Ash Black POV

The Reapings were a joke. I hated the Capitol, and I knew they hated me just as much. The only reason I wasn't dead yet was because the Capitol had bigger fish to fry than a two-bit rebel. My time would have come eventually, and after the business with Richard, it came earlier than expected. Technically, I was already under arrest. I was only out for the Reaping. It was even more of a joke because I was going to die either way. You don't kill a Peacekeeper and get away with it. But then, a Peacekeeper doesn't kill my family and get away with it.

I was the only one in the crowd who wasn't thinking about the name in the bowl. I couldn't have cared less. My thoughts were occupied by flashes of my mother, whose only crime was rejecting a cruel man's lust. My stomach heaved when I thought of who was with her. Peach was five years old. She wouldn't even have been able to identify the killer. Did he kill her first, just to torture the woman who dared to reject him? I'd always hated the Capitol, but now hate was the only thing holding me together.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Minerva Chaise, and I'm your new escort! I'm very happy to meet you, and I'm very thankful that President Snow has given me this wonderful opportunity! For my first pick, let's have a handsome young man!" The woman's words buzzed faintly in my ear.

I wasn't surprised when I heard my name. The powers that be could kill two birds with one stone if a boy on death row went to the Games. After all that had happened, I hardly had any emotion left in me. I walked to the stage with my head down, refusing to look at the monsters from the Capitol. My friends were in the crowd somewhere, probably wondering what had happened and where I'd been the past few days. If I had time, I'd tell them.

Of course, there was plenty of time. I didn't have a family to visit me. My father preceded the rest of my family in death by several years, when he was shot for stealing. All I had left was Till and Apple, my two friends. They knew something was wrong, even though the story hadn't fully come out yet. Of course, something was obviously wrong since I'd been Reaped, but there was so much more.

"What happened? Where's your mom and Peach? Everyone's been talking," Till said.

"They're dead. Jacob killed them. I killed him. That's why I'm here," I said. Apple gasped and put her hands to her mouth. She was always so optimistic and cheerful. This floored even her.

"No," she said. I nodded silently.

"We have to do something," Till said.

"There's nothing left to do," I said.

"You can do this. You're strong," Apple said. I knew she believed it, even after all that had happened.

Everything hurt so much, I wanted to fade away and die. The only thing that stopped me was the Capitol. They'd taken everything and now they wanted me, too. They weren't invincible. Someday they were going to get what was coming to them.

I took out the token I'd brought with me, since I'd seen this coming. It was a necklace with a slender moon on it. I saved so hard to buy it for Peach. I took it from her bruised neck. When they got what was coming, I wanted to see it. The only way to do that was to live.

Desiree Redwood POV

I was as scared of the Reaping as anyone else, but we were all a little excited to see our new escort. It was like the Reaping wouldn't really start until after she came out, and I didn't have to be scared until then.

She didn't disappoint. The woman came out in a thick green velvet dress with cherry blossoms woven into her black hair. Her eyes were as green as her dress and her skin was the most gorgeous off-ivory sheen. She was going to make my last two Reapings worthwhile.

This isn't so bad. Just two more years. Then I can chop wood and run around the forest for the rest of my life. Just get through two more years, I thought as I heard Minerva announce her name and approach the bowl. Something was off about the boy she called, and it might have had something to do with all the hubbub recently about a murdered Peacekeeper. We all suspected the Reapings were rigged. I closed my eyes and tried to think of a forest as Minerva called the next name.

"Desiree Redwood!" she called. Suddenly she didn't look so pretty anymore. Everyone turned to look at me, even more than they usually did someone of my height. My mouth fell open and my face went slack. I was hyperventilating as I walked automatically to the stage. Everything blurred until I was in my room at the Justice Hall. My parents were wailing and carrying on, and I only didn't join because I was too shocked to understand. Mom put something around my neck. I looked later and saw it was my father's dogtags from work. Sometimes if a tree crushes someone, it's hard to tell who from what's left.

"It's okay, Paul. None of the others will be as strong as you," my big brother Malthus said. He was always teasing me about how tall I was and how strong I was from hauling lumber. I seem to recall Paul Bunyan was a little taller than six and a half feet, and people can't use my skillet as a skating rink, but I get it.

"Yeah, I guess so," I said. A nervous smile started to form, and I felt giddy. I didn't know what to think, and I started to think of all the things I'd see in the Capitol. I could make new friends with people from other Districts. They'd have so many cool things to talk about. There would be so many pretty ladies in the Capitol, with all their dresses and makeup. I could ally with some of the smaller Tributes and help them not be so scared. Maybe I'd come back. It wasn't over yet.

Once all the Reapings are up, I'll make a list of appearances so people can better know everyone.