Goodbye


Sam Winchester.

Sam Winchester.

Sam Winchester.

The name rang out in his head like the rhythm of the war drums. He couldn't believe he had just heard that name. It must be a mistake. It had to be a mistake.

It was his brother's tiny moving figure that pulled him out of his daze.

"No! Sam!" He let out a shout, moving towards his brother. Sam cast an alarmed glance in his direction and stopped for a second. "Sam!" Capitol guard members grabbed him and pushed him away. "No! No! I volunteer! I VOLUNTEER!"

A gasp rippled through the crowd. The Capitol guards stepped away.

"I volunteer as tribute."

"NO!" Sam's cry of anguish was more painful than anything he had ever heard in his whole entire life. He barreled into his brother's arms, his arms holding him around the waist so tightly that Dean almost couldn't breathe.

"Sam, listen to me! Listen to me!" Dean went down on his knees before his little brother. Another figure quickly joined them. He recognized Lisa's presence without even turning around. "Go with Lisa and find Dad, all right? I will see you later. I promise, Sammy."

"Dean, don't go!" He sobbed as Dean dislodged his arms from around him.

"I have to, Sammy," he murmured as he pulled Sam free and carefully handed him off to Lisa. Lisa's arms tightened around the small boy and she scooped him up. The last thing Dean saw was Sam's terrified eyes peeking at him over Lisa's shoulder.

"Dean!"

With his heart so heavy that it could have fallen in his stomach, Dean slowly made his way up to the stage, escorted by two Capitol guards.

"Well, well, well. District 12's first ever volunteer!" Meg trilled happily. "What is your name, dear boy?"

His voice was just like Jo's. Small and terrified.

"Dean Winchester."

"I'm gathering that little Sam Winchester is your brother."

"Yes."

"And how old are you, Dean Winchester?"

"Seventeen. Almost eighteen." His birthday was in less than a month actually. He realized then he might not live to see it.

"Well, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! District 12's tributes Joanna Beth Harvelle and Dean Winchester! Why don't we give them a big hand?"

Of course, not a single person applauded. As Dean watched, he could see everyone's hands starting to rise up in the salute of District 12, honoring the two children that were most likely to lose their lives in a matter of weeks.

"Now, shake hands," whispered Meg, gesturing between the two of them. "It's okay."

Dean finally got the courage to look at Jo. Her face was serene and unmoving. He couldn't read her at all. Then, to his surprise, she held out a hand to him. That was when he saw that the tips of her fingers were trembling.

He took her hand and shook it. Both of them let go rather quickly.

That was when they were taken away. Well, not taken away as in escorted into the Capitol building, followed by a staggering Bobby Singer and a stoic President Azazel.


He paced the small room, ready to tear his hair out. What the hell was he doing?

He was saving his brother's life.

At his own life's expense.

He was probably going to have to kill Jo in the end. The girl that had kept him alive that stormy afternoon. Or she would have to kill him. Either way, they were both dead.

At that moment, the door flew open and Lisa was shoved inside.

"You have three minutes," snapped another guard as he slammed the door behind her.

"Fine!" she snarled in the guard's direction. "Oof!" She was then nearly knocked over as Dean threw himself into her arms. "You okay?"

"What the hell-?" his voice was caught in his throat.

"Listen to me, Dean. Listen for a second," she carefully pulled him away from her so their eyes could meet. "You are a fighter, Dean. You will be all right."

"There's twenty four of us, Lisa. Only one comes out," he whispered.

"Then make sure it's you."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Get to a bow."

"What?"

"Get to a bow."

"There may not be a-"

"Then make one. A weak one is better than nothing at all. You are the best hunter I have ever known. You can survive that way," she assured him quickly.

A lump quickly formed in his throat, lodging tightly.

"I'm scared," he admitted quietly, thinking that Lisa didn't hear him. Of course, she did.

She didn't say anything. She reached out a hand and quickly grabbed his. His fingers tightened around her palm. He then pulled her into a tight hug.

"Take care of Sammy. Keep an eye on him for me, make sure he doesn't get into too much trouble. Please-please don't let them starve."

Lisa's voice broke as she embraced him back. "I will do whatever I can," she promised. "It will only be for a couple of weeks and then you will be home again."

He wasn't so sure.

The door opened and Lisa was grabbed and escorted out.

"Remember Dean, I-"

Her voice was gone before he could catch what she was saying.


The tiny boy catapulted himself into his arms, burying his face in his chest with such force that he thought he was going to crawl inside of him.

"It's okay," Dean soothed quietly. "It's okay."

"You shouldn't have done this, Dean. You should have let me go," said Sam, tears shining in his eyes.

Dean gently disentangled himself from his brother so he could go down on his knees. "Listen to me, Sammy," he began. "It's my job to protect you. To do whatever I can to keep you safe and happy. What else would I have done?"

Sam shook his head. "Can't you let me save you once in a while?"

"What?"

"You're my big brother. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

Sometimes, Sam sounded so much older than he was.

Then, he pulled his amulet off over his head, placing the head in Dean's palm.

"For you. To protect you in there," the miniature boy murmured.

Dean stared at the gift. He looked back into his brother's large eyes and quickly placed a kiss on his forehead. "Thank you." He quickly slipped the cord over his head. The amulet was cold against his neck. It slid down and rested against his heart.

"You have to win, Dean. Promise me you will win," said Sam, his voice quite small.

Dean stared at him, unable to really register what he had just heard or what was going to come out of his mouth. "I promise."


Sam had been sent back outside to where Braedens were. Malinda Braeden had assured Dean and John that she would help out in any way she could, despite the fact that she already had six children she was caring for. Dean knew that Lisa would be there every step of the way.

He was alone with John. Both men just stared at each other for several moments before Dean approached his father, looking him square in the eye.

"Now you listen to me," he said a little more forcefully than he had intended. "You need to be there for Sam. He is going to need you more than ever now," he began. "You cannot disappear. You cannot run away. I am not going to be there to clean up your messes anymore. You have to be there, all right?"

John nodded wordlessly, looking more terrified than Dean had ever seen him in his entire life.

"Lisa will help out as much as she can but she cannot feed her family and ours. Don't let Sam sign up for tessarae; it will only add his name to the bowl. You do it, you get the grain, you hunt, you do whatever you can to keep him alive. Keep him safe," Dean continued.

John nodded again. His eyes were quickly filling up with tears and in a haste, he tried to thumb them away. Dean ignored them and quickly threw his arms around his father, hugging him tightly.

"I love you, Dad."


It was all slowly being ripped away from him.

Sam.

Lisa.

His father.

The Harvelles.

His home.

All of it was ripped out of his arms and out of his grasp. He was now someone's property. Their piece in the game.

The Capitol's toy.


He hated himself for doing this. But he had to be prepared. he had to know what his competition was going to be like.

On the television screen, coverage of the other eleven Reapings was being shown. It trickled away through all the Districts, a few of them standing out very well.

District 1, a beautiful black haired girl with wide blue eyes was chosen. She was maybe seventeen and gorgeous. Dean couldn't help but check her out. But when the camera focused on her face, all Dean could see was loathing and hate. A black boy, maybe sixteen was chosen as the male tribute. He had that same expression that the female had, loathing and hate. District 1 was always the wealthiest district out of the twelve so it was likely that these two, Dean didn't catch their names, were huge competition. In other words, quite dangerous.

In District 2, the Reaping didn't even occur. The two tributes volunteered immediately. The male looked about the same age as Dean, maybe a little older. Just by looking at him, Dean could see that he had been training for this his whole life and had been waiting to volunteer. The girl was small, so small that she didn't look like she would be much of a threat. But when the camera closed in on her, it was again another sliver of hatred and also excitement for the Games ahead.

Dean didn't pay much attention to Districts 3 and 4. It was normal for Districts 1, 2, and 4 to ally during the Games, creating a Career pack. Most of the time, it would wind up being down to them at the end and it would be quite the bloodbath. He remembered a Games three years ago where it had been between a District 1 boy and a District 2 girl. The boy wound up winning but only due to the girl dying of blood loss.

When District 5 was shown, Dean caught sight of a girl, maybe fifteen, with bright red hair that fell past her shoulders. She had angular features that resembled a fox. Like a fox on fire. She was chosen as the female tribute while a thirteen year old boy was chosen as the male.

Districts 6 through 10 didn't show much that he was interested in. When District 11 rolled around, he was coming close to flipping the television off when he caught sight of the two tributes. First chosen was a tall, dark haired blond girl by the name of Rachel. She was the max age, eighteen years old. District 11 was known for their agriculture so it was normal for everyone to be very strong but this girl, she was almost butch.

Then the boy was chosen.

For a split second, he thought it was Sam.

Twelve years old, dark brown shaggy hair, an adorable little face. He was Sam in a nutshell.

"Dean?"

"Look at this." Dean reached up and grabbed Jo's arm, pulling her down on the sofa beside him. She watched as the end of the Reaping took place, the escort giving a big stupid round of applause for Rachel and a little boy named Ben.

"Oh, my God," she whispered, leaning forward to stare at the screen.

"It's Sam," he choked out, unable to keep his emotions in check anymore.

Jo turned to watch his face. Compassion flitted over her pretty features and she gently touched his arm. "It's not Sam, Dean. Sam's safe at home."

"There were three others like him, Jo. Two more boys and a little girl. Did any of them have people step up and volunteer for them?" asked Dean, looking at her. "No. Nobody gave a damn."

Jo fell silent, her eyes trailing over to the television screen again. This time, their Reaping was being shown.

Dean watched as Jo's name was drawn out of the bowl, Meg announcing it happily to the crowd. He noticed Ellen Harvelle trying to dash forward to grab her daughter but Bill Harvelle holding her back and allowing her to break down in his arms. He hadn't really even heard Ellen cry out for her daughter, having been wrapped up in his own thoughts and fears.

He winced when Sam's name was called. He watched himself let out a yell and start screaming like a banshee.

"Wow..."

Dean finally pulled his eyes away from the screen to stare at Jo. She blushed and looked away.

"Sorry. It's just that I was there while this was going on but they made it look even more haunting on this stupid TV. You are already being called 'the brave one' for saving your brother," she said.

"Yeah, and just my luck, I'll die in this and Sam's name will be drawn next year," Dean mumbled.

Jo lightly slapped his shoulder. "Don't think like that, Dean. Don't ever think like that. Whatever happens to us, our families will be okay."

"How are you so positive?" asked Dean.

Jo shrugged. "I learned to be positive a really long time ago. A little boy in the rain taught me that."


It was either his worst nightmare or an incredible dream.

The buildings were enormous. They stretched into the sky, so high that he was sure that they went on forever.

"Oh, my..."

"I know," whispered a voice at his elbow. Dean glanced down and met Jo's brown eyes, seeing the exact same emotions reflecting in her eyes that he was sure was written all over his face.

"We will be there soon," said Meg from behind them. "The tribute building is beautiful. And because you are the twelfth district, you get the penthouse."

"Yay," murmured Dean under his breath. Jo heard the tone in his voice and chuckled quietly. A loud burp coming from Bobby Singer immediately ruined the moment.


"So, day after tomorrow will be the chariot parade," said Meg that evening at dinner.

The penthouse was quite large and spacey. It was beautiful, no doubt. Dean and Jo had rooms across the hall from each other, both of them inadvertently picking the rooms without the other knowing until later. Bobby and Meg had resumed the rooms that they had occupied for the past several years. The thought suddenly struck Dean that Bobby had come back here for the past 24 years accompanied by the escort and a young boy and girl. He would leave a month later by himself.

"Chariot parade?" Dean suddenly choked on the hot coffee that he had been drinking.

Every single year, before the tributes would begin their training, there would be a chariot parade for the tributes. The stylists would dress the tributes to display what their district stood for. For example, District 1 was luxury so they would be dressed in extravagant, shiny clothing. District 12 were miners and one year they had been totally naked but coated with coal.

"You both have individual stylists. Dean, you will be with Castiel and Joanna, yours is a young woman named Becky. They are both brand new stylists, last years' having quit quite suddenly."

Last year's tributes had died within the first ten minutes of being released into the arena. The Cornucopia bloodbath had been...well, quite the bloodbath.

"When do we meet them?" asked Jo.

"Tomorrow morning. You will be put through quite the cleaning that the two of you desperately need," answered Meg.

Dean rolled his eyes, glancing at the clothing that adorned his body. On the train, he had used the shower and changed into a pair of dark blue jeans, his old hunting boots, and a black sweatshirt. His amulet remained hidden underneath the thick cotton, pressed against his heart. Jo was now in a pair of slacks and a yellow sweater, her dark blond curls pulled back at the base of her neck. She looked fine to him. In fact, she was very pretty.

"Pfft, it's a waste of time," came a grumble from the mess of graying hair across the table.

Meg, Dean, and Jo raised their eyes to take the aging man in.

"Excuse me?" asked Dean.

"For the past 24 years, it's been the same. Getting them all prettied up and they die on the first day in there," snarled Bobby. He adjusted the moldy hat on top of his head and took another snort from his brandy glass.

"Who says that we will die the first day?" snapped Dean. He was getting tired of getting looks of pity every time an Avox came into the apartment, whenever Meg talked about what was to come; she had a look of slight sadness in her eyes.

"Well, boy, what have you got to show me?" asked Bobby. He glanced at Jo. "Girlie?"

"I'd appreciate you not calling me that," snarled Jo.

"She can lift 100 pound sacks of flour," Dean immediately interjected. "She's very strong."

"Dean, you're making me sound like a guy."

"It's the truth though. I've seen you lift that stuff at the bakery. Also, she's very intricate in design. She'd probably be good in camoflauge."

Jo rolled her eyes. "If you want good, Dean is a magnificent shooter. Some of the animals that he brings to my dad, either the eye or the brain is shot clean through."

Bobby's bushy eyebrows raised. "Illegal hunting, boy?"

Dean shot Jo the dirtiest look that he could muster before facing Bobby. "And what's it to you? You remain holed up in that victor's house, drinking your sorrows away. I'm surprised you're still alive-"

He saw the knife coming.

Dean snatched it out of mid air as it soared at his shoulder. It was a small shelling out knife, wouldn't have done much damage even if it had hit him. He twisted the knife between his fingers and threw it right back. It took Bobby Singer's hat right off the top of his head and nailed it right to the wall.

Meg let out a shriek and clapped her hands over her mouth. She stared from Bobby to Dean, afraid of what was coming next. Jo had sat back in her seat, crossing her arms across her chest. She had a self satisfied smirk on her face. Just by one glance, Dean could tell she had stewed this whole thing up in her head.

Bobby looked at his hat and his knife sticking out of it. He then looked at Dean's irritated face and finally let a chuckle come out of his belly.

"Well, well, well. It seems like I've finally got a couple of good ones this year."


It seemed better for me to add in something different instead of doing what the movie and the book did. Katniss got so angry at Haymitch on the train that when he reached for his booze, she planted a knife right between his fingers. Here, it seemed more plausible (to me) that Bobby would get irritated at Dean's big mouth and would throw a knife at him. And of course, Dean being Dean, would snatch it out of mid-air and throw it back, catching his hat and pinning it to the wall. This simple act will come into play later in their training.

All right, well, here's chapter 2 of The 74th Annual Hunger Games. Hope you enjoyed and reviews are quite necessary in my opinion. :) Next chapter will be the chariot parade and training. The chapter following that will be much shorter with just the interviewers and getting ready for what is to come. These chapters will introduce a lot more characters that we are familiar with on Supernatural but now we have to become familiar with here. You'll see a lot of familiar faces taking the places of the people in the Hunger Games. And then the chapter after that will begin the actual Games. I do hope you enjoy!

Thanks! Abbyli