Elizabeth Thatcher POV

I'm not going to train today. It's the reaping, after all! It's a holiday! I'd bet anything all the other "Careers" are actively training right now. I'm not obsessed with the games. I do train, though.

I put on my best clothes-a pink shirt with a matching skirt-and head downstairs. My younger brother, Klaus, is already making breakfast. He notices me and smiles. "Morning," he says.

"Where's dad and Jacob?" They should be here. We're all supposed to be together.

"They have to work."

"But Klaus, it's a holiday!"

He turns to me. "Think about it. We work in weaponry. That usually means guns, but sometimes it means axes, swords; stuff like that. Now, there are those kinds of weapons used in The Games, which will be taking place in a week. So, naturally, Dad and Jacob are very busy." He smiles. "They'll still be at the reaping, though."

"Why are you here, then?" Klaus works, too. In the same field as Dad and Jacob, weaponry.

"I work part-time, sis."

I roll my eyes. He's just lazy. "Well, whatever." I take a quick glance at the clock. "We should head out to the reaping now."

Sure enough, when we arrive, Dad and Jacob are there, all dressed up and looking spiffy.

"There's my little girl!" Dad says, and gives me a hug.

"Hi, Daddy!" I'm happy to see him.

"You should probably take your place in the reaping."

I stand with the other girls, watching the mayor drabble. Then he introduces the escort, a man named Diamond.

"Ladies first!" he says. He feels around in the gigantic glass ball. I hear him speak the name. "Elizabeth Thatcher!"

Wait, what? I was reaped? Oh, well. Looks like I won't get those extra years of training. I scowl at anyone who I've seen at the academy, telling them not to volunteer. I'm going to go in sometime anyway, right?

Who knows, maybe I'll kill someone with something my father made.

Anthony Tabor POV

I can see it now-the crowd cheering, the tall skyscrapers of the capitol, the blood of the other tributes all over the ground. That is my games. That is my victory.

I know I'm going to win. I've been training for these games my entire life. Unlike the other trainees, I've missed a couple years of school to train.

So, like I said, there is no way I, Anthony Tabor, will lose. I'll kill anyone who gets in the way.

But I have to get in to the tribute list first.

This thought, coupled with the fact that the escort says, "Ladies first!" brings me back to the future. He draws some girl.

I've seen the girl at the training center before, which is probably why no one volunteers. They know she's a career, and they have respect for her. Well, I don't. She barely shows up for training, while I am there every single day.

She'll need a lot more dedication than that to win.

The escort draws the boy tribute. "Jake Tae!" I hear him cry. I yell out at the top of my lungs, "I volunteer! I volunteer!" There is the slightest chance this guy is hard of hearing.

He hears me though. "What's your name, young man?"

"Anthony Tabor, sir." I say.

'Ladies and gentlemen…" And then I tune him out. I can see my mother and father. They're both peacekeepers, so they know how to fight. They gave me some additional training. My mother has tears in her eyes from joy, and my father is smiling proudly.

I will win. I know that. And that is a promise.

Author's note: Thanks to Fraulein Renoh and ninjacatchester for these tributes! Also, Fraulein won the sponsor question. The answer was Day by Day Armageddon. Possibly my favorite book after THG, obviously. You should probably know, due to a mix up on my part, we have two new tributes! (These were not submitted after the tribute list was posted-they were submitted on time. But because I screwed up, they were not included.) So say hello to Tayla Salvatore and Hip Hoprock! For anymore information, check the final tribute list.