Chapter 25:
Hessian Dion, District Eight, Age 17
Victor of the 100th Hunger Games and Fourth Quarter Quell
The Reaping is so different this year for the Quell, filled with so many more people than usual. There are no designated age sections, just families huddled together as they wait for the escort to decide which parent will be reaped and have to make the hardest decision that no parent should ever have to make.
No one had believed the Quell twist when it was first announced. What sick bastards would make a parent pick which of their children has to go into the arena with them? But it was reality and here they are, waiting for that Quell to start. If Hessian was ever doubting how fucked up the Capitol is, this Quell most certainly reinforced that.
Hessian stands behind his mother and two sisters in the crowd. That lucky bastard older brother Imran gets to wait for the Reaping to be over with their youngest brother Ralf, both of them outside the Reaping age. But not Hessian and his sisters, nope. They're the unlucky bastards that might have to go into the arena if their mother is picked. Magda is so close to being done with this forever, while Aliyah has to have a Quell be her first Reaping. And Hessian is the poor unlucky middle child, left out from the rest of his family as they wait for the name to be picked.
He's trying to stay hopeful as the escort takes the stage and reads the Treaty of Treason, but it's a pitiful attempt. Not when there's that large glass bowl on the stage filled with the names of every parent with at least one child in the standard Reaping age. One slip for every slip their children would have had in a normal year. The odds for the Dion family are…shit, honestly. Yeah, Magda and Imran both work to help out their mother, but there are still six of them. Each one of them has taken tesserae each year to survive.
Hessian didn't want to think about just how many slips with his mother's name are in that bowl. If he does, he might just pass out from fear.
"Let's pick our tribute now!" the escort says, way too cheerily for the reality of the situation, but of course the Capitolite is excited about picking a parent who will have to doom a child. They take their grand old time picking a name, unaware of the tension in the crowd as everyone braces for the name that will be called out. Hessian stands there, frozen in place and unable to take his eyes away from the escort as they return to the microphone, and announce the name. "Liliana Dion with her children…Magda, Hessian, and Aliyah! Please come on up with any children of Reaping age!"
Hessian can only stare up at the stage as his mother lets out a cry of pain at her name being called out. Aliyah starts sobbing as she clings to their mother and her screams get louder as the Peacekeepers approach them to start leading them to the stage. Magda has an unreadable look in her eyes as she glances at Hessian as the Peacekeepers start shoving them towards the stage, but Hessian can't look at any of them. Not after seeing his mother look towards him with pity in her eyes. He can't fight the sinking pit in his stomach as the four of them go up on stage, the three children directed to stand separately from their mother.
"Now, would anyone like to volunteer in Liliana's place with their family?" the escort asks and Hessian can't help the scowl of disgust that forms on his face at the suggestion. What parent would willingly volunteer to send their child into a death match?! Only someone truly twisted and fucked up… To absolutely no one's surprise, there isn't a volunteer and the escort turns back to Liliana. "Alright, my dear, it is time for you to choose which child will enter the Quarter Quell with you!"
"Mom, please no!" Aliyah begs their mother and tries to go over to her, but Magda holds her in place.
"Be quiet!" Magda tells their younger sister in a harsh tone, making the younger girl start whimpering in fear. A silent tear falling down Magda's cheek is the only indication that she's afraid of what will happen.
But Hessian sees the look in their mother's eyes as she stares at them, tears pouring down her cheeks as she has to damn one of her children to the Games. He knows what her answer is going to be before she says it. Because why would she choose her baby girl Aliyah, or Magda who helps keep them fed when she can pick useless Hessian who can't even do anything for them? With five children, it was inevitable that one of them would be the least favorite, and for poor Hessian, that child is him.
"I'm so sorry," Liliana whispers to them, looking right at Hessian, before turning back to the escort and sealing his fate. "I choose Hessian."
Hessian balls his fists in anger and defeat as the escort waves him over to join his mother. Magda puts a hand on his shoulder for a moment, giving it a quick squeeze as Aliyah keeps sobbing, but relief is on her face that she wasn't picked. Hessian stomps over to his mother, refusing to look her in the eye and instead he faces the crowd as his two sisters are led off the stage to safety. But there is no safety for Hessian. Either he dies or has to live on after seeing his mother die in the arena. He doesn't even know if he wants to make it out of there alive…why would he want to suffer through that? His siblings would be better off anyways if their mother is the victor…yes, Hessian will make sure that their mother is the one who survives. They would miss her more. No one will miss Hessian if he dies.
After all, his mother was willing to choose him out of his siblings to go into the Hunger Games with her.
And there we have the 100th Hunger Games and Fourth Quarter Quell victor: Hessian Dion! So yeah, quite a fucked up Quell twist right there, making a parent choose one of their children to enter the Games with them.
Did the Reaping again for this one because I'm hoping at some point to write out this Games in a non-SYOT story, a la Ashes, but following a few tributes. I say hoping to because I started it and haven't touched it in months lol. But it's something that will most likely happen at some point in time because I want to write out the Biggest Family Drama In Panem (TM).
And that ends the big stockpile I had of this story and the last update of this for 2020. Gonna see if I can get back into writing these soon (I just have Zero (0) ideas for the next one and so I've put it off lol) but it might be what I need to get back to writing. No idea when updates will happen next so I will see you when I see you in 2021! Stay safe and happy holidays!