Breaking Point Sextet V

Love: The 75th Hunger Games

Chapter 3

District Five Reapings

A/N: From Ten to Five… will it be two next? Sorry for that bad joke. Anyway, thanks to chcolate for the wonderful Tribute pair featured in this chapter. Also, I do not own the Hunger Games, despite the fact that I've now written more words about it in this Sextet than were in the original trilogy (480,671, not including this story or Friendship, vs. 301,583… No, I don't have a problem, don't worry).

Daisy Brownstone –15- -D5- POV

I brush my curly brown hair back and then quickly tie it in a ponytail, grabbing a hairtie off of my right wrist, and pausing for a second as I see the big scar there. It's funny, you'd think a big scar like that would be from that night, the worst night of my life… but no, it's just from when I cut it on a fence when I was younger. Life's ironic like that sometimes.

Anyway, I smile at my brown eyes, cut through by my freckly nose, and then head out the door to the living room.

"Hey, sweetie," Mom says to me. "Ready to go?"

"Yep," I smile at her, trying to hide my nervousness. I mean, the odds are low that I'll be Reaped, but if it happens… well, it's ten times worse this year than any other. "Ready as I'll ever be."

"Don't worry, Dase," Mom gives me a comforting smile "I'm sure you'll be fine. After all, the odds are really low, and you only have a few years left, then you'll be an adult and done with all this!"

I nod. "You're right, Mom, thanks."

"Just the truth, sweetheart, I love you. Now let's get going," she says.

"Thanks anyway, and I love you too," I say as I follow her out the door.

Matilda "Mattie" Edlington –17- -D5- POV

I wrap my straight red hair back in a bun, and smile at my yellow-green eyes bordered by freckles. Today will be a good day. Not because of the Reaping, that sucks! But, because, after that, I'll get to hang out with both Daisy and Dylan.

No, I consider, brushing some lint off my shirt, the Reaping doesn't just suck, it's a monument to an unjust government, one that not only lets people get killed, but actively does the same, to enforce the same people staying in power because they like it. It makes me sick, but not much I can do about it. At least the Peacekeepers don't seem to care about my little acts of… Peacekeeping. Although, I think as I remember the thing that definitely didn't blow up a couple months ago, maybe they just have bigger problems on their hands these days, what with all this talk of Rebels and stuff. Personally, I think they can all go to hell. Peacekeepers, criminals, Rebels, the Capitol, all of it.

Anyway, best go to the Reaping, this unusually horrifying twist won't wait for me. I head out into the living room, where my two brothers are waiting.

"Hey, Riley, Luke," I smile. "How're you guys?"

"Good enough," Riley shrugs.

"I'm awesome!" Luke says. "I can't wait to hang out with my friends later!"

Ah, Luke, so innocent, you have to love him. "Yeah, I'm sure you guys will have lots of fun!" I say. And they probably well, as long as nothing goes terribly wrong. But the odds are in the favor of that not happening, right?

"Oh, hello, kids," Mom says, walking out from her bedroom. "I'm sorry, I'm the last one up, I didn't think I would be. Well, I suppose we should get moving then?"

All three of us nod, although Luke is much more enthusiastic than Riley or me. After all, he doesn't realize that we're essentially sheep walking themselves to the slaughter.

Daisy Brownstone –15- -D5- POV

Me and Mom get to the Reaping, and she gives me a kiss on the head before heading off to the back to watch, as I look around for my sister. Well, not technically my sister, but the closest I have to one, so close she is my sister, even if not by blood. The person I love the most… Mattie, the person who saved me from…

Oooh, is it dramatic flashback time?

I think it is…

Around Two Years Ago, A Lightly Patrolled Street in District Five

I was just walking home from school, like any other day. Things were good, no real complaints. Billy and Willow were doing well, so was I… life was good and simple. And then I heard a voice from behind me.

"Hey, girl! Stop!" A rough male voice was shouting gruffly at me. I thought a second, then decided I should run. After all, rough male voices telling girls to stop at night isn't exactly… ever a good thing. So I ran, but unfortunately for me I've never been the fastest runner, and a few seconds later, a rough hand grabbed my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. "Hey! I said stop!"

"I'm sorry," I responded meekly. "I, uh,"

I was cut off by the man, wearing a mask, and holding a gun. A gun pointed, unmistakably, at me. And his friend wasn't far off either, it seemed like he had a knife too. "I don't care. Give us your valuables, anything, everything you've got if it's worth somethin!"

"I, uh, I don't have anything," I stuttered out.

"Yeah, sure, girlie," he responded, before starting to pat me down. I felt rough hands all over me and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to pretend it wasn't happening. A few seconds… or a few hours… but probably just a few seconds later, it was done as he shoved me to the ground with a snort of disgust. "She's got nothin'."

"Well then, just shoot her and let's get outta here!" His partner responded.

"What would be the fun in that?" Guy One said. "I think this girl needs to realize she should wear some jewelry, maybe carry a tablet with her, for the next time we come along, don't you?"

"I 'spose," Guy Two said. "Just make it quick. Keepers are crawling all 'round these days."

"Oh, I will," Guy One said. Then I felt a sharp pain on my face and heard a crunch, and a second later opened my eyes to see his foot in front of it, inches away from my now broken-nose. Then another pain in my stomach – what I later found out was a broken rib. It continued this way for… I'm not sure how long, until I heard a third voice.

"Hey! You two, stop!" A new voice shouted out. A girl's voice, which was odd, clearly she wasn't a Peacekeeper, but why would any normal person interfere with something like this? When somebody has a gun? And a knife? And I'm just… me, I don't have a lot of friends, not somebody would've thought particularly worthy of saving.

"Oh, why should we, girlie?" Guy One taunted. My eyes had long before closed, but I dared open them again to see who my savior was, but I only saw shoes, the two pairs of my attackers, and the one, smaller pair of my savior.

"Because I said so," she said, "and you wouldn't want to mess with me."

"Oh really?" Guy One was full of the bravdo. "I've got a gun, I could shoot you right there."

"Oh, you do? I don't really like guns, too loud for my tastes," the girl responded. "I think I'll be taking that from you." She started to move, and I tilted my head up ever so slightly so I could see what was going on.

"Hey, sto – oof!" Guy One was knocked into the ground by the girl, moving… well, very quickly, and sweeping her leg to knock his out from under him. As he fell to the ground, she kicked his gun away from him, and it clattered away, effectively out of reach for anyone in the current fight, although I wondered if the Peacekeepers would find it later. Guy Two, though, was still up, and he got into a fighting stance, holding his knife at the ready.

"Oh, you have a knife," Miss Redheaded Mystery Savior said. "Y'know, I know how to use knives… but never much liked it, too kill-y for me, just like guns."

"You're just a girl," Oaf Two responded. "How do you know how to use a knife?" At this point, they were still circling each other, as Oaf One was still on the ground, clutching his legs, I think he broke something.

"Just a girl, yes, but so many possibilities… I could be a butcher's daughter, for example, or been training for the Hunger Games. Not that it's any of those, and I'll spare you the suspense – I think the next Games would come around before you guessed the answer – does the name Carl Edlington mean anything to you?" Miss Redheaded Mystery Savior was snarky, and I liked it.

"Wha -," Oaf Two's eyes grew into saucers, and through them, I thought I could see into the vacant empty space where his brain should've been. Heh, maybe I've been picking up too much of Mattie's humor. "You're his daughter? But I thought -"

"That I want nothing to do with that life? Yes. But, I also don't want to see girls get attacked in the streets. So, here's how this is going to work. I can either take that knife away from you and do something similar to what I did to your friend here, then take this girl, leave, and tell Daddy what you did, or you can run away now, and maybe I won't tell Dad what happened here."

Oaf Two considered. "If you tell Edlington, I'm dead anyway!" He charged Miss Redheaded Snarky Mystery Savior with his knife, and she ducked the first attempt at a stab, then uppercut her hand, which was as flat as a board, into his wrist. He screamed in pain and dropped the knife, and she then turned him around, using his own arm and from the sound of it, maybe breaking a bone or two in the process, and then putting him in a chokehold.

"Now, would you like to run?" She asked. He nodded. "Good," she let him drop to the ground, choking a bit, and he started to crawl away. "Hey! Don't forget about your friend." He didn't stop, as he got up and walked, then ran away. She snorts. "Idiot. I didn't even know his name."

With Oaf One still pretty out of commission, apparently he didn't have a high pain tolerance, she looked around for a few seconds, then found the gun, and walked over to it, ejecting the magazine and checking the chamber. "Empty. Figures, gun's easier to get than ammo." She considered Oaf One, then tossed the gun by him. "Have fun with that when the Peacekeepers come by." She walked over to me, and offered me a hand up.

I tentatively accepted the hand up. "...Thank you… who are you?"

"Oh, me?" She smiled. "Mattie Edlington, at your service. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, uh, just… maybe a few things broken," I say. "Nose… probably some ribs."

She nods. "Let's get you to my house then, I can patch you up, and out of here before the Peacekeepers show up. Here, lean on me."

I do so, and we start to chat as we head towards her house.

Back to the present…

"Daisy!" Mattie shouts from nearby, right before running into me with a hug!

"Mattie! How are you?" I ask.

"Good as I can be, considering today is murder day," she responds. "How 'bout you?"

"Same," I say. "Hey, the odds are only -"

"Don't tell me the odds," she says, "every time somebody does that in a book, they end up beating those odds, which in this case is not what we want to happen."

"Fair enough," I say with a chuckle. "Any plans for today?"

Matilda "Mattie" Edlington –17- -D5- POV

"Presuming everything goes well? Not much, I thought we could maybe do something fun, it is a day off school after all… and it might be good to do something fun before the next week or so," I respond.

Daisy, wonderful sister she is, nods. "Yeah, I agree. Maybe ice cream at the diner?"

"Sounds good," I smile. "I think I need a treat and a couple days off after last night."

"You did something last night?" Daisy asks, glancing around at the nearby Peacekeepers a bit nervously. "Are you hurt too bad?"

"No, I'll be fine," I wave my hand. "Just some bruises, nothing broken. Just hurts a little is all."

She nods. "Fair enough… well, yeah, we should definitely do something like ice cream, then. If you've got new bruises, did the Peacekeepers at least find a couple new criminals gift-wrapped for them last night?"

I smile. "Three, actually."

She chuckles and raises a hand for a high five. "Good job, sis."

"Thanks," I respond, and high-five her.

"District Five! Everybody to their places!" Jupiter, the District Five Escort, says from onstage.

"Ah, well, guess we have to split up," I say.

She nods. "Yeah, good luck, I'll see you after the Reaping, sis!"

"You too!" I respond, and then we head to our sections.

Daisy Brownstone –15- -D5- POV

Well, at least it'll all be over in a few minutes, the poor Tributes will have to go, but at least for the day, we can forget about them, and I can go have some ice cream with my sister and it'll be wonderful. Maybe I'll see some of my friends later too.

Anyway, once the consternation has died down, Jupiter starts the Reaping. "Okay, everybody, slight change, although you all already knew that! There will be only one Tribute Reaped, they will have to announce to us the name of the person they love the most." Well, that seems unnecessarily cruel. She reaches into the bowl and grabs the slip of paper and I start to get nervous. But I take a deep breath, and remind myself of the odds. "The Tribute from District Five is… Da-," well, that's not good – "isy" really not good "Brownstone!"

Huh, maybe Mattie was right, I think as I start walking to stage. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the odds. Well, I do need to hold it together for everyone, so I force a confident look on my face. I reach the stage and shake hands with Golden. She smiles at me.

"Hello, dear, what's your name?"

"Daisy Brownstone."

"Excellent! And who is the person you love most?" I notice something, a screen on the inside of the podium, it's displaying one name – Matilda Edlington. In case – what? I tried to lie? As a reminder? So she can say it if I don't? All of the above? I know I need to hold it together, for… oh my goodness, everyone's watching me. Not just everyone, I think as I see the entire crowd, everyone in the District, but everyone in Panem will see me… my goodness. I need to hold it together, I don't want to say it, but I need to.

I feel tears start to stain my face as I say, as strongly as I can manage, "Th-the person I love most is… Matilda Edlington."

Jupiter smiles. "Matilda Edlington, please come to the stage!"

Matilda "Mattie" Edlington –17- -D5- POV

Oh my goodness, Daisy's been Reaped. One of a few possible worst-case scenarios. And… she already told me that if she was Reaped, I would be too. I wait the inevitable few seconds that it seems to take in slow motion for her to reach the stage, preparing myself. I can't cry, I have to look strong, I have to get us sponsors, and I have to save my sister's life… no matter what it takes. I did it once before, I can do it again. I don't need to lose another family member.

"Matilda Edlington…"

"Matilda Edlington, please come to the stage!" First Daisy's voice, then Jupiter's. That's my queue. I stride out of my section and into the main aisle, trying to look confident, and stand next to Daisy.

"Is your name Matilda Edlington?"

"Yes."

"Outstanding! The Tributes from District Five are Daisy Brownstone and Matilda Edlington!"

Later, when Lucy Snow watched the Reaping, she couldn't help but be amused at how easy some of these Tributes had made things. When the Capitol tried to figure out who each person between the ages of 12-18 in each District loved the most, it wasn't exactly always easy, and in a lot of ways, Project Insight was more guesswork than fact, but sometimes, like with that Daisy girl, they made it too easy, confessing to their friends or loved ones that they were their most loved. And of course, having them write it down while believing the Capitol already knew, helped account for any wrong predictions from Insight. With that, it was virtually impossible that they would be wrong.

A/N: Well, is it just me, or do the Escorts become more background noise every story? Although I forgot to mention it last chapter, can we all just be happy that Golden finally doesn't have to work in District Ten anymore? I'm sure it'll make the people there much… okay, a small amount happier. Anyway, what did you all think of this chapter, and these Tributes? I hope you liked them, and we shall meet again soon in yet another District!

D1R: Open

D1L: Open

D2R: Reserved for BeeBoo15

D2L: Reserved for BeeBoo15

D3R: Open

D3L: Open

D4R: Reserved for Son of Arryn

D4L: Reserved for Son of Arryn

D5R: Daisy Brownstone, 15, by chcolate

D5L: Matilda 'Mattie' Edlington, 17, by chcolate

D6R: Reserved for TheWatcherofTheVoid

D6L: Reserved for TheWatchedofTheVoid

D7R: Open

D7L: Open

D8R: Open

D8L: Open

D9R: Open

D9L: Open

D10R: Gadge Paddet, 17, by Professor R.J Lupin1

D10L: Simon Hazel, 17 by Professor R.J Lupin1

D11R: Open

D11L: Open

D12R: Open

D12L: Open