Notes:
I don't own The Hunger Games or the characters, just playing with them. Suzanne Collins wrote them wonderfully.
I'm going to try to write the Capital as real as possible so you know it's gonna get dark. Also I moved down Annie's win to the 69th and Johanna's to the 70th. Their arenas were still the same as canon for their wins.
Hope you enjoy!
It was his second Reaping that he was eligible for, at thirteen he was sure he didn't have much chance of being picked. He was from town; he didn't need to put his name in more than the one a year. So out of thousands of names in the bowl only two were his.
Maybe that's why he was so shocked when Effie Trinket called his name. He looked for his big brothers in the crowds of older boys. He saw his oldest Clay, but he turned his head, avoiding his gaze. Morse just looked at him sadly. Soon the Peacekeepers had come and started pushing him up to the stage.
Dead. That's what he was, there was no chance for him. Even if he were older, he didn't stand a chance. But he was only thirteen, even thirteen-year-olds from the career districts didn't have thirteen-year-old winners. The only one close was the youngest winner at fourteen, Finnick Odair from District Four, a career district.
He was led to a room inside the Justice Building. There he was supposed to say goodbye to his friends and family. First were his parents and brothers. Morse pulled him into a hug, whispering that he was sorry he was such a coward.
Once he was let go, Peeta looked him in the eye. "I wouldn't have wanted you to go in my place."
His father cried and hugged him only saying how much he would miss him. His mother was quiet, not giving or receiving comfort…not much different from every other day. Only one of his friends came to visit him. He thought it would be Delly Cartwright, a friend since he was a toddler. Or maybe Madge the Mayor's daughter, they weren't as close as Delly and him but still friends. Devo Preston, a boy that had been a close friend, but they had started to drift apart over the last year. The only one to visit wasn't even a friend. It was the older boy from the Seam. The only real reason he ever noticed him was because the boy was always around Katniss for the past year.
"Gale? What are you doing here?"
"I made a promise. Katniss wanted to come and speak to you, but you know how she is. Anyway, we spoke a little after your name was called. Haymitch won't be any help to you, he probably won't crawl out of the bottle. You don't have it in you to be a cold-blooded killer. Remember the winners from six? They made themselves invisible until everyone had killed each other. Make sure you don't show any skills, not even to the gamemakers. Make yourself look weak then invisible."
"But Johanna Mason did that last year. Won't they be expecting it?"
"Not from a thirteen-year-old. You won't be able to do what she did. She was vicious in her killing, you can't, you won't allow yourself."
There was a knocking at the door before a peacekeeper opened it. As Gale was leaving, he turned back one last time. "Invisible."
Gale had been right, Haymitch hadn't been any help so far. Shelda, his district partner was an eighteen-year-old from the Seam. She hadn't cried but stayed very silent. He had only heard her say one thing. "It was my last year."
When they entered the train both of their eyes widened looking at the huge amounts of rich and the aroma about knocked them over.
He didn't know much about her other than she had a baby. There was a boyfriend too but there had been rumors that the baby wasn't his. Not that it mattered, he just hoped there was someone to take care of the baby. If not, it would go to the Children's Home. All in all, he didn't think the place was that bad, they did get food…tasteless and hard according to a boy he knew when he was younger, that's more than some from the Seam get.
Once Effie and Haymitch left them alone, he turned to the older girl. She was eating but looked so sad.
"I know about your baby. I'm sorry you got picked."
She shrugged. "Doesn't matter. He'll probably be better off in the home."
"What about your parents or the father?"
Her eyes narrowed as she looked over at him. "If you know about the baby then you know the father is dead. And my parents can't feed themselves let alone a baby."
"I'm sorry."
"It is what it is kid."
She had already given up; he didn't want to do that. Gale and Katniss thought he could make it out or they wouldn't have given him advice.
The next two weeks were exhausting, he didn't know it was that hard to look useless. The careers laughed when he fell off the climbing net. It really wasn't that hard; he was not agile like many of them. He didn't know how to hunt or gather food. Put him in front of an oven and he knows what to do. He had been working in the bakery since he was five. His mother's rule was if her kids are old enough for school, they're old enough for work.
He tried to learn as much as he could but didn't show what he could do. The girl tribute from Ten felt bad for him, he was the youngest this year by two years. She taught him how to make snares, he just hoped he remembered or got out of the bloodbath so he could use it. Then the boy from Eleven, a tall but thin boy, showed him some common vegetation that usually shown in the games. He told him that if it's not something he was shown, don't eat it. The eighteen-year-old girl from Seven told him how to find shelter. He had asked Haymitch on the train but the only advice the man gave them was no fires, be likable and don't try to grab anything from close to the cornucopia because they would be first of those killed. He told them just grab something on the outer spots and run away.
Peeta tried to show Shelda some of the things he learned but she just started to ignore him. There was only so long he could talk to a wall before he gave up. During their training scores. He scored a four and didn't really try that hard for it to be low. It's not the lowest score ever recorded but not great, which is what he wanted. His biggest worry is that someone would see through what he was doing. Johanna Mason won the games last year with this strategy, but Gale was right, they wouldn't be expecting it from him. Twelve- and Thirteen-year-olds never stood a chance anyway.
He had been absolutely forgettable during everything. A big thanks went to their stylists. An elderly woman named Cafi and a very new one named Portia. He liked Portia but every time she had an idea that sounded good Cafi would turn her down. His prep team said Portia was just too nervous to speak up to a stylist who had been there for so long. They also said they think the Capital would soon replace Cafi with someone younger and better looking. They looked horrible in the Tribute parade that helped his cause.
His interview went well because he couldn't not be himself. His dad always said he was good with people. It was something he never even strived for; it all came naturally. It was a wonder since most people liked him while his mother absolutely hated him. He suspected it was because he was the last. She wanted a girl more than anything. His birth wasn't easy. The doctor wasn't in the price range for them. His father went to get Katniss's mother. She was nine months pregnant and unable to help. She sent him to Hazelle Hawthorne because she was the Seam's resident midwife. Something happened during the birth causing her not to be able to have anymore babies. Because of that, she blamed everyone from the Seam and him.
Now he was on his pedestal listening to the countdown waiting for the cannon to sound. His heart was rapidly beating. He looked at Shelda, she was looking determined.
"I'm sorry sweetheart," Mrs. Hawthorne told her, patting her hand.
Her mother was still barely there, so they were watching the Mandatory viewing at Gale's. She was in the corner just staring at the screen but not really seeing. Prim was under one of Katniss's arms and Gale's little brother Vick was under the other. Gale's little brother Rory was huddled into Gale's side. Little Posy was on her mother's lap, peacefully sleeping. Children under five got a pass on watching it. But if Peacekeepers showed up everyone over five better know exactly what was going on in the games.
A look at the arena they could see the new gamemaker Seneca Crane was out to make a splash. One half of the arena had a volcano, which wasn't going to be pretty when it erupts. The tributes would want to stay away from it. The other half was a swamp. The only clearing was where the cornucopia was.
All she could see was the boy with the bread. Two years ago, when she was only eleven, just after the mine explosion that took both her father and Gale's. Peeta, the baker's youngest son took a few hits from his mother first for burning the bread then for getting caught throwing them to her.
"I was midwife to the baker's wife when she delivered him. It was a hard one and she wasn't able to have anymore."
"What about the girl?" Gale asked.
"No, she might be Seam but that was before I married your father. I didn't know anything about birth at the time. Didn't learn until Mrs. Casey got too old, she taught me all she knew. But it still wasn't enough to save the other baby."
"Other baby?" Katniss asked.
"Now I want you all to keep this to yourselves. I know for a fact she hasn't told her sons or anyone else. Only her husband, me and her know about it." They all nodded, even Posy. "The reason the birth was so hard was because it was twins, usually not a problem but the girl baby was breech. I got her out, but she had been gone for a day or so. Her cord had a discoloration, so I suspect that's what happened. Next was Peeta and I was terrified he would be stillborn too. He too was breech. But he came out with rosy cheeks and a good pair of lungs. She wouldn't hold him. She told me she already had two boys, why couldn't I save her daughter. She wouldn't listen when I said the baby had been gone for a while. She was screaming at me when I left. Last thing I heard was her telling her newborn son that she wished he were dead."
Katniss couldn't stop the tears that were filling her eyes. Tough and surly Gale even looked upset. She had always thought town kids had the life. But she guessed abuse and neglect came in all forms.
There was an explosion that caused her to jump. "What happened?"
"Shelda jumped off the pedestal," Gale said.
"Accident?"
He shook his head. She wasn't the first to end her games before they started but it was never easy to see.
Peeta just watched Shelda take her death into her own hands. It made his stomach hurt. There was a baby in the Seam that was now for sure going to the children's home. Before he could think anymore of it, the countdown ended, and the cannon sounded. There was actually a pause because they were unsure if the cannon were to start the games or for Shelda. He knew there wasn't a cannon until after the bloodbath, so he jumped off his pedestal and grabbed a blue backpack and a small bag. Then he ran into the swamp because it was the only place to hide. The volcano had no hiding places unless you go all the way around. He just hoped there was more than just a swamp and volcano. The volcano was the more dangerous option because one button and everyone on it were burned alive by lava. The volcano also very visible, you couldn't see anything past the first bit of the swamp because it was trees and plants with thick hangings.
He needed to get away fast, he saw a few others run off into the swamp, but most were fighting. The cannons wouldn't go off until the bloodbath was over. He found a tree big enough for him to climb. He wasn't the best climber, but he was the smallest of them all. Even the smallest girl from the other districts was bigger than him.
Once he finally made it up the tree with the bag and backpack, his fingers were bloody. He climbed the tree like his life depended on it, because it did. Looking around he made sure there wasn't any thing that could kill him near him on the tree.
After what felt like hours, the cannons went off. He counted fourteen. That was more than it usually was. That meant there were only eight left not including himself. As the light grew dark, he started to regret his decision to stay here. There were sounds of scary creatures, real ones, and mutts probably. He wished he were older, maybe then he wouldn't be so scared.
Haymitch knew he wouldn't be able to drink until the male tribute was dead. It had been a hard one already because he thought the girl had a chance, not much of one but one still the same. She was good with a knife and strong. He didn't know her reasoning for ending it for herself, but he had seen it many times. Most know they aren't going to win and just don't want the fear.
"Hell," Seeder groaned.
He had been too busy paying attention to Peeta to watch what was going on with the others.
Seeder and Chaff were District Eleven's mentors. He looked up at the main screen and they were replaying the latest deaths. The girl from Eleven while small she was smart. If you didn't know she was seventeen you would think she was much younger. She played on that, but it seemed she ran out of luck. The tributes from Four killed her nearly completely beheading her but that wasn't the end of it. The boy from Four then killed the girl from Four. It looked to be an accident but who knew with these things. She was coming up behind him and he threw a knife, it went into her neck, she bled out in under a minute.
"Well, that's us. We're going to go back to our suite to watch the rest…where the alcohol is," Chaff said.
Looking back at his tribute's screen he saw Peeta climbing down. "What are you doing?" Haymitch hissed.
It was closing in on night, he should have stayed in the tree until light.
"Does he have a death wish?" Johanna asked, this was her first year being a mentor because she only won the year before.
It wasn't clear if he did or didn't. Maybe thirst was getting the best of him. The stupid kid hadn't even opened his backpack or the small bag he was carrying around.
"I think he's after my girl," Johanna said.
Haymitch looked at her screen and sure enough the girl from Seven was walking near the tree he was climbing down. It was hard to believe that Peeta would kill a girl that wasn't actively trying to kill him. He wouldn't be the first to change dramatically during the games.
"Kals," Peeta called out quietly when he landed on the ground.
The girl who was really a woman, turned holding up the sword she had. "Peeta?" she asked in surprise.
"Yeah, sorry didn't mean to startle you. I just saw you passing by and thought we could team up for a while."
She hesitated. "I would, really I would but I don't think it's a good idea."
He was too young, too passive, too gentle. It would be a stupid idea to group with him. She wanted to be known as a vicious victor like Johanna.
"I understand," Peeta said, turning his back to climb up the tree.
Right away Haymitch knew the boy made a mistake. Never turn your back on anyone in the games…anyone.
"I'm sorry about this, kid," she said as she raised her sword.
He heard the gasps around the room. Even the careers didn't like when a twelve- or thirteen-year-old was killed.
Suddenly, Johanna cursed and sent a glare towards Helene, Ten's female mentor. Looking back to the main screen because he wasn't watching his when whatever happened went down. As Seven raised her sword it stopped over her head before she dropped to the ground. An axe was lodged into the back of her skull.
"Find a new tree, Twelve, they'll see the hovercraft and start looking." With that Ten left after pulling her axe free, just then the cannon went off.
That only left seven tributes in the first day, it was one of the bloodiest first days ever. Left was the male tribute from One, both from Two, male from Four, female from Five, female from Ten and Peeta. Since the first day was so bloody the gamemakers will wait a few days before causing death and destruction. He had a feeling Peeta wouldn't make it very much longer. Already he had surpassed his odds.