District 1 reapings.
Tessa Cladron 30 victor of the 86th hunger games
Just in time.
I arrived just in time Tessa thought. Scipio beckoned from the stage, and then once he caught her eye, pointed to the empty seat next to Rolag.
There were four of them up there.
The mayor, Browning something, she didn't remember his name.
and then her fellow victors, Rolag, victor of the 83rd hunger games, three years before her, sat closest to her empty seat, he was the truest career among the victors from 1, he had killed 12 in his games, slaughtered them, there was nobody else who really had a chance in his games, then to the left of him was Silka, Tessa's mentor, as well as Rolag's, she was the oldest surviving victor from district 1, at only 42, because of the victors purge.
After the second rebellion, all the victors had been killed, a good amount had perished in the quarter quell, but still there were survivors. and the capitol had killed them. killed them all.
Tessa shook herself out of her thoughts and took her seat. scipio winked at her.
he was the victor Tessa was closest with, despite being the outsider in their little group of mentors, Her with her 5 in training, and her four kills in the games. she wasn't a career, not by longshot, but her years mentoring she was expected to mentor her tributes as career tributes, and she had succeeded, once with scipio, he had won 8 years ago, as a 17 year old, he never needed anything in the arena, on account of his gorgeous looks, he won in a week, without even suffering an injury.
Tessa turned her attention to the mayor, he was finishing up his speech, and the district 1 escort took the stage, Avilia, this was her second year, after perri had quit after four years.
Avilia, in her high heels, teetered towards the girls bowl.
And selected a name
"Lassie namo"
A tall girl emerged from the 16 year old section but immediately stopped when the magic words rang out
"I volunteer"
A girl stepped out of the 18 year old section.
She was average height, on the leaner side, but healthy and strong looking.
Tessa tossed a look at Silka and she nodded.
this girl was a career.
Avilia called down to the girl
"and your name?"
"Bianca Kasi"
Avilia turned to the girl who had been originally reaped and asked,
"do you let her take your place?"
The girl nodded and stepped back into the 16 year old section while the other girl whooped and ran to the stage.
Avilia smiled at her as she took her place, and then walked towards the boys ball.
"Hu-" she starts
"I volunteer" a voice shouts out, and a tall boy emerges from the 18 year old section.
Avilia finishes the name "Hugh vincent"
A boy from the 13 year old section steps out and says "he can take my place".
The boy, like Bianca before him, shouts out in joy, and rushes towards the stage.
Avilia walks over to him "your name?"
"Cavin geon" Cavin shouts out.
Tessa again look towards Silka, but it's Rolag who answers, he, along with scipio in tow, ran the career academy for boys. "he's one of us" rolag answers.
One of them more like Tessa thinks, but she turns her attention back to the stage as Avilia walks back over to the Girls bowl, while Cavin stands next to Bianca.
Avilia grabs a slip of paper, fumbling with it slightly, but then pulls it out.
"Fiona Brittny."
The 15 year section parted around a girl with medium length brown hair, and sparkling blue eyes.
she stands like a deer caught in the headlights waiting, waiting for somebody to call out the magic words. but nobody did.
She looks a lot like me at my first reaping Tessa thinks.
Brown hair, blue eyes, and definitely not a career.
Tessa picture her three fellow tributes, Felip, tall, strong brown haired, great with spears, Silka's crown jewel at the academy. dead, dead at the bloodbath, his skull crushed by a boy from 11.
Then Gerri, she survived a bit longer, until day three, but then she, like the rest of the career pack, were crushed in an avalanche while tessa watched from her perch in a tree.
She had thought about helping her, as she called out, buried up to her waist in the rocks.
but no, she sat in her tree as the mutts found her first, and ate her. ate her alive.
Then finally, the last of the quartet, was her ally, james, he like her, was not a career, but he, unlike her, wasn't smart enough to know when to break of the alliance. How Tessa poisoned him, and there two allies, the last boy and girl from 7.
all of them had died within minutes, but james had survived longer. long enough to stare at me, accusingly as he and the other two died.
tessa shook herself out of her games, as fiona took her place, trying to plaster a smile on her face, but ruining the image slightly as her whole body trembled.
Cavin and Bianca ignored her completely.
Then the last name was called out.
"Max Seera".
The 17 year old section parted around a boy wearing tattered blue jeans, and a grey hoodie, his long brown hair spilled over into his face but he flipped it to the side as he walked forward confidently, but his eyes betrayed him, he was looking around, looking around desperately for a way out. and not finding any. nobody volunteered.
He took the stage shaking hands with his three companions.
I looked toward Rolag, but he shook his head. no, max was not a career.
The four tributes were lead toward the justice building for their final goodbyes, while us four stood on stage.
"So" Silka says "who goes first this year?"
"my turn" Rolag says confidently
"I dont know rolly" says Scipio, using his pet nickname that rolag hated so much "you went first last year, and I went the year before-"
"no-" Rolag interrupts but Silka gets there first.
"me first, then Rolag, then Scipio, then Tessa.
"ok then" Rolag replies "who do you want?"
"the girl"
"Fiona?" Scipio asks
"no idiot, Bianca, my student."
"I'll take Cavin then" says Rolag "Scipio?"
"max, is he trained?"
"no, not really" says Rolag, "he came occasionally, with friends, just to mess around, he probably didn't learn a single thing."
"and the girl?"
"no" says Silka "same as max, never anything serious."
"i'll take the boy then." says Scipio
"and then me and fiona." Tessa replies.
Fiona Brittny 15 district 1.
She wasn't trained.
Never had wanted to really, Binaca thought, as her parents and Brothers entered the room.
She had just never seen the point, The amount of Careers are fallen off dramatically, so she was told, since the second rebellion. she just didnt see the point to train. but now she did.
Her little brothers reached her first, and she pulled them into a hug.
"I'll come back for you" she said, burying her face in there messy hair "I promise"
Her mom drew her into a hug, tightly, and started crying, sobbing into her shoulder, fiona patted her back, and then in turn hugged her older brother, 19, his first year safe from the reaping, and last of all her father, every time repeating the same passage.
"I'll come back for you, I promise."
Max Serva 17 District 1.
He wasn't trained.
He had gone occasionally, sure, but never seriously, never expecting to get reaped, and now here he was wishing, wishing he had trained to kill people. innocent people. because thats all this was. Kill or be killed. take a life or your own will be taken.
And he knew, deep down, he couldn't kill, wouldnt kill.
And They had to accept that.
His mom and sister walked into the room, his father closing the door behind them.
"so" said his Father "you regret not listening now?"
"Michael" his mother interjected "leave the boy be, he never wanted to train, nor did you if i can remind you so".
"Because-" His father started.
Max had heard the argument a thousand times, his father couldn't train because he was too busy fighting for this country's life, fighting against the rebels who were trying to take their countries sanity.
His mom shook his father off, and pointed towards the door.
his father left, not casting a backwards glance towards max.
"I'm sorry about him" His mom started "He's just worried-"
"no hes not" Max replied "He's just mad he finally has a chance to get a victor in the family, and he's never even trained for it!"
He was yelling. At his mother, and his sister, while his real anger was directed towards the capital. the capital with there nice food and fancy clothing, while here in the districts they had to, every year, send four of their children off to die.
"I'm sorry" max said "i'm not angry at you, it's, its them I hate for this".
They all knew who them was.
His mother hugged him tightly, and then his sister. the peacekeepers came in and took them.
and then he was alone.
Bianca Kasi 18 district 1
She had trained.
She had trained and trained and trained for this moment. and it was finally here.
Parents, Siblings, Friends, and cousins all paraded through the room, congratulating her on getting in. wishing her good luck. but they had left now and Bianca was alone.
She snorted. Good luck. Like she would need good luck, it wasn't luck that got you through the games, it was skill, and in most cases, that skill you needed was combat skills, or looks, which was also a skill.
And in her opinion, she had both. In abundance. Sure there would be other careers, Like Cavin for instance, he could be an obstacle, he was skilled, handsome, and mad. He once killed a boy in training, taking their sparring too far, he had stabbed the boy, in the shoulder, and then in the leg. and then in the stomach.
Rolag had covered it up, said the boy was killed in an accident.
but it still had spread throughout the academy, that Cavin had killed someone. he was ready for the games, that was for sure.
And she would be too.
Cavin Geon 18 district 1
He had trained.
He had trained all his life for this moment, this chance.
A chance to win the games.
And he had a better chance than anybody else.
He had Trained, sure but so had the other careers, and even some outer district tributes, as he had heard from rolag himself that small centers had opened in 6, 7 and 8.
They had produced only three victors.
Harris, from district 7, Leann from district 8. And Feroze from 6. And you could see how well she turned out.
But even so, even if they had trained, none of them had killed.
And he had killed.
The boy, sveden, he crossed him one too many times.
And he had showed him that he wasn't to be crossed.
Sure he hadn't meant to really kill him, just to injure him a little.
But what was the difference?
In the end it didn't matter, a kill was a kill.
And he already had one.