Known Changes from the Canon (Forgot to put this last time):
In the books, the quarter quell was created at the beginning of the hunger games to provide an especially serious reminder of the rebellion. In this version, it is created as a way to provide extra entertainment beyond the normal games every 25 years.
In the only real hunger games in the canon (The third quarter quell ended prematurely and was just plain bad with the use of previous victors of tributes, I'm talking about the first book here), it was quite predictable, even in the beginning, that Katniss would win. This version follows 3 different districts, offers some surprises in the tribute choices, and the district that wins has not yet been decided – it could be a district that doesn't get a viewpoint. Basically, I'm trying to shy away from the predictable things in the series.
Unlike the books, this sets down a clear way to how president snow came to power: He was democratically elected by capital citizens for a life term.
As for why district 13 is mentioned in the hunger games staff list in the prologue….you'll see why near the end of this story.
So, let's begin.
Chapter 1
District 1
Geronimo Foster turned away from the TV as the list of Hunger Games Staff scrolled by. Electing the tributes? A quarter quell to add entertainment? This was really odd. Surely there was a purpose behind all of it, some underlying cause. It had to be more than just the rebellion, there must be an uprising in another district. Yes, that would be it. District 1 had spent years apologizing for being a part of the rebellion, along with districts 2 and 4, and eventually, they were rewarded with extra food and money, better schools and housing, all that stuff. Other vital districts, like districts 5 and 11, who are in charge of energy and farming, were forced to, after the rebellion, resume their work with roughly the same amount of money as before. All the districts had signed the treaty of treason, but most still believed the rebellion wasn't bad, it was just a failed attempt that would hopefully have another attempt in the future, the right time for another rebellion would come, etc. Districts 1, 2, and 4 had realized the mistake the rebellion had been, but the others still lived in hope that the capital would one day be defeated. (Yes – in about 50 years. Long wait, I know.) Suddenly, the voice of Geronimo's Foster Mother jolted him out of his thoughts.
"It's interesting that district 13 is mentioned on the staff list, they're destroyed. And all the staff seem to be new people." (For now, president snow has just demoted everyone the old president had in charge. The poisoning of the old president's staff mentioned in the books is happening deliberately and slowly so as not to attract attention.)
"New president, New staff, whatever. That district 13 stuff is probably old data that got on there accidentally. Even if District 13 is being allowed to return slowly, they're still obliterated according to the capitol, and District 1 knows that the rebellion was wrong."
"Yes, yes, yes. Just try not to get yourself elected as tribute. You're only 14. You wouldn't survive the games. District 1 hasn't won since the 19th hunger games, so we need a winner this year. In order to do that, we need someone who can get over the hurdles at the end. Someone who can deal with the ending of the career alliance near the end of every hunger games. And you're just too young to be that someone."
"Yes, mother, I know, but what if I am chosen?"
"There is still the female tribute. We would still have hope. And even if 2, 4, or 5 gets another victory, we are a rich family."
It was true. Geronimo's parents had died when he was very young and he had always been taught they were among the poorest in district 1. A little bit of 12 in 1, you might say. District 12…they were so miserable, they were the only district besides District 9 who hadn't had a victor yet. (In this version, District 12 won the 32nd, 50th and 74th hunger games. The books' ruling is 50th, 74th, and another unknown hunger games before the 50th.) However, Geronimo's Foster Family was extremely rich. The father was a doctor, the mother a key official in luxury goods designing. District 1 had won the 1st, 2nd, 7th, 11th, and 19th Hunger Games. They received many gifts from the capital for both their victories and their willingness to accept that the rebellion was a bad thing. But this year would be truly different. No one in district 1 took tesserae, so it was totally dependent on the election. But who would be picked?
District 6
The father of the family turned away from the TV in disgust. This would not be good year for district 6. They had had only two victories, in the 10th and 20th hunger games. Now they had to elect their tributes! Surely the old fogies would elect someone bad. It was so ridiculous! District 6 did not need extra entertainment! He looked to his eldest child. 18, with three brothers, 17, 14, and 12. Each of them took out tesserae for everyone in the family because the mother and father had extremely low paying jobs and could buy very little. They had once been prosperous, but for some reason over the last few years they had been demoted. So their children killed what little wildlife there was in the district, and took out tesserae. The 18 year old, had this year been normal, would have had a whopping total of 49 entries, the 17 year old 42, the 14 year old 21, the 12 year old 7. However, they had been lucky enough to avoid being chosen in the reaping of previous years. The odds had been in their favor. The eldest child spoke up.
"Who are you going to vote for, Dad?"
"I don't know, Hernando" replied the Father "It's like you're deciding who from this district should die first. It's not an easy decision. In fact, it's a terrible decision to make. And I wish I knew why the capital did it."
District 10
"Get to work! Get to work!" Yelled the peacekeepers as everyone trudged off to their jobs. It was the morning following the TV announcement and almost everyone was being ordered straight to the big fields where livestock were raised with even more intensity than usual, as if the peacekeepers were afraid of something. Once everyone was where the peacekeepers wanted them to be, they continued to watch the citizens as they worked. The citizens are allowed to talk, but the peacekeepers can stop any conversation at any time. Let's look at one family in particular.
Farrell Sickle and his father and mother were working on keeping a family of cows in order, from milking to supervision of baby cows. Farrell Sickle was extremely worried. He felt sure that the people of his district would vote for him as boy tribute. His family was always unlucky when it came to board and card games, so why wouldn't this contest be the same way?
I know it's not very good yet but this chapter is more of an introduction really. Next chapter is the pre-reaping from district 6 POV, chapter 3 is the real reaping from all 3 districts POV. I will be accepting characters from other members for the other districts – keep a lookout for the tribute form. And remember – almost every district still has the potential to win the first quarter quell. It won't be district 12, but it is a significant possibility that the winner will not be from 1, 6, or 10.
Winners of Previous Hunger Games:
District 1 – 1st, 2nd, 7th, 11th, 19th
District 2 – 3rd, 9th, 12th, 14th
District 3 – 4th, 18th
District 4 – 5th, 6th, 15th, 23rd
District 5 – 16th, 22nd, 24th
District 6 – 10th, 20th
District 7 – 13th
District 8 – 17th
District 9 – No victory yet
District 10 – 21st
District 11 – 8th
District 12 – No victory yet
