the chosen 100th hunger games Chapter 3: ruined childhood of ember hu, a hunger games fanfic

Ember Hu, 35, Victor of the 77th Hunger Games, District Six.

Twelve years old.

She had been twelve when she killed the last person remaining in the arena besides herself.

Just old enough to start helping her mother at her job. Old enough to stay home alone.

Twelve.

Just starting to learn more about herself and life in general when it was all flipped on its axis when she got reaped for the 77th Games. The day had started off great. Her mother presented her with a new dress that she had been saving up for and her father had made a good breakfast with what they had. Her black hair had been brushed and placed in a bun at the top of her head. The new dress was her favorite color, blue and went down to her thighs which she paired with a well worn pair of black flats. Her mother had pulled her into a tight hug after she had finished getting ready.

The entire district seemed to walk as one to the town square. The only ones that stayed behind were the severely ill and those that were close to death. Ember held her parents' hands as she tried to keep her nerves together. The chance of her being reaped was one in a million chance.

Once.

Her name was in that big bowl along with every other age eligible girls name. Just a tiny scrap of paper amongst many others. Surely someone else was going to get chosen. Her hands twisted together as she got checked in and took her spot, which was luckily next to her best friend, Alora. The two girls held hands as their escort came onto the stage and the reaping started.

It was early afternoon, she realized, as she took in her surroundings. The other kids her age looked scared down to the older kids showing no emotions. A sigh escaped her as her grip tightened on Alora's hand. The escort walked over to the bowl containing female names and selected a slip.

Some girls' fate had been chosen.

Ember just never expected it to be hers.

Their escort had read her name, and she could hear the gasps that came from the crowd. She knew that her parents had to be crying by now, and she could feel her own tears welling up as she made her way to the stage. The rest of it was a blur as well as her saying goodbye to her parents. The train was amazing, and the food was even better. Ember sat with her district partner, an eighteen year old named Luka. She had seen him around a bit but never really knew him.

The next few weeks were a blur as the parade, training and then private sessions went down. She had received a well earned 7 in her session and her interview was spent trying to get the people of the capitol to fall in love with her. She remembers ending with a simple, "see you when I win."

And it worked, at least, she thought it did.

Launch Day.

Her outfit was simple. A black shirt , a lighter jacket over that and then good running pants and shoes. She went into the tube with a clear mine and only one single thought on her mind.

Survive.

After clearing her eyes, Ember took in the arena. It was a basic forest, cornucopia in the middle and trees as well as a field it seemed. The countdown started and that minute was the longest minute of her life.

Zero.

Running past everyone, she grabbed the nearest supply bag and a small collection of throwing knives, just managing to escape the one that was thrown at her by the male from Seven as she dashed out of the bloodbath. Her breaths came out in pants as she pushed herself, jumping and changing direction every so often. Night had just started to fall when Ember finally stopped at the base of a cave. Making sure it was empty, she went in far enough and into a little alcove that would be impossible to find in the dark.

Finally daring to search into the bag, she found herself happy with the contents of it. There were two packs of jerky and a pack of mixed nuts. An empty water bottle and a small full one. A bottle of iodine. A sleeping bag was rolled up along with a light blanket attached to the side of the bag. Pressing her lips together, she got to the bottom of the bag. A pack of twenty matches alongside a compass.

Boom.

Thirteen dead.

Just like that.

That night, through a gap in the wall of the cave, she saw the faces.

Most surprising was the male from One, and she couldn't help the tears that welled up when she saw her district partners face flash.

Eleven remained.

Blowing out a breath, she unfolded her bag, took a few sips of water before laying down and trying to get as much sleep as she could, keeping one hand on her knife.

DAY TWO

At the first signs of life, she found herself already awake and ready to go. A part of her wanted to stay in the cave for as long as possible, knowing that it would be hard for other tributes to find her. After drinking some water and shaking out her hair before retying it back up and out of her face, she ate a couple strips of jerky before rolling her bag up. Making sure that everything was placed back in her bag, she replaced her shoes before heading out of the cave, in search of more water and sustainable food.

She would at least stay at the cave for nights for a little bit.

That wouldn't hurt.

By mid day, she still had yet to see any other tribute and was lucky to find a small pond. With both of her water bottles refilled and her face scrubbed of any dirt, she leaned against a tree in the shade for a few minutes. Turning her head to the side, she met eyes with the female from eleven who Ember could see was in a nearby tree. Pressing a finger to her lips, Ember packed up her supplies again and took off.

Would she have been able to kill anyone if it came to it?

Shaking her head, she headed back in the general direction of the cave, keeping an eye out for any wildlife that she could use for food. Luck was on her side when she came across a rabbit, stopping long enough to quickly kill it before heading back to the cave.

As she sat there that night in the cave, eating her game and looking at the wall, she couldn't help but wonder how many people died that day.

Boom.

Two more dead.

The faces of the female from eleven, the young girl she saw earlier and the male from twelve flash across the sky before it turned dark again.

DAY EIGHT

No deaths in the last six days. Ember knew they had to be getting restless. She had been spending most of her time camped out in the cave, just trying to remain unseen by other tributes.

Something was going to give.

Or else the game makers would make it happen.

DAY TEN

Boom.

The female from One.

Ember couldn't help but wonder how that happened. She had looked strong in training.

DAY FOURTEEN

Boom.

The male from four

Final seven.

Then, the announcement for a feast, something that the tribute needed. For Ember, it was food. Her body, weak but managing, needed food if she was going to last any longer in the games. It was set to begin that evening, and by the position of the sun in the sky, she had to estimate it to be around noon. With where it would be held, it would take her several hours to get there.

Ember kept herself busy with humming softly as she walked, hand on her knife at all times. From the top of her head it was her, the pair from two, the female from four, the males from seven and eight as well as the female from twelve.

They would have interviewed her parents and friends by now, she hoped that they were proud of her.

Deep breaths.

She spotted the cornucopia ahead and made a dash inside once she saw that it was clear.

Well, it almost was.

There was the girl from Four.

She looked terrified yet her grip on the small axe that she had never loosened.

"There's a way for us to both make it out, we just stick together for tonight-" Ember's words were cut short as she was tackled by the larger girl. Luckily, she was one of the few that took the hand to hand and defense lessons during training. Her hands hadn't been pinned but she all but slammed her forehead against the girl's causing her to fall back, stunned. The axe was forgotten on the floor for a moment.

Ember rubbed at her head, wincing at the pain that radiatated through her head.

Without thinking, knowing the girl would be coming for her again, she drew her knife from her boot and slammed it home into the girl's chest. Tears spilling freely down her face, she held the girl's hand in hers as the life drained from her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

The table had already risen and she could see her bag.

Pushing everything on the back burner for now, she grabbed her bag from the table,noting the weight of it before running away as fast as she could. Her free hand wiped at the tears that fell down her face as she ran, trees passing in a blur. When she made it back to the cave, she collapsed in her sleeping bag in sobs.

Someone had died by her hands.

She had taken someone's life without even thinking.

But, this was the Hunger Games.

This wasn't the time to be soft and childish. If she wanted to win, she had to be strong and brave.

Clearing her face of tears, she opened the drawstrings of the bag. The first thing she noticed was another, new set of knives. These ones were sharper and looked so much better than the ones she had. The next item in the bag was a pack of food which would come in handy. The last item was a vial with a note wrapped around it.

we're all rooting for you, use this in the final.

good luck little one

annora

Digging into the food, which was rice, bread and some sort of stew, she fiddled with the vial. Chances are that this was some fast acting poison. It would get the job done.

Boom.

Faces flashed in the sky.

The girl from four.

The boys from seven and eight

The girl from twelve.

DAY EIGHTEEN

It seemed that they were giving them a little reprieve before the final.

Boom.

The canon marked the final and the death of the male from two.

Just her and the girl now.

She was awoken by a gift. Ember opened it and revealed a note from her mentor.

there's going to be a floor to get you to go to the cornucopia for the final.

How she knew that, she would never figure out. Blowing out a breath, she tied her shoes on tightly and made sure all her knives were on her as well as the vial. No need for anything else.

It was either win and go home, or die and be forgotten.

That wasn't what she wanted.

She headed out that morning, making quick pace and time, trying to get there first. Her hair was back in its signature bun. She was ready. It was now or never. Climbing onto the cornucopia was easy and she let herself have a few moments to herself. And then, from her vantage point, she could see the flood, and then a little bit in front of it was the female from two, dashing as fast as she could to outrun it.

The black haired girl knew about the other female, having watched her in training. Her weapon was a sword and she also liked to wield knives. She was fast but her lanky body made it so that Ember would have a few easy gaps.

Go time.

As soon as the female was on top of the structure, the water rushed passed, some making it onto the top. A sneer made its way to the young girl's face as she cracked her neck. Tyla, the girl's name was, slammed into her, sending her sprawling back, her head making contact with the metal. Blinking it off, she raised her knife to block the one coming down at her, paring it to the side and flinging it.

That was when she noted that the girl didn't have her sword and only two more knives.

Perhaps luck was on her side. Making sure that she had her stance, she brought herself to her feet again and charged at the girl. Her fist connected with her nose and her hand went to the girl's hair, pulling out a fist of it. Her own hair was pulled and the girl's nails jammed into her side. Adrenaline rushed through her system as she blindly reached for her knife only for it to get knocked from her grasp.

Her eyes met the girls for just a second, but she knew. She would have to fight hard to win. The girl's own knife pierced her shoulder and dragged down, slicing the flesh cleanly. Biting hard on her lip, she punched the girl again after freeing her arm from the female's hand.

"this ends now, don't you think?" She spoke with a sneer at the career.

The next knife was grabbed and she knew this was it. As the other female stalked over at a slight run, she hit a patch of water. That sent her to the floor where her head smashed against the metal. The knife sailed through the air towards Ember, who had just enough time to turn and get it in her other shoulder rather than her head. Both shoulders now injured, she had just enough in her to grab the knife that had the poison on it, and as carefully as she could made her way to the dazed female, head bleeding heavily. The knife was thrusted into her throat and that was it.

With the final canon, she dropped to her knees, tears falling once more.

"And the Victor of the 77th Annual Hunger Games, Ember Hu, of District Six." Was announced as the hovercraft flew down.

The next hours were a blur, but all she knew was that this was just the beginning, and now she would be in charge of mentoring others before they went to their death.

But, for now, she was just glad she was alive.

Aspen here! So while I wait for tributes to be submitted, I'm going to be writing my favorite mentor's Games and give yall an insight to them. This chapter is dedicated to my SYOT Discord group, Love yall lots.

Be sure to read and review as well as maybe submit a tribute or two!

Form is on my profile!

simplyaspen