District Three

Caia Wicken's POV

What. Was. This?

"Caia! Caia!" My twelve year old Lanie and Mica cried out proudly as they showed off their work, which looked more like a nuclear explosion, or better yet, a nightmare, then anything else. "Look what we made!"

Whatever they were holding I didn't want to look at, because all I could focus on was what was behind them. Behind them was a messy room with dirty walls that were splattered with black marks and brown lumps.

I screamed out in panic as I picked up a cloth and started to wipe the substances off the wall, the counters, and everything that was in the kitchen.

"What the hell you two?" I shouted in a panic. "What did you do to make this mess? Mom and dad will be up any moment now and-"

"What happened here?" I heard the voice of my mom ask rather calmly. I don't know how she could keep so calm with this disaster in front of her, if she was even looking at it.

"We made breakfast!" The twelve year old twins shouted proudly. "Look look! We made oatmeal!"

How do you make oatmeal and create something that represents and explosion?! "So do you like it?" They asked excitedly. "Do you do you do you?"

No! You made a giant mess and created a lot of work! Mom and dad work hard enough without you two making a big mess of everything!

"I like it very much," My mom kindly told them. "Thank you."

"Yay!" The twins shouted in triumph, totally ignoring the fact that dad was trying to get as much sleep as he could before the reapings. "She like it! She liked it! Yay!" Ugh. Don't they have any consideration for our sleep deprived dad? I swear, those two don't see any beyond what they want to see.

I continued to scrub the walls to get the gunk off when my mom started to speak.

"Caia, please calm down, don't get yourself tired and stressed out before the reapings. It's hard enough without the added stress on your body and mind."

"Mom," I started explaining. "This kitchen was nice and clean before those two ransacked it. Look at this mess," I told her as I waved my free arm around the area. "It's a disaster! Someone needs to clean this."

This mess needed to be clean up. Not only because mom and dad worked too hard with their jobs to do something as time consuming as this and needed to rest up a bit, but because there shouldn't be a dirty kitchen in the first place. Let alone a kitchen as dirty as this. If I left it up to the twins, they'd just leave everything the way it is now. I just couldn't allow that.

"Caia, just please relax."

"I can't relax mom, didn't you just hear what I said? This place looks like a land mine exploded and covered the place with gruel. This kitchen was clean last night, and it'll be clean in a little while. Just you wait."

"Sweety," My mom sighed. "Please calm down, just relax for a couple hours or so, at least until the reapings are over. I know that the perfectionist won't rest until the job's done, but for the love of God, calm down before you have a heart attack."

I was no getting frustrated, couldn't she see what was right in front of her? I was having a god damn heart attack right now!

"You don't understand mom-" I started, but was interrupted by my mom.

"Caia, you're going to put down that cloth, sit down, eat your breakfast, then get ready for the reapings before relaxing for another little while. Now I'm going to clean this up while you get your heart rate down."

I dropped the cloth, knowing that I was on the losing side of the battle. But I continued to look at the mess and thought about how much work it'd be to clean it up and get it back to perfection. This house wasn't the greatest house ever, but it was still our house, and it deserved to look it's best.

This mess looked like it'd take a single person at least a couple hours to clean.

"But mom-"

"No buts. Now go into the living room, read a book, and relax, and don't even think about this mess."

Easier said then done, I thought. But I turned around and walked into the living room anyway, the thought of the mess never leaving my mind.

Kendrick Reeves's POV

"Can I tell you something?" I asked Mackenzie, or better known as just Mac.

"Sure," She told me. "You can tell me whatever you want, your secret's safe with me."

"What makes you think that it's a secret?" I chuckled, but also wondered what made her think that I was going to tell her a secret, which actually, it kind of was.

"You usually don't ask if you can say something, you just say it," Mac explained. "So if you're asking me if you can say something, it's not hard to think that it's a secret."

Typical Mac, she knows me better then just about anyone. While I had a few friends, she was my closest friend, and she the one always noticing these kinds of things about me.

"Right." I simply said before exhaling a little. Well, this is it, I'm going to tell someone, it won't be a secret for much longer, and I really wanted her opinion anyway. "So what would you think if I said that I was volunteering this year?"

Mac turned to me before smiling.

"I'd say your crazy," She replied with chuckling a little. "Because one, it's the Hunger Games, and second, it's a quarter quell with unknown twists. Third, while you are big and strong for someone from District Three, you aren't someone from a career district. Those are my three main reasons, you want me to go onto four five six seven and beyond?"

"I'm good for now." I told her, thinking about what she had just told me. Yes I was big for someone from Three, probably due to my dad's African-American descendants and the fact that I had done more then tinker with machines for the last several years. Since I was ten I had trained myself for the games using spare machine parts for weapons and targets. And while I wasn't strong like the careers, I was more then a match for anyone in the outer districts, except maybe the tributes from Seven and Eleven.

As for the games, they were always a danger, but I had taken the steps to prepare myself for them. Starvation training, didn't need that much training living in this poverty ridden neighborhood I called home. Strength training, lifting weights and training with make weapons, check for strength and weapon use. Planning, not as much since the arena was unpredictable as well as the tributes that were going to be in it, but I'd hopefully learn about them in the Capital.

As far as the Capital liking me, that might take some work, but I was at a good start. I didn't look like a complete bum right now, and with my confidence and assertiveness, I might win over a couple of sponsors. "You think that the Capital'll like me?" I asked, wondering about the whole sponsor part of the plan. Sponsors were a big part of the game.

"Let's see," Mac said as she examined me quickly. "Lean build, tall, darkish skin that's more on the white side, clean black hair. Sure, if they manage to notice you out of twenty three other tributes."

"Oh they will," I told her, knowing that they were going to notice me. "Because I really am volunteering."

Mac stopped dead in her tracks before looking back at me with a serious look of, well, seriousness, and worry.

"Kendrick." She said with shock. "You can't be serious." I expected this from her, after all, in this district, nobody volunteers unless they have a death wish.

"I am serious," I told her with a no nonsense tone. "I've never been more serious in my life." Before Mac could say anything, I continued on. "Mac, I've been known to disappear of the face of Panem for hours on end. One time I was gone for three days, do you know where I was during that time?" Before she could answer, I answered for her. "Training for the games, how do you think I became as strong as I am now?"

"Family genes." She answered. "Moving machines. Moving machine parts."

"Actually, those might of helped." Now that I thought about it, moving all those mechanical parts could of greatly aided me in making me strong. Not to mention my family genes on my father's side. He was big and strong, and I looked just like him. While he did look like he could easily kick my ass, he was more of the diplomat between my mom and I.

"But why volunteer for the games?" Mac worryingly asked with a touch of wonder. "It's suicide."

"Because-" I started, but stopped when the force of an overloaded air compressor hit the back of my body, causing me to stumble forward before I heard a large crash behind me.

"What the fuck are you doing standing in the middle of the road?" I heard a young but rough and hard voice shout behind me. "Don't you think that people might be passing by in a hurry!"

I quickly turned around and said

"I'm sorry." To a peacekeeper that looked like he hadn't yet hit twenty.

"Damn right your sorry." The young peacekeeper that I didn't recognize snarled. "Now move out of the way before I take that head of yours and shove it so far up that bitch's ass that you'll be getting skull fucked every time that slut sucks someone's-"

That peacekeeper never got to finish his abuse. I slammed a fist right into his face and sent him a step back before I hit him again, and again. Nobody talks to Mac like that. In fact, nobody talks to anyone that way.

I threw another fist to his face, only for my to feel sudden pain in my right elbow and shoulder before I felt my back painfully hit the ground. My right arm getting more pain as each second passed. I tried to get away, but I was pinned to the ground as the peacekeeper held me in a pin that I recognized from previous Hunger Games. That move was known to break elbows!

I tried to worm my way out of it, but his legs were keeping both my chest and my face on the ground, and both my arms were useless! "Hit me why don't you." The peacekeeper snarled at me in anger as I felt agony in my right elbow. "Fucking attack me why don't you!" He shouted as I shouted. "I outo break that arm of yours!" Then quietly said. "But I'm not going to. I'm going to have mercy on you."

Oh thank God! Peacekeepers have mercy! Maybe it was because it was reaping day and they didn't want any of the Capital folks seeing live executions, but neither the less, I was getting mercy.

My mood quickly feel when I heard a sudden crunch and felt blinding pain in my right index finger. I screamed out in pain, before feeling another wave of pain hit me in my right middle finger. "How many times did you hit me?" The peacekeeper asked coarsely. "Oh right, three times with an attempted fourth."

"Have mercy!" I shouted, knowing what he was about to do next. "Have mercAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Caia Wicken's POV

Crisis, averted.

I sighed with relief as I looked at the now clean kitchen that had been disaster area just over an hour ago. I don't know how mom managed to get it done so fast, and without my help, but she managed to do it as I dressed into my reaping outfit, simple yet pretty blue dress.

She also told me to read something and not come down until I had finished reading it, so I choose a book on surviving in a disaster area for the first seventy two hours. It was an ancient book that was older then Panem itself, but it still had useful information that would be used if needed.

Its not only nice to have in case something unexpected does happen to this district, but also if I somehow get reaped for the games. Too many people in the arena have died due to not knowing basic survival techniques that could of saved their lives.

I know that my odds are slim, but still possible because of the tesserae I take out. Not much, but enough that mom and dad don't have to work themselves to death trying to support us. I have a job stamping boxes that get transported to the Capital, and while it doesn't pay well, it helps, and it isn't dangerous, unlike some of the other jobs in the factories.

Also, it's the only job that they'd let me have, they didn't like that I was little and it annoyed them. Well there were some things that you shouldn't skip corners on, and I couldn't help but fix those things, no matter how small they were. Everything had to be just right.

And that's how I got from assembly line worker to stamper.

"Caia." I heard my mom say to me as I finished off my breakfast.

"Yes mom?' I asked.

"I know that you don't want to be near your brother and sister when we're heading to the square, so why don't you go ahead of us." She suggested, which I thought was a great idea. Even though I loved my younger siblings, they drove me crazy, just like they did nearly an hour ago.

"Thanks mom," I told her, happy for the chance to get away from the twins. "I need to get down to the square soon anyway."

"But it's still forty minutes until the reapings begin." My mom explained in wonder.

"It takes time to get down to the square, sign in your name behind every other kid in the district, then find your way to your section." I explained to her. "Plus, you'd never know if something might pop up on the way there."

"True enough." My mom agreed. "Just stay safe."

"Will do." I answered before I ran out the door and made my way to the square.

*Little time skip*

I had made it to the square in time to sign my name in before making my way to my age section. But when I saw that instead of an empty space that would be filled in with kids of eligible reaping age, there were black steel cages with numbers marked on them.

What were those cages for?

I asked a Capital attendant and she replied "It's to keep kids from running away."

Well that makes sense, I mean, it'd be easier for the peacekeepers to grab a kid in a cage then it would be for them to chase someone through the district.

I walked over to the seventeen year old cage before waiting for other kids to arrive.

Some time passed before everyone in the district was in the square. At which time, our escort came up on stage and began to speak to us through a microphone.

"Happy Hunger Games," She cheerfully said to us, her voice amplified by the microphone she was behind. "And maybe the odds be ever in your favor. More so this year especially."

Wait? This year especially? What did she mean by that? Was she referring to the quarter quell twist this year? "This year, thanks to the reading of the card and the rising population of Panem, things are going to be a little different this year, for example, the cages."

So I had noticed. "Now, as another one of the changes, I'm going to call out an age group instead of an individual." Our escort explained. "So may the odds be ever in your favor."

Wait. She was going to call an age group? Was this part of the quell twist? It had to be, what else could it be? "Eighteen." Well, at least I'm not going into the games. Good luck to the eighteen year olds though.

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion occurred in the cage in front of me. I looked to that cage, the eighteen year old cage, to see a big cloud of dust, dirt, body parts, and blood, fly into the air before landing back on the ground with a sound that was a mixture of sick splatter and rain. People screamed out in terror.

What the hell? What the hell! That wasn't supposed to happen! Those eighteen year olds weren't supposed to be killed! They were supposed to be reaped! The Hunger Games were cruel, but they weren't used this way! Why was this happening? "Any volunteers?" Our escort asked. "Volunteer now and you can save another age group."

Nobody said anything, too shocked from the sudden deaths I'm guessing. Not that I blame them. I was too shocked to even say or do anything. "Sixteen!" Our escort announced, before an explosion behind me occurred. I didn't need to look behind me to know what had happened.

This was bad. More people were dying, and from what I heard from the escort, someone would need to volunteer in order for them to stop.

This needed to stop, the games were supposed to be used for a purpose, a real purpose, and that wasn't to have needless slaughters.

"I volunteer!" I shouted, just wanting all the deaths in the square to stop. "I volunteer!"

A peacekeeper unlocked the cage before he guided me up the stage until I was next to the escort.

"And what's your name?" She asked.

"Caia Wicken." I answered.

"Caia Wicken." Our escort announced to the remanding members of the crown that had no eighteen year olds or sixteen year olds anymore. "Our first volunteer to save everyone and go into the Hunger Games!"

It was only after I heard her speech that I thought of what I had just done. I had saved more kids from being killed, but at the same time, I had put myself in danger. I was going into the arena. That impulsive action had put me somewhere I didn't want to ever end up in.

Fuck.

Kendrick Reeves's POV

Ever since Mac told me about the explosive warning on that crate that peacekeeper was carrying, I wondered what it was for. Now I knew exactly what it was for. That crate contained either bombs or land mines.

The young peacekeeper said that what was in the crate was Capital business. Fuck no it wasn't Capital business, it was District Three business, look at what was happening because of those explosives!

Shocked erupted from all the district citizens when those kids got killed, and I was no exception.

At least someone had the guts to volunteer to make the killings stop, now all I needed to do was volunteer and this would be all over.

Our escort started to walk over to the boys reaping bowl before I shouted.

"I volunteer! I volunteer!"

Still, she kept on walking to the reaping bowl, even though I was shouting my head off. She was going to pick a number no matter what.

"Fourteen." She announced before an explosion occurred behind me.

Damn. Those kids didn't deserve to die like that. They didn't deserve to die at all. "Now who said that they were volunteering?" The Capital women asked. So she had hear me, she just choose to ignore me.

"I did!" I shouted, making sure that everyone could hear me, just in case she decided to ignore me again. "I'm volunteering as tribute!"

A peacekeeper unlocked the cage door before he escorted me to the stage.

"And what's your name?" The escort asked.

"Fuck you." I answered. All the Capital women did was laugh.

I couldn't hit her like I did with that young peacekeeper, even though I wanted to, but I managed to control myself. If I did hit her, I'd probably get something worse then three broken fingers.

"Well fuck you, Caia, shake hands you two."

I turned to my district partner, and extended my left hand towards her since my right hand had three fingers in impossible positions and they hurt like hell. But I wasn't going to show that I was hurt by something like this, nobody wanted to see a wimp, and maybe the Capital would either give me sympathy, or like that I wasn't a whiner and could handle pain. They might see me as a fighter, and that's got to be worth something.

I looked down at my short district partner as she shook my hand. She had choppy black hair that ran slightly past her shoulders, green eyes, and a healthy looking body that told me that she wasn't part of the poor class like I was.

Caia Wicken. I've hardly seen her, but I've heard a little about her. I only know that she's considered smart and wants everything to be perfect. Too perfect for lots of people, and she can be frustrating to deal with.

She may not be liked by many, but I respect her for stepping up when everyone else didn't.

A/N: Let's see here... I don't want to do the rest of the reapings, it's getting slightly harder for me to make good chapters, quality going down... Sounds like writer depression. Damn.

Ok guys, so here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to take a short Hiatus that's going to last at least a week and two weeks at most before I start writing again. Hopefully then the quality will go up.

Sorry for the quality that I've given to this chapter and the other chapters that weren't so good.

Anyway, let's hope that the next chapter is better.