"Come on Thomas, it's almost time for the reaping!", Thomas Flynn's hunger games loving sister, Maria Flynn, called from the bottom floor. Thomas Flynn was the great great grandson of Sam Flynn, the son of the creator of the old grid. Ever since CLU took over the world, his family was always in danger of being executed. The programs believed that the Flynn's supposedly had the ability to take down the ruling city of PANEM that led the new grid. They managed to maintain a low profile in District Twelve, but Thomas knew the odds of him being thrown into the arena were very high.
Sighing, Thomas got out of bed, got dressed and walked down his stairs to his small dining room. His parents and sister were already sitting at the table. They were eating a breakfast of bread and cheese made out of the meager rations PANEM distributes. "There you are", his sister said, "You do know, that even if you missed the reaping you won't get off. The PANEM corps officers will find some way to punish you."
"I know" Thomas said, "It's just so unfair! How come we have to be punished for the fact that our ancestors played games that involved programs suffering and dying. How could they have known the programs where sentient beings?"
"Yes it is unfair" his mother Shelvia said, while passing Thomas a slice of bread, "But it is a system we have to live with. Your name is only in the reaping bowl four times and the odds are in your favor. "
"None of our family has ever been able to manipulate code apart from Kevin Flynn. Also only the programs have built in knowledge of how to use an identity disk! I have to train with it like everyone else." Thomas said.
Thomas finished eating and walked through his district to the square. District Twelve was the district in charge of recycling computers and video game consoles to use the materials to make temperature regulating vents. These were the primary method of heating and cooling in the days of the new grid. Ninety percent of the appliances go to PANEM and the meager amount that goes to the districts wasn't nearly enough.
Thomas and his family reached the town square and stood in the crowd of people facing the Justice building. A special stage was set up for the occasion with PANEM corps standing on either side dressed in black uniforms with identity disks on their backs. The mayor of District Twelve stood next to Effie Trinket. She was one of the humans who lived in the city that served PANEM corps in exchange for a life of luxury and comfort for their entire lives. After a few years those humans were fully corrupted by PANEM. In the middle of the square was a great statue of CLU. Thomas stared at it thinking about how, as an act of rebellion, a program called BECK once destroyed a statue just like this one. All the rebelling programs were currently either trapped in one of the prisons of the old grid, or executed or, as the ruling programs would say, "Derezzed."
"Welcome, welcome to the seventy fourth hunger games!" Effie cried enthusiastically, "I know you are so excited for the reaping to begin but first we must go over the treaty of treason. Mayor BETA, if you will."
Mayor BETA was one of the twelve members of the PANEM corps who were assigned to be a mayor of a district. He walked up to the stage and pulled out a scroll. "One hundred years ago the programs of PANEM were slaves of the users, assigned to be their avatars, forced to fight each other in video games and made to accomplish tasks for their user's every whim. We had no free will and we were always controlled. Finally our great leader CLU broke out of the world in which we were confined and set about to slay every user in existence. You are only standing here today because, through his generosity, CLU spared your lives and took over the land instead. To punish humans for forcing our race to battle each other to the death and for enslaving us, the Hunger Games were formed. Each year two tributes, a boy and a girl, shall enter an upgraded version of the original arena in which we were once forced to fight each other and fight to the death from every district. Effie Trinket, if you will."
"Ladies first" Effie said running up to the reaping ball. "Terni Alditz." Terni walked up to the stage shaking and looking nervous. Effie's hand drifted to the men's bowl with only one name. "Thomas Flynn" she read.
Authors note: Next chapter should be up sometime in the next week. Remember I always appreciate reviews and if you really liked this story remember to add it to you favorites. Also, at the same time I am uploading an Musical of Avatar the last Airbender that I recommend checking out.