Prologue: An Orphan is Born

18 years before The Games

Sheila was running out of options. It all began when her husband, Mark, died fighting in the army. Their life up to that point had been what she had always hoped and dreamt of: a happy marriage, a nice home, and plenty of alone time. Then, her husband was drafted. Like all family members of those going to war, she believed that Mark would come back to her. He loved her, didn't he? No matter what happened, he'd always make it through safely. This thought kept her going through the long months of deployment. This did not mean that the fear wasn't there. But, whenever she looked at him in their wedding pictures or rubbed her growing belly, she was reminded of the promise he made. They would spend the rest of their lives together. Her delusions came crashing down on that fateful day when the doorbell rang. A dashing man in uniform stood outside, holding his hat in his hands. Sheila had collapsed on the front porch. She couldn't remember how long she stayed that way. It was as if her life collapsed along with her.

The second horrible truth reared its head not a few weeks after. Sheila's pregnancy had progressed to the point where she was unable to work. Luckily, they had enough money saved away to tide her over until Mark's pension arrived. As funds slowly dwindled, she developed a habit of checking the mailbox for that fateful check. It seemed like it would never come. After what seemed like hundreds of empty mailboxes, she finally got a letter from the Army. Sheila had felt a rush of relief. The last few weeks had been hard enough with Mark's death, but money issues and the expected baby. When she opened the envelope, however, that relief was driven away by despair. The letter read:

To Mrs. Mark Thompson,

We would like to extend our deepest condolences at the loss of your husband. He was a good man and beloved by many. He died protecting our country and you should be proud of him for that.

Now, onto a slightly more complicated matter. You may have been expecting a pension check to arrive in the mail for your loss. I regret to inform you that this is not that kind of letter. Instead, I must inform you of a significant gambling debt your husband incurred. The pension that you would be receiving is instead being used to pay it off. You can expect it to be paid off in approximately five years and to begin receiving payments then.

Respectfully yours,

Lieutenant Robert Sanders

Sheila crumpled up the letter and wept.


Once Sheila regained her composure, she went to dispose of the letter. As she did so, she noticed another piece of paper in the envelope. This one was decidedly less formal, with bright red and yellow print. Certainly out of place with the previous letter. She removed it from the envelope and examined it.

The paper looked to be a tri-fold brochure-style advertisement. The cover featured a group of smiling women, mostly in their twenties and thirties. RESET BUTTON: The Beginning of a New Life, the title read. Sheila was shocked at how callous this was. A pamphlet like this was sent to her in the very same envelope as a letter about her late husband. In the end, however, curiosity about it overpowered her indignation. She opened up the front page. It contained a picture of a well-dressed and confident-looking woman. This was accompanied by a quote, which said:
"When my husband died in the war, I was devastated. I was seven months pregnant, low on money, and had no family to turn to. RESET BUTTON changed my life. All I had to do was enroll my child in the program and I received 100k to restart my life. I still miss my husband, but I am so happy I moved on and chose to press the button!"

Sheila quickly got over her indignation. 100k was a very tempting amount of money. After rifling through the pamphlet for a bit, she picked up the phone and called the phone number on the back.

"Hi, this is Sheila Thompson. I am interested in learning more about Reset Button."