As I promised, here's the next chapter, District Six, for your viewing pleasure! I hope you're all reading this, so please answer the questions I ask! It really helps me out, you have no idea!

From this district, we have four wonderful young men and women. For our girls, we have Petra Overlock and Bexley Travers, created by a real life friend of mine. For our guys, we have Henry Green and Luka Hayes, who were submitted by Titanic X. Let me know what you think of this chapter, as well as the story as a whole! Let's go to District Six guys!

District Six: Chasing the Sun

They said this day wouldn't come

We refused to run

Chasing the Sun, The Wanted

Henry Green, aged 16

Henry had just arrived home from school for the day. He had a strange feeling of excitement that he couldn't quite explain. It was definitely unwarranted. Things were pretty difficult in the Green family, even though they had it better than lots of other people in the district. The district's main problem of the drug morphling had been expressly forbidden by Mr. Green, which left most of the family able to work. Almost everyone in the household worked from early morning to late in the afternoons in the District's mechanical assembly lines. Grandpa was the one who was at home in the evenings, who watched the brothers until their parents arrived home for dinner. Oswald was usually out with friends until late afternoon, so if was often just Henry and his grandfather. The two had plenty of fun together in the afternoons as Henry worked on homework and studied for upcoming tests.

That afternoon was no different, and yet Henry could feel something different. Walking inside, he saw that his grandfather was at the table beginning to prepare dinner.

"Hey, Grandpa!" the twelve year old called, slinging his knapsack into a chair and pulling a book out of it.

"How was school, Henry?" Grandpa was always asking about this, and the answer was usually the same. Today, Henry had learned something that really interested him, though.

"We learned about tank engines today!" he said excitedly. He flipped his book open to a page in the book, where a picture of the old engine sat. It wasn't made for beauty, that was certain. If anything, it was exceptionally ugly. Its powerful guns protruded from the top of it, and it's deep-treaded tires stood tall. It may not have been pretty, but it emanated power. Henry knew that it could mow enemies down in an instant with a few shots from the guns. It was frightening and mesmerizing at the same time.

Grandpa had an odd look on his face as he saw the picture. It was anguished, and yet also seemingly reminiscent. Henry didn't know whether it was a good or bad thing. It was an old look, one that Henry had never seen from his grandfather.

"Grandpa, are you okay?"

"I… I'm fine, Henry," Grandpa wasn't quite convincing, but Henry let the matter drop, sitting in the chair and settling down to read in the book. He barely noticed his grandfather leaving the room to go outside. It was a few minutes later when he returned. "Henry, come here. I want to show you something."

Henry stood from the chair, intrigued. Something in his grandfathers tone told him it was something that he would not show to Oswald. Following his grandfather, they went outside to the old shed. Henry hadn't been in there before, and his father had told him that someday he might find out what was there. It seemed today was that day.

They entered the shed, and Henry was hit with the musty smell of old metal and dried oil on concrete. In the middle of the shed was something that Henry could barely believe. It was on of the tanks from his book. Specifically, it was a M1A2 Abrams. They were no longer manufactured in Panem, which made the sight even more interesting. It was part of history, something from before Panem became a thing.

"This is a very old tank," Grandpa had said. "It's very important that you keep this quiet. Do you understand?"

Henry nodded. While it was not illegal for this tank to be here, it would be dangerous for someone who didn't understand its importance to find out. It would put the family under suspicion. "I promise."

Henry had not broken that promise the last four years. No one aside from he and his grandpa, and possibly his parents, knew of the Abrams tanks existence out in their shed.

The year afterward, Henry had decided to get a tattoo of the tank on his shoulder. His parents hadn't been exactly thrilled at the idea, but they understood why he had done it. It was a memorial to history, as well as a memorial to his grandfather's secret. It was now also a token of Jacob Green's memory. He had died the previous year.

Henry was preparing for the day. It was Reaping day, his fourth one so far. He had four entries for his age, as well as fifteen extra as tesserae entries. He had not exactly wanted to have them, but his family needed the grain that these extra entries afforded.

Besides, this year it did not matter how many entries he had. He was going to volunteer this year, and he would win.

It had been around the same time he had gotten the tattoo that grandpa had begun teaching him how to shoot. Almost every afternoon, he would finish his school work and then they would go outside and practice with his grandpa's old gun. He had gotten pretty good, so much so that Henry thought it would be a simple thing to get rid of the careers, wait everyone else out, and then return home the victor. He wanted to complete what his grandpa had shown him- he wanted to repair the Abrams.

He could win this, because he had been trained. If that wasn't enough, he didn't know what would be.

Bexley Travers, aged 10

Bexley and Bonnie were in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for themselves. It was something they liked to do together, but usually Bexley just did it, because Bonnie couldn't have cooked anything if her life depended on it.

"Got the margarine, Bon?" Bexley asked her sister. Bonnie handed her the block of butter, and Bexley smeared some over the flatcakes she had made. Of course they never had syrup, but the flatcakes were a treat that the fairly didn't often indulge in. Most of the district would never be able to have such delicacies even occasionally, but the Travers family were able to because they were hard-working and had managed to stay clear of the high drug rate of the rest of the district. Their parents went to work early and didn't get home until very late. They would be meeting them at the reaping as they had to work for a while in the morning before the event.

"Breakfast Harlow!" they called in unison, then laughed at their synchronicity. Soon enough, their older sister came into the kitchen with a smile as she began to serve plates.

Today was a quiet breakfast, which was unlike them. Of course, there was a very good reason for their lack of words, and eventually Harlow brought up the elephant in the room.

"I really don't think you'll be reaped, you guys," she said calmly, evenly looking Bexley in the eyes. "There are thousands of other girls who could be reaped besides you."

The logical argument had probably been given to all the other newly eligible tributes due to the age requirements. Bexley knew that this was true, of course, but also knew that it would have to be someone who stood on the stage and face the arena. No one said this, though. They all hoped to hold on to the possibility for as long as possible.

"I know," Bexley said, giving herself a burst of courage with the words. "Lots of other people."

The rest of breakfast passed quietly, and Harlow went to her room to get ready. Bexley and Bonnie were behind her soon enough, going to their own room. They had gotten their clothes prepared yesterday, and Bexley put on the pale gray dress her mother had picked out. The dress had been worn by Harlow at her first reaping, and was still in decent shape.

"Bex?" Bonnie timidly spoke, and the nerves from her usually unflappable sister made Bexley turn to face her. "What if it's me or you, or Harlow? I'm scared for us!"

They were the words that had been tugging at the back of her own mind, and Bexley couldn't come up with a good reply. "I don't really know if it's going to be us sis, but I do know that we have a small chance of actually getting chosen. That's what we need to think about. Besides, I'll volunteer for you if you get chosen."

Bonnie took a deep breath before she said, "And I will for you. Sister swear."

Bexley nodded. "Sister swear. Now let's head to the reaping, okay?

With a confident nod, Bonnie nodded. The sisters reunited with Harlow at the front door, and they headed to the reaping, where they would face their fates.

Luka Hayes, aged 7

Luka was excited as he stood in the check in line with his father. He jumped with hyperactivity, so much so that Mr. Hayes had to grab his son's shoulders firmly to still him. Luka just couldn't help it. It felt like a celebration, even though he knew that it was far from it.

"Luka, you must calm down," he told his son. "You will draw attention and that isn't a good thing, do you understand?"

Luka heard his father's words, but didn't take them in completely. Of course he knew that the Peacekeepers weren't people you wanted to mess with, but their outfits seemed interesting to him. Many times he stopped himself from asking one of them if he could try on their helmet. He knew that life in District Six was overtaken with drug abuse and squalor. His own mother was among those who had succumbed to the epidemic, and had died two years ago. His father did his best raising him, and Luka knew he couldn't have been easy to handle, but he just couldn't help being excited about everything.

"All right, Dad," Luka said, smiling up at him. "I'll try better, I promise."

Instead of replying, his father simply sighed and kept them moving through the line. Eventually, they made it through the queue and Luka was left alone. He had never felt like this before. It was a strange feeling, being surrounded by as many people as he was. He wanted to do something to get attention, but before he could, he was herded towards the front of the crowd, along with all the other kids his age.

He looked around, trying to see any of his friends in the crowd. He wanted to see how they felt about being herded together like cows in a field. He didn't like it one bit.

He wasn't even paying attention to the stage until he heard the click of high heels across it. He looked up to see a woman all dressed in plum purple. Even her eyes seemed to shine with a violet tint as she observed the crowd of people before her. This was District Six's escort, Ambrosia Ryker.

"Welcome to the reaping ot the Fifth Quarter Quell!" she exclaimed to the sullen crowd. "I am so excited to be here with you all, choosing the four lucky young people who will be allowed to experience the luxury of the Capitol! I know you all must be as excited as I am to find out who it will be, so let's get started. May the odds be ever in your favor!"

With that, Ambrosia went to the left side of the stage, the girls bowls. They would be first, as always.

"For our first young lady, would Petra Overlock please come onto the stage?" The name settled over the crowd, and Luka heard a young girl's gasp. The people moved away from a girl around twelve years old with short red hair. She didn't seem like a weakling to Luka. Rather, she snatched her hand away from the Peacekeepers who came to retrieve her.

"I'm not going to run away!" she snapped at them, walking of her own volition to stand beside Ambrosia. The escort stared at the young girl beside her in puzzlement before she went to the second bowl.

"Our final young lady is Bexley Travers!" The crowds backed away from two girls around ten years old who looked to be twins. They were arguing.

"No, I'm not letting you do this," one of them said, turning to one of the girls near her. "Get her home later, please? At least find Harlow?"

The girl she addressed nodded solemnly, pulling the second twin into an embrace as the first walked up to the stage, stifling a few wayward tears as she stood beside Petra.

Ambrosia breathed hard before she moved to the guys bowls. "Our first young man is Steven Nicolls!"

Before the boy, whoever he had been, was able to come forward, an older boy, maybe sixteen, stepped forward out of the crowd. "I volunteer!"

He walked up onto the stage, staring steadily at Ambrosia as he approached.

"We have a volunteer, how wonderful!" she called happily. "What is your name, dear?"

"I'm Henry Green," he answered. "I'm planning to win, just so you know."

Unable to come up with a reply, Ambrosia simply went over to the final bowl, pulling out the name of the boy who would go to the Capitol.

"Our final tribute from District Six is Luka Hayes!"

Petra Overlock, aged 12

Petra sat alone in the waiting room of the Justice Building, waiting for anyone who would come to see her. She knew that her parents and siblings would come, as well as her friends Aeni and Praria, who would surely drag Surtis along. She laughed at the thought of her best guy friend trying to avoid the girls pulling arms, thinking it was unmanly.

Shaking her head, she stood and looked out of the window. This was such an unfair situation. She couldn't believe that they had actually let that little boy, Luka, enter the Games. Petra got the feeling that he would be one of the first to be killed in the Games, unless that volunteer guy, Henry Green, took it especially to heart and protected him, and she didn't know him and couldn't say.

She turned quickly at a rap on the door, seeing it open to reveal her three older siblings. Verity, Rose, and Nathan stood together, each looking more grave than the last. "Hey Petra," Verity called, leading the others into the room.

"Oh, come on," Petra tried to joke. "You guys look as if you'll never see me again." Verity gave her a look, and she dropped the act. "Sorry. I know. Just didn't want our last moments together to be so serious."

"It's okay, Pet Rock," Rose said, smiling wanly. "Don't worry about it. Do what you can to make it…"

She didn't finish, and Petra didn't even need to hear it. Instead, she said, "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Pet Rock, Melrose?" She knew that her sister hated her full name, and felt she deserved to tease her about it one last time. She then stopped trying to joke, asking, "Hey, where are Mom, Dad, and the kids?" Petra called all her younger siblings 'kids', even though Hemeia was only a couple years younger.

"Mom and Dad didn't want to get them upset with the goodbyes, so they're taking them home. They sent us to say goodbye for everyone," Nathan answered.

Petra knew that it would be for the best that her parents had taken them home, especially Belize, who had taken to clinging to Petra as much as possible. It had been diffficult enough to get her to agree to stay with Mom while all the others were herded into their sections. She didn't want to start crying and appear red-faced when the cameras filmed them getting on the train later that afternoon. She had bad enough chances as it was, she thought that if she could appear strong in front of the cameras, some people would want to help her and give her sponsor money.

"I get it," Petra said, smiling without much warmth. As much as she did understand, she wished she'd had a chance to get to say goodbye to her parents at least. "I'm glad you guys are here, anyway."

"Mom gave us this for you to take into the arena," Verity said, pulling something out of her dress pocket and handing it to Petra.

Petra examined the silver thing in her palm. It was a butterfly shaped pin, decorated with lots of colorful little jewels that glinted in the thin light from the open window.

"She said that she always had it with her when she went through the reapings, and hopes it'll bring you some luck in the arena," Rose told her, pinning the butterfly to her dress collar.

Petra thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and she fingered it with interest. "It's beautiful. Make sure you tell her I love it, all right? And that I love her?"

"Of course we will, you nitwit," Nathan replied, ruffling her hair lovingly.

There was a rap on the door, and a Peacekeeper stuck their head in. "You guys are done. Come on."

The four siblings embraced tightly, and now Petra couldn't help a few hot tears that fell down her cheeks. "I love you guys," she murmured. "I'll try my best and get back here, don't worry."

"Of course you will," Verity said, smiling through her own tears. "We love you too."

The three of them left quickly before they were dragged out, and Petra was left alone. She had so many siblings, it was extremely rare that she had any time alone. Usually she cherished every five minutes she was able to have to herself. Now, however, she wished she could summon her siblings back to her, keep them with her.

She was alone, and she didn't think she liked it.

As promised, here's District Six! Bet you all thought I'd end up being another month after my UPDATE chapter, huh? You doubters!

Anywho, hope you guys like the chapter! We're halfway through the reapings! I can't believe it! After this, I'm changing things up a bit. Reaping chapters in any SYOT always bore me unless something unique happens, so here's what I'm planning to do: a reaping POV for each someone in each District, not one for every tribute. It'll save me time and help get through the reapings faster and on to the actual story. Unless you guys absolutely hate this idea, that'll be my next chapter. I hope to have it by sometime next week at the latest unless something absolutely crazy happens.

As usual, here are your questions for this chapter-

Which character do you like the most from this District? Who do you dislike?

Now that we're halfway through, are there any interesting alliances you could see happening? Any who will probably be a loner except for the kid?

What do you think about Henry volunteering? Quite unusual for a District Six guy. How do you think his family's military history will drive him throughout the Games, if at all?

Bexley seems quite mature for her age, but will that even matter in the long run?

Luka has his head up in the clouds, but do you think he can come down to earth long enough to survive the Games?

Petra has a lot to get back home for, but will her motivations help her overcome her age hurdle?

Love you all, and I hope you all have a great day! Please leave a review, and spread the word of this story if you can! I'd love more readers!