Chapter One: Intro - Anna's PoV

It's been 364 days since my brother, Jacob, was chosen in the reaping; it's been 353 days since he died. Ever since then I have been training to be the best: to be the fastest, the strongest, the most deadly competitor in the 72nd Hunger Games. And today is my last day before I volunteer to either avenge his death, or be with him at rest.

I wake up before dawn and pull on my boots and coat, silently creep out of the house and begin to run around our block of houses. Not many people would envy waking at this early an hour, but I love feeling the freedom of the morning breeze running through my hair. As the sun begins to rise, I pass some peacekeepers on the way to change shift at the dam, so I slow down to mock salute them, before pushing forward the sprint the last two hundred metres to my house. Unfortunately, I won't be able sneak a swim this morning, due to the large number of peacekeepers we have received for the reaping, but I am content with my run, knowing that I have grown faster, which will aid me with the tactics I have been formulating for the last month.

I enter the house via our workshop and am surprised to see my father awake and working with the sander. He doesn't acknowledge me, but then again, he hasn't really acknowledged anything since Jacob died. As I enter the kitchen my mum hands me a sandwich, I take a bite, hug her, and leave through the front door to find my best friend, Kingsley, waiting for me. When I decided to train for the games I knew I would have to build my strength, so I joined the load pulling teams with him, though I still practice axe-throwing and tree climbing in my breaks, those skills could be the difference between life and death for me. We have some mild banter whilst we walk down to join the other workers and begin to drag the tree trunks to the sawmill. By lunch time we are sweating and tired, glad for the rest, we sit at the edge of the crowd eating the forrest nuts to supplement our soup.

Soon, Kingsley starts to be his usual idiot self. He picks up a stick from the ground and points it at me, melodramatically saying "Yon tribute, I challenge ye to a duel!"

"I do not fancy your odds, good sir" I manage to whilst trying not to laugh or choke on my soup, but I stand up and draw two sticks off the ground, "Let the Hunger Games begin!".

He instantly thrusts at me, but I parry with one stick, twirl around, and tap him on the head with the other. In answer to this he twists my arm behind me by the wrist, but I haven't been training for nothing, and I twist out of the lock, flipping him onto the floor. He moans, but rolls forwards to grab my legs to pull me down and tickle my ribs before picking me up over his shoulder. When the peacekeeper comes over we are in a compromising position of him spinning round in circles whilst I hold him in a tight headlock. "Oi, haven't you got something better to do?" he says, so I let go and Kingsley puts me down as the peacekeeper walks away muttering about the 'barbaric children of district 7'.

"I suppose we'll have to call that one a tie, then," says Kingsley with a ridiculous smirk on his face.

"Oh, this is not over" I reply as we take our bowls back.

"But maybe it is."

We both pause where we stand. He turns to look at me ,"seriously though, you don't have to do this."

"I do"

He gives a sad sort of nod, then, typical of himself, begins to tease, "you'd better tell Kade then - he'll be absolutely gutted."

I shoved him away, mouthing 'shut up' while he giggles like a little girl. After a while I give in and play along, "I'd better let him down lightly, then", my tone heavy with sarcasm.

"Or you could just come out."

I glared. (touchy subject)

...

That evening I slept early, falling into a torrid sleep in my rough sheets, as ready for tomorrow as I ever could be.