I'm baaaaaack!
It's been a while, everybody! I think it's been almost exactly two months since I posted the first chapter of this story, and I just can't hold back the rest of this story anymore. Over the last four stories I've posted, I've always waited until each story is almost completely written before I post them to make sure that the story will be as good as it can possibly be as a WHOLE before everything is published.
That's not the case with this one, though. The last two months have been tough ones for me, and writing has taken a major back seat since December. I'm just now picking the story back up, and I feel like a good step for me to stay motivated would be to start posting.
I have full confidence in posting Blood Moon in this form because I do have everything completely planned out; the only issue is the actual writing, and it's a work in progress. I do want to start slowly, though, so I'm going to be trying to post chapters once a week.
I just want to say thanks to everyone who's been re-reading my old stories and leaving reviews over the last two months - it's meant a lot and has really motivated me to keep doing all of this :) even two months later, Twin Snakes is still finding new readers almost every day!
Alright, enjoy Chapter Two!
I sigh as I fidget with my dress. It's a beautiful blue dress with little ruffles lining the bottom; I bought it last year after my old Reaping dress ripped. I must've grown since then, though - the dress doesn't fit as well as I thought it did. I pull the dress down with a huff, frustrated that I spent so much money on a garment that doesn't even fit right.
Whatever. It's not like anybody's going to be paying enough attention to me anyway, right? After the Reaping, I can try to convince Ciara to lengthen the dress a bit. She's always been skilled with a needle. I'm not going to Reaped, and the dress will soon be forgotten. That's what I'm trying to tell myself, anyway.
I check the clock - it's a quarter to eleven. I'm cutting it close.
"I'm leaving," I call to my father as I slip on my nicest shoes. I don't get a response.
I pull the door to our apartment open; the streets are littered with teenagers making their way to the District Plaza. We all have to go early to get registered before the Reaping officially begins.
"Please make sure you're not late," I call into my apartment in one last effort, but my father doesn't bother to respond once again. I sigh as I close the door; people have been arrested before for not attending the Reaping, and I don't want my father to be next.
I slip into the crowd of teenagers heading for the Plaza. Luckily, I'm already at the heart of District Five, so it's a short walk. Some of the kids at the rural ends of the District have to travel an hour to get here, and they'll have to make the trek all the way back when all of this is over.
Finally, I arrive at the Plaza. I scan the crowd for Ciara, but my friend is nowhere to be seen. I settle into one of the long lines to enter, pulling my dress down a bit.
"Hold out your arm," a man dressed in all white instructs me when I reach the front of the line. He draws a drop of blood from my arm before nodding at me.
"Next," he calls.
I rush into a crowd of girls, standing as tall as I can to spot Ciara. We've always had a tradition of standing together at Reapings, and it's kept us out of the Games for this long. After a few seconds, I spot her familiar head of jet-black hair.
"You had me worried," Ciara says with a nervous laugh when I finally make my way through the crowd to her. "You're not typically one to be so late."
"Yeah, well, this dress had other plans," I grumble, tugging the bottom down once again.
Ciara sighs, glancing over to the other side of the Plaza, where the boys are lined up by age.
"Jossie's a wreck," she tells me. "He really feels like it's going to be him this year."
"Damien's more likely, I'm sure," I reply. I try to spot him in the crowd of boys, but it's impossible to see anything from so far away.
"Jossie's got himself worked up about the twist," Ciara says. "They've been pretty tame the last few years, so he thinks they're going to go big this year."
I try not to let my anxiety show, but the twist has been on my mind too. How could we all not think about it? Jossie's right - out of all the times we've had our names in the Reaping bowls, only once has the twist changed the Reaping rules, and even that one twist was relatively tame. If the Gamemakers decide to pull something this year, we could all be in trouble. Our fates are in their hands.
The Panem anthem begins to blare, silencing the crowd. The doors of the Town Hall open, and the mayor steps out. He's followed by a few Peacekeepers and other officials; District Five's Victors exit at the back of the line. Well, I should say District Five's Victor now; Simon Chung looks lonely as he sits by himself on the left side of the stage. There isn't even an empty chair next to him to even indicate that there was ever another Victor from District Five - it's like Hal was wiped from existence for good.
Hal Chapman was District Five's most recent Victor. He won three years ago, and I remember being in awe of him. All of us kids were - I was thirteen years old then, and I'd never seen a tribute from Five actually survive the Games in my lifetime. He was the first, and he did it in spectacular fashion. Hal walked to the beat of his own drum; when others went left, he went right, and that's what helped him outlast the others in the Arena. We all idolized him in District Five - he refused to be bossed around, especially by the Capitol. In his most infamous moment, he refused to talk during his post-Games interview, forcing the Hosts to cut the cameras.
That was all before the accident. It was bad from what I've heard, at least. I was on a late shift at the power plant when it happened; it was faint, but I could swear I heard the rumbling of the Peacekeepers' military trucks as they passed through the streets of District Five to the Victors' Village.
Hal had been plotting against the Capitol. That's what the press said, at least. Rumor has it that the Head Peacekeeper never actually found anything in his home, but he still stuck with his original story. Somehow, the Peacekeepers got ahold of a rumor that Hal was plotting against the Capitol, and that was enough to raid his home. Hal had a knife to defend himself, and the Peacekeepers panicked and shot him dead. That's what the papers said, anyway. To this day, nobody knows how the rumor started that killed Hal Chapman. I doubt we'll ever know.
That was about four months ago now, but it's only now sinking in that Hal, our symbol of hope, is now gone. We don't see the Victors much other than during the Games, so it's only now that Hal's absence is truly felt by everyone here.
The mayor opens the ceremony with his typical speech; nobody's listening, though, as most people are still looking up at Simon and remembering Hal's death.
A few people in the audience remember to clap as the mayor steps aside. The Town Hall doors open once again, and a familiar woman steps onto the stage. It's our District's escort, Laurentia Price; she looks almost completely different from last year, but she's still sporting her signature lavender-colored hair.
"Welcome, welcome," Laurentia calls as she reaches the microphone, her high-pitched voice echoing through the square, "to the Reaping of the 117th Annual Hunger Games."
The crowd is silent, and the tension is palpable. I'm even more anxious this year than in the last few - not only is Damien more at risk than ever, but Hal's absence from this ceremony is putting everyone on edge.
"The time has come to select this year's tributes to represent District Five in the 117th Annual Hunger Games," Laurentia continues. "Before we begin, however, President Snow has a very important announcement to make."
The crowd turns to the large screen next to the stage - we've all done this for years now. I watch as the usual Capitol propaganda film plays - it's the same one they've always played, but I wonder if they'll add the new footage of the power plant next year.
The film fades to black and is replaced with a new video. On-screen is President Snow; as usual, he's seated in an all-white room, and on his desk sits a bright red envelope.
"Welcome to this year's Reaping for the 117th Annual Hunger Games," Snow begins. "Prior to the Fourth Quarter Quell, it was announced that each of the following twenty-five Hunger Games would introduce a minor twist that would have an impact on the Games. As we have seen over the years, these twists may change the rules of the Reaping or the rules of the Games themselves. This year marks the seventeenth edition of this twist."
I don't realize I'm holding my breath until I finally release it. Next to me, Ciara looks like she's about to faint; every person around me has their eyes glued to the screen.
Snow slowly picks up his envelope, sliding a card from inside. The card inside is decorated on the back, with the number 117 marked in gold.
"For the 117th Hunger Games, the rules of the Reapings shall be changed," Snow reads; Ciara grabs my arm as the crowd groans around me.
"On this Reaping Day, two tributes shall be Reaped from each District in Panem; these tributes must be pairs of biological siblings."
I can't hold back a gasp of horror. In my wildest dreams, I couldn't imagine a twist as horrible as this; as long as I can remember, the Gamemakers have been fairly tame with their twists, but this takes everything to a whole new level. Children will have to enter the Arena with their own brothers and sisters… I can't imagine anything worse.
My mind immediately goes to Damien. Is he thinking of me right now, and is he as nervous about this as I am? The only thing worse than getting Reaped is getting Reaped with my own brother. I'd feel like it was all my fault.
I need to calm down. It'll be okay. There are so many kids in District Five that the odds are small that we'll be chosen, right?
Laurentia steps back up to the microphone with an overly enthusiastic look on her face; it's as if she's forcing herself to be overly happy about this. Is she grimacing inside at the cruelty of this like the rest of us?
"This year, tributes will be selected among pairs of siblings," she repeats. "Each sibling pair has been placed in the Reaping Bowl once; in families with more than two children, each sibling pairing is represented in the bowl. This year, the gender of both tributes will not be a factor."
I'm not sure exactly what Laurentia's saying, but Ciara sighs with relief next to me.
"We're only in the bowl once," she says, squeezing my arm in excitement.
I feel most of the tension leave my body. Damien and I are the only children in our family, so we're only in the bowl once. That's a whole lot less than before considering Damien's tesserae. Not to mention that there are families out there with lots of children; each of those kids will be in the bowl more than once because of how many siblings they have.
"Without further ado, let's find out which pair of siblings will be selected to represent District Five in this year's Games," Laurentia chirps. She hobbles over to a large bowl, where she selects a single slip of paper. I can't tear my eyes away as I watch her slowly approach the microphone and unfold the paper.
"Representing District Five…" Laurentia says slowly. "Christina and Sloane Atkins!"
I have to hold onto Ciara to stop myself from collapsing. We're going to be okay - Damien and Jossie have survived the Reapings, and we're safe another year.
The crowd clears away from the two girls. They both look about eighteen, and they cling to one another as a Peacekeeper drags them out of the crowd.
"Wait, isn't that…" Ciara mutters, and my heart drops. Christina Atkins… that name sounds familiar…
"I volunteer!" A boy calls from the other side of the plaza; the girls behind me gasp. It's been years since we've had a volunteer from Five.
A wave of nausea takes over me as the Peacekeepers let go of the Atkins sisters. The girls fall to the ground before scampering back into the crowd.
I watch in slow motion as the Peacekeepers make their way through the crowd of boys. Every girl is standing on their toes, trying to see over the girl in front of them to spot the volunteer. The volunteer whose voice sounds so familiar… And that's when everything clicks.
Christina Atkins… I knew that that name sounded familiar. I should've recognized it immediately.
Christina Atkins is Damien's girlfriend. My brother has just volunteered for the Hunger Games, and the only person he can possibly take with him is me.