Nixie Slate, District Two
Usually Nixie loved Reaping Day. The yearly video, the moment when the chosen volunteers were revealed, the parties and parades that happened afterwards. It was a beautiful, joyous time and was the first official day of Games season, her favorite time of year.
But this Reaping Day was different from all the rest. There were obvious changes, like instead of a presentation by their escort everyone was watching a live feed of Kallia Haversham, who stood by one of the most enormous bowls she had ever seen. Twelve smaller feeds bordered her, three on each side. In the top center was an overhead view of District Two's eighteen year old section. Nixie jumped a couple times and saw corresponding movement on the screen.
"Due to the nature of our mini quell twist, all of the reapings shall be made simultaneously. So welcome, Districts, to a momentous event in Panemian history."
Nixie should have been excited to hear that, but she was otherwise occupied with the less obvious differences of this Reaping. She was eighteen years old. This was supposed to be her year, her chance to shine. Except not only was there this ridiculous twist, but the council made the worst mistake of their life by not picking her.
Seventh. That was the number the Council had given her. The very last female slot. She threw an object at them when she heard, but for some reason they didn't change their mind. Too unpredictable, they told her. Well the Games were unpredictable. Nixie was made for the Hunger Games. She was made for killing. No one else at that ridiculous academy was better than she was.
No one else had actually killed before.
Kallia was on top of a stepladder now. The bowl shook on some sort of mechanical rig, then she drew out a slip of paper.
"From District Eleven, Adelaide Sinclaire." She said with a grin.
"I volunteer!"
After a short pause, center camera shifted to District One where a lithe blonde made his way up to the podium. Nixie ignored his speech. Why would it matter to her what the boy from One said? It wasn't like she was going in this year. And since she was eighteen, that meant she wasn't going in at all.
The reaping went on in a similar fashion. Kallia would read out a name, and a Career would volunteer. There was even a name reaped from District Two, which meant that Hades volunteered, joining Ally and Solomon on the stage.
"From District Seven, Solstice Banyon."
"I volunteer!"
The camera switched to District Seven, where a young girl with long black hair practically leapt on to the stage. Great, now even the outer districts were starting to volunteer for each other. It seemed like everyone who wanted to was able to go this year. Nixie started to tune out the reapings for a moment, focusing on the events that were happening in District Two.
She stared up at Allyson Thimblewhitte, who was beaming brightly at the crowd. It made her sick. Ally was nothing when she first started training. Nixie was the top candidate in their grade for three years running until the girl caught up. Except now, the council considered her a liability. Ranked her in seventh place. If she was allowed to tell anyone about it, she would have complained about it. At least no one would ever know how deep her humiliation ran.
Nixie had to repress a squeal of joy as a realization hit her: no one knew what place she came in. So the only people who would know if she defied the orders was the council themselves.
"From District Two, Malachite Ellington." Kallia declared, and Nixie took her chance.
"I volunteer! I, Nixie Slate, volunteer as tribute!"
Woodrow Stickman, District Seven
"A volunteer, in District Seven, can you believe it?" Woodrow's friend Shroom asked.
Woodrow nodded slightly. Normally he would speak, but there was a lot going on and he wanted to make sure he could hear if Kallia said his name or the name of any of his loved ones. He wasn't sure he could believe it. Outer District volunteers were always a pretty surprising event, and while he wasn't a big fan of the Games he had to admit he was looking forward to her story.
Carnation Banyon, she said her name was. The girl had volunteered for her sister. Woodrow could understand that motivation. He loved all of his sisters dearly, and would volunteer for any of them in a heartbeat. He looked over to the fifteen year old section where Barkette was nervously talking with a friend, then to the twelve year olds where Sappila was braiding her own hair. At least Rootalia was too old for reapings now. She would say she could take care of herself, and laugh at him for worrying about her. But he couldn't help it. He worried about people. It was part of his job and part of his personality.
"From District Three, Bixby Case." Kallia answered.
"Don't anyone dare volunteer for me." A voice bellowed out from the crowd of District Three as an emaciated boy pushed himself out of the fifteen year olds section, "I am not your ticket to glory. All of you careers disgust me. Selling your souls for a chance at being the Capitol's lapdo-"
District Three's camera cut out, and the center picture was replaced with Kallia's smiling face, who pretended like nothing happened.
"This reaping has been wild." Shroom said.
"It's a mini quell. It's supposed to be wild." Woodrow answered, "I hope that kid understands what he just signed up for."
Shroom laughed, "Did you get a look at his eyes?"
He had, and understood instantly what his friend meant. Woodrow had seen that look in the eyes of several of his fellow firefighters before they ran headfirst into a forest fire. The boy knew exactly what he was doing. He just also knew that it was worth it.
"From District Seven." Kallia Haversham continued on, "Twiggy Sherwood."
No.
From the section next to him, Woodrow's girlfriend Twiggy looked up at the monitor in complete shock. She was the daughter of two safety inspectors. Twiggy had never taken tesserae, or held an axe, or needed to know survival skills. If she went into the Hunger Games, she would die. She may even die in the bloodbath. Woodrow thought about her parents and her little brother, how heartbroken they would be.
"I volunteer."
He was already halfway to the stage by the time he said it. His body had a habit of moving on its own, charging into danger before his mind could catch up. This was almost like a forest fire. If he didn't act, people would die. Someone he loved would die.
He knew the risks, but like the boy from Three, he knew that it was worth it.
Consus Annona, District Nine
The reaping was always a particularly difficult event, but this year bothered Consus more than usual. It may have partially been because this was his last year where he was eligible. After today, his life could truly start. He already had most of it planned.
It was a simple life, one that others would probably find boring. But Consus didn't mind simple. Every year, the Capitol picked a few of the top workers who came from his community home and gave them subsidized housing. The list was published a month ago, and he moved into his house last Tuesday. He could live on his own, out of the community home, in peace and quiet for the rest of his life. That was all he wanted really.
"From District Nine," Kallia called out and Consus tensed slightly, "Nate Fowler."
The Hunger Games was a variable that Consus couldn't control. Everything in his life was organized. He kept what few belongings he had in boxes perfectly fit to stack together. He was always on time, sometimes a few minutes early. Order was how he managed to survive in a world where one wrong move would lead to starvation. Except the Hunger Games was chaos. Not just chaos, it was a whirlwind that often targeted the vulnerable.
When he was fifteen, he learned that the home he was in took tesserae out for every child in their care. The boy who slept in the bunk across from him was reaped, crying to everyone that he didn't know how it was possible. That night the caretaker of the home told everyone living there just what their chances were. It was how they managed to feed everyone she explained. Food wasn't cheap, after all, and they had many mouths to feed.
"From District Nine, Gideon Farlane."
Consus never was sure what to think of the Capitol. It was their fault his name was in that bowl so many times. But it was also because of them he would go home to a house of his own afterwards if everything went well. He always came back to the conclusion that it wasn't worth worrying about. He kept his head down, he controlled what he could, and so far life had turned out for him.
Twenty two tributes were chosen before Kallia held a slip in her hand and proudly declared 'From District Nine, Consus Annona.' He had been two tributes away from safety. But that was the problem with chaos. It had a habit of striking at the most tragic time.
He didn't move at first. Not out of fear or shock, merely because he wanted to take his time. In the Hunger Games, there were only a few things he could control. One of them was how he looked on camera. He wanted to look deliberate, thoughtful. He would not go into the Games screaming.
A couple peacekeepers tried to usher him along, but stepped back after he glared at them. He was about a head taller than most of them, and well muscled from his work in the field. If he really wanted to, Consus could put up a fight. Instead he nodded to them slightly, and purposefully walked up to the stage.
"Almost done. That's tough." Gideon said as they shook hands.
"Was it easier to be nineteenth?" Consus asked.
"Not really. Well, maybe a little." the boy said, and laughed. Consus smiled slightly but didn't respond. He wanted to see who the last tribute was.
Kallia Haversham was halfway up the stepladder again when a man dressed in black rushed up to her and whispered in her ear. She came down, and for a half second the woman looked confused before plastering on her trademark smile.
"It seems that we no longer have to draw names. District Twelve has a forfeit. The final tribute for the 94th Hunger Games is Millie Oatbratton."
The camera switched to District Twelve, where a young girl already sat on the stage. She was pale, ghostlike, and looked very confused.
"What does that mean?" Gideon asked.
Consus realized the boy was expecting him to answer. He wasn't sure how, but apparently that handshake convinced him they were friends. "If someone doesn't show up to a reaping day, they are placed in a forfeit pool and drawn the next year." Consus explained, "It used to happen more in the earlier games. But I only remember it because I did a project at school about the rule."
"Wow. This reaping has been chaotic hasn't it?" Gideon said.
That was exactly the word Consus was thinking of. It was chaotic, more than usual.
He didn't like it.
AN: We have a new chapter! Yay! Today we met Nixie by Ellalovesmusicals, Woodrow by Verynewtothis, and Consus by Goldie. With some appearances by other characters. One giant reaping was super difficult to write. But… it's definitely better than writing twelve of them. And some fun stuff happened! Some of the fun stuff you'll have to wait a bit to hear more about, sorry about that. I've got a lot of subplots to juggle. Anyway, thank you very much for reading this. I hope you enjoy!