This is it, guys. The final District. This is the most I've written for any chapter - a total of 3,795 words! Unbelievable! Thank you to everyone who submitted outfits and a special thank you to KatnissClove4Ever for sending me the rest of the chariot ride outfits. I still need Interview outfits for D2 Male, Both from D3, D4 and D6, D7 Male, and both from D9, D11 and D12. By the time you finish reading the chapter, the poll for you to choose your top 3 tributes will be officially up! If you can't remember anything about the tributes, re-read the chapters. Remember, the votes decide the tribute's fate (mostly). If you still have queries, PM or leave a review. Thank you for reading. Plus it's my birthday tomorrow so I'm in a really happy mood :) 12/04
Agnes Burnghese, 18
I think this is the first time District 12 has had two volunteers for the same games, ever. I know we've had only a handful in the past but they all had very serious reasons. However, none of them had two volunteers. The majority of the people who volunteered did it because their sibling was chosen. That's the exact same reason as me. My little sister, Katherine, was reaped. She's only 12. It was her first year and she only had her name in there three times. Once, as it's mandatory, and another two for tesserae for her and dad. I had to take out tesserae for me and mum. My name was in that bowl 21 times and out of the thousands of slips in the bowl, the escort had to snatch out one of Kat's slips. The odds certainly weren't in either of our favours today. Kat still has a chance to be reaped again and I won't be there to save her unlucky ass again. I hate the stupid Capitol for what they're making us do! I'm one to hold grudges after an argument, but they only last two-three weeks tops. But 125 years? I mean, come on, isn't it about time to resolve their differences so I don't have to kill and be killed?
I sit down on the sofa of the cabin, staring out the window, while the train whisks me away to a place I've only heard about, where the colours are brighter than anything you could imagine and the food livens up your taste buds and make you want to dance. I'm most likely never going to see my District, my friends, my family and more importantly, Katherine, ever again. I catch my last glimpse of home before the scene outside suddenly changes to one long block of pure black. We've gone through a tunnel and have just seen my district for the last time. Let's look at the upsides of this situation; I get to experience brand new things, I get to meet new people, I get to actually eat a proper meal, I get to explore the world of the Capitol and... that's it. What are the downsides? I have to leave my entire life behind and start a new, terrifying one, I never get to see my family and friends, no matter what happens, my life will be changed for the worse, and I have to train to kill innocent people. What else am I forgetting? Oh yes... my almost certain death. To take my mind off things, I think back to the Reaping, like that will help my feelings.
The Reaping wasn't going to be until the afternoon, and I didn't have to work for the day, so I was allowed a lie-in. A couple of needed extra hours of sleep. Unfortunately, my lie-in was interrupted, half an hour in, by Katherine screaming her head off. She'd been having nightmares of the Reaping all week. Surprisingly, not of her getting Reaped, but me. Just shows how much she loves me. I managed to get over the nightmares when I was around 16. Every now and then I still get nightmares of it, though. I ran across the room to comfort her and she immediately fell back asleep again. Lucky. Wish I could do that. Wake up, scream, disturb your sister, get her to comfort you then fall asleep just to annoy her. She was most likely not actually trying to do that, but I felt like she was. I looked at the time and I only had to see the '0' at the start to know there were still at least fours until the Reaping. I tried to go back to sleep for another hour but my body kept telling me to get up. Stupid body clock. I got dressed under the covers (I didn't want Katherine to suddenly wake up to catch me undressing, awkward) and went into the kitchen to serve up breakfast. Mum and dad are both useless at cooking. No matter how much they try, they always seem to burn the food. I got the meat at the Hob yesterday and kept it fresh for this morning. I know meat for breakfast is a bit weird but it's the only time of the year we ever have it. If either me or Katherine happened to be Reaped, at least we would have a full belly for the long train ride. I woke up the family to tell them breakfast was on the table and each of them asked for five more minutes extra snooze. I felt rather mean today so I forced them out of bed by opening their curtains so the sun could burst through the windows and took off their blankets. Thankfully, they were all wearing pyjamas. As I had a few hours left until the Reapings, I decided to have a shower, pick out my Reaping clothes - a faded, pink, sleeveless dress, which went down to my knees - and have a nice, long walk around the blocks.
When I stepped outside, I was greeted by a sea of white peacekeeper jumpsuits. Everywhere I turned there were peacekeepers. I think there were more peacekeepers than citizens, although that's probably an exaggeration. I started walking around the poorest area of our District and caught a glimpse of a boy in the window, crying into his mother's shoulder. It must be have been his first year. I carried on moving forward to see a bunch of 19 year old girls, showing off the fact that they are no longer able to be Reaped. Great. Show-offs. Just what we needed. They laughed at everyone who was still under 18 going by. I had the right mind to slap each one of them across the face as hard as I could but, of course, the peacekeepers would probably pounce on me and beat me until I was barely conscious. I kept going around the blocks until my eye was caught by something shiny, by a torn down building. I looked over and saw it was a silver rock. It looks simple to the mind but you could get a lot for something this small. Silver is very rare in District 12 as the only time we ever find it, we have to give it to the Capitol. To find a discarded piece of silver is unbelievable. I literally rushed over to the Hob before closing time and traded it for four juicy oranges and some eggs. The lady at the stall grabbed me by the arm just before I left and quickly shoved something into my pocket. She told me to only take it out when I got home. So I did just that.
When I got home, I gave Katherine, mum and dad three of the oranges and saved the last one for myself. The look on their face was hilarious. I had to explain my finding of the silver rock and then remembered the woman shoving something in my pocket. I looked down and pulled out the... thing. I gasped at my discovery. It was chocolate. Something I've only had once in my life when the new mayor was elected four years ago. I couldn't remember the taste but I knew it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever tasted. Chocolate is a delicacy in any District and if you were found with some, you'd instantly be jailed as peacekeepers would only assume you stole them. To have chocolate in my own hands is incredible. I broke it off into four pieces, one for each family member, and reminded each of them to savour the taste. Kat had never had chocolate before and it wasn't long until it was all in her stomach. Mum was next to finish, ending with a groan to show how much that chocolate satisfied her taste buds. It was a race between me and my dad to see who could finish last. He eventually caved in a shoved the last bite into his deserving mouth. In fact, everyone was deserving of this chocolate. I couldn't resist and chomped through the rest of it. It took us the whole of ten minutes to eat that chocolate. We'll probably never see another piece of chocolate again.
While rest of family got dressed for the special day, I grabbed my jacket and went back outside to harvest the plants. I brought them in and washed them. Kat suddenly popped out of nowhere asking how long it was until the Reaping. I wished she wouldn't do that. Whenever she creeps up on me, I always get a mini-heart attack. Although, I have to laugh at it. I told her we had about an hour before we had to set off. With that, she ran out the door, telling me she'd be back in 45 minutes. I wondered where she had gone. 55 minutes later, Kat walked through the door, flustered. I asked her what she'd been up to but interrupted her before she could answer by telling her we were going to be late if we kept dilly-dallying. We both waved mum and dad goodbye and set off to the sign-in desk.
Her face turned back to her natural colour and I repeated my earlier question.
"So, what got you so flustered?"
"I think this is the best time to tell you," she replied, looking down at her feet while walking, "I've had a crush on a boy for the past few weeks and I wanted to go over to his house to wish him luck at the Reaping. Apparently, he had a crush on me as next thing I know, his lips were pressed against mine. We agreed that if neither of us were put in the Games, we would become boyfriend and girlfriend." By the end of it, she was beaming in my face. She must have really liked this lucky boy. Bless her, her first boyfriend. I was going to make sure they would end up together. Even though I hadn't even met the boy, I trusted my sister enough to be with him.
We arrived at the desk and signed in. I guided Kat over to her section and walked over to the 18 year olds section. I couldn't bear leaving her, just as I had had to do every other year, but I knew I'd meet up with her after the Reaping. Once we were all filed in, the escort walked out. She called herself Candy Cane. I'm still not sure whether she appointed that name herself or if her parents were that crazy enough to call their child "Candy Cane." I instantly noticed her dress. It was made out of waffles, ice cream cones and, the most unbelievable part of it, chocolate! Her dress had chocolate on it. The taste of the chocolate from earlier came oozing in my mouth and I even caught myself slowly chewing on thin air. It was so delectable that I was tempted to run up to the stage and just eat her dress. It looked so satisfying. Her hair was the thing that caught my attention next. It looked like a bright blue fluff ball with sprinkles all over it. Now I understood her name. I could tell Katherine was feeling exactly the same as me at that point.
Without further ado, Ms Cane announced she would start off the tributes selection with the girls, ending her announcement with "ladies first." I hate that phrase, sometimes. She reached down, spread her fingers out, like a claw machine, grabbed a slip and slowly pulled it out. The next minute felt like an hour but the truth eventually came. The name of the girl going into the games was...
"... Katherine Burnghese!"
I looked around. I knew that name. It was very familiar. I looked up to the stage and only saw the flowing, chestnut brown hair of the girl going up to realise that my sister had just been Reaped. Without thinking, I did what only a handful of people have done in the past.
"I volunteer!" I wasn't thinking clearly but that was the only thing I could do to get Katherine out of her death sentence, and straight into mine. Everyone stared at me as I mounted the stage. I hugged Katherine and told her to run to mum and dad and to not look back. I didn't want her to see her sister go off to her death.
"I'm guessing that was your sister. What's your name, dear?"
I just give a blank expression and mumble only my first name, "Agnes." They obviously knew my last name. I looked out to the crowd and found my family walking back to my house. Good, Katherine listened to me. I don't even realise that Candy is carrying on with the Reapings until I hear something completely out of the ordinary.
"I volunteer!"
No way. Two volunteers? From District 12? This is the first time that's ever happened. I knew that because dad always went on about how Districts One, Two and Four usually had two volunteers, but never District 12. We've only had a maximum of one at a time. His name is Eric Johnson and he's also 18. I wondered, could District 12 actually have a victor? We haven't had one for a number of years. I certainly wasn't alive for that special year, anyway.
I was escorted to the Justice Building and left in a large, wooden room. My family came through the door, crying, obviously. They were all thanking me for taking Katherine's place. I gave Katherine a quick smile and whispered something into her ear, which made her giggle.
"Now that boy will definitely go out with you."
She gave me one last hug before being escorted out by the peacekeeper. I'm glad I made Katherine smile before I died.
I'm in my room in the cabin, now, and the last memory I'll ever have of my family actually puts a smile on my face before I drift off to - what I wish was - a never-ending sleep.
Eric Johnson, 18
Okay, two volunteers for District 12. This could work. I know we will certainly get attention from sponsors. This is the first time District 12 has ever had two volunteers. Maybe I could win this, with the help from Agnes. I need to keep my head up as I have no chance. The only reason I volunteered was only because my friend, Jack, was Reaped. Why did he have to get Reaped, and why did I have to be so kind? I feel devastated that I might never see my friends and family again.
Speaking of family, I distinctly remember my Reaping. We all had the day at work, due to problems at the workplace, so, as it was a sunny day, we decided to stay in our garden and relax. We all knew Reaping Day was the next day but I didn't need to worry much because I only had my name in the slip seven times. I had no more years left to be able to compete in the Games after this Reaping so I was feeling pretty good. We all laid out our seats and laid in the garden all day, while all the poorer people worked. I'm from the richer-by-a-margin part of the District so life is slightly easier if you're not living in the Seam. I had no younger brothers to worry about as both of my siblings are older than me so if the worst-case scenario happened, I'd have had to rely on a friend, instead of a sibling.
When everyone else had finished work, I decided to pop over to my friend's house in the Seam. Jack was two years younger than me but I had known him since he was born. Our parents were best friends, even though we lived completely separate lives. I saw him more or less everyday. He'd just come back from work and he looked exhausted. He did work in the mines, however, so it's not surprising. I went over to check on him and see how he was feeling about Reaping Day. He was dreading it. He'd had loads of slips put in the bowl and had no hope of getting through his last three years. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. If he was Reaped, I'd lose my best friend.
I couldn't sleep a wink that night. The thoughts of Jack getting Reaped flooded my mind and there was no way of getting rid of them. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see him dying in multiple waves. At the hands of another tribute, drowning, burning alive, sacrifice, even suicide. There were so many more that I'll never forget. I'd never considered how much he meant to me. He was the only one who understood me and I him. I'd be so alone without him.
I got up after attempting, but failing, to sleep. I still couldn't get the images of Jack dying out of my mind. He wouldn't stand a chance in the arena. He was only 16. I got dressed and had breakfast. Nothing special as we didn't have anything to celebrate. Luckily, no-one in our family had ever been Reaped before. I went down to Jack's house so we could walk down to the Square together. He was saying his goodbyes to his parents, as if they were going to be his last. I went over to comfort his parents as I was like a second son to them. They both wished me luck, even though they knew I was more than likely safe. They didn't want to let Jack go, so I literally had to pull him out the door. As we were walking down to the Square, I noticed Jack was crying the whole way down. As a best-friend, I thought saying something might make him break down completely so I just put my arm around him and took him to the signing in table. He went over to the other sobbing 16 year olds and I went off to the 18 year olds section. Many of the boys were excited as they were fairly confident they wouldn't get Reaped, so that would mean they would never have to be in this situation again. I wished I could feel what they felt but the thoughts Jack getting reaped kept creeping back into my mind.
The escort walked out and she looked really sweet, literally. She was fairly young for an escort but I couldn't care less. Her name was Candy Cane, which was a very accurate name given her appearance. Candy floss hair, ice-cream dress, this woman was mental. When she thought someone said "glitter," she went crazy. She had glitter all over her body. She started off the Reaping by announcing that she'd do ladies first. Just hurry up! She took out a slip and read out Katherine Burnghese's name. I had no idea who she was.
"I volunteer!" I don't believe it. A volunteer. We haven't had a volunteer in years. Without doubt, the girl had to be Katherine's sister. That's the only reason anyone really volunteers in this District, and rarely at that, as well. Candy was over the moon at the volunteer. Maybe District 12 could come back with a victor for once. You never know.
The "sweetie" walked over to the boy's bowl and picked out the name. I couldn't bear it. I had to know. The simple unfurling of the slip felt like a lifetime. I was biting my nails at this point. Why is she not saying the boy's name? Hurry up!
"Jack Samuels," she cried.
Wait, what? That can't be right. The whole idea was for me to have nightmares about Jack going into the Games, but for them to only stay as nightmares, not real life. I couldn't believe, after all this time, he got reaped. I saw him go on stage with tears streaming down his face. He's screwed. After a moment's hesitation, I did what I still don't know was a good choice.
"For God's sake," I screamed, "I volunteer!"
The look on Jack's face was horrible. He burst into more tears and almost slipped on his tears. I hugged him on stage and told him he was going to be okay.
"TWO VOLUNTEERS?" Candy had almost fainted. There had never been two volunteers from District 12 go into the Games at the same time before. I guess there's a first time for everything. My first thought was about Jack. He was safe for at least another year. "Well," Candy started, "I can only assume he was your brother." I couldn't be bothered to correct her. Plus, he is my brother, anyway, in a metaphorical sense.
I was taken into the Justice Building and my family walked in. They looked disappointed. "That was a stupid move, son," dad stated, "you've ruined our family's streak. You're the first member of our family to ever go in the Games since the Hunger Games began." Sorry for looking out for someone who actually defines the word 'family'. My brother gave me a mean glare, as did my mum. My sister, however, tried so hard not to crack and she kept it going until they were all escorted out. She quickly waved at me, without the notice from the family, and scurried out. Next to walk in was Jack. We both burst into tears and I promised I would win for him. No try, just win. Who knows? Maybe I could. I gave him a kiss on the forehead and watched him leave, probably the last time I'd ever see him again. Jack's parents came in for only a minute to thank me for saving him. They gave me a bracelet, made by Jack. He was meant to give it to me after the Reaping. This would be my District token.
Once I was escorted to the train, I sat down in front of the food. I couldn't think to eat, so I went to my room. After going over what happened during the day, I change into the pyjamas laid out for me and lie down in my bed. I don't bother watching the reruns of the Reapings as I'll figure out how they went from the looks on their faces. I wonder how many volunteered this year? I close my eyes and let my nightmares of Jack dying in multiple ways turn into nightmares of me dying in multiple ways. Brilliant. This won't be a nice sleep, no matter how comfortable the bed is.