I remember the day like it was yesterday.

The day Titus would volunteer for the Hunger Games.

Mother brought me back into the washroom and used a gift from one of her friends in the Capitol to curl my hair softly. I was trying to think of anything except the fact that I was about to lose my brother. In fact, I tried to be overly optimistic. He was at the top of his training class. District Two knew how to pick winners.

"Mom, do you think he'll win?" I asked, picking at my cuticles.

"I hope so, dear," She said, her eyes analyzing my hair; I watched her carefully in the reflection of the mirror. "This is what we have been sending him to that academy for anyway."

"I know…it's just that…I can't believe it's real," I said quietly.

"You have to keep in mind, dear, that our district wouldn't send anyone in who they did not think had a chance at winning. District Two is very much like the Capitol in the sense that it does not like losing," She said seriously.

"He is the top of the academy," I thought out loud, trying to reassure myself in any way possible.

"Right you are," She said with a small smile. "We can only tell ourselves that he will come back alive."

Mother had picked out a lavender dress for me to wear at the Reaping. The sleeves were twisted in varying shades of purple and the dress flowed down to hit right above my knee. It was very light and sheer. Mother made sure that my hair was dotted with matching little purple flowers here and there.

District Two always made an event of the Reaping and everyone always looked their best. It was the best part of the day, in my opinion. Getting all dressed up, that was.

In years past, she had never allowed me to wear any sort of makeup on my pale skin. That year, she put powder on my skin and even pulled out the glimmering purple eyeliner, placing a swirl over the top of both of my eye lids. It was a dainty look that suited me well, I thought.

I remember flipping through magazines of the latest styles in Capitol fashion and being mesmerized by the women's hair and makeup. Secretly, I had always hoped to be invited to one of their parties one day, even though I was pretty terrified of the Capitol, as well.

I made my way to our back porch that overlooked the lush valleys and mountains out in the background. Mother wouldn't have been happy with what I did next. I slipped off the porch and head down the path to the edge of our property that overlooked the mountains behind our home. The sky was blue and the air fresh. The sun was shining. Like always, I climbed up onto one of the rocks and opened up a puzzle book I had snatched on my way out the door.

Before I could even start the last puzzle in the book, a voice came from behind me," Hey you."

Quickly, I turned to see Titus walking up the path. I bit down on my lip before turning my lips up into a smile," Hi Titus.``

He came toward me, dressed very nicely, as expected. He was wearing dark dress pants that looked very nice on him as well as freshly polished shoes and a bright yellow shirt. He plopped himself down beside me, dangling his legs off the rock. We both probably looked a little out of place, sitting on this rock in our Sunday best.

"Don't be sad when I go, Savera," He told me, looking straight into my eyes.

"I think that's impossible," I muttered, looking away.

"Hey, I'm ready for this, okay?" He told me, slightly irritated. "They've been telling me and Ostro it was going to be one of us eventually. I've had to go through this training for a long time and I'm actually kind of happy it's going to pay off."

Listening to him talk only seemed to make my heart break a little more. Tears were swelling in my eyes as I embraced him, unexpectedly throwing down my book and throwing my arms around him. Into his sleeve, I said," Play smart, Titus. Just play the game and do what they want you to do."

He pulled me from his arm, putting both of his hands on my shoulders before wiping away the stray tears," Just trust me, Savera."

That wasn't what I wanted to hear him say. Trusting was hard. Being afraid and letting that fear consume me was easy. Trust was hard.

"You know that Brutus isn't going to be happy," I said with a small smile. Brutus was Flux's father, who also happened to be the mentor for the District Two tributes.

"Well, I guess Brutus is just going to perk up a bit," Titus said, smiling, standing up and offering me his hand to help me down from the rock. I pulled up my books to my chest before taking his hand and standing up.

I laughed at this before following my brother back through the woods to the house. We joked like we always had and tried to laugh as best we could.

Eventually, we made it back to our home and as we walked through the house all the memories came rushing back.

Mother, father, and Ostro were standing at the front door. We all looked at each other and father broke the silence," Don't look weak. Whatever you do, all of you look strong. Look as though you are proud of your brother and couldn't be more happy."

It was at this time that we said our final goodbyes.

Look strong, I told myself. Look strong and don't look weak.


We gathered in town square, colors of all sorts, but not quite as colorful as those in the Capitol. The Justice Building, tall and beautiful as ever. All around, tall pine trees and in the distance looming mountains. Our town square was always meticulously taken care of with the immaculate landscaping and beautiful blooming flowers.

I stayed attached to my family as long as I could before my parents were sent to the opposite side of the square while my brothers filed in to our individual lines to have blood taken. I had been used to this schedule, by now.

Though everyone was dressed nicely and looked their absolute best, deep down everyone could feel tension. This was strange considering that the only ones who needed to be nervous were those who knew they were going into the Games. Even though they really had little reason to be nervous, they were trained after all.

For as much as I loved Titus and Ostro, it was a little unsettling that they were both trained assassins. That was never lost on me, even though I had grown up being told to suppress any feelings and only focus only on the right and wrongs that were taught to me at school. My mother always quietly expressed her concern for how much they both knew about killing.

Since the Capitol's eyes were on us, everyone needed to look strong and united, not divided. After everyone had split into girls and boys by age, it was time for the typical extraordinary Capitol escort, whose name I forget, to come up and chipperly announce the beginning of the Reaping before showing a video "straight from the Capitol" reminding us of just why we do the Games…as if we could forget.

The escort was wearing a long, bright orange gown with equally orange hair piled sky-high onto her head, various jewels scattered throughout her hair. Her nails long and…orange. Her shoes were visible to all of us due to the large slit up the front of her dress, showing most of her bronzed leg.

She hardly hesitated before pulling out the girl's name. She pulled the name of one of the younger girls in our academy. All eyes originally went to this girl, but it took little time for the oldest girl in the academy, Valeria, to shoot her voice out saying that she volunteered. As expected, we all cheered and clapped for her bravery and showed the Capitol that we were "proud" of our tribute. Or at least put on a good show.

It didn't even matter to watch whose name she pulled…whoever it was, Titus Stone, my brother would be the one to go into the Games. Again, she quickly pulled out a name, claiming that she didn't want to keep up waiting any longer than we needed to be.

Low and behold, she called out," Titus Stone!"

There would be no need for him to volunteer. I shot my eyes over to where he was, watching him blink several times before slowly making his way to the stage, trying hard to follow our father's instructions to stay strong. I bit down hard on my lip as he shook hands with both the escort and the other tribute.

Moments later, they were ushered into the Mayor's home and I knew that we would have time to say our last goodbyes, but there was still an uneasiness that sat in the pit of my stomach.

Three minutes passed by so quickly and there was very little we could say that had not already been said at the house. Just final embraces, words of encouragement and then a final word from father telling him to use his head, be strong, and to make us proud.

Nevertheless, when I embraced my brother for one last time, I tried to savor the feeling and how he looked because even if he did come home alive, there was no doubt he would be different.


In all honesty, I ignored the first days of the Hunger Games' ceremonies. Initially, Titus being gone was really tolling and all I could seem to do was be absorbed in sitting on the rock at the back of our property…not doing anything other than simply looking, gazing into the mountains and working on puzzles every now and again. There was a numbness that hung heavy over my body.

During the opening ceremonies, mother called me into our living area to watch the Tribute parade. The costumes were the best part, in my opinion. Titus and Valeria were near the front of the pack, wearing impeccable white ensembles. I made a promise to myself to not watch the Games after this ceremony.

It was mandatory for us to watch, but it was too heavy to think about watching my brother kill or be killed. I had seen him fight in the Academy, but it would be different in the Games.

The only positive element of the Games, in my opinion, was that I was not required to go into the training center while it was airing on national television. Not attending the academy was pure bliss.

Titus being gone left a hole in our family. He was the buffer between me and Ostro. He was my protector at school and he loved deeply. I told myself that he was okay everyday and would someday return and we would all live together in Victor's Village.

I would receive my updates from the Games at meals and on days when I was at school. To my relief, day after day I would hear that Titus was still hanging on. As expected, he had formed somewhat of a pact with the other Careers of District One and Four. Also, as expected, the people of the Capitol adored him and he had become quite the favorite. Being liked by the people was always promising. They taught us how to be charming and charismatic at school, actually.

I could only hope that Titus kept his alliance strong for as long as he could.


One day, after I had returned from school, I noticed that mother was sitting in our living room, watching the Games intently. I greeted her and she immediately greeted me. That day, she had an errand for me to run and after setting down my school supplies, I gladly went to the square to pick up a package for her at the Peacekeeper's head office. This would not be an issue since my father was a Peacekeeper and nearly all of the workers in that station knew who I was.

Still, I walked down the streets, trying to avoid eye contact with many. Several of the women in their shops would sit out in front of their shops while trying to swindle a sale, gossiping casually with all who passed.

When I passed by, they immediately recognized me and an elderly woman, Ruby, called out to me. As I turned to look at their inventory, I noticed that there was a small TV monitor placed upon a box sitting in front of the three women, all owners of different stores. They were, naturally, watching the Games.

"Savera Stone!" She cried and I stopped, took a deep breath before turning and flashing a smile at her.

"Yes? How are you Mrs. Ruby?" I asked pleasantly, approaching the three of them.

Ruby may have been older, but her face certainly did not show it. She, too, had friends in the Capitol who were probably supplying her with all sorts of age-defying products. The elderly women were always kind to me. Never had they been rude or judged me simply based on fighting skills.

"I am doing just fine, Savera, but I must ask-have you seen your brother lately?" She asked me with concerned eyes.

I furrowed my brow," Ostro is doing just-"

"I don't mean that one," She said calmly. "I mean Titus."

I exhaled slowly," Mrs. Ruby, Titus is in the Games this year, surely you saw the-"

"I know where he is dear. I'm asking-have you seen him?" She asked, articulating her words very carefully. The other two women were not even speaking, but rather glued to the TV screen. "There's only three left now and he's one of them."

As if on cue, I heard Caesar Flickerman's voice echo from the television screen," I beg to differ! I think Titus Stone is going to come out of this one! No one can lay a finger to him as far as-"

He was cut off and as he had been speaking, I looked to see that Titus and Valeria were going at each other, hard. There were three left, but it appeared as though they had gotten into an argument. Valeria was a very strong girl from what I had remembered, but Titus nearly always was able to defeat her in training at the academy.

I had told myself that I would never watch the Games with him in it, but my eyes were glued onto the screen. It was as if we were back in the academy all over again, only the scenery was that of a desert instead of the training center.

Valeria had a knife in her hand, blood dripping from her temple. I noticed that Titus, too, was armed, but I also noticed a rather large gash on his thigh, so deep that it had cut through his trousers. He did not look nearly as strong as she did, in fact, it appeared as though he was doing all that he could simply to breathe.

Then, there was an exchange between the two of them.

"Valeria, listen to me…if we can just settle this for now and take out Holly at the Cornupcorpia-" He tried reasoning, anything to stay alive.

Valeria simply licked her lips before pushing her black hair off of her temple," Shut up Titus! This has never been an alliance between the two of us! I've wanted you dead ever since I laid eyes on you and made a pact that whenever any of us was against you….we'd take the chance….gladly. I am going to win this for our District…not you. "

He simply blinked before looking down at his feet. I noticed his grip on his knife tighten and within moments, she pounced on him like a lion onto its prey. I hoped that he would retaliate quickly, but his wound was taking its toll.

He didn't stand a chance.

Swiftly, Valeria knocked him to the ground before sweeping his knife out of his hand and stabbing hers directly into his heart.

I wanted, so badly, to look away and allow the tears to spill from my eyes. Just as I did; however, I heard Caesar's excited voice come over once again," And look who's come through the bushes! It's Holly from District Ten!"

Slowly, I turned and watched the screen one last time as the blond haired girl from District Ten turned and slaughtered Valeria, the murderer of my brother while she was still atop of him, in the same position as when she killed him seconds before. Valeria fell, limp atop my brother as the blonde-haired, pale girl stood up, smiling from ear to ear with blood covering her hands.

The Capitol had its newest victor while I had lost a brother.

I ran home as fast as I could.