Don't just scroll to the bottom. Read this chapter. It explains a lot.

I'm in the business of misery,

let's take it from the top.

She's got a body like an hour glass,

ticking like a clock.

Chanel Lourd, 20

Vice President of Panem

Today is the day.

I can't believe that 18 years of my life is about to unfold today. By the time this is over, I'll be 38. That's well past my peak. I've had to stay strong so these other people would believe me that this is a great opportunity, but the truth is I don't know.

I don't know.

For the first time in my life, I am unsure. Walking into the Hunger Games 2 years ago was difficult. I was from an outlier district, but once I saw the people that were with me I calmed down. I knew I had that in the bag. The girl from District 6 that shocked the nation.

This I don't know. This is something that is new. I'm going to be a Mom technically. Rachel has it all planned. Iris and Huck will get 6 tributes each. Mackenzie and I will be the group with 7. We will live in separate houses, and each tribute will share a room with a counterpart. From there, everyday will be training once they reach the age of 5. On weekends they will have downtime where they can just be children.

They won't remember their past. How fortunate.

We don't even know who we are getting until we see the tributes in our designated rooms. Rachel is having us draw slips currently. The strips will say the gender, and the name of the district the tribute is in she hand picked for this games.

"Are we ready?" I ask.

Everyone gives me an unsure look. Mackenzie looks petrified. She wasn't sure to begin with, but now everything is coming into fruition.

"And we'll have nannies and night nurses right?" ask Huck as he opens the door the four of us have been standing in front of for five minutes. None of us moved. Ironic that four people who won the games can't face children.

"Yes, you'll have two until the kids are potty trained. Then one once they've grown older."

Walking into the room makes my heart beat faster than a drum. Sitting inside of the room is a single wooden table. It's rounded, and on the sides of it there are four chairs. In the middle of it is a hat, and there is a note next to it.

I walk to the table and pick up the note. It's from Rachel.

Chanel,

Make sure you do this fair. No peeking. I have cameras.

Thank them for their help

Xoxo

Rachel

"Not like we had much of a choice." says Iris as she reads over my shoulder. We take our seats around the table and stare at each other.

"I can't do this." says Mackenzie as she tries to get up from the table. Huckleberry grabs her hand, and squeezes it.

"We're all scared." he says.

"Let's make a pact." I say.

They all look at me with with anticipation. I realize that, for the first time, I realize what we are. Victims. Not in the sense that something tragic has happened, because nothing has yet. At the end of 18 years though, not one of us is going to be left unscarred.

"We train them together, and we train them as a family." I say.

They all stare back like that's the stupidest thing that they've ever heard in their life.

"Hear me out," I say. "I want these kids to have the most normal lives imaginable. They need friends, and if we want these games to be semi humane, these kids have to know each other. We'll treat the training like a school. They're travel in a single class, and then at the end of the day go home. Poisons and Defensives first period, Social and Alliances next period, Combative and Strategic, and then Survival."

Iris nods her head in agreement. I know that if I have her, the rest will follow. She's the rock of this group that holds them together.

"Most importantly though, we need to let them know what it is they're being trained for." says Mackenzie. "I can't imagine them reaching eighteen, and then having to just go into the arena."

"I agree, let them form their bonds outside of the arena, and that way they're more sure fire to help each other when going gets rough. I know only one is coming out, but I don't want them to be monsters." says Iris.

"Any kid that comes out of this game is going to be a monster. They outlasted their friends, and if we do what we agreed to just now, their family." says Huck.

Another five minutes go by until an avox walks into the room. He is carrying another note from Rachel.

I can't reap the Capitol tributes until you draw.

Mackenzie and Huckleberry need to be here to get them.

Hurry,

Rachel

"Well, we better get a move on." I say with shaky voice.

With trembling hands, I reach into the hat and pull out the first slip. I look at the district and the gender, and take a breath. Six more to go.

Hello, my name is Regret.

I'm pretty sure we have met.

Every single day of your life.

I'm the whisper inside, that won't let you forget.

Rachel Callowgwey, 21

President of Panem

Walking into the hospital today is awkward. All of these mothers know exactly why I'm here today. Today is the happiest day of their lives, and for two mothers, this will be the saddest.

I'm not heartless. I know that this seems messy, and if I'm being honest I am being selfish. This country doesn't need another cold dictator. I didn't want to be that. We had the Snow legacy for almost a century, followed by the psycho bitch Calliope, and now me.

To be the President people need though, sometimes you have to make hard calls. Reinstating the Hunger Games is one of them.

"Miss. President!" says the nurse who sees me approaching the front desk.

"Hello. I had asked for a list of all the babies that were born on this day?"

"Yes, Dr. Ragdale went one step further and put them in a bowl already. They're ready for the reapings."

"Oh, thank you." I say. I was just planning on closing my eyes and pointing at a name on list.

"Miss. Callowgwey, those moms are in emotional states." she says.

"I know. I'll be gentle." I say

Walking into a room with thirty mothers that just had their babies is scary. Walking into a room of thirty newborn mothers and taking away two babies? That's terrifying. President or not, these mothers are hormonal and emotional.

"Hi, I know this is something that is going to be hard." I say once I reach the center of the room. Mackenzie and Huckleberry roll the bowls over to me.

"I'm not going to try and tell you this is easy. I won't sit here and try and make light of your pain. I know what you're feeling. I do however have to carry this out. Mackenzie. Can you hand me a slip?"

Mackenzie gives me a look, and then takes a deep breath in. You can read every emotion on her face as she digs into the bowl and pulls out a slip. She brings it up to her face, and looks out at the audience. Then closes her eyes.

"I'm so sorry." she says as tears start to well up in her eyes. She hands me the slip and in a loud voice, I read out the name.

"Jade VanBelle."

A woman wails as from the third row on the female side. She is screaming and gripping her child for dear life. When the nurses come to take the child away, she tries to fight them, and then she ends up having to be sedated. The nurses bring the baby to Mackenzie and she holds her still. The baby is crying, but Mackenzie gets her calmed in no time. The mother's of the other female potential tributes all exhale deeply and get up to leave.

Huckleberry turns to hand me a slip from the boys section. He doesn't dig, he doesn't bother trying to pick the one most deserving. 15 innocent names rest in his bowl. He picks the one on the very top and hands it to me. With a sympathetic look to the mothers, he takes a deep breath.

"Caius Sevara."

Similar to the first mother, this one tried to fight off the nurses as well. She screamed and shouted, but this one didn't go down without a fight. When the needle came, she knocked the nurse over, and made a run for it.

She was stopped by the Doctor, and the baby was taken and handed to Huckleberry. The nurses with the sedation comes up behind her and sticks her, and she eases down into a sleep.

I begin to walk out of the room with Huckleberry and Mackenzie behind me. We are making our way down the main hallway, when a man is walking towards me with a rapid pace. Something like this for normal people would just make them tense. I was trained, and won the Hunger Games, and this is a red flag.

Upon approach, he pulls a knife out of his pocket and swings it at me. Instincts take over, and I flash back to the games, to the invasion, to Marissa's death. I disarm the man and slam the knife into her head. He goes down. He had a hospital bracelet on, and looking down I read the name "Victor VanBelle".

"Oh my gosh." says Mackenzie.

"Holy shit." says Huckleberry.

I take a deep breath and try to fight off the tears that are welling up in my eyes. I can't seem weak. I can't seem like I'm not made for this. I look over to the nurse and clear my throat.

"Clean this up." I say.

I step over the dead man's body, and begin my walk to the car waiting for me at the front of the hospital.

You jerks skipped down to the bottom didn't you? Jokes on you. It's all on the blog. :D

For those who didn't make it, I'm so sorry. I got a lot of tributes, and I had to pick. There was 26 spots open. For those of you who did get in, thank you for your work.

Blog reviews are always appreciated btw..I worked hard on this one. Groups and tributes are on separate pages. There is also a page to see what Huck, Rachel, Mackenzie, Chanel and all the other important people's faceclaims.

Goophg . weebly . com

Keep it classy,

Caleb