AN: Here's some Ian action for you.

Ian POV

"Wanda Stryder!"

I sucked a breath in. It wasn't Joanna. My sister was safe for another year. Thank god.

I looked at girl who was now making her way to the stage. Her face was painted with terror. No tears had come yet but I'm sure they were on their way.

I recognized her very vaguely. She was in the grade behind me, sister of Melanie, who was in my grade. Melanie was now safe, never having to go into the Hunger Games. I wasn't safe yet though.

I watched as the girl walked down what was our type of death row. She stopped and talked to someone in the crowd.

Melanie.

Would Melanie volunteer?

The blonde girl, Wanda, continued to the stage.

Her small figure looked even smaller compared to the guards pulling her forward. With every step, she seemed to wince. The guards were being too rough with her. It seemed she could barely keep her feet.

They announced her name again and she was placed on the stage to the right of the capital lady. I did not care enough to learn the lady's name. This was my last year.

My brother, Kyle, had already been through all of this. He was standing at the far back of the crowd with his wife, Sunny.

The capital lady reached in for the slip of paper with the name of the boy who would be going. Those slips of paper taunted me.

She plucked it up as if a needle had stabbed her from within the bowl.

She walked slowly to the microphone.

"Ian O'Shea!"

My stomach dropped to the floor. I composed my face before my feet started moving towards the stage.

My mind was already forming strategy. I had seen guys, many times before, cry and weep while heading up to the stage. They were always the first ones killed. I didn't have much of a chance of winning this, but I was going to live as long as I could.

The guards came by me but I shoved them off and made my way to the stage by myself.

They announced my name again and I was placed next to Wanda. They began to go through more of the same crap they do every year.

Now that I was next to her, I could really get a good look at her.

She was very short. She had long blonde wavy hair. It hung beautifully next to her blue-silver eyes.

While I was looking at her, she glanced up at me. She had been able to rid her face of the fear, but her eyes screamed it.

I had no faith that she would make it through this. She seemed so kind. Her whole body shouted it.

This was not the nice kind of fate. This was exactly what the capital wanted. They wanted to take a sweet, kind girl, such as Wanda, and turn her into a monster.

I couldn't imagine her hurting a fly, and picturing her with an angry look on her face almost seemed impossible.

I had this deep feeling inside me. I felt I needed to protect her.

She was so beautiful.

No! Stop it! You are going into an arena where your job is to kill her and everyone else there.

You can't start liking her!

But god was she beautiful.

They were finished and we were ushered into the building. Wanda turned around and seemed very sick. She was going to faint.

I reached forward and caught her before she could and held her in my arms. I began to walk her in, supporting all her weight. I tried to make it look like she was walking on her own. No one was fooled.

The guards grabbed her from me. I could see her face seize up with fear as she woke from her trance. I tried to reach her, but the guards pushed me away.

They put us in separate rooms. We were to wait for our families to say our goodbyes.