A/N: Here we go! Long weekend + No homework = More writing, yay! Both of these tributes are incredibly interesting, so let's just jump into the chapter!

Corbin belongs to lionkingfactsguy3 and Dandelion belongs to Ang3l112!

Thank you to The Pocketwatch Ripper, livinginadream0, lionkingfactsguy3 and DoIReallyNeedToChooseNow for reviewing the story!

Chapter 12: District 11 Reaping: Echoes

Corbin Chan's POV

So close. We've been so close for so long. In the 80th Games, we had Corner and Lilah. Lilah, stabbed by the girl from 2, came 13th, and Corner, his throat slit by Nemo Barkprice, came 7th. In the 81st Games, we had Radish and Connie. Connie, decapitated by Sirius from 5, came 6th, and Radish, who was ambushed and killed by Barker from 7 after killing Sirius, finished in 4th. And then the 82nd Games. 3rd and 4th place went to Rutabaga and Ginerva, who were both killed by Theodor Satin-Sword via a machete.

Each death, forgotten, meant so much to someone. So much to their friends, family, even the Victors. Nemo's terrified expression after Corner's cannon sounded. Callie's tight mouth as she watched Connie and Radish die in the Recap. Theodor's tear-stricken yell of "I'm sorry!" on the Victory Tour.

I wonder if my death would be forgotten? If I'm Reaped. I wonder if Lucy's death would be forgotten, or Jacob, or Veran? I- wonder if Searsha would be forgotten? I immediately force the thought out of my mind.

If Searsha was Reaped, then there are so many people who wouldn't forget her. But especially me. I wouldn't forget her-

I am smashed to the floor. My nose begins to bleed, and I swear. The cause of my fall is a tall, pale, brown-haired 18-year-old girl, who is currently running as fast as she can in the other direction.

I tilt my head to see where she came from, and gasp. The alleyway that the girl ran out of has two people inside it; a shaking, sobbing boy of about 14, and a young girl's limp body.

The boy is holding a gun, and when he sees me, he screams and tosses it away. I rush over to him and try to comfort him. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"N-no! She dragged us both into the alleyway, shot my sister, and tried to stab me but ran off!"

"Your sister?" I ask incredulously. The boy's face and hair are both a pale shade of white, and the girl has, or had, dark brown skin and a halo of frizzy black hair. In fact, she looks a lot like-

"No!" I scream. I begin to wail as the cannon fires and the huge screen outside the Justice Building shows her stats. My best friend and babysitter, dead, the stats on the screen confirming it. The Girl on Fire screams, and a second later, one of her arrows is lodged in the boy from 1's neck. He collapses to the floor, moaning in pain, then he's gone. Another cannon. I lean over and vomit, but no-one cares. No-one cares about the scrawny six-year-old who just lost his shoulder to lean on. Who just lost the ear always open to his problems. Who just lost his Rue.

I snap back to reality. The girl is not Rue, instead she is a victim of whoever that girl was. The boy is on his knees, crying, and the girl is still dead. "What's... what's your name?" he sniffles at me.

"Corbin," I sigh. "Corbin Chan."

The boy dips his head. "Can you go get the Peacekeepers?"

I nod and turn to run, but then I feel a burning pain in my left thigh. I look down and see that there's a bullet lodged in it.

The boy is holding the gun again, and he has just shot me. He lifts the gun again and prepares to shoot me. I scream in pain. The boy smiles. "Goodbye, honey!" he says.

"HEY! HEY, DROP IT!" I turn around, and see my savior. My savior is a tall, wide-shouldered Peacekeeper with DERRY BROWNING on his nametag. "Please! Please help me!" I groan.

Browning's eyes flick to me, then my leg, then back to the boy in the alley. He gasps. "RIVERS, CASTLE! CAPTAIN RYLA! GET OVER HERE!" Alleyboy groans and ducks into a doorway. "Shit," Browning groans. "He's back in the tunnels!"

Browning rushes past me and into the doorway. I lower myself onto the floor and groan in pain. Another two Peacekeepers rush past me, their nametags reading CASTLE and RIVERS.

They don't even notice me.

Just like when I lost my Rue.

Dandelion Crabgrass' POV

Knock knock!

"Bro! You in?"

After a second of rummaging noises, my brother walks out of his house in Victor's Village and smiles down at me. "Hey, sis!"

"Hello, Fern. How are you?"

He looks at me oddly. "I'm fine. To what do I owe this meeting?"

I sigh and show him the bundle of blankets in my arms. Fern blinks and peels back the topmost blanket, to show-

Jasmine, my daughter, begins to wail. Fern gasps. "Harrow! Cornrow! Get in here!"

Harrow, Victor of the 76th Hunger Games and my brother's best friend, is at the door in a flash. Cornrow, Fern's fiancée, is right behind him. Cornrow melts at Jasmine's upset sobs, and holds his hands out hopefully. I oblige, and Cornrow begins rocking her gently.

Fern looks at him, his smile wide, then turns back to me. "I always knew he'd be a great dad."

"Do you want her?"

Fern gapes at me. "Really?"

I smile. "I can't afford him, and you've always wanted kids, so..."

Fern's eyes fill with tears, and he whispers my message into Cornrow's ears. He turns to me, Jasmine still in his arms. "You mean it?"

I nod, and he whispers "Thank you."

I grin and invisibly tip my hat, then turn and walk off.

"Dandelion!" I turn. Harrow is standing, his hand out. "You wanna come in for some cake and tea?"

"Nah. I'm fine. Goodbye!"

Harrow waves goodbye, and I continue walking out of the Victor's Village.

As I exit the gates, I am joined by him. Mulberry Seuss is next to me, casually eating a lemon as if it were an apple. "Hello, Dandie." he smiles.

"Shut up. I'm never talking to you again."

"Oh, but you will." his face twists into a malicious grin. "You still owe us."

I stop dead. "What? I just gave away my CHILD FOR THIS!"

"Interest, darling Dandie. You see, the thing about it is, it builds."

I sigh. "What do you want me to do?"

"No! I'm not killing her!"

"Yes, you are! Do you want to go free or not?"

The girl Mulberry is referring to is a girl who can't be more than nine, who is currently passing the alleyway.

"I can't!" I snap at Mulberry. "I can't- take a life!"

"Uh-oh, I think I can hear Jasmine wailing with a GUN TO HER FOREHEAD!"

I gasp at his outburst. I knew the Seuss family was serious about the dept, but this is too far. Mulberry slips me a knife. "Do it. NOW."

I take the knife and approach the girl. She turns and looks at me, her eyes filled with hope. "Hello!" she smiles. I sigh, but I snatch her off her feet and drag her into the alley.

"What are you doing!" she shrieks. "Let go! Let go!"

I whisper furiously into her ear. "I'm going to pretend to stab you, and you're going to scream and shout then pretend to be dead. Otherwise, the boy with the gun will shoot us both. Okay?" She nods, and I raise the knife and cut lightly across her forehead. She screeches in pain, but as I hoped, a lot of blood comes out, and I rub it over the blade, coating it thoroughly. Then I fake stabbing her again, and she plays her part well for the most part, screaming and wailing before she goes limp.

I let her body drop to the floor and turn to Mulberry. "She's dead. Let me go." He doesn't move, the gun still pointed at my face. "Let me GO! Please!"

Mulberry laughs. "Absolutely not. Give me proof. Kick the body. A few times." I draw back my foot, and lightly prod her with my toe. Her face screws up, but she keeps at it.

"There! Good enough for you?" I snap at Mulberry. "Do you want me to spit on her for good measure?"

Mulberry grins sadistically. "Good job." I feel a swell of happiness that my plan worked. But then he continues. "I almost fell for it!" He smiles politely, then flicks off the safety. "You have five seconds."

I stand, terrified, and the girl seems to realise that she's in danger as well, as she gets to her feet. Suddenly, a group of Peacekeepers appear at the mouth of the alley, and see Mulberry, the girl and I. "Help!" the girl screeches, and one female Peacekeeper rushes to her aid. A second later, she is lying on the ground, red blossoming across the white material of her chestplate.

"No!" the girl screams, and begins to wail again. Another two Peacekeepers run down the alley, and Mulberry motions for me to stop them. I sigh dejectedly and tackle one, knocking him to the ground, where his head cracks against a stone and he's out cold. Perhaps a kinder death than his partner's, who is shot at least seven times by Mulberry before she finally collapses.

I turn, and I am filled with relief at the sight of seven remaining Peacekeepers, all with their guns trained on Mulberry. He seems to realise he's outgunned, because instead of shooting them, he aims his gun towards the girl and-

BANG!

She flutters to the floor, the pink tips of her frizzy brown hair appearing almost angelic as they are framed by the white of the Peacekeeper's jackets and the grimy grey of the alleyway walls. Mulberry looks down his nose at her tiny corpse, then turns back to the Peacekeepers. They open fire, and Mulberry swears and ducks before shooting directly at an air tank lying on the floor of the alleyway. A Capitol-action-movie-level explosion lights up the small space, knocking me to the ground and sizzling several arm hairs off in a flash of light and fire.

The girl coughs violently and I realise she's somehow still alive, so I lunge forward and snatch her away from Mulberry, who's face is contorted in rage. "Kenzy!" one of the four remaining Peacekeepers screams. The Peacekeeper who said that has a similar face and hair to the girl, and I can see instantly that they're related.

"Ryla!" she screams, confirming my theory. "Help-"

BANG!

Kenzy, the girl, falls to the floor again, and Ryla screams. "NO! KENZY!" She trains her gun on Mulberry and shoots. Mulberry groans and ducks into a door on the side of the alleyway. "I know where that goes!" Ryla snaps. "Browning, Rivers, with me. Castle, please clear up the bodies."

Three Peacekeepers run off, out of the alleyway, and the other one begins dragging his comrades' bodies away. After a few moments, I am left alone in the alley with little Kenzy's body and- oh dear. Mulberry is back in the alley, his gun pointed at my head. Without thinking, I turn and run, bowling over some poor fifteen-year-old boy as I dash out of the alley.

I'm free! I'm free!

For now, the little voice in my head says. I realise that it sounds a lot like Mulberry, so I tell it to piss off.

District 11 Justice Building

Corbin Chan's POV

The gentle prick of blood is nothing compared to the aching pain in my leg. I wave goodbye to Searsha as she moves over to the girls section. I hop towards the boys and lean against a metal pole.

Our Escort, Winona Granger, is glaring at everyone as she rumbles through the speech. Also sitting on the stage is Granger's son, Florian, who is munching away on a packet of gumdrop buttons, Mayor Mandrus, who is fiddling nervously with his bowtie, his wife Lillia, who is staring off into the distance blankly, his son Xanthi, who is chewing his fingernail anxiously, the mayor's lead advisor, Ursula Seuss, and our three living Victors, elegant Licia Brunette, nervous Plumbellia Nightblossom, and relaxed Harrow Soothshear-Barnette.

I turn to the boy next to me, and gasp when I realise who it is. Alleyboy, still toting a gun, is grinning maliciously at me. He points it at my face, and whispers into my ear. "Good luck, Corbin Chan," he smiles. "I have a sinking feeling that you might be-" he pauses, and a voice rings out.

"Corbin Chan!"

Alleyboy's smile widens, and he moves away.

"I VOLUNTEER! I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!"

I turn, my smile even wider than Alleyboy's. Alleyboy himself glares angrily at me. But then Winona sighs and says, "Please sit down, sir! You are over the eligible age to Volunteer."

Jacob, my big brother and the attempted volunteer, sinks back into the crowd and groans.

I walk up to the stage tearfully. I have no doubt that Alleyboy was somehow involved in my Reaping. Although that feels impossible, his smug smirk all but confirms it.

The next name Winona calls is "Dandelion Crabgrass!" The girl that steps out of the crowd shocks me. It's Alleyboy's partner in crime, or possibly victim.

Dandelion glares daggers in the direction of several people; Alleyboy, Winona Granger, Ursula Seuss and me. When she sees me, her face falls.

We take the stage, Dandelion tearful and me terrified.

Terrified is the right word. I am filled with only terror. Plumbellia, Harrow and Licia all look sympathetically at me, but my eyes are locked on Alleyboy. I flick my view back to Ursula Seuss, and I realise that they look almost identical.

It was rigged. Rigged, rigged, RIGGED!

I am suddenly filled with an incredible idea. When I get home, Victors can do anything. Even pound a certain Alleyboy into the dust.

A/N: There we go! Another one bites the dust! What did you guys think of Dandelion? Of Corbin? Any Victors here? Only one Reaping left, and then we'll get to the Goodbyes! So excited!

Random Question Of The Day: What did you watch today?

My Answer: I watched two very different Netflix game shows today. I watched the Perfect Match, which is a cheesy dating show, and I watched Ultimate Beastmaster, which is a high-stakes gymnastics competition. I'm watching it right now as I type this!

Anyways, don't forget to review, and I'll see you in the next one! Byeeeee!

-Luke