Hey, guys! So, this is the second chapter. I will try to update faster, but studies and school gets in the way. Also, any characters you don't recognize and part of the plot belongs to me. Enjoy!


It was a warm summer morning. Most of District 12 would usually be up and about at this hour, with the coal miners from the Seam heading towards the mines while the merchants in town opened up their shops. Not today, though. Everyone was sleeping in, for it was the only day in which they could. Reaping day.

Katniss Everdeen woke up with a jump. Her dreams were always horrifying, and reaping day, it seemed, had made it more horrible. Prim was sleeping with her, curling into Katniss' warmth. Given that her last nightmare was Prim dying in the arena, the sight of her sister relaxed Katniss a little. But she couldn't return to sleep. She gently moved Prim's arm from over her body, got out of bed, swung on her hunting boots and jacket. She did not head for the woods, though. She crossed the Victor's Village to her mentor, Haymitch's house. The moment she went in, her nose wrinkled in disgust. The whole house smelled of raw spirits, vomit, burnt food and alcohol. Carefully walking past the shattered remains of a bottle, she found Haymitch passed out on his kitchen table. Katniss tried shaking him awake, but he won't budge, so she filled a basin with icy cold water and poured in on top of him. He woke with a start and started slashing wildly with a knife. Oh, right. Katniss had forgotten that the old drunk always slept with a knife. He calmed down after a few minutes and scowled at her.

"What are you doing here at this hour, sweetheart?" Haymitch asked her, barely awake.

"Trying to wake you up, sugar. Today is reaping day," she replied, angrily. Just the sight of him makes her lose her temper.

"So?"

"We have to be there, Haymitch. On the podium. We are the mentors. Or would you have preferred it if the Peacekeepers broke down your door and dragged you to the square?"

Haymitch flushed. "Alright, alright," he said, "You made your point. Gimme a second, will ya? I'll change into something better." With this, he went upstairs, staggering slightly.

Katniss went to the nearby window and neatly jumped out, before setting course towards her house. Her mother and sister were awake by now and sitting at the kitchen table when she entered.

"Good morning, Prim, Mother," she greeted.

Her mother nodded and Prim cheerfully said, "Morning, Katniss." Katniss smiled. Only the little duck can make her smile these days. Even Gale's attempts to cheer her up fail at times.

After breakfast, they went to bathe, starting with Prim. They didn't have such luxuries at their old home in the Seam. There, they only had cold water unless they boiled it. Winning the Games had at least meant that her family would never starve or struggle again. Obviously, being a popular and attractive victor was trouble. President Snow had been selling her to various rich Capitol men for money and jewels. She could never forget those nights, pinned to a soft bed as a man she didn't know took her. She scrubbed herself raw in the shower, as if that would make her feel cleaner.

She wore a shimmering red dress that her stylist, Cinna, had sent from the Capitol. Sighing, she stood up and went to see if Prim was ready. If there is something winning the Hunger Games doesn't count, it is your family's safety. Prim could still be reaped. Katniss just hoped that a ten-to-twelve-year-old wouldn't get picked. But this was the Quarter Quell, after all.

At exactly one, the Peacekeepers, headed by old Cray, came and took her and Haymitch to the square. There, on the stage, District 12's mayor and Katniss' best girl friend Madge's father, Mayor Undersee shook hands with them and directed them to their chairs. The mayor mouthed thank you to Katniss. She wondered why. Then she realized it was because Haymitch would not make a big fool of himself with her around. Effie Trinket, now sporting a pure gold wig, smiled at Katniss. She was Katniss' escort last year and will read out the names this year, as she had for as long as Katniss remembered. At two, the square was filled with people, all of Twelve's residents. Attending the reaping was mandatory unless you were at death's bed. The Peacekeepers would check to see if this was the case. Of course, Cray, their Head Peacekeeper, didn't enforce many rules, but this was one he did.

When people had finished filling in, Effie went to the mic and started speaking, "What a pleasure it is, to be here, in District 12! Coal, such a wonderful part of our life. But now, it is time to select one courageous man and woman to represent District Twelve in the 75th Hunger Games, Panem's Third Quarter Quell. As you all know, this year the reaping age was lowered to ten. So, happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favour. As usual, ladies first.

'She is in a good mood this year,' Katniss mused, 'probably because she finally got a victor in me last year.' She shook her head and focused on the reaping, seeing Prim in the thirteens' section, and Gale's little brothers, Rory and Vick, in the twelve and tens' sections respectively. Effie had by now crossed over to the girls' bowl and had drawn a name. Katniss closed her eyes and prayed desperately, it's not Prim, it's not Prim.

Effie now said, "This year, our girl tribute will be…" she opened the paper and read, "Madge Undersee!

The mayor gasped. Of course. Madge was his daughter, who couldn't have more than six entries, the minimum for any seventeen-year-old. To top that, Madge's maternal aunt, Maysilee Donner, had died in the Second Quarter Quell. The mockingjay pin Madge had given Katniss was Maysilee's. Madge, in a pretty white dress, had steadily come up and taken her place. Effie asks for volunteers, but of course no one does. Then she went to the boys' bowl, pulled out a paper and came back to the mic.

She said, "This year, our boy tribute will be…" she read the paper, "Vick Hawthorne!"

"No!" Katniss cried out, for Vick was her dear friend Gale's little ten-year-old brother. She saw Vick, trembling as he came up. When Effie asks for volunteers, she is so much in shock, she almost misses the clear voice ringing out, "I volunteer as tribute." Her jaw dropped open. The speaker was a stocky blond boy, from the seventeens' clump. His blue eyes were scared but determined. "Wonderful," Effie called out. "Come on up, dear." She hauled the boy on the stage. "What's your name?"

"Peeta Mellark," the boy replied.

"Wonderful," Effie repeated, "Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Peeta Mellark and Madge Undersee, this year's tributes!" Katniss was surprised, once again, when each person touched the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and held it up. It is the salute from their district. It is the same goodbye they gave her last year. She was thinking that she would have a hard time deciding whom to save, Madge, her friend, or Peeta, the boy with the bread. Then the Peacekeepers hauled the two tributes and led them away to the Justice Building, where they could say goodbye to their loved ones, probably for the last time.


That was the reaping scene. How was it? Good? Bad? Horrible? Please review.