Prologue

I wake up to weak sunlight streaming through the window next to my bed. My father still sleeps with me neatly tucked in his arms. Due to us only having two available beds and my aunt Petra taking over the couch, I've slept with my dad for as long as I can remember. I don't want to wake him just yet, as I know that this is going to be a very hard day for him.

My mom ended up dying while giving birth to me, so my dad's mental state has severely declined over the years. He used to be a very confident and outgoing person, now he barely ever leaves the house and keeps to himself most of the time. He has also grown to be very protective and attached to me, as I'm basically the last part of her he has left.

Today marks my first Reaping Day since turning 12, which means I am now eligible to be reaped to compete in the Hunger Games. My dad has been dreading this day since the moment I was born.

I wiggle my way out of his grasp and put on my hunting boots. As I make my way into the kitchen to grab my jacket and crossbow, my grandparents greet me with a "good morning" and mention we are having bread slices and sauteed lettuce for breakfast. Aunty Petra must have already left to go work in the fields.

We have bread almost everyday. Makes sense as we live in District 9, the pinnacle of grain in Panem. We don't get the vast majority of the grain we grow, as most of it goes to the Capitol, but the little percent we do get gives us at least one loaf of bread between one family. I live in a house of five people, including myself, but we can make a loaf last.

We also happen to be one of the biggest districts of Panem. District 9 is way to the north but then juts down near the Capital, bordered by Districts 6, 3, 7, 1, 8, and 2

As I make my way to the woods behind my house, my neighbours look up from their farming and wave at me as I pass. There are two main parts of District 9, the farming part where all of the grain is grown, and the factory part, where all grain is manufactured, packaged, and sent to the Capitol. I live in the farming part of the district, which is arguably the nicer part of District 9. I don't really like to use the word "nicer," as we are definitely one of the poorest districts in Panem.

My family manages get by, mostly because of my hunting. My father used to be the main hunter of the family, but he started to hunt less and less after my mom died. He taught me how to hunt and use a crossbow when I was 4, and we would go into the woods together and hunt for game as a team. These days, my dad doesn't have the energy for hunting at all, so I have taken over his job and became the main breadwinner in my family.

I make my way through the big gap in the electric fence that surrounds the border of the district, and slip into the trees of the forest. Hopefully I run into something good today, as all I've managed to catch for the last few days is squirrels and birds.

After searching for sometime, I find a deer perched on a fallen tree. That thing could get me a lot at the Market. The Market is a big dilapidated barnhouse in the back of the main square. People go there to buy illegal things like alcohol and hunted animal carcasses. I get a lot of money for my game as I manage to find the most meaty animals.

I crouch down in a collection of bushes, and slowly make my way towards the deer to get a clear shot. I reach for an arrow from my quiver, and put the arrow in place as quietly as possible. I aim my crossbow directly at the deer's heart, and shoot. The deer falls to the ground immediately, and I come out from my hiding spot to collect the dead carcass.

After my morning hunting sessions I make my way over to the Market to sell my best catches of the day. I usually leave some game aside for my family, as my grandmother loves to cook with meat. I make my way over to Chet, the guy who collects the game to be auctioned off.

"Hey Rina-Rina, whadya' got for me today?" he greets. He's still absolutely obsessed with the nickname he had given me when I first started coming here. It's a nickname for my full name, Katerina.

"You won't believe what I ran into this morning" I tell him, and I pull the massive deer out of my game bag.

"Ho, ho, ho, this'll get you a fortune!" he exclaims, and eyes the dead animal with wonder. I smile at his enthusiasm and hand him the deer and a couple other things I picked up along the way.

"Are you ready for today, kiddo?" he asks me. I almost forgot about the Reaping later today.

"Well, I guess I have a better chance than some kids. My name's only in there once since it's my first year" I say. I just hope it stays that way. While you get one more ballot each year until you're 18, you can have your name put in more times if you misbehave or apply for tessarae, a small ration of resources available for kids with struggling families.

"Keep your chin up, Rina-Rina. You're a good girl, you'll stay out of trouble" Chet reassures me.

Chet was right, I did end up getting a fortune off of that deer. It got sold to a Peacekeeper too, and they are always generous with money. Normally, Peacekeepers are supposed to be the strict, mean law enforcers, but a lot of the Peacekeepers around here got to know a lot of the locals and are in on a lot of things that are supposed to be illegal. The Market is their main thing, as they have no other place to get their alcohol. I ended up getting a ton of great food for my family with that money, and lots of other essential things too.

Before I leave I go over to what we call 'The Stockpile.' The Stockpile is a collection of a bunch of artifacts from a time before Panem. For whatever reason, so much of this stuff has been discovered in District 9, so we accumulated it into a pile and started selling it.

I find something that catches my eye in the pile. It looks like a silver necklace, and the charm at the end is shaped like a heart. As I inspect the heart, I discover that it opens up. The inside is filled with pictures of people I don't recognize. I slip the the necklace into my pocket and start to make my way back home.

As I'm walking back to my house, my two friends Bil and Cress catch up to me.

"What's up, Rina?" they manage to say at the same time.

"Are you sure you two don't share the same brain?" I kid. I've known Bil and Cress since we started school when we were 5, and we've been inseperable ever since.

"Woah! How'd you get this much loot?!" Bil asks me.

"I found a big deer while I was out hunting today, and I got a fortune for it" I say.

"Damn, maybe I should get into hunting. I could use generosity like this" Cress says. We all start laughing.

"So, has your dad drank enough to get through this afternoon?" Cress jokes.

"Shut up, man. But seriously, I don't know how he's going to be able to sit through the whole ceremony without losing his mind" I confess. I haven't so much been worried about my very slim chances of getting picked, but more worried about how my dad is going to manage. He freaks out when I am in even the slightest bit of danger.

"Listen, you just have to reassure him that everything is going to be alright. All three of us only have one ballot in the drawing bowls, you just have to make sure he knows that there is little to no chance of you being picked" Bil tells me.

"Ok, I'll try. What time is it by the way?" I've totally lost all track of time and just remembered we have to be in the square by noon. We look up at the clock to see that the time is 11:00.

"Oh, man, we have to start getting ready!" Cress exclaims.

"Ok, you guys go get ready, I'll see you guys there ok?" I tell them before giving them both a hug. "See you guys later!"

My mind is swirling with so many different emotions as I stare at the dress in front of me. My first Reaping. Up until this point I sat on the sidelines with my dad, aunt, grandparents and friends just watching one unlucky boy and girl walk up the stage to their probable death. I can't even remember the last time a tribute from District 9 won the Hunger Games. Sure we have victors (two in total), but they're super old and I'm pretty sure they both have some sort of drug addiction.

I change into my dress and look at myself in the mirror. Yep, still the same thin, stick-like complexion. I then walk out to the living room to see my family whispering about something, but they turn to look at me as soon as I come out.

"Oh, Katerina. You look so beautiful" my grandmother says.

Everyone then turns to my dad. He walks toward me with a sullen smile on his face, and pulls me into his chest for one final hug. I wrap my arms around him, and bury my face into his chest, doing my best not to cry. Despite his mental fall from grace, my dad has always been one of the most important people in my life. He stayed strong enough to raise me on his own, even when he was still grieving over my mother. When we pull away, the siren goes off for everyone to gather in the square. I take my dad's hand, and we walk out the door together…

The Reaping has always been a dreary day regardless of who you are. Everyone dawning the same somber expressions on their faces as they walk up to the square, and families huddling together as if it is the last time they are going to see each other. For two unlucky souls, that might just be true.

I hold my dad's hand all the way to the checkpoint where Peacekeepers are taking attendance by drawing blood. Attendance at The Reaping is mandatory for everyone, and not showing up results in a public whipping of at least 50 lashes. Ouch.

When we get to the front of the line I finally let go of my dad's hand to let them prick my finger. After you get past the checkpoint, children and adults are seperated into two groups. The adults sit in the back while the age-eligible kids are up in the front near the stage of the Hall of Justice. The kids who aren't of age yet have to go sit with their parents in the back.

The mayor is already seated in his seat at the back-left side of the stage along with his wife, his oldest son, Farley, and two 4-year-old boys. Farley is my age, meaning that he is eligible to be reaped as well.

On the other side is the two remaining victors of District 9, Mulvain Sullivan and Hestia Bronner, who serve as mentors for the two tributes.

I look around to see if I can find Bil and Cress, and sure enough I find them sitting two rows ahead of me. Bil has his usually messy brown hair slicked back while dawning a clean white shirt and worn out khakis. Cress seems to be wearing the same thing, although he did nothing to his dark and curly hair. I swear those two have a psychic connection. They look back at me, and I can see Bil mouthing the words "it'll be ok" at me. I shoot them an anxious smile as someone starts tapping on the microphone.

"Welcome, everyone!"

Alaster Pracklebottom. He's the escort assigned to District 9 from the Capitol. He always has some crazy getup on every time he comes to draw the names. This year he dawns purple hair with a black suit that has golden polka dots all over it. Capitol fashion is really strange.

"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour!" His voice gets more high-pitched and annoying each year. Bil, Cress and I usually make fun of it before we would get scolded by our families, but not this year.

"Now, I know everyone wants to get right to the fun part, but first, we have a video for you. Now this film comes all the way from the Capitol!" Alaster says as he directs everyone's eyes towards the giant projector they have set up in front of the right side of the Hall of Justice.

'War, terrible war.'

Ugh, they play this every year. Basically, every year before the names are called we're forced to sit through this video that explains why the Hunger Games were created in the first place, narrated by President Snow himself. The Districts once waged war on the Capitol, and lost, so the Hunger Games is a yearly reminder that there is no overtaking the Capitol and that we will be oppressed forever. There's a lot more to it, but that's the basic jist of it all.

My attention is then directed from the video towards Bil and Cress in front of me, who are poking fun at President Snow's dismal narration. I stifle a laugh before directing my attention back toward the stage as the video ends.

"Now, it is time to select the lucky young man and woman who will have the honour of representing District 9 in the 71st Annual Hunger Games" Alaster announces way too cheerfully.

"This year, I am going to do the boys first." Great, even more anxious waiting time for me. As Alaster walks over to the boys' bowl of names I am praying that he does not draw Cress or Bil's name. That would possibly be worse than getting picked myself.

He fishes around for a bit before he pulls a ballot out of the bowl, and makes his way back to the microphone. The anticipation starts to eat me alive as he struggles to open the tape sealing the piece of paper shut. Just get on with it already! I scream at him in my head. He finally gets it open after the third attempt to get the tape undone.

"Clark Callwell."

I internally sigh as both of my dear friends were spared, but feel my heart sink for the name he did call. I know Clark, he's in my history class in school. It's a real shame he was picked the first year he was eligible. I can't really say I'm too surprised though, as I heard from Cress that he applied for tessarae multiple times.

As I watch Clark walk up to the stage, I see that his face is white as a sheet with a blank expression, a total contrast from his dark brown hair and clothes. He probably doesn't know how to react being chosen for something so gruesome, where he knows he has little to no chance of making it.

As soon as Clark is positioned on the left side of the stage in front of the mayor, Alaster returns to the microphone.

"And now, for the girls!" He exclaims. The moment of truth, I tell myself. As he walks over to the girls' bowl of names I turn back to the adults to find my dad. He looks like he is either about to burst into tears or throw up. I look back with a feeling of dread as Alaster fishes around for a name once again. He selects one, and immediately walks back to the microphone.

He didn't take as long removing the tape as he did for the last name, and opens the ballot with ease. As he's about to read the name, my mind starts chanting 'please don't be me, please don't be me.'

"Lili Netherthorn."

I feel as if a great weight had been lifted off of my chest when he ended up not calling my name. I look over at Lili, who has a horrified look on her face, and I immediately feel bad for being relieved at her expense. I don't know Lili too well, as she is two years my senior, but I have heard from some of the older kids in school that she is more on the sensitive side.

The rumours turn out to be true as tears immediately start streaming down her face while she is directed to the stage by Peacekeepers. She holds the end of her bright red hair in comfort and wipes away the occaisional tear as soon as she gets onstage.

Somewhere in the crowd, I hear her mother start screaming her name in sorrow. I can't imagine if I was the one on stage hearing my father scream my name like that. I wouldn't be able to hold myself together.

"Here are the tributes from District 9!" Alaster proclaims. He then directs Clark and Lili to face each other and shake hands before closing with, "happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour!" He then directs Clark and Lili into the Hall of Justice where they will say goodbye to their family and friends before leaving for the Capitol.

After the ceremony, I find Cress and Bil as everyone starts filing out of the square.

"Well guys, we've been spared for another year" Bil says in a sarcastic tone.

"C'mon, don't joke about that, it could have just as easily have been us" I remind him.

"Oh my god, Rina, why so serious? Our names were only in one time" Cress says.

"Yeah, but there is still a chance that our 'one name' could have been THE name. I can't imagine how Clark and Lili feel right now" I say.

"Yeah, poor Clark. It's going to be weird not having him around anymore" Bil says. I would usually tell him to have a little faith, but in all honesty neither Clark or Lili have a chance of winning. They both come from extreme poverty and probably have never had a decent meal in their lives. Ontop of being underfed, they don't have experience with any sort of useful weapon being from the factory part of District 9. The tributes from the wealthier districts will have a field day with them.

"Well, I better find my dad before he implodes, I'll see you guys later" I tell them, and wave to them as I walk away.

It takes a while, but I eventually find my family who seem to be looking for me. Aunty Petra is the first one to see me, and comes rushing over to me to envelop me in a bear hug.

"Oh, dear niece!" she exclaims. She's always been a tad dramatic.

After releasing me, I look over at my father, who opens his arms up as he crouches down to my level. I run to him and wrap my arms around him as he does the same.

I take in his earthy, smokey scent as my gaze falls upon Lili Netherthorn's mother, who hasn't moved since her daughter's name was called. She looks at us with extreme sadness and envy in her eyes…

It turns out my prediction was true. Both Lili and Clark were killed as soon as the Games started by the girl from District 1. They tried to go for a weapon, but the tributes from Districts 1 and 2 got to the cornucopia first, and slaughtered them like they were livestock…

Part 1: The Beginning