains, reminding me of my impeding death. However, something was off. It was silent. Quiet. Peaceful.
But something was off. It never been that peaceful. Not once.
Something was coming.
Chills ran up my spine and my hands began trembling. I had lived this before.
"Brea! Brea, wake up! You're shaking! Are you okay?"
I sucked in a breath as I pushed myself up against the wooden backboard of my bed, "Sorry, Gia," I muttered softly as I slipped out of the heavy covers that adorned my bed. I lightly tapped the silver metallic lamp that sat on my bedside to illuminate the darkened room, "Did I wake you?"
My sister sighed softly, "Yeah, but it's fine, just go back to sleep, Brea. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for you..."
"I'm sorry, I just keep picturing myself back there and I can't sleep. Anyways, why don't you go sleep downstairs with Ray so I don't keep waking you up. We have more than enough rooms for you to have your own," I offered as I headed to the closed window of my room and slid it open, letting a chilling breeze enter the room. It was a crescent moon tonight. Just a thin sliver of silver in the dark sky, barely noticeable. A glint of light in a mass of darkness.
"I like sharing a room with you, it reminds me of our old house," Gia replied in a rather carrying whisper, "Plus, Ray snores...loudly."
Restraining the chuckle that bubbled in my throat, I opted for a slight smile. Her words held no lies, our older brother no quiet sleeper., but I doubted I was a better roommate. I understood why she refused to sleep alone, Victor's Village house was large and in a way, almost too large for just three siblings.
In our old home, we only had two rooms, one for our parents and one of Ray, Gia, and I. Our life back then was much smaller and much simpler. We had to work hard and spend long hours working and we rarely had enough food, but I was happy. No nightmares, no cameras, no death.
"Brea," my sister asked, now in a sitting position, her legs crossed, "Are you nervous for tomorrow?"
I looked at her for a moment. Her curly brown hair was piled into a messy bun on top of her head, a trick she had learned from me over the years and her chocolate colored eyes still managed to exude a sort of childish maturity. She was barely 16, and constantly claimed she was "practically an adult", but she would always be my little sister and I knew I would miss her the most when I left for the Capitol tomorrow. I knew Ray was more than capable of taking care of Gia, but leaving was never easy.
Much to my dismay, this would be my 3rd year mentoring and I was just starting to realize it was never going to get easier. As soon as I won the 197th games I was told I would be taking over as district 10's female mentor. Rhea, the only other living female victor, was 84 years old when she mentored me during my games and she was finally able to retire after I won. It was tradition in most of the lower districts for the newest victor to takeover as mentor after they won.
This year would be my first Quell and I was nervous as hell. The 200th Hunger Games.
Just another year.
Just another responsibility.
Just another pair of dead kids.
Tomorrow, the ride would begin and I wasn't nervous.
I was just scared out of my wits.
"Quit chewing your lip, if you're hungry, eat something," Ray teasingly chided me as came out from his room. I tended to bite my lip when I was nervous, however, I never managed to look endearing doing it. Go figure.
"So, are you ready for the Capitol?" Ray asked me as her ran a comb through his jet black hair. Unlike Gia and I who owned chestnut brown locks, he took after our father with raven hair, none the less, when we stood together, it was clear we were all siblings. This year, we were all dressed in navy blue; Ray is a crisp suit and Gia and I in similar dresses.
The Justice Building was decent walk from our home and although I knew if we didn't leave now, we'd be late. With all honesty, I was riddled with conflict. The second I left the house, the ride would start and I wasn't ready.
Before I had too much time to contemplate, I heard a terse knock on the front door, "Brea, it's me! Open up."
I instantly recognized Gia's light voice and opened the door, "Gianna Braddock, where have you been?"
Gia seemed to believe if she avoided my question long enough, she wouldn't have to answer. She looked at the floor, avoiding my steady gaze. It had been the third time this week she had disappeared late and appeared in the morning. Her hair had been brushed hastily and her brown eyes were clearly riddled with guilt. Gia was never a good liar, in fact none of us were much for secrets...that is until my games. I was far from proud of it, but I learned to lie. Lying to Gia and Ray hurt my heart, but there were just somethings they could never know.
I let out a deep breath, "Fine. We will talk about this later. Let's just get to the reapings, okay?"
I sat silently on the stage next to the three other living victors. I was seated next to Maxwell Ernest with Rhea Ingle and Tucker Palely behind us.
Out of the three of them, I barely knew Tucker. I knew he had mentored Maxwell during his games, but other than that, he liked to keep to himself. He rarely showed his face in public and from what I've heard, he knew how to hit the bottle hard. Almost every victor had been there at least once in their life. Whether it was pills or morphine or simply alcohol, we'd all been at our all time lows. The Capitol glorified winning the games and made winning seem like the end to all tragedy, but I remember my low all too clearly. Never in my life had I been so thankful for Ray who saved me from spiraling into another Tucker Palely.
The soft hum of nervous whispers was ever present before the reapings began. This year's quell twist was extremely...unique... Every family had been granted one immunity for the games. One chance to save one of their children. With Gia as the only one eligible for the games within our family, she was completely safe from the reapings, however for families with multiple eligible kids, it made matters far more complicated and in a way, these were by far the cruelest and most twisted games yet.
As Rhea began muttering soft gibberish as she did when she was nervous or angry, Maxwell reached back to comfort the nervous woman. Despite her episodes, Rhea Ingle was one of the strongest souls I'd ever met. She had been through more than any of us could possibly imagine and yet she managed to stay strong as ever.
It wasn't more than a few tense minutes before a silence swept the crowd and district 10's escort stepped forward. Delphi Carrow was an extremely striking woman. High cut cheekbones and sharp green eyes paired with pale, porcelain skin gave her a extremely memorable look. At first glance she seemed harsh and willful, the type of woman who'd let nothing slip by her, but despite her appearance, she was an understanding woman.
"Welcome to District 10's reapings," Delphi announced with such confidence one only gained with years of experience, "We are proud to present Immunity: The 200th Annual Hunger Games. Joining us today are Mayor Hopkins, along with Rhea Ingle, Victor of the 129th Hunger Games. Tucker Palely, Victor of the 161st Hunger Games, Maxwell Ernest, Victor of the 186th Hunger Games, and finally Victor of the 197th Hunger Games, Brea Braddock."
The wave of applause flooded through the crowd and a couple cheers filled the air. If anything, district 10 was a very proud district and despite our lack of wealth, we were a strong and unified district.
Delphi clapped her hands once and the applause faded away, "As you all know, this year's games revolve around immunity, meaning that no volunteers will be allowed and whichever two tributes are chosen, will be sent into the games. If you were not already aware, Maxwell Ernest and Brea Braddock will be this year's mentors and as usual, we'll begin with the lovely ladies first."
The clicks of 6 inch heels were audible as Delphi stalked across the stage towards the clear bowls filled with names. The bowls were significantly lighter than usual and part of me was glad that at least some children were safe this year, it just hurt me to think that some parents were forced to play favorites with their children.
"Cheyenne Bell," Delphi called out, causing everyone racking their eyes through the crowd searching for the poor girl. There was a bit of movement in the 17 year old section and a blonde girl stepped forward then on to the stage. Her face let away no more than a blank expression and as Maxwell and I shared a look, I could tell we were both unsure about the girl.
A short applause filled the air as she stood on the stage, arms crossed, watching Delphi choose the next name, "Chord Finley."
This time a tall, muscular male from the 18 year old section stepped up to the stage. He eyes were searching the crowd, clearly looking for somebody. A loud sob was heard and I could tell Chord was clearly affected by it.
"Two oldies this year," Maxwell whispered into my ear, "That's lucky..."
I shook my head, before whispering back, "Most of the tributes are going to be older, most families used immunity on their youngest kids."
By the time Delphi got back to her microphone Chord's applause had died out, "Very well then, Cheyenne Bell and Chord Finely are district 10's tributes."
The two shook hands quickly and were ushered into the Justice Building as Maxwell and I prepared to go inside. Taking one final glance to where Ray and Gia sat I gave them a slight smile, which they both returned.
Just as I was about to head inside, Rhea tapped me on the shoulder and whispered in a barely audible voice, "Good luck and stay strong."
I had heard those exact words before. They were the last words I head before I went into the arena.
How ironic.
Author's Note: Hi! I'm misfit. right. in. and I hope you enjoyed my very first chapter of Immunity: The 200th Hunger Games. If you could leave a review to tell me what you think, that would be wonderful. As a rather new fanfiction writer, I'm still learning the ropes and all critique is welcome!
- Cass