Cortez Baker,18, District 10 male
I use my cleaver to slice into the center of a nice juicy piece of red meat and continue cleaving it into thick even slices. I show off a bit and throw my cleaver into the air before catching it and slicing the last piece in half before neatly wrapping it up and handing it to my customer.
"Here ya' go! Three pounds of fresh steak hand cut by yo's truly!" I grin holding out the package of meat.
"Thanks so much Cortez! My wife loves your cuts so we now made an agreement to stop by here every week to pick up some steak!" My loyal customer Benny informs me.
"Well! I'm quite flattered to hear that! Glad ya' two are enjoyin' the meat though, lotsa' effort go into makin' sure they're nice and fresh and all!" I wipe off my cleaver.
"Indeed, and the effort is surely paying off! How's the wife doing?" Benny asks.
"Oh, she's fine, lookin' mighty like she ready to burst any minute now!" I laugh and Benny laughs along with me.
"That's wonderful! You said it's a little girl huh?" He questions.
"Oh it's gonna be a lil' girl alright, makes me a lil' nervous to be honest, lotsa' bad men out here in this world ya' know?" I admit and Benny nods.
"I have four daughters, I know how terrifying it is, you'll keep your little girl safe Cortez and she'll be so happy to have a dad like you!" Benny pats my shoulder.
"Thanks Benny, now go on before ya' get a man all emotional and all!" i joke but at the same time with a hint of seriousness.
"Haha! Will do, you take care Cortez and see you soon!" He waves me goodbye as he heads towards the exit.
"Same to ya' buddy!" I wave back and he leaves so I use this opportunity to clean my wares before another customer shows up. Operating everything here is like second nature to me. My father passed away while my mother was pregnant with me so she worked hard to provide for me and my brother Kenny whose older by a year. I wanted to help her and couldn't bear to see her doing everything on her own, so the moment I turned 13, I got a job as a butcher and this is where I've been for the last five years. I'm happy for this job because this is also where I met the love of my life when she came in as a customer. Her name is Kayla and we hit it off immediately and now two years later we're engaged and expecting our first child.
The door swings open and a boy who looks about 10 walks in but he takes a glance at me and freezes up, I give him a friendly smile and he seems to calm down a bit.
"Howdy there! How's it goin'?" I greet the boy.
"W-whoa m-mom told me you'd be big but I didn't expect you to be this big! You're built like a bull!" he 'compliments' me.
"Haha well that's what happens when ya' eat ya' vegetables and work hard in a butcher shop for many years!" I joke with him and he gives a shy smile.
"What can I do for ya' though! Don't be shy, these animals are jus' a lil too dead to bite back!" I joke with him some more.
"Yeah! Haha well my mom usually comes here but she's not feeling well today so asked me to go out for her, she told me to get some pork chunks I think it's called." he explains.
"Ah, I think I know whatcha' talkin' about! Always get them three pounds of pork chunks huh?" I question and he quickly nods.
"Yeah! Yeah she always gets that! How did you know!" he asks seeming quite exasperated.
"I'll be a damn fool to forget a good customer! Now three pounds of them pork chunks comin' right up!" I pull out a large slab of pork shoulder and begin chopping it up into small chunks but I throw in an extra pound on the house.
"Alright! Three pounds of pork chunks, even threw in an extra pound on the house as a get well gift!'" I hand him the package of pork chunks.
"Wow thanks, this should cover the charges right?" he drops a few coins on the counter and it's exactly what his mom pays each time for her order.
"Yup, that'll be enough, wish ya' mom a speedy recovery for me would ya'?" I state.
"Yeah of course! She'll really appreciate hearing that from you! Say you're really big and strong but you're really nice as well! I'll definitely be coming back here!" He cheers.
"Good to hear! Now ya' get goin' and take care of ya' mom boy, ya' only get one of them after all!" I tell him and he nods.
"Yeah always! Take care Cortez!" He races out the shop before I can say anything to him and I chuckle for a bit before cleaning my wares and counter.
It's about time for me to close this place for the time being but the door opens again and it's Kayla who seems to be a bit winded, she's due in about another week and that's why I prefered if she just stayed home…
"Kayla, the heck ya' doin' out here?" I practically jump over the counter to help her sit down on a seat.
"Hey Corty, just wanted to get some exercise, exercise is good for pregnancy you know." She giggles.
"Well that's true I guess, try not to over exert yaself' though, ya' body already workin' harder than any ol' man in this district!" I open up a bottle of water and hand it to her.
"I feel good though Corty. Like really good, I can probably run a mile if I wanted to! It's hard to sit still." She protests.
"Yup our little girl gonna be just as energetic as her momma!" I chuckle as I rub her belly.
"I want her to be a singer, just like me!" She jokes.
"Perhaps ya' might wanna consider another career for her then.. I suggest but she laughs and playfully hits me on the arm.
"hahaha, shut up, it's not that bad! Anyways our little girl can be whatever she wants to be, and I know we'll support her in anything she decides." She looks down at her belly.
"Absolutely!" I agree with her and that's when I notice a bruise on her knuckles.
"Hey, ya' knuckles, what happened to em'?" I curiously ask.
"Oh it's nothing serious!" she chuckles trying to dismiss it.
"I wanna know though…" I continue and she sighs.
"On my way here I passed by a group of guys, they thought it'd be cool to make fun of a pregnant girl so I punched one of them in the face…" she explains.
"Geez Kayla, where they are now?" I question.
"They got the message after that first pregnancy hormone infused punch!" She grins and I can't help but grin back a little.
"Gotta be careful though Kayla, don't want ya' letting loose on everyone who don't got a nice thing to say." I explain.
"You're right, I'm already self conscious as it is though honestly, people are always so quick to judge because I'm, you know young and pregnant…I can usually ignore stuff like that but I got a little fighter in me." She clutches her belly again but she winces slightly.
"Kayla?" I worriedly ask.
"I'm fine, just felt her kick a little, she's just like me, doesn't know how to sit still!" she laughs and tries standing but I help her up.
"Anyways I'm going to get some fresh air." She informs me.
"Alright then, I'll be right out, just gonna put a few things away." I inform her as I start putting my wares away and she smiles and nods before heading outside. I make sure everything is neatly packed up and the meats are getting the proper amount of temperature they need to stay fresh and I'm about ready to flick the lights off.
"There you are! Thought you can get away from us!?" I hear an angry voice outside.
"You guys again? Go away before I punch another one of you out!" I hear Kayla.
"You think we care if you're pregnant! We don't mind causing a little accident to happen over here!" I hear another guy and I speed walk out the shop to see three guys around my age standing across from her but I quickly stand infront of Kayla.
"What's goin' on here?" I ask in a serious tone and all three of the guys looks a bit intimidated as they take several steps back.
"Woah…this guy is huge…" I hear one of them mumble.
"N-nothing! There's nothing going on, we were just about to leave actually!" another one nervously explains.
"Yeah? My ears may be failin' me but I could've sworn i heard one of y'all threatin' a pregnant woman? Does that make ya' feel tough?" I continue glaring them.
"No, look you heard that but we didn't mean it I swear!" the third one pleads.
"I would hope that y'all didn't, makin' 'accidents' happen is one thing, but 'accidents' happening to ya', I'm sure that's something y'all would like to avoid." I sternly tell tthem.
"We'll leave right now, you'll never hear from us again!" one of them pleads.
"Yeah I'm sure ya' gentlemen have something better to do with ya' precious time, I'd hope so atleast, now scram!" I shoo them away and they all gasp before running away and I turn around to face Kayla who looks really upset.
"I could've handled it Corty…it was fine." She protests.
"I don't doubt you could've knocked them down on their behinds where they belong, buncha' scroundrels if I may say, But we got someone we need to protect." I tell her and she sighs.
"If conflicts can be avoided, then let it be. No reason to put ourselves in any unnecessary drama that we can easily avoid." I explain to her.
"You're right Corty…I'm being so inconsiderate, and not looking at the bigger picture." She laments.
"It's alright Kayla, it's easy to lose yaself' in the heat of the moment, but just try to remember it's just not worth wastin' energy on some folks." I put my arm around her and she leans against my chest for a moment.
"You're right…I'm so ready to head back home though, my body is sore from that walking." She sighs again.
"Lets head back to the place then, I'll cook up some of that stew ya' love and give ya' a massage." I offer and she smiles.
"Oh, that sounds so amazing." She agrees and we lock hands before heading back to our place.
Thea Brodecka,16, District 10 female
"May I announce to you the victor of the 81st hunger games…Oswine Nanshope!" Augustus announces after Winter's ragged breathing finally ceases and Oswine is sprawled next to her barley breathing. Even with a trident pierced right through her, she still tried to hold on, shows just what a strong girl she was but strong people die all the time, just like weak people, in the end they're all the same…
My 'family' my mom, father and sister are sitting at the table eating lunch paying me no mind like they usually do but I prefer it that way as I sit away from them on my sofa flicking through the channels, but all they're playing are reruns of the previous games. This is my third time watching through the 81st games, not cause I find it entertaining but because there's literally nothing else to do.
I'll admit I didn't expect that kid to last long but he managed to make it all the way to the end and now? Bet he's cuddled up in his nice little mansion but not for too long since he now has the tough task of being a mentor in front of him. I'm intrigued if anyone can learn something from him, maybe he can be a symbol of overcoming the odds or something, the kid barley talks though so it'll be interesting seeing just what he's capable of.
"She's watching more reruns as usual, so damn annoying." I hear my mother mumble as they continue dining.
"Oh, I apologize." I sarcastically say while raising the volume a little higher but she only sucks her teeth and they go back to paying me no mind.
Me and my family has always been distant from each other and other than them commenting about me and me responding with a smart ass remark, They just pretend I don't exist while I do the same.
"So what do you two want to do tomorrow? How about we go out for a nice walk, just get out of this miserable house for a while?" My twin sister Ani asks my mother and father.
"I actually think that's a wonderful idea! We can even pick up pumpkin pie on the way back, I know that is your favorite!" I hear my mom respond to Ani and they continue their chatter while I just zone them out but I eventually head upstairs to my room and look through my wardrobe remembering my best friend Krahkia wanted me to come with her to buy a new dress and with nothing else to do, I might as well head over there now. After throwing on some jeans and a hoody I look myself in the mirror. I'm fairly tall for a 16 year old standing at around 5'11 with a fairly wiry and athletic build. My skin is pale and my eyes are only a few shades lighter than my dark brown hair which is usually keep in a long ponytail. I don't dress or look to impress though, I'm not going out of my way to look 'sexy' for anyone.
My family are still sitting at the table and we ignore each other as I leave the house afterwards, beginning to make my way to Krahkia's place. I pass by a newspaper stand however to see all the latest news and the headlines reads "Mutilated body found in dumpster." And the title is enough for me to start reading the article but the newspaper guy stands in front of it to prevent me from reading it further.
"Hey look at it, you buy it!" He demands and I roll my eyes.
"I was actually just about to buy it." I toss a coin at him and he catches it before allowing me to pick up the article.
I start reading more of the article and it appears this can be connected to a cold case years ago when several mutilated bodies were found in dumpsters across the district and I'll be honest, it's mysteries in general that interest me, just trying to get to the bottom of it…
"Interesting article here huh?" He questions.
"Yeah…" I nonchalantly answer as I stand in place continuing to read the article, If this is the same killer from years ago, looks like he's back to his usual ways after a relatively low key two years.
"Looks like the district had to be reminded that there still is a reason to be afraid more than once a year." He lets out a rather disturbing laugh and I look at him with one eye.
"You seem rather entertained by this." I glumly state.
"Haha, It's amazing how people are capable of hiding who they really are, every day people pass by you, just looking like regular people, living regular lives, but behind closed doors, they're someone else completely different." He states.
"While I do agree, it seems like you're speaking from experience." I continue looking at the article.
"You'll imagine this killer is holed up somewhere just trying to avoid any sign of suspicion, but it's the people hiding in plain site that you need to steer clear of." He does a wide grin.
"Hmm, noted." I nonchalantly say before rolling up the newspaper, stuffing it in my back pocket and moving along. Everyone here in this district has skeletons in their closet, we all have dirt on us. I like to dig a little however and see who people really are under their act. I found out my father was having an affair with a neighbor who's married and even fathered her child, I don't gossip though, I find out who people really are and I'll take it to my grave. Sometimes things look so perfect but that's rarley ever the case. The newspaper guy, pretty sure I can do some digging around and uncover who he really is, but it's almost like he wants to be exposed, takes a little bit of the fun out of it to be honest.
I reach Krahkia's place but the door swings open before I can even knock on it and she squeals before throwing her arms around me.
"Guessing you saw me from your window." I grunt.
"Well duh! Almost expected you to no show again, but yeah let's go! We might even find you an outfit to make you look sexy!" She flicks my ponytail.
"I'm not out here to impress anyone but knock yourself out." I offer and we begin walking to the clothing store and we see several teen boys with terrifed looks on their face running by us.
"What's their deal?" Krahkia asks.
"Don't know and don't really care." I mumble as we pass by a butchery shop where the butcher, some really big guy I don't really know, talking to a heavilly pregnant woman but I just disregard them and we press on but Krakhia suddenly takes the newspaper out of my back pocket.
"Let's see what's the news today." She takes a glance at the newspaper but frowns a little.
"A body found in the dumpster...oh no is he back?" She sounds a little panicked.
"Whoever it is they'll slip up, whether they intended for that or not." I state.
"It's almost like you have a hunch on who it could be…" she responds.
"Well like someone earlier told me, it's always the one's hiding in plain site." I repeat what the newspaper man told me.
"Enough of this cryptic bullshit Thea, if you think you know who it is, you need to bring it to the authorities, make sure this piece of shit is stopped before he strikes someone else!" she scolds me.
"And you're under the assumption that I know who it is, why?" I curiously ask and she sighs.
"Ugghh I don't know, let's just talk about something else!" She rips the newspaper in half and throws it away.
" Hey I wasn't done reading that!" I growl.
"Well I say you are, for now at least, we need a girl's day out, no interferences!" She proclaims and I only roll my eyes as we stop in front of the clothing store and enter it afterwards. The owner here is an elderly dwarf by the name of Lucas, He seems like a rather polite man but after doing some digging around, I found out he used to be a doctor who got two patients killed from misdiagnosing them and giving them the improper treatment, his license was thus terminated and he had to look for a new career.
"Why good afternoon ladies, how may I assist you today?" He hops off his stool behind the counter.
"We're here to look sexy!" Krahkia explains.
"She is." I correct her and she sighs.
"You're really no fun sometimes but anyways, just looking for some new colors! I'm on a budget too so preferably something affordable." She tells Lucas and he lets out a chuckle.
"Sure right this way! Even on a budget. You can still get quite creative!" he leads us to a section of cheaper clothes and after grabbing a few dresses Krahkia runs off into the dressing room to begin trying them on.
"So what about you youngster? You looking for anything?" Lucas asks.
"Not really, these things don't interest me." I nonchalantly say.
"A tomboy?" We have errgh non feminine clothes here too you may be interested in!" He offers.
"Thanks for the offer but I don't remember asking you make such senseless assumptions." I give him an irritated look.
"My apologies…" he waddles away and i cross my arms for a moment looking at the all the clothes here, wish I had a book or some paper to doodle on, the most boring thing ever is escorting a female while she's shopping…
Krakhia suddenly bursts out of the room with a pink dress on.
"Hey! How I look girl? This dress makes my butt look big?" she turns around showing her backside.
"Hmmph you can probably stuff ten pillows in there and there still won't be anything to see." I comment and her jaw drops.
"The level of disrespect!" she slaps my behind and I roll my eyes as I take a few steps away from here.
"Don't think cause you got a bigger butt than me that you're all that!" she giggles.
"The dress is fine Krahkia." I state and she lets out a squeal of delight.
"Amazing! Now let's find you a dress!" she suggests.
"Don't want one." I cross my arms.
"C'mon aren't you tired of wearing those same boring clothes every day?" She whines.
"Not at all, might even wear this to the square tomorrow." I yawn.
"Eww really? Not even going to wash it or anyything?" she curls her nose.
"Are we done here?" I question.
"Nope I'm putting your behind in a dress! Whether you like it or not!" she grabs a dress off the hangers and pulls into the dressing room. I put up a struggle at first but just give her what she wants and we're now in matching pink dresses.
"See look how pretty you are!" She comments as I look myself in the mirror.
"It doesn't look bad…" I admit.
"See now smile! Radiate that beauty!" She tells me and I do a half hearted smile but she suddenly tickles my waist and I can't help but laugh, she knows I'm extremely ticklish.
"Ok stop, stop!" I giggle trying to fend her off but she finally stops and turns me to the mirror, puts her hands on my waist and rest her head on my shoulders as we both look into the mirror smiling.
"You see? All it takes is a smile, and just like that, you're rocking shit!" She sings.
"Yeah, if you say so, cheater. Let's get out of this stuffy ass dress room now." I suggest.
"Hmm hmm, great idea now let's go out there and rock this whole district!" She agrees with me.
Oswine Nanshope,13, District 10 Victor
I clutch baby Xavier in my arms as he sits on my lap, both of us perched out in our backyard looking up at the sky. Xavier flails his arms in the air as he blabbers his baby language and I giggle.
"Yeah, I agree. The sky is beautiful Xavier!" I pretend to understand what's he's actually saying.
"Gaaa gaa gaa!" He coos as he throws his pacifier on the ground and I laugh some more.
"Yeah that pacifier isn't very good huh? I'll have to tell mom to get you a better one." And he starts clapping his tiny little hands together almost like he agrees with me. I continue looking up at the sky though, I can't believe it's already been a year…
The first few months were harsh. All I had were nightmares, Of Xavi dying, Victoria dying, Barbel killing me…me killing Winter but as time went on the dreams became more peaceful…
Sometimes I'd dream that I'm in a bright lively park with Xavi as we walk alongside each other. Sometimes I'm with Victoria as we're eating together in a restaurant or every now and then I'll dream of me and Winter having friendly snowball fights or swimming together…
The dreams are mostly pleasant now but Barbel…he still decides to show up every now and again, and whenever he does…it's always a nightmare. The last one I had was him standing over my murdered family after I arrived home from fishing. I woke up screaming and even scared poor baby Xavier awake but my Mother came to my aid while my father handled Xavier and held me tightly, telling me everything would be ok.
"Hey, what are you boys up to?" I hear my mother as she walks beside me and Xavier.
"Mom…" I greet her, even after a year, it's still kind of hard to believe she's changed so much, it feels like she can just revert back to who she was but I just hope that part of her is gone.
"It's so nice this morning, and Xavier seems to be enjoying himself." She kisses me on the forehead before picking up Xavier.
"It is…wish I can just stay in today, probably go fishing." I lament.
"You'll be back before you know it, and when Xavier gets a little older, he can start coming to the shore with you." She cheers me up.
"Yeah, I bet he'd love it!" I agree with her and she chuckles a bit and kisses little Xavier on his cheek.
"Breakfast is just about done, you ready to come in?" she asks.
"Yeah, I'll be right there. I jump up to my feet and look up at the sky again for a moment. This mentoring stuff is obviously new to me, but Charlotte told me she'd show me the ropes and will even come by my place to get me. She's been a huge support and she can obviously relate to me since she had to go through a similar experience.
I follow my mom inside the house and I see my dad sorting the breakfast across the table.
"Hey dad." I greet him.
"Kiddo! How's it going?" he walks over to me and hugs me.
"I'm feeling fine…nervous but ok." I admit.
"I understand Kiddo, I wish you didn't have to go but Charlotte will be with you, she'll teach you everything she knows and some, just do your best." He tries to cheer me up.
"Yeah I'll try." I assure him and my mom begins feeding Xavier and I head upstairs to wash up and switch into a black suit. I've gotten a little taller since last year. I even started growing a little mustache recently but I used one of my dad's razors to shave it off. Once I'm dressed, I head downstairs and sit in between my parents.
"So…what do you guys have planned?" I ask trying to make conversation.
"Oh just tidying the house up and having a nice meal waiting for you when you return." My mom smiles.
"Sounds great!" i nod in agreement.
"Yeah kiddo, it'll be your favorite, and lots of it too!" My dad chimes in and we quietly eat our breakfast after while my mom begins to burp Xavier.
There's knocking on the door afterwards and I figure it must be Charlotte. She said it was always important for the mentors to get there early and this year it'll be me and her mentoring the tributes this year.
"I got it." I tell them as I jump off my chair and walk over to the door before opening it and it's Charlotte. She looks…beautiful, her hair is in long braids and she's wearing glasses with a white dress that has black dots on it with brown knee high boots.
"Hey Oswine! Good morning Mr. and Mrs.Nanshope and you too little Xavier!" She waves at my parents and they greet her back.
"Hi Charlotte! How are you? Would you like to join us for breakfast?" my dad offers.
"Oh I'd love to Mr.Nanshope but we're already running late!" She sighs.
"Awww it's ok sweety, you can just join us for dinner when you and Oswine returns!" My mom cheers her up.
"That sounds wonderful! I'll absolutely be there!" Charlotte agrees with her.
"Ok mom and dad, I'll see you in front of the train!" I I hug and kiss them along with Xavier.
"Yeah Kiddo we'll see you there in a bit!" My dad hugs me back.
"Be safe Oswine and we'll see you soon, I love you!" she kisses me on the cheek back.
"I love all of you too!" I give them another wave and me and Charlotte head out.
"So you been sleeping well?" she asks.
"Kind of…not as much nightmares as before." I answer.
"That's good…" she nods.
"What about you?" I question.
"I can never sleep the night before the reapings but I'm ok." She fixes her glasses.
"Maybe you can take a nap later when we're on the train." I suggest.
"Yeah, we'll see how things go." She responds and when we reach the square, the three other victors are already there along with the ever so jolly Candy who is now dressed as a pickle and dancing around the stage, there's already some people here but I know the rest of the district is just going to pile in here.
"Hello Oswine!" Bretson, my mentor from last year greets me.
"Hey Bretson, good morning." I answer.
"You two have a tough task ahead of you this year, I won't be around this time but don't worry, you're in good hands with Charlotte." He assures.
"Yeah, thank you Bretson." I thank him and he nods before continuing his conversation with another female victor, Jasmyn.
As expected the square is now being flooded with people and I probably already saw the two tributes that I'll be mentoring this year…
People continue pouring into the square and that's when Candy decides to start the intros, she starts introducing all of the victors one by one and now it's my go…
"And finally our latest Victor and only the 2nd 12 year old to win the games is the ever so adorable Oswine Nanshope!" She pinches my cheek a little too hard and I wince in pain but I hang my head down slightly, I still do hate the spotlight being on me…
The intro video is then played and I look over at Charlotte to see how she's doing but she's snoozing away, she must've been so tired…
"Now lets see if district 10 can continue the streak this year! We'll start with the females!" Candy sings and dances her way over to the female's bowl before pulling out a name
"Thea Brodecka, come on down girl!" Candy sings and there's an odd silence as seemingly no one moves for a bit but a peacekeeper suddenly marches over to the 16 year old female section and pulls out a fairly tall pale skinned girl who appears to be 'frozen'. She seems to regain her senses as she's near the stage and pulls her arm away from the peacekeeper before helping herself on the stage. She seems pretty shocked obviously but I can also see a fire in her eyes, it might be tough talking to her but we'll see what happens. She's wearing a loose blue jacket and black jeans, as well as a blouse as the layer underneath the jacket and she takes a deep breath before putting her hands in her pockets.
"No volunteers? Well time for the boys!" Candy dances to the male's bowl.
"Cortez Baker! Come on down boy!" Candy announces but I hear another female shriek out, it's probably one of his friends or family members…
What I see next is a towering giant guy emerging from the 18 year old male section and I'm in awe at his size, he's probably even bigger than Xavi!
He easily stands over 6 feet and has dark brown skin with brown eyes. He's wearing a bright blue polo button up shirt with dark jeans to match, a cowboy hat and he has a stone cold look on his face, he seems pretty scary honestly…
He makes his way up to the stage and I can feel the stage vibrate with each step he takes and he stands still. His cowboy hat looming a dark shade over his face.
"Wow a really big and strong guy! No need to ask for volunteers! Please welcome our two tributes representing district 10 this year! Shake hands you two!" Candy sings.
Cortez immediately extends his giant hand but Thea only walks off and heads towards the justice buidling. I guess it's safe to say these two won't be allying, me and Charlotte has our work cut out for us for sure…
HERE WE HAVE IT! FINALLY DONE WITH THE REAPINGS! No seriously guys I'm just so relieved to finally be done and now we can get this show on the road! We really do have quite the roster of tributes this year and i already have subplots and alliances planned out for them that i can't wait to get into. Anyways the goodbye will be next. Just like before they'll be split up into 3 parts showing 4 districts each. Thank you so much everyone for sticking with me while i slogged through these reapings and I'll see you guys really soon, till next time!