Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its content or characters. That belongs to the amazing Suzanne Collins. This will be a SYOT, you can read the details at the end of this chapter.


Prologue

It was that time of year again.

The districts went quiet, families retreated to their homes to watch the Capitol broadcast through their holographic-like televisions in their living rooms. The obnoxious sound of the Panem anthem blared through the speakers as they watched on with anticipation.

The picture showed a large Colosseum where tribute parades were held. The avox drummers stood opposite each other, perfectly beating the drums in rhythm to the anthem. Their faces looked as though they were set in stone as they stared at one another, emotionless behind tired eyes. Behind them, rows and rows of Capitol citizens roaring and screaming in excitement and eagerness as they impatiently waited for the President's arrival.

The camera pans over them, some of them wave up to the cameras and screech at it like animals. This year was one of the biggest years for the Capitol, this year they were to celebrate the 100th Hunger Games which meant another Quarter Quell.

25 years earlier, a rebellion sparked through the actions of the Girl on Fire, Katniss Everdeen. After the last Quarter Quell, rebels hidden within the ruins of District 13 attempted to take down the Capitol and President Snow. However, the plan failed miserably. Katniss lost all sense of hope after the sister she protected with every bit of strength she had was killed miserably during the bombings, and so she was executed along with every other rebel scouted out under the President's orders.

President Snow put on harsher conditions in the districts that rebelled. Now an innocent person in each district is randomly selected for execution as a reminder of what they had done, to force fear into the citizens and keep them from doing such an act again. The Hunger Games continued as normal and the Capitol seemed to have forgotten about what happened entirely.

Of course they were brain washed, too excited to watch children die at the hands of each other. The last 25 years were the same, this year would be the same as well as the years to come.

The Capitol erupted once more. The camera panned over towards the balcony at the end of the Colosseum, where two Peacekeepers stood either side, holding their high tech guns to their signs and facing forward. And then a woman walked out, dark brown locks twisted into high ponytail and her pale blue eyes staring towards the crowd. She looked to be in her 30s, she wore an elegant ruby colored dressed, adorned with jewels that decorated it beautifully. It swept against the floor gently as it reached to her feet. She wore a dark grey shawl resting over her shoulders to keep the cold air from her.

She stepped up towards the balcony and rested her hands on the railing as she awaited for the crowds to die down. As the Capitol screamed for her entrance, she flashed a devious smile to the cameras as though she was mocking someone. Mocking the poor families in the districts as they watched.

The shouting and cheering began to fade, replaced with hushed whispers among the citizens. The woman's smile vanished as she scowled to the cameras.

"Thank you, for your utmost attention. As many of you may know, this year we celebrate the next Quarter Quell and 100 years of the Hunger Games." She raised her arm to the sky and a picture of the previous President appeared on a screen above her, President Coriolanus Snow.

"Our previous President, Coriolanus Snow, my grandfather looks down upon us with joy and happiness as we continue to celebrate the Hunger Games for years to come and I thank you for cherishing his memory. Though it is a shame that he isn't here to witness the 100th Hunger Games, I know he would have done something spectacular for this year!"

The woman looked upon the faces in the crowd, all teared up and sobbing as they stared at the picture of Coriolanus. Idiots, she thought. They were sucking up everything like they usually do. The picture faded and she cleared her throat to grab their attention again and succeeded too. All eyes were on her again and she put on the most fake smile she could manage which seemed to convince the crowd as they smiled and grinned with her too.

"I, Adelaide Snow, am honored to be your next President. And to kick off this year's Quarter Quell, we shall look back on the best moments of the previous!" And then a projection of a movie plays. The previous Quarter Quells, 25th, 50th and even the 75th surprisingly played moments of death, desperation and pain on the children's faces as they fought it out with each other to survive.

The crowds ooh'd and aah'd at almost every clip played as they were sucked into the movie, cheering every now and then when a child manages to kill someone. It was obvious some were favored among others. The movie finishes after around five minutes and the attention is drawn back to Adelaide.

"Now, for the 100th Quarter Quell we have the bend the rules slightly. Previously, we've had twice as many tributes reaped for the arena, previous victors too." She began and then pulled out a slip of paper from her shawl, she opened it up in front of her to read from it, "This year, we're changing the age rules. Tributes from the ages of 12 to 100 will be reaped for this year's Quarter Quell!"

Excited chatter and some screams of excitement. Both children and adults get to face off against each other to survive and be the last one standing. Most of the districts were horrified by this rule, knowing that no 12 year old would have a chance against a fully grown woman or man. Even the adults were mortified, knowing that they could potentially be forced to murder a child. Adelaide grinned evilly as the crowd decided to erupt into a roar of happiness.

"The reapings shall begin in two days time, starting with District 12."

District 12 was rebuilt after the bombings and more citizens were tossed into their like caged animals. Still one of the poorest districts, at least 1 or 2 citizens die every other die from starvation or execution by the Peacekeepers. Of course, the Capitol still needed miners, they wanted their precious coal after all.

Adelaide gave a wave to audience and the camera before turning away on her heel graciously, she walked away back into the building and the Peacekeepers followed her. The crowd cried as she disappeared, and the cameras click off. The televisions go dead in the districts, leaving families silently worrying among themselves.

What could possibly happen this year?...


Alright so I'll have the tribute form pasted onto my profile, you can find it there and fill it in. Send it to me in a PM or a review please. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, thank you for reading and I'll update soon when I've got some tributes in.

Thanks! :heart: