I do not own Glee or The Hunger Games
She sits silently, looking out the window. Her knees are pulled to her chest, as she watches the miners go to another day of work. She sighs, pulling herself from the bench she is currently resting on. She walks over into the other room, and pulls on the light blue jacket hanging behind the door. She slips on the brown boots and quietly walks to her sleeping father. She kisses his head softly before going out the back door. The outside air is crisp as Rachel travels the familiar path to the fence. She looks around, making sure no one is watching. She doesn't know why she does, everyone knows that she goes there. She listens carefully, trying to hear the sound of the fence. She smiles when there isn't any intimation that the power has been turned on. She climbs through the little opening and soon is on the other side of the fence. She jogs to the little stream and takes a right. Before she knows it, she in the clearing. She closes her eyes and tries to keep the tears away. She thought that after five years it would get easier. Soon, she is able to open her eyes and move to the center of the opening. She sits down and lets the air float around her. This place reminds her so much of her mother.
Rachel Berry misses her mom.
Sure, it was five years ago and she should be able to let go. She can't though. Her mom meant everything to her. When she was a little girl, she hoped to become just like her mom. Shelby was beautiful. Rachel's father tells her she looks so much like her mom, but she doesn't believe it because nobody can be as pretty as her mom. When she was six, her mom took her into the woods for the first time. Rachel had been scared to death. Her teachers always talked about how horrible and awful the woods were and that if they went in there, they would get lost and die. So, when her mom told her they were taking a trip in there, she refused. Eventually, Shelby had forced Rachel to go and Rachel loved it. She never wanted to leave. Her mom had taken her to this very opening. It was beautiful here. There were gorgeous pink and purple flowers everywhere. The birds flew high and nested in the trees, singing happy little songs. When her mom died, it become hard to come here at first. Rachel was only eleven when her mom became sick. She would come here to escape the coughing and the vomiting. She doesn't know what her mom was sick with, but she knew it was bad. Her mom wasn't really her mom anymore. It took three months before her mother died. She sat by her bedside the whole time before she died, and she remembers the exact words her mom said.
"Don't let them change you Rachel. You're a fighter and you'll always need to fight. I love you."
Next thing Rachel knew, her dad was pulling her out of the room. She was screaming for her mom to stay. She stayed in this field almost all night. She knows who her mother was referring to. It was the Capitol. They run the whole nation. All twelve districts. Rachel happens to live in district twelve, the poorest district. Every year, they are forced into The Hunger Games. They are brutal, children between the ages of twelve and eighteen are eligible to be in the games. There are two tributes from each district, a boy and a girl. They all go to an arena and fight to the death. It's murder. And no one cares. President Sue especially doesn't care. She runs all of Mckinely, the entire continent, and she's a brutal woman. She and the head game maker determine the arena. The maker now is a man that goes by the name of Dustin Goolsby. He's just as wicked as Sue, but even he fears the woman. Their whole district is forced to watch him do interviews with the quirky Sandy Ryerson. He talks animatedly about the games and the reaping. Which happens to be today.
Rachel puts her head in her knees and closes her eyes. Her names isn't in the reaping jar a lot. She's one of the more 'wealthier' families since her dad owns a shop at the market. She never had to put her name in extra times. Once you turn twelve, one name is entered. Thirteen: two more. And so on. She's only sixteen, so she doesn't have many names in there. She's one of the lucky ones.
A twig breaks and Rachel's head snaps up. It was very close to her. She silently gets up and begins climbing a tree for safety, just like her mother taught her. A man enters the area and Rachel smiles. He looks around and she jumps, landing on him. They both fall to the ground and he grunts.
"Really Rachel?" she pops up and giggles, helping him up.
"Just a little trick Blaine." she laughs again and he can't help but smile at her. She looks at her best friend as he stands before her. He's a little taller than her five-foot-three frame and his black hair is shaggy. Being from district twelve, he's tan from the almost constant sun they get. She leans forward and hugs him and he squeezes her back. Blaine is seventeen, just one year older than her. She doesn't really care though. He's her best friend, and she doesn't have anyone else to talk to. She pulls away and she knows he can see the fear in her eyes.
"It's okay Rach." she nods, wanting to believe him.
"It's a little scary to think that today my name could be picked." she honestly says as she sits down on the ground.
"Don't be scared. You won't be picked." he says as he sits down next to her.
"I'm not really worried about myself," she gives him a pointed look. "Your name is in there a lot Blaine." she looks at him and he shrugs.
"I guess the odds aren't particularly in my favor." he chuckles, but she doesn't laugh.
"How's Casey doing?" Casey is Blaine's younger sister. This is the first year her name is entered into the reaping.
"She's trying to act brave, but I know she's scared." Rachel nods.
"She's lucky her name is in there only once." Blaine nods in agreement. They sit silently for a while before Rachel gets up.
"What are you doing?" Blaine asks as he drags himself up as well.
"Let's hunt!" she says. It's something he taught her how to do. He told her that he does this to feed his family and she told him she wanted to help. Blaine laughs and gets up before grabbing her hand and pulling her to their hiding spot. She reaches in and pulls out the bow and arrow stashed away. When Blaine first taught her how to use the bow, it felt right in her hands. It didn't take her long before she was pretty much a pro. She holds it in her hands and loves the feeling of it. Blaine takes out his knives and the slowly begin to travel through the woods. She listens carefully to her surroundings, waiting to hear an animal. She hears the light patter of feet and she stops. She motions for Blaine to be quiet as well. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She pulls the bow up and opens her eyes. She narrows in on the rather small wild turkey. She aims. Letting go of the arrow, she watches as it pierces through the turkey and it falls to the ground. She beams at Blaine as he laughs. She walks to the bird and takes the arrow out of its eye. Blaine picks up the bird by its talons and they start traveling back. They head over to the Hob, a shop where they sell all their game to. They look around and listen to the fence before climbing over it and going to the shop. The Hob is owned by a sweet elderly woman named Jean, and she takes the turkey with appreciation. She gives them the money for the turkey and they are on their way. Blaine walks her back to her house and hugs her tightly.
"I'll see you later." he says and kisses her on her forehead. She smiles and waves as he walks away. She opens the door and takes off her boots. She hangs her jacket up and walks into the kitchen. Her dad has laid out some berries and she happily eats some. She picks up the note beside the berries, reading it silently.
Rachy,
Went to the market to get some more fresh fruits. I will see you after the reaping.
Daddy
She sighs and travels into the bathroom. Her dad has prepared her some hot water and she slowly begins to undress. She steps into the warm water and pulls her knees to her chest. She is scared, she isn't going to lie about it. She's terrified every year that she's going to be called. She dunks her head under the water, trying to wash away the thoughts of the reaping. When she finishes her bath, she gets out and puts on the pale, pink summer dress. It used to be her mothers when she was Rachel's age. She silk feels nice on her skin and she inhales the scent of her mom. She pulls on a pair of dirty, white flats and puts her long, dark hair into a braid down her back, just like her mother always did. She looks in the mirror at herself and smiles. She wants to be brave for her mom. A bell sounds, signaling for all the children to come to the square. She takes a deep breath before heading out.
She arrives at the center and meets Blaine there. Casey follows slowly behind him, looking at everyone. They have to separate into boys and girls now, so Blaine kisses Casey on the head before giving Rachel a look. She hugs him tightly. He kisses her head before going to stand in line with the rest of the boys. She grabs Casey's hand and pulls her towards the girl line. She hugs Casey tightly before she goes to stand in her respective line. The whole square quiets down as a petite woman with reddish, pink hair comes to the microphone.
"Hello district twelve!" everyone is silent as this strange woman speaks. "My name is Emma Pillsbury, and I am the escort for your district!" she begins clapping for herself, but slowly stops when nobody else claps. A man sitting down laughs at the poor woman as she coughs uncomfortably. "Anywho, welcome to the reaping of the seventy-fourth annual Hunger Games! I know you all must be very excited, like I am, and awaiting to know the results of this years reaping. First, let's watch a video that the lovely Capitol has made for you all." A video is played, showing the reasons why the Hunger Games were started. Rachel doesn't really watch, she honestly doesn't care. At the end, a few people clap, along with Emma.
"That was wonderful! Don't you all agree?" silence again. "anywho, let's introduce this years mentor! Will Schuester please come on down!" A man, not very tall, with curly, brown hair, walks to the microphone. Emma looks at him distastefully as he scrunches his nose at her.
"Great," he starts sarcastically. "to be here." he winks at Emma before walking back to his seat. Rachel, of course, knows who he is. He won the Hunger Games twenty-four years ago. He doesn't come out much, he mostly just sits inside rotting in his house. All the victors get a nice house in victors village. District twelve has only had three victors total, but the other two died a while back. There's twelve house in the village, and Will only occupies one of them.
Emma walks back to the microphone. "Okay then. Why don't we get started. Ladies first!" she walks over to the bowl holding all the eligible girls from district twelve. Emma reaches her hand swiftly inside the bowl, before pulling out a crisp, folded piece of paper. She opens it slowly and smiles before clearing her throat.
"Casey Anderson!" she squeals into the microphone. Rachel freezes. Casey is standing a bit in front of her and she gasps. Rachel's eye immediately search for Blaine's and when she finds them, he looks horrified. He's looking at her as well, and he looks like he's about to collapse. She turns back to look at Casey, who is still standing in the same position as before.
"Casey Anderson? Where are you dear? Come on up! Don't be shy!" Emma is saying into the microphone. Casey gulps before slowly moving towards the stage. Rachel looks over at Blaine again, and he's clenching his fists as he watches his baby sister go to her death. Rachel can't stand it. It's not fair. She doesn't really think before she's pushed people out of the way and is running forward to the stage. Two guards grab her and throw her back. She screams and thrashes.
"No! Stop!" she's screaming and Casey turns to look at her. Blaine is now pushing his way out to come to her, but she just wants everyone to stop. "I volunteer!" she screeches out and everyone freezes. Casey is running down the middle at her now, and the guards are still holding her. "I volunteer! I volunteer!" she thrashes some more and finally they release her. She flings forward, grabbing Casey in her arms. She's crying on Rachel and hugging her tightly.
"No Rachy! Please don't!" Casey is squeezing her tightly as Blaine finally gets out of the mess of boys. He comes to Casey and grabs her off Rachel. Blaine looks at Rachel before nodding.
"Well what do we have here? A volunteer! How delightful! Come on up here, dear." Emma says and Rachel slowly walks up to the stage. She walks down to Emma and in the distant she can see her father. He has a hard expression on his face, trying not to let this affect him. She finally gets to Emma and she tells her to say her name.
"Rachel Berry." she whispers out.
"Well, Rachel, how nice of you to volunteer for the little girl! Why don't we see who will be your other tribute?" Emma walks over to the bowl filled with the boys names and quickly grabs a slip. "Finn Hudson!" A tall boy from the back begins moving forward, faltering at the steps. She watches as he makes his way onto the stage. He's looking at her and she tears her eyes away from his. She sees Blaine holding Casey to his chest and he has tears shimmering in his eyes. "I present to you, the tributes of district twelve!" silence. No one claps or does anything. Emma uncomfortably smiles and tells them to shake hands. She turns to the boy and slowly extends her arms. His rough, calloused hand takes hers and she looks him in the eyes as she shakes his hand. She knows who he is of course. He is by far the most popular boy at her school. All the girls are in love with him. He's seventeen, like Blaine. She's pretty sure that he's friends with Blaine, now that she thinks about it. He's still holding her hand and she pulls is away, turning to look out at the audience. This could be the last time she ever sees this part of town again. A peacekeeper grabs her arm and begins pulling her away. She looks behind her, as they drag her into the building. Finn is also being pulled and they both are taken to separate rooms. She paces as she waits, not being able to sit. The door opens, and her head whips over to it. Her dad walks in and comes running to her. She throws herself in his arms, tears streaming down her face.
"Oh Rachel! My baby girl!" he weeps.
"Daddy, I'm scared." she feels like a little girl again, likes she's just had a nightmare.
"Now you listen to me Rachel," he grabs hold of her shoulders. "You are going to do everything in your power to win. You will fight for as long as you can and you will come back to me. I can't lose you too." he says and she nods. The door opens, and a peacekeeper comes and grabs her father, pulling him away.
"I love you daddy!" she screams and then the door is closed. She continues to cry, even when the door is opened again. Blaine runs in and grabs her in a hug.
"You're an idiot! Rachel, you're an idiot." he hold her in his arms. She cries and he pulls back.
"I couldn't let her go up there, Blaine. She's like a little sister to me. I couldn't see her go into that arena." she whispers. He pulls her to his chest again.
"You are so stupid, but I love you so much." she squeezes him tightly.
"I'm really going to miss you." she says. He lets go of her.
"Don't you dare say goodbye Rachel Berry. You will win. You have to." he says, teeth clenched. She nods and another peacekeeper comes in. She watches as her best friend is ripped out of her grasp. The door slams with a bang and she is in silence once again. She wipes her eyes, trying to rid the evidence of her crying. The door opens again, but this time a tiny woman shuffles in. She's not much taller than Rachel, and her hair is cropped short.
"Hello Rachel. My name is Carole. Carole Hudson. I'm Finn's mother." she says. Rachel looks at her with confusion in her eyes.
"Why are you visiting me?" Rachel asks. Carole walks over to the velvet couch and pats the seat next to her. Rachel slowly sits next to the unfamiliar woman.
"When I was a little girl, you mother and I were best friends," she begins, and Rachel perks up at the mention of her mother. "we would do everything together. Then, she met your father and we began to grow apart. We were still friends, though. I attended her wedding and I was there when you were born. Your mother asked me that day, that is anything were to ever happen to her, I was to watch over you. I've been doing it silently ever since she died.
"You are so much like your mother. You are strong like her and brave like her. I believe in both you and my Finn. I know that you two will be enemies, but maybe you don't have to be. My time is almost up, but Rachel, even though you don't know who I am, I love you as if you were my daughter. Be safe." she says just as the door opens. The woman is taken away, and Rachel stares at the door as it closes. She's seen the woman on countless occasions. She's the nurse for the town. When she was little, she once became sick and her dad took her to Carole. She gave them herbs and other remedies to help her overcome her illness. That was the first time she had ever seen Finn. He watched from behind a door as she laid on their table. She remembers looking straight at him, his hazel eyes meeting her deep brown ones. That's all she remembers, though.
The door opens and a peacekeeper is there to take her. He grabs hold of her arm and pulls her out into the hallway. She is taken outside again, but this time their is a car. She gets in, only to see the Finn is already their. She wipes her eyes, not wanting to seem like a weakling. He's looking out the window as they drive past all the people of District twelve. They pull up to the train station and Finn gets out. She scoots over and he holds out his hand. She looks up at him before taking it. They walk to the train, and she turns around one more time. She sees him immediately, standing off to the side of everyone else. He nods his head slightly, and she smiles, mouthing 'I love you' to her best friend. Blaine puts his head down and she turns and gets on to the train leading her to her doom.
Thanks for reading the first chapter! Please be kind, and remember: I am making the story my own! It will not always follow how the book goes. Thank you! Reviews would be wonderful!