Rhea Gault, 16

(submitted by Team Shadow (me))

The sun beats down on my face, warming my skin. The cool water engulfs my body. With my eyes shut, I imagine all the places I could be. I could be in District 4, or an island in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, I am in District 6 on easily the worst day of the year. The day of the reapings.

I submerge into the water one more time before resurfacing. Pulling myself out of the water, I shudder as the cool air hits my wet skin. Grabbing my clothes, I dress before I get hypothermia.

I take a deep breath. This could be the last time I ever see my lake. I quickly get that thought out of my head.

I remember the first day we went to this lake together, Heather and I. I was terrified, I kept telling her they were going to catch us and execute us live on television. She laughed at the idea.

Once we got there all my worries were forgotten, it was, and still is, the most beautiful sight I've ever seen. She taught me how to swim and we spent the day making up stories, normal kid stuff. While the kid stuff has died, the lake is still our second home, our getaway spot. It makes us feel safe.

I walk down the path that leads to my house. It's small, but it's home. Compared to many in 6, we do alright. My parents work hard to keep Kalla and I well fed and well dressed. They ensure we do not have to take out any tesserae.

I enter the house and head up to our shared bathroom and wash the salt out of my hair and my body. All cleaned up for those Capitol bastards.

Ever since the Quell announcement nobody has been the same. Anxiety controls the entire district. It was hard enough when you had to say goodbye to two neighbors a year. This year we not only have to watch tributes murder each other, we have to go to sleep worrying about the families. Hoping the Capitol is merciful in death. My name is in that bowl 5 times but its the safety of my family that causes a pain in my gut, causes that awful feeling of nausea I can never seem to subdue.

I walk into the room Kalla and I share and see her asleep in the bed. Her beautiful blonde hair covers her face, almost concealing her crippling addiction. I shake her gently.

"Kalla, we have to get ready for the reapings." No answer. I shake harder. "Sis, please get up." Nothing. Any other day I'd let her lay in her catatonic state. But not today. Not when avoiding the reapings is a guaranteed death sentence.

I get a bucket of water and drench her. She croaks and slowly comes to life. As she rises, I go to the dresser and get our reaping outfits. I pull out an old blue blouse and some black tights to match for me. For her, I grab a simple grey dress. As I slip on boots Kalla sits up. Her eyes are sad and sunken and her skin is pale compared to mine. She doesn't speak as she gets dressed, the morphling must still be wearing off.

"I'll see you at the reapings." I give her a hug, trying to contain my tears. Please, don't be me. Wiping my eyes, I walk out.

I see my parents in the kitchen all dressed up.

"You look beautiful Rhea" My mothers smile hides her fear. I smile back, "Thank you". My father gives me a hug and I hug back. "Good luck" my father says. I nod. "I'll meet you guys there?" Their turns to nod.

I head towards the square surrounded by hundreds of twelve to eighteen year old boys and girls. Out of the corner of my eye I spot Heather. I shout her name and when she spots me she jogs towards me.

"Hey! How are you?" She asks. Heather is probably the most genuine person in all of 6.

"I'm…okay. You know, considering." The nausea makes an appearance again. My eyes drift towards the stage.

Heather grabs my shoulders, "Hey, you'll be fine! I promise." "You know it's not me I worry about" I remind her. She nods.

"Still, there's no need to worry. We're going to be fine." She pulls me into a tight squeeze. She takes my hand and we sign in together. We shuffle near the center of the crowd just as the escort makes an appearance. I tune her out as she babbles on about the greatness of the Capitol and how excited she is about these particular Games. Anger fills my body. What is so great about the Capitol? What is so exciting about watching children murder each other?

"It's time to pick our female tribute!" I snap back into reality. My palms sweat and my heart beats faster every step she takes. Her fingers grab a single slip. I close my eyes.

"Rhea Gault!"


Mallory "Mal" Weston, 14

(submitted by Shibuya Luna)

"What do you mean, she said no?" I raise my eyebrow at Corrin.

"I mean, she said no. She totally turned me down." I can tell by his tone that he's not joking.

"Oh, don't worry about it too much" Iris chimes in, "she didn't deserve you anyway" She concludes with a wink and I cannot help myself but chuckle. She shoots me a death glare as Corrin looks confused.

Less than a week ago, I pulled Iris aside after school. Despite my small size, I could tell she was nervous.

"So, tell me, why has it suddenly become cool to hang out with your younger brothers friends?" I cross my arms and smirk as her face reds up.

"A girl needs some guy friends, get off my back." She replies, thinking that will suffice. Nothing suffices but the truth with me.

"Nuh uh, I want to know. It's Corrin, isn't it?" Her eyes widen and I know I've struck gold. "It is! You're too easy to read." She hits me and I laugh. Young love is so cute.

Corrin's clap in my face brings me back to present day. "What was that?" I say smoothly. He rolls his eyes.

"I just said, we should get going soon. The reapings start in an hour." He stands and holds his hand out to Iris, helping her up. Oh how naive he is.

The three of us walk back to the neighborhood. Iris is the first to depart, waving goodbye.

"Tell Bennett to feel better, it's boring without him." She doesn't bother to ask how I know about her brother's illness.

"Trouble in girl paradise?" I say to Corrin once we are far enough away.

"Yeah, it's not a big deal. I'll find someone one day." It almost hurts how oblivious some people can be to simple facts.

"I know you'll find someone someday." I tease him like a brother. He punches my arm before bailing to his own house.

I walk into my house and greet my dysfunctional family.

"Our marriage has been delayed again." I hear my oldest brother state. "She says she still thinks we're too young."

I cannot help myself, "Did she sleep with Edmund again?" I hear a gasp from Hector as Edmund lunges towards me in attack mode, I would be dead had Tristan not stepped in between us.

"Guys, not today, please. Mal, just, go get ready and try to keep your mouth shut." Like that'll happen.

I pass by my raging brother and lock the bedroom door, just incase. I take a quick look in the mirror. Way too short for my age, still waiting for that growth spurt to hit, head covered in honey-blond hair complimented with dark blue eyes. If shirtless, you could count a decent amount of my ribs.

With little options, I pull out the best fitting reaping clothes I own, grey slacks that are slightly too long and a white button up, also too long. Hand-me-downs are the only thing I own.

Before I leave, I take my metal toy car from the dresser and put it in my pocket. It should bring me luck at the reapings.

When I head back into the kitchen I see most of my family has dispersed, everyone but Tristan.

"Aw, was it something I said?" This irritates him.

"Dude, you need to learn when enough is enough. That wasn't cool." I laugh

"You got it boss." I head out the door before he can scold me again.

As I walk towards the square, I am stopped by a familiar voice.

"Mal, that wasn't cool." I turn and see Iris walking towards me.

"Aw man, I just got this same lecture from my brother." She rolls her eyes.

"Maybe you should listen to us, might do you some good." I laugh, but keep my mouth shut. We sign in together and separate into our own sections. I start chatting with the fourteen year old next to me who is clearly a nervous wreck. Poor thing.

Just as I start to learn more about his life, the mayor interrupts our conversation with his speech and video ceremony. Then, the escort mounts that stage and takes the spotlight.

"Welcome to the annual Hunger Games! Without further ado, lets meet this years tributes!" I pray for the safety of my friends as she picks a single name from the bowl.

"Rhea Gault!" A small girl makes her way onto the stage, fear in her eyes.

"Welcome, Rhea! Now, onto the boys!" I watch as she takes a single slip of paper out of the bowl.

"Mallory Weston!" Shock and confusion wash over me. Why me? I only had three slips in there, no tesserae, it shouldn't be me.

I must look as stunned as I feel as the escort questions me as I get on stage.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, you're sure it was my name on the slip?" I ask her. She laughs.

"I am sweetie, you can see here." She shows me the slip and there it is, my name in big letters.

She congratulates us and wishes us luck in the arena. Thanks, I think, we sure as hell need it.


Another reaping down! Let me know what you think of these two.

I need the D9 male, if someone submits him I would be so grateful!

So how I plan to write the capitol events will be something like this:

The train rides and the training days will consist of different people's POVs. Not everyone will get a train ride, but everyone will get a section or two between the four chapters.

The chariot rides, interviews, and gamemaker sessions/scores will be one long chapter featuring everyone, most likely in third person

Please let me know if you want your tribute to have a section in the train ride or one of the training days!