Thanks to Kkstar47, AlexFalTon, Very New to This, FlameandVoid, Tom137, Dani H. Danvers, and FrostyShadow for your reviews!

Sorry for the delay! Work took over my life for the last week and I was getting home too late to write like I planned to. BUT! We almost have a full tribute list, just missing D12 Male. If anyone knows anyone looking for a spot, send them over!

Enjoy!

Chapter III The Reapings Part 3

District 5

Day of the Reapings

Hundreds of workers poured out from the energy plants of District 5, their evening shifts over. They were a skeleton crew at night, but even so hundreds had to work. The Capitol had a never ending appetite for power and District 5 was its waiter, serving up dish after dish and sending crumbs to most of the other Districts. After a long shift, most of the workers were looking for some down time or a place to decompress. Along the streets leading from the plants were a variety of options. On the morally upstanding side were diners, restaurants, and food stalls where a hungry, tired man or woman could come for a bite and some coffee, be waited on for a little, and then return to their home. On the seedier side, gambling halls, dice sharks, and other forms of adult entertainment could be found hidden amongst the restaurants and stalls, only visible sto those who knew where to look.

Oliva Echeberría worked in the former, catering to the tired adults who spent their evenings amongst the machines and circuits of the plant. Her shifts began before dawn, even though she was a waitress. Working at the Buzz Saw was a good gig, but her job description went beyond just waiting tables. She was expected to be there early to prep the food, clean the floors, and whatever else needed to be done. Her boss Anders wouldn't have it any other way.

'You can always quit if you don't like it.' He would always say.

And there were many times that she thought about quitting, but in all honesty, waiting tables was probably one of the better jobs she could get. At seventeen and adulthood staring her in the face, Olivia wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do with her life. A year ago it hadn't been much of an issue. Her family had been rich, her dad the Mayor's private secretary. Now though… well she had precious few options for jobs. She had no connections, no academic accomplishments to fall back on, and no future. Waiting tables was far better than the other options like street sweeper or sewage worker.

She had shown some aptitude for trolley maintenance, an important gig for the District since trolleys connected everything. She could work the circuits like a pro and had a knack for rewiring and directing trains. But that required a lot of specialized training to get certified in and Olivia, while a hard worker, had other concerns.

Namely feeding her family. And taking care of her oblivious parents. And making sure that her sister, Nadine, didn't become a wash up. And making sure that Anders didn't fire her.

The morning had been hectic, as they often were, but Oliva had learned how to keep the plates flowing and customers happy. Most of the workers who came in weren't chatty and wanted to be left alone for. A few were though were happy to talk, and Olivia had made friends with them. She had used to have a lot of friends, but they vanished as quickly the Echeberría's money had.

By now, most of the crowd had left, bellies relatively full with food or coffee, and there was only one left. He was an old timer and moved like it. Every action slow and seeming to take a great deal of strength. Olivia had chatted him up a few times in the past, learning that he worked in the coal plants. He had once explained to her the entire process of getting coal from District 12 into the furnace. It had been interesting, but now Olivia hoped the old man would hurry up so she could close up.

She stood behind the diner counter, arms crossed and trying not to look impatient.. Her short, black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, the tips of her hair frayed from lack of care. Absentmindedly, she rubbed off some sort of grease she had gotten on her onto her stained apron before adjusting her dented name tag.

'Come on… come on you old geezer.' She thought angrily. Anders had informed her earlier that he needed her to work immediately after the Reaping, meaning she wouldn't be able to attend the Reaping festival with Peggy, her last friend from her old life. Olivia, who was patient only when she was happy, had not responded well to this surprise and had told Anders how upset she was.

Anders response was to remind her that he was thinking about laying someone off soon. And to make her work later in the morning.

So instead of four hours to get home, change, and meet with with friends, she would now only have two. Olivia really hoped the trolley wasn't delayed, already knowing it would be.

At least she wasn't alone though. Behind her, her work friend turned real friend Mark came up and whispered softly in her ear, watching the old man eat. "Come on… come on, mister. Just two more bites." He teased.

"Mark!" Olivia whispered, trying to hide a smile.

"Oh he's getting his fork."

"Stop it!"

"Ah! He scooping it up!" Olivia giggled and playfully slapped her friend. "And there he goes! Ok, we can almost leave." Mark continued. He had been free to leave earlier in the day but decided to stick around when he heard Anders had saddled her with the later morning shift.

"Is Sam done with the dishes?" Olivia asked.

"All of them except his." Mark said, gesturing discreetly to the last patron.

"And is John still around?"

Mark gave her a look. "Yes he's still around. Should I tell him to get lost?"

"No. I was just asking." Olivia responded.

Mark wasn't buying her brush off. "Of course you were. When are you going to tell me what's going with you two?"

"Nothing is going on." she lied, badly.

Mark raised an eyebrow. "Really? Cuz you two have been as jumpy as a radiation detector in the plant for two weeks now. Don't you trust me? Aren't we friends? Or has it all been a lie?"

"is that suppose to guilt me into saying something?"

"I don't know, is it working?"

Both of them laughed, interrupted when the door to the diner opened. Olivia was about to shout they were closing soon but stopped short when she saw who entered. "What are you doing here, Peggy?" she asked, surprised to see her friend slumming it. She was rich and fancy like Olivia had once been and didn't leave the Solar Node for any reason but school and the Reaping.

"Well I figured you weren't home yet so Nadine and I thought we'd stop by."

"Hey sis." Nadine said with a knowing smile. "Did you sass Anders?"

"Just a little." She smiled to her thirteen year old sister. While their parents might have their heads in the cloud about their current situation, Nadine realized how dire things were. She had been trying to find a job, but Olivia had stopped her, not wanting her sister to spend all her time working. She needed to focus on school and getting out of this poverty. And Olivia had refused to let her take extra tesserae. Olivia's entire life seemed to be filled with worry, she didn't want Nadine dealing with that now.

"What are you guys talking about?" Her other work friend, Sam asked as he came out the back with clean plates .

"Why she's being so weird around John."

"Ooooh." Peggy cooed. "What's going on, Olivia?"

"Nothing is going on." she insisted.

"She and John kissed." Nadine announced proudly.

"What?!" Her friends shouted at once. Olivia went red in the face, shooting Nadine and angry glare which she reflected with a childlike smirk.

"It was nothing." Olivia asserted.

"I knew you two were getting together." Mark said, satisfied with himself.

"We're not getting together."

"I think you two would be good!." Sam said. "You guys play off each other well. And if you two want to be happy you should be."

"Please keep your voice down! He could hear!" Olivia insisted.

"Oh he's in the freezer. He can't hear us." sam confirmed.

"Good!" Peggy said with a devilish grin. "That means Olivia can tell us if it was a good kiss."

"Oh stop it!" Olivia hissed, face a dark red now. They had actually kissed three times, but they didn't need to know that. And John actually was a good kisser, or at least Olivia thought. She'd never kissed anyone before and she didn't think John had either.

thankfully, Jonathan came out of the back next, eager to join his friends. "whats going on?" He asked.

"nothing!" Olivia insisted.

"Yes; nothing at all." Mark said with a smile. Her other friends giggled, the traitors, while Jonathan looked at them all confused.

The last patron visited and left, Olivia rushing over the bus the final table. As they cleaned up, the friends kept talking, about everything and nothing at all. They never discussed the Reaping, instead focusing on things that made them laugh and feel good. In these moments, Olivia felt all her worry melt away. It was moments like these she wished she could live in forever.

Their clean up done, Olivia hung up her apron and gathered her things. Punch card in hand, she slid it into the machine, a heavy thunk as it was stamped with her hours.

They went out the back together, ignoring the smell of trash in the alley way. The circled around back to the Main Street and started heading home. Behind them, the diner began to shut down and a hastily made sign years ago hung at the entrance, which was only used once a year.

'Closed for Reaping.'

For any workers looking for the seedier, more base side of entertainment after work, there was always The Waxing Moon, just one of District 5's "adult" entertainment areas.

And one not known for it scruples.

In broad daylight, workers mingled with workers of a different sort, those who sold themselves or items which promised a brief relief from the drudgery of daily life. They plied their wares or selves without shame or fear. Peacekeepers wouldn't come and bother them until later that day, but they paid good money like everyone else.

Sitting by the window of the Moon's communal apartment complex, Aleko Ferrovia watched the familiar scenes play out. Through a dirty covered window, he watched one of the Moon's best "employees" coax a young worker into the building beneath, the young man red face and clearly enamored by the attention. He didn't seem like a bad guy, Aleko thought. Most people who came here weren't, just lost and confused and looking for a way out of their lives.

At eighteen years old, Aleko felt he had a pretty good beat on things. Perhaps it was false confidence there, but one couldn't go through what he had without wising up to the world. Deadbeat, strung out on Morphling mother, unknown father, and living with the choices he had to make would do that. Most of those choices began as desperation, but they quickly slid into repugnant. Some days, Aleko wasn't quite sure what it was all for.

Lazily, he hummed a melody to himself. A silly old tune, but one he remembered fondly. It brought back memories of when he was younger and cleaning the factory floors to make some extra money. The workers would hum that song, just something to do while he passed the time. He would sing along, earning some smiles and compliments from others. He remembered how Talon had loved it too, and others…

Briefly, an old flame Ciera flashed through his head. A pale freckled face, and auburn hair that reminded Aleko of an image he had seen of the leaves in District 7 during the autumn. He quickly shut those thoughts down though. He didn't want to think about her. He did that enough whenever he look in the mirror.

Even in the smudged window, Aleko could still make out his reflection and see his deterioration. Pale, alabaster like skin and a scrawny face looked back at him. His skin was thin and cling tightly to the bones on his body. He was never the most muscular of boys, nor the tallest, never sprouting up past 5'7", but the last couple months had made things worse. As one person put it, a strong use of wind looked like it'd send him flying. A sickness was in his veins, but Aleko didn't like to think of it. How long did he truly have?

Aleko kept humming, looking away from his reflection and the debauchery down below. He now began to sing to himself. The cramped apartment he stayed in was filled with the cries of newborns, now without their mothers who were below on the street working. There were a few others milling about, either drunk or passed out from being drunk. If he sung at just the right level, he could almost block out the noise.

He kept singing, aware that someone was approaching him. He could recognize the footsteps, soft and graceful across the old wooden floors. So soft, the floor board didn't even creak. As Aleko kept swinging, the boy came up behind him, wrapping his arms around Aleko's waist and hugging him closely. Aleko kept singing, finishing this song and laying his hands on Navajo's.

"Beautiful as usual." Navajo said.

Aleko snorted at his boyfirend's comment. "At least I still have my voice."

They remained like that, holding each other tightly. Both were eighteen, both forced into this world without much choice. But they had each other. There were times that Aleko felt people were just leaving him. His mother, an unknown father, and Ciera. Even Talon, who had been Aleko's one "normal" friend had ditched him for a girl and gotten annoyed with him.

'Just stay inside and brood all day if you want. But don't expect me to join you!' Talon had angrily shouted at him at the end of their friendship. Talon wouldn't understand, so Aleko hadn't told him. Let him live his life with his girlfriend. Let them get married and have kids and have a normal life.

"What should we do today?" Navajo asked.

"The Reapings for starters." Aleko replied.

"After that."

"Don't you need to work?"

Aleko felt Navajo tense around him, arms tightening around his waist. "Later. My clients won't come until it's dark." Navajo said, forcing himself to relax.

Feeling bad about Navajo's reaction, Aleko proposed an idea. "There's always the Reaping Festival then. Last year they had those Radon Bombs. Those were pretty good. Why don't we get some?"

"Sure. I could always use a few more cavities." Navajo said, nestling his head into Aleko's back. His back was bony, much like the rest of Aleko's run down body, but Navajo never seemed to mind.

"And we can walk around the District. Maybe catch a trolley to Fusion Square and see some entertainment. Real entertainment. And then maybe we go that at apartment building. Look for a place for us to live."

They had dreamed of their own place since they met. A place where it was just them and no one else. It was a silly dream, given that Aleko could die anytime soon. But both of them loved the fantasy, the escape. Once they had dreamed of living in Victor Village together, ignoring what they'd have to endure to get there.

But after what they had lived through, what were the Hunger Games compared to that?

Navajos sighed, voice cracking with emotion. "I'd like that a lot." He whispered.

They sat there hugging one another, feeling older than anyone their age had a right to feel.

"Olivia Echeberría!"

The Escort read her name off with such an excited tone that, for a brief moment, she thought it was some elaborate prank. Peggy having a go at her. Sam had bribed someone and after the Reapings they'd have a good laugh and she'd be among friends.

"Olivia, sweetie! Don't be shy, come on up!" The escort called again.

It was no dream.

She had been Reaped.

"Olivia!" Peggy whined next to her. She gripped the hem of Olivia's shirt tightly, fear on her face. "No, no, no!"

There was nothing to be done. Olivia forced herself to walk out of the seventeen year old section and towards the stage. Her face was being broadcasted on a dozen screens right now. She shot herself a glance, confusion and worry plain on her face.

'Oh no… Nadine!' Olivia thought. Her sister! What would she do without her? What would her parents do? They were so lost in their memories of lost wealth that there was no hope they'd be able to effectively care for Nadine.

'Please wake up. Please wake up!'

She never did. She walked up each step to the stage as though she was going to the noose directly. Th Escort smiled brightly at her, teeth flashing white like a predators. She gripped Olivia's hand and dragged her forward to the microphone. "Oh sweetie, I simply love your rings!"

Olivia looked down at her hands. Each finger had a ring on it, all silver, gold, and one with a ruby in it. The last signs of her old life that she refused to give away. She couldn't help it, Olivia did love a good piece of jewelry. Or twelve.

"Would you like one?" Olivia said, anger spiking. "I'll be dead soon enough and won't need one."

The Escort frowned. "Well, that's no way to think of thing, sweetie. You seem capable. Now, how about your partner?"

A name was drawn and read off. "Navajo Eterzi!" The Escort shouted, loudly enough that the microphone screeched with feedback. Some shuffling from the eighteen year old section and a boy popped out. Olivia had no idea who he was. She had never seen him at school. He at least looked capable, though scared like her.

"I volunteer!"

The words stunned the whole of District 5. The District had not had a volunteer in almost two decades. Whispers erupted from the formerly silent audience, and even the officials on the stage around Olivia couldn't help but whisper in surprise. Who could possibly be mad enough to volunteer for the Games?

As it turned out, someone who looked like half a corpse.

Olivia was shocked when she saw the volunteer. Short, bone thin, and clearly ill, the boy emerged from the eighteen year old section while coughing violently. The Reaped boy, Navajo, looked at him shock and then began screaming. Olivia was too far away to hear it, but it clearly was some sort of plea. The volunteer stepped forward and gently touched Navajo on the cheek, whispered something and kept walking.

"Well isn't that historic!" The Escort shouted, clearly pleased with himself. "District 5 has a volunteer on my watch!"'

The Reaped boy was being held in place by Peacekeepers, still screaming something, but the volunteer kept moving towards the stage, looking determined. When he got to the stage, Olivia could hardly believe when he walked up the stairs. He literally looked like he'd been dragged out of a grave, with unnaturally pale skin and a rumpled suit that had clearly never been washed.

"What is your name?!" the Escort asked.

"Aleko Ferrovia." He said. Even this close, Olivia thought he smelled bad. Who was this boy? She had never seen him before at school or on the streets.

"Well, isn't that a fun name! You are a very brave young man and I know all of District 5 admires your courage and dedication to the District! Don't you all!"

There was no response, the audience still shocked. Instead, the only noise was a screaming Navajo, who's voice echoed in Olivia's mind even after the doors to the Justice Building closed behind them.

DISTRICT 6

It was such a small thing. So fragile in his hands. But with it, seventeen year old, Amadeus Remington felt as powerful as President Snow.

The glass vial was tiny, the liquid in it see through. When he was younger, Amadeus had thought the contents magic as no matter how long he held it, the contents still kept the vial cool to the touch. It had also surprised him that his real dad had just kept deadly liquid around the clinic he ran.

'You need it for antidotes and treatments.' His dad had taught him. 'Sometimes the only thing that kills a bad thing is something equally as bad.'

Amadeus though that sentiment, which his dad only meant as a quip, had a lot of truth to it.

There was a crash downstairs and Amadeus immediately flinched, sweat starting to form on his skin as his fight or flight response kicked in.

"Sorry! Sorry!" A shout came from else where in the house. "Dimitri dropped a plate!"

His step-mother was calling out. There was no danger. No angry boyfriend of his biological mom was coming for him. He forced himself to do the breathing exercises his dad had taught him, focusing his mind and centering him. That didn't help much. Still, he owed it to his dad to give it a shot each time.

Instead he focused on his friends. Serafina, Damian, and even Stephen his ex. He thought about his step-sibling, Dimitri the cute five year old and apparent terror to plates everywhere that was downstairs. And, if that didin't work, Amadeus tightly held the vial of poison he had filched from his dad's clinic.

The poison always seemed to work.

There was a nervous knock on the door to his bedroom, and Amadeus already knew who it was. "I'm ok, Dad." Amadeus called out.

"Are you sure?" His dad asked. He kept the door closed. He didn't invade his son's space unless Amadeus asked. All in all, Amadeus thought, he had a good father, even if he had been blind to what his son had to endure living with his mom. But when he learned, his dad had acted fast and without fear of the degenerates his mom hung out with.

"I'm sure. Just getting changed for the Reaping."

"Ok. Ok. Just let me know if you need anything. And I'll tell Dimitri he needs to be more careful with plates and loud noises."

"It's ok, Dad. He's five. It happens."

"I know but… I know. I love you, Amadeus."

"I love you too, dad." Amadeus replied. Ok, he did have a good dad.

He heard his dad leave, footsteps heading down the stairs. As he did, Amadeus decided he might as well get ready for the Reaping like he told his dad. Besides just being a good thing to do, running a clinic paid well and thus Amadeus had a new, pressed suit he could wear to the Reapings. He stripped and put it on, ignoring the small, circular burn marks that littered arm and the healed scars and welts across his back, curtesy of the cigarettes and belts of his mom's "boyfriend." His mom hadn't done anything to stop it, and Amadeus thought drearily that he'd probably still be in that home if his dad hadn't stepped in.

He grabbed the tie and went to the mirror to help put it on. Deft, strong hands worked to tie it, hands that had once belonged to the star athlete at the school he attended. But that was a lifetime ago it felt like. How could he feel so old at seventeen? He finishing tying his tie and looked at himself in the mirror. Not too shabby, he thought. His green eyes went well with the grey suit, and his dark brown and wavy hair was combed up nicely. He was taller than most boys in the District and had some muscle on him, though he didn't hav many chances to use it these days.

"Ama!" A child like voice shouted form downstairs. Dimitri was calling him, still struggling a little to say "Amadeus" fully. "Ama! Are you coming!"

Amadeus smiled, making his way to the door. He stopped before he left his room though, remembering something. Quickly, he grabbed the vial of poison and tucked it into his suit pocket, feeling relieved with its cool touch through his shirt as he went downstairs to join his family.

"What do you mean you don't have Chaff Reds?!"

A patient breath. "Sir…"

"You just sold some to that last guy! I know you have some!"

She wanted to scream, but instead took another breath. Sarah Tarr had practice dealing with these types of customers. Too much. "Sir, we are out of stock at the moment. We're expecting more Chaff Reds in a month."

"A month!?" He screamed. A few heads popped up from the store aisles, lookie loos interested in some drama. "How does that make any sense?!"

Dark thoughts coursed through Sarah's mind. They came more and more thanks to this job and her horrible boss.

'Why the hell are you yelling at me?! Do I look like I freaking control trade lines for cigarettes?! Go complain to someone who cares!'

"Sir, I understand your frustration, and I and Motley's Drugstore apologize for any inconvenience, but-"

"No buts! You and this store can shove your apologies up your asses!"

The angry man stormed off, throwing the doors to the store open, a bell dinging lightly behind him as he exited. The excitement past, the rest of the customers went back to their shopping. Sarah remained behind the counter though, fists balled up so tight she was afraid her nails would cut into her skin.

'Bastard. Freaking bastard. I hope you trip, fall, and die in a sewer. Bastard!'

Another customer was asking to pay, snapping Sarah out of her thoughts. She checked the customer out, nervous that she would forget the price of the item or do one of a million things wrong. She was always concerned she was doing something wrong. Thankfully, the customer left happy and Sarah felt better about herself.

Thankfully, they were closing early and Sarah could go home and decompress. She clocked out, avoided her annoying boss, and slipped out the back to head home. Her parents would be waiting, along with her brother Chuck if he was home. He and a bunch of other boys ran the streets of District 6 looking for odd jobs. Right now he was shining shoes. Who's shoes, Sarah couldn't say. Who had the money in District 6 for that anyways?

Once again, her thoughts were interrupted by others. This time by a gaggle of what Sarah could only describe as bitches. "Hey Tarr! All done with work?!" Their leader, Jorina teased. The girls around her laughed, ass kissers each and every one of them. Sarah kept walking, ignoring the girls as they followed behind her.

Jorina wouldn't be easily ignored though.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, Tarr! I asked you if you were done with work!" Sarah kept walking, pacing increasing. "Don't ignore me, Tarheel!"

"Sarah!"

A voice rang from the other side of the street. A savior, and Sarah felt herself relax. Her co-worker and really only friend Benjamin was waving at her, trotting over to rescue her. "There you are!" he said with a smile, ignoring Jorina and the others. "All done with work?"

With someone else around, Jorina and the girls backed off and Sarah continued on with Benjamin. "Thank you." She whispered when they were out of earshot of the bullies.

Benjamin shrugged. "You'd do the same for me."

Sarah didn't know if she would. Benjamin was so much braver than her. She knew he was just as stressed by work and life as she was, but he seemed to carry himself better. Nobody ever gave Benjamin trouble, not even their boss. "Can we head to the yard before the Reapings?"

Benjamin gave her a wicked smile. "Thought you'd never ask."

The yard was a more of a dirty alley way, stuck between a run down chemical plant and abandon apartment complex. Broken bottles, trash, and other easily breakable items lay about. It had become their ritual, along with Sarah's other friend Tony, to come here after work and break things. Not wasting time, Sarah grabbed hold of lead pipe that she could barely hold in her two, skinny hands. With a ferocity one wouldn't expect of her size, Sarah began to batter a metal trash bin, enjoying the ringing noises it made.

"Tough day at work?" Benjamin teased, taking hold of an empty beer bottle and tossing it lazily across the yard, watching as the shards flew about.

"Tough year at work." Sarah joked, which made Benjamin laugh.

"You shouldn't listen to what Motely or Jorina or anyone says about you. You're pretty amazing, Sarah."

Unsure how to handle the compliment, Sarah just blushed and kept bashing, imaging the can was Jorina. She'd never actually hit Jorina or anyone for that matter, but it was always nice to fantasize. She kept banging, the ringing in her ears growing and growing until it blocked out all else.

"Bye Ama! See you after the Reaping!"

Dimitri was waving and giggling in their dad's arms as Amadeus left to enter the Reaping Square. Amadeus smiled and waved back, trying to ignore how weird it was that Dimitri didn't really understand yet what the Reapings were yet. He had certainly been told in school what the Hunger Games were, but he didn't seem to grasp yet that the Tributes who lost didn't come back. Amadeus remembered when he figured it out at age six, and truly understood how horrible the Games were.

"Don't look so glum, dude!" Damian said, elbowing Amadeus. "It's our last Reaping! We'll be in and out and never have to deal with this again."

Serafina leaned over and slapped him on the arm. "Don't jinx it!" She hissed, looking especially high strung today. Beautiful, extroverted, and usually carefree, the Reapings were the only time that Amadeus saw her so discombobulated.

"We'll be fine, sis." Stephen said, giving them all a smile. His smile lingered on Amadeus, who felt his heart skip a beat before he looked away. They were broken up now for a few months now, and still Stephen could give him butterflies in his stomach.

Serafina left them to go to the girl's section, while Amadeus, Stephen, and Damian took their spots in the boys. Before she did, she gave Damian a kiss for good luck, which made Stephen roll his eyes in mock disgust. Amadeus just smiled, "They make a cute couple." He commented.

"They're going to get married, did you know that?" Stephen said.

"What?"

"Hey, don't say it so loud!" Damian whispered. "Serafina doesn't know that."

"Eh… I don't know if she'd like to be surprised by that kind of question."

"what are you talking about? All the girls love surprise proposals!"

"Isn't it a little fast?" Amadeus cautioned. As a child of divorce he was pretty nervous about the concept of marriage. Serafina and Damian were great but they had only been dating for a year. Still, the two were good together and were the extroverts of their friend group to Amadeus' and Stephen's reserved character.

Damian, however, didn't seem worried about that, looking back at Serafina with puppy dog eyes. "Life is crazy and unpredictable. Who knows what can happen tomorrow, you know? I want to be happy with her, and I think she wants that too. And don't worry, you'll both be best men at the wedding."

They took their spots and thankfully didn't have to wait long. The Mayor got up, read the Treaty, and soon the most bored looking Escort ever got up and, in a droll tone, informed them that he was going to begin the Reaping.

The female tribute's name was drawn first without any ceremony. "Sarah Tarr." The Escort read off, as though he was calling the last patient at a clinic after a very long day.

A skinny, tiny looking girl emerged from the eighteen year old section. That was surprising, since Amadeus thought she looked closer to twelve than an adult. She walked up to the stage with a Peacekeeper escort, tears streaking down her cheeks and body shaking. But Amadeus looked at her face, broadcasts on the screens around the Reaping, and thought he saw another emotion in her eyes.

Anger. An anger that was barely repressed.

He could relate to that sometimes.

The Escort didn't waste time. Before Sarah even took her spot on the stage, the Escort was already sticking a hand in the boy's bowl. She pulled a name and read it off before she even got to the microphone. She looked expectantly around and, when she realized the microphone hadn't caught what she said, she huffed angrily and announced the name again.

"Amadeus Remington!"

A sharp crack of shock rushed over him, like the sting of a belt across his back. Next to him, Stephen gasped in horror and across the aisle, he could hear Serafina let out a choked cry of despair. His friend were falling apart, his father and step-mother and brother probably were too. Maybe even his biological siblings, all grown and gone from his life, might be emotional. But Amadeus couldn't be.

Channeling his younger self, when he was in the worst of it with his mom and her boyfriend, he shut down his emotions, shut down his fear and terror, and stepped out to be collected by the Peacekeepers.

One foot in front of another, he kept moving to the stage, ignoring the anguished cries behind him. Instinctively, he reached for his jacket pocket and felt the vial of poison, still cool to the touch.

'I will survive.' He promised. 'I will survive.'

Not the best chapter due to distractions at work and me being a little sick. don't forget to review and subscribe!

We are half way through the tributes and the Reapings! Thank goodness as I'm ready to get this story started in earnest and writing back to back info dumps gets tiring.

Up Next: Districts 7 and 8