This is my first fanfiction
Disclaimer: Must I have to add this? *pouts* Ok, ok. All characters belong to Suzanne Collins except my OCs.


Katniss woke up, suddenly, abruptly. She felt cold and damp. Then she realized that she was soaked in sweat. That was nothing new, she had these nightmares since that awful day six years ago… but they had increased a lot since she came out of the arena, alive. As she brooded to herself, her little sister, Prim, stirred in her sleep. Katniss hurriedly got out of bed, wrapped her father's old hunting jacket around herself, put on a cap and her hunting boots. She no longer lived in the Seam, barely scraping by. Katniss Everdeen was now the victor of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, living in the Victor's Village of District 12, with bucketfuls of money. On the kitchen table, she found a perfect little goat cheese, covered in mint leaves. She tucked it in her pocket and left for the woods around the district, her sanctuary from the horrors of the Games. She got her old bow and arrows from the hollow tree where they were stored and went to meet Gale, her best friend. It was eerie, how much they looked alike. Same black hair, gray eyes, olive skin. Now almost nineteen, Gale had left to work the coal mines, the same mines that took Katniss' and Gale's fathers six years ago. They could meet in the woods and hunt only on Sundays.

"Hey, Catnip," he greeted her.

"Hi, Gale. Caught anything yet?" Katniss replied in way of greeting.

"A loaf of bread, from the bakery. The baker's youngest boy gave it." Gale said.

Katniss closed her eyes as an old memory resurfaces, a blond boy giving a starving fatherless girl two loaves of bread, risking a beating from his witch of a mother. Then she realized someone was shaking her and calling her name. "Katniss? Catnip? Hey, girl on fire?
It was Gale. "Sorry. Just a flashback, from, you know, the Games."

"Oh," Gale whispered. His stubbly face was calm, but his gray eyes were sad and sympathetic, as if he knew that the fiery sixteen-year-old girl who volunteered to save her twelve-year-old little sister, was dead. Killed in the arena, by the Capitol, replaced by a broken version of herself.

"Can we hunt now?" she asked irritated by the sympathy.

"Yes, of course."
It will be hard to find game, though. Most went down for hibernation at winter. Plants were buried under the snow and the lakes froze over. Fortunately, Gale's skill with traps and snares gives them a decent haul of three fat rabbits and two squirrels. Katniss had shot one of the rabbits. It was nearly dark by the time they were done.

"We better get home soon," said Gale, with a glance at the sky.

"Yeah. Mother said they will announce the twist in the Hunger Games today. Since you know, this is the Seventy-fifth Games, the Third Quarter Quell."

Gale nodded in understanding. "Let's hope you and Haymitch can mentor a kid to win this time. Since, you know, we got a Quell title to defend."

He was right. Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss' mentor, had won the Second Quarter Quell, the Fiftieth Hunger Games. He was surly, bad-tempered and drunk most of the time, but he sobered up enough last year to help Katniss win. She was a mentor herself this year. They divided the spoils in silence. Then Gale broke the silence with a "See you tomorrow, girl on fire."

"And you." Katniss whispered, almost hauntingly.

Katniss went home. Since the Victory Tour, she had felt quite horrible. It was terrifying to look in the faces of the families whose kids she had killed. At her house in the Village, she kicked off her snow-covered boots and entered. She hung her father's jacket on a nearby hook. Then she went and joined her mother and sister in front of the TV. Caesar Flickerman, the interviewer for the Hunger Games, was prattling on about something. Then Caesar said, "Alright, don't tune out. As you all know, the Seventy-fifth Hunger Games of Panem are approaching. In honour of the Third Quarter Quell, there is a new way to celebrate it. Our beloved President Snow shall announce it himself!" A round of applause from the Capitol people. Then President Snow, a small man with paper-white hair, took up the stage.

He started, "There is a different way to celebrate each Quarter Quell. On the twenty-fifth Games, as a reminder that it was the district's choice to initiate violence, the districts had to elect their tributes."

That must have been worse than your name coming out of the reaping bowl, being turned into by your own neighbors. Almost certainly, two Seam kids from the community home went that year from District Twelve.

Snow was speaking again. "On the fiftieth anniversary, as a reminder that one rebel life cost two Capitol lives, twice the number of tributes were reaped from each district."

It must have been horrible, being forced to face an arena of forty-seven instead of twenty-three. But old Haymitch did and came home alive…

"I had a friend who went that year," said Katniss' mother quietly, "Maysilee Donner. Her parents ran the sweetshop."

Snow drew a yellowing envelope marked with a 75 began speaking once again, "In honour of the Third Quarter Quell, as a reminder that no one, not even children were safe during the rebellion, the reaping age will be lowered to ten. Thank you and may the odds be ever in your favour."

The anthem of Panem plays, then the seal of the Capitol appears and the screen goes black.

Katniss just stared at the screen. All those little kids' names will go into the reaping bowl this year. She just prayed someone older was reaped. It broke her heart when little Rue from Eleven, her ally, died. She didn't think she would survive if a ten-year-old she mentored was slaughtered brutally. Almost in a daze, she got up and went to bed. She slept fitfully, with her father visiting her dreams and singing 'The Hanging Tree' and little Rues blaming Katniss for letting them die. All night, she just wished that she had died in the arena with her fellow tributes.


Well, that's the first chapter. Please review. All constructive criticisms are welcome. The little button is just waiting for you to press it.