Holy crudcakes, guys! Thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites. When I saw the reviews this morning, I was literally jumping up and down with excitement. c:

Tacolover3000- Thank you so much! ^.^
Guest #1- Thank you for reviewing! I'm thinking that I'll make this AU rather than canon. I feel like it might be easier to write and the story would play out more smoothly. I really hope you don't mind. /.\ By the way, as weird as it sounds, I love your style of reviewing. cx You send a good message without hurting people's feelings, so I commend you for that.


"Brigid Caylen."

I froze.

My nightmares have just become a reality, and I am now in the same debilitating position that my sister was in two years ago. The memories of her Reaping flashed through my mind, causing me to remember her endless tears as she slowly stumbled onto the stage. I could see the pity in her district partner's eyes as he watched her tremble.

A soft shove shook me out of my thoughts, forcing me to recollect my thoughts and go up to the stage. I kept my face harder than usual; Now that I was in the Games, I needed to form the audience's first impression of me. I watched my face on the large screen, examining it for any trace of emotion. I was satisfied with my appearance, leading me to believe that I might have fooled the Capitol for that moment.

I slowly forced my feet to move, one in front of the other. I kept my muscles taut to reduce the trembling that wracked my body from the anxiety of being chosen as a tribute in the Hunger Games. I finally reached the steps leading to the empty spot adjacent to Anastasia. I searched the crowd for my parents, trying to find the familiar faces of my family. My grey eyes met my mother's. She nudged my father, who's ashy blonde hair identical to mine swished in front of his face, covering the tears that I'm sure were escaping.

I looked at Anastasia out of my peripheral vision, seeing her hand go into the male's bowl. She did the same as she did for me, swishing her hand around before finally grabbing a slip. She unfolded the delicate piece of paper once again.

"Keane Wright!" A tall boy, most likely eighteen, stepped up to the stage. He was tall, long, and lanky, with chocolate brown eyes and shaggy brown hair. I gave him a hesitant glare as he turned to face the crowd. He looked at me through the corners of his eyes, distrust prevalent in them.

"Brigid Caylen and Keane Wright, the District 7 tributes for the 74th Annual Hunger Games!" Anastasia announced to the crowd. She gave us both what was supposed to be an endearing look, but it appeared condescending. She forced our hands into each other's as a greeting. Rather than being a greeting, it was more of an intimidation factor; At least, on his part. Even though we were from an outlying district, he appeared as if he were a Career. I felt a flash of hate run throughout my body as I remember the Careers cutting my sister open as if they were performing surgery.

A small sense of curiosity followed, making me wonder if I appeared that Career-esque. I glanced at my face once again on the screen, seeing that emotionless, empty face that I saw every time I looked in the mirror. I didn't particularly have that intimidating aura around me, what with the dark circles under my eyes and appearance as if I'm dead both mentally and physically.

I turned my eyes to the opening gate where the tributes waited to say goodbye to their families.


I sat down on the soft cushion, blankly staring at the light wooden flooring. What am I going to do? There is truly no realistic possibility that I'll win. A fleeting whisper of my conscience berated me for thinking that, telling me to be more positive. All I knew was that I couldn't show any form of weakness, or else I would be seen as an easy target.

My thoughts halted as the door snapped open, my parents running inside to embrace my body in a hug. I tensed, still unused to this act of affection. They quickly stepped away, remembering my dislike of physical contact.

I moved my gaze, trying to avoid the awkward conversation soon to come. "Please." My mother whispered. I kept my line of vision on their feet, refusing to face the tears. "You need to win for us."

My father joined the conversation. "We can't lose our only other child to the Capitol."

I remembered my fight with my mother the night before, her words of how selfish I am replaying in my head. I shook my head frantically. "You guys don't care." I whispered softly. "That was confirmed when you," I shot an icy glare at my mother, "announced how much you hated me last night." A hiss of anger and disgust was prominent in my tone as I spoke.

" I don't-"

"Yes, you do." I snapped sharply. "Don't lie to me. I heard every word that you said about how selfish I was and how I destroyed this family." I turned my back on them, glaring at the wall. I felt a sight ache in my heart as I thought of Bree, and how she would hate the way our family has reacted to her passing and my behavior towards our parents.

"Bu-"

"Don't." There was a sharp edge in my voice, signaling that they should leave. A sharp pain filled my heart, absolutely despising the way things have been playing out.

I didn't look, but I knew that they had tears running down their faces as their sniffles filled the empty silence. I felt a twinge of regret as I remembered Bree's goodbye.

The tears streamed down everyone else's faces while I was the only one who pushed them away. The whole family knew that Bree wouldn't make it out alive. Her and my family's sobs filled the room as I tried to steel myself from the tears. The cries of despair slowly dissipated into quiet. Bree moved herself out of our parent's grip and came over to wrap her arms around me. I kneeled down to her level and whispered in her ear.

"Once the bell rings, run as far as you can from the Cornucopia and stay as far away as you can from the Careers. I know that you're great at climbing trees, so hide in them until everyone is gone..." I knew that what I suggested wouldn't help in any way. What would I know about being in the Games? All that I've told her is stuff that I've seen from watching other children playing the Games. I looked into her blue eyes that were identical to my father's, and wiped away the tears that began to fall. "I love you..." My voice cracked as I spoke the words, most likely the last words I will ever say to her.

I kissed her forehead as the Peacekeepers forced us out of the room.

The Peacekeepers knocked roughly on the door, opening it. I looked back at them, seeing my mother trying to get away from them. My father reached his hand out and our fingertips brushed before the Peacekeepers left me alone in the room.


Keane and I walked out of our rooms opposite to each other and glanced at each other before heading to the train station. I stood in the line of people waiting to board the train, staring everywhere but where the paparazzi were. I kept my face empty, almost bored with the situation. The truth, though, was that the occurrences that happened in the room for goodbyes were a tornado in my mind, consuming every thought that popped into my mind.

I stepped onto the luxurious train, noticing the slight scent of pine in the air, reminding me of my retreat in the trees. I arrived in a room loaded with mahogany wood and soft, emerald. velvet seat cushions. I was immediately overwhelmed by the amount of luxury in the train, and I couldn't imagine what the higher-class district's rooms included.

I looked to my right, where a long hall resided with rooms on the left side and large glass windows on the right side. To my left was a combined day area/dining room, which had our two mentors lounging on the couch. A woman I recognized as Johanna Mason looked fleetingly at us, then at the other mentor I did not know.

"Hey, Blight. Fresh meat." Johanna said to the man who was apparently named Blight, nodding at us. I gave her a glare, frustrated at her response to us. Blight looked at us, smiling.

"Hiya." He had a very youthful personality despite his age. Johanna rolled her eyes at his childish greeting towards us.

Keane raised his eyebrows while I, similar to Johanna, rolled my eyes. Johanna scoffed, standing up and walking towards us. She gave us a calculating stare, circling us like a lion circles it's prey. "...How old are you?" She finally spoke after a few minutes of awkward tension.

"18." Keane spoke, still keeping his eyebrows raised.

Johanna's gaze switched over to me. "And you?"

I spoke harshly, blocking any emotion from showing through my voice. "16."

Without missing a beat, she asked another question. "Weapons? Skills?"

"Hand-to-hand." Keane had a beam of confidence surrounding him, which was surely going to get him killed in the games.

Like before, Johanna switched her gaze over to me.

I thought for a moment, unsure of what exactly I was proficient in. I had taught myself to use the ax as a therapeutic skill to cope with Bree's death, and I had practiced climbing trees when I helped my father chop branches. "Ax and climbing." I finally spoke.

She raised her eyebrows as I said that I used the ax, causing me to remember that it was her main weapon too. She laughed a bit, obviously not believing that I was good with the ax. Her reaction showed me that she had some arrogance and confidence regarding her weaponry skills. I'm not saying she isn't any good at it; it was obviously proven in her games. But I'm sensing that she feels a sort of possessiveness towards the particular weapon.

It was then that I noticed Anastasia sitting on the loveseat next to Blight. She was smiling brightly, and I realized that she must still be happy about her district promotion.

"We should arrive at the Capitol in the morning, so you can you just relax and watch the Reapings until morning." Her were eyes bright as she spoke, showing that she did not realize the irony of what she just said. Relax? While watching the Reapings?

Johanna looked pleased that she was able end her interrogation of us, while Blight was amused by Johanna's relief.

Anastasia clicked the remote, the bright lights of the television flashing onto the screen.


This is just a bit of a filler chapter until they watch the clips of the Reaping. It took quite a while to write, considering I absolutely hate writing filler chapters. Thanks for reading. R&R! c: