District Nine
Tiberius Ivory, 18
Somehow waking up to the sound of pattering feet running back and forth in the hall with yells and yells of laughter and well a lot of arguments is nice. It is nice to wake up to a female's voice angrily speaking to a voice of a male as they argue about something that through the door I can't hear. Some say it is chaotic, I call it wonderful. I turn over in my bed before I hear the door open. I look under the covers to see the young bottom half of a boy and stop myself from mouthing off to my visitor.
"Yes Alto?" I ask peeking my head through the sheets to see the youngest of our small little family standing at the door frame with the hallway shown behind him his short blonde hair and freckled face lit by the light from my window behind me. He has this smile with dimples where he looks like probably the most adorable little ten year old thief in all of District Nine. I sit up into a sitting position. In our little gang he is the youngest. He is a truly good thief too, but he ends up with street patrol to watch out for Peacekeepers roaming the streets during our missions.
He parents ditched them, he told me once he wants to train really hard so he can win the Games to prove to them they made a mistake by not keeping him. He is also the type to share everything he is feeling with people. "Reaping is today and Tyrant is outside with Flux they got some girls too, they are snickering at them." He laughs at the last part.
It isn't uncommon for us to hang outside of the house and roughhouse shirtless just to give something for people to see. Girls like to steal glances at us, but we like stealing in general. We are the gang of District Nine. I get up and ruffle his hair. I get into shorts and walk out onto the porch where Flux and Tyrant were in the middle of a pretend fight while Phox sits in the corner shaking his head at them. In the distance I can see two girl snickering.
"Why don't you two idiots get in the house so we can eat and get ready for the reaping today?" I tell them.
"If you don't shut up or wipe that smirk off your face I am going to make you." Tyrant says jokingly. He is my brother. But where I have spiked up blonde hair and brown eyes he has longer brown hair that goes to the top of his ears with jade colored eyes. Just like our mother. I can't think of that now, the reaping day is sad enough without the thought of my dead parents.
They were working. In a building when a fire caught, lots of things are made out of wood here in District Nine so the fire was blazing soon and it killed my parents. Soon thieving was the way to go. And now in the home that my parents once shared with me and my brother is our head quarter. Five people. Myself, my brother Tyrant, Phox Griffith the leader, Flux Shire nicknamed Silent Shire for his trickery and the fact he is the best thief out of all of us, Alto Aldjoy the youngest, and finally the last one Adne Fenix who is a girl.
"I swear no fighting on today." Phox says. He has always had a nasty temper and the one to keep us all in order, which is what a leader is supposed to do right?
Flux shrugs to this and we all head inside pushing through the doors and filling in the kitchen where Adne sits on the counter chewing on a piece of bread. She has always been a looker. Caramel colored hair that goes maybe to her chins with blue eyes. She is beautiful and she knows it, she might be just sixteen but she knows how to get boys to give her jewels and such. Though the girl isn't one to commit, not to any female or male, when it comes to relationships.
"I got a loaf of bread so make sure everyone gets an even amount and don't anyway be fat and eat more than you deserve. If you guys want something better to eat for today you should have worked better last night."
"How could we Peacekeepers were everywhere for today." Tyrant says. I would know for myself too, we tend to work as a team. "Not all of us can be like Silent Shires." He adds and Flux rolls his eyes leaning against the wall to eat.
Life here is chaotic. With so many people always talking and there always seems to be a new problem each day. But after so long I have gotten use to it.
After having my fair share of bread I walk to my room. Adne walks by me. "Going to get ready for the reaping?" She asks with a smile.
"Aren't you?" I ask. She shrugs.
"No I am going to go nude to the reaping." She says jokingly. I roll my eyes and I walk into my room closing the door. I change quickly as a memory filters into my head.
The rain is cold, this pain it is almost unbearable. I would rather take a knife to the stomach or a shot to the head than I have to endure this anymore. It is a pain from within. It is a pain of hunger as I limp and fall into the mud with my brother by my side. We aren't going to make it. I am just seven, my brother even younger. I see his figure fall beside me and we lay in the mud for a little bit. It isn't raining but it was before so the dirt on the ground has become mud. It splatters onto my face, at least it is cool and the cold numbs my body a little so the pain from hunger is dimmed down. But it is still there.
I see the dark shadow fall onto my body and look up to see a figure. His hand is outreached to me. "Come on I have somewhere you two can get some food."
It was that day I was recruited into this gang, the others coming one by one. We are basically a gang of misfits. Alto's parents didn't want him, I and Tyrant's are dead, and Adne was abused by hers. So in the end we are all family to each other.
I change into my reaping outfit quickly knowing everyone will be ready soon too and I don't want to get left behind and walk to the reaping alone. Besides I want to venture through this District one last time before I am sent into the Arena, and I want to do it with my friends. I hear a knocking on the door a hand pounding against the wood.
"Come on Tiberius!" Tyrant says and I rush to the door ripping it open to walk outside.
"Let's go." I say and we walk down the stairs where all the others are ready. I take a look at Adne, around her neck is a fancy chain necklace with a gem of some sort on the end. It looks expensive.
"Where did you get that?" I ask as we all begin to walk out of the room.
She smiles, "From a friend."
I roll my eyes and we all walk down the street where the Town Center is and all arrive and start checking in. Alto waves goodbye and goes to wait since he is just ten along with Phox who is too old. So it is just the four of us. We each check in and I go to the section for eighteen year old boys and wait. The Escort, Agatha walks onto the stage. I believe she is new. She smiles at all of us. "Happy Hunger Games!" She says with a bright white smile that she flashes to all of us.
After the beginning part involving reading off of all our past Victors and the same old video she goes to the girl's reaping bowl. She pulls out some girls name who I don't know, just some girl I guess. But what surprises me is a girl volunteering. I shake it off deciding she is just suicidal and wait for the boy's name to be called.
Isn't what I am thinking suicidal though?
But I am a thief that most count for something. "John..." She says but I interject.
"I volunteer!" I shout. "I volunteer." I say again much quieter. I walk to the stage, everyone is looking at me. I look to see my friend, my family, they don't look too happy. But they should know, they should know this is all for them.
District Nine
Natalia Blight, 18
I play with the strap of my brown dress. It goes to around my knees. Hearing the sound of footsteps behind me I snap back into reality and continue down the street in my reaping outfit to get to the Town Center. My mother should already be there along with my best friend Nina and her mother. I wanted to spend today with them, I did. We talked and I even got my mother to laugh a little bit. But I couldn't face them on my way to the Town Center. So I told them to go on without me to the Town Center and I would meet them here.
It was a sunny day, the sun's ray beaming down onto the entire District like a warm blanket spread over us. It felt nice. It was wonderful to just lie in the grass and watch the clouds. I don't have school, it is a Sunday. I don't have to do anything but lay here and pretend for a few moments that I can stay here.
What is this shadow though? No matter how much the glistening sun can pull me from reality I feel something sad, I snap into reality. I hear the screams and poundings of fist to skin and another screech. The screech, that voice sounds so familiar. I can't put my finger on it but it makes me jump up and look around. My small body rushes to the sound. Why am I going to help this person? The voice sounds so familiar though and my body just carries me through the District and pushes through the crowd that has formed. Then I hear another scream and I can now put my finger on just who these screams belong too. Which person is being tormented and beaten to their death. I let out a scream, it doesn't even sound like me. That scream couldn't have been me. But it was too high pitched to belong to my brother and I can see everyone staring at me. How could that have been my scream? How could this be my tears rolling down my cheek? I don't cry often.
After that scream escaped people begin to form a path for me. I walk forward slowly managing to get past the last person that stands in my way from me knowing who those screams belong too, maybe it is just someone who sounds like my brother. But it isn't. It looks like my brother but he is bloody and his face swollen and bruised in some parts. How could this half dead man be my brother?
Somehow another scream manages to escape through my lips, put it sounds foreign. I see the beaten thing look up at me once more before the white suited Peacekeepers swarm even tighter around the fallen figure. And with that a tear falls from my chin onto my arm and I fall to the ground trying to get a look but I can't. I get up onto my feet about to go save this person, but I fell two arms around me.
I look behind me, it is a boy. I don't know who but this boy is stopping me from saving my brother. If that is my brother. "Let go of me I need to save him!" I scream to the blonde boy.
He looks like he is the type that always has that joking smile but right now he isn't smiling. I think he is my age. "If you go to help them they will just kill you too." Kill? Is that person dead? I break free of the boy's arms and rush in the opposite direction. To my mother.
That was the day my brother died; he was beaten to death by Peacekeepers. I don't know how but somewhere along the way I grew anger. Every time I see someone getting beat up I can't help but help, they have no chance of winning. Like my brother was. I am not sure though as I fight them wither I fight the bullies because they are hurting the weak or because I somehow believe that now that I can help people I have to. It is my debt to my brother, because I couldn't help him that day. Though even if that boy hadn't held me back I still couldn't have saved my brother.
That is why today is the day I volunteer. I don't know if will make it out, I probably won't, but I am going to try. If I lose then I can be with my brother if I win I can bring the money to my mother. My mother will be much happier. Maybe she will finally be able to get over my brother's death.
I continue to walk and reach the Town Center and check in. I am glad when I see that I don't see my mother or Nina's mother. But I know Nina is not in this crowd. I can see her on the stage, she is a victor. And she taught me some of her tricks.
After checking in I push through the crowd to get to the section for eighteen year old girls. The escort, Agatha, walks and soon the list of Victors and that stupid video is played. Finally she makes her way to the reaping bowl. The girl's. I hold my breath as she picks out a name.
"Yuma Tongs!" She says. I see a red head panic from the fourteen year old section.
I push through the crowd and put on a strong and brave face. But right now I don't exactly feel so strong and brave. I feel crazy but I push myself to speak anyway. "I volunteer." I say quietly and part of me hopes they haven't heard me. Maybe I can say I was joking.
No this needs to happen.
The crowd stops to look at me and I walk and push my way through the crowd and up onto the stage. "Oh dear looks like we have a volunteer!"
I realize since I have volunteered they don't know my name. I walk to the microphone. "My name is Natalie Blight." I say and walk back into the chair and wait. I can feel Nina's eye bearing into my skull but I don't give her a glance.
"Oh so exciting!" Agatha says with a smile. Time for the boys. "John…" She pauses for the last name but in that time a boy speaks out.
"I volunteer!" A boy says and I look to him. He looks so familiar, but I can't place my finger on it. Blonde hair and brown eyes. "I volunteer." He says much quieter this time. He walks to the stage and he gives me a look before going to the microphone.
"Tiberius Ivory." He says causally and then I get up and we shake hands. After that I don't dare look into the crowd and we walk with Agatha into the car that will take us to the Justice Building. The nicest building in all of District Nine.
We get there quickly. And I am pushed with a gun to my back up the stairs to enter and then into a room where my goodbyes will be. First to come in is Nina and her mother. I guess I might have been sweet before my brother's death but after something changed. I don't like a lot of people in my District. But I like Nina, my mother, and Nina's mom. I get up and embrace the two in a hug.
"Why did you do it?" Nina asks.
"You know why," I say. "You know why."
"I figured that." She says. She shakes her head. "I swear you better not give up."
"Am I one to give up?"
She sighs, "Why did you have to volunteer?"
I feel a small fire inside of me. "I am probably going to die in that Arena!" I shout. Then I am almost to tears. "So please I want this last moment to be happy." She nods to this.
"I will be with you all along the way Natalie I will make sure you're a prepared." She says. She is the mentor, so I guess I will get to see her for a lot longer. Well a week.
"I know you will try." I say. Then after they are gone my mother comes in.
"I well win it for us." I say immediately.
She looks so distant like always. "Am I going to lose you too?" Wow so much for having so confidence in me. But I realize this is a question.
"I don't know mom we just have to see."
A/N- Yeah three chapters! One fourth done with the reapings. After the reapings just so you know each event will be one chapter unlike in my last one (Example it will be Train Rides, Chariot Rides, Training Day one, Training Day Two, Training Day Three, Interviews, and then Last Moments Before the Games) So then we can get the Games started so I can have the Game chapters longer. So the reapings are the time for your character to shine. I either will do District One or Two to get a Career one in next. P.S. Reviews are nice, I am not going to beg and I won't get angry if you don't post one every single chapter but every so often is nice especially if your character is in the chapter.
So now, What do you think of these two?
Lastly in the last chapter I said Anthony was walking with his mother in the night through District Eight, sorry about that I meant Ten. His mom was killed by a drunken Ten Victor not Eight. Sorry I fixed though.