Disclaimer: I don't own the hunger games
I wanted to split the first chapter so here.
'Once apart of chapter 1 but now it's chapter 2' chapter
"Lexi, Hurry up with Katniss!" Tyler pleaded by the door of the new Friesian Horses. He obviously wants to get the work over and done with.
It's not like we'll train the horses in a day. Today we're just getting to know them and grooming them in the process.
I rack my fingers through Katniss's hair and give her a last pat on her forehead before moving over the Friesian Horses that had just came of age of riding and sent here from the Capitol to be trained, properly.
Mollie and Tyler were both examining the horses, there's four in total. All black coated. This means one of us will have to take two because, the twins wouldn't want help from anyone else. They are stubborn like that, well Tyler is. I tell myself to quickly claim one horse but I was too late cause as I thought that, Tyler and Mollie both said simultaneously "I'm taking that one", pointing to two horses. They knew the drill and it left me with two horses. I'll have to take care of both. Lucky me.
By the time, I successfully finish grooming the horses and taken them to a singular stable of their own. Mollie and Tyler were both done and riding some of the other horses they're training; And since it was only the start of the afternoon. I joined in but with Katniss instead of a soon-to-be-capitols-horse.
I ride her smoothly across the plains that we use for training the horses, alongside Mollie and Tyler.
I end up leaving, after about a hour of riding. I need to get to my own house, I have work to do there.
"Bye Katniss!" I say before leaving the stables and going over to the twins, who are waiting on the horses to see me off.
Mollie hopped off her horse, which I think she called 'highway', and I'm guessing she called the horse because I had been talking about highways and the cities from before the world was taken by the weather not too long ago and I guess it stuck her mind.
She gave me a hug "See you tomorrow" she says with a almost sad smile.
I gave her a sad smile back. Even with a rich family like hers, she is still in the running for the hunger games, and tomorrow, is the reaping.
We're all going may be going to the games tomorrow.
But like I said, I'm not that worried, I'm only a small percentage of thousands.
I wave to Tyler and walk back to my house.
Now that I'm thinking about it, if I did get in the games. I'll know for sure I'd lose. I'm not that strong, I may be a little faster than some people from school but that's almost nothing to careers. Careers are the tributes from district 1,2 and 4. Tributes who volunteer and have grown up training for the games; and it's not that surprising that the careers have won four years in a row now.
I think, it's mainly because nowadays, the poorer districts, including mine are getting slack or having terrible tributes drawn out from the Bowls of names.
Well okay, that's not entirely true, last year, someone from our district got into the top five until he unfortunately got captured by one of Finnick Odair's fishing nets and got stabbed by Finnick's trident.
I almost found it unfair that Finnick got a trident, but It wasn't really his fault, he's naturally good looking and the Capitol sponsors took notice of him because of it. It wasn't his fault because he wasn't the one that made him kill, it was the Capitol and their bloody complex that this will make people stay at bay and not rebel. To me, the Capitol doing this makes me think that they are afraid we will rebel again and this time win.
I know, that one day this will happen. Till then, we will send the children to fight to the death for the capitols amusement and make them believe we are fully under control. When really, we are just waiting for the right time. Though I may be wrong. I hope I'm not.
One hour later.
"Sending in the first cow, Alexis" my father says, lifting the gateway from the outside into the barn and a full grown beef cow comes through.
I lift up the blade in my hand before letting go and using all of my strength to kill the creature and hack off its head. Blood drips from the blade and onto my hands and apron.
Weirdly I'm not fazed by the blood and guts. It might have something to do with my mothers death but it might just be something I was born with.
I move on to skinning the beast, and slicing the legs and body off before wrapping them up and hanging them.
I repeat again, when another cows comes through the gate. Kill, skin, chop, hang, repeat.
Yup, my job for the family is butchering the cows.
My brother didn't have the guts to do it as he always vomited afterwards, so he helps dad milk the dairy cows and round up the beef cows for the butchering, I do. My sister just doesn't like big animals, which is alright as she has chickens, and my father taught me, so he can do it as well but he rather not when I can do it.
I started this weird talent when I was nine and I had watched my father do it. My siblings had dared me too, cause our father said to never to come in when he was in the butchering barn. At first, i was slightly horrified by all blood but oddly I had gotten used to it after a couple of cows. I had got caught when I accidentally knocked down a wrapped up leg but fortunately I didn't get punished, but my father did notice I was perfectly fine. So he had asked if I wanted to try. Which I did and that's leads me to today, butchering the cows like its nothing.
By the time, I had finished twelve cows, it was night. My father and me loaded the cow limbs on the truck that we use to drive to the large freezer warehouse next to the train station, so it doesn't become gross overnight.
Once we're on the road, my father and me start talking about the day.
It doesn't take long till we get there and sell the meat to the peacekeepers then give us the money for it and take the meat into their own hands for the Capitol to have.
The money should last us a week and a few days.
I didn't have a shower when I got home, I just had dinner and got into bed, read and fell asleep.
I sat with my family at the table, unlike most mornings, we got up late, and like every year on the day of the reaping, we have a day off and everyone sleeps in.
My family were silent. Jude sat worried for us. It's his first year off the hook and that meant my name is put in more times than the standard. He looked like he felt bad that I'm more at risk at having my name drawn out.
Dani has always been scared about the games even before last year where her name got put in the bowl for the first time.
My dad like both of my siblings worry and scared that we would lose another person.
They think I'm being idiotic cause I'm never as worried and scared as them. I could be, but it's one person out of a lot of children, I just don't see the point of it. Worrying when most people live without going in.
I guess, I'd be sad if a friend went, like Mollie. No, if she did, I'll have no idea how my life would continue. She's my best friend and I can't see my life without her in it, being the one to soften the blow of her brother's personality and to be the one that listens to the stories I read.
Either way, there's still a small percentage that her, Taylor and Dandelion's name will be taken out of that bowl.
Once I finished my breakfast, I head to my room to read. I still have a couple hours before I should get ready for the reaping.
When I reach my room and pick up a book on 'knots'. It's not that fun to read but you never know when knot tying will be useful.
Time flew and three hours later, I put down the book finished. I sigh and look out to the field outside my window which has cattle scattered all over the place. After a while of admiring the beauty of grass and the trees that provide shade for the animals. I got up off my bed, getting out my only dress, a denim light blue dress.
I walk out of my room, heading for the bath.
After washing the dirt and cow blood that I had gotten from yesterday, I get dressed into the dress. My sister is already dressed and so is the rest of my family when I travel back to my room to do my hair. I take my brunette hair and put it in a high only tail, leaving out my fringe. Which is just two shorts bits of my hair parted at the sides of my foreheads.
Once I'm done getting ready, I face my family. Who all have darker hair than me. I took after my mother in almost everything.
Anyway, we all headed off for the reaping as its starting in fifteen minutes.
Before I knew it, I was standing with the rest of the fifteen year olds, waiting for our Mayor to finish introducing Aurora Humbert, a girl whose in her 40's with lovely blonde hair which has a small hint of grey and a permanent tired face and who is sadly our only living victor at the moment before handing over the microphone to our escort, Baxtin, who once again is wearing a suit that has an animal printed all over it and this year it's a fish. Must be something to do with the fact that district 4, the fishing district won last year.
"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour!" You almost hear everyone's thoughts after Baxtin happily said that 'the odds are never in our favour'.
"I'll start with the girls!" He said as he walked over to the bowl with the girls names in it.
Everyone tenses around me, all hoping it's not them.
Like I said before, the percentage is very little of me getting it.
So I don't know why out of all the names
"Alexis Lumbrage!"
it's mine that is called out.
PLEASE DO NOT JUDGE ON HOW TERRIBLE I AM AT MAKING THIS EXCITING!
but even if it's bad, please favourite and follow?