Sorry that it's been so long snce my last update guys :(. On the plus side i'll hope to get D9 Reapings done in the next hour/hour and a half and then i can post 9 and 10 :). ENJOY!


Alexander Bright POV

I have the same dream every night. Well, not a dream, a memory really. We were on a school excursion to the textile factory where my father worked. And I was so excited because it was also my 14th birthday. My dad Jackie –but everyone called him Jack- knew about the excursion, and said that rather than giving me my present at home, he'd wait until I saw him at work and give it to me then so that all my friends would be jealous. I was upset but agreed because I knew my dad had something special planned for me. I had been so excited all day at school and all the other kids kept asking me why, but I said it was a surprise and that I didn't even know what it was. When we arrived at the factory we were led along catwalk that runs along above the heads of the workers. I could see my dad and I called to him, waving. He waved up at me and stepped away from his machine for a moment so that he could let his supervisor know he was taking his break then. That's when he missed a tangle of cotton that had somehow made its way into his machine's weavings. Normally something like that is no big deal, its noticeable immediately and takes a few seconds to fix. By my dad wasn't watching his machine and so the tangle grew larger and larger and started to catch on the gears, causing them to tighten and whine. My dad, surprised by the odd sound went over to his machine to investigate. That's when the pressure release valve on the machine gave out and let out a small concentrated burst of gas. I was told later that the grinding of the gears caused a spark, which ignited the gas. Because the gas had no-where to go the pressure built and built until the machine exploded into a million and one pieces. And so it was that my 14th birthday present from my dad was to watch him die right before my eyes. At that point of the dream I always wake up in a cold sweat, shivering no matter how hot it is in my room.

It was a freak accident they said. No-one could have foreseen it happening. Unfortunately I didn't see it that way. In my mind, because I had distracted him, my dad had missed something and that killed him. I killed my father. No-one blamed me except for me. My older brothers Malcolm, Thomas and Gary sat me down and let me know the full story. Malcolm is the oldest and at the time was 27, and a designer of the textiles machines. He's the one who explained to me the chain of events that led to the accident, and I finally understood that it wasn't all my fault, that it really was just an accident. After 3 years you'd think the memory would have just faded away, but it's still fresh in my mind every time I close my eyes.

My mother Carleigh is pretty old now, and at 62 she wasn't ready to lose her husband. Now that she's 65 and alone she finds it very hard to work. Luckily I help my brothers with their odd jobs and make a little extra money to keep our family afloat. Little Olivia asks if she can work too, but we all tell her no, and that it's her job to go to school so she can become a genius and get us all invited to the Capitol so that our family can live without fear of the hunger games. Worrying about them wears us all out. My three brothers all made it through, I'm almost out, but Olivia has just turned 12, and so she qualifies this year. It really just never ends. For the past18 years there has always been at least 1 member of our family sat risk of being reaped. Even though the people who live in the Capitol are loud and idiotic. We'd live their if it meant we didn't have to worry anymore.

But today its Reaping day and there's every reason to feel worried. My mother long ago learned she couldn't handle the stress of the Reapings and so our brothers are the ones who escort Oliva and me to the square where the Reapings are held. Well, it's not really a square. It's a dead end formed by three factories two that run parallel and one that cuts across the two. The Reapings are held here every year, and it doesn't help my tumultuous emotions that the factory to our left is the one my father used to work in.

The five of us stand there and I feel awkward because even though I'm the second youngest, I'm the tallest of the 5 siblings. Even when I lay my long black hair flat on top of my head Gary is still a centimetre shorter than me. People say it makes me look intimidating but when they take a look at my smile and my sea green eyes, it usually makes people lighten up. Despite my size I'm still pretty good at making friends.

Our Escort walks up on stage and everyone chuckles. It's obvious that she's wearing clothes from the Capitol, but the fabric clearly came from our district rather than being made from the luxury silks most Capitol residents purchase from District 1. "Welcome everyone; it's good to see you all could make it."

I wanted to shout out that it's mandatory that we all come but as I open my mouth I notice a Peacekeeper looking at me and I swallow down my sarcastic comment. After some further commentary to do with the games and our district the escort finally reaches into the bowl to draw the name of our male tribute. She seems nervous as she opens the paper, her hands are shaking.

"Alexander Bright" she squeaks into the microphone.

I feel every member of my family tense around me. Olivia starts to cry and Thomas puts his hand on my shoulder. I know he wishes he was young enough to volunteer for me, but I wouldn't' want him to. "I promise I'll come back" I whisper as I leave their embrace. I mean that when I say it. I will win these games and I'll come back for my family. Even though Dying in the games would mean seeing my father again, I know that it will break all their hearts, especially my mothers.

Sorry dad. I guess we'll have to catch up another time. I have a Hunger Games to win.

Cailey Birch POV

"Code green on unit 242! Green on 242!" comes to call over the speaker. Oh no that's mum's machine! I sprint form the holding areas through the large warehouse-style factory. Twisting my body this way and that way to avoid hitting anything. It helps that I'm actually quite short for a 14 year old; it's what got me this job in the first place. A code green is when a large piece of fabric is caught in a machine. Normally a small tangle isn't a big deal, but a few years ago a small tangle grew into a larger knot which stuffed up one of the machines and caused a massive explosion that actually killed someone. Thankfully I never saw it but mum told me about it. So that's why the factory invented my job. There are a few of us kids that run around when a tangle gets caught and it's our jobs to crawls under the machine and fix it. It's a pretty tight squeeze and requires a lot of flexibility, which is why many of the other kids are between 10 and 12 years old. Because I'm small I was allowed to work, which is good because it means I can help my parents pay for stuff like food and clothes.

I reach my mum's work station and she doesn't look too fazed. "Hi sweetie, would you mind terribly just climbing in there and sorting the machine out for me." I smile and nod before slinking all the way down to the floor to get beneath the mechanism. It takes a little time to slither underneath but when I do I can see the mess before my eyes. I'm lucky; it's only a minor tangle. The thread is still being fed through the machine, but slower because it is getting caught on one of the gears. I wait for the gear to turn around so that I have easy access to the thread and delicately extract it from the mechanism. I can hear the satisfied purr of the machine as it returns to its regular functioning.

"Well done sweetie" my mum calls from above me. "I think you can probably head back home now so you can get ready for the Reapings. I'll be there to pick you up after but your father is working all the way through it, there's a big shipment and they need all the hands they can get"

My dad loads the trains with material that gets shipped all over Panem. It's a slightly higher payed job than working in the factories so dad tries to work as much as he can so we can all survive without me having to take the tesserae. When I turned 12 my parents made it very clear that they would do everything in their power to ensure I never had to take the tesserae, even if it meant we all had to eat less each night. My friends think that's why I'm so small and skinny, because I don't get enough nutrients in my meals. I don't mind all that much, I don't see the problem. If anything I'd like to take the tesserae so that my family doesn't starve, even if it meant increasing my chances of being Reaped. It's just a part of life. Half my friends have taken the tesserae at least once, but when I brought it up with my parents they screamed at me and told me to go to my room. I know they're just trying to protect me, but I don't see why we all have to suffer for it.

I get home with plenty of time before the Reapings, so after doing a little tidying up I decide to walk to my friend Jasiey's house. She lives really close to the Reaping area, and it means that I won't have to walk all the way over on my own. When I arrive I only have to knock once before her door swings open and I'm pulled savagely inside. I'm about to scream at Jasiey but she holds a finger up to her mouth miming me to keep quiet. That's when I see my other best friend Felicity peeking out of the eyehole.

Jasiey replies to my questioning gaze in a whisper. "We've seen Jacob King walking past my door 5 times in the past 20 minutes. He lives a 30 minute walk away, Felicity thinks something's up."

"He's coming again!" Felicity squeals from the front door. I creep forward and take a quick peek through the peephole and sure enough there's 15 year old Jacob King walking up to Jasiey's door. He looks like he's about to knock, then turns bright red and runs away.

"Oh my god Jasiey! I think Jacob has a crush on you!" I say

Jasiey crinkles her nose. "Eww gross, I'd sooner kiss a mole rat than that pimple faced freak."

The three of us leave the house laughing at how embarrassed Jacob must feel right now. We pass him on the way to the Reapings and we burst out into hysterics when he blushes and hides his face away from us. We round a corner and before us is the Reaping podium. We take our places with the other 14 year olds and continue to gossip about absolutely everything. The male tribute is called up and I recognise him from photos. He's the son of the man who died in the explosion at my mum's factory a few years back. He looks determined though.

The three of us tense up as we await the calling of the female tribute. Even though none of us have taken the tesserae we're always nervous when it comes to the Reapings, and this year with good reason it seems as the escort nervously calls out "Cailey Birch, the female tribute from District 8!"

So after all my family had to go through, starving themselves and working overtime; it still didn't achieve anything. In the end I was still Reaped. I know I have no chance of winning these games, and I feel terrible that my parents are going to have to watch me die. I just hope that when I die it's clean and pain free, but knowing the hunger games, it probably won't be.