Disclaimer: The Hunger Games is not mine.
Note: Thank you to Phil and Chaos In Her Wake for Sura and Hadrian, respectively.
District Two Reaping
New Territories
Vester Pierce
District Two Mentor
Vester wished it would rain.
Bad weather always seemed more appropriate for reaping day. In the back of his mind, Vester knew how silly that was. It was just weather, after all. A few drops of water wouldn't really make the reaping any less horrible. But it still didn't seem right that children would be taken away to their deaths on such a beautiful, sunny day.
Merrill Perlimpet, District Two's escort, flashed Vester a smile. Vester did his best not to glare back. Nine years ago, he had been smiling, too. Grateful that his name had been chosen, proud to give his district someone worth cheering for. He had fought on the Capitol's side during the rebellion, and he had done so again in the Games.
Now he wanted nothing more than to take it all back.
Merrill grinned as he dipped his hand into the bowl. After stirring the names around for a moment, he chose a slip of paper and unfolded it. "Sura Petrovich!"
Vester winced. The name was familiar. The last name, at least. He could remember a boy, two years ago, running forward, desperate to volunteer. Tall, strong, determined.
The girl who stepped forward out of the sixteen-year-old section, however, was none of these things. She was short – certainly no more than five feet, and probably a little shorter – and pudgy, taking slow, hesitant steps toward the stage. She was pale, with black hair and dark eyes. But what caught Vester's attention was her smile. Not just a tiny smile, faked for the cameras. A full, broad smile that remained even as she turned to face the crowd.
Merrill beamed right back at her. "Excellent! What a marvelous young tribute! And now for the young men." Again, he stirred the bowl considerably before choosing a name.
But this time it didn't matter, because as soon as he began to read the name – Vester thought it began with a 't' – a voice cried out, "I volunteer!"
The eighteen-year-old section made way for a boy in a pale green shirt and khaki pants. He was dark-skinned, tall and muscular, with short, black hair and deep black eyes. His expression was blank as he took the stage, but he finally smiled a little as he took his place next to his district partner. A smile not of anticipation, but of satisfaction.
"Wonderful!" Merrill grinned. "And what's your name, young man?"
"Matthias Hadrian," the boy answered, his voice calm, quiet, measured. Final. He turned to Sura and offered his hand. The girl hesitated a moment, but then shook it.
Vester nodded a little. Another year. Another reaping over. Another two children who probably wouldn't make it home. Two more names to haunt him in his nightmares.
How much longer, he wondered, before he wouldn't have to face that stage on reaping day alone?
Sura Petrovich, 16
District Two Female
Maybe now it would finally end.
Sura's brother, Judah, had called it her curse. Every year since she had been eligible for the reaping herself, Sura had known at least one of the tributes chosen. And not just distant friends or acquaintances, either. Close friends. Dear friends. Nadene Lilian, her best friend since they were small children, four years ago. Jadon Elliot, her boyfriend, three years ago. Her girlfriend, Salome Freeman, the next year.
The same year Judah had volunteered.
He had never told them why – why he had volunteered that day. But Sura suspected – even though she hoped she was wrong – that he had done it for her. To end the curse. He had suggested once – jokingly, she had thought – that maybe if one of her friends or family volunteered, fate would be satisfied and leave her alone.
And he had been just mad enough – just recklessly brave enough – to try. For her sake. For the sake of the people she loved.
Last year, she had begun to hope that maybe he had been right. Both tributes – Kiona and Equinox – were strangers to her. And it had felt terrible, smiling at the reaping last year, because two children were still going to die. But at least she hadn't known them. For the first time in years, the Ninth Hunger Games hadn't claimed anyone she had loved.
But it seemed the Games weren't quite finished with her. Not yet.
Sura shook her head as she fiddled with Salome's old bracelet, trying hard to keep smiling. Maybe she would be enough. The final sacrifice the Games demanded. Either way – whether she won or died – the people she loved would be safe.
Either way, she would be free.
Matthias Hadrian, 18
District Two Male
Tecmessa had been furious.
Hadrian sat quietly, alone at last, twirling his girlfriend's hair ribbon. She had spent nearly her entire visit screaming, demanding answers he couldn't give her, and, when he remained silent, insisting that he at least take her hair ribbon as his token. And he had agreed.
Like he always did.
Hadrian clenched his fists tightly, frustrated with himself for giving in. But this would be the last time. The last favor he would do for her. Because the truth – the truth that he couldn't tell her – was the he had volunteered for the Games to escape. To escape her.
He had tried before, a few times. Tried to simply walk away. But, each time, she had come back to him, apologizing, smiling sweetly, begging him not to go, reminding him of how much they loved each other, insisting that if he loved her – if he really loved her – he would never leave her alone.
And, each time, he had given in. Because part of him did love her – or, at least, the girl she used to be. The girl he had fallen for three years ago, the girl who laughed and smiled and made him feel like the most important person alive. The girl she could be again, he was certain, if only he tried hard enough.
But Hadrian was tired of trying. He was tired of giving in, tired of not being able to see his friends, tired of barely having a minute to himself. He was tired, and he was desperate.
Desperate enough to volunteer.
Because, either way, he would win. If he won the Games, he would finally be able to tell her no. He would be a victor. She would have to listen. She would have to.
And if he died, it would still be over. She would never be able to control him again.
Either way, he would be free.
"The history of evolution is that life escapes all barriers. Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way."
