Thank you for those of you who have reviewed! You guys make me so happy! :)

Thanks, The-Secret-romantic19 for your idea about Rue's life before the Games, so enjoy!

My eyes closed and all I could see was darkness until I slipped into an unconscious state. I didn't know what was happening; I was dead so I was supposed to go to heaven right? Then as I did fall unconscious, I saw my life before me…

I woke up like it was another morning except this one was different: today was my twelfth birthday. My name would be put into the reaping for this year's Hunger Games. I was the oldest of 6, so I would be the first in my family to possibly go away. This birthday wasn't like the past ones. There was no real joyfulness this year; or for the next six.

"Happy Birthday Rue!" Rose, my youngest sister who was only three, came running up to me, giving me a hug when I stepped into the kitchen. She was the only excited one; of course she didn't know about the Hunger Games, she was still too young. My parents didn't allow her to watch them; we didn't want her to get nightmares from all the gore. Everyone else was at the table, sharing what little breakfast we had.

"Happy Birthday." My mom rose from her seat and embraced me, hiding the terrified gaze in her eyes. She was scared I would be chosen in the reaping. My dad and my four other siblings murmured "Happy Birthday" too, because we weren't going to confuse Rose on why we all weren't happy. My dad pulled me aside and we stepped into our small family room. "Ready to work out in the fields?" he asked, trying to sound excited but his eyes betrayed him. My birthday was during the fall and that was when we had our "summer break" from school. All of us worked in the fields until winter and then school would continue throughout the summer. District 11 wasn't like the other districts.

"Sure." I said. I knew this wasn't the reason he pulled me aside. "Rue, you know we're struggling to get enough food for all of us. And since you just turned twelve and you're the only one old enough to sign up for tesserae…" he trailed off. I saw this coming. We were starving and it was the only thing we could do if we weren't going to starve to death.

I took a deep breath. "Okay." I said. My dad looked sadder than ever. "You know how much it upsets me to even think you're going into the reaping, right?" he asked, hugging me. "Yes," I whispered.

I was outside in the bitter, cold air, my hands working efficiently with the crops. There was a chilly breeze, causing me to wish I had gloves, but you can't work in the fields with gloves on. Our family has a wide arrange of crops. We grew rice, wheat, corn, oats, pumpkin, cotton, soybeans, and other things. We all worked together harvesting, growing, and planting.

I sang softly to myself a four-note tune that I loved to sing. Above me, a mockingjay repeated it and then another and another. They were here all the time, listening to me hum and repeat it. I liked to think they were my friends. And I think they seemed to think that too.

I looked around to make sure no one would see me. Then I took some of the oats I had gathered and held them out to the birds. They looked at me and then my hand. Then they flew down from their tree and ate them. It wasn't a lot, so no one would notice but it seemed like a nice thing to do. It kind of symbolized that the mockingjays trusted me.

"Rue!" Another one of my sisters, Willow, called me. She was the second oldest, being 11. "Help me with this pumpkin!" I headed over to the pumpkin patch. Willow was waiting by a big pumpkin. Not a huge one, but big enough that two of us were needed to carry it.

We untangled it from its vines, and finally managed to lift it and walk without tripping. We carried it over to the basket we had to put our crops into since we couldn't keep them for ourselves. It was the mayor's rules.

At sunset, I was finally done. We sat down at the table, seeing what little food we have. My father brought a groosling and we shared that. It wasn't much, but at least we had something to fill our stomachs. We all wanted more, but our father was the only hunter in the family. There wasn't much he could catch.

I went into my room and huddled underneath the woolen blankets to stay warm. I shared a room with two of my siblings. The others shared another room. "Goodnight." I said. "Goodnight." they said back.

It was morning and as usual, I was ready to work again. As I went down to breakfast, my parents looked worried. "What happened?" I asked. "The mayor called everyone to the square." my mother replied grimly. Everyone was quiet for a while. Then we headed out of our house and to the square.

By the time we got there, the whole place was crowded. I noticed Thresh's family was next to us. We didn't know each other very well, but enough to know each other's names. I saw him at school from time to time. "Hi Thresh," I said, trying to break the anxiety like everyone else was trying to do. "Hey," he replied. Before I could reply, the mayor started the meeting.

"Thank you all for coming. You have all gathered here this morning for a very important issue." the mayor paused and a young man was beside him, with something like fear in his eyes. "This man has tried to escape District Eleven. He was caught and shall now be punished!" The crowd gasped. There were murmurs and everyone looked around. I caught Thresh's eye and noticed how shocked he was.

Almost no one tries to escape District 11. This man must've been really desperate and brave to try to leave. One of the mayor's workers came with a long whip. Everyone was alarmed at this point and someone even started screaming. The mayor quieted everyone and he gave the signal to start whipping.

My parents put their hands over Rose and Ash, since they were the youngest, so they couldn't see. The guy whipped him, and the man cried out in pain. He did it over and over again while the crowd was watching, speechless. I wanted to look away, but I was frozen and couldn't move. A few minutes passed and the man paused. The guy was bloody and horrifying looking, and it looked as if he couldn't hold on much longer. Then the guy raised the whip once more and brought it down with all the strength he had. I looked away just as it hit him and heard the cry and then it was quiet.

I looked up cautiously. The man was lying down, showing his back. I looked away quickly again, feeling bile rise up in my throat. I tried to calm myself, trying not to vomit. I managed to push it down, and I was breathing hard. There were tears in my eyes, no one deserved this. The mayor started to speak again. "And this is the consequence if you try to escape." With that, he walked away and some men picked up the man and put him on a slab of wood and carried him to the burial place.

I had nightmares. Nightmares about that poor man and sometimes that guy whipping me. I woke up screaming at night, drenched in sweat. I worried my siblings but I assured them I was fine.

Life was the same everyday, getting up, work from when the sun was up, till it went down. Then we had school in the spring, I would sometimes see Thresh in the halls, since there was only one school for all of us. Summer came, and each day was a step closer to Reaping Day.

"Wake up!" Willow's voice hissed in my ear. I rolled over and squinted at her. It was early morning and the sky was gray. "Huh?" I groaned. I slept in during school seasons because it didn't start as early as we have to in the fall.

"It's Reaping Day," Willow said. I opened my eyes. "We don't have to go to the square until this afternoon." Willow sighed. "I know, but I can't sleep. I'm just so worried." I was about to say there was no reason to worry; that I most likely wasn't going to be picked because my name was only in there twice. But I didn't. In truth, I was worried too. Instead, I said, "Try not to, you need sleep." Then I went back to bed.

The square was bubbling with anticipation. People were bustling around nervously, and it was packed. I wore my nicest dress, a white one with flowers sewn onto it. I looked up at the front, with a lady with flaming red hair standing and talking with the mayor. Her hair wasn't natural red; it was a dark red like blood.

In a booming voice, she got us all quiet. "All right everybody, time for the reaping!" she yelled in the same booming voice that it almost hurt my ears. "I'll start with the girls first, then the boys and remember, may the odds be ever in your favor!" She stuck her hand in the basket that held our names and moved it around until her fingers found one. My heart was beating rapidly in my chest. I hardly dared to breathe as she opened her mouth and read the name: "Rue Bloomingfield!" It was dead quiet. People turned to look at me. My mother and father drew in shaken breaths. Willow had tears silently streaming down her eyes. Even Rose knew what was going on and had an upset look on her face. I took a deep breath and walked slowly up to where the lady was. I was shocked. There were no tears like I thought there would be when I thought about having to go up there. But this is reality. There's no time to get emotional.

No one volunteered to take my place which didn't surprise me. Then she called the boy's name. "Thresh Dale!" Again, people stared and I was surprised too. I never would've thought I'd be with Thresh. No one volunteered for him either and we were taken away from the crowd and placed into separate rooms.

We were told that our families were going to come in one by one and say their goodbyes. Willow came in first and was teary-eyed. "Rue," she started but was too choked up to say anything. "One minute." the peacekeeper said. I got up from my seat and hugged her. "What if you die?" Willow asked, her voice high. "I just want you to know, whatever happens to me, I love you." I said. Willow nodded and whispered, "I love you too."

My other two siblings, Marie who was seven and Seed who was nine, came in next. They were also teary-eyed. I told them the same thing I told Willow, and then their time was up. My parents were the last ones to come with Ash and Rose.

My mom rushed over and put her arms around me, holding me tightly. She whispered things like, "I love you so much," and "Do the best you can," I could tell she thought I was going to be killed but didn't want to let herself think that. Then my dad came over and did the same thing. The peacekeeper made them leave and I boarded the train with Thresh and we left for the Capitol leaving District 11 forever.

Hey guys since the book never said what Rue and Thresh's last names were I just wrote the first thing that came to my mind. The same thing goes for Rue's siblings. Just saying. :) I hope you liked it so please review!