It snowed really badly here today. It was to my ankles. University was off and I had a free day so I have decided to write.

Here we meet District Twelve. Seems I have had the male submission for a while and just forgot to add him to the list.

Reminder that if you do not have your characters in by Friday (or contact me asking to hold it longer), I will reopen the spots. I have had interest in all reserved characters so I know there is people who want those slots.

Also, in this chapter, there is mention of Katniss and stuff. I put that in there as I assumed with her being from Twelve, the pair would know of her and it only being the 75th Hunger Games, her Games are fresh in their minds.

Enjoy!

Hyacinth Rodgers, 17

District 12 Male

The battered man crawled forward, hauling his famished frame towards me. As he moved, he left a crimson trail behind him, leakage from the stab wound to his chest and broken legs. He looked up at me, his seam grey eyes glossy with loss and pain. I raised an eyebrow for him to continue.

"I only want my daughter," he said after some time in a shaky, broken voice.

I gave a shrug. "I don't know where she is-"

"Yes you do, you are the one who sold her!" he bellowed, the pain he felt causing his voice to crack.

"Well, I don't keep tabs on who my clients are. She could be anywhere in this forsaken District." he seemed to take my words in as he laid his head against the icy snow and started to weep.

"Why her?" He whispered, the warm tears melting the snow.

"Why no her?" I said harshly. "What makes your seed more special than any other girl in the District?" He didn't answer this one, not that I expected anything different. "Look," I grunted as I pulled free a cigarette, a luxury only reserved for men like me. "I am sure you are a nice man, I am sure she was a sweet girl but my thoughts on the matter, who my clients are and what great people you both may be do not and can not affect business."

The man stayed silent as I lit my cigarette, placed the golden lighter back in my blazer pocket and blew smoke into the cold air. "Tell me," I said, taking a drag. "Do you have any more family?"

The young man sighed. "My wife...she is expecting in the next few months," he said this with a dull tone like his body could no longer go on.

I gave a sharp nod, turning around to Collins, my right-hand man. "Go give his wife a months supply of grain and flour and the usual payment for such a loss." The man did not even look up at me, whimpering for mercy instead. I looked at him as I blew another cloud of smoke into the air. "And dispose of him."

It might have been odd that I could sit there in silence as the man's throat was slit in front of me, my blue eyes looking straight into his. I felt sorry for him but not enough to save him. He knew too much and I had to protect my family just like he did.

After my father's death, it was up to me to take the reins of the family business. My mother's ill health and my five-year-old sister meant I could not leave anything to chance. At first, it was hard for a fourteen-year-old to take over his father's gang that pretty much ruled the District. I was challenged for my leadership but I was smarter than I looked. I just needed to run it differently to my father.

I gave back to the District to keep in their favor. They could come to my gang during harsh times and I would give them food and warmth. In return, I got their respect and support. So much so that when I killed a man or sold off a child, none of them cared. As long as I still gave them grain. It would be an understatement to say I didn't have the District under my thumb.

I wasn't proud of my achievements but I did what was needed to survive and that was all that mattered at the end of the day.

Laura Hope

District 12 Female

The warm water was a shock to my system as my mother poured it over my body. I jerked away but I soon allowed myself to melt into the heat. I was from the Seam and hot water was a luxury here. Enough for a bath anyway. It was not so much that the water was expensive. It was free, one of the few things that were.

It came from a squeaky old pump at the edge of the seam. To get enough for a bath, you would have to make at least sixteen trips with our rusty old bucket. Not to mention the queue you would have to wait in each time. The fire that was needed to heat it was the drain. We were the coal District so something to burn didn't cost all that much. However, a lot was needed for a bath and every little bit added up.

On summer days, we left the water out in the sun to heat up. In the winter, we placed it on the fire until it was mild. We only ever had warm baths on Reaping day as a way of making the day seem a little bit less terrifying.

I was the eldest child so I got the cleanest water but also the hottest. I dealt with nearly unbearable heat so that my sister, mother, and father could also have warm baths. My mother would not allow any of us to overstay out time in the tub. The moment we had scrubbed the dirt from out skin and washed the knots out of her hair, we were ushered out and replaced. My father always going last as he was covered in sut.

I dragged my fingers through my dripping, brown hair, tugging at knots the best I could until my mother tapped me on my head. She didn't need to say anything, with a nod, Coalette handed me a worn out towel and replaced me.

I walked through the house, ruffling my wet hair with the towel. I did not have to worry about anybody seeing me. The curtains were still drawn and my father was had gone to the bakery to pick up some bread for us to eat before the Reaping.

It was the first day he had off in a year so he wanted to make a big event of it. He had saved up all of the earnings from the mines for the past two weeks so he could buy the finest, soft bread. It would only be enough for us to have a slice each but it was more than most days considering it was just a snack.

I slipped into the dark oak, purple dress that was stained with an unknown substance. It was oversized, a second-hand clothing given to me by the baker's wife. I wasn't starving but the large woman's clothing sure made it look like it.

I slipped on my peeling black doll shoes and perched on the end of mine and my sister's bed as I pulled my drying, curly brown hair into a ponytail. Then with nothing to keep me occupied, my mind started to wander over to the Reaping.

Coalette was safe this year, being fourteen, if I was her age, I would be too. There was twice the chance of being the victor this year but I felt that didn't improve my chances. Not everyone in the Seam was like Katniss. I was worried we had gained a reputation because of her.

I and Coalette had done fun target practice with some kitchen knives. Over the years, I had become rather good. Yet, I had no doubt hitting a moving person would not be as easy as our wall. I was not as well fed as Katniss either. Her family owned a goat and she hunted. She had protein in her diet. My meals were made up oats and bread.

With a creek, the door to the shack opened, my cheerful father, walking in with a steaming, loaf of bread wrapped up a tea towel.

"It is bigger than usual but I thought we could save some for tonight with our soup!" he cheered, unwrapping the meal and placing it on the table.

My mother looked at the door and smiled with joy. "Wonderful, it will give the cabbage a bit more taste."

Sure, I wasn't like Katniss Everdeen with my silver bow, love interest and high meat diet. But I was Laura Hope, a Seam girl with a loving family and moldy cabbage soup and I wouldn't change that for the world.

Laura Hope

Train Rides

Hyacinth sat across from me, man spreading as he looked out of the window, his mind a thousand miles away. Most likely back in District Twelve. He didn't look much of a threat with his chubby, child-like face covered in freckles, big blue eyes, rosy cheeks and curly black hair. He was far from an underdog.

He might not know how to wield a sword but I and everyone in Twelve knew he was the leader of the most deadly gang in Twelve. Then again, how strong was he without his underlings?

Back home, he could have clicked his fingers and had me killed or sold into the porn industry. On this train, sat in front of me, he was just a terrified kid, just like me. This was evident by the fact that the only interaction the two of us had was the shaking of hands and even that seemed weak.

Not that I was too concerned. I was not in the mood for talking either. I was holding back the tears but I wasn't sure for how much longer. Yet, I was not about to look weak in front of Hyacinth, he was my enemy, even if he was from home.

I was worried about my family. I knew that they would be able to get by without me. They had my father working in the mines, my mother worked part-time at a seamstress in town and my sister worked for a street vendor. The small amount I brought in from working with my sister would not affect them too much. I was more concerned about how they would handle seeing me die.

I did not want to accept such a thought but is was a very likely possibility and one I had to consider. We had cried for fallen District members in the past. The only year we didn't was last year, we were frustrated that we came so close to victory only for the pair to throw it away. However, it was different when it was only a face you had seen around the District. This was family.

My mother would have to watch the child she had carried for nine months slaughtered on live TV. My father would weep wondering what would have happened if he had worked longer hours, would I have entered my nameless times? Then Coalette. She was a strong girl, taking life by the balls and running with it but this would crush her. Kids at school would look at her with sorrow, she might shut off from the world.

The thought of these reactions made my blood run cold, my body starting to shiver as I followed Hyacinth's gaze to the window. I watched as the water droplets race by, feeling normality slip away with them.

"How far do you think we will make it?" Hyacinth asked, breaking the silence. His eyes were still focused on the rushing world outside. This wasn't a bonding moment, this was a doomed boy trying to find hope.

"I don't know," I sighed. "We made it far last year."

Hyacinth shook his head. "We were lucky last year and I don't think Snow will let someone from Twelve win, let alone two people. So how long do you think we will last?"

I tried to give the situation hope but there was no escaping our fate. "I don't know," I said in a hush voiced, the only sound that followed being the sound of Hyacinth's shaky breath.

"I Just want to go home," he said under his breath, leaving us both to watch the rain in silence. For a second, my brown eyes flickered over to him and I felt sick. He really wasn't a gang leader anymore. He was just a young boy who wanted to go home.

Hyacinth Rodgers, 17

Train Rides

As the train raced through the night, I found myself wondering the aimlessly. I tried to gather my thoughts in my room but the expensive sheets and sickening smell of elderberry had become too much.

As I entered the dining cart once more, I was happy to see Laura had left for her room. It was a suggestion I had made to mainly get her out of my way. I didn't want to risk shooting down any reputation I had built up for myself over the years. But also because she deserved to relax, eat to her heart's content, take a warm shower and get an early night if she could.

I couldn't find it in myself to do any of those things. I would have been content spending my days taking fire heated baths, living off squirrels caught by a Seam boy named Gail and living in a place that smelt of smoke and sut. The horrid, dog eat dog existence that I lived was more of a life that I was currently living.

I didn't want to spend my life smelling of roses and eating the finest dishes in Panem. I just wanted my family back. It was a life I knew I could never get back and that angered me. If I won, I would be their little show puppet but at least my family could live in luxury. My mother could be cured of her illness and my sister could get the best schooling so she could be something more than me. I could fund my gang but step down as their leader, removing myself from it once and for all.

It seemed too good to be true and victory seemed too far away to ever be possible. I mean, even our mentor was too drunk to even remember our names. "What's the point? You'll die soon!" he slurred at me when I asked for help. I was in doubt he even knew what the twist this year was.

The Twist.

The reminder that this was a Quell knocked the wind out of me as I sat down at the mahogany table. My thoughts running wild. The fact I was gay was unknown to everyone. Not even my mother knew. I had even stayed away from relationships to stop people finding out. Now, I either had to come out to the world on live TV or get paired with a girl. Even If I said I was bisexual, there was the risk I'd end up married to a pretty young girl. Would look nice in photos but at some point, I would have to come clean and I wouldn't want to make getting married to me more of a chore.

I felt my chest tighten up from the stress. Such a simple task as stating my sexuality was proving to be stomach turning. It was not even like it was frowned upon in Panem, I was just worried to what a few extremist back in Twelve would do if they found out. What they would do to my family.

I leaned my head against the wall of the train, feeling the faint vibrations as I moved along.

As I closed my eyes, I wished and prayed, to anyone that would be listening, to have me wake up my own bed tomorrow and not to the excited screams of the Capitol people as we pulled into their station that morning.

"Somes books have nice covers to hide the subpar story inside"