IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE BOTTOM! PLEASE READ! Well, another giant gap between updates. D: I'm really sorry about this. I've just been really busy lately.

P.S. I haven't gotten any complaints about this yet, but I might soon. Anyway, when you're reading this fanfiction you might find that I've used the same phrase or sentence that you used in your fanfiction. I promise you, I'm not trying to plagiarize. It's just that sometimes after I've read someone's chapter, I use something from it without realizing it. If you notice something like this, please just kindly point it out and move on. Thank you.

Nemo

I lie in bed, listening to the waves crashing against the shore. I can smell salt from the breeze that drifts in through my open window. I think about how there's a good chance I'll never see District 4 again. The thought devastates me.

Ever since I was young, my father forced me to train for the Hunger Games. I hated it, but what could I do? If I made even the smallest remark about how I didn't like training, my father scolded me and sent me to my room. Multiple times, I thought about running away, but the Peacekeepers probably would've

found me within the first ten minutes. And then there was Tank.

Tank is my younger brother. Like me, he trains for the Hunger Games, and like me, he despises it. Running away would've meant leaving him, and I just couldn't do that. So here I am, staring up at the ceiling and awaiting the worst nightmare the world could ever dream up: the Hunger Games. I wish there was some sort of way I didn't have to volunteer.

Wait a minute. What if there was a way? I've heard of times when chosen volunteers chicken out at the Reaping. I could just do the same thing. My parents would be upset, but what could they do to me? It's not like they can kill me. At least, I don't think they can.

I breath a sigh of relief. I' m not going to have to volunteer. The thought calms me and I drift into sleep.

xxx

"Now, son, once you begin your walk to the stage, it's all about the posture." My dad says. He's been lecturing me all morning on how to act at the Reaping. Little does he know that I'm not going to be

doing any of the things that he tells me to.

My mother appears, cutting my dad off. "It's time to get ready for the Reaping." She says. "I've already picked out your outfit." I nod and hurry off, eager to get away from my dad. I see that my mom has laid out a green blazer and black pants with green lines crisscrossing it every so often. I put on the outfit and comb out my hair, and then I'm ready. I look at my reflection in the mirror and take a deep breath. What if this plan doesn't work? I gulp and try not to think about what could happen if I have to

volunteer.

"Are you ready?" My dad calls. "Yep!" I respond. I take one last look at myself, then run down the stairs.

Here goes nothing.

xxx

I bounce up and down on my feet, waiting for th e mayor. Finally, after an interminable amount of time, the mayor comes onstage. He reads off Panem's history and announces all of District 4's victors. We have ten. That's better than all of the outlier districts, but the worst of all the Career districts. For a second, I think about the poor kid who'll be reaped. Having to face the monsters of the Careers...

I force the thought down. No matter how guilty it makes me feel, I have to follow through with my plan. I can't face the terror of the Hunger Games. Even if I survive, which isn't very likely, I'll never be the same again. I can't go into the arena.

Our escort, Anaba Jadger, comes on, smiling and waving. Her purple hair blows slightly in the wind and her sea foam green dress bobs up and down as she walks. She's applied so much makeup to her face,

she looks like some sort of clown.

"Welcome, welcome!" She says. "As you all know, today is the Reaping for the 48th Annual Hunger Games! Now, let's pick a girl." She removes a name from the thousands in the glass jar and says, "Laurali Heridda!"

"I volunteer!" Someone proudly states. The crowds parts and a girl emerges. I think she's an academy trainer's daughter. She heads to the stage.

"Who are you, honey?" Anaba asks her. "Marine Gray." The girl- Marine, I guess- says. As she stands on stage, I see her gazing into the crowd. Finally, her eyes lock on a man, one of the head trainers at the academy, that I assume is her father. She gives him a smug smile.

"Now, for the boy!" I gulp as Anaba reaches into the glass of names. This is it.

"Tank Fisher!"

I look down at my feet, making no move towards the stage. I can hear whispers of confusion throughout

the audience, but nobody calls me out. This is going great!

Suddenly, I realize what name Anaba called. Tank Fisher. My brother. I practically choke. Why?! Why did he have to be the one to be chosen?!

I see Tank, bewilderment on his face, as he walks towards the stage. I hesitate. I don't want to go into the games, but to let Tank face them...

"I volunteer!" I shout, pushing through the crowd. "I volunteer as tribute!" Anaba gives a sigh of relief as I run onstage.

"And you're...?" Anaba asks. "Nemo Fisher." I say into the microphone. I hope I don't sound too terrified.

"Very well." Anaba says. "District 4, your tributes!" After the mayor reads the Treaty of Treason, Marine and I shake hands and are taken into the Justice Building. I'm taken into a small room that smells of seaweed. I sit on the plush couch and wait for visitors. It's not long before the door is pushed open.

"Well, you're going to be a bloodbath tribute, that's for sure." My dad says. His face is as red as a tomato, and his fists are clenched. I know what's coming next.

"What were you thinking?!" My dad explodes. "You acted the exact opposite of how I told you to ask! Tell me, what in the blazes was going through your mind there?!"

"I-I..." I try to come up with an excuse, but my mind goes blank.

My dad's face goes from red to dark purple, and he's about to start screaming, but before he can, a Peacekeeper opens the door, signaling my family out.

"Good luck." Tank whispers to me. I blink. I didn't even realize he was there. He holds out his hand as he leaves. In his palm there's a simple shell. "Your token." He says. I grab it right before the door slams shut.

I clutch the shell, trying hard not to cry. I can't bear the thought of never seeing my family again. I'll even miss my father, because even though he's hard on me and pushed me into this mess, I still love him.

I'm soon taken to the train station. I realize that since I blew the Reaping, I should probably try and look confident for the cameras on the train, so I smile and wave.

I hope it will be enough.

Marine

A buzzer rings in my ear, signaling me to wake up and get out of bed. I groan and rub my eyes. It's 4:55. I don't want to leave my comfy blankets, but I figure I should try to get in some last minute training at the academy. I rub the sleep from my eyes and get up, stretching. I slip on a simple t-shirt and shorts and make my way down the stairs of our house. My father sits at the kitchen table, reading the paper. He looks up at me, then goes back to reading. "Go back to bed." He says gruffly. "You need your beauty sleep." I just glare at him and head over to the counter. I grab a piece of bread and push it into the toaster. Then I pull out a glass from one of the shelves and fill it with orange juice. The toaster dings, meaning my toast is ready. I set it on a plate and sit down at the table.

An awkward silence fills the room. Finally, I speak up. "So, any last minute advice before I volunteer?" I ask. Usually I ignore everything my father tells me, but as much as I hate it, he knows a lot about the Hunger Games. After all, he's a head trainer at the academy. Besides, I need all the help I can get.

My father grunts. "Be a man." He says simply. I scowl. "I'm serious." "So am I." My father states. "Face it- you've got no chance at this thing. Girls just aren't cut out for the Hunger Games." Anger boils up inside me. "I was chosen to volunteer before both of my brothers." I remind him. He shrugs and doesn't respond. "And just last year that girl from ten won by killing the District 2 boy in the finale." My dad stays silent. My patience is quickly waning. "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm weak!" This time my dad rolls his eyes at me. "Whatever you want to think, sweetie."

That's it. I slam my glass down so hard it shatters, sending glass and orange juice everywhere. Then I push back from the table, stand up, and storm out of the house.

I jog towards the academy, trying to clear my mind. However, I can't get my father out of my head. The stupid jerk. He thinks that all girls are weak and not fit for any physical activities. Oh, how I'd love to prove him wrong.

I reach the academy, a towering block of brick and stone. No one's here yet. It's much too early. And anyway, not many people train right before the Reaping.

I grab a knife off the shelf and walk over to the row of dummies near the back wall. I slash downwards and cut off a large chunk of a dummy. Then I move on the next one and jump up, bringing my knife down on it with all my might. The dummy splits in half.

I continue this process for a couple of hours until I can't go on any longer. I glance at my watch. It's 2:37. I have to go home quick. I sprint back to my house, only pausing to catch my breath. Finally, I arrive back at my home. I run inside, ignoring the scolding from my parents, and rummage through my closet. I find a light blue dress that looks nice enough, so I slip it on and run into the bathroom. There, I hastily comb out my hair.

"Let's go!" My father calls. I look at myself in the mirror. My hair still has a lot of tangles in it, but I figure it looks acceptable enough. I call out a goodbye to my parents and leave my house for what could be the last time.

xxx

"Good afternoon, District 4." The mayor, a grumpy old man, says. "Welcome to the Reaping. Let's start this off by reviewing the History of Panem."

I'm tempted to roll my eyes. They explain this every year, and it's so boring. However, I figure there could be cameras trained at my face right now, so I pay complete attention to the speech.

After this, the victors are announced, and then our escort, Anaba, comes up to the stage. "Welcome, welcome!" She says, waving to the crowd. "As you all know, today is the Reaping for the 48th Annual Hunger Games! Now, let's pick a girl." I tense up as Anaba trots to the girls' bowl. "Laurali Heridda!"

"I volunteer!" I yell. I puff out my chest and grin as I make my way towards the stage. "Who are you, honey?" She asks.

"Marine Gray." I say boldly. I catch my father's eye in the crowd and smile smugly at him.

"Now, for the boy!" Anaba reaches down into the pile of names and chooses one. "Tank Fisher!"

There's silence in the crowd. Nobody moves. I blink, surprised. Where's the volunteer?

Suddenly, someone runs forward. "I volunteer!" They say. "I volunteer as tribute!"

I give sigh of relief. For a moment I was worried that I'd have a scrawny weakling as a district partner.

"And you're…?" Anaba questions. "Nemo Fisher." Nemo states. He looks scared, and I'm curious as to whether or not he really wanted to volunteer.

"Very well. District 4, your tributes!"

We listen to the Treaty of Treason. After that, I shake Nemo's hand. I notice that he's sweating severely. Peacekeepers come up to me on either side and take me into the Justice Building, and I'm thrusted into a room filled with old, dusty furniture.

There I wait, but nobody comes to say goodbye. I can't say I'm surprised. I don't have close friends at school because I'm so competitive, and my family and I have a pretty bad relationship. Still, a little part of me was hoping that someone would come. I can't help but feel disappointed.

After a little while, a Peacekeeper comes in to take me to the train. I'm relieved and happily oblige. We board, and as I'm whisked away from my home, I pray that I will come home alive.

It feels good to finally update again. I realize I got a little sloppy with that chapter, but I just wanted to post something. I hope you guys understand. Thanks to RandomPerson1818 for both of these tributes!

Anyway, here's the important announcement. UPDATES WILL BE WAAAAAAY MORE INFREQUENT. Like, even more infrequent then they already are. This is because I've started school (*cue horror music*), and it's really hard to keep up with this with all the homework I have. I'll try my best to update as much as possible, but be prepared for long periods of time with nothing posted. However, I'll try and give an update on my profile as much as possible, so if it's been a while and I haven't posted, just look at that. I'm not planning on giving up on this story, but if for some reason I have to, I'll let you know and post one more long chapter explaining what ended up happening in the games. Hopefully it doesn't come to that, though.

I'm pretty sure that's all I need to tell you for now, so here are the questions. First, District 3 because I completely forgot about their questions last chapter. I don't care if you go back and look for the answers because it's been awhile since you read it.

1. What color dress does Jessica wear to the Reaping?

2. What is the name of Scorpius' teacher?

Now for District 4:

1. What color blazer does Nemo wear?

2. What is Marine's last name?

And that's it! District 5 will hopefully come out soon! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!