Hey everyone! This story is based on one of my older works on . A Victor's Alliance. It's not going to be the exact same as that but it's roughly based on it. This story was brought to you by the following items on the following forum:
Monthly Challenges For All:
Link Maker: first link in the chain, 1480 words
Firework Factory: Easy (Testing New Waters) 1,480 words
I hope you all enjoy A Game of Attrition.
"The Victor of the 74th annual Hunger Games is Katniss Everdeen from District 12," rang through Katniss's head as she sat up on the stage with Haymitch awaiting the beginning of this year's reapings. This was her first reaping where she wasn't praying not to be picked to go into the games.
Looking out over the crowd of young girls in the enclosure for the thirteen-year-olds, she spotted her younger sister Primrose. She'd made a deal with the Capitol that if she agreed to willingly mentor the tributes of District 12, her sister wouldn't be reaped in the games. No matter how many times her name was put into the reaping bowl.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Effie Trinket said, looking out at the crowd that was gathered around those waiting to be reaped, "welcome to the reaping for the 75th annual Hunger Games. Shall we start the reaping with the ladies?"
Katniss fought the memories of last year's reaping. Of hearing her little sister Primrose's name being called and volunteering to take her. She knew that somewhere out in this crowd another sister or brother was going to hear their sibling's name called. More than likely following in Katniss's own footsteps and volunteering to enter the games.
She feels a stiff elbow in her side as something cold and hard is slid into her hand. "A little liquid courage, kid," Haymitch said, not looking at her but staring straight ahead as they'd been instructed to do.
"Thanks," she muttered, wiping the lip of the flask with her hand. She'd never thought before that she would ever want to drink but after the hell that she had been through in the Games. Plus knowing she was going to be putting someone else through that hell too. She couldn't help but want to at least try.
Taking a sip, she could feel the whiskey burn all the way down to her stomach. She tried to keep her face neutral as she sat there watching Effie move her hand around in the bowl of victims….no. Possible tributes. Not victims. She couldn't look at it like that anymore. She had to look at things from the viewpoint of a mentor now.
"The female tribute for District 12 is," Effie said, pulling her well-manicured hand out of the reaping bowl with a thin slip of paper that would send some girl off to her death, "Lucillia Winter."
The crowd of girls standing near where Primrose was started to part and Katniss got a glimpse of her first mentee. The girl was slim and looked like she hadn't had a proper meal for weeks. Her lank dull brown hair hung plainly around an angled face. Her dull grey eyes were shadowed by dark circles indicating a lack of sleep. Katniss wonders if this is how Effie and the rest of the Capitol saw her upon her reaping.
She watched on as the girl was taken from her spot, standing next to Primrose, and marched unceremoniously up to the stage. Once she was closer Katniss could see that the girl was crying and looking around beseechingly for someone to help her. But no one seemed to want to move.
"Now for the young men," Effie said, walking over to the reaping bowl after shaking hands with Lucillia.
The boys' reaping had seemed to take place faster than this last year. It seemed like only a second of fishing around before Peeta's name was called. But this year both of the reapings felt like they took forever. Which wasn't so surprising when Effie took her hand out of the bowl full of male's names and read out the name upon the thin slip of paper.
"The male tribute for this year's game will be Rory Hawthorne," she said, looking at the crowd of boys.
"No," cried a voice that Katniss recognized as being Rory's mother Hazel. "No. Not my boy. Not my boy."
Gale's eyes found Katniss's and she couldn't help but read the hint of betrayal that was written in them. She'd tried to keep her friend's family safe but the deal that was finalized only protected the Everdeen family. That was all that the Capitol would allow for.
"Rory Hawthorne," Effie called once more.
Rory looked back at his mother and Gale before squaring his shoulders and starting the long trek up to the stage. Rory was beginning to look like a younger copy of his older brother Gale and that just ate at Katniss more. That and the fact that she couldn't protect him from this fate.
Katniss doesn't hear anything as she watches Lucillia and Rory shake hands upon the stage. Knowing that one or both of them wouldn't be coming back to District 12 alive. And if one of them did come back they'd be forever changed like she was.
"Come on, kid," Haymitch said, prodding her in the side once more. "I think I can bribe one of the guards to get in and see your friend's brother."
That had been what Katniss had been thinking about a second before Haymitch said it. How could she bribe one of the guards to let her into the room that Rory was in? But that would take time away from Gale, Hazel, and the rest of Rory's family seeing him. She wouldn't make what could possibly be Rory's last moments with his family be cut short. Not for her. She didn't deserve it.
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I'll get to spend time with him on the train to the Capitol. Might want to leave this time for Gale and his family."
"If you're sure?"
"I'm sure, Haymitch."
They'd just reached the bottom stair of the staircase leading from the stage when a quick clip-clop of heels was heard behind them. Katniss didn't need to turn her to know that Effie was just catching up with her. There was only one person she knew who would ever wear heels in the muck of District 12 and that was Effie.
"Are you excited to be Mentoring your mentee, Katniss?" Effie asked as though she wasn't asking if Katniss was excited to be sending some child she'd never met before to her death. "The first mentor/mentee relationship is always the hardest, isn't Haymitch?"
"Um...maybe we should talk about something else, Effie," Haymitch suggested, nodding towards where Gale and his mother were being led into Justice Building.
"Oh," Effie said, looking forward deep in thought. "Shall we meet the children at the train then?"
"I think that would be a really good idea," Haymitch said, leading Effie away from Katniss. "You coming, kid?"
"One minute," Katniss called out to him. She could her mother and Primrose making their way towards her. She didn't want to leave once more without a proper good-bye this time.
"Hey, little duck," she said, pulling her little sister into a hug. "You remember what I told you last year, right?"
Primrose nodded. "Take care of Mom and don't take any tesserae no matter what," she said, looking up at Katniss. Her blue-grey eyes were sad as they were the last time that Katniss had left.
"Exactly," she told her sister. "Make sure to go and visit Hazel and Gale too. They're going to need as many friends as they can get. Not that that is going to make up for Rory's absence but it could help them a lot."
"Okay."
Katniss turned to her mother. She was glad that her mother was more like she remembered her being before the death of her father in the mines. Katniss knew she could leave them both here in District 12 without fearing that Primrose would go hungry or worse have to actually take tesserae.
"We'll check in on Hazel and the others every day," her mother told Katniss. She was trying to hide her sadness at Katniss's leaving again. Katniss could see that plain as day. "Just make sure that you come back to us safely."
"I will," Katniss said, hugging her mother. "I'm not going to be fighting this year."
"Still…."
"Katniss, come on," Haymitch's voice carried across the street from the car that was waiting to take them all to the train station.
"I've got to go," she said, hugging both her mother and sister one more time. "Wish me luck."
"Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor," Primrose said in a shrill imitation of Effie's voice.
Katniss faked a laugh at this as she headed towards the car. She didn't want to have to be training anyone to go into the games. But she supposed that this was the way things were for a reason. Although in the back of her mind she can't help but wonder what would have happened if both herself and Peeta had made it out of the games.
I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of A Game of Attrition as much as I enjoyed writing it.
