Chapter 1

1 Year Later…

I wake from a deep sleep to find myself in my father's arms once again. He seems so peaceful in his sleep, a big contrast to the emotional battle visibly inside him when he is awake. I gently loosen his grasp, and put on my boots to go on my morning hunt.

Out in the kitchen, my grandmother is already up starting on breakfast with Aunty Petra. Usually, Petra is already out on the grain fields working. I wonder why she's still home. Petra has her faded blonde hair tucked up in a bun while my grandmother sports a gray and wavy ponytail.

"Oh, Katerina! Before you go, can you pick these up from the Market today?" my grandmother calls after me before I can walk out the door. She hands me a piece of paper with a list of things to get.

"Sure. What's the rosemary for?" I ask her as I skim the list she has handed me.

"Well, I was thinking of making a very special dish tonight. Even though today is going to be gloomy, that doesn't mean dinner has to share in that gloominess" she tells me. Shit. I almost forgot that the Reaping is today. Me being only thirteen years old with no tessarae applications and a clean crime record, I only have two ballots in the bowl. Even so, I am still just as nervous as I was last year for my first Reaping.

"Oh, I almost forgot that was today" I say giving my grandmother a knowing look.

"Listen, dear niece. Try not to worry about it. You only have two entries in the bowl. I'm confident it's not going to be you" Aunty Petra tells me as she wraps an arm around me in comfort.

"I love you, babygirl. You know that right?" she tells me.

"I know. I love you too" I tell her, and we plant a kiss on each other's cheeks. Aunty Petra has definitely been the main female figure in my life. She sort of took up a motherly role after my actual mother died in childbirth. I always couldn't help but blame myself for her death, but my whole family, especially my father, have always made a point of reminding me to not feel responsible.

I give my grandmother a hug and a kiss as well and tell them to say good morning to my grandfather for me before I grab my crossbow and jacket, and head out the door towards the woods.

I can't bring myself to focus on finding game because the feeling of dread I have not been able to shake since my conversation with Petra and my grandmother this morning. For whatever reason I am way more uneasy about the whole thing than I was last year. Maybe it's because I have now seen firsthand what exactly being sent to compete in the Hunger Games has done to those unlucky families who have had their children sent to die.

Clark Callwell's parents still wait outside school at the end of the day to see if he will come out like nothing has happened. It's almost as if they are in denial of the fact that he's dead. Sometimes during history class, I find myself staring at his empty desk. I wonder what his last thoughts were before he was sent out into that arena. What was going through his mind? Did he think if his family? Did he think of his probable demise?

Lili Netherthorn's mother commited suicide after her daughter was killed. Even now, I still think of that time after the Reaping when I caught her staring at me hugging my father. I can't shake the pure sorrow that she was able to convey to me with just one look. That look of sadness and envy has burned its way into my conscience, and remains in the back of my mind as I think about being back at the Reaping once more.

Even though I am distracted, I'm still able to shoot myself 4 squirrels, 3 birds, and a giant turkey. Imagine what I'll get for this big boy, I think to myself as I make my way over to the Market with my game bag in tow and the turkey in my hand. I head straight over to Chet as soon as I get there, and show him the turkey I found.

"Woah, Rina-Rina! Is it now customary for you to find the best game on Reaping Day?" He exclaims as his big brown brows shoot up in surprise. That's right, last Reaping Day I got a fortune off of a Peacekeeper for a giant deer I found.

"I guess so" I say with a laugh.

"You'll be richer than that District 7 girl with the axe. Damn, what was her name again?" Chet ponders for a while.

"Johanna Mason" I remind him.

"Oh, right! That's what her name was! Boy, wasn't she a surprise!"

Johanna Mason was the victor of last year's Hunger Games, and was the girl tribute from District 7. It's always a shock when a tribute from a poor district ends up winning, as the victors almost every year are from either District 1, 2, or 4, the wealthy districts. Johanna didn't really do well during her training evaluation, and her interview with Cesar Flickerman probably didn't leave her with many fans. Nobody seemed to notice her until she stepped into the arena and started killing people with her axe as if she had been doing it her whole life. It made sense that an axe would be her weapon of choice, as District 7's industry is lumber. She's probably been wielding axes since she was a baby.

"So, I'll leave you with this turkey and go around and look, then. My grandmother gave me a list of things to get, so I better get searching" I say.

"You look uneasy, Rina-Rina. Are you ok?" Chet asks me. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I've known Chet since I was a toddler, so he's always been able to read me like a book.

"You're nervous about today, aren't you?" he asks knowingly.

"Maybe a little bit. I don't know, I've just been feeling super on edge about it all day, even more so than last year" I confess.

"Listen, you barely have a bigger chance of being picked than you did last year. What's one other ballot? I assure you, you will be back here in the morning hauling in some more game for me, ok?" he reassures me as he places a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, maybe I'm just being ridiculous" I say.

"Why don't you go have a look in the Stockpile, you know, to take your mind off of things?" he suggests.

"Ok, I'll try" I say as I wave goodbye and start my grocery shopping.

After getting all of my grandmother's list items, I go to the Stockpile to look around like Chet suggested. I always find cool stuff whenever I come here, and even found lots of movies to watch with my family. Our TV may be old, but it has a slot for disc movies, and I have found a ton here. My favourite is called Casablanca. I found it here when I was eight, and brought it home to watch with my family. I was captured from start to finish, and will sit down to watch it anytime, any day. I end up finding another movie to watch, and as soon as I pay for it I hear Chet up on the auctioning stage calling for bids for my turkey.

The turkey ended up selling to the mayor of all people, and I ended up getting a more than generous amount off of him. The mayor comes to the Market sometimes to see if anything good is up for grabs, although I can't remember the last time I ever saw him buy anything. As soon as I'm finished counting my cash, Bil and Cress sneak up on me and scare me to death.

"Guys! I could have dropped my money!" I scold.

"Sorry, Rina. But you were in your own little world, we just couldn't let the opportunity go to waste!" Cress says as he high-fives Bil.

"You're assholes, you know that?" I tell them.

"Yeah, we know. By the way, how much did you get this time?" Bil asks me.

"Well, if you should know-" I trail off and open my bag containing my new fortune for them to see.

"Shut up! How did you get that much?!" Cress exclaims.

"I caught a turkey that ended up being sold to the mayor" I say with a sense of pride.

"The mayor?! But he never buys!" Bil says.

"Well, he did this time, and boy was he generous" I say matter-of-factly.

"You think you could teach me how to use that thing? I could use some of the mayor's fortune too" Cress jokes as he gestures to the crossbow hanging on my back.

"Yeah, if you're looking to take your eye out" I joke back, and the three of us start laughing.

"So, you guys ready for round two?" Bil asks us.

"No, it's been bugging me all day. Everyone's been trying to convince me theres nothing to worry about, but for some reason I just can't help but worry" I say.

"Is this about Lili's mom freaking you out last year?" Bil asks me. Naturally, I told my two best friends about Lili's mother giving me that pained look after last year's Reaping. It bothered me for weeks afterwards, and resurfaced when the woman ended up killing herself. I went to visit Mr. Netherthorn after it happened, and I gave him a couple squirrels for free. I told him that I was sorry for his loss, and he gave a sad but grateful smile in return. I couldn't imagine losing both a wife and a daughter within the span of a day.

"Partly, she's been lingering in the back of my mind. I just don't want my dad to end up like her, you know? I need to be here. Not just for him, but for my entire family. They depend on me" I explain.

"I feel you, I have my mom and my three older brothers" Cress says.

"Oh, by the way Cress, how is your mom?" I ask him. I had totally forgotten that she had gotten terribly sick, and Cress had to stay home with her for a couple days while his brothers went to go work on the fields.

"Oh, she's doing much better now. She thinks she'll be able to sit through the Reaping today, so that's a good sign" he informs me.

"That's good, I was getting worried about her too" Bil says.

"Trust me, not even a bullet could take my mother out. She's tough as nails. She popped out four boys by herself, she can do anything" Cress says with pride. Cress' mother has always been one of the kindest women I've ever known. When my grandmother was bed-ridden with the flu, she was one of the first ones by her side taking care of her. To this day I say that she would have died if it weren't for her.

"Here, give her one of my squirrels. For all the times she's helped us, she deserves so much, but this is the best I can do" I say to Cress as I hand him a squirrel from my game bag.

"Are you sure? Didn't you catch this for your family?" Cress asks.

"It's cool, I have three more in here" I reassure him, and shove the squirrel into his hands.

"Ok, thanks" he says.

"Hey, where's my squirrel?" Bil asks, and we all start laughing.

"Well, I should probably go get ready, I'll see you guy at the ceremony, ok?" I say as I give them both a hug.

"Alright, see you there" Cress says as he starts to walk towards his house.

"Hey, Rina?" Bil stops me as I walk away by grabbing my hand.

"Yeah? What is it?" I ask.

He hesitates a bit before telling me, "Don't worry too much, ok? That's always been a weakness of yours."

"I know. I'll be ok, I promise." It looks like he wants to tell me something else, but he merely ends the conversation with an "ok, see you later." Weird.

I take a bath after I'm finished with my breakfast. My father had a protective arm around me throughout the whole meal, which earned him a scolding from my grandmother. "Oh honestly, Rob! Would you quit hugging that child?! She's going to be fine!" My grandfather is always the one to calm her down, and tells her that he's simply a father looking out for his daughter. My dad has always been like this. Ever since the day I was born, he's never been truly content if I'm not near him, or at least within his sight. I understand his paranoia, though, and I always say that no one will ever love me as much as he does.

After I'm done in the bath, I quickly dry my hair and slip on the dress I'm wearing to the Reaping this year. It was my mother's from when she was my age. It's a soft green patterned with little white clouds. It's sort of discoloured because of its age, but I think it's still just as pretty as it used to be. Of course my mom looked better in it than I do. She was such a beautiful girl at my age, and grew to be an even more beautiful woman. I'd be happy if I was even half as pretty as she was, but I'm really just a little stick with a mop of blonde hair ontop.

While I'm looking at myself in the mirror in our room trying to tie my hair up in a ponytail, my dad walks in. He smiles when he sees that I'm wearing mom's dress. He also sees that I'm struggling with getting my hair to behave.

"Here, Kitty, let me." Kitty has always been his petname for me. I have no idea where it came from. He just kind of started saying it one day, and it stuck around ever since. My dad softly brushes my hair until it's smooth, and he then starts to braid it. My dad always used to do my mom's hair, and he's actually quite good at it. He experiments on my hair sometimes, but he hasn't done it in a while.

When he's done, I see that he did a really pretty fishbone braid. "You look so much like your mother" he tells me as he leans down to look at me in the mirror.

"I'm not as pretty as her" I say as I look away from my reflection.

"That's not true, Kitty. You two are the prettiest girls I have ever seen" he says. "Sure you got my pointy face, but you have her smile and her beautiful blue eyes." I know he's quite biased being my dad and all, but his words always give me that extra bit of confidence I need sometimes.

He then wraps his arms around me and gives me a loving kiss on my cheek. "I love you, angel" he says, and all of a sudden I feel like crying.

"I love you, daddy" I reply, and turn around to give him a proper hug. In the middle of our embrace, the siren goes off for everyone to gather in the square. A strong wave of deja-vu hits me as I walk towards the front door with my father's hand in mine…