Chapter 1
"Lil, please give me the berries," the boy named Volt laying on the ground said to his district partner as she stood over him.
He was dying from exhaustion and dehydration after having been in the arena of the 69th Annual Hunger Games, which this year had been a burning desert. Not to mention he had so much on his conscience from killing his peers in the mass bloodbath that provided entertainment to the mindless and airheaded citizens of the Capitol.
Lilith nodded and held the poisonous berries called Nightlock in her hand carefully. As painful as it was to do this, it was down to her and Volt. Lilith figured the only thing that winning would do for the tall but weak boy was destroy him emotionally.
The boy was a tall, lanky boy with red hair, blue eyes, and freckles as per norm for his district of the massive nation of Panem.
Volt and Lilith's little corner of the world known to the rest of District 5. Out of the 12 districts that provide necessities for the richer, much more well educated citizens of Capitol, District 5 was arguably the most important, providing the power source of the entire country.
As such, they were also the third wealthiest of the districts. The other two were District 1 and District 2 who specialized with luxury goods and masonry.
Lilith Storms held the berries in her hand, handed the berries to him, and closed her eyes as she heard the moans and groans of her district partner.
"Congratulations to Lilith Violet Storms, victor of the 69th Annual Hunger Games!" Caesar Flickerman's voice howled joyfully. It echoed through the arena.
The whirring of a Capitol hovercraft sputtered above her as dark red hair blew in the wind.
As it flew away and the sweltering desert of an arena faded away from her gaze, Lilith felt conflicted deep down.
On one hand, she was excited and relieved beyond all belief at the prospect of seeing her mother and 5 other siblings again. She was also anticipating the fact that her family would be able to move into a much nicer house from the one she had lived in before.
But on the other hand, she looked down as Volt's body was also being lifted from the ground and thought of blood on her hands from all of the people she had killed to survive.
Tears of grief and anger fell down her face as her vision went black and she faded into sleep on the hovercraft.
Lilith awoke slowly in a wide bed with flannel sheets that caressed her sweltering body like tendrils of soft comfort and relief. The fan to the left of her bed spun hypnotically in front of her, occasionally stopping to spray droplets of cooling water on her face.
She sighed in relative comfort and closed her eyes for a second.
"Aww, look at beautiful Ms. Storms. A sleeping beauty," Lilith heard a low, baritone voice coo at her.
A strong, firm hand gently stroked Lilith's silky soft hair and kissed her forehead gently.
"Papa? Is that you?" Lilith asked. She had hope still that the gentle figure was an apparition of her deceased father who had died in a power line accident while at work.
He did not answer as his rustly yet well-groomed beard brushed against her cheek.
"Beautiful," he whispered before exiting the room with a graceful sweep of his old but strong feet.
Lilith groaned in frustration before falling back into a deep sleep, dreaming of the mystery man and wondering who it could be.