Chapter 1: The Reapings (Districts 1-7)
A/N: I have a surprise for the ending of this chapter! No spoilers
Genesis' POV
The afternoon breeze drifted calmly through the open window in Genesis' spacious bedroom. He stared calmly into the burning coals in the small wood stove in the corner of his room. The flames danced inside along the smooth charred stones and he dealt with the fact that today was the day. He knew that his family was expecting him to volunteer today. This is what he had trained for his entire life and this is what his purpose in life was and he knew he would come back out on top.
He shifted until his neck was rested comfortably in the nest of pillows leaning against the leather headboard of his massive bed. His gaze flickered to the glamorous view from his bedroom he had over the rest of the district. The heart of the district was filled with factories and warehouses that created and stored Capitol's luxury goods. The Justice building was at the north end of the District and you could see Capitol's emblem engraved into the face of it.
Shops lined the street leading up to it as well as several homes scattered here and there. A courtyard stood in the center filled with memorials to pay homage to fallen Tributes. Statuettes of Tributes formed rings around the massive memorial itself. Genesis's house was at the south end of the main road atop a hill side. Wrought iron fence at least eight feet high adorned with a giant double gate blocked off unwanted guests from entering the area. Manors lined this portion of the street and houses filled the seemingly endless plot of land until it reached the hillside that Genesis' family owned.
Only a few houses came within a two mile radius of his own. His family had become the wealthiest in the District and owned their own plot of land with their estate.
He rubbed his eyes weakly before getting out of bed and heading out of his room. He descended a long stairway that descended to the bottom floor of his house. His sister's Topaz and Sapphire raced past him and jumped the last few steps before disappearing into the huge kitchen. Genesis calmly walked into the kitchen to see his grandmother standing beside a huge island and his mother cooking breakfast by the stove. She fixed him a warm plate of eggs and ham steak. "Eat up," she said quietly, "You need to look strong for when you volunteer today."
He nodded in silent compliance and devoured the plates in moments. "I left your outfit hanging in your closet in your bedroom," said his mother, "You need to look great for when you appear on stage." She squeezed his right cheek softly and he pulled away and groaned, "Stop mom." He jogged up the stairs in a hurry to escape his mother and opened the black door to his bedroom. He snatched open the thin glass sliding door of his closet and snatched out the outfit his mother had put together.
He laid it on the bed and disappeared behind the doorway leading inside his bathroom. He quickly shed his clothes and stepped into his spacious shower letting the steaming hot water wash away any doubts he had about volunteering today. He shut the water off and quickly toweled off and got dressed before heading back downstairs. He hugged his mother, father, grandmother, and two little sisters goodbye before leaving for the Reaping. A stable coach transported him and a few others down into the city where he got out and began to assemble with the others. Music played and their new escort climbed on stage. "Welcome all," he said, "I'm very pleased to be District 1's new escort. My name is Ramon Hendrickson." He walked over to the bowl filled with slips of paper, "Let's break tradition and start with the boys," said Ramon.
He plucked out a card and he began to read off the name, "Alex-." "I VOLUNTEER!" yelled Genesis up to Ramon. "Very well, come on up," he called out to Genesis standing ten yards away from the stairs. "What's your name?" he asked Genesis holding the microphone close to his lips. "Genesis Theo," he replied calmly, "I promise my family that I will return and add another Games victory to our family's successes."
Velvet's POV
Velvet stood in the crowd surrounded by her closest friends who all stared in revering silence at Genesis and in anticipation for who would volunteer. Ramon spoke again after Genesis fell into place, "Now for the ladies," he said. His had brushed the brim of the bowl and his fingers shuffled amongst the tiny envelopes of parchment. He plucked one out and carefully opened it up. He began to read off the name listed on it, "Ash-." "I volunteer," she yelled up to him.
"Well then come on up," said Ramon eagerly.
She strode up the steps and flashed a charming and captivating smile at the cheering crowd. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Velvet Meletno," she said loudly into the microphone, "I plan on bringing honor to our district once again this year by returning as victor."
A smirk spread across Genesis' face, "Good luck," he said with a laugh.
"You'll need it more than me out there in the arena," she replied with a malicious smile.
Her thoughts drifted away back to her morning today. Her eyes shifted to the facades of the academy jutting out over the cityscape like a shining beacon of marble. Behind the academy, a vast training yard spanned acres and acres until fence line separated it from the endless blocks of factories and warehouses. Smoke billowed from smokestacks and changed the sky around there to a muddled grey. Fake trees, rocks, mountains, and sand dunes sprawled the training arena to simulate any situation or terrain you could face in the arena during the actual Games.
Thinking about it now, she could see every "Games" she had participated in. She "killed" every one of her victims with sublime grace and put on a show. She always delivered the bloodiest kills. Looking back now, she knew she could win this, and any doubts were pushed away to the back of her mind instantly.
Her thoughts wondered back to earlier when she was training back in the academy's grounds before she had departed for the Reaping. She stood surrounded by ballistic gel mannequins she strapped her black leather sheathe to her right leg and drew two after taking a deep breath. This what she did best, and this put her mind at ease during times like this.
In a split second, one of the knives had flashed through the air and lodged dead center of its chest. Blood poured from the wound and pooled around it trickling across the grey cut stones. With another flick of the wrist, the other blade slid neatly into the gel mannequin's forehead with a sickening sound. A steady stream of blood poured from the wound and trickled down in streams down the mannequin's torso.
She unsheathed two more and nailed two more all kill shots. With each passing second, her speed and ferocity increased until the air was filled with metallic light. Blood exploded and flung in all directions from all of the wounds delivered. She wiped a few drops of the blood from her face and turned to find the tip of a sword dangerously close to her chest. "Dead," said an old woman simply. Her jet black dress swirled at her feet from the early morning breeze.
A faint smile crept across her lips as she studied the bloodied mannequins and spotted a knife lodged into the edge of a left lung. With inhumane speed her sword neatly sliced through the gel of the neck and sliced the head clean from its body. Blood pooled from the stump and cascaded onto the stone tiles. "You left a survivor," she said quietly, "Make sure it doesn't happen in the actual Games."
"Why are you helping me?" asked Velvet quietly still trying to guess at her motives.
"Because if Genesis fails you must step up to the task and return as the victor of the 76th annual Hunger Games," she said, "You must promise me at least this much, if Genesis falls in the arena that you will in the best of your ability avenge his death."
"Of course," she said in shock, "I would do that without being asked."
"Also, if he so much loses faith or gives up in the peak of the fight, kill him," she said her voice dropping dangerously low.
"Y-You want me to kill him?" asked Velvet her surprise clearly showing in her tone.
"If he has no chance of winning. Yes, yes I do," she said.
"How could you give up your grandson so easily?" asked Velvet.
"Oh dear, you haven't heard my story have you?" asked the old woman, "Well very well I will tell you. It was down to the final three tributes in the arena and I killed the first man I ever loved in them, just to win and bring honor back to the district and my family. I threw a knife straight into his heart."
The words echoed eerily inside her head, "Into his heart…into his heart…into his heart!"
She was snapped back to reality as the train came to a halt behind them. Ramon raced forward and ushered them onto the train without another look back behind him. The doors slid quietly closed behind them. The train disappeared into a dark tunnel leaving District 2 behind.
Kyle's POV
The sound of drills echoed harmoniously and chisels and pickaxes clicked against stone inside the huge quarries. Smokestacks towered over the sprawling cityscape pouring black smoke into the hazy sky. A palatial chateau stood erected atop a chiseled cliff top. The marble required for it had been directly cut out of the cliff face beneath the manse and it loomed over the majority of the district.
Kyle stood in the gardens outside of the chateau and was sparring with his father. He ducked under a clumsy blow and lunged inward, lancing the spear into the chest plate of his father's cuirass and bowled him over. He stared down at his father and swiftly brought the spearhead crashing down in the center of the chest plate leaving a small dent.
"Your dead," said Kyle monotonously.
"You need to lighten up Kyle," said his father frowning at him, "Today's the day you're finally going to volunteer into the Games."
"Yes dad, todays the day I'm going to volunteer to go slaughter others for Capitol's entertainment," he said.
"Isn't this what you wanted?" asked his father, "By persevering through anything the Capitol throws at you in the Games, that itself will be revenge enough to Capitol that they have no power over you."
"Don't you dare bring her up," snarled Kyle dangerously, "You have no right to even speak her name. Because you couldn't do the one thing I asked she had to enter in tesserae. I will never forgive you now that she's gone."
His father stood dumbstruck as though he had slapped him in the face and stayed silent.
Kyle regained his calm, "Besides, that's not even the point. Sure if I return I will bring even more wealth to our family. How can you be so happy that today's the day I'm leaving for the actual arena and may never ever return home," he said.
"Because I have to hold onto the small hope that you will return as victor; now go get ready for the Reaping," said his father quietly. Kyle nodded and walked across the remainder of the courtyard. Two Avoxes hurried to pull open the large doors to let him back inside. He walked back inside and crossed the open corridor to a huge stairway and grasped the stone banisters as he ascended higher into the chateau. He ducked into an open doorway and raced up a small spiral stairwell and ascended to the top of his tower. He gently pushed open the oak door and entered his huge and spacious bedroom.
A small sectional and glass table was spread about around the granite mantle and fireplace. Redwood floors glistened from the rays of the afternoon sunlight. He strode up the small steps to the raised floor where his bed lay. He strode past and quickly washed up in the large rotund tub in the center of his bathroom. He walked over to his closet and ignored the outfit his mother had had tailored for him for today. He tossed on a simple t-shirt and grey jeans and slipped on his wolf- fur lined leather jacket.
He hurried back down the stairs and crossed the corridor into the entrance hall and hugged his waiting family good bye before being exposed again to the icy and sharp mountain winds. The fur lining the hood of his coat ruffled and his locks flew about from the ragged winds exposing the majority of his sapphire-blue irises. He walked down the steps and traversed the hill down to the cable car waiting to take him into the heart of the district.
The cable car sped down the wire line and passed spires of rock narrowly as they descended the steep mountain. Kyle didn't even spare a glance back at his home. The cable car finally pierced a thick blanket of fog and had reached District 2's largest village finally. He stepped out into the square and the crowd turned around to see him striding toward them. They all hurried to clear a path for him and the district's new escort raised an eyebrow in inquiry.
Kyle returned a cold stare until the escort finally shifted his eyes away. His friends from the academy strode up to him calmly. "Hey Kyle," said Demetrius, his best friend since they were very young.
"Hey Demetrius," replied Kyle warmly. He hugged his friend Elisa and stop conversing with them once the anthem begun to silence them all.
"Welcome, welcome all to the Reaping for the 76th Annual Hunger Games!," he began, "I think I will switch off whoever goes first every years because I plan to be around for a very long time. SO this year, let's start with our male tributes." He reached his long, bony fingers into the glass bowl and swiftly plucked out an envelope. He stood silent looking up at the crowd expectantly. "I'm not going to waste my breath if one of you is just going to interrupt me and volunteer," he said.
"I volunteer," said Kyle.
The escort fixated a long calculating stare on Kyle and finally called him up to the stage. "What's your name?" he asked when he had finally reached his side.
"Kyle Munious," he replied.
He stood paralyzed in shock when a girl with flowing brown hair. Streaks of auburn glinted in the sunlight and her icy blue eyes glanced up at him and a smirk crossed the threshold of her lips. The escort gently shoved him off to the side completely confused from his reaction. The girl strode up to the front of the stage next to Demetrius and Elisa, "You look so much like her!" said Demetrius.
"That's because that's her cousin stupid," said Elisa.
The girl flashed an innocent smile up at Kyle. Kyle stared still dumbstruck at her. Haunting memories flashed through his head repeatedly and the escort's words became an incomprehensible blur.
Arden's POV
Arden wrapped her chocolate hair in a long ponytail and flung it over her right shoulder. The escort continued, "And this year's female tribute is." He plucked another small envelope out of the bowl and prepared to read off the name but faltered when Arden called up to him, "I volunteer."
"Well then come on up," said the escort.
She jogged up the staircase on the right and briskly strode over to him and spoke into the microphone before he even had the chance to ask, "Arden Carter."
The escort flashed a feral smile at her and concluded the Reaping before dismissing everyone and taking the two to the Justice building. Arden sat alone in the small room for the whole time with just her thoughts screaming inside of her head.
She spoke softly to herself, "He still remembers Avani and sees her in me."
"I could exploit that in the arena, but I made a promise to her," she whispered softly.
The Peacekeeper's strode into the room and told her that it was time to head down to the train. Arden nodded not even expecting anyone to show up. She strode out of the room and found Kyle standing in the hall. She said quietly to him as they left the Justice building, "She told me to protect you if you ever had to go into the Games."
"Who say's I need any protecting?" he asked his voice dangerously quiet.
"You can't take it out on them in the Games," she said to him urgently, "Those kids did nothing to her."
Kyle said nothing and walked forward and jumped up into the train ignoring her words. The door slid shut behind her and she raged after him screaming at him, "Listen to me!"
"What's to listen to?" asked Kyle, "I have no intention of taking out my fury on the other tributes. I still have to kill them to survive and I know she asked you to sacrifice yourself to save me, but it's not going to be happening that way."
"Oh believe me," she said with a smirk, "I have every intention of winning. I actually have a family that cares to return to."
"Oh really? Then how come they didn't show up for their half hour of private time with you in the Justice Hall," he asked reveling in silent victory.
"It's a show of strength. You of all people should know this," she replied.
Kyle winced at the direct jab, "How can you still blame me for that?"
"Your whole family shares the blame and I will exact my revenge later on in my lifetime if I return," she snarled at him.
She stomped off and slammed the door to her quarters shut behind her. "Sorry Avani, this is just one promise I have to break," she said.
Sylvia's POV
"Checkmate," she said laughing at her father staring at her dumbstruck.
"Again? I can never beat you at chess," he said putting on a fake pout.
She laughed, and he continued in a more serious tone, "You know, if you volunteered you could probably win the Games with your cleverness."
The smile slid off her face and as quickly as it had come, "Why would I want to? I mean I could win them, that I know?"
"Exactly," said her father, "You should volunteer."
"Maybe," she said quietly.
Her mother walked into the living room, "It's time to get ready for the Reaping," she said excitedly, "Today's the day District 4 might finally win for once in a long time."
"Why are you both so excited to cart me off into the Games?" she snarled.
"Because if you win this Capitol will finally pay attention to our District and bring even more wealth to us," she replied with a smile.
"There's also the chance that I won't return," she replied with a pang of hurt hidden in her voice, "Don't you care?"
"If you fail, then you just weren't good enough to win," she said flatly.
"Wow," replied Arden her anger surging up in her, "Get out!" She shoved her mother out and locked the door. She quickly bathed and got dressed before heading out without saying goodbye to any of her parents.
She strode down the street into the plaza towards the stage being set up for the Reaping. A crystal-blue haired woman strode up on stage and tapped the microphone lightly to test it and then waited for the citizens to find their places. Sylvia pushed through the crowd to reach the front to get the best view. She shoved two girls aside, "Get out of my way!"
The woman began to speak, "Hello everyone! Let's get started right away! Let's start with the ladies." She reached into the glass bowl and swiftly plucked out a small purple envelope. "Rene Gardner," she spoke into the microphone. A little girl stood frozen with fear in the center of the horde of girls. Sylvia watched as a little girl trudged up to the stage tears running down her face. The words came out of her mouth before she even knew she had spoken them, "I volunteer!"
Nessarose's POV
Nessarose awoke to the bright rays of sun piercing through the small gap in her curtains. She stretched and peeked out her bedroom window to see steam billowing up from the power plants. The sound of turbines silently spinning awakened the citizens in streams pouring from their homes to do their daily work. Nessarose glanced down into the square to see the stage for today's Reaping being put together.
She quickly washed up and got dressed in the outfit her mother had laid out for her while she was bathing and headed down to the square with her two younger sisters, Mayella and Gigi. She held their hands one on each side of her and helped them along through the teeming crowd gathering around them. Capitol's symbol flashed into existence behind the district's new escort. The anthem flared and the crowd fell silent.
The man with lime-green spiky hair and a strange tattoo on his left cheek spoke into the microphone, "Welcome citizens of District 5 to the Reaping of the 76th Hunger Games!" Nessarose scoffed at this guy's nerve. As if everyone was excited that two of them would be drawn to go fight to the death against twenty two others for Capitol's entertainment. Her little sisters hugged her legs tightly refusing to let her go. Nessarose's attention flashed through the crowd scanning everyone's faces for fear and any emotion.
The green haired escort walked right over to the girl's drawing bowl and plucked out a purple envelope. He pulled the seal free and read off the name contained within, "Nessarose Thatcher!"
Nessarose stood staring up at him in shock. His little sisters panicked and sobbed clutching at her legs as she tried to head up to the stage. She pried them loose and gave them each a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She briskly strode up the steps and walked over to the thin and green haired man. He raised her hand into the air, "This year's female tribute for District 5!" Soft applause rippled through the crowd.
Nessarose snatched her hand away in disgust from being touched by a Capitol pig. She turned on her heel and walked away from him before hiding in the shadows of the stage's backdrop. He walked over to the male tribute and walked over to the boy's bowl. His words were lost to her as her mind conjured up mental images of the arena. Images of her death flashed in her mind and her killing others flashed by.
The boy climbed up on stage and stood behind her silently. After they had gone into the Justice building to say their goodbyes to their families, they departed silently for the train waiting on the edge of the district. Nessarose passed the boy and boarded the train heading to her personal quarters immediately to plan out her strategy. The door slid shut behind her and the steady hum of electricity faded from her ears.
Estelle's POV (Both Tributes are in here)
The soft whispers of the wind blowing through the soft evergreen pines filled Estelle's bedroom. She jumped out of bed to the familiar pebble slapping against the glass pane of her window. She flung open her window and heard the sound of the lattice shaking violently beneath her window. The ivy coiled up to the base of her window and Leon grasped the sill and pulled himself up and into her bedroom.
Her kissed her softly and then leaned against the wall in the corner of the room, "I wonder who's going to be chosen today?" he said softly.
"Hopefully not either of us," she replied.
"If you get Reaped I'm volunteering to go in with you," he said.
"I can't let you do that. I would need you to care of your own as well as my family," she said.
"Don't say that like you are expecting to die in there if you were Reaped. You and I both know your capabilities with a sword," he replied with a laugh.
"I'm serious," she said breaking the short period of silence between them.
Leon ignored her, "Let's change the subject to a happier topic," he said.
Estelle laughed and Leon dived swiftly into her closet disappearing from view as the doorknob rattled and turned. Estelle's mother Celeste walked in, "I have your outfit ready."
"Ok I will go bathe soon," replied Estelle.
Celeste glanced at the closet and quietly spoke, "You can come out of there Leon."
"How did you know?" asked Estelle as Leon trudged out of her small closet.
"I was a teenager once to you know," she replied glaring at her daughter.
Leon smiled at Celeste and she gave him a brief hug before closing the door behind her. Estelle watched children start to depart from their homes to the square and left for bathroom door. She opened the small door in her room leading to it and Leon tried to follow. She shoved him and locked the door behind him, "No."
Leon laughed and climbed back out the window. Estelle toweled the droplets of water off and slipped on a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a long emerald green shirt. She put on some combat boots she her father had given her as a present.
She concealed a sheathed hunting knife in the sleeves of her shirt strapping it to her arm. She always carried it for her protection. She tied her hair up in a layered ponytail and slipped on a silver necklace with a glittering crystal rose attached to it. She hurried downstairs and opens the front door departing for the square. Her mom follows slowly at a distance behind to watch the Reaping too. Estelle raced across the green lawn and grabbed Leon's hand walking with him to the square. The stage was built off of the Justice Hall and stood erected just on the border of dense woodland.
The anthem began to play just as they walked up and they watched the Reaping from the back. The escort walked out from behind the stage and grabbed the microphone off of the stand. "Hello everyone, my name is Dante and I will be your new escort," he said. His purplish-red hair lay brushed aside to keep it out of his face. He flashed a charming smile into the crowd. "I would like to start with the ladies," he said winking at a few.
He reached into the bowl weaving his fingers through the pile of envelopes. He plucked one out from the bottom and removed the wax seal. He opened the envelope and cleared his throat before speaking the name, "Estelle Hadera!"
Estelle's hand clenched tightly on Leon's. She stared up at the stage completely in shock at her name being chosen at such a slim chance. She sighed and quickly kissed Leon before climbing the small stairway and heading over beside Dante. She stood their quietly anticipating the next name to be called as the male tribute of District 7.
Dante plucked another envelope from the male's bowl and reads off a name, "Marco Marks."
A dark blue haired boy strode through the crowd with a smirk towards the stage. The crowd started to part to make way for him. Leon watched Estelle standing up on stage helplessly and alone and his whole being screamed to join her up there. If they were to die, it would be together. Before he even knew he had spoken, the four words tumbled freely from his lips, "I volunteer as tribute."
Leon walked through the crowd and ignored the boy previously chosen with hatred directed at him burning in his eyes. The boy seethed in fury and headed to the back of the crowd. Leon strode calmly up the steps and walked over to join Estelle holding her in a tight embrace as she whispered angrily at him incomprehensively. He replied in a soothing tone trying to calm her down, "I know, but I couldn't just let you go all alone."
She turned to see her mother watching her from the crowd with twin trails of tears streaming down her cheeks. She put on her bravest ace to try to reassure her and headed into the Justice Building. A half hour later she reappeared out the front doors with Leon and Peacekeepers escorted the two and Dante to the train waiting to take them to Capitol.
She waves a final goodbye to her mother and the door slides closed quietly and the train speeds off leaving the vast forests of District 7 behind.