District 4 Reaping

AN: I'm going to try and pump one of these chapters a day, but if it doesn't work out, I'll try and post as best as I can. Thanks for waiting for all of these chapters! This will be the 2nd reaping chapter posted! I'm going on a road trip vacation, so hopefully I will be able to write a bunch on the road. District 28 was supposed to be next, but I really don't know what to do for that yet. So enjoy

District 4!

Marina Ilium: Girl from District 4 (Fishing)

Even though I'm about ready to do what I've been training for my whole life, my body still feels numb when I get up on that reaping day. Everything just seems to be operated by someone controlling me, like a marionette doll almost. After pondering about the Games a little, I force myself out of bed and dress into my reaping outfit before I go downstairs to get breakfast.

I need to hurry, because I want to meet with my trainer before the reaping, so I attempt to put on makeup and eat a hurried omelet at the same time. I get some eyeliner in the omelet, but luckily it's a corner of it, so I just cut off that corner.

The dinner table, usually filled with conversation about the days catch, is silent. I don't know why it's like this, considering my family has been supportive of my decision to train for the Hunger Games my entire life. My parents just give angled glances at me, and when I catch them, they dart back to their food.

"Are you guys doing ok?" I ask.

Ironically, it probably should be the other way around, considering I'm going into a death match situation.

"We're fine." My mom answers a little too quickly. "It's just, the day we've been trying to prepare for has come a little too fast for us to comprehend yet."

I guess there is disadvantages of coming from District 4 is that we still have some misconceptions about training to kill people. The Capitol, 1, and 2 all are used to having to kill people. That's part of the reason why our tributes never really are the ones either leading the Careers, or ever very close to getting to the victor. Even so, we have quite a few victors.

"That makes sense, but I'm going to do fine." I respond. "We got probably the best trainer in District 4, He's trained kids who've won."

"That's true, honey, Marina is going to be fine." My dad adds on.

"What'd I miss?" Darius, my older brother, walks into the kitchen.

"Darius, put at least some pants on before you come into the kitchen. God." Mom states, grossed out. Dad and I just laugh a little, before I choke down the rest of the omelet.

Make up complete, hair done(ish), omelet destroyed, I'm ready to go talk to Phineas.

"I'm going out to talk to him." I state, hugging all of my family one last time before the reaping.

"We'll be at the reaping for you." Darius says, holding moms hand. "Love you, sis."

"Aww, that's cute, I can't really patronize you for it now, but maybe later." I laugh as I close the door.

As soon as I close the door, I hear them consoling my mom already. That makes me really sad, but I can't turn back now. I walk down to the training center, which is pretty close to my house, to get some final advice from Phineas.

I open the door, and I see some other younger kids training for their future Games, I see Phineas and poke him in the ribs before he hugs me.

"Ready for your special day?" He asks. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks, I was just coming to get some advice." I respond.

"I've been talking with some of the victors and mentors, and I've got at least some first letters of the people volunteering." He says, I laugh at what he said.

"Do I need first letters of these tributes?" I state, laughing still.

"I mean, it would help a little, I guess." Phineas laughs. "Boy from the Capitol: A, Girl from the Capitol: M, Boy from 1: Also A, Girl from 1: T, Boy from 2: D, Girl from 2: M."

"Lots of other M's." I say. "Who's gonna be my partner?"

"From what I'm hearing, Braeton backed out of going in, and the best replacement is Fay Barran." He says.

"He's talented, but I don't know if he's ready." I respond. "If he trains well in the training sessions, he could do pretty well in there."

"That's true." He responds. "Also, some advice, make sure to get along with the other Careers. If you guys fight, the New District Alliance will definitely take advantage of it."

"Any info on them?" I ask, he shakes his head.

"They don't communicate with the victors of the Careers." Phineas says. "Our rivalry continues even when we're victors."

"That does make sense." I respond. "Anything else before I have to go?"

"If anyone is added into the Careers, or even people in the Careers, don't trust them fully." Phineas states ominously. "Only one of you can win, just remember that. They will."

"Thanks, Phineas." I respond. "I'll see you later."

I walk out of the training center, heading towards the reaping. All of my friends must already be signed in, because it's almost time to start.

I state my name to the Capitol official and get my finger pricked. Some doubts start going into my head, but I push them out as my name flashes onto the pad that the Capitol official is carrying.

"You're clear to go, Marina Ilium." The official states.

I walk past and into my section, getting murmurs of the word 'volunteer' as I get to my section. As soon as I do, the mayor starts introducing our victors, which is at about 15 or 16 right now. Pretty good, considering it's been a long time since a victor Hunger Games has went down. Then the mayor dives into his speech.

"Are you ready to go, Marina?" Asks someone behind me, which I recognize as Yvina, a friend of mine I met while training.

"I think so." I respond. "As ready as I have to be."

His speech drones on as the reaping goes on. More and more stares at me as it keeps going. I try not to let them get to me, as I just stare down the mayor as his speech continues.

"Now, let's get to the reaping!" He says, and the escort steps onto the stage.

"Welcome to the reaping in District 4!" says the escort, Ruman Ionia. "May the odds be ever in your favor!"

He then sticks his hand into the big glass bowl for the girls, and picks out a name.

"Jacquelina Mian!" He yells.

"I volunteer!" I state, walking out of the section to get to the stage.

"What's your name, young lady?" Ruman asks.

"My name is Marina Ilium." I state proudly into the microphone, then move off to the side.

"Now, it's time for the boys." He states, putting his hand into the bowl.

As soon as he plucks a name, he yells into the microphone.

"Braeton Nautilo!" He yells.

Well, that's ironic, considering he chickened out of going into the Games.

"I volunteer!" Yells a voice from the audience.

"What's your name young man?" Ruman asks again.

"Fay Barran, sir." He responds.

"Give it up for your two tributes from District 4, Marina Ilium and Fay Barran!" He yells

District 4 usually has a lot of people that scream and yell for the tributes, but its utter silence. I guess nobody really knew that none of the eighteen year olds were ready for the Hunger Games. Fay must've been a complete curve ball, considering he is fifteen.

We both go back to our meeting rooms, and Phineas is waiting for me.

"Ready to go, Marina?" Phineas asks, patting my back.

"About as ready as I have to be." I respond.

"Any last info you need?" He asks me.

"Nothing really." I respond. "Every year is different, so I've just gotta prepare for the unexpected."

"That's right, that's my girl." He smiles, then gets up and leaves, not even waiting for the Peacekeeper to escort him out.

My family is next, so no one else must've wanted to come in. That's alright, friends probably would've been too much.

"I'm so proud of you, Marina." My mom says, crying silently into my shoulder.

"You're going to do good, sis." Darius responds, hugging me.

"Marina, you're going to do as good as you can do, and we'll always love you, and remember you." Dad says.

"My goal is to come back to you guys." I say, trying to contain myself.

We just sit in silence for a while, it's not really awkward, but needed. I know they have my back through all of this, and I love them for it.

"It's time." The Peacekeeper says, nudging my family out of the room.

"We love you, Marina!" My mom says.

"I love you too, Mom!" I say, as the door is forced close in my face.

That's when I'm left in silence, to ponder about who I'm allied with, what Careers are there, and what horrible events are to come.

Fay Barran: Boy from District 4 (Fishing)

I wake up on the reaping morning, actually excited. The bitch-boy Braeton cut out, so they thought I was the next best boy to represent District 4 in the Hunger Games. Of course I'm going in, if I win, my name will be everywhere.

I may not have as much training as say Marina, the girl I'm going in with, but I think that might actually help me out a little in some situations. The Hunger Games is very unpredictable, and some moments you really can't train for.

I get out of bed pumped to go, I put on the outfit for the reaping and almost trip going down the hallway towards the kitchen. I see my mom sitting there, smiling at me. I guess my sister already went to train already.

"I'm so proud of you for doing this, Fay." My mom gushes. "You're going to make everyone of District 4 so proud of you."

"Did Candace go to start training already?" I ask.

Candace is eleven years old, and trains almost as hard as I do, and she's four years younger than I am. She could be a victor someday, in my opinion.

"Yeah, she went at about five this morning." She states.

"She's a beast." I laugh, putting some jam on the toast that mom gave me.

"That's true." My mom laughs. "Are you going to go train today, Fay?"

"No, I don't think so." I respond. "I might go talk to my trainer before I go to the reaping."

"That makes sense." Mom states. "Get some last minute advice before you go in. I think you're really brave to go into the Games before you're ready for it. Nobody will expect it."

"Thanks, mom." I smile. "It's great to have your support through this."

I force down the rest of the toast, and drink a little bit of water before I leave to talk to my trainer, Ellacia True.

"I'll see you later, Fay. Tell Ellacia I said hi." Mom asks, yelling across the room.

"I will mom, love you!" I shout, before I leave to go talk to my trainer.

As soon as I get out the door, I smell the ocean. The ocean smells great from here, but once you get close, the smell of fish carcasses does overpower your senses. It's nostalgic from when I worked down there. I used to work for a fishing boat before the training regimen took up all of my time. Our family still gets by, with Justice Building welfare for my dad's death in a fishing accident. He got caught in a fishing net and drowned after it went down and couldn't come back up. I still miss him, but going into the Games is way more important than focusing on the past.

I get to the Training Center near my house, and see a few kids training, and my sister in the corner, slicing dummies at will. I pick out Ellacia from her office and knock on her door.

"Come in, Fay." She states, and I open the door to the office and sit down. "Are you ready to go into the Games?"

"I'm pumped." I say, smiling to her.

"Good." Ellacia responds. "It helps that none of the other Careers know that Braeton isn't going into the Games."

"Some unpredictable elements help me out." I respond. "The other Careers won't know how to handle me if things go bad."

"They will be able to assess you from the training sessions, like the other tributes as well." She counters. "The other mentors will be a little confused why you're there, but they'll figure it out eventually."

"Braeton's kind of doing me a favor." I laugh as I stand up.

"Use your unpredictability, Fay, it'll be your power in the end." Ellacia continues. "Don't truly reveal your talent to anyone until the very end stretch of the Games. I believe you can do it, so just go out and do it."

"I will try, ma'am." I respond, as I close her office door and leave for the reapings.

The way to the square is a little treacherous with all of the old roads from here, but I still traverse my way out to the square with the other District 4 children. That's when I meet my girlfriend outside the check in station. Her name is Opal, and she's a beautiful girl. She's always been nice to me, and everyone around her.

"Fay!" She squeaks, hugging me. "I can't wait to see you in the Hunger Games! You'll do so well!"

"I think so too, babe." I respond, and kiss her on the cheek before we go to check in.

"Name?" The Capitol official asks.

"Fay Barran." I state, poking Opal in the side affectionately.

"Come on, man." She laughs, starting to get checked in.

I wait for her, give her another kiss, then get into my area just as the mayor continues his speech.

The victors go and sit down, as the speech drags on. I roll my eyes at Opal before we go in, she laughs a little then focuses back into the speech. He talks about District 4's history and stuff, it happens every year, so I really don't ever pay attention to what he's saying. I start to have a little bit of a conversation with the boy next to me.

"You're the boy that's supposed to be volunteering now, right?" He asks.

"Yeah, Braeton bitched out of going in, so they asked me to volunteer in his place." I respond.

"If you say you're going to volunteer, just go in and volunteer." He responds.

"Right? I really don't even know if I'm ready for it, but I don't think anyone truly is ready for the madness in the Hunger Games." I respond.

"That's true, but it's better to not mess with the mentors like that." He counters. "It's better to be completely prepared for your tribute than to get a new one the night before."

"Now, let's get to the reaping!" The mayor states, moving out of the way for our escort, Ruman Ionia to get to the microphone.

"Welcome to the reaping in District 4!" Ruman screeches. "May the odds be ever in your favor!"

He dips his hand into the big glass bowl full of girls names, the girl that's volunteering, Marina Ilium, looks ready for her chance to be in the Games. I try to make eye contact with her, but she's just looking up at the escort.

"Jacquelina Mian!" He yells.

"I volunteer!" Marina states, starting up the walk to the stage.

"What's your name, young lady?" Ruman asks Marina.

"My name is Marina Ilium." She responds, then moves out of the way for him to continue the presentation.

"Now it's time for the boys." He continues, heading over to the boys bowl.

He then picks a name out of the bowl, he yells a name, but I really don't listen to it, I think it's Braetons, actually. That's pretty funny.

"I volunteer!" I yell, heading up to the stage.

Everyone looks shell shocked in the audience, but I just laugh in my mind at them. I'll show them that I should be the one going into the Games.

"What's your name, young man?" Ruman asks me.

"Fay Barran, sir." I respond, for some reason I respond with sir.

"Give it up for your two tributes from District 4, Marina Ilium and Fay Barran!" He yells.

Marina and I shake hands very briefly before I head into my welcoming room. Everyone that I think is going to be here is here. Ellacia has to start training someone new today, so it's just my mom, sister, and my girlfriend waiting for me.

"You're going to do so well, Fay!" They all say together, taking turns giving me hugs and kisses and such.

"We're going to have such a good time watching you win, big brother!" Candace says. "I'm going to be just like you when I'm older!"

"That's so cool, Candace!" I say. "Just continue your training, and I really think you can do it."

"I love you a lot, Fay." Opal says, kissing me.

"Keep it PG, everyone." Mom laughs.

"Just remember to keep your head." Candace says. "That's what Ellacia told me to tell you."

"And also." Opal adds in. "Don't trust Marina too much, or your fellow Careers for that matter. It's just gotta be you coming home, ok?"

"I know, babe." I respond. "If anyone comes in between me and winning, I'll kill them, I've got to come to you guys again."

"Visiting Times up, you all." The Peacekeeper comes in.

"Do your best, babe." Opal states, kissing me really long for one last time.

"You'll do great, bro." Candace yells. "I'll be watching you from home, every second I can!"

"I'm so proud of you, son." Mom starts crying. "You're going to do so well in there, ok? I know you will."

The Peacekeepers parade my family out the door, and slam it behind them.

The only thing I'm thinking about right now is hoping that Marina didn't hear that conversation about me willing to betray the Careers. But I've got to, I've got to win somehow, and if they get in the way, I'm going to do something about it.

PAN: Also, check out the Tumblr page for the story: blog/227thhungergames. I'm going to be posting faceclaims, training scores, personalities, placings, etc. when they're written. Happy Hunger Games!